27/03/2019 - Teaching | Back | Bridging back escape

Teaching #848
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 27/03/2019

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Mar 29, 2018 at 12:14am PDT

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.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Mar 29, 2018 at 10:50pm PDT

You can then continue, pushing off your leg, 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 they have moved you to the 'wrong' side, still get your head to the mat, but use that to bridge, then walk your feet back across.

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A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 11, 2019 at 1:03am PDT

When on the 'right' side (facing away from their choking arm), 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.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 2, 2018 at 1:37am PDT

To deal with their hooking foot, twist your hips towards it to pop it off. If that doesn't work, reach your other foot over and push it off. There is also the option of pushing it off with your hand, but take care you don't expose your neck. Once the hook is off, immediately bring your same side foot over, heel tight to their shin. That should prevent them re-establishing their hook.

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. At this point, with the arm I have nearest their head, 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.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 3, 2018 at 12:50am PDT

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: I've taught the 'move out to side control' version a number of times now, so next time I need to show the Donal version where you end up in half guard instead (either top or bottom). The side control option works fine in principle and when drilling, but tough to get in sparring. Downside is that the half guard option might be more complex? Either way, test that out for next time.

People are still tending to slide off flat on the mat, rather than keeping some weight on their partner. Emphasise pushing off the legs more, walking round.

Also, I found that what Chris P said at the camp (Nov 2019, so I'm adding this in to remind myself, time machine ;D) and bridging back straight onto them to remove seat belt, useful. That makes the Saulo scoop much more viable, as well as leaning forward to fit in with the Priit method. So, it is worth doing a SEPARATE CLASS on the scoop and Priit lean forwards.

I used to think the scoop was low percentage. The reason for that is that it's rare for your opponent to have no grips on your upper body. However, soon after teaching this lesson, I found myself using the scoop quite a lot, as a follow up to turtle. If you immediately drop, turn and go for the scoop, off of a loose turtle it can work pretty well. Again, I've been combining that with Priit's material on the turtle, fun to play with so far.

People were getting confused by the twist of the hip to get the foot off. I either get the crossface, which is easiest to explain, or put my back onto them for control. Thinking about it, the clearest way to described that is probably face up side control. You're using the same kind of pressure from the same area of your body, except that your chest is pointing up rather than than down at the mat.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 1, 2018 at 12:16am PDT

26/03/2018 - Teaching | Back | Bridging Escape

Teaching #767
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 26/03/2018

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Mar 29, 2018 at 12:14am PDT

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.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Mar 29, 2018 at 10:50pm PDT

You can then continue, pushing off your leg, 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 they have moved you to the 'wrong' side, still get your head to the mat, but use that to bridge, then walk your feet back across.

When on the 'right' side (facing away from their choking arm), 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.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 2, 2018 at 1:37am PDT

To deal with their hooking foot, twist your hips towards it to pop it off. If that doesn't work, reach your other foot over and push it off. There is also the option of pushing it off with your hand, but take care you don't expose your neck. Once the hook is off, immediately bring your same side foot over, heel tight to their shin. That should prevent them re-establishing their hook.

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. At this point, with the arm I have nearest their head, 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.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 3, 2018 at 12:50am PDT

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.
________________

Teaching Notes: Forgot about the don't cross your feet thing, I must mention that next time, along with a simple body triangle escape (as they're related). Split up stuff more too, was over 10 minutes of instruction, way too much. But useful to get the video, which is the main reason I spent that long teaching: it will be helpful in future. :D

Leaning forward seems quite useful, if super simple. That fits in with the Priit method. I included the Saulo scoop escape in there, which I haven't taught in a while as I didn't think it was high percentage. The reason for that is that it's rare for your opponent to have no grips on your upper body. However, soon after teaching this lesson, I found myself using the scoop quite a lot, as a follow up to turtle. If you immediately drop, turn and go for the scoop, off of a loose turtle it can work pretty well. Again, I've been combining that with Priit's material on the turtle, fun to play with so far.

