Class #759
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 31/07/2016
I can get into a habit sometimes at open mat of wandering around watching, rather than getting stuck in sparring, especially with the more challenging opponents. I forced myself to do some sparring with Sam today, after he asked. I need to do that more, otherwise I'm not going to improve. I also need to make it specific, isolate my problem areas. I was trying out sweeps today from open guard, shifting from shin on shin to reverse and deep de la Riva. The shin-on-shin was tricky with Sam, but the reverse de la Riva tripod sweep worked a few times, making me happy. Naturally it is only sparring, but I was nevertheless pleased to be able to hit that. :)
31 July 2016
30 July 2016
29/07/2016 - Teaching | Open Guard | Shin-on-shin sweep (no sleeve)
Teaching #537
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 29/07/2016
The shin-to-shin guard provides an additional pressure to your sweeps, giving you the very useful ability to lift compared to koala guard or de la Riva (or at least, I find it's much easier to lift with shin on shin than de la Riva). I first started playing with this after my instructor showed me some options at a private in 2015, then in more depth at Ana's seminar. Put your shin in front of their same side leg, wrapping behind that leg with your same side arm. Your other leg pushes on their knee. That will normally make them post their arm, or at least put the arm in range.
Make sure that the knee on your shin leg is at forty five degrees. If it is too high, they can push your knee out of the way and pass, so keep it low enough to prevent an easy push. Grab their sleeve, with the intention to pass their arm under their leg to your other hand, which is waiting there behind their leg. With your passing hand, grab high on the arm you just controlled, up near their shoulder. Pull down on that arm as you lift with your shin. It's much the same motion as the basic de la Riva sweep I was taught at GB Brum.
Another option is to instead grab their far ankle, rather than high on their arm. This is to block them from stepping to recover their base. You can then again lift with the shin and drive through for the sweep. That's especially useful if you can't get their arm, when you can (again like the de la Riva series from GB Brum) grab their belt or gi tail instead and pass that under their leg. Should they base out heavily on their arms when you go for the sweep, you can potentially switch to a single leg by swivelling around behind their leg, or move to take their back.
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: I'm wondering if I should teach this as starting from feet on hips, pushing into the knee and sitting up. That's how Ana taught it, which I think would make more sense. Going straight to the shin-on-shin position isn't going to happen in sparring, so some kind of set up would be handy. I'll also get a feel for that as I continue to use the shin-on-shin more often in my own sparring.
Sparring with Matt, it seems a good way to stuff the shin on shin is to crouch low, which worked well for me when I was on top. If they leave any space, you can also quickly swivel your foot past the shin to re-establish passing posture. I need to have a think on how to stop that messing up the guard. At the moment, I think pushing into their knee with your free foot makes sense. Same goes for the deep de la Riva, what to do when that goes wrong? Chiu's hybrid spider may be a good one, as it doesn't rely on the really painful grips, instead grasping the collar of the jacket, pushing into their arm. That's an option I used to do a lot, based on Xande's DVD. I'll have more of a play with that again.
Another interesting thing Matt has been doing more often in sparring is turning to turtle to avoid my pass. I haven't been getting an over-under grip on his arms quick enough. Perhaps more Adamson style passing to mount is required? Or just take the back more effectively, I guess.
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 29/07/2016
The shin-to-shin guard provides an additional pressure to your sweeps, giving you the very useful ability to lift compared to koala guard or de la Riva (or at least, I find it's much easier to lift with shin on shin than de la Riva). I first started playing with this after my instructor showed me some options at a private in 2015, then in more depth at Ana's seminar. Put your shin in front of their same side leg, wrapping behind that leg with your same side arm. Your other leg pushes on their knee. That will normally make them post their arm, or at least put the arm in range.
Make sure that the knee on your shin leg is at forty five degrees. If it is too high, they can push your knee out of the way and pass, so keep it low enough to prevent an easy push. Grab their sleeve, with the intention to pass their arm under their leg to your other hand, which is waiting there behind their leg. With your passing hand, grab high on the arm you just controlled, up near their shoulder. Pull down on that arm as you lift with your shin. It's much the same motion as the basic de la Riva sweep I was taught at GB Brum.
Another option is to instead grab their far ankle, rather than high on their arm. This is to block them from stepping to recover their base. You can then again lift with the shin and drive through for the sweep. That's especially useful if you can't get their arm, when you can (again like the de la Riva series from GB Brum) grab their belt or gi tail instead and pass that under their leg. Should they base out heavily on their arms when you go for the sweep, you can potentially switch to a single leg by swivelling around behind their leg, or move to take their back.
________________
Teaching & Sparring Notes: I'm wondering if I should teach this as starting from feet on hips, pushing into the knee and sitting up. That's how Ana taught it, which I think would make more sense. Going straight to the shin-on-shin position isn't going to happen in sparring, so some kind of set up would be handy. I'll also get a feel for that as I continue to use the shin-on-shin more often in my own sparring.
Sparring with Matt, it seems a good way to stuff the shin on shin is to crouch low, which worked well for me when I was on top. If they leave any space, you can also quickly swivel your foot past the shin to re-establish passing posture. I need to have a think on how to stop that messing up the guard. At the moment, I think pushing into their knee with your free foot makes sense. Same goes for the deep de la Riva, what to do when that goes wrong? Chiu's hybrid spider may be a good one, as it doesn't rely on the really painful grips, instead grasping the collar of the jacket, pushing into their arm. That's an option I used to do a lot, based on Xande's DVD. I'll have more of a play with that again.
Another interesting thing Matt has been doing more often in sparring is turning to turtle to avoid my pass. I haven't been getting an over-under grip on his arms quick enough. Perhaps more Adamson style passing to mount is required? Or just take the back more effectively, I guess.
27 July 2016
27/07/2016 - Teaching | Open Guard | Shin-to-shin sweep
Teaching #536
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 27/07/2016
The shin-to-shin guard provides an additional pressure to your sweeps, giving you the very useful ability to lift compared to koala guard or de la Riva (or at least, I find it's much easier to lift with shin on shin than de la Riva). I first started playing with this after my instructor showed me some options at a private in 2015, then in more depth at Ana's seminar. Put your shin in front of their same side leg, wrapping behind that leg with your same side arm. Your other leg pushes on their knee. That will normally make them post their arm, or at least put the arm in range.
Make sure that the knee on your shin leg is at forty five degrees. If it is too high, they can push your knee out of the way and pass, so keep it low enough to prevent an easy push. Grab their sleeve, with the intention to pass their arm under their leg to your other hand, which is waiting there behind their leg. With your passing hand, grab high on the arm you just controlled, up near their shoulder. Pull down on that arm as you lift with your shin. It's much the same motion as the basic de la Riva sweep I was taught at GB Brum.
________________
Sparring Notes: This is something I've been wanting to improve since Kev showed me back in February 2015. Ana's seminar helped me get it sorted in my head, so I think this is a technique I can incorporate better into my open guard now, something I've sorely needed. After a number of years attempting to get my open guard into shape, it feels like I'm finally beginning to get somewhere. But as ever, you have good days and bad days in BJJ. I'm writing this a couple of weeks later after using lots of shin on shin during sparring where it worked ok, which would explain why I'm feeling especially positive about it right now.
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 27/07/2016
The shin-to-shin guard provides an additional pressure to your sweeps, giving you the very useful ability to lift compared to koala guard or de la Riva (or at least, I find it's much easier to lift with shin on shin than de la Riva). I first started playing with this after my instructor showed me some options at a private in 2015, then in more depth at Ana's seminar. Put your shin in front of their same side leg, wrapping behind that leg with your same side arm. Your other leg pushes on their knee. That will normally make them post their arm, or at least put the arm in range.
Make sure that the knee on your shin leg is at forty five degrees. If it is too high, they can push your knee out of the way and pass, so keep it low enough to prevent an easy push. Grab their sleeve, with the intention to pass their arm under their leg to your other hand, which is waiting there behind their leg. With your passing hand, grab high on the arm you just controlled, up near their shoulder. Pull down on that arm as you lift with your shin. It's much the same motion as the basic de la Riva sweep I was taught at GB Brum.
________________
Sparring Notes: This is something I've been wanting to improve since Kev showed me back in February 2015. Ana's seminar helped me get it sorted in my head, so I think this is a technique I can incorporate better into my open guard now, something I've sorely needed. After a number of years attempting to get my open guard into shape, it feels like I'm finally beginning to get somewhere. But as ever, you have good days and bad days in BJJ. I'm writing this a couple of weeks later after using lots of shin on shin during sparring where it worked ok, which would explain why I'm feeling especially positive about it right now.
27/07/2016 - Teaching | Women's Class | Americana from Side Control
Teaching #535
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 27/07/2016
I see the americana as the classic submission from side control: I'm fond of that technique, as it is one over which you can exert lots of control. However, it does have a reputation of being a technique that is mainly used by stronger people bullying a smaller opponent, so if I'm going to continue viewing it as a core basic submission, I need to keep refining my understanding to make sure it is functional whatever your size.
There are various set ups, but I decided to show how to go for the americana from that strong, orthodox side control position I've mentioned before. To start, you need to isolate their far arm. Often the set up is that they've pushed their forearm up towards you (which is why from an escape perspective, you don't want to be shoving up with your arm and trying to benchpress them). A simple Roger Gracie method is to trap their wrist with your chin, then drive their arm to the mat with your weight. Lift your shoulder slightly to then insert your hand on top of their wrist.
There are different arguments regarding gripping their wrist using your thumb or not. Some feel that having the thumb there provides better control, and that is the instinctive way of holding something. However, most BJJ instructors I've seen describe gripping for the americana advocate a thumbless grip, so that all of your fingers are over the other side of their arm.
That's the direction they want to escape, so that's where you want your strength. It also means you can really push down, rather than squashing your own thumb. Then there's the point Kev at RGA Bucks makes, which is that he feels the thumb can act as a lever for their escape.
Support your hand with your head if you're having trouble pushing their arm to the mat (Cindy Omatsu is showing it from mount in the picture, but same idea). Also be sure to keep their arm away from their body, so they can't grab their belt or gi. The aim is to put the arm at right angles. Another handy tip is to get your elbow into their neck. That means they can't turn towards you to relieve pressure on their shoulder and begin an escape. Finally, you also want to make sure that their elbow is stuck, keeping the arm you have underneath their arm tight so they can't slip their elbow free.
Finish by 'painting' the floor with their knuckles, moving their hand towards their legs, lifting their elbow off the floor. You may need to adjust the angle of their arm, depending on how flexible they are. Make sure you don't give them space by their shoulder, or they can relieve the pressure and perhaps begin an escape.
Saulo has a few extra details in the version on his instructional website, BJJ Library. If they are pushing up into his neck, Saulo moves his body forwards to move their arm away from their side. He then locks one arm under their elbow (again, to stop that elbow slipping free of your attack), grabbing their wrist with the other (this is easier to get if you time it for when they next try to shove into your neck. You can then drive it to the mat. Slide your elbow arm through, grab the wrist, then suck in their arm to tighten the angle, before completing the submission.
