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This website is about Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ). I'm a black belt who started in 2006, teaching and training at Artemis BJJ in Bristol, UK. All content ©Can Sönmez
Showing posts with label ezequiel choke from mount. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ezequiel choke from mount. Show all posts

27 December 2014

27/12/2014 - Artemis BJJ | Open Mat | Ezequiel Choke (Lapel Variation)

Class #619
Artemis BJJ (PHNX Fitness), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 27/12/2014

It was another great christmas this year! I always head up to my parents' for xmas (specifically xmas eve, as this is the time of year we decide that we'll emphasise the German part of our heritage and celebrate xmas on the 24th December). That means I get to play with my nieces, eat my mother's amazing German biscuits, a magnificent beef wellington and of course enjoy a load of cool presents. Ridiculously warm reindeer hats (100% polyester and so hot I couldn't wear it inside), a bizarre but awesome Batman blanket with sleeves and a wonderfully soft onesie from my girlfriend was cool on the non-BJJ front, then that Carlos Gracie biography (in English, so I've now got both the translation and the original. Ooo) and a pair of beautiful Mitmunk tights on the jiu jitsu front.
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Training hasn't been too slowed by the xmas holidays, restarting with today's open mat at PHNX Fitness. My groin injury means I'm still not getting too involved in sparring, so I was mostly wandering around seeing if anybody wanted any help with technique. There were a few relatively new people, meaning they had a number of sensible questions, like "what do I do in side control?" and "what should I be doing in guard?"

I did get in some sparring, but again with our youngest grappler, a twelve year old. It would be interesting to start up a kids' class at some point in the future (and it would be good for him, as obviously it helps to have training partners your own size), but until then I'm happy to help out. It's good for me too, as when you're injured, children are the perfect choice for sparring. You still get to do some BJJ, but you don't risk getting into awkward positions where the weight of your training partner can exacerbate whatever you've hurt (because children simply aren't heavy or strong enough to do that).

That doesn't mean I didn't learn anything useful. A visiting purple belt showed me a cool ezequiel choke variation he's been testing out recently. It's predicated off the lapel attack I like to do from side control, where you feed your gi to the hand of your have under their head. You can set that up from mount too, which I haven't really considered before. Even more fun, if they are being super-defensive and crossing their arms to block a choke from mount, the ezequiel is possible thanks to their gi.

Pull their gi lapel up and over their bent arm, feeding it to the hand you have under their head. Bring your other arm underneath that lapel, cutting the hand down by the side of their neck, like you would for a standard ezequiel. You can then finish the choke pretty much as normal. I'm looking forward to playing with that when I'm next in mount: yet another reason why I much prefer the gi to nogi. There is so much fun stuff you can do with all that fabric! ;D

We're back at PHNX Fitness next Saturday, then before that there is one last 2014 session at Bristol Sports Centre/MyGym in St Paul's. The final women's class of the year will be on Wednesday 31st December, from 10:00-11:00. In 2015, the schedule goes back to normal, except that the women's class will now be £5 drop-in, or as part of your standing order (depending if you've signed up for one of the monthly options). If you're not sure the women's class is for you, check out this testimonial. All women welcome! :D

26 November 2014

26/11/2014 - Artemis BJJ | Open Mat | Open Guard

Class #607
Artemis BJJ (Bristol Sports Centre/MyGym), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 26/11/2014

Having felt great about troubleshooting my closed guard yesterday, for Wednesday I wanted to sort out my open guard. First, I went through some of the lessons Chris was missing this week due to his work, then I moved to open guard. I began by drilling Kev's combat base sweep from last Saturday, where I was finding that I ended up in side control rather than mount. I think that's probably because I'm more comfortable driving through to there than slipping into mount straight off a sweep. Either works though, most of my submissions (when I get them) come from either side control or mount (that's been the case for a few years, though up until recently it was pretty much just side control with the occasional bow and arrow transition off technical mount).

I had a bit less time today, as I did lots of drilling with Chris on some other stuff (which was good too, as it meant I could practice the ezequiel I'm thinking of teaching later, along with some back escapes I've been working on). The ezequiel is the highest percentage submission from low mount and - for short people like me at least - pretty much the only submission from there. When your arm goes under their head, block their view with your own head, keeping three fingers extended on the reaching under hand.

