27/07/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Leuven 2017 | Gi Chokes, Americana & Kimura (Alan Shebaro)

Class #861
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Sportoase Leuven), Alan Shebaro, Leuven, Belgium, 27/07/2017

The title of this class was the most intriguing of the whole camp, looked over details. It lived up to my expectations too, taught in a simple, clear manner without lots of unnecessary talking around the important demonstrating part. Even better, Shebaro managed to connect almost everything to an easily memorable concept: "roll one, roll two."

A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jul 27, 2017 at 10:15am PDT

The rolling began with americana details. Rather than worrying too much about arm position etc, you just focus on rolling up one wrist, then the other. If you require a better angle, pull their elbow in closer to their body. He then showed it with a toe hold, which again was simple (or at least, it would be for people who know how to do toeholds. I barely understand them). Another detail, which will make more sense to people who (unlike me) understand and enjoy footlocks, was to go 'over the rainbow' with their lower leg when you complete the toe hold motion.

Next, Shebaro shared a detail I've seen before, but he applied it more broadly and had some additional tips. If people block gi chokes with their chin, it can be annoying to get to their neck. However, if you fold their collar over, that wedge cuts straight under. Shebaro suggests putting in your thumb to fold it.

For example, on the sliding collar choke from the back, open up the collar with your armpit hand, folding it over and passing to the other. Do that little roll, enhance the choke. That also works with the bow and arrow choke, which is where I've seen that collar-fold happen before.

Finally, if you are going for a rear naked choke, they will frequently grab your arm and pull firmly down. An option to counter that which I haven't seen before is 'butterfly hands'. Make a butterfly with your hands and extend your arms across. You can then move into the choke. I'm not sure I quite got the motion right as it felt like I was using strength, but checking the video will solve that.

A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jul 31, 2017 at 9:05pm PDT

24/06/2016 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Leuven 2016 | Side Control Attacks (Kenny Polmans)

Class #739
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Sportoase Leuven), Kenny Polmans, Leuven, Belgium, 24/06/2016

For his second class, Kenny focused on my favourite position, side control. As with his session on closed guard, he started off with the basics, keeping his instruction concise and clear. In order to move round from side control to north south, he suggested blocking the near hip, extending your leg nearest their head, then shifting towards the head.

However, he warned against getting greedy and trying to go straight to the head: that can mean your weight is off and you get rolled. Keep it steady, settling your weight down. Push their near arm out of the way (anybody experienced will make this a struggle, as that gives you a lot of control), shifting your leg forward then shuffling back to dislodge the elbow. You can now move into mount (grabbing your foot is an option here, though I always prefer driving the knee across, ideally into the armpit).

Next, Kenny began to set up the breadcutter choke. If they have their near arm in front of your legs, you can hook it with your arm, as you bring your knees back around into side control. I couldn’t quite see what was happening from the angle I had, but normally you then get underneath that arm with your hand, in order to reach back under for their collar. You can then grip their far collar with your other hand, swivelling your elbow back to lock in the breadcutter.

Just as I was thinking I couldn’t see the detail, Kenny psychically heard me and shifted his angle, meaning I could zoom in with my phone too. That meant I could see how Kenny pushes them up onto their side to secure his grip. He also secures the arm differently than I’ve been shown: rather than sneaking an arm under and staying sprawled, he does a quick motion with his legs to get the arm, knees staying in tight.

When you go for this choke, often they will be blocking. Just as often, you may find their gi lapels are loose. If not, it’s not normally too hard to pull them out yourself, though that does telegraph what you’re about to do. My training partners know how much I like choking people with a lapel, so get very wary once I start pulling out gi tails. ;D

For Kenny’s gi tail choke, grab their far lapel with your hand that’s nearest their legs, maintaining control of their head with your other arm. Punch it out to give yourself maximum gi tail to play with, then slide back and push it through the gap they usually create with their far arm (because that tends to be framing into your neck, head, or perhaps shoulder). You can go over the top too, like the attacks I enjoy from half guard. As Kenny said, they frequently pull their arm out if you do that, opening up the route you wanted in the first place.

From there, you can move into an Ezequiel choke using the lapel, which again connects back to that half guard sequence I’ve taught in the past. Keep it loose enough that you can insert your hand through. A big advantage of side control over the same attack from half guard is you can go to knee on belly, adding much more leverage. Look up, to engage the muscles of your whole body.

