The Bigger, Stronger Opponent in No Gi…
This is the world’s first instructional video set designed to give you an edge over bigger, stronger opponents in no gi grappling.
We’ve all had it happen to us. Some lower level, less experienced grappler shows up for class, asks you to roll, and then winds up dominating and maybe even submitting you. How did this happen? Simply because they were bigger, stronger, heavier, and more powerful than you.
When this happens it’s hard to keep things in perspective. You might even feel like you’ve been wasting your years on the mat; “I should be better than that” you say to yourself.
Anyway, it’s incredibly frustrating when the only reason you tap out to somebody is because he’s a lot bigger than you or spends all his free time lifting weights in the gym…
And without the gi the bigger, stronger opponent has an even greater advantage. Without the lapels and cuffs to help you manage his weight and prevent his control over you the larger grappler usually finds it easier to use size and strength to force his way past the defenses your defenses, apply his superior weight, and crush you.
Or when you’re passing the guard you DON’T have the cuffs on his pants to kill the movement and strength of his powerful legs…
Without the gi the smaller, weaker person is at a huge disadvantage.
But things don’t need to be this way. There is hope in no gi, even if you’re fighting a person significantly bigger than yourself.
You just have to know what to do…
How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent in No Gi is a 5 DVD set featuring the no gi techniques, strategies and tactics of multiple-time world champion Emily Kwok working together with Stephan Kesting of Grapplearts.com.
In this instructional set you’ll learn:
- The single-most important thing you need to do before even thinking about taking an opponent down,
- The best ‘natural handles’ that stake your opponent to the ground, limit his mobility, and make it MUCH easier for you to pass his guard in no gi grappling,
- How to make yourself feel much heavier on your opponent WITHOUT the risk of ending up on the bottom after one of those ‘clutch and roll’ maneuvers that big guys are so fond of,
- Tips, tweaks and tricks to finish the rear naked choke (even on a much bigger, fully resisting opponent),
- The key to avoiding the feeling of being totally lost, not knowing what to do as soon as the gi comes off,
- Step-by-step instructions to take your no gi rear mount to the next level,
- Three common guard breaking mistake that allow your opponents to destroy your posture and dominate the match,
- How to ‘gang up’ on your opponent so that even if he’s bigger and stronger than you you can still control him and prevent him from controlling you,
- Simple techniques to demystify the takedown boogie man. Get the match to the ground on your terms, even if you’re not a natural wrestler and are severely lacking in the explosive athleticism department,
- Emily’s two favorite techniques for escaping the mount position in no gi that work even against barrel-chested opponents 50 lbs heavier than you
- Three seldom taught adjustments to stabilize the mount position in no gi, even on a significantly larger opponent,
- The exact adjustments you need to make to prevent your opponent from settling his weight on top of you in half guard (by not getting flattened out you stay mobile and preserve the ability to get back to a more advantageous position),
- The best way to block your opponent from getting his grips when you’re turtled. And exactly how to safely get back to a good position after that,
- The three best ways to open the closed guard of a bigger opponent in no gi that also set you up for the most successful guard passes possible,
- The key adjustments that makes finishing the head and arm choke AND the north-south choke much easier,
- An easy tweak that keeps you from getting swept in your opponent’s half guard,
- Getting the underhook is one of the keys to passing the half guard in no gi. Here are four details that allow you to dominate the battle for the underhook in no gi grappling,
- A simple drill that makes attacking with the powerful single leg X Guard position easy and instinctive,
- There’s a lot more to controlling side mount than simply locking your hands together and squeezing as hard as you can. Learn the subtle adjustments that control your opponent without tiring yourself out, while also leaving you in a position to launch your own submission attacks,
- The key to controlling your opponent regardless of whether you’re holding him in side mount, full mount or rear mount,
- A drill to make your transitions smooth and instinctive, so that you’ll always have good options in a scramble,
- How to prevent your opponent from escaping during transitions,
- Have you given up on the mount? Here are 3 of Emily’s sneakiest techniques to get to the mount position that actually use your opponent’s size and reactions against him,
- Techniques and strategies that’ll make your guard so aggressive that you take control of the pace and the outcome of the match right from the word ‘go’,
- Think that the double leg underhook pass is only a ‘big guy’ move? Think again! With Emily’s tweaks and details you’ll be able to use it on a larger opponent, even using his own reactions against him, making this guard pass easier than ever,
- A masterclass on sinking and finishing the head and arm choke in no gi, even against bigger stronger opponents,
- How to open even the most stubborn of closed guards, regardless of how strong and muscular your opponent’s legs are,
- How to safely pull guard against a superior standup wrestler in such a way that his reactions set up and actually help your own sweeps and attacks,
- Have you ever been frustrated when you swept an opponent only to have him scramble away? Here’s an easy answer to stop that from happening in the future…
- How to keep your posture in the guard of a bigger opponent, even when he’s determined to break you down with brute force and prevent you from passing,
- The seven must-know grips for no gi grappling, and when to use them!
