18/04/2015 - Private

Teaching #311 - Private #004
Artemis BJJ (PHNX Fitness), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 18/04/2015

I got to catch up with a training partner right after open mat, as Gina popped down for a private lesson (she also made it to the GrappleThon last month). She's been busy preparing herself for the Grappler's Heart tournament over in the States, coming up soon on the 25th April. Before she headed off, she asked me if we could work on some butterfly guard. Preparing the lesson, I had a few passes to show her, along with some variations on the typical butterfly sweep. It's always cool training with Gina, especially from an instruction perspective. She has a rare condition called dystonia: among other challenges, that means that techniques relying on a lot of foot and toe strength are problematic.

I focused on three techniques from butterfly guard (as per previous write-ups), the shin trap and knee forward passes, then the butterfly sweep grip variation. For the shin trap, I normally recommended sprawling back and walking round on your toes, but for Gina we tried moving more on the knees instead, or indeed shifting into a knee slide pass. That grip where you reach underneath and lock their trapped foot in with your hand should prove especially useful there, as that further prevents them wriggling their leg into some kind of half guard.

For the sweep, I went with that grip variation I learned from the Carlos Machado Unstoppable DVD, which I refer to as a shoulder clamp. One arm goes under their armpit, the other around their head, locking hands and pulling in tight by the shoulder. You can then use the armpit arm to add extra leverage to your butterfly lift with your same side leg.

Should they free their head from your arm, or if you end up with your arm under their head, you can then use your elbow for leverage, bringing it into their neck and jaw. Shift to your other leg and use that for the butterfly sweep instead. As Gina has strong arms and shoulders, that should hopefully work well for her.

Good luck to Gina at Grappler's Heart on the 25th!