That was followed by another gi feed attack. This time, feed the gi collar over the arm, trapping their limb in the bent position. Bring your elbow underneath their elbow, then grab the gi tail with that hand (like the one I’ve taught from top half guard). Keep feeding it until you are gripping that gi tail close to their wrist, to lock their arm in tight. Put your knee on their stomach. Take the arm you have behind their head out, instead gripping their far wrist. Now just pull up their elbow as you push on the wrist for an Americana.

I didn't get a good angle on that last one, so couldn't see what was happening too well (thanks to Chris Paines, when I wrote this up in Madrid a few weeks later, I had access to his video from the other side), which also made me think I wanted more detail on everything. This was all stuff I like to use, so I decided to check with Kenny what he charged for private lessons. They were MUCH cheaper than I expected, meaning I immediately booked one there and there. Keep your eyes peeled for the class write-up, it will be the next post I upload on here. ;)

25/09/2013 - Dónal Private (Side Control Chokes)

Class #524 - Private #016
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 25/09/2013

This will probably be my last private with Dónal for a while, as I've covered the majority of what I wanted to work on for the next year or two. Today I was keen to add some more side control chokes to my game, along with refining the few I know. Dónal began with the breadcutter choke (I think that's what it's normally called), setting it up by moving towards north-south. They will often reach past your hip when you do that, which leaves a space for you reach under their arm and clamp it to your side.

Move back to side control, then with the hand of that clamping arm, grab behind their neck, gripping in the middle of the collar. Cinch that in. Bring your free arm back towards you, then use that to turn their head away from you. This is in order to expose the side of their neck. Grip their far collar with your free hand (this might require balancing on their chest, turned towards their head, which should also help keep them pinned to the mat), then put your forearm into the exposed side of their neck.

To finish, you need to create some pressure into their neck, in order to close off the artery. Turn towards their legs, in a sort of reverse scarf hold position, then use that base from your legs to lower yourself gradually into their neck, keeping your initial gi grip tight. Be careful, as this can come on quickly and it isn't very comfortable.

A similar option is the baseball bat choke, so called because your hands are in the same position as if they were gripping a bat (or a greatsword, if you want to picture something cooler. 'Greatsword choke' has a nice ring to it, or maybe 'dai-katana choke', for fellow Daggerfall fans. ;p). It's often done from knee on belly, as in the screencap from Roy Dean's Brown Belt Requirements, but I rarely use knee on belly. I much prefer side control, so Dónal showed me the application from there instead.

Again you want to grip the collar behind their neck, but this time you aren't going underneath their arm. Your other hand reaches over to the other side of their neck, gripping the collar just above your first hand: this is where that 'Greatsword grip' (that has a nice ring to it too! :D) comes in. A key detail Dónal adds here is that you then 'engage' your arms. By that, he means tense the muscles slightly, squeezing into their neck. This shouldn't be straining, but enough to create pressure.

From there, spin around to north-south, putting your head by their far hip. Your bum raises slightly for added pressure. Often, they will tap before you get all the way around, because you already started applying to submission as soon as you engaged your arms. It is possible to do this choke by squeezing at the end, but I prefer Dónal's method.

You can also use the gi tail to apply the baseball bat choke: the grip is the same as for the attacks from guard Dónal showed me last week. Yet another option is to do the technique in reverse, so you establish your second grip before the first, in order to overcome their defence. To work out the position you need, set up the baseball bat choke as normal, then before spinning around to finish, look at where you second hand is. Reset, but this time, put that second hand in place first. Switch to the other side, bringing the elbow of your second-grip arm across. Put in your first grip, engaging your arms, whereupon you finish as in the standard version.

The gi tail also comes in handy for a variation from Norbi. They are defending, so their arm is bent, protecting their neck. Wrap their gi lapel on the same side straight over their arm, feeding it to your hand under their head to lock it in place. You can potentially apply an americana from here by lifting their elbow: another tip on that submission is to control their wrist by bringing your chin to your chest, then bring your head to the mat to get their arm into an americana position. If you're not doing the americana, then you just wrap the arm up as above, but use that as an opportunity to establish your grips for the baseball bat choke.

