31/03/2014 - Bravo vs Royler Thoughts | Artemis BJJ (Escape from Mount to Deep Half)

Class #553
Bristol Sports Centre, (Artemis BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 31/03/2014

Metamoris III has been the talk of the town, with a lot of praise for Bravo. It's had a significant impact on his reputation, which has spilled over to a renewed appreciation for his school and system. However, it doesn't change my views on 10th Planet, as I still haven't seen anyone successfully use the system at a high level and win major titles. That will be the test. Unfortunately, some have already spun the result as "see, 10th Planet does work!", whereas it's more accurate to say "see, Bravo can make his game work!"

Nevertheless, even though this proves little about the efficacy of 10th Planet for the average student, it at least proves Bravo himself can use 10th Planet at a high level. You could quibble about age, but his performance was impressive. Bravo proved it already, as seen on his old The Twister DVD that compiles lots of his comp footage, but Metamoris III was a great reminder. There was a good breakdown by Alaina Hardie over on the Underground, where she argued that if there had been points, Bravo would have won 9-4. Of course, Royler would have approached a points match differently, so it's a moot point, but still interesting to consider.

Hopefully all of this attention and discussion will mean we get to see a high level 10th Planet rep against a current high level competitor from somewhere else at the next Metamoris. Bravo/Royler was a good start, which should help set it up. I guess it would be either Denny Prokopos or Adam Sachnoff, as they appear to be the most successful of the current 10th Planet competitors.
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Unusually, tonight it was all blue belts, apart from Dónal and I. Dónal therefore decided to teach something a little bit more advanced, though still based off the mount. He began with some drills, for when they are almost preventing your pass. Raise up your leg, like you're a dog going for a wee, then bring that over their leg and push it into the side of their knee. Backstep with the other leg, moving around to side control on the other side. There was also a more acrobatic one, where the motion is similar, but you jump over and twist in mid-air.

The main technique was based around my favourite mount escape, the heel drag. Get on your side, knock them in the bum with your knee to make them lighter, then hook their foot with your heel and drag them into quarter-guard. If you find that at this point, the person on top has great base and you can't get up on your side to secure the half guard, you can instead switch into deep half and sweep.

The specific deep half sweep is I think what's commonly known as the waiter sweep. Although you can't finish your heel drag, you should still be able to twist their leg enough that there is a gap behind their knee, suspended above your hip. Reach into that gap, bumping them forward with the back of you hand and again knocking their bum with your knee. Scoot underneath to move into deep half.

Again using the back of your hand, reach behind their ankle and bend their leg around your own leg. Reach your free hand behind them and grip their belt, or their gi if you either can't reach the belt or it's too loose. Kick the leg you have pressing into theirs forwards, to roll them over and onto their back. Switch your free hand to underhook their other leg, maintaining the pressure as you move your body perpendicular (I think? I got a bit confused at this point). Bring your leg back to stop them securing half guard, getting them almost into a sort of 'banana split' type position, until the tension is such that you can pop your leg over and transition to side control. Here's how Tim Peterson from Robot BJJ shows it:



Of course, if like me you find yourself getting perplexed in the midst of this sweep, the simpler Homer Simpson option is there instead, where you just pull their knee outwards with your hand and spin on top. We followed that up with a bit of specific sparring, which I can't remember, then getting into the free sparring, I started by stalling looking for a pass again. I was looking for the half guard pass for a good while, then at some point ended up on my back.

It got even worse, as I was later fending off a back take. What happens quite often is that I vaguely get out and I'm looking to grab their arm and get my weight onto them, but it just turns into a stalemate for a while until I mess up my grip and they retake the back. That's definitely something I want to look into for my private lesson with Kev this weekend.

Next spar, I was able to pass to side control and was surprised to get that lapel choke I like, but only because my partner hadn't seen it before. I showed them what I did afterwards, so that should mean next time they won't let me get that grip as easily. Playing guard I was trying to go for the spider guard sweep Kev showed me and got into position, but I was missing a few details so failed to affect their base. I also tried the lasso sweep when they pass around to side control, but didn't have leverage: I think I hadn't lifted his leg and was relying too much on simply using the pressure on his arm.

27/03/2014 - High Mount Details with Dónal | Kinergy GrappleThon Hits £2,600 | Flying To The US (VA, TX, FL)

Class #552
Hit Fit, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 27/03/2014

Not long now until the GrappleThon on the 12th April: you can find the full details here. We're getting close to our £3,000 target, breaking through the £2,500 barrier this week. It's for a great local charity, so if you'd like to help us reach that goal, then made a deposit in your karma bank and throw a few pennies/cents/yen etc at our JustGiving page, here! :D

In other news (although I think I've mentioned this already, so not really news), I'm going to be flying to the US in April. This time round, I'm heading to Virginia, Texas (return visit to Georgette, because she's awesome) and Florida. I'm looking forward to finally meeting some more of the brilliant people I've met online: if you are near Virginia Beach, Austin, West Palm Beach or Lakeland, let me know as I always find it cool to meet more people from the online BJJ community. Well, unless you're a crazy axe-murderer who isn't Wanderlei Silva, I guess. ;)
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Small class today, which turned into a really useful masterclass on maintaining the mount, specifically high mount. It followed on nicely from what I taught yesterday, as Dónal has a slightly different way of approaching the high mount. Although he also suggests walking up with your knees, he has a great detail to finish off.

When you're high enough, you want to really fire that knee forward by pushing off your toes, with the aim of having your knee slightly off the ground, by their triceps. When you've got that on both arms, you end up in a low squat, squeezing your knees together. This is a good way of immobilising their arms, and normally means at least one is stuck up in front of you. It's then straightforward to either push it against your leg for an armbar, or wristlock them.

Another tip Dónal suggested for controlling them is to bring your upper body right over to one side (especially if they are trying to turn that way), then put the back of your arm by their head and move your upper body all the way over to the other side. This should put a lot of weight on them and make it hard for them to bridge in either direction. From here, you can move up and then go into the knee pinch squat as before.

There was a lot of drilling and exploring, with Dónal making sure he drove home any technical pointers by getting students to repeatedly spar with me (as Dónal injured his foot recently). That also means he can observe while they spar, which is an excellent idea from an instruction perspective. He then had them spar with me again after giving them some further technical pointers: I could definitely feel significant improvement from the students after the third or fourth time.

Given all the Gracie University controversy recently, it's worth emphasising that observation is only viable if firstly you are there in person and can correct mistakes like Dónal did, plus you're also jumping in yourself occasionally (if you're not prevented by injury). You'll notice other details when you are rolling with a student than when you're just watching them. That lack of interaction is the biggest problem with Gracie University (my massive review here). Recently Rener and Ryron have tried to respond to the criticism by adding a preliminary 'technical belt' to the promotion system, which have to be verified in person before they are promoted, rather than awarding purely online. Good to see, but there's much further to go ;D).

Although it was mostly for the benefit of the students, the sparring was really useful for me too. I've been having that issue with mount where I can get up high, but I can't seem to stay right up high, as I end up slipping back down (about the same place as I am in the picture on the right, though my posture would be low). Dónal's squat-pinch method could be the solution I've been looking for and it worked a few times today in sparring. Excellent!

