22/06/2016 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Leuven 2016 | Closed Guard Two-On-1 Grip Break (Kenny Polmans)

Class #733
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Sportoase Leuven), Kenny Polmans, Leuven, Belgium, 22/06/2016

Another Belgian black belt and more lovely closed guard, this time focusing on the two-on-one grip break. Kenny likes to stick a thumb in the sleeve to open up that sleeve first, in order to establish your grip. He also turns his body, shifting his torso towards the gripping sleeve side. That slight shift adds more power to the grip break.

From there, you have lots of options. The main ones I like are a back take or a sweep, both of which Kenny covered. He went with the windscreen wiper sweep, like Andre Anderson does on his top notch DVD about closed guard. He controls the arm by gripping around the back, pinning down his elbow to clamp their arm against him. He can then grab their knee, then kick his leg up to roll through into mount. Punching up with that knee grip finishes the motion.

He showed the back take as an option when that sweep was blocked. Similar idea, with a strong grip, shrimping away to get the space to get your hooks in. I think it's also a sequence Yas went through at that comp fundraising seminar a while back: either way, solid stuff from closed guard.

More surprisingly, Kenny showed how you could move into a bow and arrow from here, from that same position. Instead of keeping the hand grabbed around their back gripping the lat, you reach to grab their collar. You are gripping all the way around their head, gripping the collar underneath their head. That means you can roll them over like in the windscreen wiper, right into a bow and arrow.

21/06/2016 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Leuven 2016 | Bow & Arrow Choke (Brad Wolfson)

Class #727
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Sportoase Leuven), Brad Wolfson, Leuven, Belgium, 21/06/2016

I was looking forward to this after Wolfson's first lesson yesterday, because his teaching approach gelled well with my learning style. The classes I'm going to make a particular effort to attend are those that break this down into short sections, focusing on a small number of techniques without a million steps. Wolfson made me even keener to attend his lessons with an early quote from today, where he talked about how he didn't care if we only did one technique for an hour, the important thing was getting that sorted. Exactly what I want. I can think of nothing better in terms of format if all the instructors picked one technique for their whole class (that's how I most like to learn, which is why I teach that way).

A video posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jun 21, 2016 at 2:46pm PDT

The technique in question was the bow and arrow choke. That was a contrast to yesterday, as this is a technique I know well and have taught plenty of times. Starting from standard back control with a seat-bet grip, you open up their collar with the hand you have under their armpit. Grip it with the hand you have over their shoulder. I normally tell my students not to grip too high, but interestingly Wolfson made a point of saying where you grip didn't matter (and demonstrated it too). So I may be emphasising that too much, something for me to play with.

His progression from there was different too. Instead of grabbing the non-choking side leg to help swing into position, he doesn't force the position. Instead, he reacts to their escape attempt. As they bring their leg out in the standard bridging back escape, he comes up on his choking elbow, bringing his leg up to their neck (like you would if you were looking to do the technical mount style back retake). Your other foot is in technical mount now, having shifted across (like another thing I often teach, going to mount if they start to escape the back). Thrust your hips into them, also driving off that foot, lifting their head and upper torso sideways.

That gives you the space to bring the leg nearest their head over their neck, grab their leg for control, then drop back and secure the choke. I prefer to be upright for the choke, so it's useful to have more details on the alternative way to finish. There was plenty more detail too: most of the classes at BJJ Globetrotter Camps will be a series of techniques and a short bit of drilling, packing in up to around six techniques (normally related, but not always: the latter classes are the ones I tend to avoid, as I get confused if it's loads of unrelated stuff. I'm easily confused ;D).

Wolfson also showed how you could enter the back from knee on belly, moving to bow and arrow from there. You're going for a cross choke from knee on belly. Your first hand gets into the collar no problem, they block the second hand, leaving it by their shoulder or gi. That's fine, as this is just the set-up (though of course you can finish the choke if they don't block it successfully enough). Step around their head unwinding your hands, then do a kettlebell swing motion to lift them upright. Just as with a kettlebell swing, this should be about the hip thrust, not pulling with your back. I felt like I was using my back too much on this, plus I seemed to jam my wrist a bit, so I'll need to play with it some more (with a light training partner, to be safe).

Finally, if you can't get your hand in for the grip, use your own gi instead. Pull out your lapel, passing that tightly over their shoulder to your other hand. Wolfson had an evocative simile here, saying "throw it over their shoulder like a cape." You can then lock that in and apply the rest of the choke as normal. The gi is able to cut past their hands, or even if not, you can often choke them with their own hand by tightening that lapel across. Naturally it isn't invincible, sometimes people will be able to defend (especially if they get both hands in and clamp their elbows down). If that happens, just as with any bow and arrow choke, you can just switch to one of the many follow-ups, like an armbar. If they are committing to grabbing your lapel and pushing it away, almost always they will leave a gap somewhere else as a result.