We finished off with the step-over triangle, which is the one technique from today I already use frequently. I first learned it in a nogi class with Felipe Souza back in 2007, along with a few times since, like when Kev taught it in 2010. 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.

Dónal's method had some similarities to the way Roy Dean teaches it on his latest release, Black Belt Requirements (review forthcoming). Like Roy, Dónal also sets it up from scarf hold, stepping over the head, then bringing that leg back to press firmly into their neck. Locking up the triangle, your other leg curls back, then you finish by reaching behind you and pulling their arm and squeezing. The way I've done it in the past was flatter, more like in the picture on the right of Yuki Ishikawa on yellow mats (being careful to lock on the ankle not the foot): it will be good to add Dónal/Roy Dean's method as another variation.

23/05/2013 - No-Gi (Side Control Figure-Four Lockflow)

Class #501
Gracie Barra Bristol, (No-Gi), Miles Pearson, Bristol, UK - 23/05/2013

I'm continuing to struggle to fit in regular training. I've been teaching consistently every week, but I haven't been getting as much time as I'd like as a student. The private lessons have been on hiatus while Dónal gets his exams sorted, which leaves Thursdays as my main option. That's therefore what I've been aiming to make, finally managing it again this week.

Tonight, Miles was demonstrating some attacks from the top of side control. He kicked off with a handy drill, where they are escaping and about to establish an underhook. You whizzer in return, reaching further until you can put the back of your hand on their neck, then swivel around to the other side, where you repeat the process.

The first technique of the night was a kimura from side control, predicated off a similar scenario. They are going for the underhook, whereupon you switch your base, into a sort of scarf hold facing their legs. Your foot is back for base, looking to lock up the kimura position as quickly as you can, to avoid being bridged off. The first part of that is slipping your arm underneath theirs, which further stops their bridging potential.

Push the arm back down to the mat, switch your base back the other way, facing their head. Step over their head, then twist so that you're sitting on their head, like you had gone for the kimura off the north-south transition. Ideally, you want to scoop up their other arm with your leg, further securing your position and also preventing their ability to turn and escape. From there, turn your body and apply the submission.

That lends itself to a lockflow from side control, which I first learned from Roy Dean. This flows from a kimura to a straight armbar to americana, then back again: I think Miles taught it pretty much the same way I've learned it in the past. The main thing Miles added was blocking off the other arm, either with the knee, or even better, fishtailing and trapping that arm with your shin. There was another nice point he mentioned, relating to the americana: get your elbow into the armpit gap, stopping them from bringing their elbow and initiating and escape.

With sparring, I was looking to try Levo's control from closed guard again, grabbing the head and underhooking, which I'm still not doing very well. Along with that I wanted to attempt to work on butterfly, particularly as I'm reviewing a really good Carlos Machado instructional for JJS at the moment. That didn't go well either, as instead of establishing guard, I was getting passed, then working from under side control.

It's interesting when they don't have that friction, which makes escapes easier. I was pushing on the head, messing around with the arm, and of course didn't have to worry so much about chokes and all the fun stuff you can do with a gi lapel. Final roll wasn't really a roll, as AJ was leaving for the army so had the dubious pleasure of a 'shark tank', where fresh people are jumping in every couple of minutes.

I went straight to mount and looked to see if I could isolate the arm, either for an americana or a head and arm choke. Neither got anywhere close, though I suppose I at least managed to hold mount, so that's something. ;)

26/01/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #279



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 26/01/2010

My old instructor, who is also the guy who gave me my blue belt, Jude Samuel, has recently started up his own gym. Jude is an awesome teacher, so if you're near Bethnal Green and want to learn from one of the best black belts in the country, check out Legacy BJJ: conveniently, very near the train station.

I wasn't able to train last Thursday, because I was off visiting my girlfriend in Bristol. Still, I don't mind too much about missing Thursdays, because I know I can get two classes in back-to-back on Tuesdays.

No lift today, as I was at a meeting earlier today. That meant I could just walk from High Wycombe train station to Kev's place, which according to Google Maps was only a twenty minute walk. With my non-existent sense of direction, it actually took me

Kev's focus was on side control today, beginning with the basic escape to guard, followed by an Americana. Kev's set-up was slightly different from the one I've got in my summary, as it started from your partner pressing up into your neck.

