30/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Bridging Back Escape

Teaching #602
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/11/2016

The first rule of the back position is protect your neck. There are lots of ways of doing that, but my preference is the Saulo Ribeiro method. One hand is in your opposite collar, the other hand floats, ready to block their incoming grips. Don't reach too far with that arm or you'll leave space: keep it near your chest. Your elbows are inside their knees, ready to pop off their hooks if the opportunity presents itself.

Next, bring your knee up on their choking arm side (so, the arm that is reaching over your shoulder and trying to wrap your neck, rather than the arm coming under your armpit). Angle your knee inwards, to prevent them from rolling you back the other way: they will find it easy to choke you if they can roll you in the direction of their choking arm. In one quick motion, move your head forwards and simultaneously shove their head sideways (this is presuming they know what they are doing and have their head tight to yours for control). Look towards them, keeping your head and neck firm in order to stop them moving their head back into place.

Push off your leg and bridge back, aiming to get your shoulders and spine to the mat. If you aren't able to get your head past theirs, still push off your leg. Put your head on the mat and then grind it underneath their head. This isn't pleasant for either of you, but it is generally effective: preferably you can get your head past theirs in the gentler method above. If you can, clamp your arm that is nearest the mat to your side, aiming to trap their arm. To really immobilise them, see if you can use that same arm to grab their opposite sleeve/wrist, meaning you're using one arm to control both of theirs.

With your near arm, grab their trousers by their top leg (either by the knee or a bit lower). When you have the opportunity, switch to grip with the other hand. There are several options at this point. I like to either reach across their neck and grab the gi, or better, reach under their head, grip the far armpit then lock my shoulder into their head and shoulder. Either way, push off your free leg and turn to try and come on top. With your grip on the knee, stiff-arm so they can't lock their half-guard (if they do lock their half guard, this puts you in the opposite side half guard pass position, so proceed from there). Free your leg (pushing on their leg if you need to) and move into side control.
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Teaching Notes: Again, usual things for emphasis, mainly in regards to weight distribution if they haven't managed to cross-face. Push off your feet ot get your weight onto their chest, using that control until or in lieu of a cross-face. I could also mention trapping the arm under your armpit, reaching across to grab their other sleeve. As ever, I'd like to have some more back escapes to show than this one, so I should make a class out of that slow motion seoi-nage I've mentioned before and use relatively regularly now.

30/11/2016 - Teaching | Women's Class

Teaching #601
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/11/2016

Struggling to remember what I taught for this one. I've been continuing with my plan to teach two related techniques each lesson of the women's class, with the aim of getting students sufficiently up to speed that they feel confident about adding the other classes to their schedule too. There's a new regular at the class, which is brilliant to see, with hopefully another that popped down the week after (I'm writing this near xmas, so bit of a blog backlog ;D). Oh, and a third, but she's been ill so hasn't been back for a little while.

Three new regulars would be fantastic, particularly if they then also move into the mixed classes. I'd expect they would: so far, everybody that trains in the women's class has been to a mixed class at least once, and almost all of them train either in both or just the mixed class. :D

29/11/2016 - Open Mat | Knee Shield | Hug Guard

Class #785
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 29/11/2016

I'm going to generally write up material I learn from the Friday workshop here, as it fits better. So, from last Friday, we went through Sam's knee shield, something I've wanted to do ever since we started the Q&A workshops (though that wasn't very long ago ;)D). The main tweak I took away from what Sam said was blocking in front of their knee that's cutting through, using the back of your bottom leg. Sam also highlighted the importance of keeping the knees relatively near eachother, keeping that equidistant. He also hooks under their thigh with his bottom foot (not to the extent of a full DLR though), along with the usual points about a strong cross-grip and getting on your side.

At the Monday open mat (which I'll also include on these Tuesday write-ups), I was trying the Saulo option for when they are almost past. He calls it 'hug guard', which appears to work as a method for preventing them finishing their pass. You get on your side, 'top' hand reaching down to grab your opposite hip, 'bottom' arm folded back to defend, elbows staying tight. It felt a bit like the facepalm in half guard, though I need to play with it more to get it down.

28/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Turtle Escape

Teaching #600
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 28/11/2016

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 30, 2016 at 3:19am PST

To escape the turtle position, your main options generally involve turning back to guard. If they leave enough space, you may be able to do a tight roll over your shoulder to swing your legs back into play. However, with a more experienced opponent, they will often be able to anticipate your roll and move around the side control.

Another option for when they are on your side starts by stepping your near side leg behind them. Cut your other knee in front, just past their knee. Block their other leg by grabbing it, then turn underneath. If they are smaller than you or the same size, you may be able to roll them right over and get side control. If not, then guard recovery should be possible, at the very least half guard.

Should they make the mistake of reaching deep with their arm, you have a simple method to get on top. Trap their elbow by bringing your same side arm back and wrapping it tight. Look away, kick back your same side leg and roll through, getting your weight up onto them. In wrestling, this is apparently called a 'Peterson roll'.

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Teaching Notes: Main thing is does the arm across put you at risk of crucifixes? I think if you don't have it too low, you should be ok, keeping it more by the hip. Interestingly, Milka said the Peterson roll put her arm in a painful position, so I'll have to watch out for that. Shouldn't hurt, I'll have to video her when she next does it to check her placement.

25/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Crucifix Rolling Leg Kimura (Reverse Omoplata)

Teaching #599
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 25/11/2016

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 28, 2016 at 4:14am PST

The situation is therefore that you've already got into the crucifix, with their arm bent around your leg. To make things easier (and safer, for drilling), I am assuming they have already grabbed inside their own leg to prevent you getting the arm. Base out on your far arm, then do a tight roll over your near shoulder, similar to breakfalling. You aren't looking to travel forward much with that roll: attempt to roll underneath yourself.

