08/07/2014 - Artemis BJJ | de la Riva Guard | Removing the Hook & Passing

Class #579
Artemis BJJ (Impact Gym), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 08/07/2014

More de la Riva tonight, this time looking at passing. The first thing you want to do is get rid of that hook. Drive your leg into the back of theirs so that you can bring your heel back slightly, then flare your leg out to pop their hook off. Grab their other leg, pushing their knee towards their chest. That should make it easier to shove their leg across your body, going into a squat and pushing their leg over so you're right into a leg drag position.

The second passing option was essentially the one that Dónal showed me in a private last year. Again free your leg of their de la Riva hook, then shove their other foot down by pushing with your hand (specifically, with the v of your finger and thumb) into the part where their leg joins their instep. If they are pushing into your leg, turn it inwards to reduce the pressure. When you've pushed their leg down, swing your own leg up, pushing their leg across underneath your other leg, so you can sit on it.

In specific sparring, I was being too lazy with sparring, as I wasn't popping their hook off. Instead, I was shoving their other leg down and moving straight into the knee cut. That worked a few times, but the problem is that if it doesn't entirely work and they still have that hook, you might find yourself getting swept mid-pass. I need to make popping off that hook instinctive and natural, which at the moment it isn't. Getting into free sparring, I fit in a few sweeps, going off what Josh said in his comment recently (I think? Can't quite remember how I knocked them over). Useful principle to keep in mind.

After class finished, Dónal was showing Paul a nifty looking choke from top half guard. Reach your top hand to their opposite collar, getting a deep grip. Your top hand grips around their shoulder on the other side, dropping your elbow down and bringing your weight to bear for the choke. I think. Something to play with. :)

13/03/2013 - Private: Passing Details

Class #494 - Private #006
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 13/03/2013

Today's lesson was a little different from the others, as it was less clearly focused. This time round, we mostly just did some very light specific sparring on passing to work out some potentially useful additional details. That makes sense, as we've done a fair bit of work on passing already, so a kind of review is useful at this point.

When I was trying to pass in previous lessons, I was having some trouble getting to the starting position, crouched low, grips on the leg and collar, pressuring forward. Lots of people were shoving back forcefully, though that did set me up nicely for the bullfighter pass instead (as Dónal mentioned, higher belts are unlikely to fall into that trap). I should also remember to twist my leg inwards to make it harder for them to push it back. Another key point I'm still forgetting is to grab their collar and pull their shoulders off the floor. This is absolutely essential, as it makes it much tougher for them to sweep you.

The first of many useful tips related to when they pull your arm forwards. If you simply pull back, it will probably be hard because they've got a strong grip. Instead, turn your hand so your little finger and elbow are pointing down. That gives you a far stronger structure, so it should now become a lot easier to pull your arm back.

If you can't get your arm as far back as you would like (e.g., if you want to get your hand back to push on their ankle), use your forearm instead. You can also trick them by manipulating the direction of their force, like you would when trying to clear the arm for a RNC. In the context of passing, you push forward to lift their foot up off your hip, they start pushing it down to counteract, whereupon you immediately switch and continue that push down.

You can then move into the strong passing position, shoving their leg under your thigh to put it out of commission. Similarly, when pushing their knee across your body you can use your forearm. This time it is a matter of efficiency. Pushing it with your hand is less powerful then using your whole forearm and twisting your body. That provides better leverage.

When you're doing the leg squash pass, grip their gi collar with your free hand, don't base it on the floor. Swing your leg up to keep the pressure on their thigh. That collar grip should be relatively low down on their lapel, because that means you can stop them turning away. Lock your elbow by their other hip: they are going to find it tough to turn from there. With the lapel grip, you can just reel them back in.

Yet another good tip relates to when they try for an underhook. They start to get their hand through for the underhook. Trap your elbow against their hip, pressing into their other hip with your own. This should lock the arm in place. Make sure you're manoeuvring them flat onto their back, bringing your chest forward, to stop them shrimping away.

