Lachlan Giles is one of the top-notch Aussie grapplers and arguably one of the best Melbourne-born BJJ fighters ever. He is a no-gi expert who completed the most prestigious BJJ competitions, including the ADCC. Indeed, Lachlan is one of the best jiu-jitsu coaches in the world.
This essay will inform you about some Lachlan Giles BJJ facts you may not know. As a result, it will highlight Lachlan’s tournament victories, extraordinary grappling techniques, and other noteworthy things.
Lachlan Giles Was Born In Melbourne, Australia
Lachlan Giles was born on June 17th, 1986, in the capital of the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. Interestingly, he wasn’t much interested in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in his early life stages.
Giles’ First Martial Art Was Kung Fu
As a huge fan of actor Jet Li, Giles trained in kung fu in the first place. He enjoyed tricky hand moves and stances and believed it was an excellent martial art for self-defense.
Some styles of kung fu, especially “drunken fist,” might come in handy when you don’t wear gloves against the bully or the aggressive opponent. But the majority of them lack in the ground game. The UFC 1 tape changes Lachlan’s life forever.
Giles Was Hooked When He Saw Royce Gracie’s UFC 1 Performance
If you’re a diehard UFC fan, then you probably wondered how a 175, 180-pound competitor, Royce Gracie, scored three submission victories against way heavier Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock, and Gerard Gordeau.
Back in 1993, nobody knew about the real power of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Smother and the rear-naked chokes were too much for street fighters and the masters of the striking martial arts.
Lachlan Giles watched Gracie’s UFC 1 performance and decided to visit a BJJ class as a 15-year-old because he was impressed by the power of martial arts.
He was slowly distancing himself from kung fu, and after a few months, he decided to dedicate himself to a grappling career fully.
Lachlan Giles Is a Black Belt Under John Simon
Giles’ first instructor was Tyrone Crosse, and he earned the purple belt under his guidance.
Yet, an unlucky, severe knee injury forced him out of the training sessions. But, when he returned, there were some changes inside his dojo, and Lachlan started working with coach John Simon, who helped him reach brown and black belt rankings.
Lachlan Giles Lost Seven Times Via Submission
Giles’ career lasted since 2014, and he squared off against multiple high-level names. He dealt with mixed martial artists, no-gi, and gi experts, scoring 38 wins and 18 losses, seven via submission.
Giles finished his opponent 25 times but also lost seven times via submission – to Gilbert Burns, Garry Tonon, Roberto Satoshi, JT Torres, Otavio Sousa, Kade Ruotolo, and Gordon Ryan.
In his early stages, Giles’ weak spot was the armbar (Three losses to Burns, Tonon, and Kade Ruotolo). But he works actively to fix that and rocks his defense!
Related: Building a brutal Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game requires knowledge of several Submission techniques. So, I’ve written a lengthy article on the most effective BJJ submissions you must know, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced practitioner. Click here to learn more!
Lachlan Competes In Middleweight Division
Giles is a dangerous middleweight (82.3 kg) fighter. Therefore, thanks to his superb all-around game and tricky, hard-to-anticipate bottom techniques, he can give heavyweights and super heavyweights a hard time in an absolute weight class.
Lachlan Giles Is Worldwide Known for K-Guard Attacks and Variations
The K-Guard is a stealthy and efficient open guard position in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It is primarily used by many no-gi grapplers, including Lachlan Giles, to defeat opponents in high professional tournaments.
Lachlan is known as a K-guard pioneer, a fighter ahead of his era with a tremendous heel hook pedigree and “outside sankaku” position.
When you square off against Lachlan Giles, you must be ready for everything because his all-around game will make you crazy. Lose your focus for one second, and you might end up tapping – this guy is equally dangerous from every BJJ position!
Although, you can’t expect much from a K-guard in MMA combat. This is because every skillful opponent will flex his attacked limb, sit on the top of you, or try to rotate and end up on the top of you. You can also eat too many unnecessary punches while setting up this position.
Yet, when it comes to the BJJ game, K-guard unlocks so many lovely new construction options. It reminds me of MMA chain wrestling against the fence.
You can do whatever you want from a successful K-guard, as long as your foe mustn’t punish you with big punches or kicks. Luckily, BJJ rules don’t allow striking.
Lachlan Giles Loves Crucifix Armbar and Inside Heel Hook
The crucifix armbar is pretty much a rare submission. In MMA, finishing your opponent from the crucifix is easy, thanks to elbows and punches.
But this is not the most excellent position for control in BJJ because you must risk a submission attempt. Yet, Giles has three wins via an unusual crucifix armbar.
The submission that brought him the most significant number of victories is the inside heel hook, with 13 wins. Giles mastered it later in his career, and this technique stopped legendary Ricco Rodriguez, Patrick Gaudio, Kaynan Duarte…
Lachlan Was Dealing With Multiple Injuries Throughout His Career
In the early stages of his career, Giles was out of the mats because of severe knee issues. Upon earning his black belt, the Aussie grappler was forced to withdraw from mats because of another injury.
Giles started working as a coach at the Absolute MMA Academy in 2013 and recovered from an injury. Thiago Stefanutti affected his submission game a lot.
Lachlan Giles also had a break from 2019 to 2022 in competitions. Guess why – another injury… but let’s hope the new chapter of his life is coming.
Giles is a great coach at the moment, but he’s got a lot of competitive potential; the Aussie might storm the division in the coming years.
Giles Won First Place at Both IBJJF Pan-Pacific Championship GI and No-GI Tournaments
Thanks to his all-around approach, Lachlan Giles doesn’t make much difference between gi and no-gi competitions. This innovator knows how to deal with all kinds of opponents because of his top-notch fight IQ.
He is one of the rare competitors who won first place in the IBJJF Pan-Pacific Gi and No-Gi championships. Most of his moves work in no-gi tournaments, so Giles doesn’t have difficulty dealing with all kinds of foes.
To defeat Lachlan Giles, you must anticipate better than him. Sometimes, you’ll feel he knows what you will do; he is pretty good in submission switch and transition defenses.
Lachlan Giles ADCC
At the absolute weight class, Lachlan Giles performed well in the ADCC World Championship 2019. In that tournament, he won the bronze medal by defeating Mohamed Aly.
Otherwise, he heel-hooked three heavy and super heavyweights, which is an excellent record.
Lachlan gets another chance to triumph in the ADCC World Championship 2022 in the -77kg bracket. However, he was eliminated by an armlock in round 16 by Kade Rotuolo.
Conclusion
Lachlan Giles is known for constantly improving his skills, and new-era BJJ moves.
You don’t see K-guard and outside sankaku position too often. Thanks to his excellent grappling knowledge, this guy doesn’t care whether he participates in gi or no-gi competitions.
Here is the list of Giles’ greatest achievements:
- 1st Place ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials (2015 / 2017 / 2019)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan-Pacific Championship (2016** / 2017**)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan-Pacific Championship No-Gi (2016** / 2017**)
- 1st Place UAEJJF Continental Pro (2018)
- 1st Place Kinektic Invitational 1 (2019)
- 2nd Place Boa Super 8 1st Edition (2015)
- 2nd Place Boa Super 8 2nd Edition (2015)
- 2nd Place UAEJJF Grand Slam Abu Dhabi (2018)
- 3rd Place ADCC World Championship (2019*)
- 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2017)
- 3rd Place EBI 5 (2015)
* Absolute
** Weight and absolute
Giles is slowly getting back into the winning column; let’s hope we’ll see him in many great tournaments!
