Make Your Half Guard Unpassable with SBG’s Matt Thornton
Apr 29, 2022BJJEE
Many BJJ practitioners have made a career from forcing an under hook half guard and sweeping or taking the back. This is a common method of playing guard used by a lot of elite level grapplers such...
Does BJJ & MMA Make People More Humble? Matt Thornton Shares Anecdote with Randy Couture
Apr 13, 2022BJJEE
Humility is an important part of combat sports and martial arts. However, the question may arise about whether BJJ and MMA generally tend to create humble people or the opposite… People say...
Matt Thornton: ‘Our 2 Year BJJ Blue Belts Were Wiping The Floor with Krav Maga Instructors’
Apr 13, 2022BJJEE
You often hear Krav Maga marketing itself as THE self defense practice, however many people actually wonder if it really is all that it claims to be? Krav Maga “contact combat”) is a...
Three Rules for Rolling in BJJ From SBG’s Matt Thornton
Apr 13, 2022BJJEE
Guest post by Matt Thornton, founder of Straight Blast Gym International, an association of over 35 gyms worldwide engaged in training athletes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and mixed martial arts....
SBG’s Matt Thornton Explains How To Pass Guards – Without Using Your Hands
Nov 30, 2020BJJEE1 Admin
SBG’s Matt Thornton always seems to have great advice on the details that can make your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game better by a large margin; be it in your defensive or offensive game. In this...
Defending The Arm Triangle with SBG’s Matt Thornton
Nov 30, 2020BJJEE
Kata-Gatame/ Head and arm choke/ Arm Triangle choke is used as a hold down in Judo, and it is mostly used as a choke in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts. There are many schools of thought...
Advice for Doing BJJ When Over 50 by John Frankl and Matt Thornton
Aug 13, 2020BJJEE
Once you hit 50, you will need to make adjustments to the way you train. If you’re 50 and over and wondering how to stay on track in your BJJ class, then this article is for you. When you are over...
Rickson Gracie Interview with Matt Thornton
Nov 26, 2017grappler z
SBG’s Matt Thornton interviews BJJ Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend Rickson Gracie
Matt Thornton On The Evolution Of BJJ & Improving Training Methods
Mar 14, 2013BJJEE
Matt Thornton is known in the BJJ world as the founder of Straight Blast Gym International, an association of over 35 gyms worldwide engaged in training athletes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and...
Conor McGregor’s Coach Blasts Andrew Tate’s Claim That ‘BJJ is Useless in the Street’
Apr 15, 2024BJJEE
Conor McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, joined other martial arts experts in condemning Andrew Tate’s dismissive comments about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Kavanagh expressed his frustration by...
How Rickson Gracie Passes the Guard: The Most Effective Way of Passing The Guard Explained
Dec 20, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Sometimes, the „real“ BJJ secrets or not-so-obvious details to getting a lot better get revealed. This guard passing detail, presented by SBG’s Matt Thornton, falls into that category –...
This is How to Get The Armbar from Closed Guard by Breaking Posture – Every Time
Feb 11, 2022BJJEE1 Admin
Do you struggle playing the Closed Guard game? As in, no matter what you try, you just can’t get the Armbar from there? One of the primary culprits behind this problem is that you’re not...
This Small Detail Will Change Your Closed Guard Game
Mar 24, 2021BJJEE
In BJJ, closed guard is a great place to be for the one on bottom as you have so many options whereas your opponent has much less. You might consider the Closed Guard as an „old fashioned“...
Black Belt Explains What Receiving His Fifth Degree Means To Him
Mar 10, 2021BJJEE
Matt Thornton is a highly respected BJJ instructor and founder of Straight Blast Gym International, an association of over 35 gyms worldwide engaged in training athletes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu,...
A Bjj Takedown That Can Be Done By Everyone
Jan 14, 2021BJJEE
Upper body throws and takedowns look cool for the audience (and it’s DEFINITELY not fun for the guy landing on the mat) but that’s not why. There is real strategy going into this game plan!...
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s First 3 Belts Explained
Jan 14, 2021BJJEE
Written by Ryan Kellar, BJJ black belt instructor at Algonquin Fitness Zone/Impact Zone and at Team Ronin Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu . Some recent post-training conversations regarding how best to...
Advice for Doing BJJ When Over 50 from John Will
Nov 12, 2020BJJEE
Once you hit 50, you will need to make adjustments to the way you train. If you’re 50 and over and wondering how to stay on track in your BJJ class, then this article is for you. When you are over...
Defensive BJJ – (Get On Board) The Next Big Thing In Jiu-Jitsu (Early)!
Oct 14, 2020BJJEE
When was the last time you tapped? Yeah, right, I know, it was last night. Or, if you’re one of the unfortunate ones to still be in no Jiu-Jitsu lockdown it was a few months ago. Perhaps it still...
Joe Rogan On Krav Maga: ‘The Best Martial Arts Are the ones that Work on Other Martial Artists, not Just on Untrained People’
Sep 28, 2020BJJEE
You often hear Krav Maga marketing itself as THE self defense practice, however many people actually wonder if it really is all that it claims to be? Krav Maga “contact combat”) is a military...
What is ‘Aliveness’ Training in Grappling & How To Benefit From it
Jul 17, 2020BJJEE
Photo by Daria Kochetkova Photography. IG: Tebezvonu. If you train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or any other grappling art you may have already heard of ‘Aliveness‘, also referred to as alive...
Smash Through Guards By Breaking Frames in Jiu Jitsu
Apr 07, 2020BJJEE1 Admin
Okay, okay, we get it. Guard passing can get really frustrating, especially if you’re at the beginning of your BJJ journey… And it’s not just about the number of techniques out...
Rickson Gracie Black Belt Henry Akins Joins SBG BJJ Association
Mar 25, 2020BJJEE
Henry Akins, the third American to receive a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt from legendary fighter Rickson Gracie has just anounced that he has joined Straight Blast Gym International, a BJJ...
This Is Why Your Upa – Your Bridge And Roll Technique – Doesn’t Work
Mar 11, 2020BJJEE1 Admin
Let’s keep it real: there have been lots of times when you were stuck in your training partner’s or opponent’s Mount when you’ve resorted to doing the bridge and roll...
A Roadmap for Progression through the BJJ Belt System
Jan 30, 2020BJJEE
Written by Ryan Kellar, BJJ black belt instructor at Algonquin Fitness Zone/Impact Zone and at Team Ronin Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu . Some recent post-training conversations regarding how best to...