Dónal had a little point on cross facing too. You can just bring your arm into the side of their face, lifting up your elbow. This will work even if you aren't putting your hand on the ground. I'm teaching a class on top side control in a couple of weeks, so will see if I can add that detail in.

Something else to keep in mind: don't focus too much on what you're used to if there is an easier option. The example that came up today was when they have that grip on your arm and sit up. I tried to force half guard as usual to pass from there. However, it uses less energy to just go for the knee cut as usual: when I did it after Dónal pointed this out, it felt like a very 'Dónal ' movement, fluid and natural. Cool!

06/03/2013 - Private: From Knee Cut to Leg Squash Pass

Class #491 - Private #005
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 06/03/2013

Back to the knee cut, starting off with a review of what we learned last time as usual. Due to the switch to a v-grip on the ankle, I kept forgetting to drive into the leg and grab the collar, as I was thinking too much about the ankle positioning. Remember that if you do go for pushing the ankle, Dónal advised that you don't want to push it too far across, as then it becomes geared towards one pass rather than leaving your options open. He therefore suggesting pushing it under the middle of the thigh.

The main point of today's lesson was to add in another pass I can switch to if the knee cut is blocked. I'm sure it has a name, but I'm going to call it the leg squash pass, for reasons which will become clear. You've gone for the knee cut and started to slide over their leg, but they've prevented you moving forwards, perhaps by framing with their arms.

Grab the knee of the leg you're trying to slide across (Dónal prefers to cup under the knee, but you can also grab the trouser material: the problem is that may move and give them room to adjust enough to establish spider guard or something like that). Lift and move it across to the opposite side. To do that effectively, you'll need to turn your non-knee sliding foot so that the toes are pointing in the direction you want to move. Bend the knee and shift in that direction.

As you slide across, you're going to break what is normally a cardinal rule of BJJ: putting your hands on the mat. This is for base, with one by their same side armpit, while your remaining hand posts on the other side. The intention is to end up sprawled on top of their legs. More specifically, your groin is by the back of their knees, ideally with the point of your hip pressing into the middle of their thigh. Although it feels counter-intuitive, don't go up on your toes. Sink your weight through your hips into their legs, with your own legs draped on either side.

Almost certainly they are going to move, especially if you're being mean and digging the point of your hip into the 'dead leg' point of their thigh. Once they do, backstep and pass around the other side. This feeds smoothly into mount, pulling their knees towards you and wrapping your leg behind their knees. If you like, you can also lock your legs as you wrap them, making the transition to mount particularly secure.

If they don't move, then you could bring your lower leg back to hold their legs in place as you backstep. That has the disadvantage of slightly easing off the pressure, so Dónal suggests simply swinging that backstepping leg up, which keeps the weight through the point of your hip.

You don't have to do that off a knee cut, of course, you can start with the leg squash. With the same grips as the knee cut, Dónal had a little detail in regards to the elbow of the arm you're using to grab their collar and pull their shoulders off the mat. Bring that elbow over their knee, so you're on the outside. This help you control it, meaning that you can slide across straight from there into the leg squash. As you're not going for the knee cut, you're doing this instead of lifting their knee up off the floor and pulling it across.

From there, I headed straight to Geeza's class.

27/02/2013 - Private: More Knee Cut Pass

Class #489 - Private #004
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 27/02/2013

This time round, Liam joined in on the private. Dónal was finishing off another private when we arrived, which meant we had some time to drill the technique in advance. It was useful to get a chance to work it with a bit more resistance, especially with somebody more experienced like Liam. For the actual private, I wanted to continue with the knee cut pass, working on dealing with people who have longer legs (prompted by Miles the day before ;D).