In sparring, I managed to get the knee pinch squat straight away, going for a wristlock then switched to a simple armbar where you push their arm against your leg, levering the elbow. Underneath, I am possibly using too much elbow to escape into my typical heel drag, as this week I've had an increasingly sore left bicep (which is the side I most commonly escape on). I was also shoving when they left any space (e.g., technical mount), so that could be it to. Either way, if I'm getting sore after training, then I'm probably using too much force.

With free sparring, it was a similar situation once I made it to mount, though I didn't manage to finish it that time. I also ended up in side control at one point, locking in the figure four. Unusually for me, as I couldn't get the kimura I switched to an armbar. I couldn't break the grip and my memory failed me on methods. I vaguely looked for a wristlock and was just in the process of trying to remember the one where you kick with your leg as time ran out. If I went for armbars more often, that would help it become more instinctive, but armbars just aren't a big part of my game because I don't like the increased risk of losing position (compared to a choke or something similarly tight).

26/03/2014 - Teaching (Maintaining High Mount)

Teaching #147
Bristol Sports Centre (Artemis BJJ), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 26/03/2014

The drawback to the low mount is that there aren't many submissions from there: the ezequiel is one of the few high percentage attacks. In terms of their defence, they are mostly going to be trying to unhook your feet and digging their elbows under your knees, so you'll be battling to keep those in place.

To attack, you're better off climbing further up, into high mount. Again, you need to worry about their hips. To control them, put your feet by their bum, tucking your toes underneath: Roger Gracie points this out as of particular importance. In what you might call 'middle' mount where you're still over their hips, Saulo suggests that you 'ride' their bridges, like you were on a horse. Lean back, then as they bridge, lift up: you’re aiming to move with their hips, rather than just leaving a big space. So, this takes a good understanding of timing.

He also recommends against leaning forward, as he feels that gives them more space and leverage to escape. Hence why he leans back instead. Experiment, seeing how holding the head works for you versus leaning back. I think Saulo’s method requires more experience, and personally I feel unstable there, but as ever, I want to offer students choice whenever possible.

The danger of leaning back is when you're facing somebody with flexibility and/or long limbs. They might be able reach their legs over to kick into your armpits, either sliding out through your legs or pushing your over. You must control their hips with your feet, to prevent them from bending their body. Swimming the arms through might help you out here, this time against their legs, depending on how they attack. If they do get their feet in place, I generally grab on the back of their collar, stay really low, then attempt to gradually work my hips back to flatten them out: that worked for me last time it happened.

Another option is to move off their hips, shifting into an even higher mount. Gradually walk your knees into their armpits (pulling on the top of their head may help, which will also stop them wriggling back out) being careful of the elbows. If they start to work an elbow into your thigh, twist to one side and raise that knee. Pull their arm up with whatever you can grab, then reinsert your knee. I've seen Rob S teach grabbing their sleeve with your opposite hand, while Mauricio likes to grab the elbow with their opposite hand and Felipe essentially shifts to technical mount for a moment.
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: I started off with John's control point theory this time, as I think that helps me structure my teaching. I still felt a little more rushed than I would like, though I don't think I added in too much. I mentioned things like using a grip on the back of the collar to stop them slipping out the back, but not sure how essential that is to note. I'm also continuing my sparring format of starting with specifics, then going into free sparring but have people start from the same position as specifics. Seems to work ok.

Chris was using a nice escape to get out of my high mount, gradually working past my leg. I was still able to maintain a tight grip though, and because I'd already worked one leg up high, I could switch straight into a strong side control. However, I'd of course prefer to not lose the position at all. I perhaps need to be more proactive about yanking their arm up and switching to technical mount, or simply switching back to low mount if it feels like my high mount is slipping (which is the option I went for).

I'm also still not managing to get their arms up by their head: I seem to end up putting them horizontal. I'm wondering if rather than going for the armpits I should be driving just below their elbows to really jam their arm by their head? But that might leave them space to wriggle free. I also had a play with grab the sleeve of their arm with the hand I had under their head, which sort of worked but I'm not sure how useful it is.

Underneath I keep forgetting to try Verhoeven's escape from the low mount where you do some mini-bridges to york your hand in, then shove into their opposite hip. I'm also relying to much on shoving to escape technical mount, pushing into their leg and I bring my knee in. It generally works, but I feel like there should be a more leverage based option. Saulo basically just sits up and pushes, but I haven't got the hang of that one yet (and it makes me feel more vulnerable, but I'll never get better at it if I don't at least try it out. Still, something I could drill once we start having open mats).

24/03/2014 - Artemis BJJ (Quarter-Guard Choke As They Escape Mount)

Class #551
Bristol Sports Centre, (Artemis BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 24/03/2014

My girlfriend and I spent a few days in the Mumbles recently, which is near Swansea in Wales, stopping off at the excellent Caerphilly Castle on the way (an absolute bargain at less than a fiver: the castle is enormous and they've packed it with cool audio-visual touches that don't detract from the mood of the place. If Tussauds got their hands on it, the price would quadruple and it would be stuffed with the same dodgy waxworks as Warwick Castle). The weather wasn't great (though Saturday brightened up a bit), but there are some lovely walks around the Mumbles, especially if you drive a bit further into the Gower. Three Cliffs Bay has some beautiful views with decent paths: as I tend to end up looking at my feet more than the view if the path is made up of lots of uneven rocks, that's a big plus for me. :)

We stayed at Norton House, an average three star hotel with less than impressive service. Still, we were there on an offer, so at least we didn't pay too much. The room was ok, but the food wasn't up to much. A considerably better choice if you're looking for food is Verdi's, right up the end of the walk along the seaside. Affordable Italian food (less than £10), massive portions and extremely quick service. There is a castle around there too, Oystermouth Castle, but unfortunately it was closed.

Also, a quick GrappleThon update before I get to the training: we're fast approaching £2,500, which is awesome. Please keep the donations coming! :D
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Continuing on the mount, Dónal went for an interesting attack where you hit them on the transition with a choke from quarter guard. As they are trying to escape your mount, pulling your lower leg into quarter guard (the first stage of my favoured heel drag), they will be turned on their side towards that leg. This will normally mean that the back of their collar will be flared out around the back of their neck. Shove your arm (on the same side as your trapped leg) into that collar, palm out, gripping the collar and shoving your knuckles to the mat.

They will feel as though they can get half guard from here. Bait them to turn towards your other leg by pulling with your arm, making sure they don't manage to crawl their legs up above your knee (as then they will have half guard: you don't want them to progress beyond quarter-guard, where they only have your lower leg or foot). At this point, lock in that grip you established earlier, keeping your elbow by their chest and bending your wrist into their neck. Dónal described this as like you're casting a line when fishing.

To finish off the choke, your other hand reaches for their far shoulder blade, pressing the forearm into their neck just below their jaw. Gradually drop your head to the mat on that side, leaning slightly on your arm while tightening your first grip, taking the slack out of their gi. That should get the tap. If for some reason you're too loose or just can't finish, you can always complete your pass. Use your first grip to shove them away from you, then slide your knee through, being careful not to open up your elbow or they can underhook and take the back. Your arm needs to stay there as a barrier.

