25/04/2015 - Open Mat | Armbar/Choke Combination from Mount

Class #640
Artemis BJJ (PHNX Fitness), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 25/04/2015

Tracey was having some issues with the armbar from s-mount, as due to some old injuries that position is difficult for her to reach. So after some playing, I thought that the 'double attack' could work well for her instead. This isn't something I use much myself, but the idea is that you have both a choke and an armbar on at the same time. Start with a deep collar grip, then swivel around the arm, so that you're able to both hook the arm and maintain your collar grip.

Tracey found that the most comfortable thing to do was step up her leg on that side, bringing her foot close to the head. As long as you are able to stay tight enough that they can't bring their elbow down to start turning, that seemed to work. You can then put in a second grip on the choke (either palm-up palm up, or grabbing their shoulder for a palm-up palm-down choke). This has the advantage of being both a submission possibility and providing some control as you drop down into the armbar position.

That was essential in this situation, as Tracey has a long-term back injury that means sudden jolts are a bad idea. This way, she could make her descent gradual. You can do the same thing from s-mount too, but then the idea here was a sort of custom modification that Tracey could use to armbar. I look forward to seeing how that fits into her sparring (which continues to get more fluid and versatile): I'm going to go back and check my notes/videos for more details too. Might be worth teaching at some point. :)

I got in some sparring too, with that visiting purple belt who regularly pops down. We tend to keep a fairly relaxed pace, which works well for me: as ever, I was playing with guard most of the time, as well as defending my back and trying to escape side control. Still, I'm pleased I managed to get an unstoppable sweep again, finding that the way he was attempting to squish me up for a pass lent itself well to that attack. I also looked to lock in a kimura grip, but held it a little too long.

He was moving around to my back, so I should probably have let go earlier. As it was, I gave him the opportunity to jump into an armbar. I managed to turn and thought I'd got the arm out, but he was able to readjust. Though there was a chance I might have been able to tough that out and squirm free, I tapped as soon as I felt my elbow tweaking. I'm a firm believer in tapping early and often, though admittedly I sometimes let my ego get the better of me with lower belts (a bad habit that I need to cure).