Andrew Wiltse Explains His Back Attack System

Andrew Wiltse is one of the fastest-rising black belt competitors in jiu-jitsu. The top grappler out of Pedigo Submission Fighting (AKA Daisy Fresh), Wiltse is an excellent finisher from the back, and is undefeated in submission-only competition this year, winning two of his three Who’s Number One matches by rear-naked choke. In a recent video with Bernardo Faria, Wiltse explained the different ways he traps the arm to attack the rear-naked choke.

In order to get the rear-naked choke, Wiltse focuses his attention on trapping one of his opponent’s arms.

“Marcelo made this super popular. Everyone thinks I learned it from Gordon Ryan and Danaher’s system, but I actually got it from watching Marcelo Garcia when I was a blue belt… I watched hundreds of hours of those, and I would just do what Marcelo did,” Wiltse said.

In order to trap the arm, Wiltse says the attacking grappler must first angle his body off ever-so slightly.

“For me, as soon as I get on your back, the first thing I do, is I put my left foot on your hip, right in the hip flexor, and I adjust myself up, away from your hips a little bit… This lets me chase the arm trap from completely ridiculous angles,” he said.

Once he’s able to trap his opponent’s arm, Wiltse has proven to be one of the best finishers in the world, especially with a one-armed choke.

Andrew Wiltse is scheduled to next compete in the 185-pound division of the Who’s Number One championships on September 25-26.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and currently holds the rank of brown belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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