Who Is Bernardo Faria in the BJJ Landscape?
Bernardo Faria is widely recognized for a pressure-first, fundamentals-driven approach that translates for beginners and advanced students alike. Rather than relying on speed or athleticism, his jiu-jitsu emphasizes stable control, intelligent framing, and progressive weight distribution to exhaust and dismantle opponents.
Students seek him out for a reliable roadmap: half guard from the bottom, and methodical, chest-to-chest pressure passing from the top. Across seminars and instructional content, he consistently teaches sequences that hold up under resistance and do not require unusual flexibility or risk-taking. If you value predictable progress and high-percentage decision-making, his material stands out.
Bernardo Faria Videos on BJJ University (Top 20 Videos, Top 10 Courses)
All Access Pass by Bernardo Faria
$2997.00 • BJJ Fanatics
This YouTube video introduces the "All Access Pass" by Bernardo Faria, co-founder of BJJ Fanatics and a 5-time Black Belt World Champion. This pass provides access to Bernardo's complete existing BJJ Fanatics library, which would otherwise cost in the thousands if purchased individually. Bernardo's instructionals stand out for his ability to simplify Jiu-Jitsu content, emphasizing leverage, timing, and efficiency. The video however clarifies that future releases from Berndaro are not included and must be bought separately.
Jiu Jitsu For Old Guys Bundle by Bernardo Faria
$1347.00 • BJJ Fanatics
The video features 5-time World Champion, Bernardo Faria, introducing his 6-part course bundle "Jiu Jitsu For Old Guys". Bernardo explains how his techniques are designed for all ages and are effective regardless of physical explosiveness. He focuses on the system for controlling the opponent from various guards, setting up passes, and controlling the top opponent using his renowned guard system. These systems, he assures, are easy, effective, and built for rapid skill development.
Top Game Bundle by Bernardo Faria
$377.00 • BJJ Fanatics
This video is a promotional for the Top Game Bundle by Bernardo Faria, where the trainer shares his effective techniques for controlling the top position in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). The course includes six instructional videos, focusing on Faria's signature pressure passing and attacks from mount and side control. The bundle also teaches how to break down the turtle and sink into back control using a simple single strap back take. The techniques discussed have been credited for helping Faria win multiple world championships.
Bottom Game Bundle by Bernardo Faria
$337.00 • BJJ Fanatics
This video features 5-time World Champion Bernardo Faria and focuses on mastering the half guard system. Faria reveals his secrets, including his signature half guard and deep half techniques that can be used by individuals of any skill level against opponents of varying size and speed. He also provides key strategies on how to execute omoplatas, a simple shoulder lock, from different positions. Additionally, Bernardo provides strategies on how to escape from bad positions and return to safety.
How To Kill The Half Guard Encyclopedia by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
This instructional video by renowned BJJ legend, Bernardo Faria, focuses on dismantling the half guard position from the top. The video content includes comprehensive techniques, concepts, and strategies to defeat one of Faria’s favorite positions. Notably, it covers the legendary over-under pass, the Superman Attack armlock, and troubleshooting solutions for various half guard variations. Bernardo Faria emphasizes the importance of generating significant pressure, achieving underhooks, switching bases, and applying the techniques to gain dominance in the game.
Jiu Jitsu For Old Guys: Fundamental Game Plan by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
In this instructional video, 5x World Champion Bernardo Faria guides the viewer through the development and implementation of a comprehensive game plan for Jiu-Jitsu, specifically tailored for older grapplers. The content covers various aspects including the bottom game, passing game, submissions, pinning systems, and control techniques. Bernardo's unique systems have helped many to improve their performance and confidence on the mat, regardless of age, athletic level, or skill level. This all-encompassing instructional provides viewers with simple, effective techniques to dominate any opponent, making it an essential tool in every grappler's arsenal.
