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The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

As a beginner it is very confusing where to start.
Everybody will tell you to start with “The Fundamentals“.

Yet nobody seems to be sure what these Fundamentals are.

Some coaches will teach you basic techniques eg…
armbar, triangle choke, scissor sweep, double under pass, double leg takedown, etc…

At first glance this seems like a good idea; these techniques are very common in Jiu Jitsu and get used all the time. So it would make sense to teach them first, doesn’t it?

Well, yes and no. It does make sense to start your journey in Jiu Jitsu with those techniques that are the most common.
But when you start thinking about it, there is nothing “basic” about any of foramentioned “moves”.

Every single Jiu Jitsu technique takes years and years to master. And even then the perfect execution can only be done in relation to what the opponent is doing.

To make your journey and the journey of everyone in Jiu Jitsu easier, we should first start with a proper definition of what is a “Fundamental”.

A Fundamental in my personal opinion, is a basic building block that is always used and present in every single human activity.

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

I said human activity, not motion, on purpose. The Fundamentals, the basic building blocks, are general for every single sport, be it football, swimming, walking, climbing, boxing, wrestling or Jiu Jitsu.

The most basic element of being alive, is breath. Your whole life literally starts with an inhale and ends with an exhale. The illusive moment in between both is a direct methaphor for life itself.

Therefor it stand to reason that the most basic Fundamental of any human activity starts with conscious and mindfull breathwork.

Mastering you breath, allows you to master your unconscious mind and through that your emotions and motions.

Next we have to define how the body moves.
To make sense of human motion, you have to define a default state. The default state of a body ready for action, should be the perfect middle between tension and relaxion.
This is what we call “Form Tension“.
In combination with mindfull breath, you can call the ideal default state “connection to one self“.

Once you are “connected to yourself“, you can be conscious about your connection in relation to gravity. This is your “weight distribution“.
Lastly, in the context of martial arts you want to be connected to your opponent.
The connection to your opponent happens in three layers.
From body to body connection to breath connection and through both connection of the mind.
When you are aware of your opponent’s breath and his motion, you can quite literally read his intentions and mind and in that sense accurately predict the next step.

Only through true mastery of your connection, can you both sense your opponent’s intention, while hiding your own.

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

After you understand connection, you have to understand the basics of human motion.
Every single human motion consists of a combination of four core motions:
-shoulder to hip and hip to shoulder rotation
-forward and backward hinge
-lateroflexion of the spine in relation to the hip
-pivot around a central axis point

These four core motion represent the four planes of movement.

Every single “technique” in Jiu Jitsu or Grappling consists of the following five steps that combine and become incremental:
-Attach to your opponent
-Rotate
-Hinge
-Lateroflex
-Pivot

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

Your rotation is chosen in relation to your partner and every subsequent step is choosen in relation to that initial rotation.
Every step when done right increases the compression of your opponent in case of “Offense” or decreases compression in case of “Defense”.
You only switch the rotation after your opponent switches his. The one who switches the rotation first, always loses a step in the proces.

This is the basis of the “Mirroring Principle“.
If you understand Jiu Jitsu in this way, every single “Technique” or altercation between two moving bodies becomes exactly the same. The only difference between “techniques” then becomes the initial attachment.
There are as many different “techniques” as there are possible ways to attach two human bodies.
Most likely not unlimited, but by all means incalculable.

We should therefor be very careful when naming “techniques”.
If every technique is defined by the initial attachments and the outcome decided by a set of parameters, then it stand to reason that there cannot be an exact definition of a technique. Every technique is therefor a spectrum. Just like the colors “red” or “blue” don’t exist, only the red and blue spectrum.
And when you name one shade of blue or red, you better name them all or people start to identify with one particular shade, start to consider the shade as the whole or attack the group(s) to got attached to a different shade.

In the Bible and Koran, Mozes considers it heresy and dangerous when he sees his fellow men constructed an idol of God in the shape of a cow.

How can you depict the “Whole” with just one part of it?
To define a dot on the Infinite Spectrum, is to risk forgetting The Whole.

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

In the same sense we should be very careful in naming techniques. Or at least make sure that we understand that every technique is just an attachment with a spectrum of outcomes where both players can come out on top or bottom.

To give a concrete example.
There is often a distinction made between a front, sideways and rear triangle.
By giving three different names, one might consider them three different techniques instead of the same thing but with infinite angles.
In reality there is just the “Triangle Spectrum” with unlimited angles, where the frontal angle is the worst and the 45 degrees are the best.

In everything in reality, what is true for the small is true for the whole.
Every single “technique” can therefor be used to understand the whole of Jiu Jitsu, even the whole of human interactions and I dare to say the nature of reality itself.

