16/09/2016 - Teaching | Side Control | Step Over Triangle

Teaching #560
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/09/2016

I ran through the step-over triangle today, which I first learned in a nogi class with Felipe Souza back in 2007. However, I rarely use the step-over triangle as a submission: normally I just use it for control, then attack the far arm. I have finished the choke occasionally, but most often that happens without a focused effort to get the submission: I just happen to be tighter on the neck than I thought while going for the arm, or the person I'm sparring is less experienced and taps before there is truly the threat of a choke.

The way I normally set this up is when they make the mistake of reaching an arm through your legs. Trap it by sliding your leg underneath. Step your other leg over their head, wrapping under their neck. Triangle your legs together, staying upright. You may find it easier to lock your legs if you grab their trapped sleeve and pull it towards you. From here, you can try squeezing and tensing your legs, pulling on their elbow. If that doesn't work, attack their far arm with the usual straight armlocks and americanas.

Alternatively, you can switch your hips and tilt, exposing their arm. It then becomes a simple matter of pushing the wrist up towards your knee. Be aware that this is much less secure than the previous upright position, so they may be able to roll to the top. You might still get a submission, but it is inherently riskier.
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Teaching Notes: This was a fun first attempt, but I reckon it needs more work before I teach it again. A lot of people had trouble locking the legs, with the details on that proving tricky for some of them. I need to streamline and simplify it: showing both of the variations I'm familiar with might have been too much. However, I like that it fits with maintenance, as it kind of turns into that a lot due to the submission being hard to finish. That makes for a pleasingly complete week of all maintenance.

The other problem is that to really make sense of this one, you need to already know the americana, kimura and straight armbar. This therefore might be one to save for the advanced class, whenever I manage to get that started. I hurt my neck a bit in drilling beforehand, which meant I couldn't train properly. Good reminder to not lead with my head: it's super important that I have at least one hand ready to frame and protect those delicate vertebrae.