Posts Tagged ‘BJJ’

5-10-11

Rolling Side Control Escape
Cutting Armbar from Side Control

Over the last few weeks (as can be seen in the class blog and the technique database) we have spent quite a bit of time on side control escapes. All of them are based on reacting to the opponent’s hand position

Side Control Escape Map
POSITION- The opponent has both hands over the far side of your body. No under-hooks.
ESCAPE- Side Control Escape to Guard

POSITION- The opponent has one hand blocking the near hip. The other hand is over the far shoulder
ESCAPE- Side Control Escape to Knees

POSITION- The opponent has an double underhooks (underhook on arm and head)
ESCAPE- Side Control Escape to Back

POSITION- The opponent has double underhooks but you can’t get the arm in for the escape to back
ESCAPE- Rolling Side Control Escape

Rolling Side Control Escape
When caught in double underhook side control sometimes the opponent holds on tight enough where you can’t sneak a hand in no matter how hard you try. This usually happens when the opponent just wants to hold and control you. You can use their tight insistence against them.

With the opponent on your right side, take your right elbow and put it into their hip. With a small hip escape to your left create enough room to get your left arm up, and over their head. Reach down and grab a belt, or pants, or gi, or whatever else you can get a hold of.

Hip away again pushing with your right elbow. As they come back into you to keep you flat bridge over your left shoulder. Because they’re holding on so tight they’ve eliminated their own posts. Because they’re pushing back into you to keep you flat they’re creating momentum for the roll.

As you roll over post a hand, and keep the underhook on the arm. You’re not in side control in an attacking position.

Tips:
- During each phase of this escape keep testing the space between you and the opponent. Often you will be able to sneak in the knee to re-guard.
- Be constantly aware of the opponent’s weight. If you hip escape and they don’t come back into you to force you back down you won’t be able to roll them without significant strength. However, they’ll be holding themselves away which will leave space for the knee to come though back into guard.
- Be aware of your spacing. If your initial hip escape allows you to get the arm over AND creates enough space for them to have to come back into you, you’ll be setting it up in one movement. Don’t hip away twice if you don’t have to.

Tips on Escape Plans:
- As you an see, each escape is progressively tougher. The reason is because- the more trouble you’re in, the more complex the technique. The top escape is done from an ideal posture. The second is less ideal. The third is even less ideal than the second. The fourth is the least ideal, until you get to a point where you’re really in trouble (which would be a tight underhook on the arm and a free attacking arm beside it. This is one step away from many submissions).
- Each escape must be done more based on your opponent’s actions than your own. You can’t just force the escape to guard if their blocking the hip, or have obtained double underhooks. Likewise, you can’t roll them if they aren’t locked into you without a significant (and pointless) fight.
- Know what your ideal posture is. Work to gain and keep that. If you’re in your ideal posture you narrow down the opponent’s options, and create a more basic escape path. If you allow your posture to be dictated too much you’ll have to fight a lot harder to escape. The path becomes more narrow and easier for the opponent to predict and counter.
- Know your escape options and learn ques to help you decide which one you use. Figure out how to feel where your opponent’s hands are. Is he block the hip? Is he reaching for the underhook? Will he get it? Will he lock into me, or give me space to manoeuvre?
- Know your opponent. Every time you roll with someone try to get a feel for his habits in different positions. If you have an opponent that never looks to mount, but always looks to isolate an arm or switchbase to headlock side control, be prepared with posture and escapes. If you have an opponent that never attacks from side control, but waits for you to bridge so they can mount, you need to think of how to adjust your technique so that you’re not giving the mount. The key to this is to think while you’re rolling. Read your opponent.

Now we switch to the top position

Cutting Armbar from Side Control
You’ve gained side control on the opponent’s right side and have established a tight underhook on the opponent’s far (left) arm. Your opponent decides to put his hand up over your back… for some reason.

Ensure that you have a tight grip on the opponent’s arm.

Post your left hand by the opponent’s ear. Lift the opponent up and onto his side. Crush the arm by tucking the underhooking elbow on your side of the opponent’s ribs. Keep your ear pinned on the opponent’s arm that should be up on your shoulder. Step over your opponent with your right foot to tighten your control over his upper body.

Bring your left hand up to your right and slide them up his arm. Keep a tight hold on the arm with your arms and head.

Your head and shoulder push forward as your hands pull in on the back of the elbow joint.

If your opponent stops you from getting your leg up and over to tighten the control you can always just sit back into the armbar.

With the same grip on the arm simply lean back onto a 45 degree angle. Your left leg will be under the arm and your right leg will come over to knee-squeeze the arm, further controlling it.

Tips:
- As with any armbar, how tight the grip is determines how successful the armbar is. Keep the arm tight throughout the technique. Lose the arm, lose the armbar.
- If the arm is being held tight the quickest escape for the opponent will be to bend the arm down towards the beltline. If you keep your right elbow up, you can stop them from grabbing their own gi/belt. That also leads nicely into the figure 4 from north/south.
- Instead of taking your hands off his arm to move them into place just keep a tight grip and slide them up the arm. Not only does this keep the arm secure, it also hurts well before you even get to the elbow joint. Some people might tap to just that.
- Tip for any submission- If you can do it slowly against a fully resisting opponent it means that you have a firm grasp of the technique. Try this when you get into these positions. Take it nice and slow to see where there might be wholes in your technique.
- Conversely, as you view these submissions you’ll realise that there are positions that lead to attacks. Side control with an underhook on the far arm is one of those positions. With that in mind, the best strategy is to simply not allow the opponent to get to those dominant positions. Falling off the cliff is usually too late. It’s best to build a fence 100m back instead. Giving away the arm is what Glen refers to as the ‘game of cat and retard mouse’. As in, if the cat is trying to eat you don’t give him what he needs to do it.

Ideas for training:
- Get a partner to play the side control game with you. Your opponent starts in side control and has to keep if for 5 minutes. He’s only allowed to submit you from there, not transition into another position. You react with escapes according to his hand positioning. If you escape you get a point. If he submits you, he gets a point. If you escape to his back or your knees you have to return to your back for him to re-establish side control. After 5 minutes, switch.
- Play pass and keep (as opposed to pass or sweep). You are in an open guard and just have to keep open guard. Your opponent looks to pass and establish side control. He has to stay in contact with you (no standing and disengaging). After 5 minutes, switch. This will help with your early escapes. As he gets around your guard be ask quick as you can to escape and get back to guard. You should be starting to escape before side control is even established.

3-10-11

Crossovers and Side Control Escape to Back

Side-Control Escape Crossovers

When pursuing the side control escape to guard sometimes you are met with opposition to the knee sliding through. Often this comes in one of two forms: either a hand blocking the knee, or the opponent’s weight being brought forward. If the knee is stopped, and no other action is taken, the opponent will simply pass to the open side of your guard.

This is where the crossover is introduced. The crossover is a way to maintain, or regain your guard.

#1 is working in the guard.

#2 is using crossovers and early escapes to re-gain a lost guard.

#3 is using side control escapes to regain your guard.

You’ve established a good bracing posture in side control. You notice that both the opponent’s hands have been placed over the far side of your body. You bridge, brace, hip escape, and bring the knee back through to re-establish your guard. This time, the opponent reacts by sitting back slightly and stopping your knee with his hands.

