31/01/2017 - Open Mat (Tuesday) | New Judo for BJJ class starts next Wednesday, 17:55-18:25

Class #798
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - -31/01/2017

I didn't do much today, apart from a roll with Heidi, which was handy. I'm continuing to practice that foot in the bicep guard, attempting to switch from the arm to the hip, as well as regularly switching grips to avoid bashing up my fingers. I need to remember to push and pull, really using that collar grip. I also mustn't get too attached to the thumb in grip, though I do want to keep exploring it.

For the rest of the open mat, I was watching Federico show some throws to Heidi. He did a great job (he is a judo black belt), to the extent that I jumped on his clear enjoyment of teaching. I've been considering changing up the Wednesday open mat that runs from 17:55-18:25. A number of people have shown interest in improving their takedowns, and as Federico likes to teach, I offered him the chance to do a Judo for BJJ class. That will be starting next week, which is great! Two new instructors (the other is Lisa, now in charge of the women's class) in the course of a few days. Awesome. I'll get Federico's bio and pic sorted for the website soon. :D

30/01/2017 - Teaching | Closed Guard | Closed to Open Guard

Teaching #625
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 25/01/2017

In exciting news, we have two new instructors at Artemis BJJ! Lisa will be taking over the women's class (with other experienced female grapplers covering when she's away, like Kirsty W). Right before that, the 17:55-18:25 open mat on Wednesdays will become a Judo for BJJ class, taught by experienced judo black belt Federico. Yay!

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Feb 1, 2017 at 4:36am PST

In terms of the technique tonight, I covered moving from closed to open guard, as per the Neil Owen seminar from last year. As they get close to opening your closed guard, put your foot on their hip (not near their hip, their actual hip bone). You're cupping their hip bone with the arch of your foot. That provides you with some distance control, along with enough time to shrimp out a little with your other foot. Lean back (bringing your shoulder closest to the floor back), in order to help bring your same side elbow back for base.

Once you've come up on your elbow, insert your free hand deep into their opposite collar. On your basing arm, go from your elbow to your hand, making it easier to shrimp a little more, squaring up to them. You're now ready to establish butterfly guard and go from there, making sure you are wriggling back on your bum to stop them shoving you down. You always want to have your bum behind your head in butterfly guard, resulting in a stronger posture (in other others, bum back, head forward). You can also go to the related sitting guard position, or indeed try to recover your closed guard.
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Teaching Notes: I thought this lesson went well. Next time, I need to decide if it is better to go to butterfly, or into my preferred sitting guard. I did both today, but it would be better to focus on one to avoid confusion. With butterfly, you are leaning forwards, bum back, head out. With sitting guard, it can be similar, but the Ryan Hall style is more thrusting the chest out, with a line through the shoulders. Hence why showing both can be a little confusing.

I added in drill at the start where you do sitting guard on the spot, then with a partner. I like that, a partner is important for testing your structural alignment, once somebody puts some weight through your arm. On butterfly, I decided to use that thumb in grip I like, Saulo choke style, straight to mount and a choke potentially. There is the orthodox one with an underhook, which I might try next time but I'll see which one I want to go for.

29/01/2017 - Open Mat (Sunday) | Reverse de la Riva sweeps

Class #797
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - -29/01/2017

Awesome open mat today. I drilled the reverse de la Riva sweeps from JJS #036, starting with the first two, the tilt and the pull to back. On the pull to the back, it's important to remember to extend your arm to maintain the collar grip for control. Your other hand then grabs gi material by their upper back, yanking down. That keeps the control, meaning your collar grip hand can then switch to their belt or wherever, finishing by driving forwards into side control or spinning to the back. I also had a good spar with Tad, staying defensive, trying to off-balance, frame, not let them get the collar. Again, I need to off-balance more (Tom said this too, after our spar at the seminar yesterday: I'll get the write-up done shortly, another great seminar from Chelsea! :D) going from the arm to the hip.

28/01/2017 - 4th Seminar with Chelsea Bainbridge-Donner & Tom Barlow

Seminar #023
Artemis BJJ, Chelsea Bainbridge-Donner & Tom Barlow, Bristol, UK - 28/01/2017

To celebrate the third year anniversary of Artemis BJJ, Chelsea and Tom were back for their fourth seminar. As always, it was excellent. The main reason I bring down black belts to teach seminars on the MYGYM Bristol mats is to expand my students' horizons. For my own game, I focus on a narrow range of techniques, specifically selected to avoid doing any damage to my body, as well as relying on the least amount of physical aptitude possible.

So, to have somebody like Chelsea down is perfect, given that as a prominent competitor in the black belt division she is well versed in the modern style. Who better to teach us about berimbolos than a teacher at the Mendes brothers' Art of Jiu Jitsu school? :)

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A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 28, 2017 at 4:45am PST

For this seminar, she ran through the berimbolo and de la Riva techniques. Exactly what I wanted from Chelsea, flashy stuff I don't use so much. :D

27/01/2017 - Artemis BJJ Third Anniversary | Teaching | Closed Guard | Grips & Breaking Posture

Teaching #624
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 25/01/2017

It's three years to the day that Donal and I started the club. We're celebrating with a seminar on Saturday. Hooray!

A photo posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 26, 2017 at 10:53pm PST

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To attack the closed guard, you are generally going to have to break down your opponent's posture first. That begins from your positioning in the closed guard. Bring your hips up into them to take away space, making it harder for them to start opening your guard. Keep your knees up into their armpits if possible, walking your legs up their back when you can. Your legs are much stronger than your arms: make sure you're using both to break their posture.

If they have managed to get their hands on you, the most basic method of breaking posture is probably pulling their elbows out and then towards you. This is particularly handy if they've got both hands on your hips, or something like that. Using your legs is key here, to help you pull them forwards. If they have one elbow digging back into your leg and you can't pull it back with one hand, reach across with both, then yank that elbow back. This could have the added advantage of enabling you to pull that arm to the other side of your body, very useful for attacking.

