BREAKING: Lost Instructional Jiu-Jitsu Book by Adisa, The Bishop is Released! The Cloud Scroll !!!

HHCF is proud to announce The Cloud Scroll: Closed Guard Sweeps, Pins & Submissions. This book is a companion to The Iron Hook Scroll written in 2013 (which included amazing finishing holds like the dreaded "Thug Nation" shoulder lock . It is a book Adisa The Bishop wrote 4 years ago but was lost. In May of this year Adisa almost passed away from a bacterial infection. Among other things, he was sad he was about to die a brown belt. As soon as he got out of the hospital he told his instructor Alan "Gumby" Marques his plans to train harder and get consistent back on the mats. He later called Denny Prokopos and told him about his reluctant idea to release the Cloud Scroll. Denny suggested he do it because life is short. The Bishop agreed.

There are three videos that help the reader understand the positions. New video's will be forthcoming illustrating the other positions in The Cloud Scroll.

Modern Violence and the New Era of Young Bulls

Modern Violence and the New Era of Young Bulls

By: Adisa The Bishop

Mr. Miyagi mentors Daniel in The Karate Kid

Long before a lot of people cared about NHB (no holds barred) or Vale Tudo (anything goes fighting)
I wrote a piece for a small MMA publication called Vale Tudo News. As a new white belt I was loving jiu-jitsu but
deeply troubled by the lack of philosophy that worked to balance such a dangerous art. I don’t remember my exact words but
I said something along the lines of “ Without a solid philosophy the people learning jiu-jitsu
and MMA we will have a country of bulls with no brains or sense of moral duty.”

While it was well received by some, by many others it was just the whining of a new white belt who
wished for teacher and pupil scenes from Kung Fu TV show. As I trained in jiu-jitsu I read books like
The Art of Peace, The Art of War, various Taoist and Confucian, Christian, Sufi and Buddhist texts.
It helped my understanding of jiu-jitsu, violence, non-violence, emotional control and other areas of
my life. I believe without question those years of personal cultivation have made me a better student, t
eacher and overall human being.

Despite taking the super duper slow route I am now a brown belt under my instructor Alan “Gumby”
Marques at Heroes Martial Arts. I teach chess fused with jiu-jitsu to help people cultivate body and
mind simultaneously. I currently teach high school, and college courses on chess and jiu-jitsu. I also
teach an all ages class on the weekends. I find it very rewarding personally, but I also see impact in
both young and adult lives. Some teens I mentored are now graduating from college and thanking me
a lot. Others are just finding their self esteem and trying harder in school. Others are just making
better decisions as they do their 9-5 thing.

The other day I was really shaken. I learned a student of mine (who trains in MMA and aspires to be
an MMA champion as an adult) . He was accused of intimidating and threatening a teacher who is
an elderly woman. I was really confused by the incident. I thought when I met him that because he
already did martial arts that he was well acquainted with philosophy. As it turned out he was not.
Additionally, he is a borderline average student. Even in my class. He aspired to little more than
MMA. Skillwise, he certainly has a decent base but it will remain to be seen if he has what it takes
in the long run to get to the top ranks of MMA. I thought we would bond.
I found him helpful when it was time to do jiu-jitsu demos. From time to time he was a helpful at
getting other kids to be inspired about training. More often than not though, he was largely out to
lunch academically.

I was very disappointed in him after I learned about the incident. I asked him about what happened.
He was less than truthful initially about what he had done. After I told him I had several witnesses,
he admitted what happened. I told him about the difference between being a martial artist and a
fighter. I explained a martial artist is trying to cultivate their mind and heart- not just their bodies.
I told him a fighter is just looking for a check, a mercenary of sorts.
I used Bruce Lee and Jon Jones as examples of each (Jones being a fighter).
I could not help but wonder if his martial arts teachers push aside philosophical discussions so
they can get another round in on the bags.

