Finishing mechanics in Jiu-Jitsu

Finishing mechanics in Jiu-Jitsu should always be on your mind. A distinctive feature of our coaching style here at Savarese BJJ Academy (northnjbjj.com) is an unusually heavy emphasis on finishing mechanics for all the major submission holds that we teach at our Academy. So often I see talented athletes do a fine job of entering into a submission and controlling their opponent, but then exhibit weak finishing mechanics at the crucial moment when submission victory was within their grasp. Furthermore, the hold is now lost. As a BJJ practitioner, you must have a very clear understanding of the mechanical details that make a given submission work against determined resistance. Perhaps more than any other aspect of Jiu-Jitsu, the submissions game is the one where the smallest errors of placement of hands, feet or angles and application of directions of force will have the most detrimental effects. Study your favorite submissions with an eye for detail that surpasses all other aspects of the game and you will soon find that opponents who used to easily slip away from you are now trapped and helpless when you get to your finishing positions. Make your primary focus tightness, restrictions of movement and precision in placement of angles rather than application of power or strength. If you base your entire BJJ game on strength, you will lose every time you face an opponent who is stronger than you. Observe the impressive tightness of the kimura used by Professor Rafael Lovato Jr to win this Fight To Win match against a super tough opponent in Ricardo Demente, such is the precise placement of hands, head and elbows, along with the rotational direction of force that we favor  Take pride in your finishing mechanics, once you master them you will have a set of weapons that opponents will fear and upon which you can attach great faith.