Teaching #397 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/09/2015
On Sunday 4th October, we’ll be hosting top black belt Chelsea Bainbridge-Donner at MYGYM Bristol from 12:00-15:00. It's only £20 and everybody is welcome! Head to the event page on Facebook to confirm your attendance. :D
Chelsea is an active competitor at the highest level, with numerous accomplishments to her name. In 2013, she won the Dream Jiu Jitsu Sub Only, then in 2014 she earned gold at the IBJJF World Championships at brown belt. After her promotion to black belt by Andre Galvao, she has already gone on to win a bronze at both the IBJJF World Championships and the Pan Ams. So join us on Sunday 4th October to learn from one of the elite! Contact info@artemisbjj.com if you’ve got any questions. Or indeed stick up a comment here, Facebook is fine too, via the above link. ;)
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Jeff Rockwell, who I trained with in Texas, has produced an excellent instructional, The Sit Up Escape System, published online through Artechoke Media. It fits in perfectly with the stiff arm material I've been practicing from open guard since 2013. Tonight we looked at the initial scenario for this escape, where they are just in the process of passing your legs. Set up your frames before they get fully around, arms up at right angles with your elbows in tight to your sides. One arm blocks the side of their neck, the other presses into the crook of their elbow. Make sure you are blocking with your forearm near the wrist, rather than your hand. A hand will bend, a forearm won't (unless you're sparring the Hulk, in which case you have bigger problems!). Fold your elbow-crook hand over the back of their arm, gripping their shoulder blade with your neck-hand.
Lever up their chin with your neck-arm to create some space. Sit-up into that space, quickly sliding your crook-arm to their collar bone, bringing your other elbow behind you for base. As soon as possible, sit up high, moving from your elbow to your hand. Your crook-arm should still be in the same configuration, almost at a right angle pressing into their collar bone. It's the same concept as with Ryan Hall's Defensive Guard, using your skeletal structure as a defensive barrier. Hook their leg with your foot, then pushing off your feet and basing hand, square back up to them and establish open guard.
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Teaching Notes: As with last Friday, keeping elbows in and angle of arm. Another question is how best create the space and generate momentum? Do the options combine well, or is it better to separately do Rockwell's chin lift, the leg swing into bicep punch etc? Rockwell doesn't swing his legs in the basic video from his instructional, he literally just sits up. That was where people were having the most trouble today, especially the bigger guys. Possible that this is easier for smaller people, as they occupy less space, but I'm not going off a large sample on that. :)
Teaching #396 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/09/2015
You can set up the tripod sweep in lots of ways. I went for the simple option of hooking their leg, using that to pull yourself in towards them and grab their other leg with your other hand. When you grab for the ankle, you can control it in two main ways. Simply grabbing their heel is the quickest, but that means there is a chance they can kick their foot forwards and dislodge your grip. If you grab the trouser cuff instead, that escape becomes much harder for them.
With the heel grab, a good tip from my instructor Kev Capel is to pull that ankle onto your hip, clamping it there. This should also help with off-balancing them. You can also simply sit on it. Either way, remember to keep your other hook behind their knee tense, as you don't want them to free that leg and step around, because that will enable them to regain their balance. You can also put it lower on the leg, or even right behind their foot, but be careful, as just like the heel grip, that can increase the risk that they'll step out and avoid your control.
Once you knock them down, because you have that grip on their sleeve, you can pull yourself up as they go back, moving through into side control. It also stops them basing with that hand, as you're sweeping in that direction (which is why you use a cross grip, rather than same side). Should you lose your sleeve grip, the sweep is still there, but it will be harder to sit up and move through to side control.
If you're having trouble knocking them down, angle the direction of your push a little, in the direction you want them to fall. It is important that you react decisively after you've knocked them down. Otherwise, they'll simply get up first, returning to your guard. That would mean you were back where you started.
As ever, there are a couple of options. My preference is to come up and slide your inside knee over their leg, leaning your body towards them: you may find it useful to keep hold of their foot (which means you are both basing on your hand and maintaining control of their leg) to stop them moving, but you can still pass without doing so. Your other foot will step over their other leg, like a typical knee slide pass. From there, you can grab their sleeve, underhook their far armpit, them slide through into modified scarf hold. If for some reason you get your knee stuck in their gi, which has happened to me in the past, change your grip to their elbow, drop your bodyweight and move into side control. Here's Kev demonstrating the full sweep:
You'll notice the finish is different in that video: instead of the tight knee slide, you can do a sort of technical stand-up which ends up with a looser pass. For the stand-up, after you've knocked them down, put your hooking foot on the floor, bringing your other leg behind you. So, the hand that was grabbing the heel now pushes into their leg, pinning it to the floor and becoming your basing hand. Your other leg becomes your second base point, then you stand up from there. You remaining hand may or may not be gripping their sleeve, but this works either way.
From there, stand up, still holding on to their trouser leg (you could also keep hold of the sleeve, which will enable you to pull on both limbs for the pass, but it makes it harder to stand up), pulling up. That will make it difficult for them to recover, as you move around to a dominant position like side control or knee on belly. Standing up when someone has your foot in the air is hard.
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Teaching Notes: My favourite sweep, so I'm confident teaching this one. As often happens with the women's class, they asked for another one. I added in the sickle sweep and briefly showed the de la Riva back take, but not in all that much depth, mainly just so they know they have other options from there if the tripod fails. On the sickle I need to remember to mention shrimping out, then with the de la Riva I need to remember that gripping the sleeve is important to help switch to their back.
After stepping off the plane and getting into the terminal at Barajas Airport, it was a long walk to the Metro. I got off the plane at 22:14, eventually reaching the airport Metro station at 22:34. A ticket to Sol in the centre of Madrid cost me €5: you can pay with notes, coins or card from an automatic machine. Three languages are available, with Spanish, English and I can't remember the other one.
For Sol, start on the pink line (8) towards Nuevos Ministerios. Then at Nuevos Ministerios, change to the dark blue line (10), towards Puerta de Sol. Get off at Tribunal, then finally switch to the light blue line (1) for Sol. Note it is now called Vodafone Sol, randomly.
The only reason I had any interest in Madrid was the Prado, one of the world's greatest art galleries (€14 entry at present). Like the Louvre, it is so rammed with incredible art that the best approach is to decide on a focus before you arrive. Fortunately for me, many artists I love are well represented here: it's the pre-eminent collection of Goya and has some of Bosch's most famous pieces as well. Velázquez is the other major jewel of the Prado: while I don't enjoy him as much as the other members of the 'Prado Big Three', he's nevertheless an interesting painter, arguably one of the most technically accomplished of all time.
Other personal favourites were here too, on a smaller scale. There are four paintings from my long-standing Mannerist favourite, Parmiginanio, all adorning a corner of room 49. Dürer is nearby in 55b, as is Rogier van der Weyden, whose masterpiece 'Descent from the Cross' dominates room 58. The room I tried to reach as quickly as possible was 56a, where Bosch reigns supreme.
Unfortunately, as The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych is so famous, tour groups cluster noisily around it as soon as the Prado opens at 10am. I barely had 5 minutes of quiet before a tour guide was loudly declaiming her spiel on the panel in French. Still, I was able to stake out a good spot, to get in my first prolonged thirty minute stare. In general, the €3.50 audio guide is pretty good, but because I have crammed my head so full of Bosch (as well as Goya and Velázquez), I found that my cup was already so full that I was mentally correcting the voice blaring in my ear (it's a speaker rather than a headphone port, so the same minor discomfort as with the audioguide for the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in Belgium).