Yet another set-up option crops up if they are pushing you towards their legs. Move a little with their pressure into your neck, leaning away as if that escape attempt is working for them, then turn back towards them, driving their arm to the mat with your bodyweight, head and hand. You can increase the power by switching your legs as you move back, then switching again as your return your weight towards them. Alternatively, you can simply turn your body slightly as they push, with the intention to get enough space to go for their wrist, then push it to the ground, where you can finish as before.
Finally, you can also wrap their gi lapel over their arm, especially if they are begin very defensive and keeping that arm in tight. This is the same technique I teach from half guard: as a set up for the americana, I find it works just as well from side control. Many of the attacks will work in both positions (naturally side control attacks that function by swiveling round to the other side, like a baseball bat choke, won't have sufficient rotation in half guard).
_____________________
Teaching Notes: There is now a 30 minute open mat right before the women's class, which I'm hoping can help lead to some more training between those who regularly attend the women's class and those who don't. It also gives me a chance to do some more drilling and possibly sparring, depending on who is able to make it. There were three people there today, which was enough to get in some training. As it is very early (17:55-18:25), I imagine it is never going to be huge, but it's good to have that space. The schedule at MYGYM is quite crowded now, so I wanted to grab the slot while it was still available.
Nothing to add on the technique really, although I think I could still refine my teaching of it. Some newer people continue to get a little confused on how to lift the elbow and paint the mat with knuckles. I'll see if I can come up with any other metaphors to better explain that. Grabbing people's arms and showing them how to do it is good, but some suitably potent imagery would help a lot ('use their knuckles/wrist as a paintbrush' doesn't appear to always do the job). :)
It was also, sadly, Erin's last time at the women's class. She's only been training for a week, but she's managed to get in a lot of mat time, including the seminar. Hopefully we'll be able to meet again on some Australian mats: there are a few people at Artemis BJJ who travel down under regularly, plus I'm planning to make a return visit at some point myself. It's cool that we've been able to help set Erin on her BJJ journey, as after all that is the major aim of the women's class. :D
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 27/07/2016
I see the americana as the classic submission from side control: I'm fond of that technique, as it is one over which you can exert lots of control. However, it does have a reputation of being a technique that is mainly used by stronger people bullying a smaller opponent, so if I'm going to continue viewing it as a core basic submission, I need to keep refining my understanding to make sure it is functional whatever your size.
There are various set ups, but I decided to show how to go for the americana from that strong, orthodox side control position I've mentioned before. To start, you need to isolate their far arm. Often the set up is that they've pushed their forearm up towards you (which is why from an escape perspective, you don't want to be shoving up with your arm and trying to benchpress them). A simple Roger Gracie method is to trap their wrist with your chin, then drive their arm to the mat with your weight. Lift your shoulder slightly to then insert your hand on top of their wrist.
There are different arguments regarding gripping their wrist using your thumb or not. Some feel that having the thumb there provides better control, and that is the instinctive way of holding something. However, most BJJ instructors I've seen describe gripping for the americana advocate a thumbless grip, so that all of your fingers are over the other side of their arm.
That's the direction they want to escape, so that's where you want your strength. It also means you can really push down, rather than squashing your own thumb. Then there's the point Kev at RGA Bucks makes, which is that he feels the thumb can act as a lever for their escape.
Support your hand with your head if you're having trouble pushing their arm to the mat (Cindy Omatsu is showing it from mount in the picture, but same idea). Also be sure to keep their arm away from their body, so they can't grab their belt or gi. The aim is to put the arm at right angles. Another handy tip is to get your elbow into their neck. That means they can't turn towards you to relieve pressure on their shoulder and begin an escape. Finally, you also want to make sure that their elbow is stuck, keeping the arm you have underneath their arm tight so they can't slip their elbow free.Finish by 'painting' the floor with their knuckles, moving their hand towards their legs, lifting their elbow off the floor. You may need to adjust the angle of their arm, depending on how flexible they are. Make sure you don't give them space by their shoulder, or they can relieve the pressure and perhaps begin an escape.
Saulo has a few extra details in the version on his instructional website, BJJ Library. If they are pushing up into his neck, Saulo moves his body forwards to move their arm away from their side. He then locks one arm under their elbow (again, to stop that elbow slipping free of your attack), grabbing their wrist with the other (this is easier to get if you time it for when they next try to shove into your neck. You can then drive it to the mat. Slide your elbow arm through, grab the wrist, then suck in their arm to tighten the angle, before completing the submission. Yet another set-up option crops up if they are pushing you towards their legs. Move a little with their pressure into your neck, leaning away as if that escape attempt is working for them, then turn back towards them, driving their arm to the mat with your bodyweight, head and hand. You can increase the power by switching your legs as you move back, then switching again as your return your weight towards them. Alternatively, you can simply turn your body slightly as they push, with the intention to get enough space to go for their wrist, then push it to the ground, where you can finish as before.
Finally, you can also wrap their gi lapel over their arm, especially if they are begin very defensive and keeping that arm in tight. This is the same technique I teach from half guard: as a set up for the americana, I find it works just as well from side control. Many of the attacks will work in both positions (naturally side control attacks that function by swiveling round to the other side, like a baseball bat choke, won't have sufficient rotation in half guard).
_____________________
Teaching Notes: There is now a 30 minute open mat right before the women's class, which I'm hoping can help lead to some more training between those who regularly attend the women's class and those who don't. It also gives me a chance to do some more drilling and possibly sparring, depending on who is able to make it. There were three people there today, which was enough to get in some training. As it is very early (17:55-18:25), I imagine it is never going to be huge, but it's good to have that space. The schedule at MYGYM is quite crowded now, so I wanted to grab the slot while it was still available.
Nothing to add on the technique really, although I think I could still refine my teaching of it. Some newer people continue to get a little confused on how to lift the elbow and paint the mat with knuckles. I'll see if I can come up with any other metaphors to better explain that. Grabbing people's arms and showing them how to do it is good, but some suitably potent imagery would help a lot ('use their knuckles/wrist as a paintbrush' doesn't appear to always do the job). :)
It was also, sadly, Erin's last time at the women's class. She's only been training for a week, but she's managed to get in a lot of mat time, including the seminar. Hopefully we'll be able to meet again on some Australian mats: there are a few people at Artemis BJJ who travel down under regularly, plus I'm planning to make a return visit at some point myself. It's cool that we've been able to help set Erin on her BJJ journey, as after all that is the major aim of the women's class. :D
26 July 2016
26/07/2016 - Open Mat | Quarter Guard
Class #758
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 26/07/2016
Chris went through some quarter guard material he learned at the UK BJJ Globetrotter camp in Bournemouth last week, taught by dance maestro Bruno. The first was a rolling back take (I think the same one I taught a while ago, though I need to review that as I'm not as confident with it as I'd like), then a method of securing the pass by swinging your leg over. You need to bring your quarter-guarded knee across their body, swinging your other leg around their head, resulting in both your legs on the same side. Securing a strong cross face, it should then be much easier to complete the pass.
If you're cross facing and they shove into your head with an arm, knock it across to move into an arm triangle position. Headstand to pop your body over the the right side for the submission, then locking up the usual rear naked choke grip to clamp your head next to theirs, press your shoulder forward for the choke. Stay low when you do this.
When you go for the opposite side pass, they may try and push into your head, or otherwise bring their arm up. Get behind that arm, squirming under their armpit. Ideally you're doing that with your arm, but I tried doing it with my head, as that's easier in terms of distancing. You can then duck under their armpit and swivel around to their back, taking it like you would from technical mount.
On the shin-on-shin sweep, Chris confirmed that the ankle tap was indeed for when you've lost the sleeve grip, so switch to a nappy grip on either their gi tail or belt instead.
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 26/07/2016
Chris went through some quarter guard material he learned at the UK BJJ Globetrotter camp in Bournemouth last week, taught by dance maestro Bruno. The first was a rolling back take (I think the same one I taught a while ago, though I need to review that as I'm not as confident with it as I'd like), then a method of securing the pass by swinging your leg over. You need to bring your quarter-guarded knee across their body, swinging your other leg around their head, resulting in both your legs on the same side. Securing a strong cross face, it should then be much easier to complete the pass.
If you're cross facing and they shove into your head with an arm, knock it across to move into an arm triangle position. Headstand to pop your body over the the right side for the submission, then locking up the usual rear naked choke grip to clamp your head next to theirs, press your shoulder forward for the choke. Stay low when you do this.
When you go for the opposite side pass, they may try and push into your head, or otherwise bring their arm up. Get behind that arm, squirming under their armpit. Ideally you're doing that with your arm, but I tried doing it with my head, as that's easier in terms of distancing. You can then duck under their armpit and swivel around to their back, taking it like you would from technical mount.
On the shin-on-shin sweep, Chris confirmed that the ankle tap was indeed for when you've lost the sleeve grip, so switch to a nappy grip on either their gi tail or belt instead.
25 July 2016
25/07/2016 - Teaching | Open Guard | Tripod Sweep
Teaching #534
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 25/07/2016
You can set up the tripod sweep in lots of ways. I usually teaching this from the simple option of hooking behind both their knees, 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, but it does give them more opportunity to turn their foot (i.e., for a knee cut pass).
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, then 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.
________________
Teaching Notes: Is it confusing to do the drill to help people come up to mount after knocking somebody down from the sweep, given that I will generally show how you can pull yourself directly into a knee cut if you have the arm? I'm wondering if it would be worth either showing just one variation, or show them both in class? Either way, I need to make that distinction clearer. Also, when I do use that coming up drill, I must make it clear that it starts from a lying down position, to isolate the motion.
We were lucky enough to have two higher belt Australian visitors, who I met a couple of weeks ago at the Leuven BJJ Globetrotters camp. This was therefore something of a mini-reunion, with Daphne and her black belt husband Jon. Sparring was therefore interesting, especially rolling with Jonathan at open mat. He was taking it easy, but I had a play with deep de la Riva x (couldn't get the legs locked in place), as well as reverse de la Riva. I sort of got into it a couple of times, but had no idea what to do from there. I should try for the tripod sweep, as well as looking at videos again. Jonathan did cool spinny stuff when sparring with Sam, going to deep half etc. I'm wondering if my legs are a bit short for reverse de la Riva, as I struggled to get my leg spiralled around like Christian did in his Globetrotter class.
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 25/07/2016
You can set up the tripod sweep in lots of ways. I usually teaching this from the simple option of hooking behind both their knees, 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, but it does give them more opportunity to turn their foot (i.e., for a knee cut pass).
