Submeta Review (2026): The Best Way to Learn BJJ Online?

What is Submeta?

Submeta is the online learning platform from Lachlan Giles, my favorite BJJ instructor and the most systematic teacher in the sport. He launched it in April 2022 with a clear thesis: BJJ students learn better through structured, layered courses than through random technique videos or 8-hour instructional downloads.

Lachlan is a 3rd-degree BJJ black belt, holds a PhD in Physiotherapy from La Trobe University, and coaches at Absolute MMA St Kilda in Melbourne. He became a household name at the 2019 ADCC when he submitted three world-class heavyweights (Kaynan Duarte, Patrick Gaudio, Mahamed Aly) via heel hooks in the absolute division, while weighing just 77kg.

The platform is built around the flipped-classroom model Lachlan discussed on The Sonny Brown Breakdown and BJJ Mental Models (Ep. 179): students watch courses before class, then direct their own training. It adds active recall through quizzes, troubleshooting sections in every course, and layered progression from foundations to advanced.

Courses (174+ from Lachlan alone)

These are the core value. Each course is 1-3 hours of systematic instruction on one topic: escapes, guard, passing, submissions. They include review questions and troubleshooting that actually help you learn, not just watch.

Sets (34 curated bundles)

This is what makes Submeta different from a random video dump. Sets group related courses into complete systems. The Leg Locks Set has 22 courses. The Pressure Passing Set has 10. The Half Guard Set has 14. Think of Sets as roadmaps through Lachlan’s library: they tell you what to study next.

Quizzes and exercises

This is unique in BJJ instruction. After lesson sections you get A/B picture checks and short recall questions. They force active recall, which is proven to improve retention, so you are not just watching an instructional without paying attention.

Free Foundations courses

Lachlan offers his Foundations courses (I through VI) permanently free to all users. They cover escapes, guard, passing, controls, and submissions at the beginner level, so you can test the teaching style before paying. For beginners, Foundations I alone is 41 videos, 6 chapters, ~2 hours and 33 exercises.

Pricing: per-instructor model

Submeta uses a per-instructor subscription model. Lachlan’s tier is $25/month or $19.95/month billed annually ($239.40/year). B-Team / Simple Man is $12.99/month, Adele Fornarino is $14.99/month, and Levi Jones-Leary is a separate tier. Want both Lachlan and B-Team? That is $38+/month; add Adele and Levi and you are past $50/month, versus a single $79 BJJ Fanatics instructional you own forever. At $20/month you are paying about $0.65 per hour of Lachlan’s instruction.

Instructors on Submeta

Submeta is no longer just Lachlan’s personal library. Lachlan Giles (founder) anchors it with 174+ courses. B-Team / Simple Man Martial Arts (Nicky Ryan, Nicky Rodriguez, Ethan Crelinsten, Damien Anderson) add 374 videos and 4 structured courses. Adele Fornarino (IBJJF World No-Gi Champion, 2024 ADCC double gold) brings an elite no-gi perspective. Levi Jones-Leary (ADCC competitor) teaches Leg Drag and Crucifix. Talgat Ilyasov, an Olympian wrestler, co-taught Wrestling Foundations I-III with Lachlan. Start with Lachlan’s systematic approach and add guest instructors only when their style fills a gap.

• Distance Passing, Pressure Passing, Mid Range Passing, Knee Cut, Half Guard Passing
• No-Gi Open Guard, Gi Open Guard, Half Guard, Guard Retention, K-Guard, Inside Position Guards
• Leg Locks (22 courses), Straight Armlocks, Kimura, Core Upper Body submissions
• Taking the Back, Mount, Side Control, and a dedicated Escapes Set
• Coaching Essentials No-Gi (55 courses) and Gi (58 courses)
• Wrestling Foundations I-III and Head Inside Single Leg (with Talgat Ilyasov)

Before the breakdown, here is Lachlan Giles walking through the platform himself: the course structure, the Sets, and how the quizzes work.

Submeta uses a per-instructor subscription model. Each instructor has a separate tier, and the cost adds up if you want several.

The catch: you subscribe per instructor. Want both Lachlan and B-Team? That is $38+/month. Add Adele and Levi and you are past $50/month, versus a single $79 BJJ Fanatics instructional you own forever.

Value perspective: at $20/month you are paying about $0.65 per hour of Lachlan’s instruction. If you actually use the systematic approach (complete courses, do the exercises, follow the Sets) it pays for itself quickly. A single private lesson with a black belt costs $80-150.

Use my discount code BJJMORE for $16 off your first month.

Courses (174+ from Lachlan alone): each course is 1-3 hours of systematic instruction on one topic – escapes, guard, passing, submissions – with review questions and troubleshooting that actually help you learn, not just watch.