My sparring started off with Dónal, where we were keeping it light due to his injured foot. I tried briefly to get into the running escape again to try the tips from Kev, but I wasn't getting into position very well: Dónal was still able to attack my neck, meaning my defence must have been too lose. Most of the roll I was spinning around trying to maintain my guard as Dónal looked to pass. This is definitely one of the areas I need more work: Dónal kept it very light and playful, but it's the same place where I was getting repeatedly smashed by the guys at Legacy. Something is up with my open guard that is letting me get passed too easily, so I need to shore up those holes.

I finished off with one of the white belts, with them starting in mount. He was using my own mount against me, which was cool, keeping that low mount and plenty of pressure. I couldn't do a whole lot of escape, though again I think this might have been a good opportunity to try the Saulo bridge into their leg and push to half guard. There was a window to get out when he started moving up: we eventually ended up with me holding a sort of closed guard. I managed to reverse him, but sloppily. I was looking for a sweep and ended up shoving him over into scarf hold then side control, without any real technique.

His gi collar came in range so I could lock in the bow and arrow choke grip, but I wasn't in technical mount. I tried driving my leg over to get into the right place, but without enough control so he rolled back into my guard. I still had the grip through, which coupled with some pressure from my leg proved enough to get a choke. However, again that was sloppy and more about force. I need to settle into that bow and arrow choke more firmly next time: I wouldn't have landed that against anybody more experienced.

19/03/2014 - Teaching (Maintaining Low Mount)

Teaching #146
Bristol Sports Centre (Artemis BJJ), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 13/03/2014

There are two basic types of mount to choose from, which I'll call low and high. Once you've achieved mount, I find that low mount provides the most control. First off, you want to immobilise their hips, as their main method of making space is to bridge up forcefully.

Bring your feet right back, threading them around their legs to establish two hooks: this is known as a grapevine. Alternatively, you can also cross your feet underneath, which has the advantage of making it much harder for them to push your hooks off. Your knees are ideally off the ground, to generate maximum pressure. How far off the ground they are depends on your dimensions: the key is getting loads of hip pressure. Another option, which I learned from Rob Stevens at Gracie Barra Birmingham, is to put the soles of your feet together and then bring your knees right off the floor.

Whichever option you're going for, thrust those hips into them, using your hands for base, where again you have a couple of options. Either have both arms out, or put one under the head (remember, you can always remove it for base if you're really getting thrown hard to that side) while the other goes out wide for base. Try to grip the gi material by their opposite shoulder, or even better, by the opposite armpit. Keep your head on the basing arm side, loading up your weight there. If they're bridging hard, you can switch from side to side.

A basic escape is to trap an arm, bridge and roll. So, don't let them grab your arm and crush it to their side. Instead, swim it through, like Ryron and Rener demonstrate in the third slice of the third lesson in Gracie Combatives. Be sure to do it one at a time, or you may get both arms squashed to your sides.

The drawback to the low mount is that there aren't many submissions from there: the ezequiel is one of the few high percentage attacks. In terms of their defence, they are mostly going to be trying to unhook your feet and digging their elbows under your knees, so you'll be battling to keep those in place.

You therefore tend shift into high mount in order to initiate your attack. But as this is just a 1 hour class, I'll be covering that some other time. ;)
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Teaching Notes: Although I managed to remember everything, I think I rushed through the demonstration a bit, as it didn't feel as coherent as I wanted it to. Next time, I should remember to bring in that jnp framework I like, which helps to structure the teaching. I threw in details on swimming your arms thought and pulling up the elbow, but that also felt like it didn't fit as well as it could have. They are both useful points to know for low mount, so I could try rejigging my teaching to add them more effectively next time.

I changed the lesson structure a little at the end, in regards to sparring. Normally I just go with specific sparring, as when I only have an hour I think it's important. However, a few people have mentioned they would like more sparring (via Dónal), so I wanted to make sure I started adding in some free sparring. My compromise was to have free sparring, but starting from mount. That way there is still some of the focus from before, but it puts that focus in context, which is hopefully useful. :)

15/03/2014 - Legacy BJJ at Urban Kings

Class #550
Urban Kings, (Legacy BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 15/03/2014

I haven't had a whole Saturday morning and afternoon in London to myself for a good while, so I determined to make the most of it. I started off with an exhibition at the National Gallery that caught my eye (to ignore my babble about art and skip straight to training, click here), as it focused on the Northern Renaissance, specifically Germany. It wasn't as large as I had hoped - I had wrongly thought it would be some extensive examination, when it was in fact a tightly curated narrative - but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I especially liked the engraving of St Christopher by Albrecht Altdorfer, which I think is normally in the British Museum. I thought it looked surprisingly modern, almost like a piece of comic book art, rather than something from 16th century Germany.

The strength of Strange Beauty was the excellent audio guide and clearly defined structure. There was nothing haphazard about the arrangement of works around the rooms: they were all there to tell the story of how German art first entered the National Gallery collection. That meant not only did you get to see some of those early additions, you also got the full context, with comparative paintings put alongside. For example, when discussing the low reputation of German painting back in early 19th century Britain, there is the useful counterpoint of the kind of painting that was admired, exemplified by Raphael.

Much of the exhibition is made up of paintings from the National Gallery's own collection, but I still felt I got my money's worth due to the insights from the audio guide. I pretty much never go round an art gallery these days without one. Some audio guides fall down on a lack of coverage, picking out the odd painting but leaving most untouched, but this one was relatively broad. It also often went beyond the pieces with the specific audio guide marker on them, giving you orders like "now turn to the painting on the left".

The big names at Strange Beauty are Holbein, Cranach and Dürer, along with a few others you may have heard of too, like Altdorfer. It's not all paintings. they are bolstered by miniatures, medals and even original documents discussing the purchases of some of the works. A ticket will set you back £7, while that audio guide is another £3 (I think, as I paid a tenner, but that might be the £1 Gift Aid). Looking around at reviews of the show, a number of them complained about paying to see works that would normally be available for free. Personally, I don't begrudge the fee: that lack of entrance fee to the main collection is a wonderful privilege.

It took me around an hour and a half to explore the exhibition fully, though I go quite slowly. Head right down the bottom of the Sainsbury Wing: Strange Beauty is in the basement all the way down the stairs, down from the cloakroom and main ticket desk a few floors up. Remember to buy your ticket from that desk before you descend into the depths of the gallery.

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Ever since Jude set up his new club, I have been meaning to pop down and check out the class. It has taken me so long to finally make the time that the club isn't really 'new': Legacy BJJ has moved location several times, with at least one person there who wasn't training when I last saw Jude but is now a purple belt. I guess five years is a pretty long time. ;)

The current home of Legacy BJJ is near Kings Cross Station at the swish Urban Kings gym. It's a classy venue, from the front desk through to the card-operated turnstiles, the extensive weight training facilities, boxing ring and a matted area. Even the bench by the lockers in the changing rooms is upholstered with plush padding all along its length. It therefore also isn't cheap, with a day rate of £20 (I've heard RGA is the same, but that's from quite a few years ago now). Bring a padlock with you for the locker: the showers have soap and shower gel in them, but you'll need your own towel.