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, then 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: Is it confusing to do the drill to help people come up to mount after knocking somebody down from the sweep, given that I will generally show how you can pull yourself directly into a knee cut if you have the arm? I'm wondering if it would be worth either showing just one variation, or show them both in class? Either way, I need to make that distinction clearer. Also, when I do use that coming up drill, I must make it clear that it starts from a lying down position, to isolate the motion.
We were lucky enough to have two higher belt Australian visitors, who I met a couple of weeks ago at the Leuven BJJ Globetrotters camp. This was therefore something of a mini-reunion, with Daphne and her black belt husband Jon. Sparring was therefore interesting, especially rolling with Jonathan at open mat. He was taking it easy, but I had a play with deep de la Riva x (couldn't get the legs locked in place), as well as reverse de la Riva. I sort of got into it a couple of times, but had no idea what to do from there. I should try for the tripod sweep, as well as looking at videos again. Jonathan did cool spinny stuff when sparring with Sam, going to deep half etc. I'm wondering if my legs are a bit short for reverse de la Riva, as I struggled to get my leg spiralled around like Christian did in his Globetrotter class.
24 July 2016
24/07/2016 - Seminar with Ana Yagües
Seminar #020
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Ana Yagües, Bristol, UK - 24/07/2016
I am always keen to get more women down to teach at Artemis BJJ, as well as bringing in black belts for seminars. Up until now we've had Chelsea Bainbridge-Donner teach us twice, which was cool. When I heard that Ana Yagües would be in the UK for a BJJ Globetrotter Camp, I jumped at the chance to bring her up to Bristol. Ana is somebody I've known online for a number of years, initially due to her blogs about BJJ and pregnancy. I was able to train with her at the Globetrotter camp, from which she made the journey on Sunday morning (thanks to David kindly offering a lift, meaning Ana didn't have to contend with the clunky and overpriced British train system ;D).
We've been looking at Ana's de la Riva x guard sweep all week, so she kicked off with that. It's always awesome to have the black belt perspective, as Ana added several details I'd been missing. The most important tweak was on lifting the hips to make that de la Riva hook really deep. I had been lifting them straight up, but to get maximum extension, you should twist inwards. That then means you can get your foot horizontal: a few people in training had only been managing to hook by the hip, which isn't far enough. With that tip, they should hopefully be able to secure a much deeper hook.
To achieve the same sweep when your partner goes to combat base, push on their leg to open up space. It's tough for them to avoid giving you enough space to sneak that hook through. Once you have that, then it isn't too hard to get the other foot underneath. That becomes a powerful sweeping platform, in either direction. I'm looking forward to trying this out some more in sparring, as I like the idea of an open guard that keeps my partner close and controlled, as well as relying principally on my legs rather than some kind of finger-mashing gi grip. ;)
Next up was the shin-to-shin guard, also commonly known as shin-on-shin. We went through a sweeping sequence that was similar to the series my instructor showed me at a private in February last year. Put your shin in front of their same side leg, wrapping behind their leg with your arm. Your other leg pushes on their knee. That will normally make them post their arm, or at least put the arm in range. Grab their sleeve, ideally passing their arm under their leg to your other hand. With your passing hand, grab high on the arm you just controlled, up near their shoulder. Pull down on that arm as you lift with your shin. It's much the same motion as the basic de la Riva sweep I was taught at GB Brum.
Another option is to instead grab their far ankle, rather than high on their arm. This is to block them from stepping to recover their base. You can then again lift with the shin and drive through for the sweep. Finally, if you can't get either arm, again like the de la Riva series from GB Brum, grab their belt or gi tail instead and pass that under their leg. Should they base out heavily on their arms when you go for the sweep, you can potentially switch to a single leg, or move to take their back.
The only downside I find with the shin-on-shin guard is that the eponymous body part gets rather sore after a while, especially as I'm a wimp ;D. So I was relieved when Ana then moved into some closed guard options, starting with an old favourite of mine, the overhook guard. I sometimes have trouble setting that up: Ana had a simple but effective solution. Just swim their hands out as you pull them in with your knees, to make them post on the mat. You can then secure the overhook (another option is off the two-on-one grip break where you pull it behind your head, which is the one I was originally shown back when I first learned this. Tougher to get, but I might show that during closed guard month).
There are lots of attacks you can do from here. Ana began with a triangle from the overhook. Press into their non-overhooked arm with your free hand, then use the space to slip your leg through. You may need to shrimp slightly in order to get your leg past the arm, especially if you are tall. Once you've brought your leg out from underneath that arm, swing it across into their neck. Control their head (e.g., by grabbing the shin of the leg you now have across the back of their neck), then step on their hip to swivel into triangle-locking pushing. You can now bring their arm across and finish the triangle.
If you aren't able to get your leg out for the triangle, you could instead go for a pressing armbar variation. Shrimp out and bring one leg up their back, your other knee clamping by their chest. You still have your arm wrapped around theirs due to your earlier grip. Move your hips out slightly to straighten their arm: their wrist should roughly be on your ribs. To finish, press down on their elbow with your arm and knee. Be careful, as this can come on fast and they also might find it hard to tap as both their arms are in awkward positions. If they twist their arm out to escape, you're set up for an omoplata.
Getting the pressing armbar (or a shoulder lock, depending on the person) can be tricky, so another option is to move instead to a gogoplata. Bring your leg on the overhooking side past their head, threading it around the overhooked arm, until you can hook underneath their chin. You will eventually need to bring your hand out of the overhook, but you're still controlling that arm with your leg. To complete the gogoplata, grab your toes/foot to make sure it's tight and extend your leg.
If you have trouble with that one, keep extending your leg until you can get right under their far armpit. From here, you might be able to get a submission by twisting your hips, or you could go for a wristlock. I think you twist your hips away from them, but I'll check (either from drilling at open mat, or if Ana gets a chance to read this. I did take video of everything, but cleverly deleted it by accident).
The last technique of the day was reminiscent of what Chris Haueter taught in Leuven last month, with a cool additional detail. Pull out their gi tail, outside their arm. Yank it back across their arm, locking it in place by grabbing it with your opposite hand. Grip their sleeve with your same side hand, then use those two grips to bring their arm over your body. Slide your gi tail grip to the end of the gi lapel, wrapping your same side arm around their head (keep the elbow tight, so they can't wriggle their head free). Pass the end of the gi tail to that head-wrapping arm, securing it against their neck. Finally, use what is now your free hand to grasp their same side knee. Pull on the lapel and the knee to get a sort of bow and arrow choke: video above, if that's confusing. ;)
Thanks to everybody who came down to support the seminar, both from Artemis BJJ and from our friends at other clubs: it was cool to see Piotr again from Gloucester, who also brought his team mate Chris. Piotr was a major part of this year's GrappleThon, maintaining that big smile for most of the twenty-four hours. ;)
As always after Artemis BJJ seminars, we went to Pieminister for a delicious meal. If you'd like to come to the next seminar, keep an eye on the Artemis BJJ Facebook page: I'm intending to keep every seminar at £20 and they will also stay open to everybody. Hopefully see you at the next one. ;)
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Ana Yagües, Bristol, UK - 24/07/2016
I am always keen to get more women down to teach at Artemis BJJ, as well as bringing in black belts for seminars. Up until now we've had Chelsea Bainbridge-Donner teach us twice, which was cool. When I heard that Ana Yagües would be in the UK for a BJJ Globetrotter Camp, I jumped at the chance to bring her up to Bristol. Ana is somebody I've known online for a number of years, initially due to her blogs about BJJ and pregnancy. I was able to train with her at the Globetrotter camp, from which she made the journey on Sunday morning (thanks to David kindly offering a lift, meaning Ana didn't have to contend with the clunky and overpriced British train system ;D).
We've been looking at Ana's de la Riva x guard sweep all week, so she kicked off with that. It's always awesome to have the black belt perspective, as Ana added several details I'd been missing. The most important tweak was on lifting the hips to make that de la Riva hook really deep. I had been lifting them straight up, but to get maximum extension, you should twist inwards. That then means you can get your foot horizontal: a few people in training had only been managing to hook by the hip, which isn't far enough. With that tip, they should hopefully be able to secure a much deeper hook.
To achieve the same sweep when your partner goes to combat base, push on their leg to open up space. It's tough for them to avoid giving you enough space to sneak that hook through. Once you have that, then it isn't too hard to get the other foot underneath. That becomes a powerful sweeping platform, in either direction. I'm looking forward to trying this out some more in sparring, as I like the idea of an open guard that keeps my partner close and controlled, as well as relying principally on my legs rather than some kind of finger-mashing gi grip. ;)
Next up was the shin-to-shin guard, also commonly known as shin-on-shin. We went through a sweeping sequence that was similar to the series my instructor showed me at a private in February last year. Put your shin in front of their same side leg, wrapping behind their leg with your arm. Your other leg pushes on their knee. That will normally make them post their arm, or at least put the arm in range. Grab their sleeve, ideally passing their arm under their leg to your other hand. With your passing hand, grab high on the arm you just controlled, up near their shoulder. Pull down on that arm as you lift with your shin. It's much the same motion as the basic de la Riva sweep I was taught at GB Brum.
Another option is to instead grab their far ankle, rather than high on their arm. This is to block them from stepping to recover their base. You can then again lift with the shin and drive through for the sweep. Finally, if you can't get either arm, again like the de la Riva series from GB Brum, grab their belt or gi tail instead and pass that under their leg. Should they base out heavily on their arms when you go for the sweep, you can potentially switch to a single leg, or move to take their back.
The only downside I find with the shin-on-shin guard is that the eponymous body part gets rather sore after a while, especially as I'm a wimp ;D. So I was relieved when Ana then moved into some closed guard options, starting with an old favourite of mine, the overhook guard. I sometimes have trouble setting that up: Ana had a simple but effective solution. Just swim their hands out as you pull them in with your knees, to make them post on the mat. You can then secure the overhook (another option is off the two-on-one grip break where you pull it behind your head, which is the one I was originally shown back when I first learned this. Tougher to get, but I might show that during closed guard month).
There are lots of attacks you can do from here. Ana began with a triangle from the overhook. Press into their non-overhooked arm with your free hand, then use the space to slip your leg through. You may need to shrimp slightly in order to get your leg past the arm, especially if you are tall. Once you've brought your leg out from underneath that arm, swing it across into their neck. Control their head (e.g., by grabbing the shin of the leg you now have across the back of their neck), then step on their hip to swivel into triangle-locking pushing. You can now bring their arm across and finish the triangle.
If you aren't able to get your leg out for the triangle, you could instead go for a pressing armbar variation. Shrimp out and bring one leg up their back, your other knee clamping by their chest. You still have your arm wrapped around theirs due to your earlier grip. Move your hips out slightly to straighten their arm: their wrist should roughly be on your ribs. To finish, press down on their elbow with your arm and knee. Be careful, as this can come on fast and they also might find it hard to tap as both their arms are in awkward positions. If they twist their arm out to escape, you're set up for an omoplata.