From here, if you’re coming through with your right knee, you should take your left leg up, and over the opponent in order to place it on the far hip. In this position you’re using your right foot and leg to stop the opponent from going through to our left. When your left leg gets into place you’ll be using that to stop the opponent from coming through to the right.

However, this is not a waiting position. Once you’re here you should push on your right foot to straighten back out, and away from your opponent to re-establish an open guard.

Sometimes when you go to bring your knee through your opponent will pin your legs down. This means that you can’t bring your leg up and over to put it on the hip. If your opponent reacts to your knee coming through by putting his weight down in order to stop your movement you need to introduce your arms into the mix.

With your arms push on the opponent to create space enough for your left knee to come through. Take it all the way through and put the foot on the hip.

Push with your feet to create space for the guard.

 Tips:

- Grab arms, sleeves, and collars during the crossover. The more have you in your grips the less tools they have to pass.

- You want to swing your leg almost straight up from your body… unless you’re looking to kick them in the head. In that case, aim for the head instead of the hip.

- Once you push away to create space it gives you a great chance to get into a butterfly guard. Link this to an offensive move instead of just waiting for the opponent to make a move.

Side Control Escape to Back

We’ve been over escaping side control when the opponent has both hands over (side control escape to guard) and when your opponent is blocking your inside hip (side control escape to knees). This time we’re going to cover an escape from double under-hook control.

You’re in side control. The opponent is on your right side with his right arm claiming at under-hook on your left arm and his left arm around your head.

Because his left arm is around your head you’re not (yet) worried about the figure four. This is a controlling position, but isn’t far from a submitting one. You need to beware once he frees his left arm to attack.

To help with is you can glue your right ear to his left bicep, and put a bit of weight down on his arm with your head.

Your next priority is to get your left arm out of danger. You do this by feeding a flat hand into the opponent’s right (far) armpit. To do this you’ll want to get it into place at the armpit, bridge up, and come back down. As you come down feed the hand in. It might take 3 or 4 ‘bumps’, but it’ll be worth the effort.

Once you have it to safety you can work your escape. Remember that the opponent is still in a very controlling position. Because he has your head he’s effectively eliminating your ability to turn into him.

Instead of turning in, you’re going to go out the back door using an under-hook of your own.

With your right arm in, on your chest, use the bridge bumps to feed your hand deeper down towards your own right knee.

Once it’s out from under your opponent you can use that under-hook to escape. Simply bridge once more and shoot your arm up towards the opponent’s head (at a 45 degree-ish angle). Switch your base to get to your knees to claim your escape

 Tips:

- You can’t rest once you’ve gained the under-hook. The vast majority of practitioners will change tactic once they’ve lost the under-hook. Bridge bump until you’ve snuck the hand out, then explode into the escape before they have a chance to react.

- Use the extended arm to get a friction grip on the far shoulder of the opponent. You’ll be into a top turtle position here. It’s a great opportunity to attack the back.

Ideas for training

- Work the crossovers nice and slow until you get the concept. Then, pick up the pace more and more.

- Have your partner work his guard passing while you work your escapes and crossovers. If he gets the pass get him to go to the both hands over posture.

- Work all your side control escapes by doing the above training. This time, use the escape that’s appropriate to the hand positioning used by your opponent.

28-9-11
 
Side Control is a premiere position in Jiu-Jitsu. Some believe that it is the most dominant because of it’s accessibility, ease in maintaining, attacking options, and transitional points. It’s usually the first thing you encounter after a take-down or guard pass.
 
Alternatively, it’s a position that every jiu-jitsu player needs to know how to escape from. Because of it’s options it’s not a place that you really want to stay for too long.
 
Side Control Survival Posture
Side Control Escape to Guard
Side Control Escape to Knees
Switch Base Side Control Escape

First thing is first for any bottom position-

Survival Posture.

When you’ve had your guard passed you want to get into a posture that:

1-     protects you from dominant control

2-     protects you from submissions

3-     sets you up for an escape

The biggest thing about side control posture is blocking the cross-face/double under-hook control. That’s when the opponent has an under-hook on the far arm and control under the head with the other arm. This is a bad position because your arm is vulnerable to submissions, and because your head is controlled tightly it almost eliminates one side of escapes. Yes, there are escapes from here but they’re not easy. It’s much easier to be active in preventing this control from ever happening in the first place.

To block this control you need to ensure you get the far arm in-between you and your opponent as he establishes side control.  If the opponent is on your right, you need to tuck your left arm. Bringing it in across your own chest is a good way to do that.

To block the head control you can use your right hand. Put your elbow on the floor so that your hand is up by your neck/cheek. When the opponent goes to control your head simply use the hand as a block.

This posture also sets you up in a posture that allows the escape.

The other thing to worry about is the transition to knee-ride, back control, or mount. There’s a simple, but effective method to doing this.

For back control prevention you simply need to always be facing your opponent. The more on your side you are the better. Doing this is also a good step into common escapes.

For knee-ride and mount prevention you can try simply putting your near knee into the hip of the opponent. It’s not enough to just put your near side leg up against your other leg. This opens you up to leg attacks, and doesn’t actually hinder a persistent opponent from gaining mount or knee-ride. Keep the leg in contact with your opponent, and active.

This posture will prevent further dominant control or transition, and set you up for the basic, common escapes.

If you’re in proper posture, and your opponent can’t gain an under-hook or head control, and also can’t transition to knee-ride or mount, he will have to decide what to do with his hands. He really has two main options

Option one is to put both hands over to the far side of your body in order to attempt to eliminate space.

Side Control Escape to Guard
When the opponent takes option one it leaves room for you to re-establish your guard.

With your opponent on your right side from your side control survival posture hip bump a little bit so that you can get your left forearm going up your own chest, and bring your right arm in to meet it. You want your elbows pretty close.

Bridge in order to create space between you and your opponent. Using your arms as a brace (not a push) keep the space using the structure that you’ve built with your arms.

When you come back down with your hips want to take them out and away instead of just back down. Hip out to your left.

In that same motion bring your right knee in to meet your elbow, coming across in front of the opponent. From here, simply pull your head away to re-establish the guard.

Tips:

-         Don’t just keep forcing the knee through to get guard. Pulling the head away instead gives you that extra space to establish the guard, and takes less work.

-         Make it all one, quick motion. Practice it in steps in order to progress into one flowing movement.

-         Knowing the steps of the escape allows you to be able to start from any point. Don’t feel like you need to be flat on your back in order to use an escape. If they can’t get a hold of you in the first place before you get your knee back and through, that’s a lot less work for you to do.

If your opponent is blocking your inside hip with his right arm you wont be able to use this escape. That’s when you go to the next one.

Side Control Escape to Knees
With the survival posture, and your inside hip blocked you have room to the outside.

Bridge, brace, and hip escape away to your left. When you hip escape feed your left arm inside their blocking arm to reach around to the outside of their right knee. Your right arm should come to the outside of their left knee. Keep your head in tight to them.

Come up to your knees and bring your elbows and knees in tight to each other. Glue your right ear to the right side of their body, around the ribcage.

Bring your right knee to your left, then post your left leg out to the side. Lift, drive, and follow over.

Tips:

-         Keep your ear glued to your opponent even after you’ve taken him down. This eliminates space

-         When you drive for the take-down keep your right hand on the inside hip to block an initial escape to guard. Once established quickly replace the right hand with the left.

