14/04/2014 - Grip Break When They Block Your Back Choke

Class #558
Bristol Sports Centre, (Artemis BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 14/04/2014

I was still pretty sore from the GrappleThon yesterday, particularly my left arm. My own fault entirely, as I rely way too much on cross-facing, along with overwrapping from the guard and just generally grabbing the gi and yanking it a lot. It indicates I'm probably using too much force with that arm, which is ironic given how focused I am on technique. ;)

Well worth the pain, because we've managed to raise over £5,000 for the wonderful local charity Kinergy! Naturally you're more than welcome to keep pushing that total even higher, if you want to help an extremely deserving cause. It meant I didn't do any sparring today, though I was still able to join in with the drilling, as well as set the timer for sparring etc.

Dónal started off with a de la Riva pass drill. Squat, grab their collar and pull them in towards you (to get their shoulders off the ground, which makes it harder for them to sweep you). Shove the foot that is on your hip straight down, pushing near the ankle, then swing your leg up. Step on their leg, shoving it underneath the leg you raised to stick them in place. You'd keep going from there, naturally, but that's where we stopped for the drill.

The main technique was Dónal's grip break to attack the back: he has showed it to me before, in a private lesson a while ago. Remember to put it on slowly, being careful of wrist lock pressure. The situation is that they have grabbing your choking arm with both of their arms. Slide your non-choking hand out, then put it on top of their wrist, palm up (like you're holding a tray).

Use your choking hand to grasp your non-choking arm (you'll probably only manage a couple of fingers, but that is enough). Bend your non-choking hand backwards, at the same time twisting your choking hand in the same direction, still holding on. This should be uncomfortable on their wrist: pushing downwards will help too.

To finish extricating your arm, wriggle your non-choking wrist sideways into their arm, which should pop their hand out of the way. As soon as you knock it free, unclasp your hands and grab the meat part of their hand with your non-choking hand. From there you could push it down and step your leg over to trap it, or simply hold it in place with your hand. You may also be able to twist your choking arm straight into their neck, as they will often get distracted by what you're doing to their wrist.

Right at the end, Dónal quickly showed an entry into deep half from standard half: Roli wanted to know, as I guess he's working his deep half. Dive your inside arm to their opposite bum cheek and swivel underneath the leg. From there, you can go for the Homer sweep or maybe the Waiter, but the Homer sweep seems the simplest option for deep half. Simple is good! ;)