People were getting confused by the twist of the hip to get the foot off. I either get the crossface, which is easiest to explain, or put my back onto them for control. Thinking about it, the clearest way to described that is probably face up side control. You're using the same kind of pressure from the same area of your body, except that your chest is pointing up rather than than down at the mat.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 1, 2018 at 12:16am PDT

24/04/2017 - Teaching | Back | Bridging Back Escape (To Standard Half Guard)

Teaching #654
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 24/04/2017

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 26, 2017 at 3:46am PDT

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.

You can then continue, pushing off your leg, 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 they have moved you to the 'wrong' side, still get your head to the mat, but use that to bridge, then walk your feet back across.

When on the 'right' side (facing away from their choking arm), 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. To deal with their hooking foot, twist your hips towards it to pop it off. If that doesn't work, reach your other foot over and push it off. There is also the option of pushing it off with your hand, but take care you don't expose your neck. Once the hook is off, immediately bring your same side foot over, heel tight to their shin. That should prevent them re-establishing their hook.

There are several options at this point. A simple one is to move into standard half guard, using their inclination to get to the mount against them. If you can, hook their leg with your leg, on the side you're moving away from. As they try to bring that leg over for mount, simply push it with your hands and turn on your side, moving into half guard. Make sure you get your legs above their knee, as otherwise you're essentially under half mount rather than in a half guard. If they are not trying to go to mount, you probably won't have the position for this transition, so in that situation I'd likely aim for one of the other variations, like going to side control.
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Teaching Notes: I included a quick half guard drill, which refreshed the memory of those who have done it before, but I'm not sure it was enough to introduce it to people completely new to half guard. Hopefully it still helped: it looked as though they all had a handle on it by the end of the class. In terms of the technique, I also added in the switch from the 'wrong' side, as the move into half guard is so simple that I think it leaves enough room in the lesson. Emphasise things like hooking the leg, pushing the knee through far enough. A key thing to note is that it's intended for when your partner is trying to go to mount.

21/04/2017 - Teaching | Back | Bridging Back Escape (To Deep Half Guard)

Teaching #653
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 21/04/2017

Yep, you guessed it: more back escapes tonight! This time, going to standard rather than #DeepHalfGuard. 19:30-20:30, then 30 mins of #OpenMat. #BJJ #BrazilianJiuJitsu #ArtemisBJJ #SupportWomensBJJ

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 24, 2017 at 3:48am PDT

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. To deal with their hooking foot, twist your hips towards it to pop it off. If that doesn't work, reach your other foot over and push it off. There is also the option of pushing it off with your hand, but take care you don't expose your neck. Once the hook is off, immediately bring your same side foot over, heel tight to their shin. That should prevent them re-establishing their hook.

There are several options at this point. Tonight, I went with one I don't use all that often myself, but it's useful to have in your toolbox. They will probably try to bring their leg over for mount. As they do, scoot down and shoot your arm underneath their leg, all the way to your shoulder. At the same time, wrap one leg over the top of their leg, either locking it with your other leg, or hooking your other leg under. That puts you in deep half. From here, you can work your sweeps: the simplest is to spin through to the top, staying tight.
________________

Teaching Notes: I added the drill for familiarising deep half, using the entry from technical mount. I emphasised getting the shoulder under the thigh, as before. I avoided going into too much detail on the sweep, though it is worth noting you can pop out the back (as people often end up leaning forwards loads when they're on top of deep half, especially if they haven't been in that position much before). Also, not forgetting about defending the neck. On hooking the leg, sometimes it felt like you didn't need to and could pop straight under, but I think that depends on how much they reach with their leg when trying for mount.

This isn't a variation I'd want to teach every time, especially as deep half is more complex, but it seemed to work well, so definitely one I'll add to my stores of lessons. :)

19/04/2017 - Teaching | Back | Bridging Back Escape (To Side Control)

Teaching #652
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 19/04/2017

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Apr 21, 2017 at 6:00am PDT

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. To deal with their hooking foot, twist your hips towards it to pop it off. If that doesn't work, reach your other foot over and push it off. There is also the option of pushing it off with your hand, but take care you don't expose your neck. Once the hook is off, immediately bring your same side foot over, heel tight to their shin. That should prevent them re-establishing their hook.