Sets (34 curated bundles): Sets group related courses into complete systems. The Leg Locks Set has 22 courses, the Pressure Passing Set has 10, the Half Guard Set has 14. Think of Sets as roadmaps through Lachlan’s library: they tell you what to study next.

• Passing: Distance Passing (10), Pressure Passing (10), Mid Range Passing (12), Knee Cut (4), Under the Legs (7), Half Guard Passing (8)
• Guard: No-Gi Open Guard (12), Gi Open Guard (15), Half Guard (14), Guard Retention (10), Inside Position Guards (13), K-Guard (5)
• Submissions: Leg Locks (22), Straight Armlocks (10), Kimura (8), Core Upper Body (6)
• Position control: Taking the Back (10), Mount (6), Side Control (5), Escapes (7)
• Coaching: Coaching Essentials No-Gi (55), Coaching Essentials Gi (58)

Quizzes and exercises: this is unique in BJJ instruction. After lesson sections you get A/B picture checks and short recall questions. They force active recall, which is proven to improve retention, so you are not just watching an instructional without paying attention.

Video content types

Beyond the structured courses, Submeta has 2,000+ individual videos across several formats:

I watched the breakdown of how Mikey Musumeci got passed by Jackson Souza at WNO, and the trend analysis of half guard underhook sweeps at the ADCC North America trials. These breakdowns are interesting and I hope he adds more of them.

Lachlan offers his Foundations courses (I through VI) permanently free to all users. This is the best free BJJ curriculum available online, and it lets you test the teaching style before you pay a cent.

• Foundations I: Escapes – 41 videos, 6 chapters, ~2 hours, 33 exercises. Mount, side control, north-south, and back-control escapes.
• Foundations II-III: guard fundamentals and building your guard game.
• Foundations IV: Passing – closed guard opening, smash pass, cross knee through, half guard passing.
• Foundations V: Controls & Submissions – armbars, rear naked choke, major position control.
• Foundations VI: Expanding Your Game – advanced escapes, guard variations, new passing approaches.

For beginners specifically: start with Foundations. They are free and will teach you more in a weekend than most people learn in six months of random YouTube videos. Then decide if the paid subscription is worth it.

Pro tip: many users do learning sprints – subscribe for 1-3 months, focus intensely on one problem area (escapes, guard, or passing), then cancel until they need to address another weakness.

This is the comparison everyone wants. Both are excellent – they just serve different needs.

When Submeta wins

• You are new to a topic: better structure, layered learning, quizzes and troubleshooting help you actually learn, not just watch.
• You want current content: Submeta courses reflect 2024-2026 techniques. Many BJJ Fanatics titles are from 2018-2020.
• You learn best with guidance: Sets and progression paths tell you what to study next.

When BJJ Fanatics wins

• You want deep dives: Lachlan’s own BJJ Fanatics anthologies (Half Guard Anthology, Guard Retention Anthology, Kimura Anthology) go deeper than his Submeta courses on the same topics.
• You want variety: 1,200+ instructors means you can compare guard retention from Lachlan, Garry Tonon, Gordon Ryan and Mikey Musumeci.
• You want to own forever: pay once, download, keep permanently. No subscription to cancel.
• Budget comparison: 6 months of Submeta (~$150) equals roughly 2 BJJ Fanatics instructionals on sale.

My take: for most students, Submeta’s structured approach works better than owning random instructionals. But Lachlan’s own Leg Lock Anthology goes deeper when you already understand an area.

Yes, I think Submeta is by far the best online learning platform for BJJ. I have tried many of the other options (BJJ Fanatics, Atos Online, Roger Gracie TV, Grappler’s Guide and others), and Submeta stands out for a few reasons.

Why Submeta is the best place to learn BJJ online

1. Lachlan Giles is the most structured instructor in BJJ, by far. He explains clearly, he knows more than almost anyone, and he puts in more effort than most instructors. His courses are systematic with troubleshooting, he shows techniques in sparring and competition settings, and his content is easy to navigate.
2. The content library is huge and organized. 174+ courses grouped into 34 Sets covering every major position. Most other platforms do not have nearly this much content, and where they do it is dumped single technique videos.
3. Courses with quizzes are unique in this industry. I have never seen BJJ courses that test your knowledge before. It helps you check whether you understood the material, which actually improves learning.