The Prado guide subscribes to the common view of the Garden that it's all about sex. This is probably not the case, an assumption based on nudity. In fact, if you look closely, there is very little explicit contact on the panel: only in the fountain at the top, where a male figure gropes his female companion. One of the documentaries I watched provides an explanation: the nudity indicates these are souls, not that they are lascivious. Another commentator claims it's a last judgement scene, but that seems unlikely given the absence of a judge (i.e., normally the Christian god is somewhere in the picture when that's the theme).
I was disappointed that Bosch's 'Adoration of the Magi' triptych wasn't there (possibly on loan? The gallery steward I asked didn't specify), but getting to see Bruegel's 'Triumph of Death' at least partially made up for it. Bruegel presents an even scarier vision than anything Bosch ever produced, almost like that Game of Thrones episode featuring the army of zombies. Skeletons spill all over the canvas, slaughtering everything in their path, as well as chasing some other living victims into a huge coffin.
Alongside those two works, the third major masterpiece in this section was Rogier van der Weyden's 'Descent from the Cross'. I'm familiar with the painting from books and Professor Catherine Scallen's wonderful lecture series, but I didn't realise just how huge it is. The figures are virtually life size. I have to say I don't quite agree with the art history perspective that the pose of Mary Magdalen is particularly expressive: it's a bizarre pose that feels artificial rather than emotional to me, but that is most likely down to my modern viewpoint. After I had wandered around the Flemish and German section some more, taking in Memling, Cranach and typically expert draughtmanship from Dürer along the way, I headed for my initial exploration of Goya in room 67.
Goya's presence on the ground floor covers rooms 64 to 67, the most famous being the two large, related pictures, the 2nd and 3rd of May. Again, I didn't need the audio guide, as most of the Goya research I did mentioned those in detail. The highlight for me here was Goya's renowned 'black paintings', where he mixed his paint with dark printer's ink then painted it directly into the wall.
Breaking for lunch before heading upstairs for more, I took the opportunity to have a look through the bookshop. This proved to be the most frustrating part of my visit to the museum. While there were many books on Goya, they were all in Spanish. Just like the otherwise excellent gallery in Porto, that's a huge oversight, especially for a major international tourist mecca like the Prado.
Having said that, I realised later that you could buy pocket sized guides on individual artists and themes from vending machines dotted around the Prado (only €2). There are two just outside room 66, as your head to those stairs around the corner. They come in several languages, with a lot of Spanish as you'd expect. I was able to pick up most of the ones I wanted (Bosch and Goya), but I couldn't find an English version of the short guide on the black paintings (I'll check eBay when I get home).
Upstairs, I was hopeful of finding an Artemisia Gentileschi after seeing her in the guidebook app (well worth it, incidentally, despite misleadingly bad reviews on the Google Play store) but unfortunately that wasn't on display. Her father Orazio has two paintings, so a hint of Artemisia is there, but it would have been cool to see his rather more interesting daughter, given she is one of Artemis BJJ's namesakes. Caravaggio was the other Italian that caught my eye, before several rooms of the stylish and unique Mannerist, El Greco (starting with 8B).
Moving towards the heart of the Prado, Velázquez proliferated along the walls, until that most iconic of Spanish paintings, 'Las Meninas'. I find it somewhat overrated (I much prefer Goya), but it's an intriguing composition. Effectively, the viewer becomes the subject, as Velázquez has cleverly directed all his figures' gazes - most importantly his own - out of the painting and at the audience. Before continuing with Goya, I paused in front of the Prado's sole Rembrandt, a virtuoso Judith modelled by Rembrandt's wife, Saskia.
Goya retakes control at the far end of the first floor, from room 34. The two versions of his voluptuous maja are probably what people know best here, though I think the group portrait of Charles IV's family is more interesting. Right at the top of the Prado is even more Goya, this time his early cartoons for a series of tapestries Charles III commissioned before his death. The ground floor's circuit of Goya is the climax, so it would make sense to start your Goya exploration from the museum's apex, both to leave the best until last and stay chronological.
The art continued the next day, beginning with a visit to the convent of the 'barefoot royals', Las Descalzas Reales, founded by royal women who can be seen posing in nuns' habits inside. They never actually took any vows, so that was just for the painting: however, thanks to our informative guide, I learned that the nuns' habit itself comes from widow's weeds. As the royal who founded the monastery happened to also be a widow, that gets confusing! ;)
Las Descalzas Reales is a short walk from Sol and €6 to get in, but note that you have to go on a guided tour. The convent has these every hour, but they fill up quickly. You therefore need to plan your visit in advance, arriving early in the day, especially as opening hours are only from 10:00-14:00 and 16:00-18:30. There aren't always English tours either: when we first tried to book on, the tours were not only all full but also in Spanish. Helpfully, a board at the entrance says when the tours are, what language and whether they are full. Also, no toilets, but you can find some in one of the many nearby bars and cafes (we had some tasty churros down the street).
Once inside, the splendid decoration is immediately apparent. If you've already been to the Prado (and I recommend you spend some quality time there before visiting the convent), you'll recognize the frescoed group sat on a balcony. It's Philip IV, looking a lot like the late portrait by Velázquez, sat next to his daughter (who appears to have stepped straight out of 'Las Meninas') and his wife/niece, plus another figure I didn't recognise. Unfortunately it is not known who exactly painted it.
Later on, after several alcoves with devotional sculptures and a choir with a fantastically well executed polychromatic woodcarving of Jesus's mum, we got to what I'd been waiting for. This was a room stuffed with glorious Flemish paintings, including an original by Bruegel and some copies of Memling and Rogier van der Weyden, probably by their workshops. The van der Weyden original is in the Prado, possibly the Memling too, though those might also be copies. It wasn't unusual for a popular painting to be copied many times by the workshop, given this was a time before easy mass production and photography.
On the other wall is an intriguing maritime scene. Descriptive text is woven throughout, in Latin. It transpires that this is a representation of the church (the galleon in the centre), offering salvation to the Christian mythical overworld, Heaven. The pope is in there somewhere, with some angels and the like peering down from a crow's nest, IIRC. Devils and demons beset the sinners failing to reach the galleon at the bottom, while the more fortunate float over from the right, free of infernal molestation.
In the next room, yet more masterpieces abound (this time Italian and Spanish), of which the highlight is probably an original Titian. Sebastian del Piombo is represented here too, as is a typically dark monk by Zurbarán. Another magnificent treasure of the convent is a large room hung with tapestries designed by Rubens. These were executed by the same workshop that produced tapestries by Goya a century later, visible on the top floor of the Prado.
It was Goya that led us to my next reason for going to Madrid, but before that we went to a nearby site my girlfriend wanted to see. As usual, she made an excellent choice, having also picked the Convent. This second girlfriendly triumph was the Temple of Debod, an ancient Egyptian edifice incongruously sat in the middle of a Madrid park. A few decades back, Spanish engineers helped to build the Aswan Dam, intended to both provide hydroelectric power and reduce the chance of the Nile bursting its banks.
That resulted in a planned flooding of a large area, which would have submerged the Templo de Debod (as the Spanish refer to it), so instead the Egyptians gifted the whole building to Spain. It was brought back, brick by brick, then erected in a magnificent park setting, set off by a long moat. It's free to enter, but only from 10:00-14:00 and 18:00-20:00. On the ground floor as you go in, hieroglyphics decorate the walls on either side, with explanatory panels underneath. They are in remarkably good shape.
Further inside, there isn't much illumination as the Temple relies on natural light. You're not allowed flash photography, though normal photos are fine. Upstairs, you can see a model where the Temple used to sit by the Nile, along with some audio-visual displays and a few hieroglyphic slabs in vitrines.