04/08/2013 - Study Hall (Back Escapes & Chokes)

Class #515
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Study Hall, Bristol, UK - 04/08/2013

Just like last week, I wanted to continue working on back escapes, especially as I'm teaching it on Tuesday. The main thing that came up at last week's study hall was preventing them from turning to mount. I rewatched my videos from those private lessons and re-read my notes, from which I gathered that while blocking the leg to stop them turning was a good option, often going to deep half is the best idea.

I practiced blocking their turn a few times, clamping more tightly than last time, so that I wasn't just hooking over their top leg but also hooking behind their lower leg. I then moved on to practicing the switch to deep half and sweeping. The Homer Simpson sweep from there is one option, but you could also try for the sweep I learned at the University of Jiu Jitsu in San Diego about a month ago, which relies more on lifting their leg up with your own.

I also wanted to practice chokes from my most recent private, particularly the bow and arrow choke. Initially I had a go practicing chokes with a white belt, who upon being told that he could resist during the drilling immediately clamped down. It is often good to train with beginners because they won't react in the way you expect: he basically just got a death grip on both of my wrists, which made for an interesting challenge.

I ended up trying to swim through and get an arm across the neck, then see if I could grab some collar. If I did get the collar, it wasn't generally a good enough grip to move into the bow and arrow. I also kept forgetting to hook their leg in to grab it and then use as a base point. That's also something I kept forgetting when I had a more technical bit of drilling practice with Berry.

Getting yourself upright is one of the harder parts of the bow and arrow, it seems. I tried pushing off the same side choking leg as I'd been shown in the private, but still struggled. However, I did find that you can try bringing the other arm behind the head to finish off the bow and arrow if you're struggling. I'm not sure that is a viable option, as it was just drilling, but something to play with.

I finished off by rolling with Geeza, who I don't often spar against. That's because he is so much bigger: as a general rule, much larger opponents are less beneficial for my learning, but for working defence, they're great. Of course, Geeza is also a black belt, so that helps a lot too. I asked if he could start on my back, which meant I got choked repeatedly, but it was a useful reminder that I should put myself in bad positions against skilled opposition more often.

Geeza had some advice for defending the multiple ways he choked me. He used a different method requiring a different defence each time, but the main thing I remembered was grabbing the elbow. I think for the bow and arrow he suggested grabbing their elbow with both hands and pulling it over your head. Again, something else for me to work on, alongside general back defence.

24/07/2013 - Dónal Private (Bit of Mount, Maintaining & Chokes from the Back)

Class #512 - Private #012
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 24/07/2013

I started off by asking about mount escapes, in case Dónal had any tweaks to add. I'm relatively clear on what I need to do when escaping mount, but I'm always looking to add more details or just different perspectives. Dónal had two suggestions: firstly, bump them with your knee to lighten their legs for the heel drag (a useful tip in general, which I think I initially heard in the context of half guard). There was a quick point from on top, where Dónal mentioned that to stop them getting on their side for the heel drag, Norby likes to put his body next to their head.

Secondly, if you're making a frame against their hips, turn your hand so it is palm towards the mat rather than pointing back towards you. Kesting recently had a video on that as well, where he suggests making a fist rather than open hand, in order to make it harder for them to knock your hand off and break the frame.

That didn't take very long, so for the rest of the hour we focused on the back. To being Dónal offered some suggestions for maintaining the back. They will be looking to escape by turning away from your choking arm, getting onto their side. To prevent them slipping free, tighten your hamstring by their choking arm side leg. You don't have to sit there tensing, as you're just looking to block them whenever you feel that leg try to move. If they are unable to bring that leg into action, then they'll struggle to both slide across and also use their foot to push off your heel.

If you can't get your seatbelt grip, dig your hand under their elbow on the non-choking side and pry it up, until you can slip that hand through. From here, you will often find they try to grab your choking hand. An effective way to break that hold is to put your non-choking hand on top of their same side forearm, palm up. Reach your choking hand to grasp your non-choking arm (you'll probably only manage a couple of fingers, but that is enough).

Bend your non-choking hand backwards, at the same time twisting your choking hand in the same direction, still holding on. This should be uncomfortable on their wrist. To finish extricating your arm, wriggle your non-choking wrist sideways into their arm, which should pop their hand out of the way. As soon as you knock it free, unclasp your hands and grab the meat part of their hand with your non-choking hand. From there you could push it down and step your leg over to trap it, or simply hold it in place with your hand.

You can now move into some attacks. Your first option is the short choke from last week, which you can do either grabbing onto their shoulder or holding the gi, then driving your shoulder into their head. Alternatively, there is Dónal's option, where the elbow is on their shoulder and you squeeze your arm together for the choke. A stronger option is the classic bow and arrow from the back. If you're still on your side, you need to get them upright: push on their choking side leg with your same side foot, shoving it forwards to bring them up off their side.