Those are going to shoot inside your other sleeve: because you're only using three fingers rather than four, you've increased your reach. Bring your sleeve arm through across their neck, then pull your three-finger hand elbow across as well (a tip from Caio Terra, apparently). From there, complete the choke as usual, doing a motion like you're attempting to decapitate them.

If you're having trouble getting their arms out of the way, Saulo has a useful tip. Slip your hand under their arm, then when you get you elbow to the ground, drive that back to trap their arm against their side. Your hand is still by their neck, ready to attack. Be aware that if you leave any space at all, they are going to be desperately reaching for your hands to pull them away from their neck. Therefore staying tight and low is important.

Some people, including Saulo, advocate rising up to finish the choke. That certainly gives you more leverage, especially if you step a foot out, but I prefer to remain low and tight. It also means that if I miss the ezequiel for whatever reason, I remain in a strong posture, ready to attack with something else. Moving the knees up into a higher mount - like I taught recently at the Central Bristol location - is a useful go to, or taking the back.

In terms of my own drilling, mainly wanted to practice the sit-up position with a cross-grip that Kev recommended in that private (it's been almost a year to the day, so apparently it takes 12 months for it to sink in ;D). Again, I am not always remember to stay upright, so that's the big thing I need to ensure going forward. Next key detail is getting the collar grip, pushing my fist into their collarbone to help with distance management.

When doing that, like Kev said I need to be careful of jumping armbars. So, if I feel them start to try and control my elbow and shoulder, I have to immediately pull that elbow back to keep it safe. I found when Chris was in the cross-grip guard, there was also a possibility of going for a Brabo (D'arce? I can never remember the difference), if his head gets too close to his arm and I can jam my arm in place in time. To stop that, I guess you need to be careful about your head positioning, raising up if they try to go for it (like guillotine defence). But I'd need to test that more.

Drilling light resistance with Chris, I was finding that the loop choke started appearing if I could break his posture down. I haven't been using that much and I really should: it's surprisingly easy once you've broken their posture down (well, in light resistance, I'm sure it isn't outside of that). The collar drag is a good option too, although I find that works better for me if they are on their knees. When I did it against Chris while he was standing, I could knock him off balance, but often just into a crouch rather than low enough to comfortably take his back. There's the ankle pick sweep there too. Along with that, the usual tripod and sickle combination is there, after you've swung in to grab a heel.

This was the first of three classes today, the other two I taught, as usual. So, second was the women's class on escaping side control, then the mixed class dealing with the mounted americana.

24 August 2013

24/08/2013 - Michel Verhoeven (Rickson Black Belt) Seminar

Seminar #013
The Dojo Sidcup, (BJJ), Michel Verhoeven, Sidcup, UK - 24/03/2013

For many years, Rickson has possessed a mystical aura in BJJ, a remote demi-god whose knowledge was shared with a select few. More recently, Rickson has been increasing his seminar schedule, holding his first ever European seminars last year. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it in 2012 to train with the man himself, but I can make it to London to learn from one of his disciples.

When Al (who writes an excellent blog I've enjoyed for several years: like Rickson, he dispenses his wisdom infrequently ;D) mentioned that a Rickson black belt would be teaching in Sidcup, I therefore decided it was about time I experienced the legendary Rickson style. I was also intrigued by the prospect of learning from a Dutch black belt, due to the potential of getting an interview as well (which Al kindly set up for me). Up until now, I've only interviewed people from Brazil, the USA and the UK.

Update July 2016: You can listen to that interview now, as it's the first episode of the Artemis BJJ Podcast

Michel 'Babytank' Verhoeven started training jiu jitsu at the age of 13 in 1999, under Harold Harder (who had himself first met Rickson in 1996). Verhoeven is now a black belt under Rickson and head of Rickson Gracie Jiu Jitsu Holland, a growing organisation that is bringing Rickson over for a second time in October (which again I can't make, as it's my mum's 60th). Verhoeven's presence in the UK was organised by Paul Finn, who runs the Sidcup Dojo where the seminar was held.