I was mainly there because I wanted to catch up with Jude. He was one of my first instructors, along with Felipe, and he's also the guy who awarded me my blue belt back in 2008. Naturally I was hoping to get in some training as well, which on Saturday at Legacy BJJ is open mat. After the warm-up, Jude moved into a few drills, starting with the basic bullfighter pass, then a slightly more complex option. Interestingly, Jude split his demonstration between a technique for the advanced students then another for the beginners. For example, x-pass for the advanced student, for the beginner, just stand up in guard and push the leg down. This is something Ricardo da Silva also did when I was at Nova Forca: it's a sensible approach to mixed ability classes.

There was then some specific sparring from guard, with the person on top looking to pass and the person on the bottom trying to sweep or submit. My guard passing remains terrible, consisting mostly of stalling. I stayed on my toes, trying to keep my balance and looking for an opportunity. That means that it becomes a matter of waiting to be swept or submitted rather than initiating any kind of technique. It's a bad habit I still haven't shaken off, especially when I'm visiting another school.

Moving into the free sparring, I had the useful experience of getting beaten up by three higher level partners. First up was a brown belt, who proceeded to easily dismantle my guard, immediately passing. I'm not sure if it was a leg drag or a basic bullfighter pass, but either way my guard was completely useless. I'm being too passive as ever, so I should work more proactively to get some kind of grip with both my hands and feet. It happened three times, IIRC: on the third occasion I tried to get into what I hoped was the stronger position of Kev's sitting guard, but got passed exactly the same way.

The vast majority of my sparring time was spent in the running escape position. Both the brown belt and the purple belt I went with next treated it the same way Kev had warned in our last private: halfway to a leg-drag pass. I did manage to grab a sleeve and stiff arm, but couldn't convert that into some kind of escape. Their knee pressed firmly into my leg made making space difficult. I also attempted to hook the leg into the empty half Kev had demonstrated, but couldn't get any purchase. I was perhaps still too flat and not pushing off them to make some space, in the way Dónal advised back in his private on the same topic a while ago.

I swung my legs through a few times, though I can't remember who that was against, but not sufficiently to make any headway with guard recovery. I'd just bounce off their arm or side and end right back under side control in the running escape position. More commitment to the leg swing might help, along with making more space initially for the swing.

I ended up squashed under mount with the brown belt too, who gradually got tighter walking up into my armpits (I couldn't get my leg flat on the ground to attempt the heel drag: Saulo's escape where he bridges into their leg then pushes it to half guard could have been worth trying too), then switched to s-mount. I had expected him to drop back for the armbar, when I thought I might have a small chance to try and escape during the transition, but he simply pushed my arm outwards for an americana. It also makes me think I should be trying s-mount more myself, as I often have trouble finishing from mount.

Jude unsurprisingly made me feel like a white belt. He was taking it easy, waiting for me to do something, but I was unable to do a whole lot. Jude watched as I moved into a lasso spider guard, then totally failed to disrupt his base at all. I was trying to push into his non-lassoed arm to get him to stand-up, like Kev showed, but he didn't budge. Switching to the running escape at some later point, I was flopping around ineffectually as usual against higher belts. Jude gradually moved to take the back and then choked me, I think. So, our most recent roll probably wasn't much different to our last one back in 2009. ;)

Rolling finished with a purple belt who is also an MMA fighter. He stuck with a very relaxed pace and like Jude was waiting to see if I did anything. Again, much of the roll was spent with me in the running escape looking for an opening. It is always good to spar with people better than you, along with people at the same level and people who aren't as experienced. Given my current situation, most of my sparring partners are new, meaning it's especially useful visiting mature clubs like Jude's and Kev's.

I need to keep improving my woeful guard, creating better angles and being careful of grips (both in terms of breaking theirs and establishing my own). My passing still needs loads of work, where again angles might help: I tried sitting on the leg as per the Dónal private from a while back but my positioning was off. Pinning the legs with good grips would help too. Under mount, I'd like to incorporate that Saulo escape in there, as it looks like a good option when you've messed up and they've gotten high up into your armpits. Finally, back escapes and over-reliance on a stalling running escape. On the positive side of things, I was grabbing the sleeve, so taking my own advice of breaking down techniques into components, that's something I can hopefully build on. :)

13/03/2014 - Teaching (Elbow Escape from Mount)

Teaching #145
Hit Fit (BJJ), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 13/03/2014

As a rule of thumb, if you're underneath, you don't want to be flat on your back. So, start your elbow escape by turning to your side, getting a shoulder off the floor. Saulo notes that you should be doing this as early as possible: if they are working to mount from side control, set up your escape during the transition, rather than waiting for them to secure their mount. Work an elbow inside their knee and set up your frame, in order to push into the leg.

There are several ways of framing for that push. I personally like to keep defending my neck throughout, using my elbows to dig into their leg. That keeps my neck safe, but it does limit your range and reduce leverage: you'll need to curl in towards their leg to generate enough push. The other main option is to extend your arms further towards their hip, leaving your neck vulnerable but considerably beefing up your leverage. That frame is also handy for stopping them moving up higher in mount.

When I went to the seminar with the Dutch black belt under Rickson, Michel Verhoeven, he began by reaching across to their opposite hip with his hand, keeping his arm slightly bent. He then pushed on the hip: if they were higher up, he would form a frame with his arms and push. That second option is the one my fellow Artemis BJJ co-founder Dónal likes to teach, putting one arm across their hip (the hand is by one hip, the elbow by their other hip). For extra leverage, brace that first arm with your other hand, against your wrist. Stephan Kesting recommends keeping the hand of the hip-arm in a fist, to lock in the grip (so your second hand doesn't slide off as easily).

Whichever option you use, the idea is to make enough space from the combination of your shrimp and bridge to pull your leg through. As with side control escapes, don't just bridge and plop back down, it needs to combine with your shrimp. The leg you're trying to pull free should be flat: if it isn't, they will be able to trap it with their leg. Having that leg flat also makes it easier to pull out. You other foot will be on the floor with the knee raised, in order to provide the push for your shrimp.

After you're on your side, bump slightly, then pry their leg open with your elbow. Aim to pop your knee through between their legs initially. If you can pull the whole leg out in one, great, but don't be greedy. Getting that first knee through will mean you can then brace your leg against their thigh, aiding your second shrimp to free your other leg. Once one of your legs is fully out, you can then use it to wrap around one of theirs and hook under their leg with your instep, or put your free leg around their back (be sure to clamp down if you do that).