The same applies if they want to stand. Carefully time the right moment, then as soon as you feel their bum rise away from their heels, pull your knees towards your chest. That should knock them back onto the ground. It could also put you in a better position than before, as they may end up falling into you, meaning you can get superior control. Ideally, they'll make the mistake of posting on their hands, as that means you can go for various attacks, like the kimura. As Jason Scully advises, you don't have to just pull straight towards you: twisting can knock them right into an omoplata, or at worst help you to start creating angles.

If you want to maintain closed guard, then you need to stop them setting up their pass. If they try to pass from the knees, the first thing they normally do is put a knee into your tailbone, or somewhere else on your bottom. The easy way to scupper that is to grab onto the gi material by their knee and shift your hips back over to the middle. That can be very frustrating for the person trying to pass, which is good for distracting them and working an opening to attack. On the downside, it can consume a fair bit of energy, as you might find yourself doing it repeatedly if they're really persistent. Another option is a very simple sweep from Henry Akins, where you just pop your hips over to the opposite side and knock them over.

My favourite option builds on the simple posture break, as I like to weave my hands into a shoulder clamp. When you pull them down, reach one hand under the armpit, the other around their head. Lock your hands palm to palm (this is known as a 'gable grip', clamping down on their shoulder. When the time is right, loop your arm over their head, tightening your grip even more firmly by their shoulder. You can now start to angle off, rotating your hips in the direction of that shoulder, bringing your knee up their back to press their head down. This sets you up for pressing armbars, omoplatas, backtakes, etc.

A photo posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Aug 3, 2016 at 3:11am PDT

When they have the standard grips from closed guard, with one hand grabbing your collars by your chest and the other back by the hip, the two-on-one grip break is a good one to try. Gather their sleeve in your fist (i.e., a pistol grip), then your other hand goes underneath their arm, grabbing your own wrist. The positioning here matters: you want to get the sleeve grip with your arm on the inside. With that configuration, you can either punch straight up to break their grip, or angle your hips away slightly.

Make sure that you maintain your grip on their sleeve, straightening your arm. You want to push their arm across their body, while simultaneously pulling in with your knees. The intention is to collapse them on top of their arm. Due to the grip configuration, your outside hand can reach around to their far armpit. Hook your fingers in for a solid hold, then twist your elbow in firmly. Combined with your stiff-arming sleeve grip, that should rotate their torso and make it hard for them to turn back towards you. You can now shrimp slightly away from them, keeping your bottom foot in tight to act as your first hook. Shrimping away may be enough to drop them into back control. If not, use the heel of your top foot to dig into their hip, spinning them into back control.

You can also use that grip break to move into the overhook guard. Pull the sleeve behind your hand, bring your elbow from inside to outside. Reach through for their opposite collar and lock in your elbow, then you have lots of attacks from that overhook guard (overhook choke, triangle, sweep, pressing armbar, etc).

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 30, 2017 at 4:05am PST

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Teaching Notes: I didn't emphasise the keeping your hips up part, or knees in armpit. I'll remember that for next time. I thought the class went really well though, so will follow this format again next. In other words, start with the simple posture break we always drill, then mention how that can become the shoulder clamp instead. After that, talk about the two on one grip, highlighting that it matters which hand grabs the sleeve, as you want to be able to push it across their body.

I didn't talk about the collar and elbow or the deep grip, as that didn't seem to fit as well as the other stuff. However, it's good material, so I just need to think where it is best to show. Maybe as part of a lesson on the deep grip choke, the scissor sweep, something like that which relies on those grips? I'll leave it here in case I want to use it again:

Another handy grip you can establish from there is a collar and elbow grip. There are various attacks you can do with that, the most common of which are probably armbars, scissor and push sweeps. I then suggested double wrist control (emphasising to keep your elbows close to your sides for added leverage), which meant I could emphasise the two main types of sleeve grips: either make a pocket with your thumb and insert your four fingers (rather than putting four fingers inside the sleeve or trouser cuff: that's not only competition illegal, it's dangerous), or get a pistol grip, where you grab a heap of cloth in your fist.

Yet another option is to grab their trousers by their knee, the other hand on their sleeve. This again can be useful for sweeps. It also helps to stop them getting a knee into your tailbone, as you can use that grip on the knee to bounce your hips back over their knee. It might also make them nervous, as they'll assume you're setting something up, whether or not you actually are. That’s when they’re liable to make mistakes which you can then exploit to your advantage.

25/01/2017 - Teaching | Closed Guard | Triangle Escapes

Teaching #623
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 25/01/2017

The best two ways to escape submissions are the two answers nobody wants to hear: don't get caught in the first place, or tap. There isn't much more to be said about the latter, but in terms of the former, from a closed guard perspective, there is plenty. To begin, you want good posture, keeping your head up. To submit you from closed guard, your partner will generally need to get control of your head (e.g., that's a key part of the triangle and most other chokes, it's important for armbars too). You also need to be careful where you're putting your arms, in particular the position of your elbows. If your elbows are behind their legs, then they will have a lot of trouble submitting you. Therefore whenever you feel at risk of a submission, attempting to bring your elbows back is probably going to help.

Looking specifically at the triangle, there are three escapes I will try, early, middle and late. The early option is to rely on posture. When they go for the triangle but haven't yet locked anything up, explode upwards and maintain a strong upright posture. To get their legs over your head, they necessarily need to bring your head down: if they can't do that, then they can't triangle you from guard. Also, make certain that you are never in a position where you have one arm inside their legs and the other out, unless the elbow of that one arm is safely behind their legs (e.g., in certain variations of underhook passes).

