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This website is about Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ). I'm a black belt who started in 2006, teaching and training at Artemis BJJ in Bristol, UK. All content ©Can Sönmez

03 December 2009

03/12/2009 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #267



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 03/12/2009

Tonight Kev started things off with a basic standing pass. First, get a grip on their sleeve, while securing the usual double-collar grip with the other hand. Stand up by first stepping your same side foot up to their hip on the sleeve grip side (though Kev said it didn't matter too much where exactly you put that foot), bringing the other leg back. It's important they can't hook that foot, so you want to keep it out of harm's way.

Posture up, still holding their sleeve. Push their knee off your hip on the other side and trap their lower leg with your shin. Switch the grip on their sleeve to behind their leg: this is to stop them bridging and rolling you during the pass attempt. Finally, swing your back leg all the way over, then switch your hips again to move into side control.

For the person on the bottom, Kev showed a triangle from the overhook. I frequently try to land that overhook grip from guard, so it was helpful to have another lesson on the topic. First, you need to remove their grip from your collars, which will also give you the opportunity to control the arm for an overhook.

Your opposite hand grabs their sleeve, while your other hand slips underneath their arm, holding your other wrist, resulting in a figure four grip. Yank upwards, circling your same side elbow out as you simultaneously use your earlier sleeve grip to pull their arm down by your head.

Once you've circled your elbow free, you can now lock in your overhook, reaching through for their collar. If you can't get their collar, grab their own: the important thing is to bring your overhooking elbow tight to your side, to stop them slipping their arm free.

From here, there are lots of possible attacks: you could grip with your free hand by their shoulder to go for a choke, swivel to an armbar, or possibly an omoplata. For the triangle Kev demonstrated, begin by sliding your free hand down to their same side wrist. Shrimp out slightly in the other direction, so you can insert your shin into their bicep (so, reminiscent of the triangle set-up on Gracie Combatives).

Next, you want to wriggle that leg through until the foot is on the bicep. Push through, and immediately lock your ankles on their back, ready to progress with the triangle. Raise your hips to bring their arm across, then grab your shin. Push off their hip with your other foot, then lock in the triangle. From here, finish the submission. You could also underhook their free arm to create a better angle, which will enhance your choke.

Specific sparring brought up lots of things to work on, as Callum completely destroyed my posture from his guard. After asking him and thinking about it, my main mistakes were not posturing up enough, leaving my collar gripping arm too far forward, but most importantly, failing to get good control of his hips.

I was looking for the guard pass from Tuesday, but each time I established a grip on both his collars, Callum immediately climbed up my shoulder for the attack. From that point on I was defending, every time. My other hand was normally far back enough that I could avoid the triangle and armbar, though he did surprise me with a kimura at one point, which I'd forgotten about in my focus on the armbar defence.

I think that possibly because I kept on establishing that collar grip first, I was leaving his hips free to shrimp and attack the exposed arm. It might be better if instead I went to control the hips first, then grabbed that collar grip. Leaving those hips mobile leaves me wide open for submissions, as there is nothing to control the person on the bottom.

A couple of times I was able to back out slightly and shift round to the side, initiating a pass. However, Callum was always able to get a knee in the way, then generally either sweep me or take the back. What I should have done was grip the back of his trousers and collapses his knees together, with my bodyweight. I could then have worked the pass from there.

Underneath, I was able to break down his posture, such as by bringing my knees to my chest as he tried to stand. However, I wasn't able to capitalise on that broken posture. I'd get head control, usually bringing my arm over the head and grasping gi material by the other armpit, but Callum eventually got free and postured up.

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