As soon as they do, lean your weight forward, being careful to stay tight, and also not lean so far that they can roll you over (post on your head if necessary). The idea is to press their arm to the floor, whereupon you can peel it from your throat (easier said than done), lock in the figure four, then go for the submission. Pressing your head into their arm may also help.

Kev taught the thumbless grip, giving the reason that if you use your thumb, that can act as a lever for your partner's escape. If they do somehow manage to get free, all is not lost, as the far side armbar is still there. Scoop their arm up and trap it against your shoulder.

Pull them onto their side, then push on their head, providing you with the space to step over, your foot close to their back. Swivel around the trapped arm, then drop back for the armbar. You can also grip their leg, which will help block off their escape options.

Side control is easily my favourite top position, because it feels the most secure. Sparring from there, I was trying to stay tight, and see if I could either gradually move round, or slip through to side control. That tends to be difficult with fellow blue belts, however, so I had my hands full just staying in the dominant position. With Callum, I was attempting to stay mobile, but also suck up any space. That sort of worked, but he would eventually squirm free, such as spinning into an inverted guard as I tried to maintain north-south.

Underneath, I did the same thing to him. In my case, it was due to my north-south escape attempt. I had Gustavo Machado's technique in mind, from his Great Escapes DVD. You're supposed to wriggle out to make enough space, then swing your legs over their shoulder, going for the back.

However, that is normally too simple for them to defend, as they can just posture up. Then again, as Kev said when I asked him later, that's good enough, as you can use that to spin into guard. Momentum is the key to make the initial space, then you need only threaten the back-take to open up space. I had fully intended to take the back, but ended up swivelling to guard: if I had that as my goal from that start, as in Kev's escape, probably would have been less of a scramble.

29/09/2009 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #244



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 29/09/2009

Bit late on this, but I just saw on one of the forums that Black Eagle is doing another 10% discount at the moment. To get the 10% off, go to their site and use the voucher code sept09 when you check out. Only works until the end of this month though, so seeing that is today, probably not too helpful.

The theme tonight was side control, beginning with the basic side control to mount transition, followed by an Americana from side control.

There are several ways of getting your arms in place for the Americana, and while I never get this submission, it is interesting to see the slight differences. Once their wrist is secured, Kev was slipping his whole arm past the elbow and into place. On Gracie Combatives, Rener and Ryron insert the hand palm up near the elbow, then gradually twist it round to secure the grip. The main problem for me, however, is working their arm down in the first place, so I need to focus on that part of the technique before worrying about the finish.

Kev also went through some defensive options if somebody catches you in an Americana. Naturally its better to not end up there in the first place by keeping your arm safe, tucking the elbow, but that's easier said than done during sparring. If you do get caught, then Kev suggested getting your head into the crook of their elbow, which is a great stalling position to give yourself time to escape. However, as Kev heavily emphasised, you need to tap if you get caught during the escape: it isn't worth your shoulder.

Finally, Kevin showed us a basic escape from side control, which is always welcome. The point to note on this one is using a single leg bridge. You can go to both legs to increase the power of your bridge, but that will give them a chance to block your knee with their arm. If you bridge off one leg with your knee already in place by your ribs, then you can drop that knee right into place after bridging. They don't have time to jam their arm in the way.

That also reminds me, again, that I haven't updated my technique summary in a long time. Now that I'm regularly attending a basics class again, that's definitely something I'd like to do (if nothing else, means I can just link to the technique rather than repeatedly writing it out).

Sparring was of course from side control. It was king of the hill, and I was pretty terrible at maintaining my side control tonight. I attempted to stay mobile and switch position, swinging my arm through to block the hip if they were slipping free. However, I was neither quick enough nor sufficiently sensitive to how they were moving.

I can feel myself losing control, as their hips begin to escape, but I'm never able to do anything much about it. I should be controlling their hips better in the first place, but this isn't a position where a small guy like me can just hunker down and hope to squish them in place. I have to move, but more importantly, I have to know where to move. That's at least one aspect I'm missing at the moment: just randomly going to some variation of side control isn't going to help.