Update Nov 2013: I did finally make it to a Rickson seminar, in November. No offence to Rickson, but for me, Michel's seminar was both better and cheaper. ;D

Verhoeven demonstrated his commitment to the basics immediately. During the warm-up, he took the time to not only correct how somebody was shrimping, but also showed the proper application. You might think that to correct a shrimp, you would tell the person to push off their foot more, perhaps raise their hips. Verhoeven told them to go into the defensive posture they would use under side control, then showed how they need to adjust to prevent him from easily pushing them flat on their back by pressing on the shoulder. This then fed back into the proper way to shrimp, keeping in mind the positions in which you might use that shrimp. It set the tone for the day: fundamentals with key details, which is exactly what I was hoping to learn.

Next up was takedowns. After 'self defence' drills, this is my least favourite part of jiu jitsu. It is therefore a testament to Verhoeven's teaching that it was both useful and engaging. That's because he did not begin with a load of throws. Instead, keeping the basics theme, he talked about takedown posture, which I find far more helpful. This followed on from another running theme in the seminar, dubbed 'game planning' by Verhoeven. What he means by that is essentially sparring followed by commentary. He had two of the white belts (who made up the majority of attendees: apart from them, it was just me, Al and a Carlson blue belt, Mike) briefly spar from standing. That became his example for some pointers on grips and posture.

The idea is that you stay solid while your opponent is bouncing around trying to yank you off balance. You react when their leg is in range or there is some other opening for a takedown. I'm not sure I quite got all the details, as I had slightly different advice from Mike and Al, but Mike's perspective was to jam your fist into the pec upon which the collar was resting. Keep that relatively firm, but as Verhoeven said a number of times, don't completely extend your arm, leaving a very small bend. As they push into you, use your fist into their chest to prevent their forward motion. As they pull back, follow them with your fist. This reminded me of what Sean Cooper said last November when I was in Texas, regarding the Rickson seminar he had attended and the importance of 'connection', something that would be mentioned numerous times today.

Al spoke about expanding and contracting, again in reaction to them pulling and pushing. This was also combined with putting your weight onto your front leg (for when they were pushing, I think), then the back leg if they pull. From what Al said, although that's counter-intuitive, the reason you load up your weight on the front leg if they push is that if you rely on the back leg, you have nothing behind it should they push you further. I think you expand your arms, flaring your elbows a bit, when they pushed, keeping an arm almost straight into them (I think like Mike described, but not quite the same?). Then you do the reverse when they pull, dropping your elbows a bit closer together and sinking your weight onto your back leg. Verhoeven mentioned this was something that takes a fair bit of practice, as it also needs good timing.

Verhoeven then demonstrated three throws. The first and last I think are standard judo techniques, seoi-nage and osoto-gari (though he doesn't kick through on the osoto-gari, instead saying that just placing your leg behind theirs as a brace is sufficient). The middle ones were more akin to what you can find in the rear takedown from Lesson Twenty Nine of Gracie Combatives. Start by opening up their elbow and collar by lifting your arms (something we had done as a separate drill earlier), then duck underneath, driving your near knee to the ground while stepping the other up. Keep your head raised to avoid guillotines, then spin to their back.

Put you head in between their shoulder blades so they can't connect with your skull by flinging elbows backwards. If they are upright, drive your hips into them to lift, then drop them back into the space you created. I was a bit nervous of trying that one, as I was concerned I might hurt my back if I messed it up. The second option was less nerve-wracking, as that was the same drop to the mat and pull them over your leg technique Rener shows on his DVD. Verhoeven noted you want to get your arm out of the way to stop them landing on it. I wasn't able to pull this off smoothly (unlike Al, who does it beautifully), mainly because I'm (as usual) over-cautious about committing to the move.

We continued into more comfortable territory with the groundwork, as Verhoeven began with a brief drill on maintaining mount. This was reminiscent of Dónal's method for taking the back in his ezequiel series, as the drill involves staying on your toes as they roll to their belly. You simply follow them sideways: the goal is to get used to having them roll through without letting yourself get stuck to them, as then you'd fall over and they'd end up on top.

