Formiga shows us how he deals with an opponent who has established a De La Riva guard position and then achieves a superior grip on your lapel. It can be very difficult to break this grip and your knee is trapped from going to the mat like in the previous passes.

Marcelo Garcia shows the grips and controls he uses for setting up the butterfly sweep from open guard and also shares some of the details that make this technique so successful for him.

I've never been to Brazil. In my imagination it all looks like Ipanema Beach. But the Favelas never make it onto the postcards. It's a side of life most of us will never see, much less understand. But it's a reality for thousands of kids who grow up there, just like Robson Moura did.

It’s easy to be tricked into thinking that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. We see people training at beautiful schools, or with celebrity instructors, or with a bunch of world class training partners and think, “I wonder what my jiu-jitsu would be like if I had those opportunities?” But the truth is that almost none of us make the most of the opportunities that we do have.

Once you start hitting the butterfly sweep regularly, it won't be long before your training partners post out their arm once you have position. In this week's video Marcelo shows us how reacts to the post.

It’s no secret that every jiu-jitsu wife’s secret fantasy includes Roger Gracie, at least mine does. I was reading Jiu-Jitsu Style magazine for the first time on my ipad and came across the Roger spread. My wife glanced over and couldn’t have ripped the ipad out of my hands quicker. The bright beautiful photo lit up her eyes like a bush baby, the only thing missing was a scratch and sniff.

I've been on the proverbial soap box since we started publishing BJJ Weekly, and if you've been with us for a while you're probably sick of hearing about it. But still every week we get emails from people who aren't sure about what's expected, or they need to deal with a stinky nasty training partner. I asked my friend Bon, the owner of Fight Soap to give us his take on good hygiene. I recommend sharing this article with new training partners so they know right up front what's expected!   - Bill

Chinese philosophy and science of war has produced many classic works, including the essay The Thirty Six Strategies. This essay was highly influential in both China, and later Japan where many of the strategies were incorporated into the Samurai Bushido.

I have been training in the martial arts since 1988.  Over the years, I have studied: Kenpo, Karate, Japanese Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, Kendo, and Iaido: just to name a few.  During my Christmas break in 2009, I decided to try a new school that teaches BJJ.  I was instantly hooked and realized that fighting on the ground was much different than anything else that I have tried.

Sometimes when working takedowns with a very defensive opponent, it can be difficult to execute a throw successfully. Jimmy Pedro shows us some great simple trips that will work well against a tight stand up player.