Fundamental BJJ Strategies

Last post I wrote about a great resource, The BJJ Manifesto, that many of you have taken advantage of and written to me about your great results.
This post I want to discuss a couple of strategies for getting your opponent to make a mistake that you can capitalize on.

One of the main strategies of forcing your opponent to make a mistake while rolling, boils down to using pressure and making your opponent very uncomfortable.

The crossface from the side mount and mount is one such strategy, (never to be done from the guard as it opens you up to be submitted or passed.)
This is achieved by gripping your opponents shoulder while "crossfacing" the side of his face and jaw with your forearm.
This allows you to trap your opponents face and keep him looking in the opposite direction which prevents him from shrimping as well as opens him up to having his arm attacked as it leaves it exposed and prevents him from being able to effectively defend it.

Another such strategy comes from using shoulder pressure.

Instead of your opponent formulating their plan they are now forced to deal with the pressure and discomfort you are creating.
This works well from side mount, mount and half guard top.

Like the crossface, here you use your shoulder instead to trap your opponents face by pushing across his body and trapping his head looking in the opposite direction of the leg he has trapped in half guard for example. This will prevent him from shrimping or using your leg to reverse you or attack.
The true power of using shoulder pressure comes from the fact that this effectively negates your opponents offense and causes him to go on the defensive, it also opens up possibilities for attacks and enables you to not worry about maintaining the position so you can focus on setting up a submission.

Again for those interested in maximizing strategies like these in their game, be sure to check out the BJJ Manifesto it will help you wherever you are to implement strategies you can use right now to improve your game.
To everyone who has already bought it and is using it in their game, be sure to write me and keep me posted on how it's going or if you have any questions, I love hearing about how your skills and game are improving.

Don't forget everyone who buys the BJJ Manifesto is entitled to one month of free training in Miami Florida with Matt and Rob, the authors of this great ebook and videos.