28/10/2017 - RGA Bucks | Takedowns, Von Flue choke, double underhooks pass

Class #914
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Dan Lewis, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 28/10/2017

For the double leg takedown, get your standard judo grips, grip a collar and sleeve. Step back and pull them in towards you, raising your elbows. Then immediately drop, putting the knee on the collar-grabbing side on the ground between their legs. Step your other leg up on the outside and put your hands around the back of their knees, but not trying to link your hands. Your head comes up, then you also step up with your other leg. Do a little sideways run, away from your head, in order to bring them down.

They will often grab your head in an attempt at a guillotine, then land under side control, meaning they have a not particularly functional grip. If they insist on maintaining that grip, you can do what's known as a 'von Flue choke', presumably named after some guy. You establish the cross face as normal, but driving your shoulder into their neck. Your other hand goes underneath their gripping arm, linking up with your other hand. Make sure your cross-face hand is palm down for the gable grip (palm to palm). Move around to exert pressure for the choke. Either you'll get the submission, or they will let go of their grip.

A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Oct 31, 2017 at 8:57am PDT

Dan then ran through a double underhooks pass, drawing on the method Mauricio showed earlier that week (very awesomely, Mauricio is now teaching every Monday lunchtime at RGA Bucks). Roll their collars together to start (like Donal showed me a few years back), fighting off their hands if they try to stop you. It's worth taking the time to get that super strong grip. Your collar gripping arm isn't completely straight, there is a slight bend so you're not straining, ready to engage if they try to sit up.

Open their closed guard with the usual kneeling break, then get your shoulder behind their knee. Rather than immediately reaching for the collar like I'm used to, you instead rely on gripping your wrist to create a frame. Your arm that would normally go for the collar instead just wraps tight around their leg. Your other hand comes in tight, grasping the wrist of your outside arm. Driving forward off your toes, start to stack them, keeping your head up, driving with your hips too. Once they are stacked, that's when you go for the collar.

Grab their opposite collar (or shoulder, if it's nogi or you can't get the grip you want) with one of your hands, sliding your fingers inside. Bring your knee behind their bum to maintain your stack. It is important to keep maintaining heavy downwards pressure throughout this pass. Keep pushing until eventually you drive past their leg and transition to side control: don't raise your head, just keep pushing until you slide past, nudging with your shoulder if necessary.

If they bring their knee across to block that, by your neck, you can switch to something else. Grip their other leg (that isn't against your neck), low on their trousers. Step over the top of it, so you're in a kind of half guard. Your head then goes onto the leg-stacked side hip, driving across towards that side. Head stays low to avoid the reverse triangle, then you bring your other arm in for the cross-face. Walk your legs back toward the side your head is pressing into, as that shift back around should make it tough for them to keep control of your leg.

Good roll with Stu as always, where I again tried to fit in that single leg x and shin on shin guard, but not getting it where I want it just yet. I'll keep trying (naturally it's rather harder on brown belts like Stu!).