-         This, like all escapes, needs to be one, flowing movement. Stopping at any point during an escape gives room for a counter.

Sometimes when you’re in the correct survival posture people will switch base in order to attempt to isolate or remove the inside arm.

Switchbase Side Control Escape
If your right elbow is already on the mat because of your survival posture, and your left elbow is up high enough to still be involved when someone switches base you can lead into a very quick escape.

When they switch base ensure the right elbow is tight to your side, and the floor. Take your left hand and grab the near collar of the opponent so that your knuckles end up just below, or on the opponent’s jaw line… where it’s uncomfortable.

Hip out to your left. Hip out far enough to be able to straighten your left arm to create a skeletal structure. With that structure simply swing your legs around to the left as you sit up and tip your opponent over.

Tips:

-         A straight arm will help you push back, instead of across the opponent. You’re basically tipping them backwards, not pushing them over to the side. The side has a post (the left leg). The back doesn’t.

-         If your right arm gets stuck in the opponent’s control you’ll need to free this down to the mat before you can escape. Fight the grips, get the elbow to the mat, then set up your escape.

-         Another one that becomes so much easier if done before full control is established. Anticipate the switch, get your arms ready, and in the transition swing and push.

-         If you hip out far enough you can actually bring the right knee in-between you and your opponent. That way, if he manages to keep his base he’ll be coming back into your guard instead of side control

-         Sometimes your opponent will post and re-apply his weight into you. If you’re really clever you can use their momentum of pushing back into you to fall into an armbar. Use your left arm to hug their left arm and bring your leg up and over their face as they come back into you. Your right leg will already be in place if you’ve brought it in after the hip-out.

Ideas for Training:

-         Find someone that’s working on guard passes. Allow the pass, and set up your escapes back into guard. Rinse. Repeat.

-         If you’re working escapes there’s really no way to train them other than doing them over, and over, and over. That means that you’ll need to be on the bottom.

-         Link your escapes together. If one doesn’t work immediately move to the next, then back to the first, then back to the second, then so on, and so forth. If they’re constantly having to defend against escapes they don’t have time to mount any of their own offence.

-         Drill, drill, drill. Escapes are actually the easiest techniques to drill because they don’t require a partner. Do 20 a day of each escape. You’ll be amazing at the difference it makes.

26-9-11

On Monday the 26th we had an evening of rolling. We focused on changing gears. Here’s the basic rundown of what we did.

1st Gear
Light jog around the mats, side-stepping, just getting loose. Then, hip escapes the length of the mat. Just starting the motor and getting off the line.

2nd Gear
We went into with warm-up rolling. Everyone was going at about 10-20%. No submissions, no holding position. Nice, light, relaxed.

3rd Gear
After a few rolls we ramped it up to 30%. Still no submissions and still not holding position.

4th gear
Here we went to 50%. We added submission hunting and releasing. This means that you go for a submission, but let it go just before you get to the tap, allowing your opponent to escape if he hadn’t already. We were also able to hold position, but not with 100% pressure.

5th gear
The last few rolls of the night were done at 100%.

That’s what we did.

Here’s some things that were discovered.

-         Technique must be your default. When you drop the game down to 2nd gear, and you don’t have any technique, you don’t really have anything to do. If you can’t use your physical attributes at 100%, and you don’t have proper technique, you’ll be found wanting.

-         You must be able to combine moves. One great way to learn to do that is by slowing the game down. If you can’t combine moves here, at a slower pace, than you can’t be expected to do them at speed. What was found was that, at the slower pace if moves aren’t combined if made for giant holes in the action. It was awkward at times. It became easy to see where things get countered, and that much of the loss of position or transition happened due to lack of combination.   

-         Technique doesn’t take much effort. Simple as that. If you always roll using as much technique as possible, and you train without using your physical attributes (namely strength and speed) you’ll find that when you do decide to apply your physical attributes you’ll be in a whole new world.

-         Proper technique actually provides MORE control for LESS effort. There’s less space available, weight distribution (not just weight alone) is more important, and everything has to be that much more precise and in it’s place.

-         Timing, which is a major part of technique, becomes so much more important. Bad timing requires strength and a reliance on speed to compensate. Good timing decreases the need for both strength and speed. Now, imagine good timing with strength and speed.

-         Bail on what is already lost. Allowing yourself to get taken down but transitioning into a proper posture is far better than fighting the takedown with your dying breath, still getting taken down, and ending up in a terrible posture because of it. Same goes for getting your guard passed. Same goes for letting go of a half-sunk-in submission. Same goes for a poorly established dominant position. Get off the boat when it hits the iceberg, not well after it’s sunk to the bottom of the ocean. When rolling at 30-50% you HAVE TO get yourself in good positions. You can’t rely on strength and speed to get you out of jail when you’ve messed up.

-         Learning is the purpose of training, not winning. So, our mindset should be focused on the learning process rather than the winning (or losing) outcome. So, we should have just as much understanding about the way we learn as we do about how strong or fast we might be.

-         The conservation of energy doesn’t mean that you can’t keep control of an opponent. It is still possible to control an opponent while at 50%, even without the application of strength.

-         Changing the way you train can lead to new discoveries about yourself.

I’m sure there were many, many more things learned. These are just a few of the thoughts that came out through the training on Monday.

Try this method out frequently. It’s a great reminder of the foundation of jiu-jitsu (technique).

14-9-11

Collar Roll Armbar from Side-Back Control
Armbar from Crucifix start from Side-Back Control
Spin Under Armbar from Back Control

The first two techniques come from the Side-Back Control position. So, we’ll start by talking on Side-Back Control. It’s important to see this as a position in the same way that you see Side-Control, Mount, or Guard as a position. It’s a place to establish control over an opponent.

Side-Back Control
You are on your opponent’s left side. The weight of your chest applied to the opponent’s back/left shoulder. Right knee put in between the opponent’s left knee and their left elbow. Left leg posted out. Left hand getting a grip on the opponent’s left elbow and pushing it to the floor. Right hand reaching around and getting a same-side collar grip. Take out the slack, taking your elbow out and up.

Tips:
- Weight on the back is probably the most important part of this position. No space should be given at any time, especially during transitions.
- The pushing on the left arm prevents the opponent from grabbing the hooking arm and pulling your over.
- Don’t confuse this sense of control for any kind of resting position. Some people are very good at attacking from the turtle position.

Collar Roll Armbar from Side-Back Control
From your established Side-Back Control, switch base by putting your left knee where your right knee was. You want to ensure that your base is closer to the opponent’s head rather than down by his feet. This will help with the next steps of the move. When you switch base it’s important to keep your weight down on the opponent. Your chest shouldn’t disconnect.

Once base is switched use your right arm to pull the opponent over as you sit down. Use your right foot to break hard with your knee posted up in order to stop the opponent from continuing the roll.

That should put you in a good place to move into the armbar. Keep the under-hook (that’s been established from the right hand’s grip on the collar). With your left hand push the head out of the way while your bring your left leg up and over the head to block the opponent’s shoulders.

Pull your heals towards you, glue the opponent’s little finger to your chest, squeeze your knees, and lift your hips to complete the armbar.

Tips:
- The initial setup (everything before the armbar itself) is a great way to take the back of the opponent when he’s turtled. Use this to start attacking the back.
- Link this with the bow-and-arrow choke and rear naked choke.
- Once you have that under-hook be cautious about giving it up. There tends to always be more attacks available with an under-hook than without one.