- How to blend your gi and no gi grappling so that you’re not wasting your training time developing two entirely different games,
- Simple low-risk and high-reward takedowns you can use even if you’re intimidated by the whole concept of standup wrestling and takedowns,
- How to shut down your opponent’s ability to move in the half guard and then cut through his legs to side control, even when you don’t have gi handles to control your opponent with,
- A super-cool trick to achieve rear mount, even if your opponent is 100% focused on blocking your hooks from getting in,
- A secret for applying chokes that actually circumvents your opponent’s defenses much better than simply trying to slam the choke on quickly,
- A step-by-step formula for shutting down your opponent’s deep half guard position, and then getting to a dominant position of your own,
- A gameplan for guard sweeps, including sure-fire strategies and combinations for when your initial sweep doesn’t work,
- Tired of forgetting techniques you’ve just learned? Here’s how to remember techniques and avoid being overwhelmed by the too-much-information syndrome,
- A little known adjustment of your leg position that makes escaping from the mount of a bigger person much easier…
- Practical real life advice on using your partner’s momentum and natural reactions against him so that you’re not straining against his dead weight,
- Looking to take the back of a bigger, stronger opponent? Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to get to rear mount (and how to prevent him from escaping while you’re getting there),
- Simple adjustments that deny your opponent his big guy ‘bench press’ defenses,
- And much more!
Who is Emily Kwok?
Here are some good reasons why you should listen to what Emily has to say about no gi grappling:
Emily Kwok is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt
The black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the hardest ranks to achieve in all martial arts. It’s not uncommon for people to spend 8 to 12 years training full time to achieve this rank. And when a woman gets her BJJ black belt you know her technique is going to be at an especially high level. It has to be, given that they’ve mostly been training against bigger, stronger men!
Emily has been a BJJ black belt for more than 4 years. And she’s continued to grow and learn, adding new techniques to her repertoire and testing them on the mats to make sure that they really work.
In How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent in No Gi Emily Kwok shares her techniques and strategies for dealing with people much heavier and stronger than herself when she can’t rely on gi-based grips or techniques. She also reveals the newest techniques and strategies in her arsenal of techniques for defending against, escaping from, sweeping, passing and submitting opponents in no gi grappling.
She actually trains and competes without the gi
Some BJJ instructors train only with the gi. That’s fine if their students only ever want to train and compete with the gi. But no gi grappling is becoming more popular, so many of these black belts are forced to teach no gi techniques to retain their students. Most of the time they then simply try to adapt their gi techniques as they go along.
But not everything that works in a gi-based environment necessarily works in no gi…
Emily has put in the time to develop her no gi skills and develop her understanding of the faster-paced no gi grappling game. This has resulted in a very versatile game that doesn’t change too much when she transitions from gi to no gi; this is because she uses techniques that work in both areas, and knows which adjustments make the transition back and forth between gi and no gi much easier.
How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent in No Gi is a great resource to make sure that your grappling skills work in the no gi environment. Let Emily give you some help and guidance with techniques that really work once you get rid of the gi.
Emily is a gi and a no gi champion
Emily has proven her techniques in both gi and no gi competition at the highest level.
Her many accomplishments include taking gold at the Pan Am No Gi Championships in the Absolute (no weight limit) division and a silver medal in the World No-Gi Championships. She has also won the BJJ Mundials at the black belt level (with a gi). And she’s been victorious in both amateur and professional MMA fights in Japan and Korea, so her techniques translate to that arena as well!
From these achievements you can see Emily has a very strong background competing in no gi submission grappling. That’s why if she tells you that something works under pressure you’d better believe her!
Emily has learned from some of the very best people
Emily has learned from many of the very best instructors in the world, including Marcus Soares, Ricardo Almeida and Renzo Gracie.
And, most importantly, she’s currently training and working with Marcelo Garcia, who has influenced her game in very significant ways…
(In case you don’t know her teacher, Marcelo Garcia is probably the most famous grappler active today. He’s a 5 time BJJ world champion and 4 time no-gi ADCC champion. And he’s also tapped out quite a few much larger world-class opponents in the open division.)
