23/05/2013 - No-Gi (Side Control Figure-Four Lockflow)

Class #501
Gracie Barra Bristol, (No-Gi), Miles Pearson, Bristol, UK - 23/05/2013

I'm continuing to struggle to fit in regular training. I've been teaching consistently every week, but I haven't been getting as much time as I'd like as a student. The private lessons have been on hiatus while Dónal gets his exams sorted, which leaves Thursdays as my main option. That's therefore what I've been aiming to make, finally managing it again this week.

Tonight, Miles was demonstrating some attacks from the top of side control. He kicked off with a handy drill, where they are escaping and about to establish an underhook. You whizzer in return, reaching further until you can put the back of your hand on their neck, then swivel around to the other side, where you repeat the process.

The first technique of the night was a kimura from side control, predicated off a similar scenario. They are going for the underhook, whereupon you switch your base, into a sort of scarf hold facing their legs. Your foot is back for base, looking to lock up the kimura position as quickly as you can, to avoid being bridged off. The first part of that is slipping your arm underneath theirs, which further stops their bridging potential.

Push the arm back down to the mat, switch your base back the other way, facing their head. Step over their head, then twist so that you're sitting on their head, like you had gone for the kimura off the north-south transition. Ideally, you want to scoop up their other arm with your leg, further securing your position and also preventing their ability to turn and escape. From there, turn your body and apply the submission.

That lends itself to a lockflow from side control, which I first learned from Roy Dean. This flows from a kimura to a straight armbar to americana, then back again: I think Miles taught it pretty much the same way I've learned it in the past. The main thing Miles added was blocking off the other arm, either with the knee, or even better, fishtailing and trapping that arm with your shin. There was another nice point he mentioned, relating to the americana: get your elbow into the armpit gap, stopping them from bringing their elbow and initiating and escape.

With sparring, I was looking to try Levo's control from closed guard again, grabbing the head and underhooking, which I'm still not doing very well. Along with that I wanted to attempt to work on butterfly, particularly as I'm reviewing a really good Carlos Machado instructional for JJS at the moment. That didn't go well either, as instead of establishing guard, I was getting passed, then working from under side control.

It's interesting when they don't have that friction, which makes escapes easier. I was pushing on the head, messing around with the arm, and of course didn't have to worry so much about chokes and all the fun stuff you can do with a gi lapel. Final roll wasn't really a roll, as AJ was leaving for the army so had the dubious pleasure of a 'shark tank', where fresh people are jumping in every couple of minutes.

I went straight to mount and looked to see if I could isolate the arm, either for an americana or a head and arm choke. Neither got anywhere close, though I suppose I at least managed to hold mount, so that's something. ;)