Getting the pressing armbar (or a shoulder lock, depending on the person) can be tricky, so another option is to move instead to a gogoplata. Bring your leg on the overhooking side past their head, threading it around the overhooked arm, until you can hook underneath their chin. You will eventually need to bring your hand out of the overhook, but you're still controlling that arm with your leg. To complete the gogoplata, grab your toes/foot to make sure it's tight and extend your leg.
If you have trouble with that one, keep extending your leg until you can get right under their far armpit. From here, you might be able to get a submission by twisting your hips, or you could go for a wristlock. I think you twist your hips away from them, but I'll check (either from drilling at open mat, or if Ana gets a chance to read this. I did take video of everything, but cleverly deleted it by accident).
The last technique of the day was reminiscent of what Chris Haueter taught in Leuven last month, with a cool additional detail. Pull out their gi tail, outside their arm. Yank it back across their arm, locking it in place by grabbing it with your opposite hand. Grip their sleeve with your same side hand, then use those two grips to bring their arm over your body. Slide your gi tail grip to the end of the gi lapel, wrapping your same side arm around their head (keep the elbow tight, so they can't wriggle their head free). Pass the end of the gi tail to that head-wrapping arm, securing it against their neck. Finally, use what is now your free hand to grasp their same side knee. Pull on the lapel and the knee to get a sort of bow and arrow choke: video above, if that's confusing. ;)
Thanks to everybody who came down to support the seminar, both from Artemis BJJ and from our friends at other clubs: it was cool to see Piotr again from Gloucester, who also brought his team mate Chris. Piotr was a major part of this year's GrappleThon, maintaining that big smile for most of the twenty-four hours. ;)
As always after Artemis BJJ seminars, we went to Pieminister for a delicious meal. If you'd like to come to the next seminar, keep an eye on the Artemis BJJ Facebook page: I'm intending to keep every seminar at £20 and they will also stay open to everybody. Hopefully see you at the next one. ;)
22 July 2016
22/07/2016 - Teaching | Open Guard | Deep spiralhook X Guard Sweep (weak side)
Teaching #533
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 22/07/2016
Again, starting from a double sleeve grip with both feet on the hips, shift towards the leg which you want to spiralhook. Swing your same side leg around that for an initial spiralhook, bringing your instep to their inner thigh, releasing your same side sleeve grip in order to grab their heel. Pull the heel towards you, so they can't easily move their foot. Watch out for them kicking it across your buttcheeks: you want to keep that heel jammed against your body. If they are on their knees but have their front knee raised, push into their far hip and/or knee to make space for your hook
Shift a bit more to the side and raise your hips, turning towards them in order to extend that spiralhook all the way to the other thigh. This is what Dónal used to call the 'surfboard', due to the way you do a sort of plank with your lower body. When you've got your instep in place, solidly hooked around their thigh, bring your other foot lower on their leg, hooking around the other side. Your feet should now be forming an x, hence the 'x guard' part of this technique. Squeeze your knees and pull them in.
At this point, you can switch from grabbing the heel back to the sleeve. Using your knees and those sleeve grips, steer them in the direction your lower foot is pointing, in order to knock them to the ground. If they resist, you can go in the other direction, but this is weaker because it normally won't lead smoothly into a pass. As they fall, extend what was your bottom foot, maintaining the tension in order to push their leg away. Your other leg (which was spiralhooking) comes out for base. Turning as you follow them up, you'll generally end up in a sort of combat base, ready to pass.
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Teaching Notes: More monkey tree drills, where Steve W came up with a slight variation. He's a powerful guy, so was able to use that muscle to support his weight from Aaron's arm. What I didn't realise until later is that it left a black mark on that arm from Steve's humongous grip strength! So not one to rely on, if impressive nevertheless. ;)
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 22/07/2016
Again, starting from a double sleeve grip with both feet on the hips, shift towards the leg which you want to spiralhook. Swing your same side leg around that for an initial spiralhook, bringing your instep to their inner thigh, releasing your same side sleeve grip in order to grab their heel. Pull the heel towards you, so they can't easily move their foot. Watch out for them kicking it across your buttcheeks: you want to keep that heel jammed against your body. If they are on their knees but have their front knee raised, push into their far hip and/or knee to make space for your hook
Shift a bit more to the side and raise your hips, turning towards them in order to extend that spiralhook all the way to the other thigh. This is what Dónal used to call the 'surfboard', due to the way you do a sort of plank with your lower body. When you've got your instep in place, solidly hooked around their thigh, bring your other foot lower on their leg, hooking around the other side. Your feet should now be forming an x, hence the 'x guard' part of this technique. Squeeze your knees and pull them in.
At this point, you can switch from grabbing the heel back to the sleeve. Using your knees and those sleeve grips, steer them in the direction your lower foot is pointing, in order to knock them to the ground. If they resist, you can go in the other direction, but this is weaker because it normally won't lead smoothly into a pass. As they fall, extend what was your bottom foot, maintaining the tension in order to push their leg away. Your other leg (which was spiralhooking) comes out for base. Turning as you follow them up, you'll generally end up in a sort of combat base, ready to pass.
_____________________
Teaching Notes: More monkey tree drills, where Steve W came up with a slight variation. He's a powerful guy, so was able to use that muscle to support his weight from Aaron's arm. What I didn't realise until later is that it left a black mark on that arm from Steve's humongous grip strength! So not one to rely on, if impressive nevertheless. ;)
20 July 2016
20/07/2016 - Teaching | Open Guard | Deep spiralhook X Guard Sweep (strong side)
Teaching #532
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 20/07/2016
As Ana was coming for a seminar on Sunday, I wanted to run the class through her deep spiralhook x guard sweep. To begin, you want to get a super deep spiralhook. Starting from a double sleeve grip with both feet on the hips, shift towards the leg which you want to spiralhook. Swing your same side leg around that for an initial spiralhook, bringing your instep to their inner thigh, releasing your same side sleeve grip in order to grab their heel. Pull the heel towards you, so they can't easily move their foot. Watch out for them kicking it across your buttcheeks: you want to keep that heel jammed against your body.
Shift a bit more to the side and raise your hips, turning towards them in order to extend that spiralhook all the way to the other thigh. This is what Dónal used to call the 'surfboard', due to the way you do a sort of plank with your lower body. When you've got your instep in place, solidly hooked around their thigh, bring your other foot lower on their leg, hooking around the other side. Your feet should now be forming an x, hence the 'x guard' part of this technique. Squeeze your knees and pull them in.
At this point, you can switch from grabbing the heel back to the sleeve. Using your knees and those sleeve grips, steer them in the direction your lower foot is pointing, in order to knock them to the ground. Maintaining your sleeve grips, come up on your elbow, then step out what was your lower foot. You can then do a knee cut with what was the spiralhook to finish.
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Teaching Notes: As well as that main technique, I also include Ana's 'monkey tree' drill. That can be quite challenging. Two people form the 'tree' by clinching, then a third jumps on a back, with the goal of spinning to the front (like somebody has just stood up in their guard) and then swinging across to closed guard on the other person. That swing across is invariably where it goes wrong. I've managed it a few times, but I've also fallen down quite a few times too. You need to stay high and make sure you have a good grip on their gi, or it will drop you to the mat. Sam demonstrated it well, which didn't surprise me given his general agility. :)
The technique itself went fairly well, though I'll need to practice that lots to iron out all the kinks. It's already been a useful addition to my open guard, meaning I have an option where I can entangle their legs without having to mash up my fingers with crazy grips (I was sticking with pistol grips on this).
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 20/07/2016
As Ana was coming for a seminar on Sunday, I wanted to run the class through her deep spiralhook x guard sweep. To begin, you want to get a super deep spiralhook. Starting from a double sleeve grip with both feet on the hips, shift towards the leg which you want to spiralhook. Swing your same side leg around that for an initial spiralhook, bringing your instep to their inner thigh, releasing your same side sleeve grip in order to grab their heel. Pull the heel towards you, so they can't easily move their foot. Watch out for them kicking it across your buttcheeks: you want to keep that heel jammed against your body.
Shift a bit more to the side and raise your hips, turning towards them in order to extend that spiralhook all the way to the other thigh. This is what Dónal used to call the 'surfboard', due to the way you do a sort of plank with your lower body. When you've got your instep in place, solidly hooked around their thigh, bring your other foot lower on their leg, hooking around the other side. Your feet should now be forming an x, hence the 'x guard' part of this technique. Squeeze your knees and pull them in.
At this point, you can switch from grabbing the heel back to the sleeve. Using your knees and those sleeve grips, steer them in the direction your lower foot is pointing, in order to knock them to the ground. Maintaining your sleeve grips, come up on your elbow, then step out what was your lower foot. You can then do a knee cut with what was the spiralhook to finish.
_____________________
Teaching Notes: As well as that main technique, I also include Ana's 'monkey tree' drill. That can be quite challenging. Two people form the 'tree' by clinching, then a third jumps on a back, with the goal of spinning to the front (like somebody has just stood up in their guard) and then swinging across to closed guard on the other person. That swing across is invariably where it goes wrong. I've managed it a few times, but I've also fallen down quite a few times too. You need to stay high and make sure you have a good grip on their gi, or it will drop you to the mat. Sam demonstrated it well, which didn't surprise me given his general agility. :)
The technique itself went fairly well, though I'll need to practice that lots to iron out all the kinks. It's already been a useful addition to my open guard, meaning I have an option where I can entangle their legs without having to mash up my fingers with crazy grips (I was sticking with pistol grips on this).
20/07/2016 - Teaching | Women's Class | Tripod Sweep
Teaching #531
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 20/07/2016
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, then 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: Again, the main difficulty here was standing up. I did add in the drill where you slide over diagonally, which I think helps, so I'll keep refining that. The main technique is well engrained at this point, though there are variations I could through in. For example, hitting the tripod sweep off reverse de la Riva or a kind of hybrid spider guard version.
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 20/07/2016
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, then 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: Again, the main difficulty here was standing up. I did add in the drill where you slide over diagonally, which I think helps, so I'll keep refining that. The main technique is well engrained at this point, though there are variations I could through in. For example, hitting the tripod sweep off reverse de la Riva or a kind of hybrid spider guard version.
18 July 2016
18/07/2016 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Bournemouth 2016 | Posture Inside Closed Guard (Christian Graugart)
Class #757
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), Christian Graugart, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
For my last class of the inaugural UK BJJ Globetrotters camp, it was Christian heading things up, this time covering posture inside closed guard. In his introduction, he talked about how this was one of the fundamental classes he would teach to kids. He also make the important point that frequently in a competition (especially early on), you will get stuck in closed guard as your equally nervous opponent clamps down and barely moves.
They generally want to do one of three things: sit up to get close to your chest, pull you down to achieve the same, or climb their legs up your back to again dominate your posture. You are fighting for that space. Christian's grip is different to the chest and hip control I'm used to.