Goya was up next, a slightly confusing walk away, but that uncertainty was mainly because we tried to circumvent going the long way around by the river. A guidebook had claimed it was an unpleasant river walk, but either that info is wrong or out of date. We went along the river on the way back and it's pleasant enough.
The building in question was the chapel of San Antonio de la Florida, containing some incredible frescoes Goya painted in 1798. After some late nineteenth century campaigning due to damage from incense and smoke, the chapel was designated a museum in 1905. A replica chapel was built next door, where services have been held instead ever since. Goya is also buried in the chapel he painted, having been moved there from his resting place in Bordeaux. Strangely, somebody nicked his head in the process, which has never been found.
Goya did all the frescoes inside, including the wonderfully modern angels. In some cases, it looks like Parisian party-goers from an Impressionist painting have grown wings and flown to Spain. The main action is in the dome, featuring a trompe-l'oeil railing behind which a crowd of people are watching a miracle. Or at least, some are: two of the 'majas' are more interested in chatting to each other.
It has a refreshingly secular feel. The only note of typical religiosity a halo around St Anthony's head. He is busy resurrecting a murdered man's corpse, in order to exonerate his innocent father of the crime. A man in yellow with a wide-brimmed hat, his back turned as he begins to run away, is traditionally treated as the real culprit afraid of being exposed.
You can buy a guidebook for a mere €1 from the desk next to the entrance. Kindly, they've also provided mirrors to save you some neck-ache, angled up at the frescoes. There are plush benches too. I'm not sure you're supposed to lie on them for comfortable viewing, but I did regardless. Nobody told me off so I assume that's ok, but I could be wrong.
Class #667 RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 26/09/2015
Kev began with a takedown off the usual grips. From there, press down on the arm that's gripping your collar, leaning on it until you can reach for the leg. Grab that leg and pick it up, which they will normally defend by certainly their leg to the outside (if they don't do that, take them down with a single). When they circle to the outside, step your other leg inside, posting it behind their non-circling leg. Drive and trip them, moving into your pass. As with the ankle pick sweep, keep your weight back so you don't fall forwards into a guillotine.
We then progressed into the main part of the lesson, covering various options from what Mackenzie Dern calls koala guard. It was the same sequence I taught during open guard month recently. I can therefore copy and paste most of that.
From sitting guard, immediately scoot in, hooking the leg you have on the ground around the back of their leg. Your collar-gripping arm goes around the back of their leg. Jam your head in tight against their leg, on the inside (or you're at risk of guillotines). You don't have any grips on their sleeves, meaning your sweeping options are slightly reduced.
There are plenty of strong options remaining though. Perhaps the simplest is a mini technical stand-up, basing off your free hand and other foot. Posting on your outside leg and your basing hand, lift your bum slightly off the ground, then scoop their leg with the leg you have behind theirs. Maintain a tight grip, then move into side control.
For even more control, it's useful to grip their sleeve with the arm you have behind their leg. Failing that, you can also grab their belt or their gi lapel. If none of that is available, you can just grab your own gi. Be aware of their knee positioning. You want to try and stay on the side of that knee. If they are able to drive their knee into your chest, that gives them a chance to set up a pass, crushing your back down onto the mat.
If you can get a grip on their sleeve, then you can feed that to the hand you have behind their leg. Get your free arm high around their back (you may well have to pull down on their collar first to put them in range), reaching around the outside of their head so you are 'pre-establishing' your cross-face. Roll them over, knock them down and go straight into side control, or mount (if you can angle your foot positioning to step straight through).
Finally, there was the roll under sweep, from the same starting position with a grip on the arm. Note this will be hard if their leg is far away from you, time it appropriately. Push with your foot into their thigh, they grab your foot and step through to pass. That puts them in position for you to dive underneath, reaching with your arm for their thigh and roll through.
Immediately get a grip as you come up, hooking your hands around the top of their belt and pulling it in tight (like Kev showed in my private lesson earlier). With your other hand, you're pushing their knee back to help the pass. If for whatever reason they are able to post (i.e., you haven't got control of their sleeve), you might find it easier to go for the back instead.
In sparring I worked on koala first, but wasn't getting far enough around the leg. That meant they could crush their knee down and flatten me out, starting their pass. The 'present the dish' cross-face concept was fun to play with, as well as trying to pull the gi across the mat to get their shoulders to the mat. That proved to be difficult, but still, felt good when Kev did it to me so I'll keep trying it.
Rolling with a fellow purple, I was looking to get on top with those new cross-facing ideas. Pulled out his gi, but I waited too longer and he was able to wriggle back into half guard. I kept trying the knee slide, then each time he adjusted his foot position with a kind of 'reverse lockdown', enabling him to turn whenever I attempted to push through for the knee slide. Bit like shin-on-shin, I think? I'll have to try it: effective on me! ;)
Class #666 - Private #021 RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 26/09/2015
It has been a while since I last saw Kev, as he has been recovering from a knee injury. I made sure to get some time with him for my visit in September, booking in another private lesson. Previously, I have come in with a clear idea of what I wanted to work on. As any reader of this blog will know, I like to be prepared.
This time, I took a different tack. I've already been through my major problem areas with Kev (back escapes and open guard), and I didn't think I had progressed sufficiently far with what he showed me before to warrant another specific lesson on those topics. So instead, I asked to just spar for a bit, then Kev could point out any tweaks that might help.
The first thing he suggested was something he did to me, with a back attack. I tried to move to the non-choking side and get my head under his, but he locked in a sliding collar choke. When I moved to the choking side to relieve the pressure, Kev said that actually makes it harder to finish the sliding choke. However, it sets him up perfectly to switch into a RNC, which he did. To block that choke, he uses his chin, but not the classic white belt chin tuck. Instead, his chin is on the other side of your attacking arm, so the chin is underneath that side of the arm.
The majority of the tips focused around half guard on top. I have for several years been using Dónal's tip on grips, when you can't get the underhook. Instead, gripping their lower collar, drop your elbow and use that to maintain control. It has worked for me in the past, but with Kev, he easily rolled me over every time. He suggested the safer option of wrapping around their back, locking your elbow in to achieve your control.
On the cross face, Kev simply puts his hand on the mat by their head and drives his arm into the side of their face. That makes for a strong barrier, it is easy to adjust and reapply, and best of all it won't mash up your fingers. JT Torres taught another variation at RGA Bucks a while ago, which Kev wanted with me. Torres calls it 'presenting the dish'. With your palm up, press that into the middle of their shoulder blades. Your elbow goes high and pressed into the side of their face. It doesn't feel like you're doing a lot, but it is a surprisingly powerful grip.
I have also been playing with several lapel attacks from half guard. They all involve pulling out your opponents gi lapel, then either pushing that over or under their arm. Underneath presents a brabo choke option, over the top is an americana and choke. However, Kev notes that with somebody who has a good half guard, they are going to be hard to get. It is better to focus on getting your knee free, then progressing into either a knee cut or a switch to mount, depending on their reaction.
For the mount, you drive into quarter mount, getting an underhook on the non crossfacing side. Keep walking that up high, until it is right against their head. You can then use your crossfacing arm to grab the triceps and lock it to their head, like on that side control to mount transition. Your other arm goes on top of their head, then crush through to mount. That can a little mean on their face, especially the nose, so be careful when you do that in class.
Pulling out the gi does have some uses, such as helping you flatten them out. Drag that gi way across, so it acts as a pin on their shoulder. On the brabo, it can work, but if you try and do it from half guard, when you switch your hand across to grab by their neck, your arm is in a similar position to that low elbow control. Therefore there is that same risk of getting rolled. Better to go from a more secure position like knee on belly, or mount.
