The triangle choke is one of the signature moves of Brazilian Jiu-jitstu. Unfortunately, as a heavyweight, I haven't had much of a chance to land this technique with anything that resembles consistency. I know the mechanics. I know the theory. It's the live execution that's caused me problems. Today, I landed it against a resisting opponent (and not some random beginner/white belt).
I had managed to secure a left side overhook in the closed guard and was trying to work my right hand across to threaten the lapel choke. Ideally, he starts defending the choke and I can move into the Iron Hook sequence. However, he kept pinning my right biceps to the mat. I worked my right arm free and grabbed his wrist, then swung my right leg up and over his arm to bite the back. Since his right arm was trapped in the overhook, he couldn't posture up to break the hold and I was able to secure the triangle.
I subscribe to Ryan Hall's Triangle Choke theories, so I didn't worry much about forcing the arm across my body. Instead, I tried to adjust my angle so that my hamstring would be pressing in on his carotid artery. My opponent was preventing my rotation, so I released the overhook and grabbed the back of his head. Hall once said something to the effect that, while it's not always correct to grab the opponent's head, it's never wrong to do so. Sure enough, grabbing the head was enough to get the tap.
Granted, I hit this technique on a guy who's substantially smaller than me, but I remember reading in one of Royler's books that one should perfect any new techniques on smaller opponents first, before trying it on bigger opponents. I think this is a small, but important, step in my BJJ development.
Showing posts with label BJJ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BJJ. Show all posts
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Back After A Prolonged Hiatus
A lot has happened since I last updated this blog. It's hard to believe I've come so far. Here's the short version: In June of 2011, I received my blue belt from Fateh Belkalem and Bruno Fernandes. In November of 2011, I took my first judo class in over 25 years.
One of my goals for this year is to take better notes on my training sessions, and, as an extension, to update this blog more often.
One of my goals for this year is to take better notes on my training sessions, and, as an extension, to update this blog more often.
Monday, December 14, 2009
scissor sweep and arm bar
I'm pretty clueless about sweeps, so anything I can learn and manage to apply is going to be helpful. Sunday's class focused on the scissor sweep and, failing that, the transition to arm bar. I start from closed guard. I get control of the cross shoulder lapel (eg. my right hand grabs the opponent's right lapel-- deep threatening grip, if possible). I open my guard, plant my right foot, and shrimp out enough to be able to slip my knee and shin back inside across the opponent's chest. I want my leg to be angled here. I don't want the leg to be parallel to the ground at this point. My right foot should be able to hook on to my opponent's left side/obliques.
With my left arm, I gain control of the opponent's right arm. To execute the sweep, I load my opponent on to me by pulling him forward. I place my left leg on the mat with the back of my knee in line with the opponent's knee. I kick my right leg forward, chop my left leg back, and pull the opponent forward in one simultaneous movement. This should swing him over onto his back and give me the mount. Since the right hand is already deep in the lapel, I am already set up for the choke.
If I cannot manage to get him over, I need to change tactics. To free my right leg from my opponent's chest, I need to extend and kick the leg forward to extend it behind his back. I bite down with the leg on the opponent's back. My left leg finds the opponent's hip and pushes off to rotate me to the right. Curl the shoulders up off the ground to get a smaller surface area on the ground and facilitate rotation. As I rotate, I must bite down hard on the opponent's back with my right leg. This should force him down further and affect his balance, sending him forward. Swing the left leg over his head, control his right arm, and extend my hips to hyper-extend the elbow.
If I'm the one caught in the arm bar, I need to grab onto the crook of my bicep before my opponent extends his legs and hips. The tighter I am, the better. From here, I begin short quick pulls of the threatened arm towards the back. Inch by inch, I should be able to get the arm free. Once the elbow has cleared danger, then I need to extend it back across the opponent's hamstring and begin the stacking/smash pass. From there, I move to side control.
With my left arm, I gain control of the opponent's right arm. To execute the sweep, I load my opponent on to me by pulling him forward. I place my left leg on the mat with the back of my knee in line with the opponent's knee. I kick my right leg forward, chop my left leg back, and pull the opponent forward in one simultaneous movement. This should swing him over onto his back and give me the mount. Since the right hand is already deep in the lapel, I am already set up for the choke.
If I cannot manage to get him over, I need to change tactics. To free my right leg from my opponent's chest, I need to extend and kick the leg forward to extend it behind his back. I bite down with the leg on the opponent's back. My left leg finds the opponent's hip and pushes off to rotate me to the right. Curl the shoulders up off the ground to get a smaller surface area on the ground and facilitate rotation. As I rotate, I must bite down hard on the opponent's back with my right leg. This should force him down further and affect his balance, sending him forward. Swing the left leg over his head, control his right arm, and extend my hips to hyper-extend the elbow.