As you roll, reach your near arm under their shoulder, aiming to grab their near leg. Continue the roll, making sure you still have their arm and leg trapped. They will normally roll too, due to the pressure on their shoulder. Be careful, as if you're too explosive you may put excessive strain on their shoulder: stay controlled throughout your rolling motion. That roll should result with you in an upright position, while they are lying next to you.

It's essential that you still have both their leg and their arm trapped. Wrap your arms tightly around their leg, then switch so you have your outside arm around their leg. The elbow of your inside arm goes into their far armpit. Keep leaning into them throughout, keeping your leg tense so they can't unbend their arm or pull it free (if they do, you still get side control, a pretty good consolation prize).

Base on your far leg, keeping your near leg closely wrapped on their arm. Assuming you have managed to keep their arm bent with your near leg, use the base from your far leg to keep bringing your hips back. You then tilt slightly, to bring your bottom leg underneath you. This should eventually torque their arm to the point that they tap.

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Teaching Notes: Doing this as a follow up to the dog leg armbar works well, which checking my notes is what I did last time I taught this two years ago too. This takes longer to teach, so that's important to keep in mind in terms of warm-up length. I added breakfalls to the warm-up, to help with that rolling underneath yourself element. People were ending too far from the leg, so I'll emphasise hugging it. Others were losing the arm as they rolled through, another thing to point out (although if you end in side control, not too bad).

Aesopian had some good tips on Instagram, specifically on being too far from the leg: "A tighter and deeper hug on the leg fixes that. Try to get your head next to the knee even if you have to shoulder walk." Final thing to emphasise is the finish: it isn't just scooting back, you're also raising your hips to tilt, bringing your leg underneath you.

23/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Crucifix Dog Leg Armbar

Teaching #598
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 23/11/2016

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 25, 2016 at 5:44am PST

Secure the crucifix by driving your knee in from the side ride, flaring your knee out, then hooking their arm with your other heel. Drag their arm back and make sure it stays trapped between your legs.

Put the knee nearest their head slightly forward, still controlling their arm. Turn to face their legs, grabbing their ankle to anchor yourself in place, with your head in line with their bum. At this point you will need to switch your legs, so that you can get the leg further away from their head closer to their wrist. Twist your body and swing the leg furthest from their head backwards, still hooking the arm. Do this movement gradually, as that shoulder lock can come on quickly, depending on their flexibility.
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Teaching Notes: Dave Jacobs describes this as a shoulder lock, but it invariably becomes an armbar when I do it. I'm not sure exactly what he's doing different, but I'll check that carefully for next time. It still works as an armbar, but meh, would be good to get the shoulder lock properly. Jacobs puts his non-lifting leg by their shoulder, which might explain it: for the armbar, you need to put it up higher. Also, I keep emphasising that if you can't get this, you've still got all the other stuff, from clock chokes to reverse omoplatas. :)

23/11/2016 - Teaching | Women's Class

Teaching #597
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 23/11/2016

Ran through some stuff with Kirsty, as it was just her today. Side control escapes, the Chiu material, along with the running escape. She got the Granby roll nice and smoothly, that bodes very well for her potential success with this (she's got strong legs too, so I think it could be a good option for her). We also played with some stuff from mount, as she missed a lot of that month due to a shoulder injury. Lots and lots of technique, but hopefully some of that adds to her game.

22/11/2016 - Open Mat (Tuesday)

Class #784
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 22/11/2016

A video posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Nov 21, 2016 at 7:37pm PST

Like last time, I'm including the sparring after class on Monday, especially as that's what features in the video above. I managed to retain my guard little better, trying to move to knee shield and that modified spider guard I tried last week. However, I did unintentionally cheat, as I instinctively closed my half guard: that's counterproductive, as the whole idea was working open guard. I uncrossed when I realised, but I suspect I would have been passed rather quicker if I hadn't had that lock to help. ;)

I hit the tripod sweep, but I didn't get control of a sleeve. That renders the sweep way less effective, because they can base out with a hand to come straight back up. I need to work out the best way to get a sleeve for the sweep, especially against people that are good at breaking grips. Ideally I'd get the sleeve just before I pull/push with my legs, so that's something to work on.

By the time it got to Tuesday, I was really tired from not getting any sleep (insomnia strikes yet again). I therefore tried curling into a ball, keeping knees to chest like Graugart taught at the Globetrotter Camps this year. Looking at the video, I can see I dropped to my back and opened up that space, making for an easy pass. If I'm going to try that, I need to invert, which I don't want to get into. So, that approach to guard retention likely is not for me: I value my neck and back too much. :p

I got a good tip from Matt on Tuesday. I've been attempting to pull legs across when my knee cut gets blocked, into a semi leg drag. It often gets stuck halfway. Matt suggested at that point if I can cross-face, I can then kick into a big backstep to pass. I like cross-facing, so that's appealing, though I am guessing it's tough to get. I'll try it next time.

21/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Crucifix Entry (Seat Belt)

Teaching #596
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 21/11/2016

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 23, 2016 at 4:32am PST

I went with another variation on the entry into the crucifix tonight, adding to the walk back and the roll. Once again Aesopian was my main source. This time, once you have the arm trapped, secure a seatbelt. Then all you need to do is walk your feet forward, until you can pull back with your seat belt grip and move into the face-up crucifix. Very simple.
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Teaching Notes: Main thing to emphasise for next time is that you must not reach in for the seat belt before you have the arm. If you do that, they will just roll you over. I was doing that to people repeatedly in sparring, so I need to make that risk clearer. If I teach it during my turtle escapes class, that should help do. There was a load of good specific sparring again after class, but I'll save that for the Tuesday write-up. :)

18/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Crucifix Armbar

Teaching #595
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 18/11/2016

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 21, 2016 at 4:06am PST

Starting from the side ride, dig your near knee next to their hip. You're aiming to shove that as deep as you can behind their arm. Once it is in deep, flare the knee out towards you, which should make their arm available for your other heel to hook. Drag it back over your other leg and use your legs to lock that arm in place.