When I pass the half guard with a knee cut, I have assumed that basing out is a good idea, to give you stability. On the contrary, Kev recommended bringing that free knee in tight to their hip (but don't lock your legs, or they can move you as one unit and take your back). Also, if they are hooking underneath your leg with theirs, on the leg that is raised, cut your knee underneath their leg. You almost put yourself right into a leg drag, moving straight into mount.
The last couple of things were locking in grips on the top of their belt in side control, to realling immobilise their hips. Finally, sparring with the sitting guard, Kev did that thing I can remember from Ryan Hall's DVD where he grips arounds the waist and uses that to prevent the guard. I can remember Hall had a defence to it on Defensive Guard, so I'll give that another watch. Awesome! More great stuff to bring back to Artemis BJJ. :D
Teaching #395 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 25/09/2015
When I trained with Jeff Rockwell several years ago in Texas, he was working on side control escapes. This year, all that work has coalesced into an excellent instructional, The Sit Up Escape System, which Rockwell published online through Artechoke Media. It fits in perfectly with the stiff arm material I've been practicing from open guard for the last two years, as well as what I've been moving towards in my side control escapes. Tonight I wanted to test the comprehensibility of the initial escape Rockwell shows, after spending the whole month practicing it myself.
For this initial look, the scenario is that they are just in the process of passing your legs. Set up your frames before they get fully around, arms up at right angles with your elbows in tight to your sides. One arm blocks the side of their neck, the other presses into the crook of their elbow. Make sure you are blocking with your forearm near the wrist, rather than your hand. A hand will bend, a forearm won't (unless you're sparring the Hulk, in which case you have bigger problems!). Fold your elbow-crook hand over the back of their arm, gripping their shoulder blade with your neck-hand.
Lever up their chin with your neck-arm to create some space. Sit-up into that space, quickly sliding your crook-arm to their collar bone, bringing your other elbow behind you for base. As soon as possible, sit up high, moving from your elbow to your hand. Your crook-arm should still be in the same configuration, almost at a right angle pressing into their collar bone. It's the same concept as with Ryan Hall's Defensive Guard, using your skeletal structure as a defensive barrier. Hook their leg with your foot, then pushing off your feet and basing hand, square back up to them and establish open guard.
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Teaching Notes: Two main points from this first outing of the technique are emphasising keeping elbows in and the angle of the arm. People were tending to try it with their arms bent too far backwards, meaning their frame was already partially collapsed.
Teaching #394 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 23/09/2015
When it comes to the stiff arm escape, I find Marcelo Garcia's elbow push (technically it's the triceps, but he calls it 'elbow push' on MGinAction) is the highest percentage option. He works from under a standard side control then brings their arm across. To do so, make some space by pressing into their neck and bridging if necessary, then sneaking your other hand under their armpit and onto your head.
Use your elbow to bump their arm over, bumping it up high on your head. As soon as their arm clears your head, immediately grab just above their elbow, pinching your hand around their triceps: you can support this with your other arm if necessary. Extend your arm so it is straight: this is absolutely key, keep it straight. Still holding their arm, swing your legs up, then as they come down, use that momentum to sit up. Bring your free arm backwards in order to base out on your elbow (if possible, extend that arm when you can, in order to post on your hand and create a stronger base).
As Jeff Rockwell points out, you need to sit up high. Otherwise, they can just walk their legs around to the other side and re-establish side control. If your body is in the way, they can't (if your legs get stuck, Rockwell suggests a quick hip bump to free them. You might also be able to switch to the more ambitious option of driving them all the way over to their back). Continuing to push on their triceps, shrimp backwards into the space you've created, until you can recover guard.
Sometimes you'll be able to combine this with the other option, which is to keep pushing into their elbow or armpit until you can roll them over. Normally it's easier to shrimp out to guard, but sometimes their weight distribution means that pushing them over makes more sense. Another handy detail from Rockwell applies if they manage to sweep their arm back. Immediately switch your arms, changing direction to push into their biceps, shrimping out to recover guard.
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: This went ok. The question is if I should teach it when they already have the cross-face and show how to clear that off the head, or if it is better to go for the easy version. So, they are in the process of passing their arm over to move into north-south, which is when you catch them. The latter would have the advantage of focusing on the core of the technique (the stiff arm and sit up), but the former puts it in a more realistic context.
Sparring from side control, I was too high on Ross. He was eventually able to swivel out, bumping and making good use of his legs too. I was finding I had to chase a bit, putting arms in the way. Goes to show I can't be as lazy with more experienced students now!
Teaching #393 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 23/09/2015
The situation for this is that they have stood up in your closed guard. As they stand up, if you've got a grip on their collar or head, maintain it in order to keep their posture bent forwards. At the moment you let go of that grip (if you have one) and they try to reach an upright position, grab behind their ankles (around the outside: if you grab around the inside, there's an injury risk).
Open your guard (when they stand, they are looking to open it and pass. It's better if when you open your guard, it's on your terms rather than theirs), bringing your knees together under their chest. You can also put your feet on their hips, depending on their height and how much leverage you need. Either way, drive those feet or knees into them. That should knock them over if they aren't prepared for the sweep. One advantage of the knees is you can keep squeezing your legs into their sides, which can help you use their momentum as they fall back (but be careful you don't get your feet under them too much, or you might hurt yourself as you hit the floor).
After they've hit the mat, before they can react, come up on your hand and same side knee. Bring your hips forward on that same side. It's much easier if you move in a diagonal direction, rather than trying to go straight forward. Slide your knee on that side to the mat, keeping your hips low, also grabbing behind their head (or collar). From there, you could go to mount, s-mount, side control etc. It is an awkward position, so takes a bit of getting used to. I used a hip thrust drill during the warm-up to help: you can do a technical stand-up from here too if you find that easier, keeping hold of their leg and passing around to the side.
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Teaching Notes: I forgot to bring in what Ross mentioned last time, about squeezing the legs to use the momentum of the fall. That's a useful tip, so worth adding in. Generally I think people were ok with the sweeping part, but as ever the difficult bit was coming up after the sweep. The intuitive thing to do is push straight forward on both legs and arms, which is difficult and awkward.
To help get the most effective motion, I think doing a drill would help. E.g., having one knee on the ground and the other raised, then pushing through from there. It's a bit like the hip thrust drill I've done before, except you're angled backwards and coming up at an angle.
Class #665 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 22/09/2015
A number of people have been asking for a day session over the last few months. I'm now working from home one day a week, enabling me to take a long lunchbreak to fit in training. The daytime classes therefore start this Tuesday from 13:00-14:00. I'm going to just run it as open mat, because that way people can drop in and out during their own lunchbreak at work (especially as quite a few students work close to the gym). There are also a few people who can stay the whole session, as they either work from home or on shift patterns that accommodate it.
It worked out well for a new person trying out Artemis BJJ, as I could run through some basics with him. I first showed him what side control looks like on top and on the bottom, then ran through the basics of shrimping and bridging. I'm not always certain how much is too much information for somebody brand new, but he picked things up well. It also meant I could set him going with those drills to practice, while I went and helped out some of the other people at the open mount.
As ever, I did some more work on Rockwell sit-up escape. I think the main difficulty I'm having is getting to the side with enough space to turn. Does that mean I need to make better use of my outside foot, to get the angle I need? Or perhaps I'm focusing on the wrong thing and it's more about the power of my bridge? It could also be that I need to shove them more towards my legs. Regardless, I need a good escape to combine with that too. I've been trying to put in the elbow push, though that too isn't an easy one to get. Something to keep on practicing over this month, before we move into mount in October.