He was unremorseful about the incident. His lack of remorse scared me more than the incident.
Further he admitted he had wondered about if he was a fighter or a martial artist and he said he
saw himself as a fighter. I explained that fighters last only as long as their body holds up but
martial artists help the community through their teaching and training of others. The boy
blinked at me silently with a minimal sense of remorse or desire to lift up his character.
Not only did he not care that much, his desire to pretend he cared was equally low.
I realized I was looking at one of the young bulls I wrote about all those years ago.
Digital tools like Worldstar, YouTube, Snapchat and
Instagram fights add to the emotional vacuum our young people live in.

As I left school that day my hope was that he changes. He is young, so,
the potential for change is great. When I was his age, I did did a lot of reckless things.
Things that made it so nobody I grew up with back then could evision me the way I live now.
At the same time I can’t help but wonder if bulls I spoke of years ago are starting to stand up.
Is he just one kid in the new era of morally unreachable young men who happen to train as fighters?
Without using Eastern philosophy, meditation, chess etc. to balance out the martial arts training,
we can only expect more of these kinds of incidents will become commonplace in our society.

Summer End of HHCF Juvenile Hall Project (our final 3 days)

This past week HHCF did a Chess and Life Strategies 3 Day Workshop at Alameda County Juvenile Hall in San Leandro, CA. It is right on the boarder of Oakland. I always enjoy going here, because I really love my time with the kids. The only thing I hated was that I was never able to give my books to kids after the classes. Well, thanks to many kind people the HHCF was able to give books to a lot of the kids via the #HHCFJuvenileHallProject where people buy copies of Bobby Bruce & the Bronx: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess for my students. We got enough donations to give books to kids here an one of our out of state programs. We are very thankful.

Day 1: Started in the girls unit. Unit 6 is the Girls Unit, but I call it the Queens Unit. It has been a while since I got to go to Unit 6. All the old girls I knew were gone. That is a good thing but you always wonder how they are. The first day a young white girl with shoulder length hair and bright grey eyes slowly walked in. This girl looked like she walked straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. No joke. She spoke at a whisper. I will call her Mouse.
?
"Hi" she said with a half smile. "Are you gonna teach us chess today?"

Shaking her hand firmly I said " I am. My name is Adisa. Have a seat."

"Oh, ok, I really want to know how to play."

As she sat down two more Latina girls and a Black girl came in. Numbers are down. That is very encouraging.

I must say that the girls are almost always so easy to teach than the boys. The boys come in puffed up and rowdy and super duper hyper. The girls are quiet but more focused ON ME and really paying attention.

I told them I teach a fusion of chess and jiu-jitsu. I told them I'm really just trying to get them to figure out what they want to do in life and help them plan for that future to be real. I reminded them that whatever mistake they made that got them here, they are super young and have millions of options to choose from.

I started telling the girls about chess and life. I said "Each year you make a move. That move will have positve or negative impact on the next year. You make several solid moves, good things will tend to happen. You make a bunch of bad ones, bad results tend to happen. Chess is the same way."

"Ronda is going to love this class" Mouse giggled out loud. She said it with a face that told me she could not keep herself from interrupting me.

"Who is Ronda?" I asked.

Just as I said this girl walked in with cold blue eyes, blond cornrows and an emotionless face. She looks just like the MMA fighter Ronda Rousey (hence the nickname). The only they is, she has a sprinkling of freckles that made her dead serious face harder to take serious. But make no mistake, she was super serious.

She looked at the chessboard projected on the screen and could not contain her excitement either. "Ooooh, y'all really got chess going on up in here, huh?!" with a serious southern drawl. She sat at one of my display boards and immediately wanted to play "Can I play this one here?"

"In a minute. I promise." I said.

"I told you Mr. Bishop!" Mouse shouted. "Ronda loves the game. She can play good to." nodding mater-of-factly.