We ran through the details from before: immediately squat down, like you're a weightlifter preparing to get that bar up (a little like what Lovato Jr calls the 'headquarters' position). Grip on the trousers by the shin, step in with the other leg and grab the collar, bringing their shoulders off the mat. Dónal emphasised again the importance of having that collar elbow inside your knee, to avoid them attacking with omoplatas and the like. The difference this time was when you come to shove that leg between yours after lifting your leg. They manage to keep their foot 'sticky', either because they're just good at keeping that grip or they have long legs.

To deal with that (you can use the same technique if they've already managed to stretch you out), switch from the trouser grip to their ankle, using the 'v' of your fingers and thumb. Shove the leg down, then straight away return to your crouch and sit on their foot. Dónal called this the 'gorilla' pose. Ideally your want to sit on their toes, to reduce their lifting power. To reduce it even further, push their ankle to the side, so it is under your leg rather than your tail bone. If you can push their knee across in the same direction using your chest, so much the better.

At this point you can get back to the pass. You're going to have to raise up slightly, but be careful you don't raise too much. You don't want them getting a leg back in: keep bracing their non-trapped leg with your elbow, blocking any efforts to bring the leg in. Move your foot to their tail bone, then drag them over to the side to continue the pass like before.

Dónal had some more details to emphasise here. If you like to go for the underhook and grip the back, as I do, use your elbow to initially open up the space. You already have a grip on their collar, so while maintaining that, you can put your elbow on their ribs. That should enable you to then pivot on your elbow as you circle your arm around for the underhook. If you try to just go for the underhook, you're at risk of their arm reaching under first, which is a battle you don't want to get into.

Don't forget to pressure your head into their shoulder, as if you can flatten their shoulders to the mat you'll again have a much easier time passing. If you want to underhook their other arm too, reach under it palm up. If you try going palm down, your anatomy won't let you bring your elbow in as close, which results in a gap for them to exploit. Palm up, you can bring your elbow tight to their side leaving no space. Finish off with the same push back with your hips and adjustment into side control.

13/02/2013 - Dónal Private Lesson (Knee Cut Pass, Dealing with de la Riva)

Class #487 - Private #003
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 13/02/2013

This time round, Steve was there to share the private. That's useful, as it means I can watch Dónal demonstrate the details on somebody else, and it is also handy for taking a video afterwards (last time it was static, balanced on a drum, this time I could move around and zoom in as necessary). The slight drawback is that you have less time on what you specifically want to work, as naturally the time needs to be divided equally, but that's fine because you also pay less as a result. :)

We continued with the guard pass from last time, the knee cut pass. The first thing I wanted to cover was avoiding the triangle, as Matt slapped a fast submission on me when I visited the Chris Rees Academy and tried this pass recently. As I thought, I think the problem was reaching for the collar without having established a grip on the other leg. I also should be driving my leg into the back of their knee, and make sure my reaching arm stays inside my own knee.

Some other tips to remember on the basic knee cut (if you want to re-read the full details, see the write-up from last time) are first of all to immediately sink down into a crouch. You then also want to stop them stretching you out by pushing on your non-driving leg: to do that, simply twist it inwards, so they have less purchase for pushing. Once you've slipped through and are looking to flatten them out, drive your forehead into their shoulder to help get them flat on the mat.

The rest of the lesson was firstly bringing Steve up to speed on the details of the pass, then dealing with the de la Riva hook (that picture of Norby reminds me that they might sit up too, which we didn't cover). My usual tactic is to simply flare my knee out to pop the hook off, but Dónal shared a more thorough strategy. If they just put in the hook without also grabbing your trouser cuff, start by getting your grips on their legs. Use the knuckle down grip as usual on the non-hooked leg, then control the inside of the knee on the hooking leg. Step the foot of your hooked leg forward, probably past their belt line (but it depends on the length of your legs and their legs). Make sure you aren't bringing your other leg in, as that will thin your base and result in less stability.

Next, drive your knee forward. This will press your weight down into their foot and significantly reduce the efficacy of their de la Riva hook. From there, switch your hand from the inside of their knee to their collar, again getting that deep grip and pulling their shoulders off the mat. You can then progress with the pass as normal: they may well remove their hook on their own, due to the discomfort.