Teaching #392 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 21/09/2015
First thing to note is that they will want to kill your near arm. This is bad for you, because it means you can't stop them shifting up towards your head. From there, they can make as much space as they want and pass to mount.
So, you need to get your arm inside, the forearm pressing against their hip: this is a bit more reliable than using your hand, as they can potentially still bring their body onto your hand and collapse it, especially if you're grabbing the gi (given the loose material). The forearm into the hip will help block their movement, and initiate your attempts to create some space. It should also help you block them moving to north south, as if you clamp your arm by their side, your body will move with them if they try to switch position.
One thing to note is that having your forearm by their hip like that does leave you more open to the cross-face. So, you could potentially block inside their cross-facing arm instead, which will prevent their shoulder pressure. This is the Saulo method from his book, which has advantages, but personally I prefer to block the hip.
With your other hand, grab the gi material by their shoulder, close to their neck, then pull down. Twist that arm up into their neck, keeping the elbow in: you need to be tight here, as otherwise they will go for a figure four on that arm. Once you've got the forearm into their neck, they can't press down into you, as they'll essentially be choking themselves. Note that this is a block: you don't want to start pushing and reaching, as that may leave you vulnerable. Reach too far and they can shove your arm to one side and set up an arm triangle.
Next I moved on to the legs. Your legs have two main purposes here: first, blocking your opponent getting to mount. Raise your near knee and drive it into their side. The idea is to wedge them between your knee and the arm you have by their hip. Personally, I like to keep my knee floating, glued to their side.
That makes it easier to slip my knee under as soon as they give me any space, which is something I learned from Roger. Many people prefer to cross their foot over their knee, which is something I used to do in the past as well. However, as this long Sherdog thread discusses, that can leave you open to a footlock, and also limit your mobility. Then again, you can see it used at the highest levels, like here at the Mundials.
The second use for your legs is bridging. Marcelo Garcia has a handy tip for this (although the escape he is doing there is slightly different), related to increasing the power of your bridge. To do that, bring your heels right to your bum, then push up on your toes. That increases your range of motion, so you can really drive into them.
Make sure you turn into them as you bridge, rather than just straight up. This will help the next part, which is to shrimp out as you come back down. That's why you've created space in the first place: if you simply plopped back down, then you've wasted the opportunity. As soon as you shrimp out, slip the knee pressing into their side underneath. Note you aren't trying to lift them with your arms. Instead, you want to push off them, moving your body away rather than pushing theirs higher up.
Once your knee is through, you need to be careful they don't immediately pass by pushing down and moving around that knee, ruining all your hard work. To prevent that, keep your hand by their shoulder. Straighten it, then add further support by bracing your other hand into their bicep (same side as the blocked shoulder). Your new frame should create a barrier to their pass, giving you enough time to recover your guard, or even move into a submission.
Alternatively, you can control their arm with your hip-bracing arm as you escape, like Roy Dean demonstrates in Blue Belt Requirements. That will also stop them pushing down on your knee, as their arm is trapped. It is worth trying both and seeing which you prefer, or which one the situation demands.
To get your knee out from under them, you'll be looking to shrimp in the direction you want your leg to go. If you can get a foot on the mat, that will provide you with the base to shrimp. Sometimes there isn't space, in which case you can push off the shin you have pressed into their stomach/hip. Keep shrimping under you can get your legs free and back to closed guard (or open guard, like butterfly, if you prefer).
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Teaching Notes: I've taught this lesson a lot, but there's still bits I can refine. I'm fairly happy with the first part, but could perhaps structure the last element of the escape better. That's where you extract your legs from underneath them. I tend to talk about shrimping repeatedly in order to get the leg out, but I'm not sure if I'm being clear enough about how to do it. Part of the problem is there are a number of different ways, so I need to pick the best one that applies to the most situations.
Shrimping is probably the easiest. Also, you've got the option of either keeping a leg on the ground to help with shrimping, or getting that over their back to break their posture. Something that could be achieved by wrapping the head instead? I'll have a think about that before next time.
Class #664 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 20/09/2015
I didn't get in all that much training today, but I was able to do a few rounds of guard passing with Chris. He's often keen to work on his guard, particularly switching techniques, as he can be single-minded and get stuck trying the same one repeatedly. From my perspective, I was looking to establish good entry grips for the pass. I ended up going for the head and/or chest, then also grabbing a leg if possible. That set me up for the knee cut pass, as long as I could get enough of a grip to stop him trying to go for my back. A few times I ended up moving through into north-south as a result, because his legs were blocking the easy transition into side control.
I wasn't going for the bullfighter much, mainly because my fingers have been really sore for the last month or two. I've had that problem before and IIRC I took a load of fish oil and vitamin supplements, so I should try that again. Chris (who is in the process of doing a kettlebell qualification, so well informed on grip strength) suggested building up the opposite muscles, flexing your hands with some elastic bands around the fingers. I've tried that before, but as with taking supplements, I tend to forget to do it after a while. Still, I did it after training and it did provide some immediate short-term relief. One of those difficult-to-avoid jiu jitsu problems I guess, especially if you don't like training nogi. ;)
Teaching #391 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 18/09/2015
You're going for the breadcutter choke, but they manage to block your choking arm. No problem, you can switch to an armbar (near side, this time). Adjust your grip so you can press their blocking arm to the mat. Clamp your collar gripping arm to your side, in order to trap their arm. Scoot in close to them, putting your shin against their side. That means the foot of your leg curls in by their shoulder, your knee pointing towards their hips.
Your other leg goes over their head. As you drop back for the armbar, swivel the leg you have against their side so the knee points up, pinching against their arm. You will also need to let go of your grip on their collar as you slide up their arm. From here, keep their arm secured under your armpit. You can get the tap by leaning backwards. If you need more control, bring both legs over into an orthodox armbar position. There is the option of switching to grip their wrist with your hands too, transitioning to an orthodox armbar finish.
Xande has an excellent video where he covers not only the breadcutter, but switching into both the far side and near armbars. You can check it out over on BJJ Library: lots of useful details on the whole sequence.
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Teaching Notes: The two things to emphasise next time would be getting that knee up, to make sure you've got your knees clamping their arm, then secondly staying in close enough. That second one is more difficult. It's also the main problem I have with armbars generally, as I tend to find it's hard to completely close off any space to prevent their escape. You've also got the problem with this variation that you don't have both legs over initially. Then again, that armpit clamp on their arm feels pretty strong if you can lock it up properly. :)
Teaching #390 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/09/2015
You've gone for the breadcutter choke, but you aren't able to secure the second grip. Reach around their far arm instead, anchoring your hand with their gi. If they reach up past your head, you can clamp their arm in place. If not, then that north south transition should hopefully mean you can drive your shoulder into the crook of their elbow, as they will often have their arm bent due to framing against your earlier side control.
Either way, once you've secured that arm, you can now pull them up onto their side and move into the north-south kimura. Alternatively, you can go for a slightly more acrobatic far side armbar. Keeping that far arm immobilised in the same way, walk your legs around to their head.Lean forwards into them, in order to help control their mobility. Hop up into a crouch, bringing your feet far enough forward that you can easily cut your knee around the outside of their trapped arm.
Swivel around their trapped arm, cutting your knee tightly next to the arm. Drop back, squeezing your knees, ready to secure the armbar. If you need to, you can adjust into a more orthodox armbar position, such as bringing both legs over for additional leverage.