I chuckled and talked a bit more about jiu-jitsu and chess. Ronda showed immediate interest in learning jiu-jitsu and kickboxing as soon as she got out. "You gotta hook me up with classes Mr. Bishop. I'm serious."

As I spoke to them about short and long term goal planning and the like, two older Black women sat in on the class. One was trying to learn chess, the other was already a player.

I sat down and played a game with Ronda. She knew how all the pieces moved but was in no way classically trained. However, what struck me was her consistent attacking style and her understanding of approaching threats (and how to nullify them). The Black woman who knew how to play played with her as they plotted against me. It was so fun.

Meanwhile, Mouse played on the computer. She loved it.

I left in a rush and had only brought one book that day. The rest were at home. I signed it and gave it to Ronda. "Thank you so much. This book is cool. I'm going to read it right now Mr. Bishop. I'll see you tomorrow!" she said smiling.

The other girls were excited about day two as well. I promised I'd bring them all copies of the book tomorrow.

                                                   One of my games from the Queens Unit.

Next I went to Unit 2. During my break I learned that one of the boys I had met in my previous visit had died. He was shot. Allegedly he got out but could not get a job. He went back to the streets in search of sustenance and was killed.

As the group filed in, some of them remembered me. Some did not. One was a tall Latino boy with a super bright smile. "Can I get a game Mr. Bishop? You know we still got beef on the boards." he said with a laugh as he shook my hand.

"Set em up. Let's dooo thisss." I said in between laughter.

Some of the boys that did not know me came in with ice grills (cold emotionless faces). But some of their faces softened when they saw that others knew me and respected me. Nevertheless, I knew I had to gain their respect on my own terms. It is like having to audition over and over again for the same job.

I went straight in. Chess and life, mistakes equal loss, good choices equal longevity etc. A hand went up in the back of the class. "But what does any of that have to do with rap music?"

I dove straight in about Jay Z, Will Smith, Wu Tang Clan, Drake and 2 Chainz love for chess. How rappers don't play to be grandmaster's they play to learn about life. They got it instantly. The energy jumped up.

"I know when you guys lay down at night, you see more for yourself than this. I know it. You have to. You may all not know exactly what you want to be, but I'm sure it is not this. Whatever that is, is exactly what I'm trying to help you be. I don't care if it's going to college or being a construction worker. Who in here knows what they want to be?" I said to the group.

 One big, solid built kid with a boyish face a lot of tattoos raised his hand.

"I want to be a doctor" he said with a smile.

"OK, that is good" I said. "You can still be a Dr. Don't think because you are locked up today that you still cannot be that. But you have to plan. You have to think. What kind of Dr. do you want to be?"

He said he wanted to be a surgeon.

" Alright. So let us start to look at your grades. Where do you need help? Where are you strong? All of this is doable. But you gotta want it and you gotta be willing to do the work." He nodded in affirmation.

My Latino challenger interrupted the after school special vibe , "Can we get on the boards now?!"

"Yes!" said immediately.

I managed the class between having new people play on the computer as a group, playing my game and resolving disputes about positions.

It was an amazing day. I told them I had books for them. Tomorrow could not come fast enough.

Day 2 and 3 will be posted soon....OH and I saw some dope raps by kids in the hall.....I'm talking about real bars. ......People see me in front of juve smiling and say "How can you smile walking into that place?" My answer is because my goal is to be the best part of their day. I smile because I go in with the best intentions of helping them find and defend their inner king and queen- and it's working.

If you would like to donate to the HHCF Juvenile Hall Project please email hhcfteam@hiphopchess.com for more info.

Complex Magazine on Kendrick Lamar aka Kung Fu Kenny!!

Article by Shawn Setaro:

At Coachella, Lamar started his set by unveiling a short film titled The Damn Legend of Kung Fu Kenny that was modeled after the kung fu films of the 1970s. Similar imagery, including the phrase "Kung Fu Kenny" spelled out in Chinese characters, appeared in the "DNA" video. The moniker itself seems to be inspired by Don Cheadle's character in Rush Hour, who goes by Kenny:

  Full link to COMPLEX

HHCF Chess and Jiu-Jitsu Team Get Gold and Silver at American Cup!!

