Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Techniques: A Practical Guide

You're wearing a clean gi, trying to remember which way your feet should point, while your training partner moves around you with the calm confidence of someone who already knows the answer. You're not weak or unfit. You're meeting a new physical language, one built around position, pressure, movement and timing.

That's why Brazilian jiu jitsu techniques make more sense as a pathway than as a collection of tricks. You'll learn where you are before learning how to finish, how to escape before trying to attack, and how to use frames and angles instead of muscling through every exchange. At a community-focused Sydney academy, your first three months can be organised around positions and posture, then submissions and escapes, followed by controlled sparring that helps those skills connect.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu already has a substantial Australian footprint. SBS reports about 40,000 practitioners nationwide, with 90% Australian-born, using data from the Brazil-Australia Chamber of Commerce. The same report places Australia's Brazilian community at 46,720 people in the 2021 census, with most living in New South Wales. That local history sits on an older grappling foundation too. The first recorded ju-jitsu demonstration in Australia took place in Sydney in 1906, and Ted Boronovski won Australia's bronze medal in the open division at judo's Olympic debut in Tokyo in 1964, according to the Judo Federation of Australia history.

What It Feels Like to Step on the Mats for the First Time

Your first round may begin with you lying on your back, knees bent, while a more experienced partner tries to pass your legs. Your instinct will probably be to push with both hands, straighten your arms and hold your breath. A coach will usually give you a simpler task: keep your elbows close, place your feet intelligently, breathe, and create enough space to move.

That small instruction captures the order behind effective Brazilian jiu jitsu techniques. Positions come before submissions. If you can't recognise guard, side control, mount or back control, a choke or joint lock becomes a memorised shape with no reliable starting point. Once you understand the position, you can choose whether to hold it, escape it, sweep from it or attack from it.

Practical rule: Learn to identify where your hips, elbows and head are before worrying about how quickly you can finish a submission.

The first building blocks are straightforward:

• Positions: Understand who has control and where your weight should be.

• Submissions: Learn how chokes and joint locks apply controlled pressure.

• Sweeps: Turn a bottom position into a top position.

• Escapes: Recover space, guard or a safer position when someone controls you.

You don't need to arrive flexible, strong or experienced. You need to listen, communicate with your partner and accept that your first objective is learning how to move safely. A structured beginner course commonly starts with basic positions, movement, coordination, core concepts and training etiquette before progressing into a broader fundamentals class, as shown by an Australian beginner programme.

During the opening weeks, expect technical demonstrations, partner drills and short positional rounds rather than a demand to prove yourself. Your job is to recognise familiar situations. If you know you're in closed guard, mount or side control, you've already made the exchange easier to understand.

The Core Positions Every Beginner Must Learn First

A beginner's mental map should begin with three positions: guard, mount and back control. They're not the only positions in Brazilian jiu jitsu, but they give you a practical framework for understanding control, defence and attack.

Guard is your protective shell

In guard, you're on your back with your legs controlling the space between you and your partner. Closed guard wraps the legs around the opponent's waist, while open guard uses feet, knees, grips and angles to manage distance. Think of it as a protective shell that can also become a launching platform.

From the bottom, you're trying to control posture, prevent a clean pass and create an angle for a sweep or submission. From the top, your task is to maintain balance, open the guard and pass without allowing your partner to isolate an arm or climb to a dominant angle. Beginners often lie flat and push randomly. Keep your hips active and use frames so your arms don't carry the whole burden.

Mount is dominant top control

Mount places you on top of your partner's torso, with your knees or feet controlling the sides of the body. The chair analogy helps: you're sitting on a chair your opponent can't stand up from, but balance matters more than squeezing as hard as possible.

From mount, you can work towards an armbar, an escape-resistant choke or a transition to back control. The person underneath wants to connect an elbow to a knee, make space and recover a guard. A common mistake is reaching for a submission before stabilising the position. Settle your weight, widen your base when needed and make your partner carry your pressure.

Back control is the engine room

Back control usually involves chest-to-back connection, control around the upper body and hooks or another form of lower-body control. Your partner can't see your hands clearly, which makes the position a powerful place to attack.

The person holding back control should protect their own neck while keeping the opponent's shoulders aligned. The defender should turn towards the safer side, hand-fight and work towards the floor or a guard recovery. New students often chase the neck and lose the back. Keep control first, then expose the opening.

A simple map is guard to sweep, sweep to mount, mount to back control, back control to submission. If the attack fails, you return to position rather than forcing the finish. The fundamentals curriculum at Locals Zetland follows that kind of progression, linking movement and control instead of teaching every technique in isolation.

Starter Submissions You Will Drill in Month One

Your first submissions should teach control, not encourage you to yank or twist. A coach should show you the finishing mechanics, the vulnerable joint or airway, and the moment your partner needs to tap. You should also learn how to release immediately when your partner taps or verbally submits.

Cross-collar choke from guard

The cross-collar choke uses the lapel grip to create pressure around the neck while your guard controls posture and distance. The important detail is not merely placing your hands in the collar. You need to break posture, keep your elbows close and use your body position to make the grip effective.