Armbar from Crucifix start from Side-Back Control
Side-Back control grips and positioning

Use the left knee to sweep the opponent’s left arm forward. When that’s done bring the left foot over the left arm. Scoop the arm back as you switch base onto your left knee.

Start to climb over the back as if you’re putting in the right hook. Keeping the under-hook, go over the opponent’s shoulders on a 45 degree angle, rolling onto your right shoulder.

As you roll over push the head of your opponent and swing your left leg over the opponent’s head in order to secure the armbar.

Pull your heals towards you, glue the opponent’s little finger to your chest, squeeze your knees, and lift your hips to complete the armbar.

Spin Under Armbar from Back Control
This submission is set up from the turtle position again. This time, however you’re sitting on top of the opponent’s back and have gotten in your right hook, and have established a grip under their right arm (either on the collar or the forearm).

Turn your body to the right so that instead of your head facing the same direction as theirs you’re on more of a 90 degree angle. Secure the under-hook as you lower your right ear and right knee to the floor. Bring your left shin across the back of the opponent’s head putting your left knee on the floor too.

Run your shin across the top of the opponent’s head. Tuck it under their chin as their head lifts up.

With your legs turn from your right shoulder over onto your back.

Pull your heals towards you, glue the opponent’s little finger to your chest, squeeze your knees, and lift your hips to complete the armbar.

Tips:
- Keep the arm as tight to your chest as possible. Grip it like it’s something that you’ll never get again if you let it go.
- Lift more with your leg across their midsection than you do with your leg across their shoulders. That’s the one that will do the bulk of the work.
- Keep the arm as tight to your chest as possible. Grip it like it’s something that you’ll never get again if you let it go. Yeah, I know that’s repeated. It was worth the copy+paste. For me, at least, this made all the difference.

Ideas for Training:
- Again, armbar from everywhere. Set aside a month for just chasing armbars. Study them. Daydream about the mechanics. Draw them on your wall while you mumble. Before you roll with anyone say, “You’ve come with two arms, you shall leave with one”… unless they only have one arm to start with. That would just be rude to say to someone with only one arm.
- Link this into an overall Armbar game.

7-9-11

Up and Crush Armbar from Side Control
Snap Armbar from Side Control
Armbar from Guard- Low Posture

In the 5-9-11 write-up we talked about 3 Figure Four locks from the over-hooking side control position. This is a very strong attacking position. The first technique is an armbar from the established over-hook.

Up and Crush Armbar from Side Control
From Side Control with an under-hook you go into the up and crush position. First, though, you need to get the inside arm out of the way. You can do this by switching base onto your right leg. Window-wipe the arm with your right knee as it comes through. Then, fill that space by switching back into the short base side control.

To get into the up and crush position take your left hand (if your right arm is under-hooking) and post it by the opponent’s head. Keeping the arm tight against your chest bring the opponent up onto their side. Your right elbow should come onto the front side of their torso. Squeeze your elbow up towards your own head in order to tighten the grip on the arm.

Step around the opponent’s head with the left leg taking your foot as far down the back as you’re able. Bring your right foot, shin to the floor, up to the opponent’s head. Make sure you take the arm with you so it’s trapped underneath your butt.

Keeping your weight low, and still tight onto the arm, step up on the right foot spinning to your left. Sit back on your butt, squeeze your knees together, pull your heels in. Your right leg should be over the opponent’s upper torso, blocking the shoulders and head from sitting up. Your left foot will be wedged under the opponent’s back.

Pull the opponent’s little finger down towards your chest as you bring your hips up.

Tips:
- Hip penetration is key to any armbar. The closer your hips are to the opponent’s shoulders, the more hip penetration you have. To encourage hip penetration you want to bring your heels into your own butt. Obviously you won’t get there because there’s a body in the way. It just helps with the idea of hip penetration.
- The knee squeeze eliminates lateral movement. That’s key to stopping escapes.
- Proper position and posture in the armbar are 98% of the technique. If the position if locked in properly the opponent shouldn’t be able to move.
- If you lose control of the arm during the transition to the armbar you can always just sit back into the Figure Four from North-South (see 5-9-11 for that technique).
When you find yourself in side control without an under-hook you’re missing a significant source of control over the opponent. Most of the high percentage escapes from side control come from the lack of an under-hook. You can counter these movements while setting up a snap armbar.

Snap Armbar from Side Control
First thing is to get a grip on the inside leg with your right hand/arm. Either grip the pants, or under the knee, or completely wrap it up. Use this grip to keep the opponent from turning into you.

With the left hand, slide it underneath the inside arm of the opponent. The idea is to establish this as an under-hook on the forearm of the opponent in order to go into the armbar. Simply slide the hand in pointing your fingers straight towards the opponent’s feet.

In one motion you step up, turn the opponent slightly onto his side (away from you) and post your left foot just in front of the opponent’s face. As you do this, secure the opponent’s arm to your chest. Your right leg will come up along the back of the opponent with the foot up near the head and the knee down the back.

Sit back onto your left butt cheek. Make sure you’ve got the arm gripped firmly, still stuck to your chest. As you lean back you’ll want to be at quite an angle. If the opponent’s head is 12 o’clock you should be falling back to around 11:00 or 11:30. This will help you to clear your own right leg.

Bring your right knee up, squeeze your knees together, bring your heels into your own butt (for hip penetration). Pull the little finger into your chest and bring your hips up to get the tap.

Tips:
- Be sneaky. This is quite a ninja like (not that I have any idea what ninjas are like) set-u and submission.
- All the armbar rules apply. Control the arm, hip penetration, knee squeeze, lifted hips.

Armbar from Guard against low posture
When you’ve established a closed guard, and the opponent has hunkered down in a low posture you have to find ways to create space for sweeps and submissions.

Bring your right hand across, under the opponent’s chin, and grab on to the right arm of the opponent. With your left hand push on the opponent’s right elbow while you pull with the right hand. Your aim is to push them into the whole on the left side of your body.

Once there, use your right arm to trap their right arm tightly against your own body.

Putting your left foot down on the hip, or ground, turn so that your head is as close to the opponent’s left foot as you can. It can help to focus on bringing the right leg over the opponent’s back. This ensures that you keep your body close to theirs, which promotes hip penetration.
Push on the head with your left hand as you bring your left leg up over. Left leg across the opponent’s head- right leg across the opponent’s upper back.

Little finger on your chest. Squeeze your knees together. Pull with your heels. Lift your hips.

Tips:
- The closed guard gives you the ability to openly attack with your arms. Make the most of this. Use your legs to lock them in place and assist in dictating posture. While they’re locked in attack liberally with the hands and arms.
- Keep close, especially if you have short legs.
- Link this attack with the leg grab rollover sweep from the same position (29-8-11), and look for the option of taking the back. It would also work well with Omoplata (31-8-11) and the Triangle Choke.
- You can either allow your opponent to dictate his posture, or you can dictate his posture for him. If you’re more of a reactionary player this can be a great ‘low posture’ game. If you like to dominate your opponent’s posture this is a great one to have since many players will try to secure themselves when posture is broken rather than just fighting strength.