You now have the option of moving to half guard (especially if you've wrapped their leg, you're basically there already), open guard (e.g., butterfly) or continue working for full guard. As with escapes under side control, keep shrimping until you have the room to pull your leg free. Even if you can't wrap their leg, you can jam your outside leg tight to theirs, then use that for your base to shrimp.
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: Small class today, but brought up some interesting points nevertheless. The guy I was drilling with mentioned he had an MMA fight in May, so he liked the look of the version I use, with my arms still up near my head. I had never considered how that might be useful from an MMA perspective, because you can still protect yourself from punches that way. However, I am in no way qualified to teach MMA, so I certainly wouldn't want to make any claims about the efficacy of one option over the other inside a cage/ring. ;)

It was also useful for me on top, as I continued to work on getting my knees up high by their head. My problem is that my legs keep slipping back down, it's hard to lock them in place. I could try pushing off my toes slightly, but then I'd be worried about losing purchase on their sides (as I'm clamping the soles of my feet to their sides as I walk up the body for a high mount).

Something potentially helpful I tried was using the arm I had under their head to grab their other arm, pulling it in by their head. That opens up some more space for me to bring my knee up further, which is handy. I'll be playing with that more in future.

12/03/2014 - Kinergy GrappleThon A Month Away & Teaching (Elbow Escape from Mount)

Teaching #144
Bristol Sports Centre, (Artemis BJJ), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 12/03/2014

The Artemis BJJ GrappleThon fundraising is only a month away! The Meerkatsu t-shirts have arrived from Tatami Fightwear (who have both supported the GrappleThons I've run every year so far, plus a whole bunch of others) and the fundraising is hotting up. We're almost at the £2,000 mark: if you want to help push us past that barrier, head over to the donation page, here. :)

For those intending to take part on the 12th April in Bristol (you would be very welcome!), then all the details you need can be found here. If you want to be in with a chance of earning a Meerkatsu 'Heavenly Bow & Arrow' shirt, then then only way to do it is to set up a JustGiving page and raise money for Kinergy at the GrappleThon: details on how to do that over on the Artemis BJJ here.
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As a rule of thumb, if you're underneath, you don't want to be flat on your back. So, start your elbow escape by turning to your side, getting a shoulder off the floor. Saulo notes that you should be doing this as early as possible: if they are working to mount from side control, set up your escape during the transition, rather than waiting for them to secure their mount. Work an elbow inside their knee and set up your frame, in order to push into the leg.

There are several ways of framing for that push. I personally like to keep defending my neck throughout, using my elbows to dig into their leg. That keeps my neck safe, but it does limit your range and reduce leverage: you'll need to curl in towards their leg to generate enough push. The other main option is to extend your arms further towards their hip, leaving your neck vulnerable but considerably beefing up your leverage. That frame is also handy for stopping them moving up higher in mount.

When I went to the seminar with the Dutch black belt under Rickson, Michel Verhoeven, he began by reaching across to their opposite hip with his hand, keeping his arms slightly bent. He then pushed on the hip: if they were higher up, he would form a frame with his arms and push. That second option is the one my fellow Artemis BJJ co-founder Dónal likes to teach, putting one arm across their hip (the hand is by one hip, the elbow by their other hip). For extra leverage, brace that first arm with your other hand, against your wrist. Stephan Kesting recommends keeping the hand of the hip-arm in a fist, to lock in the grip (so your second hand doesn't slide off as easily).

Whichever option you use, the idea is to make enough space from the combination of your shrimp and bridge to pull your leg through. As with side control escapes, don't just bridge and plop back down, it needs to combine with your shrimp. The leg you're trying to pull free should be flat: if it isn't, they will be able to trap it with their leg. Having that leg flat also makes it easier to pull out. You other foot will be on the floor with the knee raised, in order to provide the push for your shrimp.

After you're on your side, bump slightly, then pry their leg open with your elbow. Aim to pop your knee through between their legs initially. If you can pull the whole leg out in one, great, but don't be greedy. Getting that first knee through will mean you can then brace your leg against their thigh, aiding your second shrimp to free your other leg. Once one of your legs is fully out, you can then use it to wrap around one of theirs, or put your free leg around their back.

Again, there are a few variations at this point. The classic elbow escape involves pulling your knee between their legs, having opened up space by bridging and shrimping. An alternative is to slide that leg underneath. This version is less about prying their knee open, as instead you're using your elbow or your hand to push it over your trapped leg. Rener stiff-arms into their knee when he demonstrates this in Gracie Combatives, though that could leave you very open to chokes in a normal gi class. As you push their knee backwards, simultaneously bring your trapped knee towards your chest, sliding it along the floor and under their leg.

When your leg is free, getting half guard may be a possibility, which offers up numerous sweeping opportunities and a few attacks as well. However, generally I'd recommend you keep working towards full guard. To do that, continue shrimping (towards the trapped leg side: you should be able to base the trapped leg foot on the floor if you've already got your knee into their thigh) and framing until both legs are free. Another option is to put the leg around their back.
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Teaching Notes: Quite a lot packed into this lesson, with three variations on the frame and two on pulling the knee free. I think having those multiple frames is ok, but next time I may just stick with getting the knee between the legs rather than slipping under. Sliding the knee underneath has a lot of similarities to my favoured escape, the heel drag. I think I will therefore just fold it into that lesson next time: a number of people (e.g., there was a blue belt there) just did the heel drag anyway.

I also need to emphasise that if people are using my preferred frame, curling in towards the leg makes it easier, at least for me. Saulo's late escape, where he bridges into the leg then lifts it over into half guard, would be worth teaching at some point too. I'll have to have a think where to fit that in: there are quite a few escapes that would be worth teaching. This should become easier when I'm regularly teaching twice a week, as then I have eight lessons a month to play with for each position, rather than just four.

Having said that, I'm covering Dónal's class at Hit Fit tomorrow, but I'll just teach the same thing again (with some tweaks based on what I learned this lesson). Fitting in at least one round of free sparring would be good too, judging by feedback. Squeezing it into an hour isn't always easy, but I could probably make enough time by being a bit more economical on specific sparring and the technique review at the end. Matter of experimenting, as always. :)

10/03/2014 - Artemis BJJ (Maintaining Mount)

Class #549
Bristol Sports Centre, (Artemis BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 10/03/2014

I was mostly teaching today, as due to numbers I was wandering round helping people out during drilling rather than taking part myself. We were doing more work on maintaining mount, with some similarities to what Dónal has been demonstrating earlier this month (all mount this March). He started off with escapes, drilling the elbow escape. Frame your arms against one of their hips, bracing one arm by pressing into your wrist, then shrimp powerfully in the direction of the other leg and bring your knee through.

The main technique of the lesson dealt with maintaining mount, specifically when they are trying to dig their elbows in for an elbow escape. Reach across with your opposite hand and grab their sleeve. Scoop your same side hand under their digging elbow, then pull and push that arm right across their body. Immediately replace the space that opens up by their side with your knee. They will almost certainly turn and try to elbow escape the other side, whereupon you repeat the process, ending up in a tight, high mount: squeeze your knees together to suck away any remaining space.

Finally there was a drill similar to the lower-leg flick Dónal showed last week. However, this time you are flicking further down their body, ending up in the leg squash pass position, moving to mount from there.

Specific sparring was from mount, as you'd expect. On top, I was trying to shove my knees up high again, but still not quite getting as high as I wanted. I considered going for a collar grip to see if that would open things up, but I was too high to get a decent angle. For the moment, I'll just keep on working on getting higher, scooping up those elbows and looking for openings. I feel fairly confident maintaining the position still, especially tonight as there were more blues (and bigger blues) than usual, which is good for practicing. I got rolled once or twice, but generally I could hold the mount once I got there.