More likely they will also be grabbing your trouser cuff, which is more of a hindrance. However, you are still going to proceed with the pass as normal: the execution will end up being slightly different. When you've used the above method to nullify their hook, drag them across forcefully to the side with their collar, as you normally would. It is more important than usual if they have that grip, as yanking them may be enough to knock their hand off your trouser cuff.

If it isn't, you'll then collapse your weight into their top leg, driving your hip down. That additional weight and leverage is likely to break their grip. If they're stubborn they may be able to hold it, but it is not going to be pleasant for them as you're basically sitting on their hand. Once that grip is off, you can continue to slide through as before.

Next week, I think I might ask for some tips on spider guard. It's unfortunate I can't spar properly at the moment, as that would be the best way to work out what people tend to do when I try this pass, but hopefully I'll be back into normal sparring soon. There has been some improvement with my groin injury, but it isn't up to full on sparring from guard just yet.

30/11/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #365
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 30/11/2010

I'm not sure I've posted these up before, but there is a series on YouTube called 'Ask A Black Belt'. The idea is pretty simple, as a guy just gets a bunch of black belts together, asks them all the same questions, then edits them together into clumps. The unnecessarily long intro is a bit annoying, but the content is excellent: lots of great answers from the various black belts, with some big names like Kurt Osiander and Dave Camarillo. Also, there is some random competition footage which doesn't seem necessarily related, and it was beginning to feel a bit tiresome...until this awesome move by Sean Roberts. Definitely want to try that next time I'm in half guard, though I'm guessing there is way more to it than simply rolling to the back.

Kev continued class with a couple of De La Riva passes. For the first one, turn your trapped knee outwards, which should either loosen their grip or pop it off completely. Put both hands on the trouser leg of the foot pushing into your hip, and drive that hip forward slightly. You can then bring it back while at the same time bringing that leg across your body. Switching your grips, push that leg down to the floor on your hooked leg side. Maintaining a grip on the bottom of their trousers and clamping it to the ground, move around behind them to settle into side control.

The second De La Riva pass begins by grabbing both their collars high on their chest, then driving the knee of your hook leg through to meet that hand. You want to get as much weight going through that knee as possible, so they're pinned to the floor. Take a big step forward with your other leg, while pushing their leg underneath it.

You can then move into a pass, with two options. Either you can underhook their far armpit, to help settle into a tight side control, or alternatively, you can slide that hand into their near collar. This means you're threatening a choke, and it also makes it more difficult for them to try and slip under the arm in an attempt to scupper the pass.

Sparring began with Callum, from inside the guard. Once again I was looking for that running escape, to see if I could get into a strong defensive position. I then somehow ended up in position to attempt a double underhooks pass, I think (unless that was from a different position). Either way, something went wrong, as I got stuck in a triangle. I tried to move into the escape Kev showed us, but my base had been knocked flat, so I couldn't get my knee across.

With my next partner, the same injured blue belt I rolled with last week, something similar happened, after a long stalemate in his guard (particularly as I had the excuse of his injury, I was being even more passive and defensive than usual). At some point he moved to side control, and I immediately went for the running escape. Like Drazen, he tried to take my back, but this time I was able to stay tight and block the hooks, spinning to try and drive through for top half guard or side control instead. Although I can't be sure that would have worked, as time ran out before I could secure anything.

I've got two more poetry seminars to teach on Thursday, so won't be back to RGA High Wycombe until Tuesday.

27/08/2010 - BJJ (Basics)

Class #336
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Chiu Kwong Man, Birmingham, UK – 27/08/2010

Christian Graugart, the Danish brown belt who writes ShogunHQ, is planning an awesome training trip for Spring 2011: check out the preparations at BJJ Globetrotter. Should make for some excellent reading once he gets underway. For a travel-heavy blog that is both excellent and well underway, check out top BJJer Hillary Williams’ site. I’ve probably mentioned it before, but this is easily one of my favourite blogs: well-written, lots of relevant pics and an interesting angle (female world champ teaching seminars in Brazil, with plenty of anecdotes about the culture).