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 27, 2017 at 5:39am PST

Once they've begun to lock on the triangle but haven't fully cinched it in, the middle escape option I like to try is grabbing their top knee (i.e., of the leg that is over their other leg). Drive that to the ground, then getting your bum high in the air, push all your weight through that knee. The aim is to pop open their lock, in order to free your head and arm from the triangle. Finally, the late option when all else fails and they are getting tight is to stack them up as much as you can, walking your leg around until you can step it over their head. Using the leverage of your leg against their head, again try to pop open their legs to escape.

Whenever you manage to break open the lock, be careful that they can't switch to another submission. If you leave your arm extended (perhaps because you've been pushing on them to desperately create some leverage), they may well grab that to move into an armbar, or possibly swivel into an omoplata. The armbar, triangle and omoplata all combine into a flowing sequence, meaning you need to stay vigilant you aren't leaving yourself open to a second submission attempt in the process of escaping the first one.

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Teaching Notes: My 'general' section at the start was to tell people to keep their head up and elbows back. I find that's a useful principle to keep in mind with pretty much any escape, plus it doesn't take long to quickly point that out. I guess I could drop it in future, but I'll see how my submission escape lessons go. On the middle escape, I'll emphasise driving the knee to the mat and getting your bum in the air. People were staying too low, meaning they weren't getting as much weight through the knee as they could. It would also be worth highlighting that you don't have to actually break the legs open. You just need enough space to bring your arm back, then you can turn it into a pass.

On the late escape, I'll point out that you follow the leg that steps over with your other knee, to help your balance. I.e, the knee will go to their bum, hip etc, depending how far your other leg steps and how long your limbs are.

24/01/2017 - Open Mat (Tuesday)

Class #796
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK -24/01/2017

Sparring yesterday, I was repeatedly going for the kimura again but not quite getting there. Good defence by Mat J as always. From closed guard, I'm continuing to focus on angles, grip breaks and posture: I mustn't forget about shoulder clamp. I'll teach that again next month from butterfly to help remind myself. ;)

Today, I did a bit of sparring with Heidi, who is becoming an increasingly useful training partner. I tried to practice Sam knee shield, plus I want to drill that reverse de la Riva stuff from JJS. That spar gave me a chance to practice my modified spider guard too, where I'm trying to make sure I switch from pushing my foot into their arm and then into their hip, in order to keep them off balance. That ended up in the tripod sweep a few times, which is perfect as that's one of my favourite sweeps. I'm not sure if that just tends to happen with Heidi, but I'll continue playing with the arm/hip switch.

We also talked at length about stacking in passes, how that can turn into a choke, as well as defending. Matt had another interesting tip from Faria, who just slightly lifts his head on underhook passes rather than moving round to the side. The idea is to avoid them blocking into the hip, then pushing the leg out of the way with your hand/shoulder. I don't like lifting the head as I don't want to give them space, but a very small, gradual lift should be ok. Something to try.

23/01/2017 - Teaching | Closed Guard | Triangle

Teaching #622
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 23/01/2017

There are lots of ways to set up the triangle, which is one of the fundamental submissions in BJJ. The name comes from the 'triangle' shape you form with your legs, capturing their neck and one arm inside that structure. The basic process is:

1. Get their head and one of their arms inside your legs
2. Put your ankle behind your knee to 'lock' the triangle
3. Squeeze your legs into their carotid arteries on either side of their neck.

Of course, there is much more detail to a successful triangle than that, which I'll break down in the rest of this post.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 25, 2017 at 4:06am PST

For the first stage (entry), the simplest option is probably to grab both their wrists (or you could try their forearms) with your same side hands. Push their arm into their stomach, while clamping the other to your chest. You can then bring your hips up in order to fling your leg (on the same side as the arm you've pushed back) over their shoulder, locking your feet by the top of their back. Your thigh presses into their neck. The important thing is to clear that hand and arm you've shoved into their stomach, so that you're ready to move into the triangle.

If you can drive your knee into the inside of the arm you want to clear, that can work too: in Gracie Combatives, Rener pushes into their bicep/crook of their elbow with his knee, grabs the wrist, then kicks over to get into position. Alternatively, he also shows how you can circle your leg around the arm to get your leg past. There are many other entries and not just from guard: the triangle is possible from pretty much every other position in BJJ too, whether that's the back, mount or side control.

Once you've got their head and arm trapped between your legs, it's also helpful to move their arm across your body, though not essential. You can still choke them without that arm across, it just tends to be more difficult. Triangle expert Ryan Hall repeatedly states that it isn't necessary, because you're choking them by pressing their shoulder into their neck, not the lower part of their arm (remember, to choke you are pressing into both carotid arteries on either side of the neck. With the triangle, on one side their shoulder blocks the artery, the other is blocked by your leg).

He demonstrates how you can still choke them even if their arm is on the other side. Still, it isn't 'wrong' to bring the arm across, particularly if you are going for a choke where you're square-on, as per the traditional triangle method. The point Hall makes is that you should never prioritise pulling the arm across rather than controlling the head.

That's because controlling the head is absolutely key. Ideally, you want to pull their head into your belly button rather than your chest, to really break down their posture. If they are able to lift their head up, they can regain an upright posture. So, be sure you have some kind of control over their posture before you attempt the triangle. If they are sat fully upright with strong posture, you're going to struggle to get a triangle from there: a different technique would be advisable.

Once you have their posture broken down and their head and arm between your legs, you want to lock that in place. When locking your legs in this second stage (locking), you can sometimes move straight into a locked triangle. If not, especially if you have shorter legs like me, stick with a secure 'diamond' leg formation rather than a sloppy half-locked triangle. From there, pull on your shin to bring your ankle behind your knee, swivelling off at an angle if necessary. Be sure you don't lock over your toes: it must be your ankle. If your leg is locked on your toes, they have a chance to knock your leg off them. More importantly, if you press down while locked over you toes, you're in danger of injuring your ankle.

