03/11/09 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #258



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 03/11/2009

Kev has officially instituted thirty minutes on takedowns at the start of every advanced lesson on Thursdays. That's good news for people keen on competition or self-defence, less good for wimpy hobbyists like me who just want to play on the ground. Still, it's only half an hour, and probably useful to get in a little takedown training, even if I don't like it.

After the throws, Kev continued with side control, this time running through two submissions, one on top, the other underneath. For the rolling triangle from side control, you begin with your hands locked under their head and arm in the classic controlling position. First, you have to clear their near arm, either by switching your hips, or getting your hip to the floor and driving backwards against their arm.

Having got that arm out of the way, you can now shove their other wrist to their chest. Your near shin presses against their body. As you still have that arm wrapping their head, raise it. This gives you the space to step your other leg right over, slipping it under their head. Grab your ankle with the hand you already have under their head.

To finish, roll over your shoulder, which puts you in the guard with a leg locked over their head, one of their arms trapped. You're therefore perfectly set up for a triangle. Simply adjust your legs by pushing off their hip, then lock in the submission. You may also need to raise your hips to push their arm across before completion.

It is possible they will bridge into you before you execute your roll, as you don't have a strong base. However, that doesn't matter, because all that means is they've put themselves into a triangle.

The next attack was, unusually, an armbar from underneath side control. This again works off the arm gripping under your head. First, shrimp your hips out, then in one motion, swing your leg over their head, while your other knee must drive in to their chest. Due to that arm under your head, you're now in position to armbar. Squeeze your knees together, then raise your hips for the submission.

This isn't very high percentage, especially as your knee may get blocked by their other arm. Nevertheless, even if you don't land the armbar (most often because they yank their limb free), you should still be able to move to open guard. Either way, you're in a much better position than stuck under sidemount.

During sparring, I found that Christina's advice from her last lesson at RGA Kilburn finally started to sink in, in regards to using your legs in guard. I made a concerted effort to either use the instep to hook their leg or ribs, while also getting feet to their hips to maintain some kind of control, especially as they were trying to pass my open guard.

This is also something Roy Harris discusses during his seminar on the fundamentals of open guard, as featured in the Roy Dean DVD. Harris is known for making methodical lists, which he does here in sets of three: that's what came to mind tonight. Along with using my feet and instep, I was also trying to use my knees to press against their chest and shoulders. This seemed to work well in keeping them at bay, although on the other hand, I as usual had sat out one round while everyone else did the full three. So, fatigue no doubt comes into it as well.