Just wanted to congratulate Young Skywalker (in the black on the photo to the left) for getting the GOLD  and Megatron ( in white gi on the right) for getting his SILVER medal at the American Cup in San Francisco.

I want to make sure to thank our wrestling coach Andrew and our other BJJ coach Sammy for all of their help in the preparation for the tournament. We must also acknowledge our head coach Alan "Gumby" Marques, Trevor and Chuck of Heroes Martial Arts. They are our brothers in arms. We appreciate all the insight they gave us in preparation for the event. The HHCF Chess and Jiu-Jitsu Team is proud to be under the banner of Heroes Martial Arts.

As a coach, you get a lot of anxiety in your head about how your students perform. They were both amazing. Not only in action, but in action.

Our team has gotten  a few more students on deck and you will see more of them in the coming the neat future. Lastly, I want to thank all the amazing parents who entrust their kids with the HHCF Chess and Jiu-Jitsu curriculum. They showed immense clarity of mind before, during and after the match. We are actively enrolling kids, teens and adults right now. So far every student who has competed has won a medal. It is not about medals for us. At HHCF in fact, it is the LAST thing we compete for. We compete to represent the art of jiu-jitsu. We compete to share the strategic clarity of mind we get from chess. We play to finish. We never lose. We only win or learn. To join us call  888-588-4418.

HHCF Chess and Jiu-Jitsu Representative Takes Gold at Jiu-Jitsu by the Bay!

Congratulations to HHCF Chess and Jiu-Jitsu representative Andrew for winning GOLD in his division at Jiu-Jitsu by the Bay this past weekend. It was a great event with a really tough bracket. There were truly zero slouches in his bracket. Every match was a battle. Andrew is not only a member of our team, he is the wrestling coach and an amazing mentor to our kids. 

He embodies the physical and philosophical attributes that the HHCF Chess and Jiu-Jitsu program teach. He is a young man of immense character. It wasn't until after his second match he told me he had come down with what he thought was the stomach flu. He fought ANYWAY. 

I want to thank my instructor Alan "Gumby" Marques and every member of the Heroes Martial Arts team for being an amazing family. Next week our kids will be competing in SF. We expect to bring our best and nothing less. 

                                                                    Defend the crown! 

HHCF Chess and Jiu-Jitsu Student Neutralizes Bully

Many people often get confused about what we do. At the end of the day, we teach non violence through the fusion of art and logic. We pull wisdom from wherever we find it. But we mostly find it from blending concepts from Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts.  It takes a lot more to explain how we do what we do and why it works. At the end of the day however, we teach peace. That is what HHCF does. The good grades, the scholarships, the trophies are just things some of the kids get on the way to a fruitful life.

The creation of our org, the lectures across the country, our exhibit at the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2014, our championship dance teams, the book Bobby, Bruce & the Bronx: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess are all tied to that endgame- nonviolence.

We recently announced our Chess and Jiu-Jitsu classes and I am happy to say it is growing. Each class is a fusion of chess instruction and gaming and jiu-jitsu or wrestling positions. Assistant jiu-jitsu instructor Sammy Teame and wrestling coach Andrew Swank ensure each class is technically on point and physically demanding. In every class we always return to the importance of emotional mastery, kindness and mercy. You always hope these things reach our students, but you are never sure.

The other day one of my students told me had gotten into a physical altercation. He is 14 and while off campus a bully (who was acting very immature) and hit my student in the face with leaves on the branch of a tree branch. My student told him to not do it again in a respectful, but firm way. The bully took it as a challenge and did it again and ran off.