Ideas for training:
- As you may have noticed from other posts, I am a big fan of focusing on a single submission while training. This makes you view it with depth. You’ll learn how to troubleshoot, and set-up. For a week chase nothing bur armbars. They are another submission that can be set-up from any position. Hunt the armbar.
- ‘3 count pin’. Lock in the armbars without lifting your hips to finish. After your 3 count, let go to learn to troubleshoot escapes.
- Map out an entire game based around the armbar. Plan set-ups from everywhere.

31-8-11

Omoplata from Guard
Omoplata from Guard Drill
Omoplata from Triangle Guard
Omoplata from Omoplata Escape
Omoplata from Omoplata Escape Drill
Reverse Arm Bar from Blocked Omoplata
Omoplata from Mount
Rolling Omoplata from Mount
Omoplata from Side Control

What is an omoplata?
The Omoplata is, as a very basic explanation, a shoulder lock done with the legs. The word omoplata is the Portuguese word for ‘shoulder blade’. As far as the mechanics go, it does the same thing to the shoulder that a figure 4, or Kimura (named after the Judoka that defeated Helio Gracie using the figure 4 shoulder lock) does.

Notes on Submissions
- When you see the written form of any submission it is very little more than a guide for the basic, overall concept of the technique from the given position. These are usually aimed at helping you see how it is done. However, it doesn’t usually expose how it comes about. That is up to you to figure out.

The omoplata from guard is a good example. The technique requires that the opponent’s arm is bend backwards (similarly to the figure 4 from guard) and around the leg. Once you understand the positioning of any submission you can start to see ways of getting there.
- Understand the mechanics of the submission and you’ll be able to figure out where it can be applied, and how you can get there.

The omoplata isn’t just a guard submission. It’s a shallow over-hook submission. If you can get the over-hook you can probably find a way to get the omoplata. That changes your game because instead of looking to get to guard so that you can try the omoplata you’ll simply start looking for the over-hook with the proper leg positioning.

Omoplata from Guard
You have your opponent in your closed guard. You’ve gained an over-hook on the opponent’s left arm. Pop your left knee out by pushing the opponent’s right shoulder as you bring your leg forward. You isolate his left arm around your right leg, ensuring that it’s bent back over the knee, as you open the guard. Do this by bringing the knee up near the arm-pit.

From here you will want to turn your body 180 degrees, wrapping the leg around the arm so that the back of the opponent’s hand is on your torso.

Block the opponent’s ability to roll forward by sitting up and blocking the hips with an arm over the belt line.

Lean forward to apply pressure to the shoulder joint.

Tips:
- The over-hook should be tight on the elbow and forearm. If you’re too high on the over-hook you eliminate space for your own leg to get into place. Think, palm cupping the point of the elbow.
- The ability to sit up after the 180 degree turn will be dependant on the placement of your legs. It helps to turn your hips AWAY (bum away) from the opponent during the transition. That will put your bent legs is a good position to be able to sit up.
- To quote Happy Gilmore (not that I make that a common practice), “It’s all in the hips”. This is a big movement. If you don’t have much mobility in your hips try looking up some solo drills (like the rocking chair drill) that will get you moving.
- It might help to use (if you’re locking the opponent’s left arm) your right hand on the wrist, and the left hand on the side of the head. This will get the head out of the way for the right foot to come into place as well as helping you swing your hips around by pushing off. It will also help you to sit up, which assists with hip movement.
- The smoother the better. If you’re choppy with your movements it gives more places for the opponent to react. If it’s all one, smooth movement there are less opportunities to counter.

Training Ideas:
Omoplata from Guard Drill
In BJJ, the tap is about 2% of the submission. It’s the same with sweeps and take-downs. The set-up is the technical part. The tap is usually just a small amount of movement or applied strength pegged on to the end of a long list of steps. Anyone can get a tap if you let them get 98% through the technique. So, for this drill we’re going to focus on the set-up. It’s a drill designed to create muscle memory.

With your opponent in your guard, he decides to gift you a submission by over-hooking the thigh of your left leg with his right arm. With his other arm he has it out, under your right leg. A posture that screams, “Please submit me”. He can even say that if it helps, or makes you happy.

The over-hooked arm is the one that will be omoplata’ed.

For the drill you’re going to go all the way through until the lean forward. Take the gifted arm, do a 180, sit-up, hit the reverse button until the opponent is back in your guard.

Once there the opponent should reverse his arm position so that you can switch to the other side.

Repeat, ensuring that you’re focused more on technique than pace. Get the technique right. Speed will come.

10 on each side and switch places.

This is also good for hip movement in the guard, and your abdominal muscles.

Omoplata from Triangle Guard
We were introduced to a concept called the “Triangle Guard”. It’s exactly as it sounds. It’s the triangle choke position pre-choke. It’s when you’ve established one arm in and one arm out of the guard, and crossed your legs over the neck. This is an attacking position that allows your to attack with the Triangle (pretty obvious), Arm Bar, or Omoplata, depending on the opponent’s reaction. If they come forward, triangle. If they turn toward the ‘in’ arm, arm bar. If they turn towards the ‘out’ arm, omoplata.

The omoplata comes when the opponent turns towards the ‘out’ arm. Many people do this to create space between the neck and their own arm. If you still have control of the arm they’ve just put themselves in a bit of a spot.

When they turn that way you simply push the wrist back over your leg, and turn into the omoplata. Finish as per the previous omoplata from guard.

Omoplata from Omoplata Escape
One way to escape the omoplata is to roll forward when the opponent sits up to finish. Most people will roll forward then attempt to turn and take top position in your guard. As this happens it often creates an opening for another omoplata.

When they roll, let them, and anticipate them coming into your guard. As they do you should be hunting for the over-hook. Once the over-hook is established you can roll into the omoplata.

Training Ideas
Omoplata from Omoplata Escape Drill
Do the above technique until your partner gets too dizzy to continue. Just keep rolling, and countering, and rolling, and countering, and rolling, and… “blaaahhh!” (that’s the sound of puke)

Reverse Arm Bar from Blocked Omoplata
One way to block the omoplata in it’s late stages is for the opponent to grab onto his own belt.

You’ve attacked the left arm with your right leg. They’ve grabbed their belt with their left hand and are holding on for dear life.

Go back to a position that places you at a 90 degree angle to your opponent. Put your left leg over your right foot, creating a figure 4 around their arm.

With the left foot hook as deep as you can under their chin, through to their opposite (right) armpit.

Under-hook the gripping wrist with your right hand. Feel free to also gable grip that hand with your left.Stretch out your legs while you pull with your upper body.

When the grip is broken you’ll end up with their arm. Pin it to your chest. The little finger will be pointing up towards the ceiling. The elbow is now pointing up, so to finish the arm bar bring your legs closer to the elbow joint, and push up with your hands to get the tap.

Omoplata from Mount
Sometimes when you get to mount your opponent will get under-hooks, lock his hands behind your back, and hold on for dear life. This can be turned into an omoplata from mount.

You have your opponent mounted. He’s established under-hooks and is holding you to him.

Bring your right leg forward, posting your foot on the mat past the opponent’s left shoulder. This will make you sit up on your opponent. Using your right arm, trap his under-hooking arm to your side, establishing an over-hook with the palm cup on the elbow. If your opponent is still holding on use your left forearm across his neck/jaw. No one likes that. They’ll let go.