Underneath, I was looking for the heel drag: due to the higher level of training partners tonight, some of them were able to pre-empt that with a turn to technical mount and lock in their heel by my hip. I've been a bit complacent about technical mount escapes, as I think people have been leaving enough space for me to dig my elbow in and pry free, but tonight that wasn't so easy, which is good.

I could try Saulo's escape where he essentially pushes on the knee and sits up, but that makes me feel vulnerable. Still, I should drill it some time, perhaps when we start up our open mats at the new place. Blocking their hip with my elbow to stop them turning to technical mount could be helpful too. I was still escaping, but often off their armbar attempt, which is a risky habit to develop on my part because it depends on their mistake.

In free sparring, I'm continuing to try and practice the spider guard sweep tips I learned from Kev. I'm continuing to find myself unable to get the position I want, yet on the other hand I did hit that "bait them to pass" sweep I haven't used much in the past. I need to try that option where you make them stand up then knock them down.

I got into a strange backwards kimura type position on somebody else, which I failed to finish, but to my surprise I did manage to switch it into an armbar from mount. I hardly ever armbar people - I don't like the risk of losing position - so that was fun. I got to that position again later, but fell off that time. I then landed a weird sweep where it was mostly just them overbalancing and me shoving my knee at the right point, putting me in mount. Positive, but then if I don't know exactly how I did something, not as useful (though I guess it's good that I had some kind of instinctive thing going on there).

06/03/2014 - Hit Fit (Maintaining Mount)

Class #548
Hit Fit, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 06/03/2014

Although technically Hit Fit is at present a separate entity, we're still sticking with the same position of the month (which for March is mount). That separation should end in a few weeks, when the new Hit Fit venue is due to open: at that point, it will become the second location for Artemis BJJ, which is exciting! Your monthly dues will cover you for both the new place and our first location over in Central Bristol. :)

Tonight's lesson had some similarities to what Dónal taught on Monday. He again went through that unusual method of maintaining mount. As they push into your leg and start to escape, base onto your knees, then pivot on the the knee they are shrimping away from. Flick the back of that leg over them, hooking their opposite side hip with your foot. You can then shift to knee on belly or side control on the other side, possibly even taking their back. This is mainly an option for when you feel you are about to lose the mount, as going to side control is better than getting reversed.

On Monday, Dónal talked about how you could underhook their arm is they made the mistake of leaving their elbow outside your knee, but he didn't go into detail: instead, he went with the more likely scenario that their elbow is tucked inside your knee. This time, he showed what you could do if they did make the mistake. Insert your hand into the space, palm facing away from their body, getting a deep underhook. Put your head on top, then use the combined leverage of your bodyweight, arm and head to twist back in line with their head.

That should give you extra leverage to bring their arm away from their body and jam it up by their head. You can then slide your knees forward as high up as you can without losing the position, squeezing them in tight to lock their arms in place. Dónal finished with the related Roger Gracie method of getting under the armpits, where if they are flat on their back you can simply put your hands on theirs shoulders and use that as a basing point. It is really hard to keep your elbows in tight when someone is basing on your shoulders, meaning they can slide up under your armpits and again go for the tight knee-clamp around your arms.

Sparring started with specifics from mount. On the bottom, I was heel dragging as ever, though I tried to take the opportunity to practice my trap and roll/upa as well. I also tried to leave a bit of space so I could be put in a worse position and then attempt to escape from there, which is always a good exercise. I ended up doing that last ditch 'fling your legs up into their armpits' escape at one point: it worked, but it isn't a very technical option. Good to know I can still do it though, but I'm sure that's going to get tough when my flexibility and back aren't as keen in a few years. ;)

On top, I was continuing with my mission to finally get my offence up to scratch. I was able to get up high and under their armpits, but not high enough. It became a pattern of sliding up high, working for the americana, then slipping down a bit and trying again. I also never got as high as I needed: I seem to get stuck at the point their arms go horizontal, when I want them to get squashed up past that point.

I went for the americana repeatedly, but failed to land it. Mark was escaping well by using his head, so I should come up with a follow-up for that. I also think that perhaps this would be a good place to try the classic collar choke, to distract them if nothing else. I did at least remember to use the ezequiel as a way of raising their elbows if I was having trouble getting my knees into their armpit.

Technical mount is working well for me too, as another option. I couldn't quite land the bow and arrow transition on Mark, as he's a beefy guy meaning his chest size tends to make his collars move quite far apart! I may also be going for it too earlier, before they've turned on their side. I have seen Saulo do that, so it can be of use, but I need to be careful. At one point I tried switching to technical mount in that flat on their back position, right as Mark was turning towards me. That meant I basically gave him the perfect set-up to roll me over, due to shifting my weight into the path of his escape.

When we got to free sparring, I was working mount too (off a sit-up sweep), but before that stage I practiced my guard too. I managed to land that x-guard type spider guard sweep thing I learned from Kev, which is cool: I need to keep doing that. Although the second time, I didn't manage to get in position, so I should have used the bicep push from the lasso spider to get them to stand up.

There was a lot of legwork in the drills at the start of class on top of all the knee squeezing, so I was definitely feeling that on the way back, especially as I have to cycle up some hefty hills to get back home! ;)

05/03/2014 - Kinergy GrappleThon Close To £1,500 Mark & Teaching (Upa Escape from Mount)

Teaching #143
Bristol Sports Centre, (Artemis BJJ), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 05/03/2014

The Artemis BJJ GrappleThon fundraising has almost reached the halfway point of £1,500! We've still got a bit over a month to go, so there's plenty of time to get your donations in (and there's nothing stopping you donating after the event too ;D). If you'd like to help us reach our target of £3,000, the JustGiving page is here. For those intending to take part on the 12th April in Bristol (you would be very welcome!), then all the details you need can be found here.

If you'd like to read more about that cool design on the left, very generously created for us by Seymour 'Meerkatsu' Yang, check out his art blog here. If you want to be in with a chance of earning a shirt featuring that awesome design, then then only way to do it is to set up a JustGiving page and raise money for Kinergy at the GrappleThon: details on how to do that over on the Artemis BJJ here.
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Now that we've started our month on mount at Artemis BJJ, I thought the ideal opening technique would be the trap and roll, also commonly known as the 'upa escape'. A typical starting point would be when they try to establish their first grip on your collar for a choke. That provides you with a chance to trap their arm. The usual grip would be to grab their wrist with your opposite hand, then their just above their elbow with your other hand. This is the preferred grip on Gracie Combatives. The reasoning is that this grip prevents your opponent from drawing back their arm for a punch.

There are various other possibilities, such as the option I first learned, which was gripping their wrist with your same side hand, then grabbing the crook of their elbow with your opposite hand. That has the advantage of helping you wedge your elbow and arm into their chest, which provides additional leverage when rolling them over. Having said that, you can still use your elbow with the Gracie Combatives grip, it's just slightly less effective as your arm starts further away from their torso.