At this point, with the arm I have nearest their head, 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.
________________

Teaching Notes: I should perhaps go into more detail about pushing off your feet and bringing your weight onto them, for when you can't get your arm around their head in the crossface. However, be careful of the crucifix when you do that. Also, mention that when you get their hook off, you should bring your heel in tight to their shin to prevent them getting the hook back in. I'm not sure if I went through too many options for getting that hook off: there are three main options, but it may be best to stick with one for clarity.

Shoulder pressure is important to emphasise too, a few people looked like they were keeping it too loose during drilling. That's something progressive resistance drilling should sort, as they'll soon see without the pressure, it's easy for the other person to turn.

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.
________________

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.

13/05/2016 - Teaching | The Back | Back Escape

Teaching #510
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 13/05/2016

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.
_____________________

Teaching Notes: On the finish, I'm wondering if it would be best to just stick the option where you cross face and move through to side control, my preferred option. A number of people were trying to shrimp away without any weight on their partner, which could end up being problematic once resistance comes into it. In that instance, it would be better to show them the version where you move your weight onto them, then move through into top position. Maybe some kind of drill, to get that into the muscle memory?

Something else to consider was that Sam was having a lot of success blocking the escape by simply grabbing an arm and pushing it away. I'll have a play with that at open mat before I teach this next time, getting him to do it to me so I can see what kind of counters would work best, or how to avoid that block in the first place. Also, like I said last time, I'd like to fit in the 'slow motion seo-nage' thing too that Brandon Mullins does.

Annoyingly I still can't train due to kettlebell injuries: I've had two in quick succession, meaning I haven't been able to roll for most of this month now. Blah. At least my Cuba holiday should give me a chance to rest up and recover.

11/05/2016 - Teaching | Women's Class | Bridging Back Escape

Teaching #508
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 11/05/2016

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.
_____________________

Teaching Notes: One of numerous useful elements of the women's class (for me as a teacher) is that it can be an opportunity to review a technique I haven't taught for a while before the mixed class. That's what I did today, adding in the mixed class technique after the main technique. That also means that one of the students who only ever attends the women's class gets to see some of the mixed class stuff too. All good. :)

18/11/2015 - Teaching | The Back | Bridging Escape

Teaching #424
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 18/11/2015

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: This remains the standard escape I do and teach. I have been trying for a while to add something else that is a useful escape from the back, but so far this is the only one I've found to be reliable (though adding in a turtle escape works, as I've done this month). I'll be trying another one later in the week, perhaps putting in that scoop escape again later.

A detail I think I'll start adding is trapping their leg by putting your foot close to their leg after you step over, to prevent them re-establishing their hook. I also talked about bringing your weight up onto them with this technique, as you don't always have the luxury of locking in a cross-face.

However, that did mean several people were turning to top half guard instead. Which is ok, but not as good as top side control: emphasising that walk around would be worthwhile. In sparring, I was finding that the Marcelo style single hook can mess up this escape, so that's something to keep in mind

30/03/2015 - Teaching | The Back | Bridging Escape

Teaching #300
Artemis BJJ (MyGym), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/03/2015

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: I've been off sick for a week with bronchitis (Chris kindly covered Wednesday, while the women's class and Thursday ran as open mat), which has been frustrating. As much as I wanted to get back on the mats, I forced myself to be sensible and took it easy, sticking with just teaching. This is the escape I rely on, probably too much as I don't have many other reliable options. I think I could structure the teaching better on this, perhaps also putting in more detail about clearing the legs.

I suggested stiff-arming their leg with your opposite arm to start with, but perhaps going with the instinctual near arm and then switching is easier (though it does add an additional step). I'll try that next time, or at least mention it as an option. Like before, people were also having some trouble clearing the arms if it was a tight grip. I want to come up with a drill for that motion, so that's something to play with at open mat.

There are a few methods for popping their hook free. I mentioned the basic one of pushing with the arm, though I normally avoid that as it can leave you vulnerable. My preference is either a twist of the hips to pop it off, or pushing with the opposite foot. Both of those can be easier said than done, as somebody who has good back control is hard to shift. I'd really like to get in more practice at escaping the back, making my enforced absence doubly annoying. Then again, I can always get people to start on my back at open mat, something I should do more often.