He said to me “I chased him, and then as I got close to him he threw a fist full of acorns at me as he turned to face me.”  From his repetition in training, after being approached he was quickly able to get to the bullies back and begin applying a choke hold. He said he felt the bully tense up  from not being able to escape the hold. The bully could feel the dominance of the position as my student got ready to squeeze. Then my student remembered the talks on nonviolence I gave in class. Released the choke put one hand and put the bully's arm behind his back and pushed him away. He again told the bully to stop being childish and leave him alone. When I asked him specifically HOW he got to the kids back, he replied “I don’t know how. I just got there.” This impressed me.

After being pushed away, the bully got enraged and charged him. Again my student got to his back, and reset the choke. He was angry he said at this point. He let go of the choke again, and bear hugged the bully to prepare to suplex him. Then he said he thought about how dangerous it would be to slam him on cement. He also thought about how mad I’d be at him for seriously hurting a kid he did not have to hurt.

My student let him go. The bully, realizing the level of mercy being given him stopped harassing my student.

I was happy to hear a few things:

1. That he did not recall how he got to the choke. I was happy to see he was not bogged down in mechanical thinking.
2. That he did not fully apply the choke or slam the bully on the concrete. In a world where young men love to express rage and power as others film it I was proud of him for being his own man.
3. That the work I do to teach nonviolence had a tangible outcome that made this kid, his school and the world a little more safe. If only in a super small way, in a small city, with ONE kid- it happened.

His father took me outside and thanked me for teaching his son. I was thankful to him, for trusting me with his son and joining our chess and jiu-jitsu program. I feel good. This is not a scientific study. But it is real. A new student starts tonight. I look forward to helping this youngster grow on the chessboards, on the mats and in life in a similar way. I hope in the future, all of our children can learn how to return injury with kindness through the fusion of chess and jiu-jitsu.

Join today at www.hiphopchess.com

BREAKING: HHCF Launch Chess & Jiu-Jitsu Classes!!

Hip-Hop Chess Federation Unveils a Fusion of Chess and Jiu-Jitsu to Promote Peace on the Streets  

HHCF Launches Chess & Jiu-Jitsu Class to Promote Fitness and Nonviolence

3/15/17 San Jose, CA- Hip-Hop Chess Federation 501(c)3 is proud to announce it has created a Chess & Jiu-Jitsu class for kids, teens and adults. The class is the brainchild of the HHCF’s Founder, Adisa “The Bishop” Banjoko. Mr. Banjoko holds the rank of brown belt and is author of The Iron Hook Scroll (a book on submission holds) and the self improvement book Bobby, Bruce & the Bronx: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess. The book illustrates how strategies from Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts can be used to build short and long term goal setting. It seamlessly connects concepts found in shows like The Get Down, Luke Cage and The Breaks to daily life. His lectures on this topic have brought his unique brand of wisdom to podiums at Harvard, Stanford, Oberlin College in U Conn among others. The Bishop was recently the recipient of The Legacy Award by Rock The School Bells for his consistent work in the field. The organization is an innovator in the space of STEAM and STEM.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Rap artists like Rakaa Iriscience of Dilated Peoples, Public Enemy DJ Johnny “Juice” Rosado, and even R&B artists like Usher have spent time learning the art. DJ Qbert even made a song about it on his last album.  At the same time jiu-jitsu masters Rickson Gracie, Ryron Gracie, Carlos Machado and others have shown a consistent affinity for the game of chess. The HHCF however is the first organization to ever fuse both arts into one class.

“This class is built for average people to discover and actualize their extraordinary potential” stated The Bishop.  “We show the overlapping mental and physical themes between chess and jiu-jitsu. It was something I envisioned when I started HHCF a decade back. I recently had a chess student I wanted to test my theories on. In less than four months we took him from ‘What is jiu-jitsu?’ to taking second at the US Open. Now what I taught him, I want to teach around the world in hope of promoting peace and nonviolence across the globe.”