Whatever grip you choose, you then need to trap their leg on that same side. Otherwise, they will be able to use that for base as you attempt to roll them. In order to prevent that, step your same side foot over their lower leg, hooking it in tightly to your bum. This means they are now like a chair with two of its legs missing. If you feel your control is too loose, slide your foot further across towards the other side of your bum, which should eat up some more space.

Even if they can't post with their leg, they might be able to use their knee, so you want to have their leg as tightly locked to your body as possible. Also, be careful that you don't end up hooking both their feet, or leave your other leg in range of their hook. It is possible for the person on top to defend the escape by securing their free leg by your non-trapping leg. Therefore, try to keep it out of range.

A common problem is that you're having trouble trapping their foot, because it is too high up. If that happens, try using your elbow (or even your hand, if you need more reach, but that could leave your neck vulnerable) to shove their knee backwards, until their lower leg is in range. This is an advantage of the Gracie Combatives grip, as putting a hand behind their triceps puts your elbow in a good position for shoving back their knee.

Yet another option, if their arm is not in range, is to bridge enough to bump them forward. That should mean they are forced to post out their hands for balance, a difficult instinct to ignore. That puts their arm within reach. You can then wrap both of your arms around one of theirs, gable gripping your hands (palm to palm). Suck that arm into your chest, clamping it at the elbow.

To finish, you're going to bridge towards that trapped side. As with the classic side control escape, get your heels close to your bum first for maximum leverage. Bridge up and over your shoulder, turning into their guard. Make sure that you're bridging over your shoulder and turning to your knees, not simply rolling over to your side. If you don't raise your hips properly, you may merely give up your back. Also remember to posture up once you are in their guard, as otherwise you might find you put yourself right into a submission. Should they try to base with their other arm, you can attempt to dislodge that by pushing their arm off the ground.

You can still trap and and roll if they bring an arm under your head: simply reach back as if you were combing your hair to trap their arm, then progress as before. Generally when I do this, I like to be able to drive my elbow into their hip and stomach, as I find that helps with leverage. Rener prefers to put his hand right into their hip, at least when he teaches this technique on Gracie Combatives.

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Teaching & Sparring Notes: I don't use the upa all that often myself, so I enjoy teaching it as it makes me think more deeply about the technique. I don't think it is as high percentage as my preferred heel drag, but it's still an important escape to have in your toolbox. The importance of trapping their heel became increasingly evident when watching people during progressive resistance and sparring. It was also interesting sparring with Tristan, as when I blocked in the standard way by posting with my free arm above his head, he attempted to attack that arm to complete his escape.

That's not something people do to me often and it's a good tactic. I'll have to explore that in more depth and see if I can add it into the teaching. Something else that came up is the defence for the person on top, where they hook a leg to stop getting rolled over. I think I first saw that pointed out on Gracie Combatives somewhere and it's a useful tip to keep in mind, both for the person on top to try and the person on the bottom to avoid.

I got in some more sparring from mount, where I have the usual problem of not being able to finish very often. On the plus side, I'm feeling more confident about moving up their body and looking for a submission, rather than concentrating 100% on maintaining the position. I need to isolate the arms more, as well as threaten more often with a choke to open them up. I also looked to switch into technical mount and then the bow and arrow, but my training partner was wise to that: I almost managed to take the back, but probably over-committed to bow-and-arrow grip earlier, meaning I fell off into guard. I was thinking too much about putting in my hooks, rather than getting my arms in position to keep me on the back.

03/03/2014 - Artemis BJJ (Maintaining Mount)

Class #547
Bristol Sports Centre, (Artemis BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 03/03/2014

The position of the month for March is going to be mount, following nicely from February's focus on side control. Dónal had some interesting technical choices tonight, as they weren't what I was expecting. At first I thought he was going to do escapes, as he demonstrated the person on the bottom framing against the hips and go for an elbow escape, then pull their knee through. The class drilled that briefly (in keeping with recent weeks, Dónal asked me to help out with teaching rather than get stuck in the drilling, because there were even numbers), but did not progress to the full elbow escape.

Instead, it turned out that the idea was to get the person on the bottom to give the person on the top the right reaction for a method of maintaining mount. Dónal began by showing how you want to block their shoulder as they try to turn, dropping your upper body and then hooking their head. That will mean they can't shrimp and it also means you can trap one of their framing arms under your body. If they've committed to the frame, you can also attack their neck with an ezequiel choke.

Next up was another surprise, as I thought Dónal was going to show the technical mount switch when they turn to the side. Instead, he went for something similar but less orthodox. As they push into your leg and start to escape, Dónal suggested you pivot on that knee and flick the back of your leg, hooking their opposite side hip with your foot. You can then shift to side control on the other side, possibly even taking their back. This is mainly an option for when you feel you are about to lose the mount, as going to side control is better than getting reverse.

I got in a bit of sparring at the end, which gave me a chance to play with my mount escapes (I was using my usual heel drag, also trying to give the person on top a chance to practice). On top, I'm still not very good at getting the finish, though I'm at least feeling more comfortable moving up to a higher mount. I need to make myself keep moving up and then moving into the series Dónal showed in that private lesson from a while back, along with technical mount switching into bow and arrow.

We did some free sparring at the end, where I was mostly stalling in closed guard. I tried to give the tips Kev showed a while back a go, but wasn't committing to that grip break. Mostly I ended up just breaking posture and looking to secure that deep collar grip, but then not doing a whole lot with it. There are plenty of options off a collar grip, but again I'm being too passive with it. Once we get to closed guard month, that should help as I'll get loads of time to practice, especially as we should have a lot more classes in the Artemis BJJ schedule by then. :)

Equipment Review - Combat Warrior Tights (Combat Skin)

Short Review: Combat Skin have produced a range of Meerkatsu designed equipment, encompassing both nogi and gi. Their Combat Warrior grappling tights feel a little different than others I've tried before, with a 'waxier' (for want of a better word) sheen to the material, but they're still comfortable to wear: a Medium was a good fit on me (for reference, I'm 5'7 and around 66kg). They also have anti-slip bands on both the waist and ankle cuffs along with a drawstring: this is intended to keep the tights in place, but in my experience it isn't entirely necessary. However, if you've had trouble with tights slipping, you'll be able to fasten these very securely to your hips. The design is a vibrant orange Qilin from Chinese mythology, with 'Combat Skin' written down the other leg in bright yellow. Available to buy from Combat Skin here for $55.

Full Review: The fightwear market continues to grow, but in a shift from recent years, the potential product line has also evolved. Previously, it would be a matter of sending off a gi design to Pakistan or China then releasing a gi largely the same as every other company, just with different patches and perhaps some embroidery. Now, it has become fairly standard to also offer rashguards and grappling tights (known alternatively as spats). I would assume those are also often made in Pakistan and China: not all of my rashguards and spats have a label stating where they were made, but of the three that do, two are from Pakistan.

In November 2013, Steven Loi (possibly the same Steven Loi who runs BJJ Video Vault) officially launched his contribution to that expanding market, Combat Skin. It's a good name, bringing up associations with cool sci-fi armour from films and computer games. I first became aware of the brand due to another positive pop culture reference from my past, in the form of their 'Street Jitsu' t-shirt, paying homage to classic beat-em-up Street Fighter II.