11/02/2015 - Teaching | Women's Class | Escaping the Back

Teaching #276
Artemis BJJ (MyGym/Bristol Sports Centre), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 11/02/2015

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: When I previously taught this in the women's class, I was worried it was too complicated. Now that there is a core of women who have been training for a few months, that's less of an issue. As most of them have also been training in the mixed class, that all-important frame of reference is hopefully starting to build.

I think it's very important to know at least one back escape, plus I also want to teach something I'm confident is functional. The Saulo scoop is easier, but I have pretty much never used that in class because it's so rare that someone will have back control without some kind of upper body control (at least in my experience). I think everybody got the general idea, but the difficulty that cropped up a few times was the turn to the top. Getting out of the tight arm grip caused problems: it is something that I think can mostly be solved by learning how to put your weight onto them, driving off your legs.

However, like much of jiu jitsu, it's not an intuitive movement, so I need to work out a drill to help make it more familiar. A balance ball is the first thing that comes to mind, but I don't think there are enough of those around the gym to do it. I could give it a try next time anyway, though. Or some kind of two person drill for that, like the side control one where you swivel around to the other side maintaining pressure.

03/09/2014 - Teaching | Women's Class | Bridging Back Escape

Teaching #191
Artemis BJJ (Bristol Sports Centre), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 03/09/2014

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: From this lesson onwards, I'll be deviating from the Gracie Combatives structure I've drawn upon up until now, as it doesn't have enough positional coverage for my purposes (e.g., I want to make sure I'm including attacking, defending and maintaining for side control, mount, side control and guard, keeping it relatively clumped together for each position).

One thing I haven't included yet is any takedowns: one of the students asked about how you get things to the ground, so it would be worth maybe including some kind of super-basic, high percentage takedown in the warm-up. I wouldn't want a high amplitude throw, as I'm not sure I want to get in depth on stuff like breakfalls just yet. Something for me to think about: maybe the body fold? Or a simple single leg? Lots of options, though personally I'm not big on takedowns.

Tonight is probably the most complex technique I've taught so far in the women's class, especially the latter section. Teaching something to absolute beginners who have either never seen that position before or sparred from it really makes it clear when something has a lot of moving parts!

The bits that seemed to confuse people were stiff-arming into the leg using your far arm rather than the near arm. That's counter-intuitive and takes some getting used to. Reaching under the head for the cross-face control also took some time: it makes sense if you're used to cross-facing from side control and the like, but feels odd if not. The simpler drop the elbow and turn was easier to comprehend, but that did mean I also had to describe top half guard (though I think everybody picked it up: that also helped show why the cross-facing option is useful, due to the superior control it offers, at least IMO).

Looking at the picture of Xande doing a similar escape above reminds me that there is an option where you can use your near arm to grab their leg, if you're happy to move into guard rather than get on top. I prefer working for the dominant position, but going to guard is totally legitimate too. Once people have an understanding of guard, then that could be a good one to throw in. I could also try teaching that version next time, as it might reduce confusion due to using the intuitive arm.

In the interests of simplifying this particular technique further (it was even more confusing in previous lessons ;D), I've cut out a number of details from the main demonstration, saving them for drilling in case anyone needs extra pointers. So, to repaste them here, especially the second part about dealing with people remounting (I'm still not sure whether that should be in a separate lesson or not):

Due to your body slipping off to the side, they are probably going to try and come on top. To do that, they need to be able to turn their legs down and then away from you. Keep your legs in tight to block them: with your leg back, that forms an effective barrier to their efforts to turn. There are a couple of ways you can do that. The first one is hooking their top leg (if they're trying to turn on top, they'll be on their side) with your near leg. Get your foot towards your bum to lock their leg in place. Alternatively, step your near leg behind the knee of their bottom leg and pinch your own knees together.

When you are in the process of escaping, an alternative to the cross-face option I like is bringing your near elbow down past their body, on the inside. At this point, make sure you've got your outside knee angled towards them, once again for base. Shrimp away, get your near arm back, then turn straight into the leg squash pass position. I prefer to get control of the shoulder and head, so went with that option instead.

