First Things First

In the lead up to this year’s ADCC World Championships we’re going to analyze the game’s of the athletes competing. If you want to read about ADCC’s newcomers so you can learn the skills, strengths, and patterns their games present, the ADCC Rookie Reports are for you.

Today we’re talking about Andrew Tackett’s smooth passing and back takes.

Is Craig Jones Eliminating The ADCC Rookie Reports?

In the lead up to the 2024 ADCC World Championships we’ve been analyzing the runs of athletes that won the ADCC Trials for their first time. How did they win? What makes their game interesting and unique? What opportunities does that game present for their opponents?

You can read previous ADCC Rookie Reports here:

• Jacob Couch

• Jozef Chen

• Michael Pixley

• Taylor Pearman

• Owen Jones

• Dorian Olivarez

• Levi Jones Leary

This week's news really threw a wrench in my plans to cover all of the ADCC trials winners.

For those that are unaware, Craig Jones announced he raised a few million dollars to launch a new event series. The Craig Jones Invitational, CJI, will be the highest paying jiu-jitsu event ever. What’s more, it takes place on Friday and Saturday of the ADCC World Champions. Oh, and their venue is right down the road.

If you want to read the full story of the event and what it could mean for the sport, click here.

Considering that ADCC and CJI are the same weekend, we’re still going to cover the ADCC Rookies that are new to qualify. When the dust settles we’ll see who decided to go where, ADCC or CJI.

Today’s rookie report was actually one of the first competitors to announce they were jumping from ADCC to CJI. We’re talking about Andrew Tackett.

Andrew Tackett

Tackett is one of professional grappling’s brightest young stars. In direct opposition to last week’s article on Levi Jones-Leary, Tackett’s game is more emblematic of the current metagame. Wrestle, pass, and choke from the back.

Tackett is long and strong when he starts wrestling. He snaps, fakes, and feints to break your posture so he can shoot simple doubles and singles.

On the floor, he moves side to side to get his opponents to turn. From there he rolls to your back and starts cranking on your face. If you decide to shoot on him, he’ll use similar acrobatic movements to find an angle to your back.

Passing To The Back

Tackett starts passing blitzes by working side to side from the outside until he can find a grip on your hooks. He’ll hold them to stop you from playing guard, and so he can step closer to your head. Once he gets close enough, he’ll lift your arm, shoulder, or neck so you can’t lie back, raise your hips, and play guard.

Check out how Tackett maneuvers around Kyle Chambers’s long and tricky guard. He uses a similar method of lifting a hook and shoulder.

Let’s go frame by frame to see how the pass was so smooth.

1. Tackett is lifting Chambers’s hook

2. Tackett is pulling Chambers’s head forward
   The combination of these makes it difficult for Chambers to lay back and play guard

3. Tackett weaved his arm through Chambers’s legs to the far hip so Chambers can’t reguard

4. Tackett driving his head into Chambers’s hips while lifting his shoulders to prevent him from inverting and reguarding

In grappling, people talk about pinning their opponent, but lifting limbs, shoulders, and hips is a counterintuitive way to set up passes and pins. Think of your spine like a seesaw with the seats being your shoulders and your hips.

When I lift your hips, your head and shoulders naturally go down. When I lift your head and shoulders, your hips naturally go down. If I’m able to lift both ends of your spine, even momentarily, your mobility is severely reduced and I can pass to pinning positions.

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