Bring your left leg up and post the foot so that all your weight is back on their abdomen. This is like sitting back in a lounge chair with both feet on the ground.

Now, with that arm still trapped you’re going to simply crab walk to your left, bringing your right leg over their shoulder as they turn with you. This will drop you into an omoplata position with your opponent flat on the ground.

Rolling Omoplata from Mount
Sometimes when you get to the “lounge chair” position and start to crab walk the opponent will push back towards his trapped arm in order to stop you from turning him into the omoplata.

When this happens you can roll into an omoplata on the other side.

You have your opponent mounted. He’s established under-hooks and is holding you to him.

Bring your right leg forward, posting your foot on the mat past the opponent’s left shoulder. This will make you sit up on your opponent. Using your right arm, trap his under-hooking arm to your side, establishing an over-hook with the palm cup on the elbow. If your opponent is still holding on use your left forearm across his neck/jaw. No one likes that. They’ll let go.

Bring your left leg up and post the foot so that all your weight is back on their abdomen.

Now, with that arm still trapped you’re going to simply crab walk to your left. They counter by pushing back towards their trapped arm.

Roll to your right while spinning to turn 180 degrees. You do this by dropping onto your right shoulder from the mount position and turning to face the other way.  

Finish by blocking the roll and leaning forward into the omoplata.

Omoplata from Side Control
You can set up the mounted omoplata from the side control position if you’ve lost, or have given away the under-hook.

You’re in a short base side control but have lost the under-hook. The opponent will likely look to escape to the knees or back. To do this, he will have to shoot his arm up as he bridges.

Post your left hand near the opponent’s head. As he bridges you have to be ready to shoot up, lift the leg over, trap the extended arm, and get into the mounted ‘lounge chair’ position of the previous two techniques.

Tips:
- When you’ve lost the under-hook you must apply your weight if you hope to force him to bridge out with any power. If you’re weight isn’t down you’re just giving a free escape. Stay tight on the opponent.
- Drill this with a partner. It’s a feel and timing technique. Make a competition of it. If he escapes he gets a point. If you get the mount and trap you get a point. Only full escapes and full mount with the trapped arm count.

Training Ideas:
- ‘One-move-wonder’ is a training idea that helps develop a game around one move, like the omoplata. Basically, you take a period of time and insist on using the omoplata as your only submission. Hunt for it from every position. Think through how it could come about from anywhere. Once you feel like you’re seeing it from different places, tell your opponent what you’re doing. That way, he will be actively defending against it, which will make you have to find other ways to capture it. This is a great way of creating width within your game.

29-8-11
Leg Grab Rollover Sweeps
Attacking from the bottom is an important part of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It’s one thing that separates it from other martial arts, even the grappling disciplines. Part of any attacking arsenal should be sweeps. Today’s class walked through the leg grab roll-over sweep and provided a couple of options depending on the positioning of the opponent.

- Leg Grab Rollover Sweep
- Leg Grab Rollover Sweep 2
- Cutting Arm Bar from Guard to Leg Grab Rollover Sweep

Notes on Sweeps:
- Sweeps are a multitasking art. You’re using arms, legs, grips, hips, posture, and anticipation. If you miss any one part you make the job that much harder.   
- Sweeps all tend to have similar mechanics. It’s about reacting to posture, eliminating posts, forcing weight to the side that’s had it’s posts eliminated, and creating the necessary momentum. If you’re having trouble with a sweep usually one of these 4 things is not being addressed.
- All sweeps are developed with a specific posture in mind. Pay attention to the design of the sweep. The #1 issue people tend to have is attempting a sweep against a posture it’s not designed to work against.
- The #2 problem is that posts are not properly eliminated. If you can’t eliminate the right posts they have a block against the sweep.
- The #3 problem is usually not disrupting the weight of the opponent properly. You have to have the right (or wrong, from the opponent’s point of view) weight distribution. If you can’t get a sweep to work even though you’ve taken care of posts it’s probably because the opponent has his weight ‘right’. When studying any sweep pay attention to how it’s meant to disrupt the weight.  
- The #4 problem is lack of momentum. If you take posts and disrupt the weight, but produce no momentum you’ll often find yourself in a strength battle. No sweep is designed to be a battle of muscle.
- The glory of it is that if you can understand #1 (posture), #2 (posts), #3 (weight distribution), and #4 (momentum) you can troubleshoot to get the result. Understanding + analytical thinking = deeper revelation of moves. You can start to come up with different ways to pull off the sweep in different postures, different ways to eliminate posts, disrupt weight, and create momentum.

Leg Grab Roll-over sweep
You’ve got closed guard on your opponent. Basic grips with right hand on the cross collar and left hand gripping the sleeve of the opponent’s right hand.

If the opponent steps up on his left leg to set up the pass, and he places his foot too close to your upper body (breaking the line of your hips = too close) you can set up for the leg grab rollover sweep.

Uncross your legs, grab the posted leg with your right hand.

Pull forward and up with your left hand as you lift with your right, and pendulum your legs: left leg swinging down and in and right leg kicking up into the arm-pit.

Finish the sweep by holding on to the leg and arm enabling you to catch a ride into mount.

Posture of opponent = Up with leg posted forward
Eliminated Post = sleeve gripped right arm
Weight Distribution = lifted leg
Momentum = Pendulum with legs.

Tips:
- Grab with the arm, not just the hand. When you see the leg posted and you uncross your legs you should move your shoulder as close to the posted leg as possible. A hand grip is a lot easier to break than the crook of the elbow, or a hand pinning the leg to the shoulder.
- The momentum created with your legs will help a lot with the sweep. Make sure you get them into play.
- Lift and pull with your arms. Pulling the arm gets the weight forward. Lifting the leg unbalances the weight to one side.

Leg Grab Rollover Sweep 2
If the opponent decides he’s going to hunch down in your guard for protection you can still pull off the sweep. Remember, it’s about eliminating a posting arm on one side, and lifting the leg on the other side.

Opponent has his elbows on your chest with his upper body pressed down on yours.

Sneak your right hand under his chin in order to get a sleeve grip on his opposite (his right) wrist. Place your left hand on the opponent’s right elbow. Uncross your legs.

In one movement hip out to the left as your push with your left hand and pull with your right. You’re creating a hole with your hip out and dropped their upper body down into it with your arms.

Immediately get a tight friction grip on the opponent with your left arm, pinning him so that he can’t get his right arm out.

You then want to hold on while you shift your hips back underneath the opponent. Shift as far back under as you can.

Grab the opponent’s left leg with your right hand. Pendulum your legs, lift the leg, and turn your upper body to assist with the sweep. Hold on to ride right over.

Posture of Opponent = Low with arms on your torso
Eliminated Post = opponent’s right arm stuck between your chest and them
Weight Distribution = lifted leg
Momentum Created = pendulum with legs

Tips:
- You can’t shift under too far. The further back under you can get the better. When in doubt, just keep going.
- Keep very tight to the opponent’s upper body once you’ve dropped him in the hole. You don’t want him to free the post, or regain posture.
- Really get your legs swinging with this one. You need plenty of momentum.
- Once you get to mount don’t just give away the arm position of your opponent. Figure out what you’d like to set up from here. Once you let it go it’s not likely that you’ll get it back.