To give you more sense of this all, I made this video “The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass“.

I consider it my best class ever and it would make me very happy if many people watch it and understand the point.
I believe Jiu Jitsu and the world could be better for it.

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True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu

True Fundamentals

 

It ain’t what you do, it is the way that you do it.

 

Everybody in Jiu Jitsu agrees we should focus first and foremost on the fundamentals.

If you ask most practicioners what those fundamentals are, they will name you some basic “techniques”; kimura, americana, double leg, armbar, scissor sweep.

This answer will greatly be dependend on the way this person was taught and on his favorite set of techniques.

However, these are not the fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu. And this misunderstanding leads to a lot of injuries, frustration and slow improvement.

True fundamentals of jiu jitsu Wim Deputter BJJ Fundamentals

 

What are the Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu?

The Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu are the same Fundamentals as in any sport or human activity:

-Breathing

-structure

-muscle engagement

-integration of structure and engagement = posture

-angle

-weight distribution

-basic human core motions: hollow spine / curved spine, hip hinge / extension, lateroflexion, shoulder / hip rotation

-basic limb motions: flexion, extension, rotation

-basic grips

-integration of limb and core motion

The integration of all these basics form the “illusive” concept that is CONNECTION. At a first level connection with oneself, at a second level connection of oneself with the enivironement and a third level connection with the body, motion and breathing of your opponent.

Once you are understand that, you will realise that “techniques” are merely pathways to get from a certain point to another in the complex landscape that is Jiu Jitsu.

Always try to see “techniques” as examples or situations where you have to apply and learn your fundamentals. Every next step in Jiu Jitsu is determined first and foremost by the motion of your opponent and secondly by the situation.

If there is no time pressure, you can always just focus on the moment, on yourself and react when the opportunity arises because of the action of your opponent. This is Jiu Jitsu in ideal circumstances without time pressure. This is the setting in which “techniques” should be trained.

If the situation becomes stressed (self defense, last seconds of a lost match, submission getting tighter), there is not always time to wait for the ideal. In this setting you cannot wait for opportunities that present themselves. You have to act fast. Your basic fundamental training will kick in.

If you do not train and focus the proper on fundamentals, your “techniques” will be less effective, you will not see why they failed or succeeded, Jiu Jitsu will stay a a maze of infinite complexity and you will never be truly a safe training partner.

Don’t focus on basic techniques. Focus on the true FUNDAMENTALS.

I wish someone would have told me this when I was 6 and started with gymnastics, repeated it to me when I was 9 and started martial arts, mention it again when I was 18 and my mind a bit more mature, kept hammering it in till today and give me a slap every time I drifted from this path and lost focus on what is important.

 

 

 

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The 50/50 Truck – Improve Backtake

The Truck is one of Jiu Jitsu’s most interesting positions and ways to take your opponent’s back.
Mastering the Truck can be one of the quickest ways to improve your level and understanding of Jiu Jitsu.

It’s also one of the more “flashy” positions. So Bonus Points for style 🙂

There are two downsides however:

1). The Truck is a bit complex and can be hard and scary for a beginner to master or even begin.

2). The Truck is a 50/50-like position; you and your opponent have equal options. If you fail in your entry or the opponent simply has better posture, grips, timing or transitions, you end up giving your back instead of taking your opponent’s.

The Drill in this video aims to fix both of these issues by focusing and explaining what happens in the middle part of the Truck.

Understanding the moment where both you and your opponent have equal options is the key to understanding every exchange in Jiu Jitsu and in this case the Truck Backtake.

Equal options for both players, 50/50 Truck



Have a look at my video and led me hear your thoughts in the comments!

This is part 1 of a new series on the Truck. Stay tuned for part 2 “The Most Complicated Drill in Jiu Jitsu” in the next few days 😉

 

If you would to see a whole class dedicated to the concept of 50/50 games? I highly recommend you watch the following class as well: “What I learned from Backhold Wrestling”.

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Dealing With Younger Explosive Opponents

“Give the opponent what he wants until he does not want it anymore”

 

Younger explosive players tend to favor an open guard and distance. Distance is crucial if they want to use their physical attributes to the maximum.

Spider guard is very often the initial open guard that gets used as an initial step towards a more favorable attachment.

The most common way to deal with spiderguard, is to to move away, bring the opponent’s feet to the floor, keep them pinned, make an angle and pass.

This is definately a good valid strategy.

However, spider guard is most often preferred by younger and faster players who tend to be more explosive than the older generation of grapplers.

The last thing I want to give a younger explosive opponent, is the space to move as that is when his physical attributes will shine the most.

My strategy is the opposite.