You might well find you need to adjust to get your legs locked. Opening your guard to do that is easier, which will enable you to push off their hip with your locking leg foot. However, be careful that you don't give them space to escape when you open. You can maintain control by grabbing the leg you have over the back of their head, meaning that you are replacing the control your leg provided with equivalent control from your arm. Ryan Hall doesn't like to unlock his legs at all, but then he has long legs.

You also need to have your neck leg right across the back of their neck, rather than angling down their back. If it is part way down their back, you are no longer pressing into their neck: their body will get in the way of your choke. Similarly, your locking leg does not want to be obstructed by their shoulder. You therefore don't want to see their shoulder once the triangle is locked in: try and get your leg past it, or simply push their trapped shoulder back a little, in order to get your legs more tightly on their carotid arteries. If they have a lot of shoulder inside your legs, that's a chance for them to drive forward and dig out some room to breathe.

Having locked the triangle, you now have two main options for the third stage (finishing). The traditional way to complete the choke is to squeeze your abductors (i.e., the muscles of your inner thighs) into their neck. At this point, you might also want to raise your hips and/or pull down on their head for some extra pressure. Other little details that can help are pulling your toes back to tense your calves, meaning more pressure on their carotid arteries. Angling your locking leg outwards can also help increase that pressure, a nifty tip from Mike Fowler.

The other main option, which again comes from Ryan Hall, is to instead use what he calls the 'stomp and curl' method. The reason for his preference is that he says this uses larger muscle groups than the abductors, which tend to be comparatively weak. First, he attains a perpendicular angle, meaning he is looking at his opponent's ear rather than their face. From there, he can now kick forwards with his neck leg (the stomp) while pulling down with his locking leg (the curl).

Perpendicular angles are good for smaller people too, as it makes it harder for the opponent to stack you (I'll talk more about stacking in a moment) because you aren't straight on. The easiest way to get a perpendicular angle is hooking under their free arm, then grabbing around your own knee. This also has the advantage of clamping you in place: should they try to square back up, you'll stay where you are as they move. There's a second benefit too in that they can no longer use that arm to create a frame by linking their hands, which they could otherwise use to press into your hips and make space.

You can also grab right under their body and link your hands, though it is unlikely you'll be able to get to that extreme position. Hooking under their leg is another option, but normally you won't have the space to do that. However, it is important to remember the leg grabbing option. That is the best way to stop yourself from being slammed when triangling, so should you want to use a triangle in a situation where slamming might take place, it would be very advisable to hook a leg.

You may find you keep getting stacked, particularly if you are square on. However, as Renzo Gracie teaches, even with that style of triangle you can submit a larger opponent. The key is preventing them from driving into you and curling your body. Renzo's method is to brace his arms against his knee and shin, something I was first shown by my old training partner, Howard. Should they continue to drive forward, all they are doing is extending themselves, which makes it easier for you to choke them.

BJ Penn teaches something similar, which he refers to as the 'triangle sprawl out'. This time, instead of straight-arming into your own leg, you're going to wriggle back, then come up on your elbows and finally your hands. From here, keep moving backwards until they are almost lying down in front of you, making sure your triangle lock around their head is still tight. To apply the submission, drive your legs down as your lean your upper body forwards.

Generating that habit of moving backwards to stop yourself being crunched up is a good habit in general for the triangle, whether or not you're going for the Renzo or BJ Penn finishes above. It is less of an issue if you have attained a perpendicular angle, but sometimes you might find you need to shoulder-walk back in order to get the space to create that angle.

Finally, keep in mind that the triangle combines very well with the armbar. You will often find that when somebody is defending an armbar, they focus so much on freeing their arm that they when they yank it free, they forget their other arm is still inside your legs. That's the perfect time to swing your leg to the other side of their head and lock up a triangle. Even better, you can still attack the elbow joint from within the triangle, applying choking pressure while also going for the armlock.
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Teaching Notes: I talked a lot about head control, but as ever people still forget. It is natural for people to grab the arm and forget about the head. I tried just saying it over and over again, but next time, I will also have a think about other ways to really emphasise it. The other usual problem people have is swivelling around enough. I will again emphasise about grabbing the shin (and not grabbing the foot to adjust, a safety point), pushing off with the other foot to get the angle. I showed it again to somebody at the open mat on Tuesday, where he understood it straight away. It's of course easier to get the points across one to one, but still, I'd like to think about streamlining the way I teach this, make it as memorable as possible.

22/01/2017 - Open Mat | Mini GrappleThon

Class #795
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - -22/01/2017

I don't often do mini-grapplethons, but unusually I've done two in the last few months. I don't want to do too many of them, as I don't want to diffuse the focus too much: the main one needs to stay the focus, also to avoid people getting confused. However, I was keen to do this one, for me if nothing else. Like most of the world, I was very unhappy at the US election. Instead of just getting depressed about it, I wanted to turn that negative energy towards something positive. Hence why I thought I'd do a mini-grapplethon near to the inauguration, with all donations going to Planned Parenthood (as their funding will take a hit under the new administration). If you want to donate, then you can do that here (we picked the Indiana branch, but there are plenty of other branches who could use the funding too, of course).

