BJJ black belt Elliott Bayev and I discuss the minimum knowledge set required to be a competent blue belt, including...

• The 8 basic positions in jiu-jitsu
• A 3 phase strategy for beating a bigger person
• The real purpose of the guard
• The 2 types of submissions
• The hierarchy of positions
• How to stay safe in bad positions...and what to do next.
• The importance of getting high up on your opponent's body
• How do throws and takedowns fit into training
• Competition vs self defense tactics
• How many techniques do you actually need
• Why sparring against real resistance makes jiu-jitsu special
• When to begin sparring in your progression
• How long does it take to make bluebelt
• And more!

Click here to get the Roadmap for BJJ, my free PDF breakdown of the basic positions and strategies in jiu-jitsu.

Elliott runs the Openmat school in Toronto Ontario and also the BJJ101.tv learning site.

Check out Elliott's Spider Guard Masterclass, and/or his Self Defense Guard, and/or his 30 Second Fight Finishes instructionals. I've personally worked with him on all 3 of these products and I can say without hesitation that they are incredibly detailed and directly applicable to your training.

Stephan Kesting