Jiu-Jitsu For Old Guys: Guard Retention by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
The video, created by Bernardo Faria, is a guard retention tutorial meant specifically to benefit older Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. The techniques illustrated by Faria focus on conserving energy, avoiding injuries and retaining guard effectively. Besides, the video highlights the importance of understanding leverage, timing, and attention to small detail. Faria's method does not require explosive strength or excessive movement, aiming to improve overall game performance for all skill levels.
Jiu Jitsu For Old Guys: Entries For Over Under by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
The video features 5x BJJ World Champion Bernardo Faria teaching older BJJ practitioners on how to execute and enter the Over Under pass, a technique that is simple, gives control, and does not require immense physical strain. He discusses how to transition into this pass method from anywhere, helping practitioners overcome their opponent's defense regardless of their position. Bernardo emphasizes the importance of using techniques over athleticism, allowing his students to pass guard effectively with precision and patience. This makes the tutorial suitable for individuals seeking to improve efficiency and prolong their performance in BJJ.
Jiu Jitsu for Old Guys: Over / Under Pressure Passing System by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
In this video, 5-time World Champion Bernardo Faria teaches techniques and strategies for executing the Over/Under Pressure Pass, a method of guard passing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Focusing on control, Faria's instruction is geared towards all skill levels and does not rely on speed or athleticism, making it accessible for a wide range of practitioners. He provides detailed steps for controlling the opponent from various guard positions and setting up passes. Faria also provides guides for drills and exercises to aid in skill development.
Jiu Jitsu For Old Guys: Positional Escapes by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
This instructional video by five-time World Champion Bernardo Faria focuses on positional escapes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, specifically designed for older grapplers. Faria explains strategies to avoid getting stuck in common pinning positions, such as mount, side control, and back control. He introduces techniques such as the upa escape, half guard escape, and scissor escape. He meticulously details each method to ensure that grapplers of older age, regardless of their agility, can efficiently apply these escapes in their BJJ game.
Technical Identity: Pressure Passing, Over-Under, and Half Guard
The signature of Bernardo’s top game is heavy, directionally-aware pressure. He shows how to pin the hips, align your spine, and drive with the shoulder while keeping your head and hands safe. His over-under pass is the best-known example: one arm threads between the opponent’s legs while the other controls outside, the chest collapses the hips, and the passer advances in small, safe steps until the guard breaks.
From bottom, students associate Bernardo with fundamental half guard—underhooks, knee shields used as scaffolding, and well-timed transitions to sweeps and reversals. He prioritizes grips that build structure and warns against exposing your back or chasing low-percentage options. The result is a half guard that produces restorable control even when opponents try to backstep or smash through.
Importantly, his systems connect. Half guard sweeps place you directly into pressure-passing entries. When passes stall, he teaches how to reset grips and re-build pressure without giving the opponent space to recover. This loop—the ability to cycle between bottom half and top pressure—is a core part of why students credit his approach with making their games feel more inevitable.
Bernardo Faria Half Guard (12 Videos, 4 Courses)
Bottom Game Bundle by Bernardo Faria
$337.00 • BJJ Fanatics
This video features 5-time World Champion Bernardo Faria and focuses on mastering the half guard system. Faria reveals his secrets, including his signature half guard and deep half techniques that can be used by individuals of any skill level against opponents of varying size and speed. He also provides key strategies on how to execute omoplatas, a simple shoulder lock, from different positions. Additionally, Bernardo provides strategies on how to escape from bad positions and return to safety.
How To Kill The Half Guard Encyclopedia by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
This instructional video by renowned BJJ legend, Bernardo Faria, focuses on dismantling the half guard position from the top. The video content includes comprehensive techniques, concepts, and strategies to defeat one of Faria’s favorite positions. Notably, it covers the legendary over-under pass, the Superman Attack armlock, and troubleshooting solutions for various half guard variations. Bernardo Faria emphasizes the importance of generating significant pressure, achieving underhooks, switching bases, and applying the techniques to gain dominance in the game.