The organization teaches that chess is jiu-jitsu for the mind and jiu-jitsu is chess for the body.”

Right now the HHCF Chess & Jiu-Jitsu class has a solid group of  students (a mix of kids, teens and college age adults) taking the class and the growing interest shows no sign of slowing down. “People always say the Hip-Hop community never offers solutions to violence in the world. Our program proves them all wrong.”

For more information on workshops and how to join visit www.hiphopchess.com

HHCF Jiu-jitsu Team Going to US Open This Weekend!!!

A quick shout out to our coaches and students competing in the US Open!!! The HHCF jiu-jitsu team is an affiliate of Heroes Martial Arts and we appreciate the guidance of Alan "Gumby" Marques, coach Sammy and our wrestling coach Andrew is developing our students.  Sign your kids up at www.hiphopchess.com . If you would like one of the HHCF jiu-jitsu gi's go to our sponsor Deus Fight for the "Oakland" gi www.deusfight.com !! 

HHCF Panel on Hip-Hop & Violence August 6th in The Bay Area!

For Immediate Release

Crystal Silva

Contact@hiphopchessfederation.org

Hip-Hop Chess Federation Hosts Community Panel to Discuss

Hip-Hop and Violence

RZA of Wu-Tang Clan Sponsors HHCF Community Forum on Rap’s Role in Promoting Peace

July 18, 2016- San Francisco, CA - Due to the climate of violence in America the Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) is hosting a panel discussion on Hip-Hop and Violence. “HHCF has been fusing Hip-Hop, chess and the martial arts to help kids conquer violence for ten years. In the recent wave of violence in America and the around the world we are hosting a panel on how people art are using it to educate and inspire people to be more peaceful servants of our community.” August 6, from 2-6 PM at GM Services in association with HHCF located at 42660 Christy St. Suite B, Fremont, CA. This event is free for all ages!

Panelists include rapper Casual of Hieroglyphics, Sociology Instructor at Merritt College Dr. Charity Clay, rapper CMG of the pioneer woman's rap group Conscious Daughters and St. Louis Art Consultant Susan Barrett of Barrett Barrera Projects. A special MMA guest panelist will be named shortly.

After the panel there will be open chess gaming to be played by those who attend, Hip-Hop dance exhibitions and Brazilian jiu-jitsu exhibition matches as well. The organization's goal is to help individuals discover themselves and respect the humanity of others through the fusion of art and logic.

The event is being funded in large part by RZA actor and founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA is on the HHCF Board, a 501c3 nonprofit.  RZA and Adisa have worked together in St. Louis promoting art as a path to peace to the youth during the St. Louis uprisings surrounding Mike Brown. Due to RZA’s heavy recording and film schedule he cannot attend this event but knows the importance of it. The work RZA and Adisa accomplished in St. Louis is detailed in Adisa’s new book Bobby, Bruce & the Bronx: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess.

Beyond the panel there will be exhibitions of Hip-Hop dance, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and open chess gaming.

“RZA supported us when few understood the importance of what we do. His kindness and consistence with HHCF is unparalleled” stated Adisa Banjoko. “ With so many weapons of war on American streets and in the world, there has never been a better time than now to be nonviolent. When I look at the streets of Minnesota, Louisiana and Dallas the one thing I’m sure of is that those choosing violence as a solution are not winning!!  I don’t see anyone winning with violence right now. I see all sides in America losing. My faith in the power of innovating nonviolence has never been greater and the time has never been better than now to create more peace.”

For more information call 888-335-4418 or RSVP @ https://www.facebook.com/events/1738612206381189/ or follow them on IG & Snap @realhiphopchess

HHCF Teams w/ Deus Fight Gi's for The Oakland (Silver and Black) Gi.....