To do that hop, crouch and swivel takes some confidence. You need to be careful you aren't giving them space, in that gap between the crouch and the swivel. You could try maintaining some control by pressing your head into their stomach, using your weight to slow down their ability to capitalise on any gap you might leave.
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: The main problem people were having is leaving too much space, I think due to the amount they hopped towards them. If you aren't hopping in closely enough, when you turn and drop, there will be loads of room between your hips and their shoulder. That gives them space to work their escape. So, it would appear the further you hop the better, though naturally you don't want to hop so far that you end up losing their arm underneath you.
From a sparring perspective, I feel fairly confident on top in side control (although as ever, I am sparring less experienced people), but I'm not always able to get that arm. I've been trying to switch to wrapping the gi over their top of their arm when they're defending, but can't always get enough gi. Another submission I've tried out is the step over triangle, though I continue to find it normally works better as a controlling position than a submission (I occasionally land it on people, but not often, though the position itself is easy enough to get when they reach through your legs).
Teaching #389 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/09/2015
As a general rule, 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 (be careful of turning too far, or they will find it easier to slip to technical mount). 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.
Xande teaches that frame on BJJ Library too, addressing my concern by showing how once you have the frame and you're on your side, any move they make should give you an opening to quickly upa and shove the leg back. That frame also means you can choose whether to push with your elbow, as in my preferred version, or switch to the additional leverage of your hand. Either way, once you have shoved that leg up and over, immediately base on your outside foot to turn your knee inwards and get on your side. Underhook their armpit and bump, as you would in a basic half guard.
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.
The typical frame involves 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). To hinder them turning to technical mount, position your elbow slightly past their hip.
Whichever option you use, the idea is to make enough space from the combination of your shrimp and bridge to pull your leg through. If you're going with the Rener version, you can use that little bump to help pull your leg either through or under their leg. 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 you can also 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 if you're having to strain. 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 Notes: I've mentioned before that this isn't an escape I use a lot, as I find the heel drag a related but considerably superior option. However, tonight revealed that the standard elbow escape comes in handy if you aren't able to lever their heel up for the heel drag. In that situation, switching to the elbow escape seems to work well.
Also, I'm wondering if it's a good idea to push with the hand if your arms aren't long enough to create a good frame? My default is to rely on the elbows instead, which also means you can pry their knee up rather than just pushing. That does leave you more open to technical mount transitions though. Something to practice some more during mount month in a couple of weeks.
Teaching #388 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 14/09/2015
The breadcutter choke can be set up in various ways. The way I first learned was moving towards north-south from side control. They will then often reach past your hip, which leaves a space for you to reach under their armpit and clamp it to your side. That means their arm is stuck between your side and your arm. Move back to side control, then with the hand of that clamping arm, grab behind their neck, gripping in the middle of the collar. Cinch that in.
You can also move into north-south, secure that for a moment, then reach back to get the collar grip. Either way, when you have that grip, walk back into side control. I like to use Xande's version to finish, as it feels a bit 'cleaner' than some of the others. Rather than turning their head to press into the side of the neck, he grips across to the far collar while they are still facing up. The hand needs to be far enough up that it doesn't cause the arm to squish the windpipe, but low enough to keep the gi tight. Drop your elbow, close to where your first hand is gripping. You then pry their head back with your elbow for the submission.
Another handy aspect of this technique is that it will work when your opponent does the classic white belt death grip over the back defence. As both their arm are up over your back, that leave your free to establish both your grips, as they aren't defending their neck. With the arm that goes over the neck, keep your elbow tight to your side. Xande starts from a position where both his knees are in. When he sprawls back on the leg nearest their legs, it enables his body to smoothly turn with his elbow still by his side, settling right into the choke.
In Saulo's version, as you move back around to side control, move your free arm back towards you, then use that to turn their head away from you. This feels counter-intuitive, as you'd expect to drag that arm back and turn their head towards you. However, you want to expose the near side of their neck. So, bring your arm back, then drive it over their jawline, turning their head away. Grip their far collar with your free hand (this might require balancing on their chest, turned towards their head, which should also help keep them pinned to the mat), then put your forearm into the exposed side of their neck.
To finish, you need to create some pressure into their neck, in order to close off the artery. Turn towards their legs, in a sort of reverse scarf hold position, then use that base from your legs to lower yourself gradually into their neck, keeping your initial gi grip tight. Be careful, as this can come on quickly and it isn't very comfortable.
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: This felt like it went pretty well, no major issues that I could see. What I need to work out is a smooth transition into the other three attacks connected to this (north-south kimura, near side armbar and far side armbar). I had a go in sparring, but then I also still have that problem of being too wary of losing position. I'm getting closer though, locking up the far arm to look for the kimura/armbar. There will be plenty of time to test that out on Wednesday. ;)
I also added a new drill, or rather a modification to an old drill. I want people to start thinking about blocking the cross-face, as well as setting up their defence during transitions. Hence why I tried doing the usual side control escape drill, but using the Jeff Rockwell frame to block the cross face. I will keep on building that up and see if it makes any difference. I'm also beginning to include some more posture breaking drills from guard, pulling out their elbows then bringing your knees in.
Coaching #002 The Point 4, Hereford BJJ Open (Competition), Dave 'Dewi' Coles , Hereford, UK - 13/09/2015
For most of my time in jiu jitsu, I've been aware of the Hereford BJJ Open (they started in 2009, I think, three years after I began training). Dave Coles has always had a reputation as an excellent tournament organiser, running things professionally and on time. It was certainly a much bigger venue than the last comp we attended, with more 'big' teams in attendance.
The main warm-up area was clearly marked off-limits to coaches and spectators, with a long bench in front of each competition mat. Unfortunately, what ended up happening was that most of the spectators stood behind that bench to cheer on their team, meaning if you were in the staggered seating, you couldn't see anything. Though that isn't an easy issue to resolve, as understandably people want to cheer on their team mates: perhaps making the benches only for coaches and no standing?
On a personal note, one of the reasons I was pleased I had some students keen to go to Hereford was that I knew a lot of my old training partners and friends would be involved. Pippa was there refereeing, as was my instructor Kev and several friends from Chris Rees Academy like Rob and Omied. I also got to catch up with Chiu, plus say hi briefly to Kevin Webb (the classes I took from him back in 2010 still rank as among the most impressive I've experienced, from a teaching perspective).
The divisions ran mostly on time, Simon's lightweight (76kg) division was underway by around 10am, after a 09:15 weigh-in. Jim had a longer wait in the middle-heavy (88.3kg) division of about an hour and a half IIRC, while Kirsty had a similar wait after weighing in at 13:30 for female middle-heavy. Sadly for Kirsty, her division didn't have enough people in it and was therefore merged with the category above. That didn't happen at Roll Models, because they offered free entry to women (and £5 to their next event on 10th October). If Roll Models can keep that up, it's a huge plus for female competitors: competing against people your own weight is a luxury men can take for granted! ;)
It meant that in both of Kirsty's fights at Hereford, her opponents had a significant weight advantage. The winner of the division was 76kg, landing some powerful hip throws. Apparently she's a pro MMA fighter, though I'm not sure if that was just hearsay. I thought Kirsty did really well considering that, with a tight defence giving very little away. That was reflected in the points: the first fight her opponent won on a pass 3-0, whereas in the second it was a mere single advantage.
All three of the team put on a good performance, I thought. Their closed guards were strong and tough to pass. Jim very nearly landed a loop choke in both his fights, especially at the end of the second. Simon also looked strong, holding out in a triangle for over a minute before the pressure on his neck got too much. I can sympathise, as I've had a nastily tweaked neck from refusing to tap to the pain of a triangle before: it would be much worse if it had been in the death-grip of a competition!