I plumped for the Friday class rather than Saturday, as I wanted to try and get a good chunk of work done tomorrow morning, hopefully on the way down to Bucks (nobody is home, so I’ll be catching buses and the like, so that will take around three hours total or so). Rather than sweeps, tonight it was working from the top.

Chiu showed a lot of technique tonight, so I’m not sure how much I’ve managed to remember (especially as I was the uke). Keeping that in mind, the first drill focused on getting good posture from the top. Basically, you don’t want them to move off to the side, where they could go for a sweep, try and take your back etc.

So, first thing you do when they establish their hook and put their other foot on your leg, ready to push, is pull up on the pushing foot’s heel (or gi trouser). Turn that same side hip towards them, stepping around, and turn out your other leg. Your base will be fairly wide, hips forward. At worst, this will put you square on, and at best, it could knock their hook free.

If you don’t manage that, as they’ve already sat up, wrapped an arm behind your knee, pushing on your other leg ready to sweep, you can use the next technique, a De La Riva pass. On the side they’ve hooked, grab the back of their gi collar. They’re probably going to be holding your other sleeve, so grab their sleeve in return.

Now do a big step back and around with your free leg, so you move around to their hooking side. You want to collapse your weight on them, keeping one leg back for base. Don’t go too far forward or they’ll roll you. Your free hand will thread through their legs and grab their bottom knee: it doesn’t matter if they maintain a grip on your sleeve. This will stop them turning towards you.

After that, things got more complicated, as Chiu moved into at least four different passes, based around their likely reaction, which is to lock their legs tight into half guard. IIRC, the basic pass was to get your far elbow up into their armpit, moving your hips back as far as you can. This means you’ll be putting a lot of weight on their head and upper body, blocking their view and also limiting their mobility.

That means you can concentrate on freeing your leg. Having squashed them with your upper body, you grab their knee with your free arm. Yank it towards you while pushing on their leg with your free foot. That should create some space to get your leg out, then move into side control. Exactly where you push will vary depending on how they’ve locked: possibly their top leg, their bottom leg, their knee etc. Chiu suggested experimenting.

There were several other options, like ‘skiing’ them to one side by pushing their arms to the floor, from where you could try and take the back. Alternatively, if they present the opportunity, you can step through and around to the other side. Chiu also grabbed at feet, and demonstrated how even if you aren’t allowed to kneebar, the same position can help you to pass. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite catch all the details, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to see some of those again in the coming weeks.

In specific sparring, I tried to put that into practice, with a modicum of success, though not especially smooth. I was pleased with a backstepping pass I got early on, but that was more of a lucky reflex action than a flowing technique. I found myself trying to push the leg down and circle around a few times which rarely works. Definitely need to keep on working what Chiu just showed us, though of course my sparring partner was prepared for what we’d been learning earlier.

It was good to practice half guard passing, as I’ve been slacking on that recently, probably because I’ve had quite a few smaller sparring partners. Chiu’s technique was useful, particularly his focus on getting your balance, through things like threading a hand through their legs, or putting an arm under their head and walking your hand through.

Underneath, I was looking to work the various sweeps we’ve been shown, but didn’t get too far. Generally, my arms were quickly grabbed and pushed away, making it difficult to get the grips I wanted. I played around with spinning underneath, which sort of worked at one point, as I kicked up and tried to go the other way. I say ‘sort of’, because I ended up in their guard. So, on top, but not quite the idea.

My sweeps largely failed due to my inability to get good grips with my hands. I need to work on breaking their grip, then quickly establishing my own and getting the sweeping motion going, rather than giving them a chance to settle their base. Connecting techniques would help with that, and I at least now have about four or five I can try. Judging by the last few weeks, I should also get plenty of time to drill them: hopefully we’ll do some drilling through various combinations.