Vulkan Fight Wear Company was formed in 2003 in Brazil and quickly made their mark with some of the best BJJ to hit the market in a long time. Vulkan have continued their success and in my opinion make the best bjj gi of all time, the Vulkan Pro light. The jacket is made from a honey comb weave fabric that makes this GI light weight but also very comfortable plus it also helps the GI dry quicker. The Pro Light is one of the lightest Jiu Jitsu GIs around making it ideal for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition and hot summer days. The GI has also been treated using an industrial process to minimize the chance of shrinkage after washing it. The collar of the Vulkan kimono has a rubber insert making it very comfortable because the lapel has better flexibility and it can shape itself to your neck. The Pro light comes in white, blue, black, red, yellow and white/blue so there really is a colour for everyone. For me the Pro light is the best BJJ GI because it ticks all the boxes that a good BJJ GI should like be strong, durable, light weight and comfortable and have a tailored fit.
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Essential Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Drills
In Brazilian jiu jitsu its never a good idea to be flat on your back because its it limits your ability to move around and it also gives your opponent opportunities to be offensive against you. when you do find yourself on your back the shrimp move can be an excellent technique to use to get yourself on to your side and create enough space between you and your opponent. Once youve got that space you can use it to escape to your feet or to execute an attack. This is more of a defensive move than an attacking move and should be drilled every time you train possibly in the warm up. When starting out its important to do the moves slowly so that you keep the correct form but with experience you can do the drill with speed.
Sometimes when sparring in a bjj gi there’s a need to disengage from the fight and the best way to do this is to stand in posture. An example of this is when your opponent is shutting down your sweeps and attacks because he has the weight and leverage advantage. This position is a battle of wills and you can waste a lot of energy. A way around this is to stand to posture. This is one of the most basic of techniques but it is also an essential one to learn. You should base with one of your arms and keep your opponent away with your other arm. When you try to stand you should keep good posture in your back and shoulders. This technique should be drilled on a weekly basis and added to your warm up.
When fighting in a bjj gi from your back its a good idea to become adequate in various attacks from the guard. Apart from the obvious benefits like submitting your opponent it attacks can also be used to setup sweeps and escapes. One of the main attacks from the guard is the arm bar. This is one of the very first techniques you will learn but you will also continue to use it through your training. When drilling the arm bar you should focus on doing all of the parts of the technique correctly, slowing down if you need to. You should focus on positioning hips to the side, apply downward pressure with your legs to stop your opponent from posturing up and control his arm properly. When you can do all of these key points correctly you can then add speed.
The triangle is another essential move that you should learn from the BJJ guard. It can be a very high percentage attack and should not be over looked. For it to be effective you will need to focus on learning the correct movements and learn to not rush or skip through them. The purpose of the triangle drill is to learn how to lift your hips in the air and then to shift your hips from side to side. A key point to remember is to bridge your hips high in the air because this allows you to snare your opponents head in case he postures up.
The omoplata shoulder lock is a very effective technique in Brazilian jiu jitsu. It is one of the first techniques you learn but its one that you will use throughout you fighting career. A great way to practice the omoplata is by doing it with no hands. By training it without the use of your hands you you build up the conditioning in your legs and get better at the movement because it can be an awkward movement to get used to.
Breaking Posture in Guard
One of the most important things to learn in BJJ is breaking some ones posture. In Jiu Jitsu posture is king. If you cannot break you opponents posture then you won’t be doing much to him in terms of attacks. When you’re attempting to use an attacking closed guard then breaking his posture is essential. Your opponent is going to do everything in his power to keep his posture and try to keep a safe distance from you and by doing this it makes it easier for him to avoid submissions. For you to be effective you will need to break his posture and there are various ways you can do this. Some of the best ways include pulling down on his lapel, pulling his sleeves and drawing him on to you with the use of your legs. Below we will outline the best ways to break some ones posture in guard.