Don't make your initial grip on their collar too tight, or you'll lack the range to finish the choke. If they're got a GB gi on, you're gripping at roughly the 'G' from the ugly Gracie Barra patch along the jacket. Next you want to get hold of their non-choking side leg. With your same side heel, dig that by their knee and curl your leg back. That should bring their trouser leg in range for you to grab with your free hand, establishing a good anchor point.

Switch your non-choking side foot to hook around their far hip. That acts as a useful leverage point to swing your other leg out (you want to end up upright, rather than falling to one side). Your aim is to drop them into a space between your legs, rather than having them resting on your lap. Bring your choking elbow back to hide it near your hip. If you don't, they have a chance to reach back and pull on your elbow to try and escape. At this point, you will also probably need to release a few fingers, leaving you with two or three fingers. It ends up looking quite different to the version Roy Dean shows in the picture on the right, as Dónal doesn't extend his body like that or use the same grips.

That increases your range, but note that they will most likely attempt to grasp that hand and yank on it to remove your control. Two fingers gives more range, but feels weak on that situation: drilling, I felt more comfortable with three, especially if you imagine you're with a muscle-headed white belt looking to rip your hand off.

23/02/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #290
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 23/02/2010

I had thought I was getting bored of MMA, judging by the last few UFC fights I've seen. I haven't watched an entire event in a long time. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed BAMMA 2 (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) last weekend. Every fight was exciting, there was plenty of technically adept grappling on display, and I didn't see any of the trash talking that has become prevalent in the UFC.

It probably also helped that many of the fighters were from the lighter weight categories, which I tend to prefer watching. My personal connections also made it more interesting for me: the fight promoter was my old instructor, Jude Samuel, who is also the guy who gave me my blue belt. Paul Reed is an old student of Kevin O'Hagan (I think), who I very briefly trained with six years ago. Finally, Tom 'Kong' Watson (who didn't fight, but was repeatedly featured in a promo for the next event in May) is someone I used to see on the mats at RGA.

I especially enjoyed the final match, between veteran Paul Reed and twenty-one year old Alan Omer, an Iraqi who moved to Germany as a child. Apparently, Omer started out learning his grappling from YouTube videos (though this would seem to indicate he has been at a proper gym for some time now). They both gave an impressive demonstration of grappling: Reed has a dominant top game, while Omer looked pretty nifty on his back. Gunnar Nelson also delivered an entertaining performance: given all the hype surrounding him in both BJJ and MMA, it was cool to see him in action.

If you missed it, then BAMMA 2 is being shown again on Bravo 2 at 22:00 this Saturday, 27th February. Official website is here, but as that has the results on it, don't click through if you haven't seen the event yet. ;)

Getting back to tonight's training, Kev often begins the advanced class by asking if anybody has questions. I took the opportunity to ask if he could go through the back control he had just shown me in more detail. They're defending, with their arms tight against their neck. Reach over the top of an arm, wriggling your hand past the crook of their elbow. It may help to make a 'leopard palm' (curling the top joints of your fingers) to help drive the hand through.

Once you're past, reach under your own knee, then grab their gi, clamping your elbow to your side. If you want even more control, you can repeat on the other side, putting both their arms out of commission. Either way, the idea is that you now have an opening to go for their neck. As both of their arms are trapped, you have a couple more seconds to grab the collar or wrap the neck, as their reaction is automatically slower.

Whether you've wrapped one or both arms, you can use that position to attack with a bow and arrow choke, Kev's favourite submission from the back. Get one arm over their shoulder, gripping the opposite collar, up by their neck. Disengage the hand you have under their leg on the same side, and reach down to grab their trouser leg instead. You can now swivel to a perpendicular position, bringing one leg over their shoulder, while the other moves up their body to meet it. Cross your feet, then press down for the choke.

Kev then moved on to the triangle from guard. His first set-up depends on your partner making a basic error in the guard pass. If they reach back to push on your ankle to open your guard, hook that arm with your opposite foot. Having pull it out of the way, your other leg has a free path to pop up over their neck, after which you can move into a triangle.

Alternatively, you can set up the triangle with a scissor sweep motion. Your partner is using an orthodox grip in your guard, holding both of your lapels by your chest with one hand, while the other grasps the top of your trousers or your belt. Move out and bring your knee in as you would for a scissor sweep, but with a difference. That knee is going to go over their trouser grabbing hand: you can then push to break that grip. As soon as you do, circle the same leg up around their neck, then move into the triangle.

Finally, if they try to step round and initiate a pass to escape, grab their leg. You can then lift and roll them into an armbar, shifting your leg from the triangle over their head. It should then be a simple matter to drop back for the armbar.