Cutting Arm Bar from Guard into Leg Grab Roll-Over Sweep 2
If the opponent is low on your torso with his arms down, hugging your sides, elbows on the ground, you can set up an arm bar. When he defends the arm bar you can adjust into the previous sweep.

Opponent down, with arms on your sides, elbows on the ground.

Hip escape slightly to the right creating space between his right arm and your side.

Fill that space by sneaking your left hand up, palm facing away, finger pointing towards the ceiling. Come over the opposite (opponent’s right) shoulder with your right hand, getting a gable (palm to palm) grip over the opponent’s arm.

Shift onto your right hip and apply the cutting arm bar. The wrist and forearm should be on your left shoulder, locked hands applying pressure to the back of the elbow joint.

When the opponent pulls his arm out to defend grip with the right hand, push the arm across with the left and establish the grip around the upper body to trap the arm.

You then want to hold on while you shift your hips back underneath the opponent. Shift as far back under as you can.

Grab the opponent’s left leg with your right hand. Pendulum the legs, lift the leg, and turn your upper body to assist with the sweep. Hold on to ride right over.

Posture of Opponent = Low with arms on your torso
Eliminated Post = opponent’s right arm stuck between your chest and them
Weight Distribution = lifted leg
Momentum Created = pendulum with legs

Tips:
- Take the arm bar if the opponent doesn’t defend. That’s a ‘no duh’ tip, but one that needs to be stated anyway. Just remember, a submission is better than a sweep.
- However, if you don’t have the arm bar locked in the sweep becomes the better option to holding on to a busted submission. This follows the BJJ rule of ‘Use what you’ve got, don’t force what you don’t’.

Ideas for Training:
- If you really want to master a certain type of sweep study the mechanics of it, and make it your goal while rolling. Set up your entire game around it. Pull guard from the start, use escapes that recover the guard, use submissions to set up the sweep you’re working on. Be single minded in your training.
- Once you have the move down drill wise, find a partner that’s working on guard passes. There’s no better way to master a sweep than against someone that’s trying to pass. There’s no better way to practice passes than against someone that’s trying to sweep.
- Drill the move. This is the single most overlooked form of training.

Many Judoka and Wrestlers use the headlock side control a lot. For Judoka, this is the marquee side control position. For Wrestlers controlling the head is controlling the body. There are also many BJJ players that use the headlock control to dominate opponents. It’s important that you’re able to escape this position.

Headlock Side Control Escape to Back
Headlock Side Control Escape to Knees
Rolling Escape from Headlock Side Control

Notes on Escape:
- This is not a resting position. Rest in guard or when you have mount or when you’re at home. You can’t rest when someone has you in headlock side control. The longer you stay there the worse it is for you. Escape as soon as you can.
- The foundation of Jiu-Jitsu is position. The foundation of position is posture. I believe that posture is the most important part of any escape. Establish the right posture in order to perform the escape.  
- You shouldn’t be flat. A flat opponent is much easier to deal with than an opponent that on their side. As soon as you get your guard passed, or when the opponent switches base to establish headlock control you should be turning into him, and getting up onto your hip and shoulder.
- Know what your opponent needs. This works for every position, but we’ll focus on headlock side control. The attacking options for this position is the near arm, and the neck, to a lesser extent. Isolating the near side arm is the key to attacking in this position. That means, that you should be protecting that arm. This arm should either be in or out. The preference is that it’s out. Taking the first point into account will actually help with the second point. If you’re on your side, facing your opponent, you’ll be able to hide the inside arm under your own body. That posture leads to the first two escapes. The other option is to establish an under-hook on your opponent. Once this is done you need to lock your hands to keep the arm protected. The under-hook exposes the arm, but the lock protects it, to a point. So, basically, it’s either IN for an under-hook or OUT underneath your body. This eliminates available submissions, which forces a transition, or forced attack, which is what you want.
- Pre-empt your posture. In this position it’s about keeping that inside arm tight, even before they switch base. Many opponents won’t switch base if they can’t get the arm isolated. By all means, block the opponent’s hip, but you shouldn’t be reaching out with extended arm. That’s an offer, not a block. Keeping the arm tight is first. The pre-empting was about anticipation. Anticipate the opponent switching base. When he does, get that arm out, and onto your side. This is ¼ of the way through the escape.
- Escapes, just like everything else in jiu-jitsu, are best done when linked with other escapes. If one doesn’t work you should immediately transition to another. If that one doesn’t work, go to the next, or back to the first.

Headlock Side Control Escape to Back
You’re in side control with your opponent on your right side. He transissions to a headlock side control. You pre-empt the switch and get onto your side. Your left hand is getting a friction grip on his back, under the shoulder blade. Your right arm is sucked under your own body so that he doesn’t have control. He has your head, and his knee is to the side, and up.

Hip escape away from the opponent and use that space to turn onto your knees. Because the opponent has his knee up, your goal is to get your left leg in as a hook on the opponent’s raised knee. Walk over, and get that leg in.

Grab the wrist of the opponent with your head still in the headlock. Pull back with your arm as you stretch his leg out with your hook. You’re using your body to take out your head. You’re not trying to yank it out. If you’re pulling the arm and stretching the leg you will be able to take your head out.

From there, proceed taking the back of the opponent.

Headlock Side Control Escape to Knees
If you find yourself in the same situation as above, but the opponent doesn’t have the leg in a place where you can insert a hook to establish back control, you can move to this option.

From the headlock, your arm underneath you, you’ve hip escaped and gotten to your knees. This time you can’t take the back using your legs to establish the hook. Instead, glue your left ear to the opponent as you turn him over onto his other side. You should end up behind him.

If your head is still stuck simply climb higher and higher up his body. Understand how his arm works in relation to his body. Pushing his elbow up towards his ear will open space for your head to come out.

Rolling Headlock Escape
If you find that your arm gets isolated as the opponent switches base you can’t just leave it hanging in no-man’s-land. You’ve missed the initial opportunity to take it out of the equation. Now you need to fight for an under-hook. Again, this is better done early than late.

You’re caught in headlock side control but you’ve established an under-hook with your right arm. It’s important that you find a way to lock your hands around the opponent.

Walk your legs into the opponent. This does two things: 1) disrupts the base of the opponent, and 2) turns your body so that it’s parallel with the opponent rather than perpendicular. This assists with the roll. This is a minor detail that makes a massive difference in the effectiveness of the technique.

When you get as far as you can you want to bridge the opponent forward, further disrupting his base. This is (in a way) the point of no return for your opponent. If he hasn’t reacted by now it’s too late. If he lets go here you’ve just about take his back. His other option is to put his weight back into you, which is exactly what we’re going for.

Because he’s getting his base disrupted the opponent will push back into you. When he does this you need to violently whip him over your body, effectively establishing your own side control.

Tips:
- Sometimes when you move your legs towards the opponent he will scoot around to avoid the escape. Often this scramble can create enough space for you to pull your arm out and go to one of the first two escapes.

Ideas for training:
Escapes, in my opinion, are the most important techniques in BJJ. If you know 100 arm bars but can’t get our of side control, those 100 arm bars are good for nothing. Escapes need to be drilled and practiced.
- Drill them at home. This isn’t something many of us actually do, but it’s worth it’s time. If you drill your headlock escapes you won’t have to stop when you get headlocked to think, “okay… so how do I get out of this?” while your opponent is cranking your arm.
- Train your escapes while sparring. The best way to do this is by laying on your back. Allow people to pass your guard. Allow people to get mount. You get the idea. And don’t munt out of them. Use technique. This is also a good way to train yourself to stay calm underneath.
- Further, ask your sparring partner to attack away in the top position. There are plenty of people that would love to polish up their arm bars and headlock side control positions. All you need to do is ask.

