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BJJ Beginners

Lesson 28 – Take The Back

Position:

Guard

Overview:

Use the guard to exhaust the bully and win the fight. If the bully is able to get their arm inside your arms from the guard, the best thing to do is swim back inside and establish Stage 1 control. If you can’t swim your arms through and they are able to drive their forearm across your neck, you can redirect their energy and take their back.

Technical Slices:

Head and Arm Control

  • Indicator: Bully drives their forearm on your throat from Stage 1.
  • Essential Detail: Effective use of legs to control the opponent’s weight.
  • Most Common Mistake: Weak initial angle and loose head and arm control.
  • Safety Tip: Tighten up your neck muscles to protect the neck during the choke.
  • Transfer Teaching Tip: Increase the weight of the forearm choke as their defensive leg use gets better.

Final Get Up

  • Indicator: Bully calms down after you acquire the angled body position.
  • Essential Detail: Effective angle acquisition.
  • Most Common Mistake: Failing to get the leg in between the opponent’s legs.
  • Transfer Teaching Tip: Change your body position to make the climb more challenging.

Bully Battle

  • Practice Taking the Back in combination with all of the previously learned techniques at various intensity levels. Give special emphasis to the Hook Sweep from the guard (Lesson 25).

Final Thoughts

  • Your primary focus during this technique is tightness. During each step, wait for the bully to calm down before moving on. If you move too quickly, you risk allowing them to escape and having to start over. Techniques like this one teach you to look for the good that is hidden in a bad situation. While choking you, they are creating the perfect opportunity for you to Take the Back and finish the fight.