Instead, he concentrates on the chest, grabbing the collars as normal (rolling them over if you can), but then putting his other hand directly underneath (like you're holding a sword, or a baseball bat to use the typical US simile).
Keep your arms straight: a good comparison is a press-up, where you can hold yourself a long time with straight arms, not very long with bent arms. Have your chest out, head up (don't look at them), sitting low on your heels. Your head stays over your bum: I often say keep your head behind your knees, but this is more specific.
They will eventually break your strips. Simply regrip, aiming to get back to your previous posture whenever they are able to bring you out of it. An effective way to prevent them pulling you down is to shove your arm into their throat, though that's rather unpleasant. I preferred Christian's second option, which was to thrust your hips forward, like you're in a rodeo.
Should they climb their legs up your back, swim your shoulders through. You don't want them to have that control of your chest. You may also need to push your chest forward too and come forward. At some point, you will get broken down. If you can catch yourself before you're all the way down, one hand slides slightly forward, your other hand is on the wrist to support it, elbows tight. You want to get back to your previous posture.
Alternatively, gable grip, elbows into their knees and your head down. It is very static, but fairly safe as they have to open you up in order to attack. Again, you are always looking to get back to your original posture. If they get an overhook, block their other arm. Turn, reaching back and twisting your arm so your hand is palm up, then fire your arm out elbow first.
If they've wrapped up your head and pulled you down, use 'squirrel hands' to retreat out of that position to regain your posture. You're hooking your fingers over their armpits, knees into their bum. Pull your head back, being careful not to extend your arms, as that leaves them vulnerable to attack.
Sadly that was to be my last class of the UK Camp 2016, but I'm hoping to be back for longer next year. I'll have to see how my holiday allowance works out at work, but hopefully I can manage two or three days. If not, then a Monday full of classes is still gives me loads of technique to take back to the Artemis BJJ mats. :)
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), Christian Graugart, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
For my last class of the inaugural UK BJJ Globetrotters camp, it was Christian heading things up, this time covering posture inside closed guard. In his introduction, he talked about how this was one of the fundamental classes he would teach to kids. He also make the important point that frequently in a competition (especially early on), you will get stuck in closed guard as your equally nervous opponent clamps down and barely moves.
They generally want to do one of three things: sit up to get close to your chest, pull you down to achieve the same, or climb their legs up your back to again dominate your posture. You are fighting for that space. Christian's grip is different to the chest and hip control I'm used to.
Instead, he concentrates on the chest, grabbing the collars as normal (rolling them over if you can), but then putting his other hand directly underneath (like you're holding a sword, or a baseball bat to use the typical US simile).
They will eventually break your strips. Simply regrip, aiming to get back to your previous posture whenever they are able to bring you out of it. An effective way to prevent them pulling you down is to shove your arm into their throat, though that's rather unpleasant. I preferred Christian's second option, which was to thrust your hips forward, like you're in a rodeo.
Should they climb their legs up your back, swim your shoulders through. You don't want them to have that control of your chest. You may also need to push your chest forward too and come forward. At some point, you will get broken down. If you can catch yourself before you're all the way down, one hand slides slightly forward, your other hand is on the wrist to support it, elbows tight. You want to get back to your previous posture.
Alternatively, gable grip, elbows into their knees and your head down. It is very static, but fairly safe as they have to open you up in order to attack. Again, you are always looking to get back to your original posture. If they get an overhook, block their other arm. Turn, reaching back and twisting your arm so your hand is palm up, then fire your arm out elbow first.
If they've wrapped up your head and pulled you down, use 'squirrel hands' to retreat out of that position to regain your posture. You're hooking your fingers over their armpits, knees into their bum. Pull your head back, being careful not to extend your arms, as that leaves them vulnerable to attack.
Sadly that was to be my last class of the UK Camp 2016, but I'm hoping to be back for longer next year. I'll have to see how my holiday allowance works out at work, but hopefully I can manage two or three days. If not, then a Monday full of classes is still gives me loads of technique to take back to the Artemis BJJ mats. :)
18/07/2016 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Bournemouth 2016 | Deep de la Riva X Guard Sweep (Ana Yagües)
Class #756
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), Ana Yagües, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
This is the class I was most looking forward to, because Ana is somebody I've 'known' online for a number of years now. She's been writing a blog for a good while, with some especially interesting posts about pregnancy and BJJ (comparable to the material Meg wrote on her blog some time later).
In terms of the technique Ana covered today, it's similar to something Dónal taught five years ago, back when we were both still at GB Bristol. He did it a little differently, with variations in grip, as well as a slight tweak on the entry. I can't remember exactly how, though the notes are of some use. Of much more use is the video I took during Ana's class: one of the many awesome things about BJJ Globetrotter camps is that all (so far, at least) the instructors are happy for you to take video (as long as you don't try and sell it or put it up publically, of course). That means I can analyse it much better than re-reading my old notes. ;)
To begin, you want to get a super deep de la Riva hook. Starting from a double sleeve grip with both feet on the hips, shift towards the leg you want to de la Riva hook. Swing your same side leg around that for an initial de la Riva hook, releasing your same side sleeve grip in order to grab their heel. Pulling the heel towards you, so they can't easily move their foot. Watch out for them kicking it across your buttcheeks, like David showed in his passing class. You want to keep that heel jammed against your body.
Shift a bit more to the side and raise your hips, in order to extend that de la Riva hook all the way to the other thigh. This is what Dónal used to call the 'surfboard', due to the way you do a sort of plank with your lower body. When you've got your instep in place, solidly hooked around their thigh, bring your other foot lower on their leg, hooking the other side. Your feet should now be forming an x, hence the 'x guard' part of this technique. Squeeze your knees and pull them in.
At this point, you can switch from grabbing the heel back to the sleeve. Using your knees and those sleeve grips, steer them in the direction your lower foot is pointing, in order to knock them to the ground. Maintaining your sleeve grips, come up on your elbow, then step out what was your lower foot. You can then do a knee cut with what was the de la Riva hook to finish. That's the main part where I keep rewatching the videos, to try and work out which leg does what.
If they resist that, simply sweep them the other way. A knee cut is tricky from here, so instead, push their leg up with your intep (this will end up being on their leg when you hit the ground). Use that space and control to come up into a combat base, ready to pass their guard. Ana smoothly progressed into a version of the sweep when they're kneeling, as that applies against combat base. Push them back with your leg, in order to make space under the knee they have raised. You can then lock in your deep de la Riva x guard, progressing into that same sweep, finishing by you push their leg up with your instep.
Unlike the other classes, Ana then finished with some specific open guard sparring, where you aren't allowed to close your legs. I went with about three people I think, managing the sweep once on a white belt, but not having much luck with the two blues (they were bigger than me, but still). On top, I had a play with balance, to see if I could resist the sweep. I managed to recover my base with an elbow the first time, but it was precarious, meaning I got swept the second time. I don't often have to pass de la Riva, as it's almost all white belts at my gym. Getting that broad range of styles and experience is yet another massive advantage of going to BJJ Globetrotter camps. ;)
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), Ana Yagües, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
This is the class I was most looking forward to, because Ana is somebody I've 'known' online for a number of years now. She's been writing a blog for a good while, with some especially interesting posts about pregnancy and BJJ (comparable to the material Meg wrote on her blog some time later).
In terms of the technique Ana covered today, it's similar to something Dónal taught five years ago, back when we were both still at GB Bristol. He did it a little differently, with variations in grip, as well as a slight tweak on the entry. I can't remember exactly how, though the notes are of some use. Of much more use is the video I took during Ana's class: one of the many awesome things about BJJ Globetrotter camps is that all (so far, at least) the instructors are happy for you to take video (as long as you don't try and sell it or put it up publically, of course). That means I can analyse it much better than re-reading my old notes. ;)
To begin, you want to get a super deep de la Riva hook. Starting from a double sleeve grip with both feet on the hips, shift towards the leg you want to de la Riva hook. Swing your same side leg around that for an initial de la Riva hook, releasing your same side sleeve grip in order to grab their heel. Pulling the heel towards you, so they can't easily move their foot. Watch out for them kicking it across your buttcheeks, like David showed in his passing class. You want to keep that heel jammed against your body.
Shift a bit more to the side and raise your hips, in order to extend that de la Riva hook all the way to the other thigh. This is what Dónal used to call the 'surfboard', due to the way you do a sort of plank with your lower body. When you've got your instep in place, solidly hooked around their thigh, bring your other foot lower on their leg, hooking the other side. Your feet should now be forming an x, hence the 'x guard' part of this technique. Squeeze your knees and pull them in.
At this point, you can switch from grabbing the heel back to the sleeve. Using your knees and those sleeve grips, steer them in the direction your lower foot is pointing, in order to knock them to the ground. Maintaining your sleeve grips, come up on your elbow, then step out what was your lower foot. You can then do a knee cut with what was the de la Riva hook to finish. That's the main part where I keep rewatching the videos, to try and work out which leg does what.
If they resist that, simply sweep them the other way. A knee cut is tricky from here, so instead, push their leg up with your intep (this will end up being on their leg when you hit the ground). Use that space and control to come up into a combat base, ready to pass their guard. Ana smoothly progressed into a version of the sweep when they're kneeling, as that applies against combat base. Push them back with your leg, in order to make space under the knee they have raised. You can then lock in your deep de la Riva x guard, progressing into that same sweep, finishing by you push their leg up with your instep.
Unlike the other classes, Ana then finished with some specific open guard sparring, where you aren't allowed to close your legs. I went with about three people I think, managing the sweep once on a white belt, but not having much luck with the two blues (they were bigger than me, but still). On top, I had a play with balance, to see if I could resist the sweep. I managed to recover my base with an elbow the first time, but it was precarious, meaning I got swept the second time. I don't often have to pass de la Riva, as it's almost all white belts at my gym. Getting that broad range of styles and experience is yet another massive advantage of going to BJJ Globetrotter camps. ;)
18/07/2016 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Bournemouth 2016 | Passing de la Riva (David 'Morcegao')
Class #755
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), David 'Morcegao' George, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
David is a de la Riva black belt, so for his first class at the UK BJJ Globetrotter camp, he decided to talk about passing his instructor's famous eponymous guard. To start with some basics, when they insert their de la Riva hook, lower your base to stop them elevating you. You then want to get rid of any grips they've got, whether that's on the foot (grab the hand and pull up), the sleeve (roll your wrist over the top) or wherever. To pop their original hook off, turn your foot out and point your knee.
If they have a grip on the trouser leg, you can still turn your foot, so it isn't as much of a problem. A grip on the heel stops that, as they can pull the heel in towards them. There is a weak direction, however, if you can kick forwards. When they are tight to you, kicking forwards is blocked by their body. It is still possible to kick past their bum, freeing your foot that way. Bring it to you a little first, then scrape the leg past their bum. A pass around their leg then presents itself.