For mini-grapplethons, I just use the slot we've already got booked on Sundays, which gave us three hours to roll. I still haven't got back into rolling normally, which I need to to do. I was in a good habit of filming regularly after class in November and December, but it's slipped due to christmas, a holiday in Spain, then getting over a cough. January has been busy, which makes doing it harder too, but now that I seem to be getting back to full health, I need to start it up again. It doesn't help that I seem to have mashed up my fingers, due to working a lot on open guard with a strong grip. It's tricky to find something that is both effective but also has longevity: it's no use if I develop a guard that works, but relies on grips that destroy my fingers (as then I won't be able to grip). ;)

I did get in a proper roll today, which was good. I played with kimuras, but I think I kept spinning the wrong way to finish them off properly. I did eventually turn one of those attempts into an armbar, though that was at least partially because my partner almost fell off the mat. Quite possible they would have got into a better position to escape if it had been in the middle of the mat. :)

20/01/2017 - Teaching | Closed Guard | Armbar (Step on the Hip)

Teaching #621
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 20/01/2017

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 19, 2016 at 1:59am PST

For this fundamental attack from the guard, you first need to get control of their arm. There are numerous ways to do this, but in the interests of keeping things simple for drilling, a straightforward option is to grab their opposite tricep with your hand, then pull that across your body. You're then going to put your same side foot on their hip, clamping the knee of that leg behind their shoulder (essentially you're trying to take away their space, as well as blocking them from easily pulling their arm backwards).

If they're wearing a gi, grab their opposite collar with your free hand (keeping a firm hold of their arm with your other hand) and pull them down. If it's nogi, grab their head. Next, kick your free leg into their armpit, aiming to further break their posture and get your leg across their back. You're also going to use that to swivel your own body away from their trapped arm and get a better angle. From here, you can then push their head out of the way with your head/collar grip.

That should make it easier to bring your hip-pushing leg over their head. Slide the arm you're using to control their arm up towards their wrist. At this point, you can switch to grasping their wrist with your hand if necessary. Squeeze your knees together, lift your hips and pull down gradually on their wrist for the tap.

A common problem is that your partner will 'stack' you up onto your shoulders, making it difficult (though not impossible) to finish the technique. This is a common problem with the triangle too. To prevent that situation, push with your legs, as well as really knocking your partner's posture when you kick across with the armpit leg. You can also 'walk' back on your shoulders to recover a more extended position if they are squashing you. Finally, angling the leg you have by their head can help (like on Adam Adshead's old DVD), as that makes it tougher for them to push into you.

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Teaching Notes: After teaching both the triangle and the armbar, this one appears to stick better. The main stumbling blocks are similar to the triangle, in that people often forget about head control and/or don't swivel around far enough. I've got a bunch of other variations I can teach (largely thanks to that great class Chris Haueter taught on armbar in Leuven last year), so I must remember to add those in too occasionally. This still feels like the central one to go for, though that might just be because it's the one I'm most familiar with.

18/01/2017 - Teaching | Closed Guard | Double Underhook Pass

Teaching #620
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 18/01/2017

A similar option to the single underhook is the double underhook pass, also known as a stack pass (and probably a bunch of other things). The main difference is that you're putting both your arms under their legs instead of just one. As soon as you can create enough space in their closed guard, slip your arms underneath both legs. Grasp around the outside and secure a gable grip (palm to palm), or an s-grip (four fingers clasped together). If you prefer, you can instead grip their trousers and lock your elbows, or indeed their belt: the problem with those grips is that the loose fabric may provide them with enough space that they can make room to escape.

Whichever grip you prefer, you now want to stack your opponent, driving forward off your toes. To get them in position for stacking, the two basic methods are to either pull them up onto your hips using your thighs as a ramp, or move forwards so you're close behind them and they are rolled up onto their shoulders. If you don't get them stacked and therefore leave space between their hips and yours, then they can still use their legs to stop you, such as by hooking under your thighs with their insteps. They will also try to walk back on their shoulders to make space: stack them and remove any space to prevent them. Once you've got them stacked, the aim is again to push their knee right into their face.

At that point, the process becomes much the same as the single underhook pass, as like before, you'll grab their opposite collar (or shoulder, if it's nogi or you can't get the grip you want) with one of your hands, sliding your fingers inside. That is just one grip, as you could also reach behind their head. An even tighter option is to reach behind their head and grab the shoulder. In that situation, be careful you don't start neck cranking with a 'can opener' (a crude technique from closed guard where you pull their head towards you), as that's illegal in most competitions for a reason.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 23, 2017 at 4:34am PST

Once again establish a wide base with your feet, while with the other hand you can hold the back of their trousers and lift their hips. Remember, it is important to keep maintaining heavy downwards pressure throughout this pass. Keep pushing until eventually you drive past their leg and transition to side control: don't raise your head, just keep pushing until you slide past, nudging with your shoulder if necessary.

Quite often, they will try to block your pass by bracing a hand against your hip. To remove that arm, bring your nearest knee either inside or outside their arm, pressing into the side of their elbow. That should collapse their arm. On the inside is easier: collapse the arm, trapping it with your leg, then slide into side control. If you go outside, you'll need to shift so that you slide towards their legs instead, keeping your torso low. Once you're passed, you can then readjust into side control.

Another option you should always keep in mind when passing is that you can always try changing direction and going around to the other side. This can be particularly effective if they are heavily committed to blocking your pass on one side. If you're able to quickly shift to the other side, they will probably find it difficult to reset and block that other side in time.

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Teaching Notes: Next time, I'll talk more about dropping the hip as well as the shoulder, pressuring down and moving round. I don't tend to teach this one as much, because of the pressure it can put on the neck, but it's useful as an occasional addition to the single underhook pass. Most of the time though, I prefer the single underhook, though I do want to try Matt H's Faria version next time, where you don't move around so much. Instead, it's more of a slight lift of the head and gradually knocking the leg across. If you don't move around, they can't jam a hand into your hip, though normally I find that turn is a major part of the pass (hence why I'm interested in trying a version that changes that bit).