At this point, you've already got a bunch of attacks available to you, but we want to get them face-up. You'll probably be grabbing their wrist, their bicep, their sleeve or something else with your arm on the near side. With your other arm, reach under their far armpit and grab their shoulder. They could trap your elbow and try to roll you at this point, but that puts you where you want to be anyway. In the likely event they aren't foolish enough to do that, you have a few entries to the face-up crucifix available to you.

The one I prefer is from the Dave Jacobs seminar, where you walk backwards until you can get them face-up. The other option, which I included tonight, is to jump and roll over their shoulder, on the non-trapped arm side. This is a bit more acrobatic, so not something I use as often, but it is a viable alternative to the Jacobs method.

Once they're face-up, you don't want their weight too far on top of you, as again that can help them escape: if that happens, shrimp your hips slightly to bring them down again. However, you don't want them to slip too far down to the mat, as there's another escape they can do in that situation. So, if they're too far down, scoop under them to prevent that escape.

For the armbar, find their wrist with the back of your calf. When you get the right spot, flare your knee out, then bridge up into their arm. If they turn their hand, you'll need to follow their elbow with your hips, adjusting your position as necessary. If they manage to bend their arm, you can straighten it back out by 'walking' your feet up their arm. Making sure you still have one leg hooked over their arm (as soon as you don't, they'll free their arm and move to side control), bring the other foot behind and slide it up their arm. You can keep doing that until the arm is straight: this takes a bit of dexterity, but when you get used to the motion, it considerably improves your control.

Keep in mind that all the way through, you should be threatening a choke. That will keep their attention divided between the two submissions, increasing the efficacy of both.
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Teaching Notes: Usual stuff with crucifix, people were ending up too low on the arm sometimes, need to glue yourself to the back. On the roll through, is it not the shoulder diagonal so much as hip diagonal? I should check that some more, I think Aesopian does it more to the hip diagonal. I'd like to add in Aesopian's pull back from seat belt too, need to investigate: I might try that next week. Also, I need to look more into criss cross armbar specifics, as I ended up just doing the usual armbar, pretty much. Emphasised things like keep a leg locked over the top.

I like showing a different entry each time: today, I went with the roll through, last time it was the walk back, next lesson I'll do the seat belt pull-back. There are probably others, but three variations is more than enough. :)

16/11/2016 - Teaching | The Back | Crucifix Single Collar Choke

Teaching #594
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/11/2016

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 18, 2016 at 5:37am PST

Starting from the side ride, dig your near knee next to their hip. You're aiming to shove that as deep as you can behind their arm. Once it is in deep, flare the knee out towards you, which should make their arm available for your other heel to hook. Drag it back over your other leg and use your legs to lock that arm in place. At this point, you've already got a bunch of attacks available to you, but we want to get them face-up.

You'll probably be grabbing their wrist, their bicep, their sleeve or something else with your arm on the near side. With your other arm, reach under their far armpit and grab their shoulder. They could trap your elbow and try to roll you at this point, but that puts you where you want to be anyway. In the likely event they aren't foolish enough to do that, you have a few entries to the face-up crucifix available to you.

The one I prefer is from the Dave Jacobs seminar. Walk your feet back towards their bum, staying low and tight. Keep walking until you roll over their leg, putting them face-up. As you move into that position, make sure that your far arm is hooking back behind your head: otherwise, they can wriggle their arm free without too much trouble, enabling them to turn and escape. You can also begin to establish your grip mid-roll, reaching for the collar with your free arm.

You don't want their weight too far on top of you, as again that can help them escape: if that happens, shrimp your hips slightly to bring them down again. However, you don't want them to slip too far down to the mat, as there's another escape they can do in that situation. So, if they're too far down, scoop under them to prevent that escape.

You're now ready for the choke, which is nice and simple. With your free arm, reach around their neck and get a deep grip on their collar. Pull that around the neck as you would in a bow and arrow choke, getting additional leverage due to the way you've trapped their arm with your non-choking hand. For another boost of leverage, Aesopian's tip from Mastering the Crucifix is handy: bring their weight slightly onto you and bridge up into them.
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Teaching Notes: Remember to mention grabbing your own head or the hand, also a few people were ending up a bit too far up or down. I'm not sure if I do a little jump at the the end, or just walk back. I teach it as just walking back and getting to a tipping point where they roll, but I should film myself doing this some time, to check I am actually doing what I'm saying. ;)

16/11/2016 - Teaching | Women's Class | Standing in Guard & Underhook Pass

Teaching #593
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/11/2016

I began with standing in guard. Start by shoving their sleeve/wrist into their belt knot/belly button. With your other hand, push into their sternum, but be careful you aren't tempted to lean forward as a result. Keep your posture upright. If you can't get the sleeve, then simply grab their collar with your chest bracing hand (you have the option of grabbing a sleeve with that hand too, it doesn't have to be the hip hand: just make sure it's always the same side).

Raise your knee on the same side as your sleeve/wrist gripping arm, stepping forward with that foot. Basing off your hands (again, don't lean forwards), stand up into a crouch, then stand right up, thrusting your hips forward. Pull up on their sleeve/wrist (again, if you've lost it, grab their collar, if they are wearing a gi). You then want to push their knee off your hip on the other side, stepping back with your leg on the non-sleeve/wrist gripping side to help.

If you're having trouble getting that knee off, try bouncing your hips to open their ankles, like you were struggling to take off a tight pair of jeans. At the same time, splay your hand by the knee you want to shove (Roger Gracie calls this 'making his hand big') in order to help push down.