18/12/2007 - BJJ (Beginners)

Class #110



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 18/12/2007 – Beginner

Looks like I’m getting a round of colds yet again this Winter, meaning that last week I only made the one session. On the other hand, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as I had a whole bunch of bureaucratic things to sort out on Thursday night. Cold or not this Thursday, I probably won’t make the nogi again, as it’s the departmental xmas meal: managers buy all the drinks, meaning that training is unlikely to be a good idea (I’ll bring my training gear along just in case, but I don’t expect to make it to class that night).

Term has finished now, so I can try and make Tuesday sessions until it starts up in the second week of January. Of course in practice that merely means I have the option of this Tuesday, as the other two are taken up by christmas and New Year respectively. Going by last time, the academy should be open at the start of January, but will have to wait and see.

Tonight’s class kicked off with the Americana from side control, for which Jude mentioned a few useful tips I either haven’t heard before or don’t remember. Start by lifting up the elbow they have near your leg, switch base and come in close underneath, so they can’t use that to defend. Grab the bicep of their far arm, digging your elbow into their side. Push your shoulder forward on the same side as the forearm they have pressing into your neck: that should make space to slip your other arm by your chest and onto their wrist. You can then push their arm to the floor, elbow close to their head, with your other hand already in position to make a figure four grip, finishing with the Americana by raising up their elbow.

I’m not sure I quite did the pushing their arm to the floor part right, so will have to work on making space with the shoulder and pressing down. Getting that arm off my gi tends to be the point of difficulty for me when attempting an Americana for side control, so hopefully the tip about the shoulder will help.

Jude then mentioned another slight variation for trapping their other arm, which is to bring your leg around to lock it in place. If they’re resisting, that should make it easier, though again I’m not completely sure I understand that bit correctly.

I had a fairly relaxed spar with my partner Steve, doing guard passage. That’s because this was only his second class, so I was trying to help him out with advice: e.g., go for the cross-choke when I’m in his guard, stand up to pass and break my guard etc. Hopefully it was of some use to him. At the same time, even though he’s a recent beginner, I still had trouble opening his guard, so must remember to try standing up more myself.

Underneath, I went for triangles to let him know to be careful of his arms (having just started BJJ, he only knew the one guard pass, where you bring your arm underneath the leg). My triangles are terrible, and I doubt I could have locked it on fully, but it did at least point out where he needs to be careful. Also reminds me that my submissions remain non-existent.

Changing partners, I was about to spar with a friendly looking bearded guy with glasses, but Jude stopped me. Turns out Jude was doing me a favour, as judging by a throwing exercise later on, that guy is rather intense. He was slamming his partner all over the mat, occasionally face first (poor guy had to go get some ice after class). If he’s that aggressive during drilling, I dread to think what happens during rolling!

So thanks to Jude, I instead ended up with a much less injurious sparring partner, Radek (not the blonde guy I haven’t seen in a while, but another Pole with the same name, bit stockier and less hair). On top, I waited for him to make a move, as he had a tendency to open up his legs, giving me the opportunity to pin one with a knee and pass to side control. I got that a couple of times, although I need to remember to use my hips like Leo recommended a while back (if they have their arms in the way, jerk your hip forward to either knock their wrist out of the way, or gradually stutter through to side control).

In guard, I managed to get the sit-up sweep, but that mainly only works against less experienced people who aren’t expecting it. That proved to be the only sweep I got, spending most of the spar in open guard, trying for scissor, elevator and flower sweeps. Didn’t get close with any of them, though I did get in position to try transitioning to an armbar a few times (which I didn’t get either, but at least had a chance to attempt stringing a few techniques together). I was able to keep my knees close to him, so prevented the pass, though then again he’s both a beginner and was probably getting tired from trying to use a fair bit of strength.

We went through the Americana from side control again after sparring, which was useful as I can always do with more drilling, followed by Americana from mount, then finished up with some exercises as usual (push-ups etc). I felt ok after class, so hopefully I’ll be training again tomorrow, but will have to see how I feel in the morning. Should really get in another advanced if I can, as the last three classes I’ve done have all been beginners.

21/06/2007 - BJJ (No-Gi)

Class #64


Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Leonardo Leite, London, UK - 21/06/2007 – No-Gi

Recently there have been a bunch of Brazilian guys I haven’t seen before hanging around the academy, who I presumed were friends of Felipe or Roger visiting. One of them wears a black belt, and is apparently called Leo: Zaf mentioned that he was here to prepare for the Mundials. He was also helping out with teaching, and took both classes today.