One of the first things you will notice when you have someone in your closed guard is that they will try to control you by gripping you by your bjj gi most likely on your lapel and on your trousers. The idea behind this is that they can control your hips with the grip on your trousers and control you from sitting up with the grip on your lapel. If you allow your opponent to establish these grips then you’re making things so much harder for yourself because it’s harder to stop the grips than to break them. Stopping your opponent from getting these grips can be done in various ways and they include opening your GI out and by grip fighting.
As much as you try to stop your opponent establishing grips when in your guard there will be times when he will get the grips and you will need to know how to break his posture from this position. A great way to do this is by using his elbows to pull him forward. The way you do this is by taking an outside grip on his elbows and simultaneously opening out his elbows and drawing him with your legs. Another point to remember is that you should move your head to the side opposite to the side that you’re moving your opponent to, to avoid his head colliding with yours.
There will be times when your opponent will be stronger than you and certain techniques will be made harder because of the difference in strength. A great way to counter this difference in strength is to gain head control. This can be done by slipping one of your arms underneath one of his arms and then reaching round the back of his head and pulling him on to you. One other thing to consider is his other arm this can sometimes give you problems the best way to counter these problems before they happen is to use your free arm and to control his arm by gripping his sleeve.
If your opponent is determined to keep his posture in your guard then it can get very difficult to break him down this is why you will need to know different techniques to achieve your goal. As you progress in your bjj gi you will not only want to survive you will want to attack and submit your opponent. A great way to do this from guard is to use the whizzer control. This is done by wrapping your arm around your opponents and then gripping his lapel. This is a great way to control your opponent and to also trap his arm and this position can then be used to setup various submissions including arm bars, triangles and omoplatas.
BJJ Choke attacks
In Brazilian jiu jitsu choke attacks are very effective especially when training in the GI because you have added attacks due to the use of the lapel. Today we are going to focus on chokes from the closed guard. Some of the most popular choke attacks include collar chokes, arm chokes and triangle chokes. Although all of the chokes may look different the goal is the same, to cut off the blood to your opponent’s brain. This is done by putting pressure on your opponent’s carotid arteries which are on either side of your neck. Chokes can be very effective and will either submit your opponent of put him unconscious. Some common mistakes people make are to put all their strength in to the choke straight away and burn out there arms and another mistake is to apply pressure in spurts and this lets the blood still flow. The key to choke successfully is to keep constant pressure through the choke this stops the blood flow and the choke gets worse the longer its applied.
Using your opponent’s bjj gi collar to choke him is a highly effective way to finish him. It’s important with most collar chokes to get a deep first grip on the collar and also to position the blade of your wrist across one of his carotid arteries. The second grip is also important it doesn’t have to be as deep because the second grip is used as the stabilizer. Once both grips are established your draw your opponent towards you and open out your elbows and this is what creates the pressure on his carotid arteries and severs the blood to the brain. Although there are a lot of defences to collar chokes they are great for setting up other attacks. To stop the attack your opponent will have to uses his hands to release the pressure from your hands and it’s from this position you can normally transition to an arm bar or triangle choke.
Arm chokes include arm triangles and guillotines. To establish either of these techniques you will need to close the distance between you both. This can be done either by sitting up or by dragging him down. Like all other chokes its best practice to keep constant pressure when applying them. Another mistake most people make is to apply either choke when flat on their back. This can cause unnecessary pressure for you so the best way to counter this is to apply the choke when you’re on your side.
One of the most popular and effective chokes in a bjj gi is the triangle choke. Most people can get to the position triangle choke position but have problems with the finish. One of the main things to remember is to control your opponents head otherwise they can posture out of it. The next thing to consider is your position. Most people try to finish from being directly in front of your opponent. This creates two problems. Firstly it allows your opponent to stack you and you definitely don’t want to be stacked and secondly it makes it harder to get the finish because it’s hard to get your leg directly across his neck. A lot of the time if you’re in front of your opponent your leg will be partly on his neck and partly down his back and this will not get the choke. The best way to get the best position and get the finish is to angle your body off to the side. This helps in two ways. Firstly it stops the ability for your opponent to stack you and secondly you can get the best angle to position your leg across his neck.