Even if they have de la Riva, with a leg drag, you may be able to crush straight through their hook. You might also be able to pop their hook off by simply straightening your leg explosively, if turning your knee outwards isn't viable. Yet another option is to give up on the pass and attack their leg instead, with a calf crush.
IBJJF rules don't let you do anything fun with the leg until brown belt, but that's only one ruleset, so you don't have to restrict yourself to that (as long as your partners are ok with leglocks). Personally leg locks terrify me so I never use them, but they're very effective and important to know, as people will do them to you (especially if you're brown belt or above, of course).
They have a deep de la Riva hook. Push their hooking knee down, roll through, your shoulder diving underneath their other leg, then extend for the submission. I wasn't entirely successful getting this, but it's useful to know that's a danger with the deep de la Riva: perhaps keep hold of their sleeves to stop them getting their leg lock position?
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), David 'Morcegao' George, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
David is a de la Riva black belt, so for his first class at the UK BJJ Globetrotter camp, he decided to talk about passing his instructor's famous eponymous guard. To start with some basics, when they insert their de la Riva hook, lower your base to stop them elevating you. You then want to get rid of any grips they've got, whether that's on the foot (grab the hand and pull up), the sleeve (roll your wrist over the top) or wherever. To pop their original hook off, turn your foot out and point your knee.
If they have a grip on the trouser leg, you can still turn your foot, so it isn't as much of a problem. A grip on the heel stops that, as they can pull the heel in towards them. There is a weak direction, however, if you can kick forwards. When they are tight to you, kicking forwards is blocked by their body. It is still possible to kick past their bum, freeing your foot that way. Bring it to you a little first, then scrape the leg past their bum. A pass around their leg then presents itself.
Even if they have de la Riva, with a leg drag, you may be able to crush straight through their hook. You might also be able to pop their hook off by simply straightening your leg explosively, if turning your knee outwards isn't viable. Yet another option is to give up on the pass and attack their leg instead, with a calf crush.
IBJJF rules don't let you do anything fun with the leg until brown belt, but that's only one ruleset, so you don't have to restrict yourself to that (as long as your partners are ok with leglocks). Personally leg locks terrify me so I never use them, but they're very effective and important to know, as people will do them to you (especially if you're brown belt or above, of course).
They have a deep de la Riva hook. Push their hooking knee down, roll through, your shoulder diving underneath their other leg, then extend for the submission. I wasn't entirely successful getting this, but it's useful to know that's a danger with the deep de la Riva: perhaps keep hold of their sleeves to stop them getting their leg lock position?
18/07/2016 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Bournemouth 2016 | Foetal Side Control Escapes (Chiu Kwong Man)
Class #754
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), Chiu Kwong Man, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
I used to really enjoy Chiu's classes back when I trained at GB Brum in 2010, so it was cool to get to train under him again. Especially as today, he picked side control escapes from a position similar to the running escape: perfect. :)
Chiu called his class 'foetal side control escapes', which makes sense after you see the position he's talking about. First, he talked about getting two-on-one control on their far arm. From a no-gi perspective, you can grab their far arm with both your hands, without worrying too much about their arm near your head (in gi, it's a lot more dangerous, but he got onto that later).
After having us drill that with some light resistance, Chiu added in the legs. You've created space with your two on one grip, meaning you can bring in your knees (like the 'shin-in-elbow' trick Ed Beneville wrote about it his book, Strategic Guard). If they raise up, that gives you the space to spin back to guard: for drilling this particular technique, your partner needs to be helpful and stay low, stopping you turning in towards them. If you can't get the arm (e.g., they are trying to moving to north south), you can push on the head to stop them going where they want.
If you can get your knee in, lift that leg to make some space (pushing into their arm with your shin), until you can insert the other leg. If you can get your feet into the crook of their elbow, even better. At that point, it is difficult for them to prevent you making enough room to recover some kind of guard.
In a detail reminiscent of the running escape, you may want to make more space by shrimping your hips into them. You also want to make sure you are monitoring their leg with your inside arm (like your arm is stuck inside their knee), as otherwise they will probably try and get to knee on belly to then rip their arm free. Turning yourself towards them at that point is another good option, spinning into guard once they've given you that space.
A granby roll can work from there too, in the same way as it does from the running escape. However, also like the running escape, sometimes it is tough to get that rolling motion, which can also put pressure on your neck. Digging your feet into the floor and then shrimping towards them is therefore preferable in that situation.
The foetal defence feels like a guard from under side control. It has attacks too, such as switching into a reverse triangle. I was finding it felt natural to push on the back of their arm and spin out. For others, the triangle might feel like a smooth transition. You have the two on one grip, a foot into the crook of their elbow. Kick up with the foot in the elbow, the other leg going behind their arm. Your kicking foot shoots around the side of their neck, locking it with the other leg over your shin. Pull on their elbow and squeeze to finish.
Finally, there is the important question of how to avoid getting choked when trying this in the gi. If you're lazy, they can potentially sneak a hand under your head and secure a bow and arrow grip, or potentially loop their arm over for a breadcutter style choke. To prevent that, keep pressuring their arm by pulling your head back, following that arm if they try to bring it over the top of your head.
If possible, hide your collar under your armpit, which prevents them gripping it for a choke. Do not curl when you're in the gi, that gives them enough room for the choke. In terms of gripping, Chiu recommends grabbing the wrist, lifting the leg to get their elbow up. If you grip the gi and don't lift your leg, they may be able to rotate your arm down to put pressure on your grip.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), Chiu Kwong Man, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
I used to really enjoy Chiu's classes back when I trained at GB Brum in 2010, so it was cool to get to train under him again. Especially as today, he picked side control escapes from a position similar to the running escape: perfect. :)
After having us drill that with some light resistance, Chiu added in the legs. You've created space with your two on one grip, meaning you can bring in your knees (like the 'shin-in-elbow' trick Ed Beneville wrote about it his book, Strategic Guard). If they raise up, that gives you the space to spin back to guard: for drilling this particular technique, your partner needs to be helpful and stay low, stopping you turning in towards them. If you can't get the arm (e.g., they are trying to moving to north south), you can push on the head to stop them going where they want.
In a detail reminiscent of the running escape, you may want to make more space by shrimping your hips into them. You also want to make sure you are monitoring their leg with your inside arm (like your arm is stuck inside their knee), as otherwise they will probably try and get to knee on belly to then rip their arm free. Turning yourself towards them at that point is another good option, spinning into guard once they've given you that space.
A granby roll can work from there too, in the same way as it does from the running escape. However, also like the running escape, sometimes it is tough to get that rolling motion, which can also put pressure on your neck. Digging your feet into the floor and then shrimping towards them is therefore preferable in that situation.
The foetal defence feels like a guard from under side control. It has attacks too, such as switching into a reverse triangle. I was finding it felt natural to push on the back of their arm and spin out. For others, the triangle might feel like a smooth transition. You have the two on one grip, a foot into the crook of their elbow. Kick up with the foot in the elbow, the other leg going behind their arm. Your kicking foot shoots around the side of their neck, locking it with the other leg over your shin. Pull on their elbow and squeeze to finish.
Finally, there is the important question of how to avoid getting choked when trying this in the gi. If you're lazy, they can potentially sneak a hand under your head and secure a bow and arrow grip, or potentially loop their arm over for a breadcutter style choke. To prevent that, keep pressuring their arm by pulling your head back, following that arm if they try to bring it over the top of your head.
If possible, hide your collar under your armpit, which prevents them gripping it for a choke. Do not curl when you're in the gi, that gives them enough room for the choke. In terms of gripping, Chiu recommends grabbing the wrist, lifting the leg to get their elbow up. If you grip the gi and don't lift your leg, they may be able to rotate your arm down to put pressure on your grip.
18/07/2016 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Bournemouth 2016 | No Gi Barataplata (Lorenzo Fraquelli)
Class #753
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), Lorenzo Fraquelli, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
After arriving back from Madrid around midnight, I got in a few hours of sleep before jumping on a train down from Bristol to Bournemouth. That was for the inaugural UK BJJ Globetrotters Camp, held at the Phoenix MMA gym. It's a short and straightforward cycle from the train station, though as it's also on a high street, I imagine there are plenty of buses running through there.
In terms of accessibility, Phoenix MMA is fairly convenient for those of us in the South West. The train is about three hours from Bristol, or you can drive there in around two and a half. Due to it's prominent location, the gym is easy to find. It's a decent size for a BJJ school, with two rooms (one was a lot cooler than the other in the unseasonable heat today), though naturally much smaller than the Sportoase in Leuven. The Sportoase is HUGE.
The main downside of the UK venue is there's only one shower and one toilet (for the men at least, the women's changing room might be more spacious). I was only able to make it to camp for the Monday this year, but if I can stay longer in 2017, I'll try to get accommodation somewhere near enough to the gym that I can pop out for a shower. ;)
It's been a long time since I last saw today's first instructor, Lorenzo. He was there when I first started at the Roger Gracie Academy in 2006, but I don't think I've seen him since I moved away from London in 2009. In the intervening years, he's earned a black belt and set up his own school, Wave BJJ, as well as becoming a regular instructor on the BJJ Globetrotter camp circuit.
To kick off the camp, Lorenzo taught something more advanced, the barataplata (also called the baratoplata: the guy who invented it seems to use barataplata, so I'll go with that). Fortunately for me, I wasn't completely unfamiliar with the technique, as my instructor Kev Capel had shown a set-up earlier this month. For the first variation, Lorenzo started from north south, moving into a kimura. He then locks the second arm (which was grabbing his own wrist) to his chest, meaning he has his first arm free. If you were wearing a gi you could grab that, but as this was nogi, the hand was just on the chest, clamping tight.
You can then pull their legs across to prevent them blocking. I'm not sure that's always essential, as I'd rather maintain the kimura grip, but depends what they do with their legs. Also, the assumption here is that they have their hands locking together. If they let go, you could switch into an armbar.
If you still have their arm and it's bent, swing your leg over, so it is across their kimuraed arm. Bring your arm through so it is grabbing your own thigh. Base your other arm out on the mat, then slowly turn your hips towards their head, keeping your other leg braced against the back of their head.
Should they turn to their knees putting your back on the mat, you can still finish this. Push on their near knee, then untriangle your legs. Come up on your elbow, then bring the leg which was nearest their head over and towards their legs. Get that foot to the mat. Keep turning, until you've knocked your partner to their back. You can then turn your hips again to finish, as you end up in the same place as before.
The last technique was the same one Kev showed, from that double underhooks defence position. See my earlier post for that one.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Phoenix MMA), Lorenzo Fraquelli, Bournemouth, UK, 18/07/2016
After arriving back from Madrid around midnight, I got in a few hours of sleep before jumping on a train down from Bristol to Bournemouth. That was for the inaugural UK BJJ Globetrotters Camp, held at the Phoenix MMA gym. It's a short and straightforward cycle from the train station, though as it's also on a high street, I imagine there are plenty of buses running through there.