A photo posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 27, 2016 at 4:02am PST

The first guard pass most people learn is the single underhook, sometimes known as a smash pass (although confusingly, there is also a completely different pass you might see called the 'smash pass'. The joys of BJJ's non-standardised terminology). After you've opened their guard (this can also work off a failed armbar or triangle attempt on their part), you need to get one of your arms under their leg. Your other elbow – and this is absolutely key – must not slip in front of their other knee. If it does, then you're at risk of being triangled: they simply need to pull the arm forwards to move into a triangle set up, as your first arm is already out of the picture.

You don't want to leave that first arm under their leg, as unless you're much bigger, their leg is always going to be able to outpower your arm. Therefore you need to get their leg up onto your shoulder, either bumping it up with your arm, or dropping down to put your shoulder in place behind their knee. At that point, drive forward so that you're shoving their knee into their face. When you've got them stacked, reach your stacking side arm around their leg and grab their collar. I tend to go four fingers in, but a thumb in grip sets you up for a simple (if somewhat crappy, so it's mainly for distraction) forearm choke. You can also try grabbing their opposite shoulder.

Establish a wide base with your feet, pushing off your toes. As is generally the case with jiu jitsu, stay off your knees. Otherwise, you're transferring the pressure into the floor rather than into your partner. Keep on driving forward, turning the shoulder you have behind the leg downwards. Combined with your forwards pressure, that should slide their leg out of the way.

Although it's tempting, try to avoid lifting your head to get past their legs, as that could provide them with space. Instead, you want to rely on your weight and pressure, finishing with that slight shift of your shoulder. To further enhance your stack, you can grab the back of their trousers, or alternatively put your other knee there as a wedge.
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Teaching Notes: One of the many good things about the women's class is that it is the main opportunity I have to really spend some time on super basic techniques. Today, that was standing up in guard: one of the students had never done it before, so we broke it down and tried to work out the parts that make it work. My general tips on standing up involve keeping your head up, avoiding your head going past your knees, don't put your hands on the floor, etc.

If somebody can't stand up, that forces you to think more carefully about what makes it work. I think putting force through your hip hand and using that to help you stand up makes sense and seemed to work. A little swing to provide momentum helps too: I've taught that before, but was reminded of it by one of the other students helpfully suggesting it. Cool stuff. By the end of the lesson, the student in question who couldn't stand before was doing it repeatedly. Hooray!

15/11/2016 - Open Mat | Open Guard

Class #783
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 15/11/2016

I've been focusing on my open guard for the last couple of years, but it is still the weakest part of my game. So, I've started to film my specific sparring to isolate exactly where I'm going wrong. If I can get some kind of grip it helps, but against somebody good at quickly dancing around the legs, I struggle (as per bottom right of the video ;D). Both Sam and Hamza have excellent agility and speed. I end up flailing at them with my hands and spinning to try and block, until eventually they manage to step past my knee and block any more spinning. I could at that point be better on the stiff-arm guard I've been using for the last couple of years, perhaps into the knee? It might be worth me drilling that in isolation, recovering to guard when they step past my legs but haven't yet got their weight down onto me.

I'm having much more success passing than I am using my guard, which is interesting. It used to be that I dreaded passing: now I feel I at least have a few things to aim for. However, I'm using too much energy in general and I need better grips from open guard, both top and bottom. Ideally I want to build on all the stuff I've been doing the last few years, so that's a lot of sitting guard on the bottom. I also think Sam's knee shield approach could work for me, as I like knee shield too. What I particularly value about that guard is the way it offers a secure but low energy way of preventing the pass. Naturally you need to progress from there into attacks, but having something like that in my toolbox would be awesome. The ability to analyse Sam's video is really helpful too: it's already shown me lots of details I didn't realise he did.

Another guard I'd like to try more is the modified spider guard that I first saw on Xande's DVD from a few years ago. I tried that on Heidi today and it worked ok, but then there is an experience and size gap there. I also tried more sitting guard and knee shield on Tom, where again there is an experience gap and possibly size, but it is smaller (he's got a few years of nogi IIRC).

I ended up with a pseudo-butterfly guard at one point (top right of vid below), which eventually resulted in a sit-up sweep. I wasn't going for the sit-up sweep (I wanted a hook sweep, a la Caros Machado) so I should look at for that more. I think it came about because I was trapping the arm and looking for the shoulder clamp. Perhaps I need to sit up more: I felt too flat when I was doing that. Also, on the butterfly hook sweep I attempted and failed, I should have brought my arm under the head when I first went for the sweep, that might have done it.

A video posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Nov 19, 2016 at 12:15pm PST

Also, chatted about Faria's deep half with Matt, looked interested. It's a deep half guard sweep where he wraps a gi lapel around their leg to facilitate the sweep, then if they raise up, a Turkish get up variation. I've got video so will check that, possibly pick up Digitsu's instructional Faria did too. There's a lot of deep half prep I want to do for December, so we'll see how far I get with the instructional and notes I already have on the position. :)

14/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Clock Choke

Teaching #592
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 14/11/2016

If I can't get the back from turtle and I haven't managed to move into a crucifix, I like to go for the clock choke. I use an 'elbow wedge' variation I learned from my instructor Kev Capel (and he in turn learned it from Felipe Souza, who we both used to train with at RGA HQ).

From the side ride, move from grabbing their arm to reaching through for a grip on their far collar. If the grip isn't quite right on the far collar, this can end up being an air choke rather than a blood choke: avoid being too shallow on that grip. To enhance your hold, there is the option of reaching under their arm with your far arm and opening up the collar, then feeding it to your other hand. Be aware that there is a danger of them reaching back to trap your elbow if you do that.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 16, 2016 at 4:06am PST

Either way, once you have a deep grip, bring the arm that was by their far leg to the near side of their head. Use your elbow as a wedge against their skull, giving you a sort of 'backstop' to pull their collar through. Another potential reason it might turn into an air choke is the position of your wrist: if you're finding it's an air choke, try adjusting how much you bend your wrist.