That was as far as maintaining mount went (though submissions returned later), progressing instead to escaping the mount. Verhoeven first had us drill bridging in isolation, so he could work out if people were doing it right. Apparently only two people were. Bridge as high as you can, while also turning to one side: this is a significant turn, meaning that you body ends up twisted, your head looking in that direction. Verhoeven could then lead us through the upa escape from mount. The main detail he added which I'm not too familiar with is his grip. I'm used to grabbing the wrist and elbow, either behind the elbow (Rener style) or the crook of the elbow. Verhoeven's method depends on what they did. If they have their elbow out, push it towards their other hip, then grab the gi material of their upper arm and use that for your grip, pulling them down tightly.

The elbow escape instruction was helpful too. Verhoeven began by reaching across to the opposite hip with his hand. As with the tips on stand-up posture, keep your arm slightly bent. Push into that hip, then shrimp, using your free elbow to prise open their same side knee. Pop the knee through, pushing off that to make more space, then prise their other knee open. Once you get the leg out, wrap their leg with your outside leg, which becomes a base point to help slide your other leg out between their legs.

If they are a bit higher, use both of your hands to make a frame. This looks a bit like the recent video Stephan Kesting put out on framing, though he prefers to make a fist, as he feels that makes the frame stronger. The third option, for when they're pressing their hips down (as I like to do in low mount) is to go for the heel drag, still pushing into their opposite hip to help scoop up their leg. If you are having trouble reaching for the opposite hip because they haven't left any space, do a series of small bumps with your hips to create the room for your arm to slide under. This is what Verhoeven did when he used me as an uke for mount escapes, because I like to hold that low mount where I try to prevent them having much space (which is of course rather tougher to do on a black belt ;D).

The last section of the seminar was on submissions from the mount. I was extremely pleased at the selection, because almost all of them are techniques I've been looking to improve in my own game. The cross choke details were especially useful, as I realised I've been doing something fundamentally wrong for years: twisting my wrists the wrong way. I've been twisting them outwards when I should have been twisting them inwards. My training partner Martyn related a good tip for remembering this, which he'd heard from Allan Manganello (another Rickson black belt). If you cross your hands in front of you with the palms facing you, adjust your hands so the thumbs are touching. Now twist them so that the thumbs stay pressed against each other: if you twist the other way, you're opening up space. Genius.

Verhoeven's process is to insert your first hand, then bring your second hand underneath. Establish a relatively tight grip, already beginning to twist your hands inwards (remember the butterfly thumbs!) and raising your partner towards you slightly. Put your head on the mat above the shoulder your top hand is pointing towards, then twist and draw your elbows backwards to finish the choke. Don't flare your elbows, as then they can defend the choke by pushing those elbows back together.

If you can't get past their defending hands, there is the nasty option of digging your thumb along the jawline. I'm not a big fan of that as I find it too brutal, so prefer Verhoeven's other suggestion of flowing into another technique, such as wedging under their elbow and moving into a gift wrap. There was also a variation to the choke when you can only get one hand in, bringing your second arm around to the other side of their head, then 'shaving' back across their face to position that arm by their neck. Grab a handful of gi by their shoulder, then drop your elbow so your forearm is over their throat. This second arm doesn't move after that point: the choke comes from twisting the first hand and drawing that first elbow back.

Finally, there was a relatively straightforward application of the ezequiel choke, though Verhoeven does this differently to Dónal. He doesn't like to use less fingers for greater range, instead preferring to switch to the fist variation if you can't land the cleaner option. Driving your fist is certainly effective, but like digging across the jaw line, I would normally transfer to something else in that situation. In this case, that would be the next stage of Dónal's ezequiel series, the tight americana against the leg.

The more standard americana from mount followed, where once again, Verhoeven had a simple but significant tip. Instead of focusing your efforts on pushing their wrist to the floor, grab their wrist then concentrate on getting your elbow to the mat, by their head. For some reason, this seems to be a lot more effective at getting both your limbs and theirs in the right position to complete the americana. Martyn mentioned 'revving the motorcyle' here, another useful detail I often forget: in other words, curl your wrists up. If you lose the americana because they straighten their arm, you can flow into the straight armbar, much like the Roy Dean lockflow I like from side control.

