Course
The BJJ Journey Suitcase
Learning a bunch of fancy new moves is actually holding back your progress.
with Chris "Bones" Burns
$349.00 USD
Enroll now →30-day money-back guarantee · Lifetime access · Secure checkout
Led by Chris "Bones" Burns, a 3rd degree black belt who learned the fundamentals from Master Rickson Gracie.
The absolute essentials. Everything you need and nothing you don't, to take on your entire BJJ Journey. These are the skills and concepts you will need forever to build a solid foundation. Professor Chris 'Bones' Burns generously shares his timeless wisdom as handed down by his teachers including Master Rickson Gracie.
Let me explain
"I've spent heaps of money on instructionals but I'm not making any progress" is a story we hear from countless Jiu-Jitsu students, time and time again. And we hate to admit it, but we've been in the same boat.
Most instructionals focus on teaching lots and lots of techniques without digging into the underlying 'how' or 'why'. What's missing is the way to implement those skills in practice. As a result, students struggle to apply techniques they "see", rather than "learn" — especially against opponents who are actively resisting and adapting.
Now for the good news. Students are using a strategy that's improving their Jiu-Jitsu quicker than any big-name instructional ever could: a framework that prioritises progress by focusing on fundamental principles.
The Suitcase solves 3 big problems for students who want to get unstuck
If you've hit a wall, the problem usually isn't your effort — it's what you're spending it on.
Problem 01
“I feel stuck but I have no idea what to focus on”
Has your progress hit a wall? Are you tired of watching your peers and classmates overtake you? Does that cool move you learned a few months ago just not work anymore?
The fix
Get your fundamental building blocks locked down. Most students get stuck trying to add new moves without a solid foundation to build on. Not sure where your gaps are? The BJJ Journey Score maps your strengths and weaknesses across the eight foundations in about 10 minutes.
Take the BJJ Journey Score →Problem 02
“The moves I'm taught in class just aren't relevant to me”
Do you feel like your regular classes are generic and not relevant to your journey? Are you learning a lot of moves and positions you find difficult to incorporate into your game?
The fix
Get a deeper understanding of the core principles. The Suitcase focuses on the concepts that matter, so you understand how the positions that suit your game actually work — and why.
Problem 03
“I've spent a ton of money on videos that STILL aren't helping”
Have you spent hundreds on instructionals, or watched countless hours of video trying to learn new moves, and none of it has turned into noticeable progress?
The fix
A straightforward, strategic plan. Every step of the Suitcase is designed to push you forward. It brings together everything you need, and nothing you don't.
All you need is a suitcase
Being a student of Jiu-Jitsu is a journey. And as with any journey, you need a suitcase. But a suitcase has a limited amount of space, especially if you want to move quickly. You can't haul around a huge case full of stuff you don't — or can't — use.
Quick progress means a small suitcase, and a small suitcase means you must prioritise the necessities. In our experience, Jiu-Jitsu has about 8 pages of core skills you need to learn, and 10 phone books worth of fancy stuff you don't.
Whittle those 8 pages down to their key principles and you're left with 8 foundations. This is what belongs in your suitcase.
- Awareness
- Survival
- Escapes
- Control
- The Guard
- Guard Passing
- Submissions
- Standing
The BJJ Journey Suitcase Framework
To build a rock-solid foundation, go through all 5 steps with the important skills inside each of the 8 foundations. Once that base is established, you can apply it to any position or move you want to learn in the future.
- 01
Learn the objectives of the position
Every position is a tool for a specific outcome — to gain or maintain control, to transition, or to set up a submission. Get into a position without a clear purpose and you'll misapply technique, waste energy, and hand your opponent openings. A clear objective lets you spend your energy on actions that put you in control rather than reacting aimlessly.
- 02
How to make it work
Jiu-Jitsu isn't just knowing the motions of a move; it's understanding what makes it effective — weight distribution, correct angles, adequate pressure. Learning how a position should feel is what stops you relying on brute strength. Slow, controlled, repetitive drilling is how that feel gets ingrained until precise movement becomes second nature.
- 03
Discover the invisible details
This is what separates good practitioners from great ones. "Invisible Jiu-Jitsu" is the small, almost undetectable adjustments — a grip, a shift of weight — that make your technique dramatically more effective. It conserves your energy, makes you far harder to counter, and more often than not it's these tiny tweaks that win rather than the big moves.
- 04
Understand your opponent's possible reactions
Every move creates a chain of potential responses. Keep a mental list of the most common reactions and counters and you can stay a step ahead, exploit weaknesses, and shut escapes down before they start. Without that insight you're permanently playing catch-up. This is what turns your game from reactive to proactive.
- 05
How to train the position with a partner
Turn theory into practice — but be strategic. Too many students take a freshly learned move straight into sparring. Start by drilling the position, then move into positional training where you can focus on one thing without the chaos of a full roll. Once the skill feels effortless, then bring it into sparring.
Why the framework works
- It goes beyond the how. There's a massive difference between learning how to do something and understanding why. Drill into the why and you don't just learn techniques — you master the underlying principles.
- It's the perfect base to build on. The skills you pick up transfer to moves and positions well outside the 8 foundations. When you do add the fun stuff, you'll learn it faster and use it far more effectively.
- It suits every experience level. Fundamentals get mischaracterised as beginner material, but ask any black belt whether they still work on theirs — and don't be surprised when they laugh at you for suggesting otherwise.
What students say
“Trained this yesterday as part of two hours of back escape class. For three-minute back escape drill rounds, when I was on back, I tried to apply this. As their escapes became more desperate, I was often going into a leg triangle to slow it down. By the time I opened the triangle and went back to the alternating leg hip pressure thing here, they were cooked and the submission was right there.”
With this method, students are able to
Not by spending a fortune on instructionals, and not by learning a bunch of flashy low-percentage moves — but by working through a structure that builds understanding first.
The BJJ Journey Suitcase has structure, goals and levels to it. Unlike a library of one-off instructionals, you need to commit if you want to see progress. If you're ready to do that, keep reading.
- Become confident rolling with opponents of any size or belt colour
- Start understanding how moves chain together
- Get submitted less and win more
- Have a clear plan to make fast, sustainable progress
- Stop watching your training partners overtake you
- Progress faster to your next belt
Ready to be your own GOAT?
Master the fundamentals, supercharge your progress, and stop wasting money on instructionals that keep you stuck.
The BJJ Journey Suitcase
Lifetime access · One-time payment · 30-day money-back guarantee
- Become confident rolling with opponents of any size or belt colour
- Start understanding how moves chain together
- Get submitted less and win more
- Have a clear plan to make fast, sustainable progress
- Stop watching your training partners overtake you
- Progress faster to your next belt
In-depth video lessons across all 8 foundations
The program covers each foundation using the same 5-step framework laid out above. Buy once and you keep lifetime access to everything we add to the Suitcase.
Led by Chris "Bones" Burns, 3rd degree black belt
Chris learned from Master Rickson Gracie, who helped him make his own breakthrough by focusing on fundamentals. Students consistently credit his teaching style with finally making the principles click.
The BJJ Journey Score
A free assessment that shows where your weaknesses are and what to focus on. Fill it out before you start, then again every 6 weeks to see real, tangible progress.
Chris "Bones" Burns is a 3rd Degree BJJ Black Belt who teaches out of Zero Point Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Sydney, Australia.
Not sure it's the right one? Take the Journey Score and get matched.