Pressing that arm into their skull produces a fair bit of leverage in conjunction with your collar grip. Increase it by leaning back slightly, while walking your legs around towards their head. Make sure you maintain your weight on their shoulders, or you'll relieve the pressure: Saulo suggests keeping your ribs against their shoulder. This should eventually result in a choke.

Speaking of Saulo, his variation on BJJ Library doesn't bother with an elbow block. He simply leans heavily into the shoulder, locking off the choke by leaning his head across. His other hand is grabbing by their far hip. If he doesn't get it, he keeps walking around, turning them onto their side and circling his elbow over. The other arm goes behind to lock off the choke.
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: I'm happy with the lesson structure. I emphasised the same things as normal, particularly keeping your ribs against their shoulder. That seems to get people to distribute their weight in the right place. I also got in lots of good sparring today.

That's because I've finally instituted something I've wanted to get off the ground for a long time now: focused sparring where everyone takes turns, everything filmed. This solves several problems at once. Firstly, I can make sure I get in some good sparring, rather than just hoping it will be odd numbers so I get a partner. Secondly, I get to work on the weakest part of my game, which is open guard. Thirdly, I get a load of sparring footage I can analyse: not only my own, but also everybody else. That means I can see what the guys who have really good guard retention are doing.

The first session of that today, at the open mat after class, was useful. That's because three of the most experienced students were there today, each with their owns strengths I could analyse and experience. E.g., Sam and Hamza both have excellent (but quite different) passing and guard retention, whereas Chris has a game closer to mine (i.e., lots of steady, methodical pressure). Unfortunately I didn't think to show everybody how to use the camera on my phone, so some of the sparring I wanted to look at wasn't recorded, but that's a good lesson for future sessions.

Weirdly, when I look back at how my game has developed, I now feel more comfortable passing open guard than I do playing it. On top, I was having some success, testing out things like going from a knee cut into another pass by pulling the knees across. However, I think I was relying too much on force, as well as grips: I invariably rip the skin off two fingers on my left hand, plus I was out of breath. I'm not sure if the excessive energy expenditure is from passing, or from trying too hard to lift from open guard. Again, video analysis is going to help with all of that.

I'll talk more about this in my post for tomorrow, along with putting up a video, as that's where I did the bulk of my sparring. Tuesdays are going to be a good option for this ongoing, as I get a full hour. Downside is I'm doing it right after a kettlebells session, though on the other hand that could force me to rely less on strength. ;)

13/11/2016 - Open Mat | Open Guard

Class #782
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 13/11/2016

Today was the hardest I've trained for a while (though this is me, so still not especially hard ;D). There were only three of us today, so we took it in turns for about an hour to do some specific open guard sparring. On top, I was trying to add direction changes to my knee cut pass. That is difficult with Sam, as his knee shield is so good, but I think it helped. My main problem on the attempts to switch sides was that it takes quite a bit of energy. I also wasn't able to collapse down on the other side, something was still blocking (I think Sam's knee or foot?)

However, I did manage to drive through on the knee cut a couple of times, by locking down his legs and turning around the knee. The danger there is relying too much on basing with your same side hand. If you do that, then they just need to get control of that hand to turn your pass into their sweep. I didn't try pinning his hand to the mat on that side (like Adamson taught at the Globetrotter camp), that's something I should give a go next time.

On the bottom, I'm still trying the shin-on-shin, but I'm also still getting squished when I try that. I attempted to push into the other leg, but wasn't able to maintain much pressure. I'm not sure if I'm swivelling around their leg too much, or not enough. That's another area I shall play around with. I wanted to combine it with my previous sitting guard, looking to link the two. It certainly isn't there yet, but if I can finally force myself to get into a pattern of doing this regularly, I'll get there.

Spinning around behind the knee-cutting leg for a single leg is a good approach too, but once again, that takes lots of energy. I also found it got a bit stuffed if they could secure a strong grip on your sleeve and/or leg. I was using far too much strength, as I was knackered after an hour or so of that. Might not have even been an hour, perhaps just 40 minutes. So, slow down and flow more: it's something I don't have to do as much as I should, because I'm being lazy and not rolling enough with challenging sparring sparring. Injuries don't help. ;)

11/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Maintaining Turtle & Back Take

Teaching #591
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 11/11/2016

A major subtype of the back is a position called the turtle, where you're on your elbows and knees. I wanted to cover some of the basics for maintaining the turtle, from the top person's perspective. A good starting point is a wrestling position I learned from Nathan Leverton, the side ride. You are alongside them, with your nearest knee next to theirs, your other leg out for base (but bent, as if it's straight, that hinders your ability to react to their movement). Your same side hand is grabbing their near arm, while your other hand is reaching inside their far hip.

Don't go too deep, just to the level of your wrist, also being careful to keep your elbow out of range: if they can grab your elbow, they can roll you over. To maximise your pressure, keep your head low. I'd also advise keeping your knee off the floor and leaning into them.

You can also move around directly behind them, legs in tight rather than sprawled back (that can work too, but it does potentially provide them with some space to exploit). In that position, put both hands inside their thighs, your knees pressing into their hips, staying on your toes and keeping your weight low. From there, you can switch to the side ride on either side. If they manage to start turning in either direction, always run behind them to their back. If you run towards their stomach as they turn, that can put you in their guard.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 14, 2016 at 4:21am PST

To regain the back with hooks in, insert your hand by their far hip, so the back of your hand is against their inner thigh. Drop back to the near side, using your hand as a preliminary hook. Roll them over with that, replacing your hand with your leg. To get in the other hook, you can use the Marcelo hip thrust I've shown before, hooking your legs as you simultaneously thrust into the bottom of their spine and pull back with your arms. That should give you lots of space to insert your second hook.
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Teaching Notes: I could put in the Marcelo Garcia thing where you walk around behind to recover the back after you've lost hooks, but that might fit better in the maintaining the back lesson. Although it would fit here too, along with the hip thrust if you are struggling to get that second hook in. But generally, not much to change here, it's a fairly simple lesson. :)

09/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Bow & Arrow Choke

Teaching #590
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 09/11/2016

Tonight, it was time for the signature move at Artemis BJJ, the bow and arrow. Starting from standard back control with a seat-bet grip, you open up their collar with the hand you have under their armpit. Fold it over (a handy tip from James '300' Foster), then grip it with the hand you have over their shoulder. Don't grip too high, or you'll lack the range to finish the choke.