Verhoeven finished off with an armbar from mount. I don't generally go for armbars from mount because I hate losing position, but it is something I should keep in mind as it's such a core submission from there, for teaching if nothing else. Verhoeven's application starts by grabbing their opposite tricep with one of your hands, using that to pull them up onto their side, so you can slide into technical mount. Post your free hand by their face, in order to swing your leg past their head. Don't drop back yet: first, wrap their arm with both of yours, grabbing your own collars, then raise your elbows and thrust your hips forwards.

That has two advantages. Firstly, it straightens their arm out. Secondly, it puts your hips closer to the shoulder. Together, that means when you do drop back, you're in a better, tighter position. That also means that the armbar comes on quicker, so be careful you don't crank this suddenly, or you're at risk of hyper-extending their elbow before they've had time to tap.

After some more game planning, it was time for free sparring. I decided against taking part this time because I wanted to make sure I was ready to head off and catch my train, so got changed instead (which also meant I could display the fabulous Pony Club Grappling Gear spats I'd been wearing under my gi, plus take a few quick photos for this post). However, I didn't escape getting smashed by a black belt today, as Verhoeven had grabbed me for a quick light roll before the seminar. In my attempts to escape technical mount, Verhoeven noted that I could have gone for a double shin sweep and come on top, something I need to remember.

I also went to my favoured running escape, but Verhoeven did the same thing Sahid does, trapping my trailing leg with his knee and effectively stymieing the escape as a result. As normally happens with higher belts, he eventually secured a collar for the choke. However, unlike some higher belts, when I used the poor defence of popping my collar up over my chin, Verhoeven didn't choke my face. He instead calmly waited for an opportunity to bring his other limbs to bear so that he could get the submission more smoothly. Always appreciated, and another reminder to be more careful of my neck when I'm flailing around with the running escape. :)

Thanks again to Paul, Al and of course Michel: I look forward to future seminars! It was five hours of technique, but because everything was fundamental I could concentrate – and more importantly, retain – some of those key details that make all the difference. This is exactly what I'm interested in, depth rather than breadth. I would much rather refine a collar choke or an elbow escape, as opposed to something flashy (or just outside of the game I'm trying to build for myself and my teaching) that I'll most likely never use. Next time I'll make sure I bring extra cash to buy a Babytank tank top: I was thinking recently, after all the hot weather, that I'd quite like a jiu jitsu tank top. Clearly having a black belt from Rickson gives Michel psychic powers as well as jiu jitsu skills. ;)

17 July 2013

17/07/2013 - Dónal Private: Ezequiel from Mount Series

Class #509 - Private #011
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 17/07/2013

The reason I started taking privates from Dónal was to cover off lots of the techniques I already know, adding in tweaks and refinements from Dónal. With another five or so more lessons, I'll have covered off the bulk of what I had originally planned, especially now that we have a drilling class on Sundays.

Today I wanted to look into attacking from mount. I feel relatively comfortable maintaining the position, particularly in low mount, but I struggle to get any kind of submissions from there. The main two I attempt are the ezequiel choke (which I've taught once before) and the americana, so that's what I wanted to focus on today. The main thing I like about the ezequiel choke is that you can do it from what I think is the strongest controlling mount, where you're low with your feet tucked under their bum and an arm under their head. The difficulty I tend to have is getting my choking hand through, as they can normally see what is happening and block it, or are simply staying too tight and defensive in the first place.

Dónal's solution was going for that ezequiel choke (sometimes also spelled ezekiel) as soon as you land in mount (a quick point on that: bring your head further out towards your basing arm to increase your top pressure). When your arm goes under their head, block their view with your own head, keeping three fingers extended on the reaching under hand. Those are going to shoot inside your other sleeve: because you're only using three fingers rather than four, you've increased your reach. Bring your sleeve arm through across their neck, then pull your three-finger hand elbow across as well (a tip from Caio Terra, apparently). From there, complete the choke as usual, doing a motion like you're attempting to decapitate them.

If as often happens they block your hand coming across, you can flow into the americana. In order to block, they will tend to cover by their jaw with their opposite hand. To do that, they will invariably raise their elbow. That's you chance to shove your knee into that space. Usually I slide up, to stay tight. Dónal does it differently: rather than sliding, go slightly on your toes, then drive your knee and hip straight in. This is faster and more powerful. Keep driving your knee inwards to really squash their arm into their face.

