Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game
Learn the foundational principles of Jiu-Jitsu to stay protected and calm when pinned on the mat. Master structural framing, the hip escape, and guard control to neutralize opponents using leverage rather than brute strength.
Like Duolingo, but for Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Survive and Escape the Pin and Control the Pace and Recover Position. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game
- In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, pressing an opponent off with muscle burns stamina fast and leaves you exhausted
- Placing your forearm across an opponent wedges your skeleton against their weight, holding them off with bone structure rather than muscle
- A frame along an opponent's jawline or neck keeps their shoulder from driving into your face and turning your head
- A frame against an opponent's hip stops them from creeping high onto your chest and keeps space around your waist to escape
- Pushing against an opponent's chest wastes energy and opens up arm submissions
- Lying completely flat on your back gives your opponent full chest-to-chest contact, making it easiest for them to pin your entire upper body
- Turning onto one hip reduces the surface area touching the mat, making it much harder for your opponent to flatten your shoulders
- Holding your breath under pressure creates an oxygen deficit and causes muscles to gas out within seconds during a roll
- Controlled, rhythmic exhales through the nose lower heart rate, prevent adrenaline panic, and keep your core functional
- In Jiu-Jitsu, bench-pressing a heavier opponent burns energy and rarely lifts their weight off you
- Moving your own hips away creates defensive space much faster than trying to move someone else's body
- Bridging diagonally onto one shoulder lifts the opponent's weight and tilts your hips onto their side
- Bridging straight up leaves both hips flat on the mat, where the opponent can settle right back down onto you
- A bridge onto the shoulder must come first to momentarily lighten the opponent's weight
- Pushing the hips back ('shrimping') folds the body and opens the gap between your chest and theirs
- Sliding the bottom knee into that gap creates a solid wedge that stops them from collapsing back into you
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Someone heavy is lying right on top of you. What is the best way to keep space without getting tired?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
How to learn Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game, step by step
Go in order. 11 short levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Survive and Escape the Pin
- Framing and Breathing Under Pressure
- The Hip Escape to Rebuild Guard
- 2
Control the Pace and Recover Position
- Controlling Posture in Closed Guard
- Navigating the Positional Hierarchy
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game
How do I learn Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game?
Go in order: start with Survive and Escape the Pin, then Control the Pace and Recover Position. On Tomo that's 11 short levels, about 22 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game course free?
Yes. Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game?
11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Jiu-Jitsu: Surviving the Ground Game is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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