Next you want to get hold of their non-choking side leg. If you're having trouble grabbing it, Dónal suggests using your same side heel to dig in by their knee, curling your leg back. That should bring their trouser leg in range for you to grab with your free hand, establishing a good anchor point. You then want to swivel your body, in order to get your leg-grabbing side foot to the outside of their other thigh.

I tend to push off their non-grabbed leg side thigh with my same side foot, to help me move my other foot over. Once you've got that foot locked in place, you want to keep it there to block them from trying to turn into an escape. Along with your initial grip on their leg, that hook with your foot gives you better leverage to move into the main choking position.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 11, 2016 at 6:57am PST

To get there, swing out your non-hooking leg. You want to end up with your opponent's head on the thigh of that leg you just swung out. Tuck the elbow of your choking arm back by your hip, as pulling on the elbow is one of the main escapes. To finish, pull your hand down (like you were cracking a whip), pressing your forearm into their head (you can drive with your shoulder too). If that doesn't work, you can try increasing the range by gripping with less fingers (though this does make your grip weaker). Putting a leg over their shoulder and then crossing your feet can give you more leverage, as you can then thrust your hips up into the choke.

If that still isn't getting the choke, try bringing the hand that was gripping their leg behind their head, driving it through to push their head forward as you lock in the choke. For even more leverage, you can bring it under their arm. That then sets you up for yet another follow-up submission: the armbar is right there from that position.
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Teaching Notes: I forgot to talk about opening up the collar initially with the hand you have under their armpit, so need to do that next time. I also probably shouldn't add in all the many bits at the end, maybe just the crossing on the shoulder and the head behind choke? Then again, it is useful to know the armbar is there, but I could just mention that rather than run through it.

I am planning to get back to sparring normally on Sunday, so hopefully my back is finally going to stop annoying me. Never get older, especially as 35 isn't even old. I need to strengthen up my back in time for 45! ;)

09/11/2016 - Teaching | Women's Class | Trap & Roll and standing guard break

Teaching #589
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 09/11/2016

I went with a mount escape and a guard break today, though I'm not sure it was the best combination. The trap and roll is easy enough, although having said that the variation where you trap it by your head does bring up the issue of hooking their leg. Not as easy as the usual version, because you can't shove it with your elbow due to wrapping that by your head. Still, it's comparatively simple by comparison to passing the guard.

I wanted to emphasise the importance of standing up, as it is something I rarely do due to laziness. Standing to break the guard open provides you with the power of gravity. However, a lot of people initially struggle to stand up (I often forget, until I am teaching a beginner who has never done that before). I'm not especially strong but I don't have an issue with it now: I'm wondering if there is something in the way I'm standing that I should be teaching? Keeping the head up and back straight is part of it, also the positioning of the feet. Maybe also using the hip hand to help, without falling into the trap of using the chest hand (and that makes your posture awkwardly front-loaded)?

On the plus side, I can think of several students who used to really struggle with this and now do it easily, so it might just be a matter of repetition. I do it as a drill in every class downstairs: I'll try doing it more regularly in the women's class warm-up too. I could try teaching the kneeling break first, as that's not as strenuous, but I don't want people to fall into the same lazy pattern I have of avoiding the stand, because trying to break the guard from your knees is so much less effort. ;)

08/11/2016 - Open Mat

Class #781
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 08/11/2016

I did a little bit of sparring today, with somebody smaller than me. That was good, as I could get some movement in without straining my back. It meant escaping was a more interesting challenge too, because I wasn't doing a lot of bridging. Instead, I was curling up on my side, looking to dig out that leg. Against somebody more experienced I probably would have been at risk of getting my back taken or more squashed under mount, but then I wouldn't normally go quite that much on my side if it wasn't for my back. ;)

Hopefully I can finally get back to normal for the rest of this week, back injuries are annoying. I have been able to do a bit of kettlebells too, which is good (light weights, sticking to things like deadlifts). The chin ups and press ups last week were good too, as that didn't have an impact on my back.

07/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Maintaining & Switch to Mount

Teaching #588
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 07/11/2016

The back is a great position to be in. There are lots of submissions, your opponent can't easily see what you're doing, and you'll also get four points in competition (once you've got your hooks in). The first thing to note is a basic safety point, which is don't cross your feet. If you cross your feet, then all your partner has to do is cross their feet over yours and bridge, footlocking you. Instead, you want to be hooking your insteps inside their legs, or digging your heels in. The idea is to generate enough connection with your feet that when your partner rolls to one side, you will roll with them.

Second, you want to get a good grip with your arms. The harness grip (as always, various other names, like over-under and seatbelt) is a solid option for both gi and nogi. Begin by getting an arm under their same side armpit, so they can't slide down (as otherwise they can go for the scoop escape). If they have a gi, you can help secure the position by grabbing their opposite collar. The other arm comes over their shoulder.

If you can't grab a collar, then link your hands together, using that to lock yourself in place. You could also grab under both arms grabbing a collar, which is a excellent way to hold them in place. However, that means both your arms are occupied: for attacks, you have more options if you keep one arm free, to go over the shoulder.

Your arm by the shoulder is the one you'll be looking to shift into their neck and/or grabbing a collar, where you can start working for a choke. Stephan Kesting advises that rather than linking hands, you can grab your own arm, which in turn means you are blocking the best grip your opponent wants to get. As ever, play around and see what you prefer.