I continued with my low-key approach to coaching, shouting out things like 'Posture!', 'Stay on your toes!' 'Stay calm!', 'Keep breathing!' and the like. A lot of the other coaches were going into great detail, particularly during the women's matches I saw. Competitors were literally pausing to look at the coach, waiting for their next instruction. It certainly works, as those competitors also won. However, in my experience so far, the competitors can't hear me very well anyway, especially with the tunnel vision of adrenaline taking hold.
At open mat, the feedback I've gotten every time is that brief imperative reminders come through better and are the most useful thing to hear, along with the time if it's getting towards the end. I'll keep on asking when we do comp prep (i.e., a mock competition match during open mat) to see if that changes. Might well vary from person to person as well, given there have only been five competitors from Artemis BJJ up until now.
Everybody I watched fight (both my students and others) looked to be having issues with attacking from closed guard. The first problem is breaking posture, then moving into some kind of attack. It's a problem I've had myself, which seems to have been at least partially resolved by the most recent month of closed guard focus back in Bristol. I spent that whole month focusing on the shoulder clamp when in closed guard, finding it helps open up angles and make closed guard more proactive. I therefore want to institute some drills to familiarise students with that, based around posture breaking. Maybe pull the elbows, along with the shoulder clamp reach and posture break, then finally the two-on-one grip break to the back? Lots of options.
I'd like to do some more work on blocking the cross-face too. It's natural to start side control with the person already in cross-face, to practice escaping that position. That's valuable, but I'd like some drills that emphasise you don't have to accept the cross-face in sparring, especially outside of specific sparring. I've been using the current position of the month at Artemis BJJ (side control) to practice what Jeff Rockwell calls his 'Sit-Up Escape System'. I refer to that as stiff arm: either way, it's been helping. Something else to add into drills. :)
Another thing this comp highlighted (as did Roll Models) was other aspects of being a coach. Shouting stuff when people are competing is a part of it, but I think a much bigger part is being there to motivate, encourage and reassure the competitors. I feel it's also important to emphasise that while winning is obviously nice, competition is much more valuable as a learning tool. You're not going to win every time, but you can definitely learn something useful every time. If you can do that, then each competition you attend becomes a way to further your game.
I'm not going to be able to be at every comp - my girlfriend needs some weekends with me too, after all - so hopefully some of the regular competitors will be able to take on that role too. We've only been to two competitions thus far, but a 'competition team' is already beginning to form. I'm sure as the students interested in competition (not everyone is, which is totally fine: competition is just one part of BJJ) gain more experience, that 'assistant coach' role (for want of a better term) will be filled. Particularly as they are all now more experienced on the competition mats than me, with my whole one competition fight. ;)
Teaching #387 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 11/09/2015
For the north south kimura, start in side control, controlling their far arm. This is made easier if they aren't careful and let you bump their arm up onto your shoulder. Often they'll put it there themselves, attempting to reach your head, enabling you to trap their arm by your shoulder. Another possibility is that they turn and try to get an underhook.
Whether they put it there or you do, the next step is to wrap your arm over theirs, aiming to get just under their elbow to kill mobility in the limb. Ideally, also pull them up by that arm, so they're rolled onto their side. To lock it in place, grab your own collar, or just somewhere on your gi if you can't reach far enough. You'll also want to use you head, clamping your skull against their forearm. Braulio advises following their arm with your head: e.g., if they try to fling it down to the mat or something like that. Don't let them work their arm past your head.
You're also going to move round to north-south, so again you need to block their legs from running after you by putting a hand on the mat, near their bum (although it should be a bit harder for them to turn if you've locked up that arm). As you move around, you want to jam your knee into the armpit of their free arm, swivelling your lower leg under that arm as you move around. That makes it harder for them to escape. If you can't manage that, slide your knee over their free arm once you've got to north south. It is useful to maintain some kind of control on that free arm, as otherwise they can use it to try and create some space to escape.
You essentially end up sitting on their head, so in drilling, be aware that you don't want to squish your partner. You can take a bit of the weight off by transferring it to your knees: obviously in competition, that's less of a concern. As you sit up, make sure their elbow is glued to your chest.
The next important step is to establish a figure four on their trapped arm, which can be easier said than done. One simple method Kev showed me is to put your free hand in place, ready to grab their wrist. Next, turn your head away from their arm: this will push your shoulder forwards, which will then also knock their arm forwards, putting the wrist right into your waiting hand. It's then simple to complete the figure four grip.
To finish the kimura, simply turn back in the other direction, pushing their wrist towards the side their elbow is pointing . Alternatively, you can also bring the elbow of your non-clamping arm to their trapped arm side. Turn your body so you're facing their head, then apply the kimura from that lower position.
If you make a mistake while looking to apply the kimura from that upright position, or they simply defend well, you might find that they are able to grab their own belt or gi. This will make it tough to complete the submission. You can try pulling in the direction their knuckles are pointing, or Roy Dean's option of using rhythm to break that grip. Push their arm towards them twice, as if you are really trying to break their grip, then yank hard in the other direction (aiming for the direction in which their fingers are weakest). Lovato Jr suggests adjusting your grip so that you're holding the meat of their hand rather than their wrist. He then does two quick jerks to yank their hand free.
Should none of that work, you can instead switch to an armbar. Bring your knee up on their trapped arm side. This will enable you to put your whole body into it when you turn towards their other side, which should break their grip. Make sure you keep that figure four grip, as it is about to prove useful. If possible, you also want to try and slip your foot into the armpit of their free arm, which should help prevent their escape attempt.
Pinch your knees together to control their arm, in what is sometimes called a 'Japanese armbar' position (I'm not sure why: something from Japan, I guess? Or maybe Pancrase? Leave a comment if you know). You don't have both your legs over their body, which means that the hitchhiker escape is a possibility. It's called that because they lead with their thumb pointing the way out, turning their body and walking around.
However, because you have that figure-four grip, they can't use it anymore. If they try to turn away, you can just apply the kimura. In order to relieve the pressure, they'll have to turn back. You can then drop to the mat, switching your grip to finish the armbar as normal. Another option is to grab their leg, wrapping underneath it ideally. That will prevent them turning, because they need to swivel that leg down: they can't if your arm is in the way.
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Teaching Notes: I'm still going with the 'they make a mistake' version, wrapping their arm around your head, which means you have to switch arms for the figure-four grip. The other version, where you trap their elbow straight from their defensive frame, could be better as there isn't that arm switch? I showed it briefly, but it felt awkward, so I need to try it more myself. Something to emphasise even more next time is locking their arm into your chest, as some people having trouble with that. Having said that, Ryan Hall has a different method on his Open Elbow DVD, trapping it against his bicep, so there are other options I could consider.
Teaching #386 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 09/09/2015
When moving around to north-south from standard side control, start by shifting your grip. You'll need to place one arm by their near hip. A useful tip from Braulio is to anchor your hand flat on the mat by their legs, elbow near their bum. If you instead grab their gi or their trousers, they will be able to follow you with their legs as you turn. If you put your hand in the way, that acts as a barrier, meaning you can scoot around but they can't scamper after you. Your other hand will normally wrap under their far shoulder, especially if you're looking for a kimura.
As always with top positions, you must make sure you are maximising the weight you're driving into them. Stay on your toes as you walk around, also establishing solid grips with your hands. Press your chest down to turn their head to one side: that is a good general rule of thumb from top position, as if you can turn their head to one side, it is tough for them to turn their body in the other direction.