Leo is clearly keen on fitness, running everyone through a load of different exercises before we got on to the main technical section. Today also marked my first no-gi class, which I was a little apprehensive about, but also excited as its something quite different from anything I’ve done before. Its also the first time I’ve really had a chance to use my rash guard – breakfalling seems a lot more painful, and there is nothing to wipe your sweat on, but it is a lot more comfortable than a bulky gi jacket.

Leo began with two takedowns, both from an over-under clinch. You start with one hand behind your partner’s head (as opposed to neck: if you grip the neck, that gives them more opportunity to resist), the other hand on the inside of their arm, gripping their bicep. Pull them down and to the side using both your holds, keeping them tight as you do so. Keep going in both directions until they try to raise up, whereupon you step a knee in between their legs, duck down, grab behind and beneath their bum, then raise up and sideways for the double leg.

Next variation is if they’ve got a hold on your wrist with their same side arm. You twist your hand out and around, coming through with your other arm to grab their tricep on their gripping arm. Pull that down and past you, simultaneously stepping in tight with your knee between their legs. Switch your grip to behind them as before, but this time move the knee that was between their legs to the outside, you head on the other side, then drop them over that knee.

Leo followed this up with ‘king of the hill’ sparring, which unusually for me was takedowns from standing. I didn’t have much of an idea what to do, so tried to observe what everyone else was doing carefully. I attempted to get a clinch and try to get my hips back, but generally got either swept by my leg, or at one point someone did some sort of sacrifice throw (I think: not sure what the right term is, but he ended up alongside me). It’s going to take a long time to get used to takedowns, but it would seem one thing of importance from today was to be more careful of my leg position.

The lesson then moved into side control. The technique was Americana from side control, followed by a kimura. You begin with the usual arm underneath their head and other one slipped past their arm. The arm under their head reaches right up into their armpit, which you then use to pull them in tight. Your shoulder then digs into their face and arm, aiming to get it down to the ground. Once its isolated – helped by their more vulnerable position on their side – switch you elbow to the other side of their head, grab the wrist, then slip your other arm underneath by their elbow joint to go for the Americana.

If they manage to overhook your arm first, you can instead go for a kimura from side control. Using your grip on the arm, pull them in even tighter, so that they go up on their side, then step round and brace your knee against their back, to stop them getting their shoulders back to the ground. Switch your hold on their arm, then twist round for the kimura.

Next we did some specific sparring from side control. I was with Zaf, who is significantly stronger than me, but proved a good training partner nonetheless. Like he’d mentioned to Ben some months ago, he gave me tips on getting my weight down in side control. Recently, I’ve been sprawling out on one leg, bringing the knee of the other into their hips. Zaf advised that instead, I should sprawl out with both legs, coming up on my toes and driving down with my hips. If I need to block their hips, I can simply twist and press my own hip downwards, or bring the knee in as necessary (though this may well remove some of the pressure from my side control, unlike using the hip).

In free sparring, I was able to mount Zaf a few times and maintain the position, but that was it. My attempts to walk up into high mount and see if I could free a limb for an Americana or armbar met with little success. I also imagine Zaf could have easily thrown me off if he’d used his considerable reserves of power. I tried to switch into knee on belly before transitioning to mount, but I think I mostly just swung my leg over, which isn’t a good habit. I attempted to open up some space with my hips first, by shunting towards his head, which seemed to help a little.

My second partner was Oli, who unsurprisingly had little trouble subbing me from various positions. I resisted his RNC attempt for a while, trying to bridge up from his back mount and pull on his choking arm, but he methodically worked his other arm into position for the choke. However, I’m glad that I at least have something to go for rather than simply flail about aimlessly: should improve over time. I’m expecting to get a lot of practice doing escapes.

Finally, I rolled with Alex, a brown belt. I don’t think I approached it as well as I could have, as I think I was a little overawed, so played it cautious. He caught me in a series of submissions, as you’d expect. Next time, I want to concentrate more carefully on what he’s doing to try and figure out how he does it, or at least pick up some tips, rather than just backing off all the time.