If you find they keep moving through to mount, the first option is to make sure you've got a really firm grip on their leg. You may be able to use that grip to prevent them getting to mount, as well as using it as a base point. Shrimp back and go to open guard. Alternatively, try shifting to deep half. I am not a big fan of deep half, as it is getting into the more complex territory I strive to avoid in BJJ. However, it's undeniably a useful option in this scenario.

You're attempting the escape as above, but they have managed to get their heel to your hip and you can't prevent them moving towards mount. Instead, shove their lower leg between yours, then reach underneath their bum with your near arm, reaching up and shoving their far butt cheek. That should knock them forward while simultaneously dragging you underneath.

Wrap around the outside of their leg with your bum-shoving arm, just below the knee. Hide your other arm underneath their leg, or at least tuck the elbow in tight: if their sleeve is in reach, grab it. The first thing they will try to do when you put them in deep half is underhook that hidden arm, meaning you want to take away any space for them to wedge in their arm. From there, pull their knee outwards and spin in that direction, in order to come on top and pass.

Next up in the mixed class right after, clock choke.

01/10/2013 - Teaching (Bridging Back Escape)

Teaching #126
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 01/10/2013

Start off by immediately bringing your knee up on the choking arm side. Angle it inwards, to prevent them from rolling you back the other way. 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 immobile them, see if you can use that same arm to grab their opposite sleeve, meaning you're using one arm to control both of theirs.

Due to your body slipping off to the side, they are probably going to try and come on top. To do that, they need to be able to turn their legs down and then away from you. Keep your legs in tight to block them: with your leg back, that forms an effective barrier to their efforts to turn. There are a couple of ways you can do that. The first one is hooking their top leg (if they're trying to turn on top, they'll be on their side) with your near leg. Get your foot towards your bum to lock their leg in place. Alternatively, step your near leg behind the knee of their bottom leg and pinch your own knees together.

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, which means you can bring your near elbow down past their body, on the inside. At this point, make sure you've got your outside knee angled towards them, once again for base. Shrimp away, get your near arm back, then turn straight into the leg squash pass position.

As in the simpler version, I prefer to get control of the shoulder and head. Instead of getting my elbow to the floor and turning like Dónal, 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.

If you find they keep moving through to mount, the first option is to make sure you've got a really firm grip on their leg. You may be able to use that grip to prevent them getting to mount, as well as using it as a base point. Shrimp back and go to open guard. Alternatively, try shifting to deep half. I am not a big fan of deep half, as it is getting into the more complex territory I strive to avoid in BJJ. However, it's undeniably a useful option in this scenario.

You're attempting the escape as above, but they have managed to get their heel to your hip and you can't prevent them moving towards mount. Instead, shove their lower leg between yours, then reach underneath their bum with your near arm, reaching up and shoving their far butt cheek. That should knock them forward while simultaneously dragging you underneath.

Wrap around the outside of their leg with your bum-shoving arm, just below the knee. Hide your other arm underneath their leg, or at least tuck the elbow in tight: if their sleeve is in reach, grab it. The first thing they will try to do when you put them in deep half is underhook that hidden arm, meaning you want to take away any space for them to wedge in their arm. From there, pull their knee outwards and spin in that direction, in order to come on top and pass.

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Teaching Notes: I need to streamline how I teach the first technique, as I'm over-complicating it. I cut out the detail on hooking the leg, as I can leave that to the second technique: I can probably also leave out going through multiple variations of how to protect your neck. It's possible I could continue to split the techniques like in the past, spending a lesson on each, but combining them makes sense. Whenever I've taught the first technique on its own, I've invariably seen lots of people move from the back to mount during sparring and progressive resistance.

I'm also still not as confident as I'd like with escaping the back myself. I can generally get free, but then I'm rolling with people relatively close to my size but with less experience, so that's not a true test. My back escapes continue to feel sloppy and require too much energy. On the other hand, I am getting better at remembering to stiff-arm that leg, rather than getting so defensive that I trap myself in place (but only getting better, I haven't overcome the impulse yet).

