There are a lot of techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As a matter of fact, there are so many of them that there’s no way you’ll be able to learn them all. But what you can do is focus on BJJ concepts; they are much smaller in number and they’ll set you up for a lifetime of progress – simply because you’ll be able to apply them across different situations.
One of the most important concepts in Jiu-Jitsu is the “center line concept”. Gui Mendes explains why it’s so important from the Closed Guard position.

THE CENTER LINE CONCEPT

If you want to attack the opponent’s arm from Closed Guard, or if you want to hit a sweep, then one of the best ways to start your setup is by pulling their arm across your center line. Essentially, this means that you’ll be pulling their arm across the midsection of your torso; more specifically, their elbow across your torso.
This isolates their arm and makes them unable to post on the trapped side. To make sure their arm stays trapped, you should pull them in with your knees and grab behind their back – this keeps their posture broken.

From there, you can either go for a sweep, a backtake, or an Armbar. It all depends on the opponent’s reaction.
Watch Gui Mendes explain the importance of this concept and how to use it in more detail, on the video below:

Use lessons on controlling and managing distance from guard to choose the most effective strategies and positions to attack with, including De La Riva, Reverse De La Riva, X Guard, and more

• Gui Mendes is one of BJJ’s most respected black belts, with 4 world championships at black belt and tons of elite students at his academy Art Of Jiu-Jitsu.
• Get real, useable lessons from Gui breaking down his own rolling, so he can narrate how he is implementing these movements and ideas.