18/01/2017 - Teaching | Women's Class (Lisa will teach them from next week on)

Teaching #619
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 18/01/2017

There were two new women in class tonight, which is awesome. Hopefully they're able to make it back. We've also had a lot of new women pop down to other classes (including the nogi class on Sundays, which Paul teaches at the moment), so that bodes well. It is January, which generally means a rush of new people who don't always stick around (although interestingly there wasn't much of a January spike last year), but we'll see. Either way, it was cool to introduce some basic techniques to new people, going with a double underhooks pass, then a simple sit-up sweep to give people on the bottom something to try for. Lisa is teaching the class again next week, something else I'm hoping will become a regular thing. :)

Update: Hooray, it will indeed! Excited to announce that Lisa will be the women's class teacher going forward, with support from some of the experienced female Artemis BJJ students when she's away (e.g., Kirsty W). I am really pleased, this has been a huge goal for me ever since I started the women's class two and a bit years ago. :D

16/01/2017 - Teaching | Closed Guard | Single Underhook Pass

Teaching #618
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/01/2017

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.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 20, 2017 at 5:38am PST

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: Things to emphasise next time would be really driving their knee towards their face, as a few people were going sideways. Also, somebody asked during drilling about dropping your knee. I think they probably meant turning the hip, as you wouldn't want to put your knee right on the ground. I included the kneeling break in this class, but I think that caused confusion. It's probably better to have the kneeling break in it's own class, perhaps combined with the standing break? Otherwise people get stuck on breaking the guard open, particularly when there is some resistance added in.

Also, from what Matt H said at a later open mat, you could try the Faria option where you don't come around so much. Instead, Faria likes to very slightly lift his head and gradually knock their leg out of the way, even pulling it with his hand. The idea is to avoid them having the chance to block with their arm into the hip. Worth a try, though it runs counter to a central part of how I normally teach this (turning and driving through the shoulder). Something to play with in sparring, at least. :)

15/01/2017 - Open Mat

Class #794
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - -15/01/2017

I'm still pushing through the tail end of a cough from Spain, so today I just helped people out. Good to be back on the mats though, lots of new people, hooray for January! :)

I've got various plans for the rest of closed guard month, mainly adding in some submission defence. I haven't taught much of that before, so I'll go through the armbar and triangle, then show some ways to escape or at least defend them. I'm not sure if I'll do individual focused lessons on each submission, or a general 'submission defence' lesson yet. The latter could be more conceptual stuff about posture, keeping your elbows back etc. I'll have a think.

Lo Pagan, Spain, 5th-14th Jan 2017

I've been to Spain many times now, a country I've come to enjoy more and more. It has wonderful art (Goya being my favourite Spanish painter), gorgeous architecture (like the Alhambra in Granada and the Alcazar in Seville) and the weather fits well with the British winter. While it was -4 degrees Celsius in Bristol the morning I went to the airport, arriving into Murcia it was a temperate 16.

For me, that's perfect. Even better was the apartment where I'd be staying for ten days had an impressively well placed balcony. Due to the angle and height, it became a sun trap. That meant while I was sat on the balcony in my shorts, looking very summery, confused Spaniards were staring up, bundled in their winter coats. They probably thought I looked a right prat, but I didn't care: summer time! :D

The apartment was in a town a short distance from Murcia Airport, Lo Pagan. Be aware that the taxis appear to be rather expensive: we paid €25 for a 10-15 minute journey. He initially claimed it was no more than €20, then alleged our flat was further than he'd expected and tacked on the extra. That's to be expected with airport taxis though, they are almost always more expensive than normal.

If you're looking for WiFi (I'm always looking for WiFi), it's available at plenty of cafes, bars and hotels, such as Hotel Traina. On the waterfront, there is a large flag advertising free WiFi: that seems to work quite well. It also appears to be genuinely free, surprisingly, without even the usual sign-up page trying to harvest your email.

Lo Pagan is famous for its salt pools, filled with mineral rich mud. I had a brief paddle through the chilly waters, but the mud feels fantastic on your feet. There is also a large shallow lagoon, which would be perfect for swimming if it was slightly later in the year. As it was, the water was freezing cold. I went in anyway and forced myself (slowly) for a rather bracing swim.

A video posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jan 14, 2017 at 6:34am PST

In my many trips to Spain, I have never gone as early as this in the year, meaning I had my first experience of the Spanish 'Fiesta de los Reyes' (Holiday of the Kings). I had not realised what a huge deal it was in Spain. Lo Pagan is a small place, but the parade was comparatively huge. It began with several cars lugging huge sound systems, preceded by an assortment of lavishly costumed figures. The first few were Disney characters, then what appeared to be the entire primary and secondary school intake of Lo Pagan performing choreographed dance routines to cheesy seasonal music.

Bringing up the rear were the kings themselves, each with their own continental flavour. First up was the Asian king, sat in a pagoda with a tiger. Next was Melchor (or Gazpar? Can't remember which is which), representing Europe, then finally Balthasar for Africa, who appeared to be in blackface, somewhat disturbingly. Each king was flanked by several women in leotards and sparkly tops, along with an assortment of large cardboard boxes. As floats ambled down the streets, the king and their attendants were reaching into those boxes and flinging sweets at the streets lined with children and their parents.

I was in the first row or two, so I got repeatedly hit in the face with some of those sweets. You also need to watch your footing, as the floor swarms with children scrabbling for bonbons, many of whom were carrying large bags to maximise later sugar-guzzling. It was an odd experience, to say the least. Still, as somebody who loves christmas, I like that in Spain it extends through to early January. ;)

Lo Pagan is very flat, meaning it's perfect for bikes. There are plenty of places to rent a bike for one or more days. I paid €12 for a day (10am through to 5:30pm), which was plenty of time to fit in everything I wanted to see. Cycling up around the salty lagoons is perfect if you want a slow, relaxed amble around some beautiful scenery. You can head all the way up, bu if you want a circular route, the way back is trickier. If your bike wheels are thick enough, you can return via the beach, but there are a few sections heavy with seaweed and/or thicker sand that make that tougher going. It is doable though, and cycling past the sea is cool. I've never cycled down a beach before, probably because I've never been on a bike with super thick tyres before.