Third, keep your chest pressed against their upper back. To escape, they need to create space, so don't let them have any: stay glued to their upper back. You also don't want them to put you flat on your back, like in the bridge escape we saw last week, as then they can start moving their hips. If you drop back, make sure you've moved to the side. However, your ideal position is getting them face down.

Fourth, follow them with your hips, similar as when you're in their guard. If you keep moving your hips to square back up whenever they try and shift away, that again stops them creating space.

Finally, you want to keep your head locked to theirs, providing additional control. It also helps you to see what they're doing. Otherwise, their head would be blocking your line of sight. Place your head next to theirs on the armpit hand side, as that way you're controlling both sides of their skull.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 9, 2016 at 4:27am PST

I finished off with the simple way of recovering mount from the back. They've cleared one hook and managed to put their shoulders onto the mat. It will be tough to regain your back mount from here, especially if they've moved over your leg. As soon as you feel their bum move past your knee, bring your remaining hook over their body and clamp the heel to their far hip. Make sure it is providing you with enough control that they can't simply shrug you off. Pull out your elbow for base, then turn and slide through into mount, using your heel for leverage.
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Teaching Notes: This is one of several lessons I've been teaching for a while that feels basic, but is important for people to know. I feel like I could do with shaking it up a bit. The stuff I include is stuff people need to know, the question is how to best to organise it and make it as relevant as possible. What I should do is take a good look at where people tend to lose the back. Is it specifically from missing one of the elements I talk about in this lesson?

One thing I could emphasise more, like in the RNC choke lesson, is keeping your head tight to theirs. In terms of maintaining, if your head is jammed next to theirs, they will find it harder to move out to the side to get their back on the mat. They have to get past your head to do that.

I think next time, I'll split this lesson into two sections. First, those basic pointers, followed by some quick drilling to get that dialled in. Then, the switch to mount, along with the walking around to recover if you lose your hooks but still have the seatbelt.

06/11/2016 - Open Mat

Class #780
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 06/11/2016

My back flared up again a bit on Friday, which is frustrating, but I'm trying to be sensible and listen to my body. I'm naturally lazy, meaning I sometimes wonder if I'm imagining I'm more injured because that's easier than doing exercise, but meh. Better to be cautious, as my back has definitely been twingey. Anyway, that meant I didn't do much today, beyond answering a few questions.

04/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | Armbar

Teaching #587
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 04/11/2016

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 2, 2016 at 4:01am PDT

Along with chokes, armbars are another good option from the back. You have the usual seatbelt grip, with one arm under their armpit, the other over their shoulder. Grasp their opposite wrist with your shoulder arm, then grab your own wrist with your armpit arm, locking on a figure four. Reach your foot on the armpit side over to the opposite hip, hooking around with your instep. Use that to swivel: you can also add in a swing with your other leg to help the rotation, much like with the bow and arrow choke.

You can also push off the floor if you prefer. As you turn, bring your shoulder arm over their head (this is often a fight, as they know they're in trouble once that is clear), then keeping their arm tight and your bum close to their shoulder, bring your leg over their head. Maintain a firm grip on the figure four throughout. It will also help you prevent them turning inwards, a common escape to the armbar.

Finally, adjust your position if necessary (e.g., scooting your hips in closer to their shoulder in order to prevent giving them any space), squeeze your knees then gradually drop back. Don't let go of the figure four until the last moment, moving up to the wrist. Raise your hips and pull down on the arm to finish. Make sure their thumb is pointing up (if it isn't, you can still finish the armbar, it's just a bit more awkward as you have to angle based on their elbow).

To add further control, you can put your leg higher on their head, making it more difficult for them to raise their head up. If they do manage to turn in towards you, you're in a good position to move straight into a triangle from guard. Quite often they will also link their hands together: there are many methods for breaking the grip, but one I like is simply kicking their grip apart (making sure you aren't giving up too much control in the process).
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Teaching Notes: The big thing I want to improve with this lesson is a reliable way to bring your arm over their head. That's definitely the hardest part of this technique, there must be a good method for it. At the moment, if somebody cannot get into position, I just tell them to go for a bow and arrow choke instead, which I find a good follow up. I'd like to have more answers for this though, that's something I'll have to try asking higher belts when I next get a chance (e.g., at RGA Bucks, GrappleThons or a Globetrotter camp).

02/11/2016 - Teaching | Back | RNC

Teaching #586
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 02/11/2016

The RNC is a fundamental technique to BJJ. Everybody with more than a few lessons under their belt knows that you're going to be looking for it, so they will immediately be trying to create barriers with their arms and hands. I focused on the basic application before getting into the set-up, as that warrants a whole lesson of its own.

So, to apply a rear naked choke (the reason for that name is that you aren't using the gi to complete the choke, hence 'naked'), position the elbow of your choking arm under their chin. You don't want to leave any space, as the idea is to press into both sides of their neck. This will close off their carotid arteries and prevent the flow of blood to the brain. That is an efficient and safe way of subduing an opponent.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 4, 2016 at 6:27am PDT

Reaching past their shoulder, you are then going to grip the bicep of your free arm. This is to lock the choke in place. It will normally be difficult to grab your bicep straight off, as your opponent knows that's dangerous for them. You can instead secure your initial arm by gripping the back of their shoulder. Stephan Kesting has a useful video on RNC details, where he talks about holding the ridge of bone at the bottom of the shoulder blade, using what he calls a 'tiger palm'. From there, switch to gripping palm to palm over their shoulder, dropping the elbow of your back-arm down along their shoulder blade. That will further help to lock it in position: as Demian Maia demonstrates, you can even finish the choke from there. If not, you can then do what Kesting calls the 'creep', wriggling that elbow across their back to cinch up the choke.

When you have managed to grip your bicep, make sure both your elbows are in front of their shoulders. In other words, your armpits are resting on their shoulders. The elbow drops straight down. As Nathan 'Levo' Leverton emphasises, this now means that both your wrists are hidden, making it difficult for them to strip your grip. It also makes the choke tighter, as both of your arms are directly by their neck.

