Brazilian jiu-jitsu learning path
39 skills in a suggested learning order. Difficulty is the learning order scaled from 1 to 5.
Beginner (13 skills)
| Step | Skill | What you learn | Difficulty | Tutorials reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BJJ for beginners | What happens in your first class, what to bring and how to survive it. | 1.0 / 5 | 38 |
| 2 | BJJ belt system | How the belts and stripes work and what each level means. | 1.1 / 5 | 37 |
| 3 | Breakfalls | Land safely from throws and takedowns. | 1.2 / 5 | 35 |
| 4 | Hip escape (shrimp) | The core movement for creating space and escaping bottom positions. | 1.3 / 5 | 38 |
| 5 | Bridging | Use the hips to lift and off-balance an opponent on top. | 1.4 / 5 | 35 |
| 6 | Posture and base | Stay upright and heavy so you are hard to sweep or submit. | 1.5 / 5 | 36 |
| 7 | Closed guard | Control, break posture and attack from closed guard. | 1.6 / 5 | 41 |
| 8 | Mount | Keep the mount and stop your opponent bucking you off. | 1.7 / 5 | 40 |
| 9 | Side control | Hold and apply pressure from side control. | 1.8 / 5 | 41 |
| 10 | Mount escape | Escape the mount with the bridge-and-roll and elbow-knee escape. | 1.9 / 5 | 41 |
| 11 | Side control escape | Frame, shrimp and recover guard from under side control. | 2.0 / 5 | 40 |
| 12 | Scissor sweep | The fundamental closed-guard sweep every white belt learns. | 2.2 / 5 | 40 |
| 13 | Armbar | Attack the armbar from guard and mount. | 2.3 / 5 | 40 |
Intermediate (13 skills)
| Step | Skill | What you learn | Difficulty | Tutorials reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Half guard | Play and recover from half guard instead of getting flattened. | 2.4 / 5 | 41 |
| 15 | Back control | Take and keep the back with hooks and seatbelt grip. | 2.5 / 5 | 42 |
| 16 | Back escape | Strip the hooks and escape back control before the choke. | 2.6 / 5 | 42 |
| 17 | Hip bump sweep | Sit up and bump to reverse the position from guard. | 2.7 / 5 | 40 |
| 18 | Americana | Finish the americana shoulder lock from mount and side control. | 2.8 / 5 | 40 |
| 19 | Kimura | Attack the kimura from guard, side control and half guard. | 2.9 / 5 | 37 |
| 20 | Rear naked choke | Finish the rear naked choke from back control. | 3.0 / 5 | 40 |
| 21 | Triangle choke | Set up, lock and finish the triangle. | 3.1 / 5 | 36 |
| 22 | Guillotine choke | Catch and finish the guillotine, high elbow and arm-in. | 3.2 / 5 | 43 |
| 23 | Breaking closed guard | Open a locked closed guard before you can start passing. | 3.3 / 5 | 40 |
| 24 | Toreando pass | Pass by controlling the legs and moving around them. | 3.4 / 5 | 39 |
| 25 | Knee cut pass | Cut through the guard with a knee slice. | 3.5 / 5 | 40 |
| 26 | Competition points and rules | How points, advantages and penalties work in a BJJ match. | 3.6 / 5 | 36 |
Advanced (13 skills)
| Step | Skill | What you learn | Difficulty | Tutorials reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Gi vs no-gi | How grips, pace and technique differ between gi and no-gi. | 3.7 / 5 | 38 |
| 28 | Arm triangle | Finish the head-and-arm choke from mount and side control. | 3.8 / 5 | 35 |
| 29 | Open guard | Use grips and frames to control distance in open guard. | 4.0 / 5 | 41 |
| 30 | Guard retention | Stop your guard being passed with frames, hips and timing. | 4.0 / 5 | 34 |
| 31 | Butterfly guard | Elevate and off-balance with butterfly hooks. | 4.2 / 5 | 38 |
| 32 | Butterfly sweep | Elevate and sweep with the butterfly hook. | 4.3 / 5 | 35 |
| 33 | Knee on belly | Hold, attack and transition from knee on belly. | 4.4 / 5 | 35 |
| 34 | Turtle position | Attack and defend the turtle. | 4.5 / 5 | 41 |
| 35 | Leg drag pass | Drag the legs across to pass and take the back. | 4.6 / 5 | 38 |
| 36 | Double leg takedown | Shoot, penetrate and finish the double leg. | 4.7 / 5 | 37 |
| 37 | Single leg takedown | Take and finish the single leg. | 4.8 / 5 | 47 |
| 38 | Omoplata | Attack the shoulder lock with the legs from guard. | 4.9 / 5 | 39 |
| 39 | De la Riva guard | Use the De la Riva hook to control and off-balance a standing opponent. | 5.0 / 5 | 40 |
See also
Learning order and levels from the Subskills sports technique taxonomy (subskills.xyz), licensed CC BY 4.0.
Data: Subskills sports technique taxonomy (CC BY 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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