If your partner's neck and shoulders are poorly aligned, the choke can become uncomfortable quickly. Drill the grip and positioning slowly, then let your partner tap before the pressure becomes intense. In no-gi training, this specific collar mechanism disappears, so you'll use different controls.

Rear naked choke from back control

From back control, the rear naked choke attacks the neck while your body position prevents your partner from turning freely. One arm travels around the neck, while the other helps protect the finishing position. Your first priority is keeping the back, not squeezing as hard as possible.

Your partner should defend with both hands and turn towards the safer side. If you lose chest-to-back contact while chasing the neck, return to control rather than stretching for the finish.

Armbar from mount

The armbar isolates the elbow and uses the hips to apply controlled extension. Beginners often make the mistake of controlling only the hand and allowing the elbow to slip free. Your coach will usually cue you to control the wrist, keep the elbow line contained and move your hips into a stable angle before finishing.

The elbow is at risk when the joint reaches end range, so there's no reason to wait for pain. Tap when the position is secure and the pressure is beginning, then reset calmly.

Kimura from side control

The kimura uses a figure-four grip to control the arm and rotate the shoulder. From side control, you'll first stabilise the upper body, isolate the arm and keep your partner from turning into you. The shoulder is the vulnerable area, so this submission demands slow movement and clear communication.

Breathe, tap early and reset. A tap isn't a failure. It's how training partners keep learning together.

The Locals Zetland guide to jiu-jitsu submissions reflects the same principle. Beginners should learn the submission after they understand the position that makes it available.

Sweeps and Escapes Built as Pairs

A sweep and an escape solve different versions of the same problem. The sweep helps you move from bottom to top. The escape helps you move from danger to space, guard or another defensible position. Training them together gives you a decision to make instead of a list to memorise.

Closed guard and the posture battle

A closed guard scissor sweep works when your partner's posture, base and weight give you an angle. You create a frame, move your hips, use one leg as a blocking lever and direct the opponent over the other side. The cue is often a forward posture or a hand position that lets you control the upper body.

The matching defensive skill is the posture-up escape from closed guard. The top player builds a stable base, keeps the spine organised and works to open the legs without leaning into the sweep. If your partner rises and creates space, that's your cue to stop forcing the scissor motion and return to posture control.

Open guard and side control

The flower sweep uses a leg and upper-body control to lift and redirect a partner whose weight has moved forward. It's less about bench-pressing the opponent and more about placing your hips beneath their centre of balance. When the top player's base becomes narrow, the sweep becomes easier to time.

Once the top player passes to side control, the cross-face escape becomes central. Frame against the neck or shoulder, protect your inside space and move your hips away before recovering a knee. Don't push with straight arms against a heavy body. Build frames, then move your hips.

Turtle and mount

A back-take from turtle works when your partner's hands and knees create an opening for you to control the upper body and establish back control. The timing window appears when the turtle turns, reaches or allows a gap beside the hip. Move with control rather than jumping onto the neck.

The elbow-knee escape from mount takes the opposite route. You connect an elbow to a knee, create a small pocket of space and bring your leg inside. The movement looks modest, but it changes the alignment enough to recover half guard or another defensive position.

Offence and defence share the same question: what has your partner's posture, base or alignment just given you?

Common Mistakes Beginners Make and How to Fix Them

Safety improves when you understand what the body is being asked to do. Australian research on BJJ athletes found elbow strength imbalances that were most pronounced at extreme joint angles. The reported rapid flexion and extension torque ratio at 45° was 0.66 ± 0.18, while maximal torque ratios at 45° and 120° were 0.91 ± 0.16 and 0.88 ± 0.20, respectively, in the study available through the Australian beginner training resource. That supports a practical coaching point: controlled strength work through vulnerable end ranges deserves attention, but beginners shouldn't test those ranges recklessly during sparring.

Australian injury research reports 5.5 injuries per 1,000 training hours and 55.9 injuries per 1,000 matches, with 89% of injuries occurring during training and 79% of those training injuries occurring during sparring. Knees accounted for 25% of affected areas and shoulders for 13%, according to this Australian BJJ injury study. Another competition study recorded 9.2 injuries per 1,000 match exposures, with the elbow most commonly injured and armbars the most common mechanism, as detailed in this peer-reviewed injury analysis.

Five habits that make training safer

• Skipping the warm-up: Cold grips, neck movements and hips make technical work feel harder. Start with controlled movement, shoulder mobility and gentle grip preparation.

• Gripping with bent wrists: A folded wrist can become painful under pressure. Keep the wrist organised and change grips before fatigue turns a small mistake into a strained position.

• Using strength instead of frames: If your arms are pushing constantly, your structure probably needs adjustment. Place the forearm or knee as a frame, then move your hips.

• Tapping late: Ego turns a learning drill into a risky contest. Tap when the submission is controlled and approaching its end range, not after sharp pain appears.

• Chasing the finish: A submission attempt means little if you lose mount or back control. Hold side control calmly, keep your partner contained and only attack when your position remains secure.