Sparring started with Dan, in his guard. I have a habit at the moment of pushing for half guard, then trying to pass from there. It's better than not be able to initiate a pass at all, but still not ideal. I managed to make it to half, though I had to fight for it, as Dan was putting up plenty of resistance.

He tried to use the lockdown to get free, but I somehow ended up slipping through to mount instead: still, that was lucky, as I should have been dropping low on his hips to release my foot, then move back into the half guard position I wanted. I should also attack the arm more, to distract them: I did half-heartedly flail at an Americana, but didn't have the right position for decent leverage.

Once I made it to mount and maintained that for a while, Dan raised up and gave me a chance to go for an armbar. I left too much space, and could see I was losing it. I was sure there was something I could switch to, like an omoplata, but I didn't react quickly enough. I need to be more confident with those omoplatas, but at least I'm starting to recognise the opportunities. Like Roy Dean says on Purple Belt Requirements, it is all about the combinations.

Last roll was with a big white belt, who was aggressively pushing forward. He kept trying to attack my arms from within my guard, meaning that there were several times I'm sure I could have gone for an armbar. However, I wasn't staying tight enough: by the time I was manoeuvring to push off his hip, he had already pulled his arm free.

I also need to try out the Shawn Williams guard, which I still haven't attempted in sparring. Due to the way he was forward, that was presenting me with an entry to the SW guard, which I must remember to take next time.

Off to visit girlfriend again tomorrow, which is becoming a regular thing every other week, so again won't make it to Thursday training.

18/02/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #288
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 18/02/2010

Somebody brought in a weighing scale tonight, presumably because a few competitions are coming up in the next few months. Naturally everyone went and weighed themselves, and it appears I'm fatter than I thought at the moment. Normally I weigh around 65kg without the gi, but the scales told me I'm currently 71.5kg whilst wearing it. So, I must be at least 69kg or so without the gi right now. That annoys me: I'm determined to get down to my normal weight by next week. Of course, eating a whole tub of ice cream yesterday probably didn't help. Ahem. ;)

Kev started off technique tonight by taking the back, this time after sprawling against a shoot. For the purposes of this drill, you end up facing their turtle, with them reaching for your leg to initiate a takedown from the knees. Drop your hip on that side (if I'm remembering correctly), then bring your opposite arm over their head. That should kill their grip on your leg, so you can now circle around past it, and take the back in the same way as Tuesday, finishing with a RNC.

He also advised that to finish the choke, it can be helpful to roll towards the elbow of your choking arm. That will make it tougher for them to escape. Conversely, if you're on the receiving end, then the fingers of their choking arm point you route to freedom.

The next choke from the back was referred to by Kev as a single collar choke. I think it might also be known as a single wing choke, but I'm not sure. You have a deep grip on one collar. Your other arm threads in front of their same side arm and behind their head. Pull their collar to the opposite side, simultaneously pushing on their head with your other arm, while also moving that other arm towards the opposite side.

Finally Kev demonstrated his favourite, the bow and arrow choke. Again you grip their collar, but this time, it doesn't matter too much if your hold is a little loose. You then grab their same side pant leg with your free hand. That will enable you to swivel on their body, until you can bring your leg over their shoulder (because you have a hold of their pant leg, it should be difficult for them to take advantage when you shift your hooks). Move your other leg up to meet it and cross your feet. You can now use pressure from your legs to effect the choke, pulling on the pant leg if you need to.

Sparring from turtle, I was able to eventually escape both Howard and Callum, but it felt rather sloppy. I could generally free one hook, then secure a leg with both of my own. I then just about managed to block their other hook from re-establishing. However, I was struggling to turn to either the top position (if I was facing the ceiling), or spin to half guard (if underneath). Could be because they had an arm under my armpit again. I tried grabbing a leg and driving, but that didn't work either. Still, I guess it's better than being fully back mounted.

I found that on top, I was leaving too much space. Callum is particularly quick at shifting back into guard, managing to knock me out of position, then just rolling over his shoulder to replace guard. Howard also exposed that space, though he preferred to roll to the side. Either way, I was doing something wrong that I wasn't doing on Tuesday, as I managed to stay on top and eventually secure the back that time. Must remember to keep my hips low, and take care that when I move, I'm not leaving them an escape route.

Unfortunately I managed to slice my finger on somebody's gi, as I noticed there was a load of blood seeping from under my fingernail. I don't think it was a large cut, as washing it in the sink seemed to get rid of most of the blood fairly quickly. Still, I didn't fancy messing it up further on someone's abrasive gi, especially as sparring from back mount tends to result in lots of finger friction. I did have a quick roll with Callum after writing down my usual notes and taping up the finger, but time soon ran out.