The first ten Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques for beginners fall into three groups. To survive: closed guard, the shrimp and two mount escapes (upa and elbow-knee). To control: the knee cut pass, mount and back control. To finish: the armbar, the triangle choke and the rear naked choke. The logic is simple: survive, then control, then finish. Each technique has its own detailed guide.
It isn't the flashiest list. It is the one that gets you through your first rolls and helps you progress faster than people who learned the berimbolo before they could escape from bottom.
Why this order
A beginner spends most of their early rolls on the bottom. That is normal. Your training partners are better than you, so they pass your guard, mount you and take your back. Learning submissions first means preparing for the small fraction of time you are on top.
The hierarchy of positions in BJJ is clear. At the top sit the back and mount, followed by side control and guard. At the very bottom: being mounted or having your back taken. For the full system and how it scores, see our overview of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Survival techniques
1. Closed guard
Your legs are crossed around their waist. It comes first because it is stable and safe, and it still lets you attack. Learn to break their posture by pulling their lapels toward you, then to keep your knees tight when they try to open your legs. The full logic is in our closed guard guide.
2. The shrimp
The hip escape, or shrimp: lying on your side, you push off one foot and move your hips away. It is more a movement than a technique, but almost every escape uses it. Do lengths of the mat with it in every warm-up, for months.
3. The upa
Trap an arm and the foot on the same side, then bridge diagonally. It is the first mount escape. It works against people who lean forward, which means almost every beginner.
4. The elbow-knee escape
Elbow against their knee, a shrimp, then your knee slides between their legs. It covers the upa when the opponent sits tall. Both escapes are explained together in our BJJ mount guide, because they work as a pair.
Control techniques
5. One guard pass: the knee cut
One pass, not five. Your knee slides diagonally across their thigh, your head stays low, and the underhook stops them from pulling you back to half guard. The toreando can come later. The four families of passes are covered in our article on guard passing.
6. Mount
Holding mount means knees high and hands posting on the mat when they bridge. Learn to stay there before you learn to attack from there.
7. Back control
Seat belt and hooks. It is the best position in jiu-jitsu and the hardest to lose when held well. Our back control guide also covers the defense.
Submissions
8. The armbar
The cross armlock, from guard or mount. Elbow above your hips, thumb pointing to the ceiling. If you train judo, you already know it as juji-gatame. Full guide: BJJ armbar.
9. The triangle choke
The choke with the legs, from closed guard. One arm in, one arm out, then pivot to find the angle. The triangle choke pairs with the armbar: when one fails, the other opens up.
10. The rear naked choke
The choke from behind, out of back control. It is the highest-percentage finish and it works in the gi and in no-gi. The hand details are in our rear naked choke guide.
What comes next
Once those ten techniques are in place, three additions make sense:
| Technique | Why add it | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Half guard with the underhook | You will end up there a lot, so learn to sweep from it | half guard |
| Kimura | Shoulder lock and control tool | kimura |
| Guillotine | The natural answer to head-down entries | guillotine |
What we advise beginners to skip
Modern techniques have their place. Inverted guards, leg entanglements and complex leg locks need a base you don't have yet. Worse, they cost you the position when they fail. Most competition rule sets also restrict leg locks for lower belts.
The other trap is collecting. You see a technique online on Monday, try it on Tuesday and forget it by Thursday. Five techniques you can hit on a resisting partner are worth more than thirty you have "seen".
How to know a technique is yours
A simple test: a technique is yours when you can land it in sparring against someone at your level who knows what you are going for. Not before. To check, write down after each session what you tried and what worked. After a month, that list will show you exactly where to work, and it will rarely be where you expected.