HHCF Teamed up with philanthropic jiu-jitsu brand Deus Fight for a new line of gi's. The Oakland gi, is made in the warrior tradition of the Raiders as well as a reminder that Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back had a Silver and Black side to the Album....Proceeds from the sales of the gi will benefit the HHCF Chess and Jiu-Jitsu Initiative. Get one today at www.deusfight.com  Special thanks to BJJ Legends Magazine for connecting our orgs for the greater good of our children. When we say our children, we mean all children. PEACE! 

Chess and Jiu-Jitsu: Destruction of A Guard

Chess and Jiu-Jitsu: Destruction of A Guard

By: Adisa Banjoko, Founder of Hip-Hop Chess Federation  

I play chess, but my past is checkered/ The mic and I are like staff and sheppard/ When I apply science, my maths perfected, gotta move with proper tools for task selected - Ka, Peace Akhi

In the interest of furthering the discussion on chess and jiu jitsu, I wanted to share a reflection I've given thought to for quite some time. I find the connections between chess and jiu jitsu fascinating to the mind and enlightening to my heart. The interconnectedness between these arts and sports has given me much genuine inspiration over the years.

Recently I have been combing through tons of old DVD’s and  of VHS of classic jiu jitsu matches from the late 1990's. I’m talking about early matches with legends like Roleta, Marcio Feitosa, Mario Sperry, Terere, Jacare, Saulo Ribero, Fabio Gurgel, Gordo- all the OG’s. Its really exciting to observe how certain techniques disappeared while others stay or evolved. I have to assume that looking back in chess history certain evolutionary themes rise and collapse over time. Nevertheless some elements never will never die.

In chess, there is a theme called Destruction of a Guard (or removing the guard). Essentially it’s a tactic where you focus on attacking the pieces that are protecting the bigger pieces you are going after. Maybe its a knight in front of a queen you hope to capture. There might be two pawns and a rook preventing you from getting to the king. The process of capturing those pawns and rook, or getting them to move off of the squares they are on- is destruction of the guard.

Jen Shahade has a great chapter on this topic in her amazing book Play Like A Girl.

When people watch MMA and BJJ, there is a correlating physical position call “the guard”. Traditionally it's called "the closed guard" where one person is on their back (with a person on top of them, who is attacking) but the person on the bottom has both of their legs wrapped around their opponents torso. This takes a lot of mobility away from the person on top and leaves them vulnerable to direct attacks and reversals. For the person on top, until he or she gets past the person on the bottoms legs, it will be almost impossible to win. They must “destroy the guard”, commonly referred to in BJJ as “guard passing.”  I should note that there are many guard variations outside of the closed guard including "open guard", "butterfly guard", "X guard" and "rubber guard" among others. Each have their own nuances that turn every match into a positional  minefield (much like chess).

The jiu jitsu player on the bottom wrapped his legs around his opponent's torso securing the closed guard.

Here are some easy to understand examples of the countless elements of guard passing in jiu jitsu.  Jason Scully also has a cool video about guard passing that shows you many of the positional variations  when passing someone's guard. Having clarity in the full balance of power within the position, understanding threat assessment and your opponents  potential counters are key. Destroying the guard on the chessboard or the mat can be tricky at best, dangerous every time and if done without full focus- absolutely fatal.

A secondary theme in the concept of “destruction of a guard” in jiu jitsu is when one opponent is on top (after passing the guard and transitioning to the mount) and is trying to secure an armlock. However, his/her opponent (knowing they  are in danger of tapping out soon) defends the armlock by grabbing their opposite arm, or gi to prevent hyperextension of the elbow joint. Ryron and Rener Gracie have a fantastic presentation on various tactics people use to defend the armlock. Their video is a perfect illustration of the destruction of a guard.

Womens MMA sensation Ronda Rousey breaking the defending grip of her opponent to finish the armlock.

Without question the parallels between chess and jiu jitsu are as numerous as the potential moves within the two arts. I will post more on this relationship soon. Feel free to email me about your thoughts on chess and jiu jitsu at bishop@hiphopchessfederation.org!