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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Glossary
New to the mats? Explore the techniques, terms, traditions and stories that have shaped Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
- A grappling-based martial art focused on controlling an opponent on the ground and using leverage, position and submissions rather than strikes. It allows a smaller person to defend against a larger one.
- Gi
- The traditional jiu-jitsu uniform — a reinforced jacket, trousers and belt. Grips on the gi are central to gi BJJ strategy.
- No-Gi
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu trained without the gi, usually in a rashguard and shorts. Grips rely on the body rather than fabric, making the pace faster.
- Guard
- A foundational position where you are on your back (or seated) using your legs to control and attack an opponent between them.
- Closed Guard
- A guard in which your legs are wrapped around the opponent's torso with ankles crossed, limiting their movement and enabling sweeps and submissions.
- Open Guard
- Any guard where the legs are not locked around the opponent — feet, knees and grips manage distance and create attacks (e.g. spider, de la Riva).
- Mount
- A dominant top position where you sit on the opponent's torso, knees on the mat. One of the highest-scoring control positions in BJJ.
- Side Control
- A dominant pin where you control the opponent from the side, chest-to-chest, without using the legs to hold them.
- Back Control
- Controlling an opponent from behind with hooks (or a body triangle) and seatbelt grip — the most dominant position, prime for the rear naked choke.
- Sweep
- A technique that reverses position from the bottom, turning a guard into a top position and scoring points.
- Submission
- A joint lock or choke that forces an opponent to surrender (tap). The objective that ends a match.
- Tap
- Signalling surrender — tapping the opponent, mat or yourself, or saying 'tap' — to safely end a submission. Tapping is normal and how everyone learns.
- Rolling
- Live, free-form sparring against a resisting partner. Where techniques are pressure-tested at a controlled intensity.
- Armbar
- A joint lock that hyperextends the elbow by trapping the arm and using the hips as a fulcrum.
- Kimura
- A shoulder lock using a figure-four grip on the wrist and arm, rotating the shoulder behind the back.
- Americana
- A shoulder lock (keylock) applied with a figure-four grip, bending the arm the opposite way to a kimura.
- Triangle Choke
- A choke applied with the legs, trapping the opponent's neck and one arm to cut off blood flow.
- Rear Naked Choke
- A blood choke applied from back control using the arms around the neck, with no gi grips required.
- Omoplata
- A shoulder-lock submission applied using the legs to rotate the opponent's shoulder, often from guard.
- Guillotine
- A front headlock choke applied by wrapping an arm under the opponent's chin, common against takedowns.
- Ezekiel Choke
- A choke using a sleeve grip (in the gi) that can be applied even from underneath in mount.
- Did You Know? The Ezekiel Choke is named after Brazilian Olympic judoka Ezequiel Paraguassú. As a teenager, Ezequiel would travel from Brasília to Rio de Janeiro and often trained with Marcus Soares and his students. Although the choke was already a judo technique, Ezequiel became exceptionally skilled at applying it — frequently visiting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academies to improve his ne-waza (ground fighting), where he surprised many practitioners by successfully using the sleeve choke against experienced grapplers. His success made such an impression that the technique eventually became known throughout Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as the Ezekiel Choke, a name it still carries today.
- Escape
- A technique to get out of a bad or pinned position (e.g. mount or side control) and recover guard or stand up.
- Guard Pass
- Getting past an opponent's legs to establish a dominant pin such as side control or mount.
- Shrimp (Hip Escape)
- A fundamental movement creating space by pushing off the mat with the feet and moving the hips — the basis of many escapes.
- Bridge (Upa)
- Driving the hips upward off the mat to create space or off-balance an opponent, key to escaping the mount.
- Takedown
- Bringing a standing opponent to the ground, from wrestling or judo, to start grappling on top.
- Double-Leg Takedown
- A wrestling takedown attacking both legs to drive the opponent down.
- Single-Leg Takedown
- A takedown attacking one leg, lifting and steering the opponent to the mat.
- Berimbolo
- A modern inverted technique from de la Riva guard used to take the back, common in sport BJJ.
- De La Riva Guard
- An open guard that hooks the outside of the opponent's leg, enabling sweeps and back takes.
- Did You Know? Ricardo De La Riva and his brother spent about a year training under Marcus Soares as teenagers in Rio de Janeiro, out of the apartment complex where Marcus lived and taught. When Marcus's mother later sold the building, Marcus introduced De La Riva to Carlson Gracie, helping connect him to the academy where he would continue his development and eventually create the famous De La Riva Guard.
- Half Guard
- A guard where you control one of the opponent's legs between yours — a versatile position for sweeps and recovery.
- Butterfly Guard
- A seated open guard using hooks behind the opponent's thighs to elevate and sweep them.
- Frame
- Using bones (forearms, shins) rather than muscle to create structure and space against an opponent's pressure.
- Posture
- Maintaining a strong, upright spine and base to avoid being broken down and submitted, especially inside the guard.
- Base
- Balance and stability that prevents an opponent from sweeping or off-balancing you.
- Pressure
- Using bodyweight and angles to control and tire an opponent — a hallmark of the Carlson Gracie style.
- Oss / Osu
- A common expression of respect and acknowledgement on the mats, used as a greeting or affirmation.
- Open Mat
- An unstructured training session for free rolling and drilling, open to members to practice what they're learning.
- Belt Ranks
- Adult progression runs white, blue, purple, brown, then black belt, with stripes marking progress within each. Advancement is earned over years of training.
- Red Belt
- The red belt is the highest rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, reserved for those who have given a lifetime to the art (9th and 10th degree).
- Did You Know? Marcus Soares is Canada's only 9th-degree red belt — and one of the few red belts anywhere in the world who still teaches students of all ages on a regular basis.
- Lineage
- The chain of instructors a practitioner descends from. Marcus Soares BJJ traces a direct line to Carlson Gracie — a mark of authentic instruction.
- Carlson Gracie
- A legendary BJJ figure and son of Carlos Gracie, known for a pressure-heavy, competition-proven style. Marcus Soares trained directly under him.
- Did You Know? Carlson Gracie was the eldest son of Carlos Gracie and the family's leading competitor and Vale Tudo coach for decades. Marcus Soares joined his team in 1970 — its very first generation — and taught at the Carlson Gracie Academy in Copacabana.
- Carlson Gracie Team
- The competition team Carlson Gracie built — one of the most successful and feared teams in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu history, known for pressure, top control and a team-first culture.
- Did You Know? The Carlson Gracie Team dominated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition for decades, with one of the longest championship runs in combat-sports history. For over 30 years its students consistently won team titles and helped shape modern BJJ around the world — and Marcus Soares trained directly under Carlson.
- Rashguard
- A fitted athletic top worn for no-gi training (and under the gi), protecting the skin during grappling.
- Drilling
- Repeating a technique with a cooperative partner to build muscle memory before applying it live.
- Sparring
- See Rolling — live practice against resistance at a controlled intensity.
- Self-Defense
- Practical techniques to stay safe and control a situation using leverage and position rather than strength — a core aim of the academy's curriculum.
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