If I'm the one caught in the arm bar, I need to grab onto the crook of my bicep before my opponent extends his legs and hips. The tighter I am, the better. From here, I begin short quick pulls of the threatened arm towards the back. Inch by inch, I should be able to get the arm free. Once the elbow has cleared danger, then I need to extend it back across the opponent's hamstring and begin the stacking/smash pass. From there, I move to side control.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
promotion
On a sidenote, I received my second strip today. Several of my classmates got promoted to blue belt, and many others inched their way towards their next coloured belt. I'm just happy I got the second stripe for my white belt. I'm still a long way off from my goal, but I'm making progress. That alone is encouraging.
Sweeps and Adjustments
After Day 1 of Bruno's seminar, I spent another hour with him one-on-one. My greatest concern right now is my lack of bottom game. As a Heavyweight (currently 230 lbs or so), I haven't had much need of a bottom game since I'm usually dealing with smaller guys at the club. However, when I compete, I'm in against guys who are at least the same size as I am, but usually significantly bigger. Thus, I need a ground game. My instructor tells me that, with my hip flexibility, no one should pass my guard. Well, that's not the case.
I'd been working different aspects of my game with Bruno in past sessions, but this time we decided to focus on sweeps. I demonstrated the one sweep that I have a decent grip on: the Flower sweep. From the closed guard, you get control of one sleeve. For note purposes, we'll say it's his right sleeve (using my left hand). I use my right hand to grab his pants, somewhere near the knee. This sweep is all about the timing. As the opponent shifts his weight forward, I raise my hips off the ground as high as I can. Next, I drop my hips and pull his sleeve towards my head, removing a potential base. As I'm doing this, I open my guard and kick my legs to my left and pull his left knee off the ground with my right hand. I roll myself over to the left. Keep in mind, this is happening at roughly the same time. The momentum created should take the opponent over and leave me in the mount.
The first sweep I worked on with Bruno depends on my opponent standing up to pass my guard. As he stands up, it is imperative that I gain control of the opposite arm's sleeve. So, if I'm reaching with my right, then I need to be controlling his right sleeve. I use that sleeve to pull me over to his right leg and ankle. I trap the ankle against my shoulder with my left hand. Keeping my guard closed (though I can let the guard open, if needed), I push my hips against the inside of my opponent's right knee. Since I have the right foot trapped, he has no way of stepping to correct his balance.
The next sweep was a review of one I've used in the past. As my opponent stands up, I wait to see if he keeps his feet essentially parallel. If he does, I reach for his ankles/heels, open my guard and drop my hips. I pinch my knees together in front of him, then extend my hips upward, while pulling at his ankles/heels. This should send my opponent backwards and then the scramble ensues.
The third sweep of the session is connected to the first sweep I learned that day. If the opponent is resisting really well against the knee pressure, I can open my guard, pull the sleeve I'm controlling (the right sleeve, being pulled by my right arm) and shoot my leg up over his shoulder. I should be hitting him with my calf as hard as I can to try and affect his balance. From there, I make a figure 4 with my legs, locking over his right shoulder and start sitting up. Once he's falling forward, I feed his arm into the 90 degree omaplata position. If I land it, great, if not he's still in a bad position. I need to remember to point my foot in the direction I want my opponent to go. If not, then I'm not doing it right.
The last point that we worked on was my lapel choke attack. I need to reach as deeply as possible inside the cross side lapel. So since I'm right handed, I'm reaching across my body and grabbing inside my opponent's right lapel, palm up. Where I had gone wrong is the angle of execution. I need to turn my wrist and curl my hand in more, taking as much fabric as I can, pretty much like I would if I were trying to get some extra "pop" out of a bicep curl. From there, I reach across to find any sort of fabric I can, palm down. I cross my forearms and make like my forearm is a blade that I'm sharpening. If I've got the blade of my arms applied correctly, then he should be tapping out. Another thing I can do is to open my guard and use my right leg to push my opponent to the left. This will straighten my right arm across the correct contact point. From there, I reach across to this left shoulder with my left hand, palm down, grab some fabric and X my forearms.
My biggest problem has been getting a small enough contact point, so I need to really work on rotating that wrist and curling my hand.