Over time, I have realised that a good product and customer service are not the only aspects of a company that matter to me, though both are of course important (I'm therefore going to babble about that for several paragraphs: to skip straight to discussion of the product, click here). In my case, I am equally swayed by how the company responds to what used to be called 'Corporate Social Responsibility' back when I worked in business. The Combat Skin mission statement indicates that is indeed one of their central concerns:

Our success will be based on how we serve the martial arts community and this includes:

* Creating the best designs and fight wear for combat arts/sports

* Providing a high quality service that leads to exceptional customer satisfaction

* Using designers and artists that train

* Supporting practitioners by giving back to the community (e.g. sponsorships)

The first two points are to be expected: pretty much any business is going to want to create the best product possible and aim to deliver high quality service: if they did not, then unless they are operating a monopoly, that business would not last long. The third and fourth points are more interesting. I can't think of any other fightwear brand that has a specific goal of only using designers and artists that train. There are quite a few in jiu jitsu, so I'll be interested to see what new artists may get a chance, along with established jiu jitsu designers such as Meerkatsu and Gawakoto.

Many companies claim to 'give back to the community': Combat Skin have attempted to back up their advertising copy with a charity t-shirt featuring a samurai image on the front. Combat Skin have also shown their willingness to engage with their potential customer base, using Facebook to discuss those charitable efforts. For example, for the samurai charity shirt, they first asked on Facebook if people thought it was a good idea, then went ahead and donated 20% of the t-shirt's profits to an appeal supporting the Haiyan typhoon survivors. A few weeks earlier, they announced they would be supporting the Inspire women-only open mat. I'm not sure what exactly that support involved (perhaps providing some t-shirts for the event), but either way it's a positive sign of their commitment to more than just lip service to the oft-quoted goal of 'giving back'.

Finally, 'giving back' can be seen in the Combat Skin approach to sponsorship. According to Facebook, they examine several factors on top of competition results. In fact, they specifically state you don't even have to compete. That greater scrutiny of potential candidates is important, given that there are both people and whole teams out there who can prove they have plenty of jiu jitsu talent, but possess a less than stellar reputation off the mats.

Moving on to the actual product, this is the sixth pair of spats I've owned. Although I only rarely train nogi, after getting hold of my beautiful Pony Club Grappling Gear unicorn spats, I've gotten into the habit of always wearing both spats and a rashguard under my gi. The Combat Warrior tights have a slightly waxy feel to the material compared to my other spats, a texture I have so far previously encountered in rashguards. That's not meant to be at all negative, I just can't think of a better word to describe it. The last time I encountered that kind of material was when I wore a rashguard Conor lent me to train nogi in Houston. While writing this review, I also received some rashguards from Odin Fightwear that felt similar.

That feel could be down to the mixture of materials. The Combat Warrior tights are 80% polyester and 20% lycra. That contrasts to the 82% polyester/18% spandex on my Strike Fightwear spats and the 80% polyester/20% spandex of my RGA Bucks Tatami rashguard. However, the Gentle Chief rashguard I reviewed a while ago has a comparable blend of 82% polyester/18% lycra, but lacks that same slightly waxy texture. I would therefore guess the Combat Warrior tights are either a bit thicker or perhaps has had some kind of treatment: either way, it's only a minor difference and doesn't affect my comfort, so I'm mainly speculating out of interest.

Unstretched, the Combat Warrior spats are 85cm long and 31cm wide, but keep in mind there is a lot of stretch in them due to the fabric. They have proved to be a decent fit on my 5'7 and 66kg frame. I prefer spats to pull down past my ankles, meaning they end lower than my gi trousers. In comparison to my other grappling tights, Combat Skin fall in about the middle of the range, although those tights are in a range of sizes and indeed each company has quite different ideas of what constitutes a 'Small' or a 'Medium'. As can be seen by lining them up, the Meerkatsu 'Medium' is by far the longest, followed by the Pony Club Grappling Gear 'Medium' and the Combat Skin 'Medium'. The Meerkatsu flaming rooster bunches at my ankles as it is too long, so the best fitting spats I have are from PCGG and Combat Skin (though the larger size of the rooster spats does mean they are the easiest to put on).

Like the Mashuu 2.0 spats from Strike Fightwear, the Combat Warrior tights have an anti-slip waistband, as well as smaller bands stitched to the ankle cuffs. I ended up removing the waistband from the Mashuu 2.0 and expected I'd experience the same unpleasantly constrictive feeling with Combat Skin's offering. Initially I thought my expectations had been confirmed when I heard that same ripping noise as I struggled to pull the waistband over my hips. However, while I assume that means that again the threads attaching the waistband to the spats were breaking, I think that first impression was misleading.

The Combat Warrior waistband is not as tight as the anti-slip waistband in the Mashuu 2.0 and the width is also broader. The compression around the legs is a lot more comfortable than the Strike Fightwear spats, though I would assume much of that is because I opted for Small in the Mashuu 2.0 when I should have gone for Medium. It's also worth noting that I like a tight fit, so it is possible you might want to get the next size up in the Combat Warrior tights or consider removing the anti-slip waistband.

The Combat Warrior tights have a drawstring in the waistband, as do the Meerkatsu flaming rooster spats I bought a few months ago. Personally, I think that's a superfluous addition in both the Meerkatsu and Combat Skin tights, but that is probably just a matter of preference. Especially with the anti-slip waistband in the Combat Warrior spats, I have had no need to use the drawstring to keep them up above my hips. I have never bothered tying the drawstring on either pair of spats and had no issues with slippage. Then again, I also haven't regularly trained with them in a nogi class, so perhaps that would pose more of a challenge. You could also argue that wearing them under gi trousers increases the friction and risk of slippage compared to nogi class. Either way, they stayed put.

In terms of the chosen design, I enjoyed the vibrant sublimated graphics, a mix of orange, red and yellow. This stands out against the black, in a way reminiscent of the Mashuu 2.0. This is subjective, but I think that Combat Skin have done a better job than those Strike Fightwear spats regarding the design proportions, resulting in a sharper finish on the main illustration. In a similarly subjective judgement, I am less keen on the text dominating the other leg (as I prefer graphics to text when it comes to spats), but I do like the bright yellow colour they've chosen.

Combat Skin decided to release multiple products off the same Meerkatsu concept, meaning you can kit yourself out with a whole Meerkatsu wardrobe (Seymour put up a post about it here). That includes a gi, rashguard, spats, t-shirt and shorts. The specific artwork builds on the mythical Qilin figure, explained on Combat Skin's website as having "the head of a heavenly dragon, the body of a lion, scales of a Koi fish, a tail similar to a raging bull and the hooves of a great stallion."

Along with that large Qilin design down one leg, there is a Combat Skin logo on the upper right and a Meerkatsu one on the lower left leg. The spats arrived in a small display bag, with a monochrome Qilin printed on the back and a clear plastic panel on the front. Combat Skin's product description notes that these are prewashed, meaning that you can wear them straight away if you're concerned about chemicals used in the production process. At $55, the price is close to other spats on the market: available to buy from Combat Skin here.