“Give the opponent what he wants, until he does not want it anymore”, is the pathway of minimal effort and maximum efficiency.

Whenever a foot is placed on my body as a frame, I want to give “a reason” to that foot.
I start to add more pressure to that foot.

This achieves a number of things:
1). The opponent will have to carry my weight, thus making him tired
2). Space is denied, the opponent can’t work
3). There are less options, thus less complexity. The game becomes slower and more predictable.

In order for the opponent to be able to work his game, he needs to create space.
He can achieve this by pushing, framing + walking away or bring you out of balance and move away as you recover the center.

When passing, you have to keep your weight forward (for pressure) and centered for balance.
Once the opponent gets tired, he will react by making an angle. The angle makes the frame of his feet and legs weak. Your constant forward pressure against the now weaker frames, allow you to progress your pass to the next line of defense (knees and arms), where you can repeat the same process again until you pass the opponent’s guard.

You can find an example of this process in action on the video below.

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The Art of Teaching BJJ – Finding balance between Order and Chaos

The Art of Teaching BJJ – Finding balance between Order and Chaos by Wim Deputter

The day I started truly learning Jiu Jitsu, was the day I gave my first private…


“If you want to master something, teach it.

The more you teach, the better you learn.

Teaching is a poweful tool to learning – Richard Feynman”


Teaching BJJ Art of Teaching Jiu Jitsu Wim Deputter Balance Order and Chaos creativity

Once gym’s reopen, I’m going to implement this concept more in my own classes.

I was always allergic to overstructured classes.
Too much order destroys creativity. (wim deputter)
You need creativity for progress and to make an activity fun to begin with.

Too much chaos however will also halt progress as it lacks direction.

If you keep walking circles in the forest, you will never reach an edge.
You need to reach an edge to be able to appreciate the forest as a whole.

Understanding the bigger picture gives you more appreciation for the smaller parts of the system.

Beginners need more order, advanced practicioners in any field need more chaos. Classes should always reflect that.

It’s my (untested) believe that this will also follow the pareto principle; more or less, beginners need 80% of your class structured and guided, 20% free exploring and experts vice versa with gradations in between.

Order needs chaos and chaos needs order. (wim deputter)

But, if I had to choose between one of the other, I would always choose chaos.

Out of chaos you still have good things randomly happen and some degree of order emerges naturally.

Structured chaos as an ideal. (wim deputter)

Just a few months ago I did a podcast with Sonny Brown of The Sonny Brown Breakdown
where we talked about the topic of “Order and Chaos“, among other things. Feel free to check this podcast over here: The Mirroring Principle and Controlled Chaos for Learning

Sonny Brown Breakdown - The Mirroring Principle and Controlled Chaos for Learning With Wim Deputter BJJ Podcast

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The King’s Gambit – Baiting The Triangle Choke

The King’s Gambit – Baiting The Triangle

Chess and BJJ’s most “aggressive” opening

The King's Gambit in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu BJJ Baiting The Triangle Choke Wim Deputter The Mirroring Principle Jiu Jitsu Offensive Defense

Do you want to see Wim Deputter’s way to defend the triangle choke and use it to pass the guard in action and explained? Click here!

 

“A gambit in chess is a move where you sacrifice material in order to gain structural, positional or other advantage”

 

In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu we have “gambits” as well.
If your defense is well, you can bait your opponent with a submission and use his or her eagerness to your advantage.

My favorite BJJ gambit, the core of my game, and the one I have practically made my “career” on, is baiting the Triangle.

If the Footlock is the sneaky Thief, the Armlock Queen and The Choke King, we can consider baiting the Triangle “The King’s Gambit” of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu”.

Gambit’s can played if you know the position, structure and possibilities well. If you have a system to answer the different reactions the opponent might throw at you.
And all of this has to rest on a solid, systematic defense in case you make a mistake in your system.

For years I have understood the top part of the triangle better than the bottom. My Triangle Choke Defense was better than my choke itself.
I always found it easier to beat the triangle than to finish it. Something was missing on bottom, something didn’t make sense.

I have been willing to make an instructional on this topic for a long time. But to bring something out, you have to understand all aspects to it. One important ‘piece of the puzzle’ was missing on the bottom triangle.

Until today. Today I discovered something new. Something not generally known and used.

I will start filming the next installement of The Mirroring Principle “The King’s Gambit” this week.

And where there is a King there is a “Queen’s Gambit” in the future as well.

“The Thief’s Gambit” is, for now, still a work in progress 😀

Check out the link in bio for an example of “The King’s Gambit” in action.

 

In the mean time, here you can see an example of The King’s Gambit in action on competition and a basic intro.

