X-Guard No-Gi: 7 Essential Sweeps & Entries
X-guard no-gi is the highest-percentage bottom sweep in grappling. Learn 7 essential entries, sweeps, and transitions to off-balance bigger opponents.
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Heel Hook No-Gi: 7 Essential Keys to a Safe Finish
Quick Answer: The heel hook no-gi is a rotational leg lock that twists the heel to tear the ligaments around the knee, not the ankle. You control the leg from a position like ashi garami or the saddle, trap the opponent’s knee between your hips, secure the heel in the crook of your elbow, and…
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Leg Drag Pass No-Gi: 7 Essential Setups & Details
The leg drag pass is the backbone of modern no-gi guard passing. Here are 7 essential steps, setups, and back-take chains to make it your highest-percentage pass.
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Kneebar No-Gi: 7 Proven Keys to a Tight Finish
Quick Answer: A kneebar is a straight leg lock that hyperextends the knee. You trap your opponent’s foot against your chest, isolate one leg, pinch your knees around their thigh, and drive your hips forward — the same mechanic as an armbar, only aimed at the leg. In no-gi it’s one of the highest-percentage submissions…
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Butterfly Guard No-Gi: 7 Essential Sweeps & Grips
Quick Answer: Butterfly guard no-gi is a seated open guard where you sit up, get an underhook or wrist control, and slide your shins under your opponent’s thighs to create hooks that lift and off-balance them. Without lapels to grip, no-gi butterfly relies on inside position, forward pressure, and constant angle changes. The three highest-percentage…
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Ashi Garami: 6 Essential No-Gi Leg Lock Positions
Ashi garami is the no-gi leg entanglement behind every heel hook. Learn the 6 essential positions, the submissions they set up, and how to escape.
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Omoplata No-Gi: 7 Essential Setups & Sweeps
The omoplata in no-gi is more sweep than submission. Here are the best guard entries, finishing chains, defenses, and how pros like Lovato and Fowler actually use it.
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Straight Ankle Lock: 7 Essential No-Gi Setups & Escapes
Quick Answer: The straight ankle lock is a no-gi leg lock that hyperextends the ankle by driving the blade of your forearm across the opponent’s Achilles tendon while you control the leg from an ashi garami (leg entanglement). It is the one leg attack that is legal at every IBJJF belt level, including white belt,…
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Calf Slicer No-Gi: 6 Essential Setups and Escapes
The calf slicer is a no-gi compression submission that folds the knee and crushes the calf. Here are 6 setups, the escapes, and the IBJJF rules.
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Arm Triangle Choke: 7 Essential No-Gi Setups & Finishes
Quick Answer: The arm triangle choke, or kata gatame, is a head-and-arm strangle that traps one of your opponent’s arms against their own neck and cuts off both carotid arteries at once. In no-gi it is one of the highest-percentage finishes from mount and side control because it needs zero grips — just a deep…
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North-South Choke: 7 No-Gi Setups, Finishes & Escapes
Quick Answer: The north-south choke is a no-gi blood choke applied from the north-south pin, where you trap your opponent’s head and drive your shoulder and biceps into their throat while your chest pins their arm to the mat. It works by cutting off both carotid arteries with pressure instead of a deep collar grip,…
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Kimura No-Gi: 7 Essential Setups for the Shoulder Lock
A no-gi guide to the kimura shoulder lock: the figure-four grip, 7 high-percentage setups, finishing mechanics, the kimura trap, and defense.