Arm Chokes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Arm chokes can be some of the most effective attacks in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The way they work is by using your arms to cut off the blood supply to your opponent’s carotid arteries. There are many variations including the guillotine, Peruvian neck tie and rear naked choke to name a few. Below we will outline some of the most popular.
The Guillotine is one of the most popular attacks in a bjj gi and is also one of the first chokes you learn but will always stay effective through your career. Marcello Garcia is known for the Guillotine and uses to beat some of the world’s best. An ideal position to use the guillotine is from the closed guard. If he’s keeping good posture you can sit up in to him and his natural reaction is to drive you back down and this is the ideal time to wrap your arm around his neck and go for the guillotine attack. It’s important to cup your palm over his chin and pull his head deep in to your arm pit this helps to secure the head and also make a tight choke.
The Arm Triangle is an effective move in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and can be done from the top position like the mount or from the closed guard although it’s harder to finish from the closed guard than it is from the top. This choke works is by using one of your arms to cut off the blood from one side of the neck and also by using one of his own arms to cut off the other side of his necks blood supply. This is a very effective technique but a lot of people tend to struggle with it. The reason for this is that they use their entire squeeze straight away on the choke but the key to an effective choke is to squeeze at a constant pressure.
The Leg Triangle is one of the most effective attacks in BJJ and can be done in a BJJ GI or in No-Gi. It can be a devastating move when done correctly. It involves wrapping one of your legs around your opponent’s neck and then locking your foot underneath your other knee. Once you have the position locked you the pull down on your opponent’s neck and this applies the choke.
Collar chokes are awesome chokes that can be done from various positions in BJJ but they require the use of the bjj gi collar to apply the choke. There are also variations of collar chokes that use one grip of the collar and one grip not on the collar but on another part of the BJJ GI.
The Rear Naked Choke is one of the most popular and effective attacks to use in BJJ GI Jiu Jitsu and also in NO-GI and MMA. The reason that the RNC is so effective is that it is done when you have control of your opponent from his back and it’s this that makes it harder from him to defend his self. This choke is done by putting your arm under your opponents chin and then putting the hand of that arm in the elbow crease of your other arm and then squeezing from there.
The Peruvian neck tie is a similar attack to the guillotine but instead of being in front of your opponent you’re to the side of him and you place your leg over his head. This applies more pressure to the choke and it also stops him from being able to roll out of the technique. This choke is popular in BJJ but probably even more popular in Mixed Martial Arts.
Submission sniper BJJ GI Review
Background info – submission sniper is a relatively new BJJ GI company that has taken the UK by storm in 2011. They started out with the submission sniper black ops bjj gi and although it was warmly received by some there were a lot of people who was undecided on it. They then brought out the limited edition Braulio Estima BJJ GI and it sold like hot cakes! 2012 should be a big year for submission sniper they are definitely one to watch.
Flagship Models – Black ops, Limited Edition Braulio Estima and Avenger Gi
Colours – Currently Submission Sniper only produce white and black BJJ Gi’s but with their rise in popularity I am sure that they will start to produce blue and navy blue Gi’s.
Materials Gi Top – The Submission Sniper Braulio Gi’s are made from a very nice 450GSM pearl weave material that is light in weight and also very soft and supple to the touch. The Avenger Gi is made from a very light Gold weave. The gold weave used is very soft but also very strong. The Gi jacket has a tailored fit so that sleeves are nice and tight to the arms. All of the joins are triple stitched so that they are built to last.
Materials Trousers – The trousers are made from a very light 8oz cotton material and have a double lied knee area for extra strength and durability.
Patches – All of the patches are fully embroidered and have double stitch lines and are a lot stronger than most other patches.
I think that Submission Sniper makes excellent bjj gi and i can see big things from them in the near future. Their Gi’s are very well made and excellent value for money. One thing they could do to further the brand is add more variation in colours but I’m sure they will do this in the not too distant future.