Emily feels that training with Marcelo has opened her eyes to many new perspectives and strategies, and she is truly excited to be able to share some of the techniques she has absorbed and blended into her game over time. So in addition to all her other experience, you also get the benefit of Emily reverse-engineering Marcelo’s game for you!
Finally, because Emily has almost always been smaller than the people she’s learned from, she has really focussed on the techniques most likely to work when there’s a large size difference between her and her opponent. She is now willing to pass those techniques on to you.
Emily is a born teacher
Unlike many competitors, Emily has consciously developed her teaching and coaching skills. This allows her to convey information and techniques in a way that makes them easy to learn and quick for students to implement.
This has made her one of the most sought-after instructors on the seminar and grappling camp circuit.
She’s a Head Instructor and Co-Founder of Womens Grappling, the only organization that hosts women’s-only training camps throughout North America. And she runs a school in Princeton, New Jersey, where she teaches both gi and no gi grappling to men and women who come to her with varying degrees of athleticism, size and experience level.
This teaching experience allows Emily to understand the most common roadblocks that people run into when facing larger, bigger, stronger, heavier opponents. And even more importantly, how to sidestep those roadblocks and then tap those bigger people out using size-proof strategies, tactics and techniques.
Is there Overlap with Emily’s Previous Set?
In 2011 Emily and I published the best-selling How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent, Series 1. We wore the gi for much of that first series, but emphasized that many of those techniques and strategies were directly transferrable to no gi.
This second set has almost no overlap with the first set.
We didn’t want it to be a no gi rehash of the first series. First of all, that would be boring. Secondly, it would be totally unfair to you, the potential audience. Thirdly, with my unconditional 365 day moneyback guarantee it would be financially foolish.
This second no gi set is a standalone product. But if you already own the first set then you’ll find that the material on the two DVD series dovetails together very nicely, and that the no gi set picks up where series 1 left off.
The bottom line is that you can use Emily’s two sets together, or just pick up one for now. It’s your choice. Either option will make you a better grappler.
DVD 1: No Gi Gripping and Takedowns
The single most important thing you can do to defend yourself against a bigger, stronger opponent, and then to launch your own offense, is to control the grips.
This sounds so simple, but it’s actually a very technical area, where knowing the right thing to do can totally nullify the size and strength advantage of your opponent. In this video Emily gives you the specific techniques, strategies and mindset that will allow you to dominate the gripping game both on the feet and on the ground.
Once you’ve learned the correct gripping strategies to keep yourself safe and control your opponent, Emily then shares the best low-risk strategies for getting the fight to the ground in a way that keeps things in your favor. She covers the takedowns that don’t require crazy athleticism, how set up taking your opponent’s back while still on your feet, and how to safely pull guard in a way that immediately sets up your sweeps and attacks.
- Introduction to No Gi
- The Gable Grip
- The Two-on-One
- The Arm Drag
- Head Control
- Double Unders
- Underhooks
- The Seatbelt
- Hooking with the Feet
- Hand Placement from the Bottom
- Hand Placement from the Top
- Introduction to No Gi Takedowns
- Fixing the Common Takedown Mistakes
- My Tie or No Tie
- Armdrag to Double Leg
- Armdrag to Back
- Armdrag to Backwards Trip
- Inside Trip from Two-on-One
- Leg Pick from Two-on-One
- Single Leg X Guard from Two-on-One
- Pulling Guard
- Outside Trip from Double Unders
- Single Leg Takedown from Head Control
- High Leg Finish from Single Leg Takedown
DVD 2: No Gi Guard Passing
Passing the guard is the key to dominating and submitting opponents of any size. But if you want guard passes that work reliably in no gi, and especially on bigger, stronger opponents, then you’ll need to make some important adjustments.
On the one hand, in no gi you can take advantage of the inherent slipperiness and the lack of control to advance your position. On the other hand, though, you don’t want to ignore the points of control that that do exist. In fact, the no gi environment makes those few remaining points of control even more important.
In this section Emily shows you how to combine advanced guard passing strategies with simple tweaks and techniques that allow you to cut through the closed, open and half guard in a no gi situation. Even if your opponent has a significant size and strength advantage over you.