Your other leg also shoots up, putting their other arm in a similar position. This is very uncomfortable and doesn't leave them with many options. A common last-ditch escape they might try is bringing their legs right up into your armpits. If they try that, drop your shoulder, which should help unless they're incredibly flexible.

Due to the way their arms are tangled up, you may be able to get a wristlock (especially if their hand is bent into the mat at an awkward angle: just apply gradual pressure to their elbow), or an americana. Dónal normally does the typical paintbrush from here, but because of the position, I bent it against my leg instead, more like a kimura: Dónal decided that actually worked better, so we stuck with that.

Should that not work either, Dónal had a third option, taking the back. Their elbow will probably be up high, so you can push it with your arm, then bring your body around to press your ribs against their arm. Coming up on your toes and giving them a little room to rotate, roll them in the direction of the other arm, reaching under their neck to grab their opposite wrist.

This is the same as the gift-wrap, but you don't want to be too tight. That's because your other arm is going to go under their elbow, with the intention of grabbing next to your other hand. If you need to, raise up your elbow to create the space and angle. If it isn't already, bring your knee up by their head, then push forward with both hands, then use the momentum to roll backwards over your knee. Secure the back, then immediately go for what's called the short choke.

I've seen of version of this taught before. I first saw it on Demian Maia's DVD, then later got some additional tips at the second Leverage Submission Grappling seminar I attended a few months ago. Move your initial grip to their shoulder, digging under their chin to get your forearm tight into their neck: make sure your other grip keeps control of their arm. You might also want to try and control their other arm with your same side leg, if you're finding they are able get that arm in the way of your choke entry.

To finish, the method I use is anchoring my hand on the shoulder, then driving my own shoulder into the back of their head as I expand my chest, as if I was trying to touch their other shoulder. Dónal's method is slightly different, as he brings the elbow of his choking arm back, so it is towards their same side shoulder, then squeeze his arm for the choke. They both work. :)

13 April 2012

13/04/2012 - Gracie Barra Bristol (Ezequiel Choke)

Class #452
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Nicolai 'Geeza' Holt, Bristol, UK - 13/04/2012

If there is anyone else who has been having trouble getting certain blogs into their RSS reader, I just realised there is an easy workaround (at least for a blogspot blog). If you don't care and are thinking "make with the training already!", click here. ;)

If you're still with me: all you need is the blog ID number. I understand almost nothing about coding, but with a decent browser (i.e., Chrome or Firefox), you can just right-click on the blog in question, then in Chrome, click on 'Inspect Element'. That will make a mini-window with lots of code appear at the bottom of your browser.

Chrome has a handy 'search elements' bit in the top right of that mini-window. Look for 'blogid', which should be accompanied by a long number. Once you have that number, you can put it in the middle of this url, replacing '###' with the blog ID: http://www2.blogger.com/feeds/###/posts/default?alt=rss. Then voila, you should have a working feed to paste into the 'subscribe' bit of Google Reader (or whatever RSS reader you use).

This makes me happy, because for many years, I haven't been able to put one of my favourite blogs (Dagney's BJJ Training, by a cool female brown belt who trains in San Diego) in my Google Reader. As I read everything via that, it also meant I kept forgetting to check Dagney's site, so would never be up to date. BUT with this workaround (which results in this feed for Dagney's blog), I can at long last add her to my many other blog subscriptions (also why she's now in my 'blog feeds' bit to the left of my blog, which I reserve for my absolute favourites: the full list is here). Awesome! :D

_________________________________


I haven't been to one of Geeza's classes in ages, but tonight I had an opportunity to pop down, as my girlfriend had a couple of old friends over she was looking to catch up with. Unfortunately my elbow is still a bit knackered, and got worse over the session, but it was useful to at least test it out again. Annoying that I have no idea how I did it a couple of weeks ago, though: at least if it was from an armbar or something like that, I'd know I just needed to tap earlier. ;)

Anyway, class was going to focus on a submission I've been trying to get for years but never quite manage, the ezequiel choke from mount. Geeza's version was a little different from what I'm used to, in regards to the finish. It started as usual, getting one arm under their head with the bicep tight to their neck, grabbing inside your opposite sleeve. However, rather than emphasising getting that bit of loose cloth into the other side of their neck, Geeza focused on attempting to get your free hand across to grab your other sleeve, then close off the gap around their neck.