A video posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jan 14, 2017 at 5:53am PST

Should you wonder what those windmills (molinos) are doing, they were built in the early 1900s. Their role was to fill the salt marshes with water, according to the leaflet. It mentions two of these by name, Molino de Quintin and Molino de la Calcetera, though I don't know if that means there are only two of them. Either way, they certainly add to the scenery, putting me in mind of Dutch landscape painting. On the one hand that's random, as I don't see much similarlity between South European Spain and North European Netherlands, but then again, both Lo Pagan and Holland are flat and full of bikes.

This area is all part of a nature reserve, the Salinas de San Pedro, declared a national park in 1985. It's full of specially designed cycle routes, or you can also hike if you prefer. Along those routes are a range of different birds, from black-headed gulls to kentish plovers and avocets. The big draw are the flamingoes, normally white (IIRC my Attenborough documentaries correctly, the pink comes from the algae they eat elsewhere), but you do see pink ones during migrations.

As it is so calm and shallow, that also makes the area perfect for water sports. Or at least, my introduction to water sports. I'm not a big fan of the sea, but I like swimming pools and lakes, particularly when they are clean and flat like the Mar Menor. There's a large watersports centre a short walk from where we were staying, SeaWorld Pinatar, which was offering windsurfing lessons.

The centre has only been around since May 2016, so is still building up its profile. That's probably why we were able to get a 2 hour windsurfing lesson quite cheap, at only €30 each. After running through the terminology, our instructor (Fran, I'm guessing short for Francisco?) set us loose on the water.

A photo posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jan 16, 2017 at 4:07am PST

You want to make sure your back is always to the wind. When initially getting onto the board, there should be a little white wedge sticking up. That has a 70cm bit underneath that tells you when you're too close to the lakebed. Push the white thing down with your back foot (the one nearer the blue bit on the board that doesn't rise up), keeping your front foot (nearer the nose, which is white and tilts upwards) in line. Make sure your front foot doesn't go beyond the white line, or move out of line.

Bend at the knees to keep your balance, adusting your feet if necessary, but always returning to that in-line position. To lift up the sail, grab the elastic bright thing (I can't remember the name) and yank it upright. You're then going to grab the boom (the bar that circles all the way around the sail) with your hand nearest the nose, reaching across your body. Your other hand grabs the boom lower down on the same side, alternately pulling it in towards you and letting go (like opening and closing a door).

The hardest part was getting the board to turn around. You can either tack (turning behind you) or jibe (turning in front). I didn't quite get the technique for this, but managed to get something workable. I dropped the sail down a little and jerkily moved around the sail until I had my feet aligned the other way. It worked, but I don't think I was doing it right. I do know you're meant to keep your arms straight, though, that helped.

I'm not sure if I'll windsurf again, but I'm glad I tried it. If I ever try more watersports, this is the best place for me. When you fall off the board, you can easily land on your feet in the shallow waters, so I only rarely got a faceful of cold seawater. Good teaching by Fran too, I can recommend him if you're in the area. ;)

CARTAGENA

If you know your ancient history, then you might think the name Cartagena sounds a bit like Carthage. That's no accident, as the city can boast of a Carthaginian founder, Hasdrubal, back in the 3rd century BCE. It was later conquered by Scipio during the second Punic War, renamed New Carthage. There would be an Islamic period some further centuries down the line, part of the great Moorish history of Southern Spain, before Cartagena gained its current name.

Fortunately for posterity, much of that history has remained relatively intact. After arriving into Cartagena on the bus (it took us a little under an hour from Lo Pagan), the Punic Wall (Muralla Punica) is a short walk from the station. In there you can buy a combined ticket for €12 which gets you access to three sites run by Cartagena Puerto de Culturas: the Punic Wall, the Roman Theatre (Museo Teatro Romano) and the Roman Forum (Barrio Foro Molinete).

A video posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jan 15, 2017 at 7:34am PST

All three of those have been beautifully presented, partly because they have only recently been pushed as tourist sights. The wall has a large, well appointed centre around it, so although the actual wall isn't all that extensive, there is loads of info about it. The introductory video is really good and packed with useful knowledge, unlike many others I've seen. You also get entry into a much later crypt, within the same building.

There was also a special treat perfectly calibrated for my tastes, as it heavily appealed to my nostalgia: a historical diorama made of Playmobil. This appears to be a city-wide project as it popped up elsewhere, too. At the Punic Wall centre, the Playmobil figures were re-enacting Hannibal crossing the Alps, along with a typical scene from ancient Cartagena, showing the wall in action.

Another short walk gets you to the Roman Forum, parts of which are still being uncovered and restored. Again, there is plenty of information to read with several interactive videos. The forum is split into three main sections, starting with the baths at the far left after you enter. The peristyle is in the middle, then finally the atrium building at the far right.

A raised walkway provides a view over the whole forum, then tucked away near the entrance is a set of stairs, matched by another slightly further down. These both lead into the forum itself, one to the baths, the other to the atrium. Once again, you're also treated to a Playmobil diorama, this time celebrating the nativity. Whoever made these (the label on the front reads 'SuresClick': I'm not sure if that's a person, a group or a company) has an entertaining sense of humour, as they dotted anachronistic figures throughout, turning it into a kind of Playmobil 'Where's Wally'.

The last option on our combined ticket was the best, rightly regarded as the highlight in Cartagena: the Roman Theatre. Not only is it magnificently preserved and restored, with a commanding view of the city, it also has an intriguing backstory. Up until the late 1980s, the theatre had been buried under successive centuries of urban sprawl. There were houses up the steps, then even a church built out of the side.

