06/09/2015 - Open Mat | Jeff Rockwell Sit-Up Escape System

Class #663
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 06/09/2015

Looking again at what Jeff Rockwell says about frames, I realised that I had my arms too bent when drilling on Friday. I was also too low on their arms. The way Rockwell shows it, you have your forearms in front of you, almost at right angles, pressing your forearm into the crook of their elbow and the side of their neck. That's a different angle to the standard side control defensive frame, where you're more underneath your partner. This version stops them getting weight on you, and it is also something you can throw up as soon as they start to pass.

I think there is an element of pushing them towards your legs. I definitely had to make some space in order to do the initial bridge, as that's immediately followed by a quick horizontal slide of the elbow-arm, shifting across into a collar tie. Once that is in place and I've sat up, it gets easier. Sitting up is the most difficult part so far.

When my drilling partner added in more resistance, it was unsurprisingly harder to get, but seemed to lend itself to scarf hold escapes (though that might also have been because my partner was a judoka). They are already being pushed towards the legs, so it presumably feels fairly natural to turn into scarf hold. I need to look again at that stiff arm options Rockwell shows on that: I was shoving and reversing them, but I was being sloppy. Working into the frame when they've already got a cross-face is tough too, but that can be a good moment to try the standard stiff arm I first learned (shoving into their elbow from behind, like I was practicing on Friday).