The Battle Tested Half Guard by Bernardo Faria
$79.00 • BJJ Fanatics
The video features 5x world champion Bernardo Faria sharing his battle-tested half guard strategies. He focuses specifically on sweeps from this position, using his unique and effective system. Faria's techniques are designed to give viewers a new perspective on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, with methods proven to work at the highest levels of competition. This system is intended to be easy to use and effective against various opponents, with the goal of transforming the viewer's BJJ game.
The No Gi Half Guard by Bernardo Faria
$39.50 • BJJ Fanatics
This video features 5x World Champion Bernardo Faria explaining his no-gi half guard techniques. He emphasizes the value of energy efficiency in these techniques. He also highlights how his approach enables practitioners of any age to effectively utilize the half guard to sweep opponents. The techniques presented in the video are designed to defy age and inherently eliminate leg attacks.
How Bernardo Faria Teaches: Simple, Ordered, and Repeatable
Bernardo breaks concepts into a short list of rules and then layers in details only when they change outcomes. Expect checklists like head position, hip line, blocking the far knee, and the direction your shoulder should drive. He favors sequences you can memorize, drill immediately, and apply live without mental overload.
His pacing is patient. He’ll show a base version first, then the common reactions you’ll see in sparring, followed by the small adjustments that restore the core position. That means you leave with a map: start here, expect these problems, fix them with these grips or angles. The emphasis on feel—how pressure should load through the sternum or ribs, how your opponent’s breathing changes—is another hallmark of his instruction.
Above all, he avoids complexity for its own sake. If a detail doesn’t increase control or safety, it’s usually out. This makes his teaching unusually accessible for white and blue belts, while still giving purple, brown, and black belts refinements that hold up in tough rounds.
Bernardo Faria Transitions (6 Videos, 2 Courses)
Transition Mastery by Bernardo Faria
$79.00 • BJJ Fanatics
In this instructional video, world-renowned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert, Bernardo Faria, teaches the art of BJJ transitions. He explains the invisible technical aspects of moving from one position to another, a skill he deems crucial to becoming a complete fighter. Across four volumes of this series, he demonstrates combinations and progressions that he has mastered throughout his career, providing detailed insights on strategically and technically progressing the fight to a better position.
The Single Strap Back Take Encyclopedia by Bernardo Faria
$79.00 • BJJ Fanatics
The video features 5-time Black Belt Champion Bernardo Faria teaching how to master back take techniques specifically using the single strap grip. He shows how to apply this technique in different common positions such as the turtle and the over under. He also teaches how to break down defenses and counters to the back take. Faria emphasizes that this technique does not require exceptional athleticism or speed and is suitable for controlling and slowing down opponents.
What to Study First from Bernardo Faria
Start with the over-under passing blueprint. Learn the entry, head placement, the hand that blocks the hip line, and how to switch directions if the bottom player frames hard. Add the knee-cut alternative he often pairs with it so you can redirect when opponents cling to your trapped-side leg.
Next, build a dependable bottom half guard. Prioritize the underhook battle, how to keep your knee shield active without overextending, and the basic sweep series that brings you on top into direct pressure-passing positions. Work a simple decision tree: if you lose the underhook, recover knee shield; if they backstep, clamp the hips and chase the far leg; if they sprawl, switch to a reverse or waiter-style elevation.
Then connect the loop. After a successful half guard sweep, settle immediately into your pressure shell—elbow-knee connection, head to the correct side, and hips low. If your pass stalls, don’t abandon pressure; re-grip, reset head position, and inch forward. This cycle is where many students report the biggest jump in consistency.
For drilling, keep reps short and focused: 10 reps of over-under entry to side control, 10 reps of knee-cut redirect, and 10 reps of half guard underhook-to-sweep. Finish with positional sparring rounds from over-under and from knee shield half so your new patterns appear automatically in live training.