A video posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jan 16, 2017 at 3:10am PST

For over a thousand years, it had been forgotten there was even a theatre here, until it was uncovered just a few decades ago. Since then, it has been transformed into an excellent giant museum piece. There is extensive information about the various stages the theatre has been through, its excavation, plus a number of artefacts retrieved by archaeologists (such as a fine set of vases depicting Juno/Hera, Jupiter/Zeus and I think Minerva/Athena).

It was especially cool to get all three of these sites initially to ourselves, as we got there early. It is also off-season at the moment, though as far as I'm aware, even in peak season Cartagena isn't a major tourist mecca when compared to the Costa del Sol. Hopefully it stays that way, but the attractions as so good I am sure numbers will continue to rise.

Our last stop in Cartagena was the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, which as it isn't run by that company does not feature on the combined ticket. It's only €3, though it is also quite small: if you want to get in free, go on a weekend. This is very much an educational museum, where almost all the content is geared towards teaching you just what underwater archaeology involves.

A video posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jan 15, 2017 at 8:59am PST

Everything is one massive room, with the description of underwater archaeology taking up one side as you walk down a long ramp, then moving into descriptions of the ancient Punic, Greek and Phoenician civilisations that impacted Cartagena. That includes interactive videos describing naval terminology, trade routes, shipbuilding and the like, along with cross-sections of ships along the far wall.

You'll also learn how to tie knots (that Hercules Knot looks handy, I'll try that next time I have two bits of string to tie together), smell different trade goods (like vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon) and learn about amphora. I had wondered what the pointy section at the bottom was for, which the museum explains meant they could be stacked efficiently in a boat (with a lifesize example to demonstrate).

04/01/2017 - Teaching | Closed Guard | Kneeling Break & Knee Slide

Teaching #617
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 04/01/2017

First thing I wanted to cover was posture. Stay upright, with your head up. Curving your back slightly, arching it like a cat (so, convex rather than concave), can help too. Don't let them bend your arms: keep at least one of them stiff into their hip. It is important to control their hips, as they need to angle off to attack effectively (though there are other methods, like Christian Graugart's 'samurai sword' grip, where both arms are near the chest). Your other hand is ready to push them down if they attempt to raise their torso towards you, or more typically, gripping both collars and keeping their back on the mat.

Be aware that you don't want to extend that arm too far or they can break your posture: it's also likely that they will primarily be looking to dislodge your arm and gain control of it, so be ready to disengage and then quickly re-engage the grip. Having said that, there are numerous other ways of posturing up, so it's good to experiment.

A video posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 16, 2017 at 3:43am PST

For a strong base, widen your knees, sitting on your heels. Alternatively, you could try squeezing your knees to their hips to stop them moving, but that will result in a less sturdy base. Make sure you do not put your elbows on the outside of their legs: keep them inside, or they can start kicking up into your armpit for triangles, armbars, flower sweeps etc.

A key detail is to come up on your toes. This will feel uncomfortable at first, but it provides you with much better base than having your insteps flat on the floor. With your toes up, you can resist their attempts to pull you around. It also enables you to drive forward and improves your mobility.

Another way they'll be looking to disrupt your base is to angle their hips away. To prevent that, you can simply follow them, making sure you keep squaring back up so they don't have that attacking angle anymore. You could also try caging their hips by squeezing your knees together, but that can result in a less stable base.

In order to attack, they are going to want to disrupt your base and break your posture down. The first way they'll probably do that is to establish a strong grip, on your sleeve and collar. You don't want that, so try to strip any grips before beginning your pass. Not to say that it's impossible to pass if they've got grips, but you'll find it easier if they don't.

If they grab your collar, you can use both of your hands to grab either side of that sleeve or wrist. Push it forcefully away from you, while simultaneously leaning back slightly. Another option is to put both your hands on their gripping arm, trapping it to their torso. Posture up forcefully to break the grip. Alternatively, you could try simply re-establishing your grips on their collar and hip over the top of their arms, meaning you can press your arms into theirs. That way, it's possible to use arm pressure to loosen their grips to the point they become less effective.

The basic method of opening from the knees starts by setting up your own grips, grabbing both collars with one hand, by their chest, your other hand by their hip. Dónal has a handy tip about twisting up those two collars, rolling them over each other so that there is no slack when you grip, though that may sometimes be tough to secure.

Also try to jam your palm or fist into their sternum to lock it in place. Regarding your hand on the hip, measure your gripping position by bringing your elbow back to their knee. Once your elbow gets to their knee, grab whatever trouser material is then under your hand, pressing your weight through that hand into the mat to try and pin their hips.

From there, get your knee underneath their butt cheek, meaning they are slightly raised up onto your leg. Your other knee slides out to the side, so you're now making a right angle with your two knees. Still keeping your back curved, slowly wriggle backwards, shifting your sideways knee back and continuing to wriggle until you can pop open their ankles. As soon as you do, immediately shove their leg to the mat with your elbow and/or hand, then begin your pass.

Saulo's version, as per that earlier picture, has the knee off to the side with the leg stretched out, using a sort of dip rather than relying on scooting back. As ever in jiu jitsu, there are numerous variations: you can reach your destination following a multitude of paths. Tonight, I went with the knee cut, starting from a low position rather than the standing start I normally go from.
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Teaching Notes: I should add that break as a drill, to get people more used to it. With the knee slide, I taught a very low one. I think it's best to pin with the leg first, in terms of the order. This also relates to what Neil Owen taught, in his sequence: I'll be teaching the rest of it too.

In sparring, when sweeping I also forget to nab the hand, probably because I don't like gripping sleeves. That means I need to get people at underhooking the arm. It was also great to spar with Tad, as it's been a long time. I tried to various grips, trying to be careful of my fingers, eventually getting caught in a triangle. I went for the triangle defence where you grab the knee and drive, which gave me enough space, but then got armbarred instead. Worth remembering about trailing arms. ;)