New Concept Jiu Jitsu’s Path to Blue Belt

Here at New Concept, we strive for open and honest relationships with each other and our students. We don’t believe in holding back on techniques or expectations. With all that jiu jitsu has to offer, it can be easy to get confused on what areas you should be working first, in order to solidify a solid foundation in jiu jitsu. So for our beginners, we have a “Path To Blue Belt” to help you understand the skills you need to build first and the expectations/standards of New Concept Jiu Jitsu.

POSITIONAL ESCAPES

To achieve a Blue belt one of the prerequisite components is to be able to escape from every major position such as, the mount, side control, guard and back control. A student must be able to have a “go to” escape from each position and a reasonable guard break, or at the very least have good submission defense. Positional escapes are extremely important when developing a good solid foundation for Jiu Jitsu. If a student learns to master the escapes, then they become extremely hard to submit which is one of the most important aspects in Jiu Jitsu and self defense.

Some of the important positional escapes are:

- Elbow (Mount) Escape: This technique is a fundamental must as it will help you escape from the mount and secure a half guard and then full guard.
- Umpa (Mount) Escape: (trap and bridge)

Framing (Side Control) Escape

Posture (Back) Escape: Developing posture will find it easier to escape from back control or out of the guard.
Submission Escapes: There are a number of submission escapes that a grappler needs to learn, although a Blue belt does not need to master these in order for promotion. It is however important that they start to enhance their abilities to defend Rear Naked Chokes, Armbars and Triangles which are the three most common submissions.

BODY POSITIONING FOR PINS AND CONTROL

Students must have a good understanding of position control, knowing the right sequence of movements when trying to control their opponents is a must. They also need to have an idea about how to correctly apply body pressure, with the right pressure and body positioning, then guard passing and transitioning becomes a lot easier. To understand body positioning they need to practice all control positions including:

Mount: Maintaining a defensive mount and transitioning to a high mount is a fundamental requirement of becoming a Blue belt.
Side Control: students need to learn short base and long base side control. They have to develop their skills in utilizing the cross face
Back Control: Learning how to control the back using hooks and a seatbelt control
Knee on Belly: Students must learn the foundations to a good knee ride, as it’s another position that can give your opponent easy guard retention.

SWEEPS

You should be able to have a couple of sweeps in your arsenal, and have at least one sweep you have mastered. Sweeps are a huge part of Jiu Jitsu, and for a Blue belt it is a necessary weapon you must learn.

Here are some foundational sweeps that a Blue belt must learn:

Scissor Sweep
Hip Bump Sweep/Kimura Sweep
Technical Stand Up: Another important fundamental is learning how to stand up in the guard. Not only is this important for sport Jiu Jitsu it is even more important in a Self defense situation.

SUBMISSION GAME

It also pays to have at least one good submission in a student’s arsenal, as the need for a finisher is very important. It would be extremely hard for a coach to award a Blue belt if the student didn’t have a go to submission. Learning how to submit is a necessary tool, because if you can finish the fight then in sports Jiu Jitsu the referee is not involved. It is also important in a more self defense aspect, as it could save a student’s life. Gaining the skill set of submission attack is how Blue belts will start to give higher belts trouble. There are a few submissions that young belts will learn and even though they don’t need to master them all, they should pick one and try to master it.

Armbar
Triangle
Rear Naked Choke: Choke is King.
Kimura

STAND UP GAME

Another important aspect for Blue belts is the stand up game. All fights begin from the feet so it is important to have knowledge in this area of grappling. Although a Blue belt doesn’t have to be able to stand with Justin Flores, they definitely need to understand basic hand placement and hand fighting, footwork and posture. They must have an understanding of base and how to keep their balance, and how to fight the hands/grips.

A fundamental must for Blue belts is:

Break Fall: The importance of correctly break falling will ensure a student doesn’t break their arms, dislocate their shoulders or take any significant damage to their neck or head.

There are takedowns that White belts will learn, but it is not a requirement to master them before receiving a Blue belt, as they take a few years to really get good at.

Single Leg Takedown

Double Leg Takedown

GUARD RETENTION

Guard retention is another non-negotiable for receiving a Blue belt. Students must acquire the ability to retain guard from all positions, as they can find themselves in deep trouble if they don’t practice it. You need a guard to attack.

PASSING THE GUARD

Passing the guard starts with breaking out of the guard, so it is important for Blue belts to be able to do both. They don’t have to be a master at the passing game, but they must have a fundamental understanding of a few components involved like:

Hand Positions: Students must know where to place their hands in order to block a guard player from sweeping or submitting

Knee Staple: Students must understand the value of manipulating an opponent’s leg and being able to trap it with a knee staple in order to attempt knee slice or backstep passes.

Posture: One of the most important aspects of guard passing is keeping a good posture, because if a guard player cannot break down the passer then it becomes easier to pass.

Blue belts have nothing to do with winning live sparring rounds or tournaments…at NC, we focus on skills and control. If you focus in these areas and on these skills first, your jiu jitsu will grow, as will you. You, and your team, will be better for it.

We look forward to seeing you on the mats.