Attacking the back I wasn't doing a whole lot, though it was fun to play with switching sides on armbars (because I'd been watching a video on that in Black Belt Requirements, which I'm hoping to have finished reviewing this weekend). I also cramped up a few times, so need to remember to warm up properly before I jump into sparring.

09/08/2013 - Teaching (Bridging Back Escape When They Mount)

Teaching #118
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 09/08/2013

Geeza is away competing today, so asked if I could cover his Friday class. That meant I had the opportunity to follow up my bridging back escape lesson on Tuesday with some variations if you find they keep moving through to mount. The solution I was shown by Dónal in a private lesson was to shift to deep half. I am not a big fan of deep half, as it is getting into the more complex territory I strive to avoid in BJJ. However, it's undeniably a useful option in this scenario.

You're attempting the escape from Tuesday, but they have managed to get their heel to your hip and you can't prevent them moving towards mount. Instead, shove their lower leg between yours, then reach underneath their bum with your near arm, reaching up and shoving their far butt cheek. That should knock them forward while simultaneously dragging you underneath.

Wrap around the outside of their leg with your bum-shoving arm, just below the knee. Hide your other arm underneath their leg, or at least tuck the elbow in tight. The first thing they will try to do when you put them in deep half is underhook that hidden arm, meaning you want to take away any space for them to wedge in their arm. From there, pull their knee outwards and spin in that direction, in order to come on top and pass.

The second option is to go with the deep half sweep I learned at the University of Jiu Jitsu instead. Instead of pulling their knee outwards, hook under their ankle with your leg and lift, using that to spin to the top and initiate your pass. Normally deep half results in them having a leg behind your head, but sometimes they may be able to get it past your head. If that happens, switch your grips to instead gable grip and lock around the hip of that same leg. From there, you still want to lift up their ankle, but simply roll them backwards. Come up and use your control of their hip to transition into a single stack pass.

Berry also mentioned a cool little tip he saw on a Kurt Osiander video when we were drilling at the study hall last week. If you can reach it, use your hidden arm to grab their sleeve.

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Teaching Notes: People were having trouble with the second technique, which indicates that I wasn't teaching it well enough. If I teach it again, I need to emphasise that it is a lift of the leg rather than flick. I should also probably note the importance of trapping their leg in the first place, using the other leg before switching your outside leg underneath. However, I think I'll need to do a load more drilling to refine my understanding before I try it out a second time.

Most likely, I'll switch the way I teach escaping the back to combine the two lessons I taught this week: in other words, the same progression as the original private lessons they're based upon. I'll attempt to add in that detail about pushing off their hook with your foot when you get stuck too, as that's something I do in sparring all the time.

Sparring was useful for me, as it provided an opportunity to practice maintaining the back and setting up chokes. I'm teaching maintaining the back next week, where I'm intending to revisit the lesson on 'Marcelo maintenance' I taught last year. I like the 'hip extension' method for getting the second hook in, but I find lifting the leg to drop them back to the choking side difficult.

My preference, which I played with today, is simply switching arms. However, that's easier said than done: although I could manage it tonight, I had more experience than everybody I rolled with. Still, it seemed a potentially productive area to explore. If you can't get your arm right into the neck, just grabbing whatever material you can was helpful too.

First of all, that meant I had some control, in terms of stopping them rolling away to try and escape. Secondly, it occasionally led into chokes. Getting a firm grasp on the material immediately next to the opposite lapel was enough to then have some fabric to pull against their neck. I could then complete the choke by threading my other arm behind their head. I'm not sure that's high percentage, but I'll keep playing with it.

I like the way that kind of choke seems fairly low risk, as I can stay tight to them. I continue to find it hard to move into the bow and arrow, because I find that leaves me feeling vulnerable. I almost always leave too much space by my legs and my arms, along with that step of dropping them into the space between your legs.

Finally, I was trying to maintain control of them largely with one hook, extending that hook across to their other leg. That way I could hook under the far leg, while pressuring down with my upper leg to stymie the movement of their near leg. It also leaves my other leg free to do things like pushing down on top of their upper leg any time they attempt to wriggle out. Again, I'm not sure how effective that will be in the long run, but I'm going to keep experimenting.