- Intro to No Gi Guard Passing
- Breaking vs. Passing the Guard
- Opening the Guard form the Knees
- Standing vs Kneeling Guard Breaks
- Opening the Guard on the Feet 1
- Opening the Guard on the Feet 2
- Guard Passing Strategies
- Inside Knee Cut
- Outside Knee Wedge
- Backstep Pass
- Double Arm Underhook Pass
- Double Leg Underhook Pass
- Directional Change vs Z Guard
- Knee Bind to Mount vs Half Guard
- Passing vs Deep Half Guard
DVD 3: No Gi Guard Sweeps and Submissions
If you’re on your back and fighting from the guard in a no gi situation you can immediately throw out about 75% of the standard BJJ arsenal. Most sweeps, submissions, and strategies from the bottom just won’t work without the gi to hold onto.
But that doesn’t mean the situation is hopeless. By focusing on the specific guard positions and techniques that work in no gi you CAN stay safe, defend the guard pass, and sweep your opponent in order to get yourself to a dominant pinning position.
In this section Emily also goes over the rarely-taught details that make the most powerful no gi submissions so devastatingly effective.
- Intro to No Gi Guard Sweeps
- Common No Gi Sweeping Mistakes
- How to Maintain Good Position
- Two-on-One Butterfly Sweep
- Inside Leg Butterfly Sweep
- Butterfly to Single Leg X Guard
- Butterfly to Full X Guard and Sweep
- Butterfly to de la Riva Sweep
- Half Guard Strategies
- Sweeping vs the Backstep Guard Pass
- Intro to No Gi Submissions
- Trachea Choke
- Arm-In Guillotine
- Ambush Armbar from Modified Scarfhold
- Guard Pass to Footlock
- Guard Pass to Kneebar
- Modifying the Head and Arm Choke
- Applying the Rear Naked Choke against Resistance
DVD 4: Advanced No Gi Control, and Crushproofing your Bottom Game
Just because your opponent isn’t wearing a gi DOESN’T mean the entire match has to be a crazy scramble. If you know what to do then you CAN safely control your opponent (and the entire match), even if he outweighs you by many pounds.
In this section Emily Kwok takes you through the best ways to achieve and maintain control over your opponent in no gi. The techniques, concepts, adjustments, tricks and tips she shares here will tighten your control in many of the most common grappling positions.
In grappling things don’t always go according to plan, and you will inevitably end up in bad positions from time to time. That’s why Emily then shares some of her favorite techniques and strategies to become ‘crushproof’ and get back into the game when you end up on the bottom.
- Advanced No Gi Control
- Pummeling on the Feet
- Half Guard Pummeling
- Head and Arm Control
- Top Control Flow Drill
- Side Control to Mount
- Stabilizing the Mount
- Mount to Back Position
- Advanced Rear Mount Legwork
- Controlling the Turtle
- Crushproofing your Bottom Game
- Framing from Z Guard
- Framing for Reguarding
- Framing Escape from Mount
- Survival and Reguarding from Turtle
- Modified Barrel Roll from Turtle
DVD 5: Submission Pathways
This final DVD was filmed during a semi-private seminar in which Emily worked on no gi grappling with white, blue, brown and blackbelts. The focus was the techniques, strategies and mindset that take you from the initial tie-up through to finally tapping your opponent out with a match-ending submission.
Emily covers training in pathways so your techniques flow smoothly from one to another, and that you have appropriate reactions to your opponent’s resistance.
A highlight of this DVD is watching Emily coach and work with the seminar participants, helping them trouble-shoot and fine-tune their techniques. By being a fly on the wall during this Q&A process, when it comes time for you to use these same techniques on the mat, most of your questions will already have been answered!
365 Day Unconditional Guarantee
My name is Stephan Kesting. I’m a BJJ black belt, an instructor in Combat Submission Wrestling, and have over 30 years of experience in the martial arts. I’ve been running Grapplearts.com since 2002.
My reputation is very important to me. That’s why I don’t want you to be unhappy with this set if you decide to purchase it. So let me reassure you about something…
Let’s say you get the DVDs and you don’t like them. Maybe they don’t live up to the hype. Maybe they didn’t IMMEDIATELY give you answers to your problems.
The exact reason doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that if you’re not happy with them for any reason at all…
…then you can return them to me anytime in the next 365 days for a full, no-questions-asked, hassle-free, refund.
I’d rather have you as my friend than keep you as a disgruntled customer. Plus, the less risky that I make it for you to check out my products, then the more likely you are to get other products of mine in the future. So that makes it win-win.
My 365 day, all-your-money-back guarantee takes all the risk off of you and puts it onto me. Don’t you wish everything you bought had a guarantee like that? Either you think it’s awesome or you don’t pay, and that’s just the way it should be!
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Stephan Kesting
Grapplearts.com
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