01/02/2007 - BJJ

Class #27


Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Felipe Souza, London, UK -01/02/2007

Today I had a chance to work kimura and Americana from side control, both of which I’ve failed miserably to ever get in sparring. It was also useful to get some general tips on side control, as when I’ve rolled from that position before, I’ve been at a loss what to do (except try and get mount).

For the Americana (if I’m getting it the right way round), Person A starts on top in side control, right arm underneath Person B’s arm, the other arm pressed against Person B’s head. Previously, I had thought that the idea in side control was to push a knee up against your opponent, but it would appear that its better to go up on your toes, as that pushes your weight down on top of them. Person A switches their base (so brings their right leg over their left, basing out with their right, knee raised). When doing this, you need to be careful not to let up the pressure of your weight, such as by leaning too far towards Person B’s head. Immediately after you’ve switched base and grabbed their wrist, return to the previous position. This will leave Person A with one arm still underneath Person B’s arm, with all of their bodyweight against Person B’s other arm. So, when Person A pushes it down, their other arm is already in position to grab their own wrist for the Americana. Here are a bunch of variations on the 'bent armlock' position (i.e., Americana and kimura) from side control, thanks to trusty ol YouTube.



For the kimura, it’s the other way round – their hand points down instead of up. The set-up Felipe showed us was if Person B managed to loop their hand round your neck while in side control, as opposed to having both arms beneath you. This was a slightly more awkward position, as this time when you switched base, you had to reach behind your own head to grab their wrist and push it down. I also found that I kept grabbing the wrong side of their wrist, so had to readjust my grasp in order to facilitate the kimura. Here's a vid of a rather different set-up, from Gustavo Machado's site.

Sparring was ‘winner-stays-on’ with everyone else in a line. I had no success at all underneath, my first spar (against a fairly stocky blond guy with a beard and long hair called James) ending with him easily pulling guard. I fared better against Newton, but kept going through the same process. I would drive an arm into his neck, keeping a knee up, then trying to shift round to get guard. He would go for an Americana, I would keep moving round or resist some other way (straighten out my arm, hold his collar), ending up with him bringing his legs round and me on my side. Each time I attempted to push his legs or move underneath him, but found myself returning to that same position. Eventually, while I could possibly have resisted for a fourth (fifth?) time, I relaxed as he went for the Americana (not that I ‘let’ him get it, as no doubt he could have forced his way through – I was especially knackered from being crushed, as he is considerably heavier).

Against the American guy, Jeff, I got caught in some bizarre choke, which I initially thought was a clock choke using my gi – I probably would have had to tap if he hadn’t ended up in mount while I was resisting. Turns out he was actually choking me by feeding a gi through my arm, if I understood him correctly – sounded like something Yrkoon9 mention a while back in his log. Huey was about to shift round over me when time expired: at first I thought he was going for the same thing as Jeff, but guess I’ll never know.

Generally speaking, I had trouble getting space to shrimp out and get into guard. I occasionally got half-guard, or a vague hold on a leg, but couldn’t work out how to sweep from there. Certainly much tougher than the last time we did side control sparring, where I was at least managing to get back to guard a few times. I also not sure if I’m getting the fine line between being pigheaded and working my resistance right – couple of times, especially against Newton, where I thought he was close to getting the submission on, so I could have tapped, but then I also thought I had a reasonable chance to escape.

I only went on top twice, one of which was the aforementioned brief spar against James. The second time was with Gary, who to my surprise I managed to get an Americana just as we’d drilled in class. I’m not sure how much he was resisting – seemed to go fairly smoothly – so perhaps he was tired from a previous spar. Still, was good to have at least that small bit of success.

I think I need to be more careful about where I’m putting my arms under side control. Whereas I should have been manoeuvring them to my opponent’s chest so I could push up and shrimp for guard, I was tending to slip an arm under their neck or even around their shoulder, which didn’t achieve anything except give them an opportunity for the Americana. I managed to be proactive on top, but then didn’t have much chance to work this as I spent most of rolling on the bottom.

I’m not going to make the Carlinhos seminar this time round, my option instead being some quality cheese at a university 80s night, replete with a Wham tribute band!

Well, I’m excited about it anyway. Hooray for George Michael! Or in this case, George Michael-a-like.