I'd been working different aspects of my game with Bruno in past sessions, but this time we decided to focus on sweeps. I demonstrated the one sweep that I have a decent grip on: the Flower sweep. From the closed guard, you get control of one sleeve. For note purposes, we'll say it's his right sleeve (using my left hand). I use my right hand to grab his pants, somewhere near the knee. This sweep is all about the timing. As the opponent shifts his weight forward, I raise my hips off the ground as high as I can. Next, I drop my hips and pull his sleeve towards my head, removing a potential base. As I'm doing this, I open my guard and kick my legs to my left and pull his left knee off the ground with my right hand. I roll myself over to the left. Keep in mind, this is happening at roughly the same time. The momentum created should take the opponent over and leave me in the mount.
The first sweep I worked on with Bruno depends on my opponent standing up to pass my guard. As he stands up, it is imperative that I gain control of the opposite arm's sleeve. So, if I'm reaching with my right, then I need to be controlling his right sleeve. I use that sleeve to pull me over to his right leg and ankle. I trap the ankle against my shoulder with my left hand. Keeping my guard closed (though I can let the guard open, if needed), I push my hips against the inside of my opponent's right knee. Since I have the right foot trapped, he has no way of stepping to correct his balance.
The next sweep was a review of one I've used in the past. As my opponent stands up, I wait to see if he keeps his feet essentially parallel. If he does, I reach for his ankles/heels, open my guard and drop my hips. I pinch my knees together in front of him, then extend my hips upward, while pulling at his ankles/heels. This should send my opponent backwards and then the scramble ensues.
The third sweep of the session is connected to the first sweep I learned that day. If the opponent is resisting really well against the knee pressure, I can open my guard, pull the sleeve I'm controlling (the right sleeve, being pulled by my right arm) and shoot my leg up over his shoulder. I should be hitting him with my calf as hard as I can to try and affect his balance. From there, I make a figure 4 with my legs, locking over his right shoulder and start sitting up. Once he's falling forward, I feed his arm into the 90 degree omaplata position. If I land it, great, if not he's still in a bad position. I need to remember to point my foot in the direction I want my opponent to go. If not, then I'm not doing it right.
The last point that we worked on was my lapel choke attack. I need to reach as deeply as possible inside the cross side lapel. So since I'm right handed, I'm reaching across my body and grabbing inside my opponent's right lapel, palm up. Where I had gone wrong is the angle of execution. I need to turn my wrist and curl my hand in more, taking as much fabric as I can, pretty much like I would if I were trying to get some extra "pop" out of a bicep curl. From there, I reach across to find any sort of fabric I can, palm down. I cross my forearms and make like my forearm is a blade that I'm sharpening. If I've got the blade of my arms applied correctly, then he should be tapping out. Another thing I can do is to open my guard and use my right leg to push my opponent to the left. This will straighten my right arm across the correct contact point. From there, I reach across to this left shoulder with my left hand, palm down, grab some fabric and X my forearms.
My biggest problem has been getting a small enough contact point, so I need to really work on rotating that wrist and curling my hand.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Baby Steps Towards My Goal
I've been told that Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is more than a martial art; it's a lifestyle. Now that I'm about a year and a quarter into my journey to the elusive Black Belt, I'm beginning to see how that's the case. I'm sure that anyone who has found this blog accidentally are already familiar with the art, so there's really no need to go into a lot of background information about the art itself. That being said, I'll give you a bit more info about myself.
I'm nearing 35 years old and I decided to take up this art as a way of complementing my studies in American Kenpo. Along the way, I realized that Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is a far more complete self-defense system than Ed Parker's American Kenpo, so I decided to put my focus on that. I have been training with the local Gracie Barra affiliated club in town, as well as doing the Gracie Combatives dvd program when time permits.
I've entered 3 tournaments so far and managed to win one match. I'm not exactly tearing up the tournament scene, but I'm fine with that, since I've always been more interested in the self-defense aspect of BJJ anyway. The purpose of this blog is to help me to keep track of what I've learned and just generally follow my journey. With any luck, I'll earn a Black Belt someday. At this point, I'm a one-stripe white belt, so the final prize is a long, long way away. Stay tuned for future updates.
I'm nearing 35 years old and I decided to take up this art as a way of complementing my studies in American Kenpo. Along the way, I realized that Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is a far more complete self-defense system than Ed Parker's American Kenpo, so I decided to put my focus on that. I have been training with the local Gracie Barra affiliated club in town, as well as doing the Gracie Combatives dvd program when time permits.
I've entered 3 tournaments so far and managed to win one match. I'm not exactly tearing up the tournament scene, but I'm fine with that, since I've always been more interested in the self-defense aspect of BJJ anyway. The purpose of this blog is to help me to keep track of what I've learned and just generally follow my journey. With any luck, I'll earn a Black Belt someday. At this point, I'm a one-stripe white belt, so the final prize is a long, long way away. Stay tuned for future updates.
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