Bernardo Faria Sweeps (4 Videos)
Using BJJ University to Learn Bernardo Faria’s Game
BJJ University is a free, curated library designed to help you learn efficiently. Use the site’s navigation menu to explore categorized videos, clips, breakdowns, and instructional resources by instructor, technique, position, category, and training topic. If you want only Bernardo Faria material, go straight to his page, then branch into pressure passing and half guard collections.
Because the library is organized by core positions and common problems, you can follow the same logic Bernardo uses: start with fundamentals, add reactions, and rehearse the key transitions. Bookmark BJJ University and share it with teammates who want trustworthy, free BJJ study options without sifting through noisy search results.
As you work through clips, keep notes on cues that repeat—head placement for pressure, which knee blocks movement, when to switch sides. Repetition of those cues is what will make your passing and half guard feel sturdy under resistance. Browse this page on BJJ University.
Bernardo Faria Guard Generic (12 Videos, 4 Courses)
Jiu Jitsu For Old Guys Bundle by Bernardo Faria
$1347.00 • BJJ Fanatics
The video features 5-time World Champion, Bernardo Faria, introducing his 6-part course bundle "Jiu Jitsu For Old Guys". Bernardo explains how his techniques are designed for all ages and are effective regardless of physical explosiveness. He focuses on the system for controlling the opponent from various guards, setting up passes, and controlling the top opponent using his renowned guard system. These systems, he assures, are easy, effective, and built for rapid skill development.
Jiu-Jitsu For Old Guys: Guard Retention by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
The video, created by Bernardo Faria, is a guard retention tutorial meant specifically to benefit older Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. The techniques illustrated by Faria focus on conserving energy, avoiding injuries and retaining guard effectively. Besides, the video highlights the importance of understanding leverage, timing, and attention to small detail. Faria's method does not require explosive strength or excessive movement, aiming to improve overall game performance for all skill levels.
Jiu Jitsu For Old Guys: Entries For Over Under by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
The video features 5x BJJ World Champion Bernardo Faria teaching older BJJ practitioners on how to execute and enter the Over Under pass, a technique that is simple, gives control, and does not require immense physical strain. He discusses how to transition into this pass method from anywhere, helping practitioners overcome their opponent's defense regardless of their position. Bernardo emphasizes the importance of using techniques over athleticism, allowing his students to pass guard effectively with precision and patience. This makes the tutorial suitable for individuals seeking to improve efficiency and prolong their performance in BJJ.
Jiu Jitsu for Old Guys: Over / Under Pressure Passing System by Bernardo Faria
$197.00 • BJJ Fanatics
In this video, 5-time World Champion Bernardo Faria teaches techniques and strategies for executing the Over/Under Pressure Pass, a method of guard passing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Focusing on control, Faria's instruction is geared towards all skill levels and does not rely on speed or athleticism, making it accessible for a wide range of practitioners. He provides detailed steps for controlling the opponent from various guard positions and setting up passes. Faria also provides guides for drills and exercises to aid in skill development.
FAQs
Is Bernardo Faria’s style good for beginners?
Yes. His systems rely on structure, pressure, and clear checkpoints rather than speed or risky movement. Beginners can adopt his sequences quickly and see progress in live rounds.
What positions is Bernardo Faria best known for?
He’s strongly associated with pressure passing—especially the over-under—and a fundamental, underhook-driven half guard from bottom.
Should I focus on gi or no-gi with his material?
His concepts of pressure, head position, and hip control apply in both. If your academy trains mostly gi, start there; the over-under and half guard frameworks transfer well to no-gi with minor grip adjustments.
How do I integrate his passing with my current game?
Pick one main pass (over-under) and one alternate (knee cut). Use them from every open-guard entry. On bottom, build an underhook-focused half guard so your sweeps land directly into those passing routes.
Where can I find curated clips of his instruction?
Use BJJ University’s instructor pages and position categories to access organized clips and breakdowns. Start on his main page and navigate by technique to build a consistent study plan.