17-8-11

Half Nelson Cross-Lapel Choke from Seated/Side Mount
Step-up Choke from Side Control
Rolling Lapel Choke from Head-to-Head/Sprawled

Note on Chokes
Before we get into the techniques there are some things to explain about chokes.
- The vast majority of chokes used in BJJ are what are called blood chokes. They are designed to close both carotid arteries, cutting off blood flow to the brain, causing the victim to lose consciousness. The carotid arteries run in a line down the neck close to the jaw line. Imagine a line running down from your earlobe to your shoulder. So, it’s not the windpipe that’s meant to receive the treatment. This is helpful information because it might change your understanding of the mechanics of chokes
- Blood Chokes are all designed as “traps”. Basically, every blood choke needs to put pressure on both arteries, and trap the head into the points of pressure. If only one artery is blocked it’s not a blood choke. If you get a tap from there it’s either because you’re crushing the opponent’s jaw, teeth, or windpipe, or you’re cranking their neck.

If the head isn’t trapped it’s not anything. Think of a triangle choke with both your legs straight up, or a guillotine with no pressure on the back of their neck (which is usually the reason a guillotine isn’t working), or a cross lapel choke from guard without actually holding the lapels. Doesn’t work in your head? Well, it doesn’t work in reality either. Remember that every choke needs a full trap.
- This is important information because when drilling these techniques you need to know what you’re actually trying to accomplish. You are looking for set a trap and tighten, not crush a windpipe or pull a head off. Make sure your partner is telling you if it’s being put on correctly. They should feel pressure build up in the head. It’s a very distinct feeling. It’s completely unlike pressure on the windpipe, or having your neck cranked.
- If you get the grips, and pull the collar across, and trap the back of the head, and the opponent puts his chin down to fight the choke, don’t believe him when he doesn’t tap quickly. Some people think that if they put the chin down they are completely safe. Understand the mechanics of the choke, know when it’s on, believe it the move. Some guys will be so convinced that they’re safe that they’ll take a nice nap just to prove their point.

Half Nelson Cross Lapel Choke from Seated/Side Mount
Sometimes when you have an opponent mounted he turns onto his side. This is a great opportunity to attack the collar.

From a seated mount position- right leg posted on the opponent’s belt line, blocking the hip, and left leg, knee down behind the opponent’s back- knee at the shoulder, foot towards the butt.

Under-hook the top (right) arm of the opponent with your right arm.

Left arm reaches under the head and takes a cross lapel grip, thumb in. You want this grip to be deep on the collar, and along the neck. The left arm is the pressure on the left artery, the opponent’s collar is the pressure on the right artery.

Right arm reaches behind the head, maintaining the under-hook. This will lift the arm up into a half nelson hold. The right hand becomes the trap behind the opponent’s head.

From there, pull with your left arm like you’re trying to wrap the collar around the opponent’s neck again. Push the back of the opponent’s head with your right hand. Posture your body up to help with the torque.

Tips:
- Keep your legs tight so the opponent can’t roll out. Left leg should eliminate the ability to go back to a flat position. The right foot and leg should eliminate the ability to run away, or turn onto the knees.
- Fight for the under-hooked arm. This is quite a way through an arm-bar setup. Most people will worry about the arm (rightfully so). The more you pull on it, and establish a tighter under-hook, the more they will protect the arm. Remember, they can only protect so many things at once. Usually, if they are fight for the arm back they are not protecting the collar.
- Using the right hand to pull the slack out of the Gi will help you get a tight grip with the left hand.
- If you really want the arm-bar, start playing with the collar like you’re going to go for the choke. This might be the distraction you need to get in place for the arm-bar.

Step-up Choke from Side Control
This is a choke that can be set up from side control that doesn’t require you to have an under-hook on the far arm.

You’re in an established side control with your right hand blocking the opponent’s hip, and the left hand under the opponent’s head.

Bring the left hand around the head and get a cross collar grip. You’ll need to be set up with your left side up near the shoulders of the opponent in order to establish this grip. That is, unless you have super long arms.

Grab the opponent’s near leg (the right one) with your right hand, getting a friction grip under the knee. This stops the opponent from running away from the collar grip.

You want to turn the opponent away from you so that you can step up onto both feet. You want your right foot wedged under the side so that your shin is going up the opponent’s lower back. You want your left foot under the armpit so that your shin is going up the shoulder blades.

With the collar grip and the friction grip under the knee you want to bend the opponent backwards around your legs.

Tips:
- If you’re having trouble getting the collar grip because of a tidy Gi, try hoping up to knee-ride and opening their lapels.
- If they are defending the collar with the inside (right) hand try going to knee-ride. While up there transition the left knee onto the chest and window wipe the arm off with your own leg.
- Think of the finish in a similar fashion to the bow-and-arrow choke.

Rolling Lapel Choke from Head-to-Head/Sprawled
If an opponent shoots for a take-down and you sprawl and manage to get your arm in between his head and arm you can set up this choke. You can also attack this from the top of someone in the turtle position.

Right arm in between the shoulder and head of your opponent. Weight on the opponent’s shoulders.

Reach over, across the throat to grab the opposite collar with a fingers in, thumb out grip. Keep the weight on the top of the shoulders/base of the neck of the opponent.

With the left arm get a friction grip on the tricep of the opponent’s right arm. Drag the arm towards you. Once there’s room slide the left arm under the arm and bring the hand up to the back of the head of the opponent.

Here you have the blood choke trap. Your right arm is blocking the left artery, their collar is blocking their right artery, and your hand is blocking the back of their head. However, you need to remove their head from the floor in order to tighten the noose.

Bringing your left knee to your right knee, and shooting your head towards their opposite hip, roll the opponent over, keeping the grip and trap.

Walk your legs around towards their left side. Put pressure on the back of their neck and pull around with your left hand to tighten the trap, cutting off the blood flow, and getting the tap… or an evening sleep time cuddle.

Tips:
- Pay close attention to the choking grips. You have to cut off both arteries. If your arm is pulling away from their neck you’re just trying to crush their windpipe with their own Gi. That’s not the point of this choke. Your arm must act as a block to their artery.
- If they pull back the arm that you’re trying to drag feel free to accept the gift, and put on the guillotine.

Training ideas:
- Learn the mechanics of chokes. That will help your application of them. It will also help you see past false defences.
- Work on your grip strength. Start with a light rubber band that you carry with you all the time. Whenever you get a chance put the rubber band around your finger tips and open and close your hand. 15 minutes a day on each hand does wonders. During your work-outs (because we all do them, right?) throw a Gi over a bar and do pull-ups. After a few of those just get a collar grip and hold yourself up for as long as you can. Fold a towel around your dumb-bells or bar-bells so that you’re just grabbing cloth. This will not only help your chokes, it will help your entire game.
- During sparring over a few weeks focus your entire game around the acquisition and retention of the collar grip in every position. This will force you to adjust your weight, movements, and techniques in order to compensate. It will help you figure out different ways to finding the collar. It’s really a strategy in and of itself.