Bring the hand of that bicep arm to the back of their head: a commonly used version is to press the palm into their skull, but there are various options, coming down to personal preference. Using the back of your hand against their neck is arguably better, as that may slip in more securely than palm down. Also, palm down is easier for them to grab, if they try to peel your fingers off their skull. Either way, when you're locking in the choke, don't reach your hand forward over their shoulder. If you do, then they can armbar you using their shoulder as a fulcrum. Instead, slide it behind the head.

Bring your head next to theirs on the bicep gripping side, to further cut off any space. If for some reason after grabbing your bicep you can't get your other hand behind their head, grab your own skull, using that grip to finish from there. Staying close to their back, expand your chest and squeeze your elbows together.

A common problem is that people will also tend to tuck their chin. Some people advocate unpleasant methods to force your way through to the neck in that situation. For example, Stephan Kesting has a list here: the results of that kind of approach (though Kesting does make a point of saying he is not fond of pain-based options either) can be seen in this video of a brutal Baret Yoshida match. That is not how I want my jiu jitsu to look.

My goal is smooth, technical, leverage-based jiu jitsu, causing as little pain to the other person as possible. As Saulo says in my favourite BJJ quote:

"You have to think that your partner, the guy that you're training [with], has to be your best friend. So, you don't want to hurt him, you don't want to try to open his guard with your elbow, make him feel really pain, because jiu jitsu is not about pain. You have to find the right spot to save your energy"

I strongly feel it is best to avoid hurting your training partners, for four additional reasons:

• You're in class to learn, not to 'win' at all costs. Save the 'win' mentality for competition.
• If you're always hurting the people you spar, eventually nobody will want to train with you, making it rather hard to improve.
• Presuming you're in BJJ for the long-term, you're going to be spending a lot of time with your training partners. Therefore it would make sense to build a good relationship.
• Even if you don't care about your classmates, everybody has a different pain threshold. So, the efficacy of pain-reliant techniques will vary from person to person. The efficacy of leverage does not: that's based on physics, not how tough somebody is.

There is a less nasty option you could try for opening up their chin, from Andre Galvao. If they really shove their chin down, this may not work, but it is worth a go. Twist your hand so that your thumb is pointing down, then as you slide the arm to their neck, twist the thumb back up to lift their chin.

If I find I have no option except something brutish (e.g., crushing their chin until they tap from pain or lift their head), my preference is to instead transition to a different attack, like an ezequiel, a bow and arrow choke or an armbar (which I'll be covering in later lessons). In my opinion, if I get to the point where force and pain are the main routes to finishing a submission, then my set up was poorly executed.

You can also try tricking them into giving you access to the hold you want, a handy tip I saw on a John Will DVD. For example, when you try to get an arm around their neck, a common reaction on their part is to grab your arm and pull it down. If you respond by pulling up, they will normally pull down even harder. This means that if you time it right, you can suddenly switch direction and swing the arm they are pulling down across your body. This should sweep their arms out of the way for a moment (try to catch both of their arms when you do this). Make sure your other hand is ready and waiting near their shoulder, as you can then immediately bring that other arm across their suddenly undefended neck.

Even better, you can take their arm right out of commission. With one of your hands, grab their wrist. Shove it down towards their legs, then step over that arm with your same side leg. When you then re-establish your hook (or pin your heel to their ribs, or put your leg behind their back), they are left with only one arm to defend against both of yours. If they've grabbed your wrist, twist your palm outwards, shove it down and out, then again step over their arm with your leg. Make sure you maintain pressure, so they can't simply swim their arm free.

There is also the method I learned from Dónal. Grab their wrist with your armpit hand. Drop to the choking arm side, twisting your hips to increase the range of motion for your leg. Shove their arm down, then swing your leg over your armpit arm. Grip your own shin with the armpit hand, then using both your leg and arm, get your foot to their spine to trap their limb.
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Teaching Notes: Only thing that stood out when people were drilling is that some people were forgetting to stick their head in tight, so I'll emphasise that more next time. Also, we had a couple of judo black belts in class, who approach this technique a little differently (as it's also a common attack in judo, of course). If they tuck their chin, Federico said that he likes to grab a collar and pull it down, making it easier to then bring their head up because they have less room to move. I'll have to try that next time, see if it's more effective than the Galvao thumb method I often show.

In sparring, I was surprised I managed to get a waki gatame on somebody who had taken my back, but they may well have been tapping early. Still, good to know that can occasionally work, though I need to be careful of my neck when I'm committing both arms like that. Fun, but definitely not high percentage. ;)

02/11/2016 - Teaching | Women's Class | Chokes from mount and guard

Teaching #585
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 02/11/2016

I used today to test out if I could combine some chokes from guard and mount. Again, really small class today, a lot of the regular women's class students are on holiday at the moment. Still, it meant I could run through lots of variations and show the connections. Palm up, palm up and the palm up, palm down chokes are pretty much exactly the same from guard and mount. I tried also comparing the deep grip choke from guard with the Saulo choke from mount, which hopefully made sense. They aren't direct counterparts, but the same kind of idea applies to both (a solid grip on the collar, then a much looser pull on the other collar to close it off).

01/11/2016 - Open Mat

Class #779
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 01/11/2016

I spent most of the hour Working with Tracey on her heel drag escape, which I think is the most important one to know for mount. Getting the leg flat was a focus, as she has some old injuries that make that tricky. Also, how to best avoid technical mount and the cross face, particularly as to get her leg flat she had to turn more on her side than you normally would. I therefore emphasised using the elbows, digging your way to freedom.

We did a bit of sparring after that: it was cool to see how much she's improved. Much calmer, considered movements, no flailing. Nice and tight on top, I had to pick up the pace a number of times. Great to see! :)