A structured Australian training plan from the University of Queensland emphasises technique, movement efficiency and load management rather than relying only on mat time. It recommends separate technical, tactical and conditioning components because repeated high-intensity grappling can create neuromuscular and musculoskeletal fatigue that affects execution quality, as outlined in this evidence-based Australian BJJ plan.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/z5W_PK7ymf0

Adapting Techniques for No-Gi Training

Your first no-gi class can feel like a different sport because the fabric grips have disappeared. The underlying problems remain familiar, but you have fewer ways to slow movement. A collar choke no longer exists in the same form, while wrist control, underhooks, head position and body connection become more important.

Element	Gi	No-Gi
Primary grips	Sleeves, lapels, cuffs and the body	Wrists, elbows, shoulders, head and underhooks
Pace	Fabric can slow transitions and preserve control	Sweat and movement can make exchanges faster
Choke options	Collar-based attacks are available	Arm and head control become central
Takedown links	Gi grips influence posture and distance	Wrestling-based entries often become more direct
Attacking pathways	Lapel control can create layered positions	Front-headlock attacks and leg-entanglement entries become more prominent

What stays the same

You still need frames, posture, hip movement and positional awareness. Guard retention remains about keeping your legs and hips between you and the passer. Mount remains a balance problem. Back control still depends on preventing the opponent from turning and escaping.

What changes is the grip-fighting layer. In no-gi, you'll often pummel for inside position, fight for an underhook, control the head and use your feet to manage distance. Front-headlock attacks can follow a defended takedown or a poor posture exchange. Wrestling-integrated sequences connect standing entries to sprawls, body locks, front headlocks and ground control.

Locals Zetland's no-gi jiu-jitsu programme presents this format as a connected curriculum, with wrestling-based grips, quicker transitions and submission pathways. For a beginner, the useful checklist is simple: replace the collar grip with a wrist or head control, keep your elbows protected, expect faster changes of direction and never sacrifice balance to chase a leg attack.

Teaching BJJ to Kids, Beginners, Women and Advanced Students

A technique can be correct and still be the wrong teaching tool for a particular student. Age, confidence, experience and training goals change the way a coach should introduce pressure, contact, pace and decision-making.

Kids

Children learn best when movement has a clear game-like purpose. A coach might use a safe balance game, a hip escape race or a partner exercise where students practise making frames without pushing into the face or neck. The lesson is body awareness, respect and control, not winning every exchange.

Adult beginners

New adults need a predictable environment. A useful first drill might connect bridge, shrimp and technical stand-up, followed by a short positional round from closed guard. The coach can stop the action, reset posture and let the student solve one problem at a time before introducing live rolling.

Women

Women's classes should never assume that strength contests are the best way to build confidence. Frames, distance management, underhooks, technical stand-ups and escapes give students tools that work through structure and timing. A sample drill could begin with recovering guard from side control, then progress to standing safely after creating space.

Australian participation data indicates strong demand across age groups and notable female participation. An ABS-linked state-of-play report says women accounted for 55% of adult martial arts participation, supporting the need for programmes that welcome women as a significant part of the training community. You can review the report through Judo New South Wales.

Advanced students

Experienced students can handle more complex decision trees. A session may combine passing systems, leg-lock entries, wrestling exchanges and competition-specific conditioning, but the intensity still needs to match the athlete's recovery and technical goals.

Your First Three Months at Locals Zetland

Your first week shouldn't feel like an audition. You'll be welcomed, shown how the class works, introduced to basic movement and guided through the three core positions. A coach will pair you with someone who can work at an appropriate pace, then explain how to tap, reset and ask for help.

Wear comfortable training clothes if you don't yet have a gi, bring water and arrive ready to listen. You won't need to perform advanced Brazilian jiu jitsu techniques, spar hard or arrive already flexible. Your first session is about learning how the room operates and whether the coaching environment suits you.

Month one

Focus on posture, frames, hip movement, guard, mount, side control and back control. You'll repeat the same movements until they feel less foreign. The aim is recognition, not speed.

Month two

Add the starter submissions, paired escapes and sweeps. You'll learn why a wrist, elbow, shoulder or neck becomes exposed, and how to release safely when your partner taps. Positional drilling should still take priority over chasing finishes.

Month three

Introduce gentle sparring with clear starting positions. You may begin from closed guard or side control, solve one technical problem and reset. A first stripe, where awarded, should represent consistent attendance, coachability and developing control rather than a demand to train through pain.

If you're comparing coaching philosophies before visiting, the perspective shared by Erika from Self Defence Training Academy offers useful context on how a training environment can shape confidence and practical learning.

A free trial at Locals Jiu Jitsu Zetland or Locals Maroubra lets you meet the coaches, try a fundamentals class and experience the pace before making a decision. You'll start with positions, movement and safe partner practice, then build towards the submissions, sweeps, escapes and no-gi adaptations that make jiu jitsu a complete skill set.

---

Locals Jiu Jitsu Zetland offers structured kids, beginners, advanced and no-gi classes, with coaching that connects Brazilian jiu jitsu techniques to movement, control and safe progression. Visit Locals Jiu Jitsu Zetland to book a free trial and take your first class at a pace that meets you where you are.