There are numerous ways you can grip in this position, as ever. A common option is to basically flop your upper body onto their head, bringing your knees in. My personal preference is to move off to one side of the head, driving my weight onto their shoulder, my head low and pressing down, sprawling back with my legs.
You can also experiment with various grips. The most basic is probably grabbing under their shoulders and reaching for their belt, then pulling them in towards you. You could also try putting your elbows into their armpits, or maybe wrap up an arm, perhaps sliding your arm under the head. Another common approach is to have one arm over their arm, while the elbow of your other arm digs into their armpit.
Generally you want to keep your hips low, like in side control, but there are variations where you raise your hips, driving your weight through your shoulders. As Jason Scully over on Grapplers Guide mentioned, if they try that escape where they wriggle out and fling their legs over to take your back, raising your hips can be useful. You can then drive your forehead into their chest to stop them completing the escape.
The best place to learn about maintaining the north-south probably isn't BJJ: its parent art judo is much better at pins. In judo, the orthodox north-south is called 'kami shiho gatame', with lots of variations. For example, the above picture shows three options mentioned in an old instructional book from 1952, Higher Judo: Groundwork, by Dr Moshé Feldenkrais (not only a good judoka, but an engineer, physicist and founder of the eponymous 'Feldenkrais Method').
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: Previously I've taught both scarf hold and north-south at the same time, but tonight I decided to try splitting them into separate lessons. I think I'll continue doing that, as there was enough material in north-south to focus on that alone. Also, I was asked quite a few follow-up questions, indicating again that there's plenty there for students to get their teeth into.
I didn't mention Scully counter to north-south escape, but I don't think many people were familiar with the position so don't know escapes from it anyway. Should I make some space to show the escapes this month? I'll see how classes go. There is the back roll, the amusing Kurt Osiander one and the thing I've been trying from Rockwell. Multiple options, which is good, I used to only have one.
In sparring, I was pleased to get a kimura when somebody reached an arm around my head. I trapped that in place, then grabbed their wrist and twisted for the tap. It was a bit spur of the moment, so I need to drill that at open mat to see if it's viable long term, but fun either way. ;)
However, I'm still not finishing off those kimura/armbar attempts on top due to be too cautious. I was also trying to go for a baseball bat choke using the gi tail. Sometimes their gi proves not to be long enough, making it awkward to get the hands in place, and more savvy opponents will block me from getting the second arm in place. Control feels good though, which helped me take more risks: I went for the choke position and one point and got rolled, so developmentally that's good, giving it a try rather than waiting for everything to be absolutely perfect..
Continuing on with usual escape practice underneath, with more Rockwell stiff arms. I think pushing them further down towards my legs would be a good idea, that seems to help. I'm not satisfied with my cross face block yet, as they are eventually managing to grip my gi and start establishing some kind of pressure. I'll keep on rewatching the instructional, as I think I'm missing some details. There's a little Facebook group specifically for people who have bought Artechoke Media instructionals where the authors will answer your questions, should help iron out some problems. I could even film myself doing it? Yay for Web 2.0! 3.0? Whatever it is now. :P
Teaching #385 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 09/09/2015
There are two main methods I use for transitioning from side control to mount. The first method involves reverse scarfhold, where you switch your hips into a scarf hold position to pry their elbow up (you have the option to switch back to a more orthodox side control to trap their arm too). As experienced grapplers will tend to keep their elbows tight, dragging your hip along the floor and into their elbow should enable you to scoop up their arm. However you manage it, getting the near elbow out of the way is key to this particular technique for transitioning to mount.
Having killed the near arm, switch one arm to grip their far arm, putting your other hand by their near hip. Shift your hips right back towards their head, as far as you can. Your elbow will either be in their far armpit or wrapped underneath their far arm for control. This position means you're also blocking their view with your entire body. Lean into them, using your body weight to help maintain control.
That therefore stops them from seeing exactly what you're doing (note that when Saulo shows it on his DVD, he suggests you mess with them by slapping their legs, until you can pick your moment). When you've got up really high and are ready to go (at this point, they should almost be bridging to relieve the pressure), grab their knee to stop them snatching mount, then bring your leg across. Ideally, you'll pin their knee to the mat, squashing both their knees together.
If you're able to clamp their knees onto the near side, there is the possibility of inserting your foot behind their knees and switching through to mount. However, it generally isn't going to be easy to get them into that position, so I wouldn't rely on this, but still, if you can get it that's an easy route to mount. Second, you can grab your own foot and pull it across, or just squeeze it past your own arm, depending on your flexibility. This is useful when you have limited space, but personally I find it feels a little awkward, in that you might tangle yourself up in your own limbs.
Beginners will often try to simply swing their leg over, which is instinctive. However, while that can sometimes work, especially if you time it well, there are two main dangers. The first is that they will snatch half guard as your leg swings over, as it will normally be within range of their own legs. The second is even more dangerous. If they bridge into you midway through your swing, they can roll you onto your back and end up in your guard.
The safest option is to slide your knee across their belt line, then 'fishtail' (slapping the mat with the side of your lower leg) when your knee touches the mat. You can also grab their belt or cup their far hip to stop them shrimping midway through. I feel this is the best method, using steady pressure to get into place, rather than relying on explosive power, flexibility or luck.
A less complicated version is the diagonal slide, which has a lot less steps to it. Start in side control, with a heavy cross face and your other arm under their far arm. Walk your other arm up the mat, until you can get their far arm tight to their head. At this point, you can grab just below their elbow with your cross facing hand, locking their arm to their skull (if you want extra control, you can use your head).
Drive your knee as high as you can on their body, sliding it diagonally over their chest. Aim to put your knee by their elbow. If you go too low, they may be able to snatch half guard. To prevent that, you can also use your free arm to block their legs, either simply shielding the area, or grabbing their near leg and pushing it away. The near leg is the one that will be on top if they try to drag your leg into half guard. If you have control of that top leg, it's impossible for them to get half guard: with just their bottom leg, they can't do much.
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Teaching Notes: Last time I taught this lesson, I decided that the reverse scarfhold option was unnecessarily complicated for beginners. The diagonal slide is much simpler, but it does have the downside that people often don't put their knee high enough and therefore get stuck in quarter guard. Still, quarter guard (where they've only managed to trap your foot, not your whole leg) isn't as onerous to pass.
You just bring your trapped knee over to their other side of their body, then complete a knee cut as normal. If you aren't able to bring that knee over, you might be able to do an opposite side half guard pass. If they are turned a lot towards your trapped foot, another possible option is to slide your free knee up high and take their back, rolling over your free knee as normal. Or finally, there is the rolling back take I taught a while ago, though I find that isn't as high percentage.
On Sunday 4th October, we’ll be hosting top black belt Chelsea Bainbridge-Donner at MYGYM Bristol from 12:00-15:00. It's only £20 and everybody is welcome! Head to the event page on Facebook to confirm your attendance. :D
Jeff Rockwell, who I trained with in Texas, has produced an excellent instructional, The Sit Up Escape System, published online through Artechoke Media. It fits in perfectly with the stiff arm material I've been practicing from open guard since 2013. Tonight we looked at the initial scenario for this escape, where they are just in the process of passing your legs. Set up your frames before they get fully around, arms up at right angles with your elbows in tight to your sides. One arm blocks the side of their neck, the other presses into the crook of their elbow. Make sure you are blocking with your forearm near the wrist, rather than your hand. A hand will bend, a forearm won't (unless you're sparring the Hulk, in which case you have bigger problems!). Fold your elbow-crook hand over the back of their arm, gripping their shoulder blade with your neck-hand.