In terms of accessibility, Phoenix MMA is fairly convenient for those of us in the South West. The train is about three hours from Bristol, or you can drive there in around two and a half. Due to it's prominent location, the gym is easy to find. It's a decent size for a BJJ school, with two rooms (one was a lot cooler than the other in the unseasonable heat today), though naturally much smaller than the Sportoase in Leuven. The Sportoase is HUGE.
The main downside of the UK venue is there's only one shower and one toilet (for the men at least, the women's changing room might be more spacious). I was only able to make it to camp for the Monday this year, but if I can stay longer in 2017, I'll try to get accommodation somewhere near enough to the gym that I can pop out for a shower. ;)
It's been a long time since I last saw today's first instructor, Lorenzo. He was there when I first started at the Roger Gracie Academy in 2006, but I don't think I've seen him since I moved away from London in 2009. In the intervening years, he's earned a black belt and set up his own school, Wave BJJ, as well as becoming a regular instructor on the BJJ Globetrotter camp circuit.
To kick off the camp, Lorenzo taught something more advanced, the barataplata (also called the baratoplata: the guy who invented it seems to use barataplata, so I'll go with that). Fortunately for me, I wasn't completely unfamiliar with the technique, as my instructor Kev Capel had shown a set-up earlier this month. For the first variation, Lorenzo started from north south, moving into a kimura. He then locks the second arm (which was grabbing his own wrist) to his chest, meaning he has his first arm free. If you were wearing a gi you could grab that, but as this was nogi, the hand was just on the chest, clamping tight.
You can then pull their legs across to prevent them blocking. I'm not sure that's always essential, as I'd rather maintain the kimura grip, but depends what they do with their legs. Also, the assumption here is that they have their hands locking together. If they let go, you could switch into an armbar.
If you still have their arm and it's bent, swing your leg over, so it is across their kimuraed arm. Bring your arm through so it is grabbing your own thigh. Base your other arm out on the mat, then slowly turn your hips towards their head, keeping your other leg braced against the back of their head.
Should they turn to their knees putting your back on the mat, you can still finish this. Push on their near knee, then untriangle your legs. Come up on your elbow, then bring the leg which was nearest their head over and towards their legs. Get that foot to the mat. Keep turning, until you've knocked your partner to their back. You can then turn your hips again to finish, as you end up in the same place as before.
The last technique was the same one Kev showed, from that double underhooks defence position. See my earlier post for that one.
17 July 2016
15th-17th July, Madrid
I booked a trip to Amsterdam earlier this year, in order to see the major Bosch exhibition in his home town of s’Hertogenbosch, marking the 500th anniversary of his death. Cleverly, I didn’t think to book a ticket for the exhibition first, meaning that by the time I remembered, it had sold out. I still had a cool time, but I wasn’t letting go of that chance to see lots of Bosch in the one place. While I couldn’t fit in another attempt to go to s’Hertogenbosch, I could fly to where the exhibition was travelling next: Madrid.
Although I already went to Madrid last year, the Prado is a fantastic gallery that certainly warrants repeat visits. This time there was another complication, due to easyjet randomly cancelling the flight just over two weeks before I was due to go (they make sure to cancel just over, as if it is within 14 days, you’re eligible for a full refund, IIRC). Fortunately I could take advantage of their offer to reschedule to an earlier flight. It meant an extra day in Madrid I wasn’t intending, but meh, there are other world class galleries in Madrid.
My main goal was still the Prado, but having the Saturday meant I could also check out the Thyssen collection. An old travel guide sitting on our bookshelf claimed that, because of the Thyssen’s broad range, many people preferred it to the intensity of the Prado. I doubted that would be true in my case (that guide was a Lonely Planet, which tends to be less cerebral than my preferred Rough Guides. And yes, I’m a snob ;D), but I was looking forward to experiencing a different gallery.
My flight from Bristol to Madrid was straightforward, arriving around 9pm. However, getting from the airport to the hostel took longer than I expected, as Linea 1 was down and I didn't realise. Anyway, it did give me a chance to wander the streets on the way to the hostel (having played some Pokemon Go off the airpot wifi: it's an interesting phenomenon, so I've been joining in to make sure I understand it ;D). They say New York is the city that never sleeps, but I think Madrid can lay claim to that too. Whenever I'm in Spain, one of the many nice things is that wandering round at midnight, it feels more like 8pm. Families are having dinner, there's music and the streets are full. :)
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
I didn't really want an extra day in Madrid, as I was all set for Bosch. From what I'd read about the Thyssen museum (based on an incredible private collection: the family history is worth reading, with soap opera drama continuing today), it had great art, but wasn't focused.
Very fortunately for me, they happened to have a temporary exhibition on Caravaggio. I am not as interested in Italian art (compared to my love of Dutch and Flemish painting, along with Spanish), but I do like Caravaggio. Mainly that's because he influenced many of my favourites, like Artemisia Gentileschi and Rembrandt. So this exhibition couldn't be more perfect, as it's all about his influence on other painters, particularly the Dutch.
As ever in temporary exhibitions, you can't take pictures, so the ones I'm using here are from the museum apps, for the Prado and the Thyssen. This exhibition has loans from all over the place, plus an excellent audio guide. There's even good WiFi, meaning I can continue to catch Pokemon. :D
The main Thyssen collection proved to be interesting (and unlike the temporary Caravaggio exhibition, you are allowed to take pics of the permanent art at Thyssen-Bornemisza). As it is such a wide-ranging assortment, aiming for breadth rather than depth, I was able to both enjoy old friends (I'll get onto those later) and make new ones. My favourite of those newcomers was Derick Baegert (1440-1515), who I've never encountered before. His figures are strangely compelling, with that wonderful 15th century German mix of grotesque, expressive and detailed. The scenes are unusual, quite modern in places, like the woman pointing downwards as her child matches her almost sarcastic expression.
Rather more recently, the portrait of the gallery's main living patron, Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, is fabulous. I don't think I need to tell you that was painted in the late '80s. The former beauty queen who married into (LOTS) of money seems to be saying "Yeah, I look like I've just stepped off a Dynasty set, but I'm largely responsible for providing you with all this awesome art, so you can shove your 'nouveau riche' snobbery right up your easel." ;D
In terms of those old friends, there were many. For example, El Greco, Baldung, Van Eyck and van der Weyden. The vast majority of my interest was taken up by the second floor, which focused on the period prior to 1700. The first floor was rather less appealing, given it moves into later centuries: I therefore spent under an hour there. However, it did have two of my rare post-1750 exceptions, Gustave Moreau and the big one, Goya. I don't know how he managed to get away with that vicious portrait: it's very obvious what he thinks of the tyrannical thug King Ferdinand VII. Somehow he wasn't executed, which is good news for art lovers. ;)
There were a few others I've been meaning to look into more, like Bristol artist Sir Thomas Lawrence, Toulouse-Lautrec (one of the very few French painters who appeals to me from that period) and George Grosz. Like Goya, he somehow survived a horrible regime while being critical, in his case Hitler. I lavished even less time on the ground floor (not sure I managed a full 30 minutes), because that gets into the stuff I really hate (e.g., abstract). There was fortunately nothing from my most hated genre of all though, which is conceptual.
Still, there were a few catered to my narrow tastes. Paul Delvaux (I can always rely on Belgium, even in the 20th century ;D), Dali and the disturbing yet intriguing Francis Bacon. I then retreated back to my comfort zone on the top floor, to continue enjoying my favoured painters from 1350-1700. :)
Prado
I've been looking forward to the 5th Centennial #Bosch exhibition for over a year, reading and watching everything I could about Bosch throughout 2015 and 2016. I made a failed attempt to go to its first stop, Bosch's hometown of s'Hertogenbosch, because I cleverly forgot to book a ticket in advance (instead, I had an excellent time in the Rijksmuseum and Frans Hals Museum).
That wasn't going to stop me, as I saw that the same exhibition would be travelling to the Prado. EasyJet threw another spanner in the works when they cancelled my flight, but I managed to get another one a day earlier. So, I had a lot of anticipation building up to this. El Bosco didn't disappoint. Lots of paintings, plenty of drawings and some well-chosen contemporaries and followers, plus a very good audio AND textual guide meant I was fully satisfied. There was even some decent stuff in the Prado giftshop this time. :D
The exhibition space got a little crowded, but the curators sensibly put the paintings (mostly altarpieces) on thick plinths, so you could see them from all angles (important with altarpieces, given there is normally something on the external wings too). The thickness also meant people couldn't crush in too tightly, so you could always get a viewing angle. I am a big fan of Bosch, meaning I spent three hours luxuriating in Bosch, but you could comfortably get through all 53 exhibits in around half that time. Entry is included in your general entry Prado ticket: you will need to select a time slot, though.
Taking my own advice from last year, I headed to the top of the Prado to enjoy Goya from the beginning. He's one of my top 3 artists and there is no better place to see him than the Prado. In 2015, I went backwards. This time, I started with the tapestry cartoons on the 2nd floor. To get there, you'll need to first go up to the first floor, then head all the way over the right of your Prado map.
Near room 39, there are both stairs and an elevator to the top (Villanueva building). Most of it is taken up by the aforementioned tapestry cartoons, which Goya painted so a factory could use the designs for tapestries. A lot of them are innocuous in tone, portraying 'majos' and 'majas' having fun in the country. But even back in the 1770s when he was just starting out, there was more to Goya than pretty brushwork. For example, that pic of a straw mannequin being tossed into the air is apparently a comment on the power women have over men (I prefer women to be in power, incidentally: hopefully Merkel and May can sort out the mess left by the stupidity of Brexit men ;D).
He moved into portraits of aristocrats later (1st floor, rooms 34 through to about 37), before both his art and Spain got a lot darker. After the horrible King Ferdinand VII brutalised his country, Goya was producing the fascinating Black Paintings (ground floor, room 67 I think), frequently seen as the basis for modern art. Not that I much like what's become of modern painting since, as it's resulted in abstract and conceptual art (bleh), but I won't hold it against him. ;P
Along with Bosch and Goya, the third of the old friends I saw today was El Greco, well represented at the Prado across three rooms (8b, 10 and another one near there). I randomly first encountered him in Seville, where I stumbled across an El Greco exhibition. That's where I also first saw his John the Evangelist, which is still my favourite El Greco painting (you can tell it's JTE by the dragon in his cup, referring to his anti-poison ninja skills).
El Greco's take on Mannerism has always reminded me of Dark Sun: Wake Of The Ravager, a computer game with atypical graphics. Although almost all of El Greco's best work is religious, it doesn't feel that way. Whereas it's easy to get sick of endless 'Madonna and Child' or Annunciations by other artists (I'm looking at you, Italian Renaissance ;D), with El Greco his figures look like they belong in Lord of the Rings rather than the Bible (I'm a great deal fonder of the former).