What could be better

• Per-instructor pricing adds up fast. Lachlan ($25) + B-Team ($12.99) + Adele ($14.99) + Levi means $50+/month, versus a single $79 BJJ Fanatics purchase you own forever.
• No content ownership. Cancel your subscription, lose access. BJJ Fanatics purchases are yours to download and keep permanently.
• No native mobile app. Both HeavyBJJ and Dana Hooshmand (hooshmand.net) note the absence of a native app. You can Add to Home Screen as a workaround, but it is not ideal.
• Video player UX issues. Dana Hooshmand reported the player exits fullscreen between videos. Zack Nicholas (HeavyBJJ) noted playback speed resets per video and the search function lacks granularity.
• Library completeness. Dana Hooshmand noted the library does not yet seem finished compared to Grappler’s Guide, which covers more obscure positions. There are still visible coming-soon placeholders.
• Game Plan feature still unshipped. Announced at launch in 2022 but still not released. It would be a major differentiator.
• Limited instructor diversity. Primarily Lachlan’s content. If you do not click with his teaching style, there is no alternative voice within his tier. BJJ Fanatics has 1,200+ instructors covering every style and lineage.

• The discussion section is not used much by the community. I would love to see more questions and discussions posted here.
• Even more content. I want more courses, but especially more match breakdown and discussion videos. Hearing Lachlan’s thoughts on trends in BJJ is some of the most interesting material on the platform.

“Overall, I really like Submeta. It is my favourite way of studying Brazilian jiu-jitsu, after having used courses from BJJ Fanatics and Grappler’s Guide.”

Dana Hooshmand, hooshmand.net

“Lachlan and Liv are doing something very special with SUBMETA. It is not just a grab bag of techniques like most other online video libraries. He is actually using science-backed methods for making students better.”

u/stevekwan (black belt) on r/bjj

“I got a year subscription to Submeta 2 months ago and feel like I have already got my money’s worth out of it. Lachlan is a great instructor and does not over-explain or anything.”

u/PositiveBussy on r/bjj

“I really love Lachlan’s teaching style and the site is well designed. The quizzes at the end of lessons really help me grasp important elements. The progress bars and course stats make it feel like a video game, not boring class work.”

Anonymous user, bjjequipment.com (4.5/5 rating)

“Giles’ teaching style is methodical, detailed, and digestible, making it ideal for people who want to actually understand why things work.”

MyGritFlow.com

“For me, Lachlan Giles’ instructional on Submeta was easiest to understand from all I have seen and made the ankle lock finally click for me.”

u/honest_anger on r/bjj

“Submeta.io is a great option for online BJJ learning.”

Zack Nicholas (brown belt), HeavyBJJ.com

The criticisms

“The content on Submeta, while very well-structured, is much less complete than on Grappler’s Guide, with significant sections missing, and Submeta does not yet seem ‘finished’ by a long shot.”

Dana Hooshmand, hooshmand.net

“Video playback speed must reset for each video.”

Zack Nicholas, HeavyBJJ.com

Subscribe if:

• You are a systematic learner who wants principle-first, complete systems rather than random techniques.
• You are a beginner who needs clear progression paths and troubleshooting (start with the free Foundations courses).
• You want to fix a specific weakness – subscribe for 1-3 months, follow a complete Set, then cancel.
• You are a fan of Lachlan Giles’ teaching style – methodical, systems-based, troubleshooting for every technique.
• You are a coach looking for curriculum structure (the Coaching Essentials Sets have 55+ courses each).
• You are time-poor and can only study 10-15 minutes but want structured progress.

Skip it if:

• You prefer owning content forever – BJJ Fanatics lets you download and keep instructionals permanently.
• You want variety of instructor perspectives – BJJ Fanatics has 1,200+ instructors from every lineage.
• You are mobile-first – no native app, and the mobile browser experience has friction.
• Budget is tight – at $20+/month this is not casual viewing.
• You need deep dives on niche topics – Lachlan’s own BJJ Fanatics anthologies go deeper on specific areas.
• You are not willing to do the exercises – the real value comes from the systematic approach, not passive watching.

After three years of testing Submeta, here is my assessment: Lachlan Giles has built the most structured remote learning system for Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

• What makes it special: the layered learning approach, review questions, troubleshooting sections, and Sets that connect techniques into complete systems. This is not a random technique collection – it is a systematic curriculum that actually works.
• The main limitation: cost. At $20+ per month per instructor, this is for serious students, not casual viewers, and the per-instructor model means costs snowball fast if you want multiple perspectives.
• The fair comparison: Submeta excels at structured learning from one great teacher; BJJ Fanatics excels at deep dives and variety from 1,200+ instructors. They serve different needs, and many serious students use both.
• My recommendation: try it for one month with code BJJMORE. Focus on one problem area – escapes, guard, or passing – follow Lachlan’s complete system for that position, do the exercises, and see if the systematic approach clicks.