Brian Glick Climbing the Jiu-Jitsu Ladder - The Art of the Climb pt.3

(This is part 3 of 4)

So, they won’t give you the arm as explained in pt.2 of our series? No problem! We pivot. This time, as your opponent is busy trying to escape, Brian turns their efforts against them, moving from guard to the back for full control. Think of it as a friendly reminder that there’s always a new way to outsmart them. This back take shifts gears but keeps the same climbing theme, only now, you’re giving your opponent a front-row seat to their own impending doom.

Guard Climb to Back Take

Sometimes the best submission isn’t a submission at all... It’s positioning. Brian demonstrates how to turn the tables when your opponent fights back, using their energy against them to transition from guard to a dominant back position. From here, the possibilities for attack multiply.

In this technique, Brian takes his systematic climb and shifts it into a back take. The difference here is subtle, but it’s crucial: instead of going for a choke or armbar, he takes advantage of his opponent’s defense to gain an even better position. Once you’re on the back, your opponent has few options left.

Now that you’ve got control of their back, you might be thinking about how to finish the fight. But what happens when they keep slipping out of those traditional submissions? In the next part of this series, Brian shows us how to set a trap with the omoplata. And just when your opponent thinks they’re safe, you transition to a Kimura for the ultimate checkmate.