 

 

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Sneaky Hip Throw And Back Take Combo From The Body Lock

Sneaky Hip Throw and Back Take Combo By Wim Deputter BJJ Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

In this video I go over some options from the Body Lock position.
I show an easy setup for a Hip Throw and a way to Enter the Truck from standing, as well as some other options.

Sneaky Hip Throw and Back Take Combo From The Body Lock by Wim Deputter BJJ Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

A Hip Throw Setup from the standing Body Lock, a standing truck entry and more! Click to watch!

Hip Throws are often hard in Jiu Jitsu.
To execute a proper Hip Throw, you need hip connection first.

This is quite hard to achieve, given the fact that many BJJ Practicioners (at least on training and competition) prefer a bent over posture and often pull guard before a meaning full hip connection can be established.

Because of this, it is often hard to train hip throws. Much harder at least than the more common Wrestling Take Downs that work from Headcontrol and / or Single and Double Legs.

What I offer with this video, is a very functional, logical and systematic approach from the Body Lock position, resulting in a Hip Throw or Back Take.
I’m not going over ways to get to the Body Lock. This might be the topic of another video, in case there is demand for it.
One common scenarion to get there, is after you established an underhook from half guard bottom, managed to get to Dogfight and your opponent stands up.

This particular setup has been part of my game for many years. I hope it may help you out as well and give some incentive to train a very often underdeveloped part of many a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practicioner’s game.

Stay tuned for my upcoming video and article. I will cover The standing Back Take more in-depth!

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Counter for the knee cut pass (Wim Deputter / Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)

Enter ‘The Rocking Chair’ – Counter for one of the most common passes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 

 

Are you a half guard player? Does your guard often get passed with the knee cut?
Do this adjustment and turn the situation to your advantage!

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Knee cut slide slice guard pass Wim Deputter knee cut pass half guard mirroring principle

An analysis of one of the most common guard passes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: The Knee Cut Pass

The knee cut, knee slice, knee slide, cut through pass,… however you call it, it’s a guard pass every half guard player will have to learn how to deal with. It’s one of the most common passes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at every level.
The regular way to play deep half guard, is to fight for the underhook and reach for an undergrip on the far leg.

Once the opponent starts to cut his knee through, there is a gap behind his leg. This allows you to let the far leg go and instead weave your bottom arm behind the cutting leg. Congratulations! You just entered “The Rocking chair” 🙂 Not only did you counter the knee cut guard pass, from here you can also transition to a modified Dogfight.

From Dogfight you have a lot of options, which I will explain the next few weeks in my “The Rocking Chair”-series.

Stay tuned! 🙂 

Check out part 1 Wim Deputter‘s next series: Enter “The Rocking Chair” 

 

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The hidden framework of Jiu Jitsu (a bjj hack by Wim Deputter)

The hack to make you understand Jiu Jitsu and improve faster

There is a hidden framework in Jiu Jitsu.  The red line through all of your techniques. The bjj unifying principle that all techniques have in common. Learn this and it’s like a hack that makes you understand jiu jitsu faster.

What do all techniques have in common?

The way your core, your body moves.

Wim Deputter Mirroring Principle BJJ Fanatics The hidden framework of jiu jitsu the hack to make you understand BJJ and improve faster hack to improve faster in bjj

Watch this short video by Wim Deputter and learn the hidden hack!

In jiu jitsu we have to learn to exert strenght with our core. Our frames (arms and legs) are merely conductors that transmit the pressure from our core to our opponent. If we keep our frames rigid and our body connected, every movement we make, will be felt by our opponent.

If we realize that movement is so important, it makes sense that we have to move as efficient as possible. The most effective way to apply pressure on our opponent, is by using rotation from the core.
If our frames are conductors, then our core is like a battery; it’s the one part of our body that can generate strength most efficiently with minimal exercition.

In this video I will show you how to rotate as effectively as possible. It is shown here from a defensive perspective. The challenge for you is to see the applications in offense and reactions on top that counter it.

This is a perfect introduction to my BJJ Fanatics instructional: ‘A General Introduction to the Mirroring Principle and the Babybridge’. 

In the next video, you can see an example of how this sequence can by used offensively by Cody Maltais.

A common problem, and serious threat, when holding the guillotine in bottom side control, is the Von Flue Choke. Cody shows how you can not only use the Babybridge to defend the Von Flue Choke, but also use ‘Head – Shoulder – Knees and Toes’ sequence, to get back to your knees, while mantaining the guillotine. This way you can keep a constant threat.

Be sure to check out the rest of my channel. Don’t forget to give a thumbs up and subscribe!
If you see other applications of this concept or anything else I show on my channel, feel free to send me 🙂

 

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