I also made sure to visit some of my other favourites who aren't as well covered by the Prado. You can find Rogier van der Weyden's masterpiece near where Bosch normally lives (room 56a, IIRC). In 56a itself, there's an equally impressive work from another of my absolute faves, Pieter Bruegel.
Finally, the artist who has been a favourite of mine the longest (and provides the background pic for slideyfoot.com) can be found in a corner of room 49: Parmigianino. There are four Mannerist works by him as you walk out one side of 49. You will almost certainly pass them, as the corridor formed by 49 is a major thoroughfare in the Prado.
For my last wander before leaving I made two new friends and one semi-new friend. He's at the top of the below picture, Lawrence Alma-Tadema. There's a definite trend that when I'm stepping out of my 1450-1750 art comfort zone, I'll see a painting I like and wonder who it's by. On the last three or four art trips, it's invariably turned out to be Alma-Tadema.
The properly new ones were Camillo Torreggiani's ridiculously skilful sculpture and the appealingly PRB-esque style of Eduardo Rosales. Also, I need to give a shout-out to the Superdrug branch at Bristol Airport. I injured my heel about 10 days ago sparring Sam at Artemis BJJ, but thanks to those cushioned heel insoles I bought before my Madrid flight, I could handle 16 hours of art gallery wandering. They also helped me on my walk back once I arrived back in the UK, ready to get an early train to Bournemouth for a day of the inaugural UK BJJ Globetrotter Camp. :)
Although I already went to Madrid last year, the Prado is a fantastic gallery that certainly warrants repeat visits. This time there was another complication, due to easyjet randomly cancelling the flight just over two weeks before I was due to go (they make sure to cancel just over, as if it is within 14 days, you’re eligible for a full refund, IIRC). Fortunately I could take advantage of their offer to reschedule to an earlier flight. It meant an extra day in Madrid I wasn’t intending, but meh, there are other world class galleries in Madrid.
My main goal was still the Prado, but having the Saturday meant I could also check out the Thyssen collection. An old travel guide sitting on our bookshelf claimed that, because of the Thyssen’s broad range, many people preferred it to the intensity of the Prado. I doubted that would be true in my case (that guide was a Lonely Planet, which tends to be less cerebral than my preferred Rough Guides. And yes, I’m a snob ;D), but I was looking forward to experiencing a different gallery.
My flight from Bristol to Madrid was straightforward, arriving around 9pm. However, getting from the airport to the hostel took longer than I expected, as Linea 1 was down and I didn't realise. Anyway, it did give me a chance to wander the streets on the way to the hostel (having played some Pokemon Go off the airpot wifi: it's an interesting phenomenon, so I've been joining in to make sure I understand it ;D). They say New York is the city that never sleeps, but I think Madrid can lay claim to that too. Whenever I'm in Spain, one of the many nice things is that wandering round at midnight, it feels more like 8pm. Families are having dinner, there's music and the streets are full. :)
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
I didn't really want an extra day in Madrid, as I was all set for Bosch. From what I'd read about the Thyssen museum (based on an incredible private collection: the family history is worth reading, with soap opera drama continuing today), it had great art, but wasn't focused.
Very fortunately for me, they happened to have a temporary exhibition on Caravaggio. I am not as interested in Italian art (compared to my love of Dutch and Flemish painting, along with Spanish), but I do like Caravaggio. Mainly that's because he influenced many of my favourites, like Artemisia Gentileschi and Rembrandt. So this exhibition couldn't be more perfect, as it's all about his influence on other painters, particularly the Dutch.
As ever in temporary exhibitions, you can't take pictures, so the ones I'm using here are from the museum apps, for the Prado and the Thyssen. This exhibition has loans from all over the place, plus an excellent audio guide. There's even good WiFi, meaning I can continue to catch Pokemon. :D
The main Thyssen collection proved to be interesting (and unlike the temporary Caravaggio exhibition, you are allowed to take pics of the permanent art at Thyssen-Bornemisza). As it is such a wide-ranging assortment, aiming for breadth rather than depth, I was able to both enjoy old friends (I'll get onto those later) and make new ones. My favourite of those newcomers was Derick Baegert (1440-1515), who I've never encountered before. His figures are strangely compelling, with that wonderful 15th century German mix of grotesque, expressive and detailed. The scenes are unusual, quite modern in places, like the woman pointing downwards as her child matches her almost sarcastic expression.
Rather more recently, the portrait of the gallery's main living patron, Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, is fabulous. I don't think I need to tell you that was painted in the late '80s. The former beauty queen who married into (LOTS) of money seems to be saying "Yeah, I look like I've just stepped off a Dynasty set, but I'm largely responsible for providing you with all this awesome art, so you can shove your 'nouveau riche' snobbery right up your easel." ;D
In terms of those old friends, there were many. For example, El Greco, Baldung, Van Eyck and van der Weyden. The vast majority of my interest was taken up by the second floor, which focused on the period prior to 1700. The first floor was rather less appealing, given it moves into later centuries: I therefore spent under an hour there. However, it did have two of my rare post-1750 exceptions, Gustave Moreau and the big one, Goya. I don't know how he managed to get away with that vicious portrait: it's very obvious what he thinks of the tyrannical thug King Ferdinand VII. Somehow he wasn't executed, which is good news for art lovers. ;)
There were a few others I've been meaning to look into more, like Bristol artist Sir Thomas Lawrence, Toulouse-Lautrec (one of the very few French painters who appeals to me from that period) and George Grosz. Like Goya, he somehow survived a horrible regime while being critical, in his case Hitler. I lavished even less time on the ground floor (not sure I managed a full 30 minutes), because that gets into the stuff I really hate (e.g., abstract). There was fortunately nothing from my most hated genre of all though, which is conceptual.
Still, there were a few catered to my narrow tastes. Paul Delvaux (I can always rely on Belgium, even in the 20th century ;D), Dali and the disturbing yet intriguing Francis Bacon. I then retreated back to my comfort zone on the top floor, to continue enjoying my favoured painters from 1350-1700. :)
Prado
I've been looking forward to the 5th Centennial #Bosch exhibition for over a year, reading and watching everything I could about Bosch throughout 2015 and 2016. I made a failed attempt to go to its first stop, Bosch's hometown of s'Hertogenbosch, because I cleverly forgot to book a ticket in advance (instead, I had an excellent time in the Rijksmuseum and Frans Hals Museum).
That wasn't going to stop me, as I saw that the same exhibition would be travelling to the Prado. EasyJet threw another spanner in the works when they cancelled my flight, but I managed to get another one a day earlier. So, I had a lot of anticipation building up to this. El Bosco didn't disappoint. Lots of paintings, plenty of drawings and some well-chosen contemporaries and followers, plus a very good audio AND textual guide meant I was fully satisfied. There was even some decent stuff in the Prado giftshop this time. :D
The exhibition space got a little crowded, but the curators sensibly put the paintings (mostly altarpieces) on thick plinths, so you could see them from all angles (important with altarpieces, given there is normally something on the external wings too). The thickness also meant people couldn't crush in too tightly, so you could always get a viewing angle. I am a big fan of Bosch, meaning I spent three hours luxuriating in Bosch, but you could comfortably get through all 53 exhibits in around half that time. Entry is included in your general entry Prado ticket: you will need to select a time slot, though.
Taking my own advice from last year, I headed to the top of the Prado to enjoy Goya from the beginning. He's one of my top 3 artists and there is no better place to see him than the Prado. In 2015, I went backwards. This time, I started with the tapestry cartoons on the 2nd floor. To get there, you'll need to first go up to the first floor, then head all the way over the right of your Prado map.
Near room 39, there are both stairs and an elevator to the top (Villanueva building). Most of it is taken up by the aforementioned tapestry cartoons, which Goya painted so a factory could use the designs for tapestries. A lot of them are innocuous in tone, portraying 'majos' and 'majas' having fun in the country. But even back in the 1770s when he was just starting out, there was more to Goya than pretty brushwork. For example, that pic of a straw mannequin being tossed into the air is apparently a comment on the power women have over men (I prefer women to be in power, incidentally: hopefully Merkel and May can sort out the mess left by the stupidity of Brexit men ;D).
He moved into portraits of aristocrats later (1st floor, rooms 34 through to about 37), before both his art and Spain got a lot darker. After the horrible King Ferdinand VII brutalised his country, Goya was producing the fascinating Black Paintings (ground floor, room 67 I think), frequently seen as the basis for modern art. Not that I much like what's become of modern painting since, as it's resulted in abstract and conceptual art (bleh), but I won't hold it against him. ;P
Along with Bosch and Goya, the third of the old friends I saw today was El Greco, well represented at the Prado across three rooms (8b, 10 and another one near there). I randomly first encountered him in Seville, where I stumbled across an El Greco exhibition. That's where I also first saw his John the Evangelist, which is still my favourite El Greco painting (you can tell it's JTE by the dragon in his cup, referring to his anti-poison ninja skills).
El Greco's take on Mannerism has always reminded me of Dark Sun: Wake Of The Ravager, a computer game with atypical graphics. Although almost all of El Greco's best work is religious, it doesn't feel that way. Whereas it's easy to get sick of endless 'Madonna and Child' or Annunciations by other artists (I'm looking at you, Italian Renaissance ;D), with El Greco his figures look like they belong in Lord of the Rings rather than the Bible (I'm a great deal fonder of the former).
I also made sure to visit some of my other favourites who aren't as well covered by the Prado. You can find Rogier van der Weyden's masterpiece near where Bosch normally lives (room 56a, IIRC). In 56a itself, there's an equally impressive work from another of my absolute faves, Pieter Bruegel.
Finally, the artist who has been a favourite of mine the longest (and provides the background pic for slideyfoot.com) can be found in a corner of room 49: Parmigianino. There are four Mannerist works by him as you walk out one side of 49. You will almost certainly pass them, as the corridor formed by 49 is a major thoroughfare in the Prado.
For my last wander before leaving I made two new friends and one semi-new friend. He's at the top of the below picture, Lawrence Alma-Tadema. There's a definite trend that when I'm stepping out of my 1450-1750 art comfort zone, I'll see a painting I like and wonder who it's by. On the last three or four art trips, it's invariably turned out to be Alma-Tadema.
The properly new ones were Camillo Torreggiani's ridiculously skilful sculpture and the appealingly PRB-esque style of Eduardo Rosales. Also, I need to give a shout-out to the Superdrug branch at Bristol Airport. I injured my heel about 10 days ago sparring Sam at Artemis BJJ, but thanks to those cushioned heel insoles I bought before my Madrid flight, I could handle 16 hours of art gallery wandering. They also helped me on my walk back once I arrived back in the UK, ready to get an early train to Bournemouth for a day of the inaugural UK BJJ Globetrotter Camp. :)
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