He had a few other tips on stopping their hands getting in the way, which is always the most frustrating part of setting up an ezequiel. First, you could try getting both of your knees over their elbows, to stop them getting their arms in place. Second, if you can only get one arm that way, it still gives you more scope to attack. Finally, you can try dragging one of their arms across and trapping it under your chest, again increasing the vulnerability of their neck.

We then did some king of the hill sparring from mount: I'm assuming the idea was to keep going for that ezequiel rather than another submission, but even if not, I took it as a chance to keep on doggedly going after the same choke when on top. However, I wasn't able to properly clear the neck. I tried Saulo's option of reaching through the crook of their elbow, then dragging their arm back to their side to pin it, also staying tight with my head. Each time, I wasn't able to keep it tight enough, as my partner was able to keep working their hands back into a defensive position.

On the plus side, I was able to maintain the mount for a good long while. Unusually for me, I wasn't just relying on grapevines to stay rigidly in position, but crawled my way up into a higher mount, pressing the soles of my feet into their side with my knees out wide for base. Come to think of it, that may have hindered my ezequiel a bit (as normally the low grapevine mount is a better place for that attack), although I think it was more down to my inability to get past those defensive hands.

Underneath, I was mostly relying on my usual foot drag escape. I did try to think about the normal elbow escape too, given my own personal resolution to use a greater variety, then later I went for the stiff-arm their hips and pop to butterfly. However, I don't think I would have got that against a heavier training partner.

31 October 2011

31/10/2011 - RGA Bucks Aylesbury

Class #428
RGA Bucks, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, UK - 31/10/2011

After the beginner class, we moved into the advanced, although things stayed fairly basic due to it being beginners apart from Howard and I. Kev started with some takedown drills, which is something he's always done (that black belt in judo certainly helps), before going into more detail on the uchi-mata. Normally, you swivel in, then kick back your leg into theirs to put them off-balance for the throw. Instead of completing the throw, Kev prefers to use that kick to get in close, then step towards their other leg, either grabbing the ankle or blocking their far knee to put them on their back.

Ground technique continued on from the previous lesson. You're in low mount, so from there you can finish them with an ezequiel choke. Control them by grapevining their legs, also grabbing under their head. Put your head next to theirs, both to help with control and block their view. You want to use the hand you have under their head to grab your other sleeve. The next step is the most difficult, as you need to somehow bring that hand past their face to the other side of their neck.

Generally, they're going to try and block that with their chin or their arm. So, ideally you don't want to give them any warning. Kev suggested shooting your hand straight through, immediately after you slightly raise your head. You can also try sliding your hand down over their face, though this is a bit more unpleasant for your partner. Finish by chopping your hand into their neck: the gi material you've dragged along with you should enable you to block the remaining artery for the choke.

Kev illustrated the grey area in the rules regarding touching their face by showing another confusing rule, about reaping the knee. As some people started asking about why that was illegal, we got onto an interesting tangent about heel hooks and how to escape them (basically, roll, but make sure you roll the right way, or you'll end up really messing up your knee. Hence why Kev doesn't want people to use them in sparring, as there is too much risk involved).

I was a bit wary of sparring because of my lingering injuries, so stuck to positional work from mount with a friendly white belt. He's only been training four weeks, so it mostly consisted of me offering advice on both maintaining mount and making space to escape when underneath. As I taught a class on the former last week, that was all still fresh in my mind, but even so I didn't manage to take the opportunity to shift into s-mount when on top. I've not used it much in sparring before, but it's something I want to try more often, as there seem to be loads of good attacks from there (some of which I'll be covering this Thursday).

Instead of free sparring, I stayed in instructor mode, helping out a different white belt. He was injured so couldn't spar, but we could still do some drilling. The main thing he wanted to work was escaping side control, which was perfect for me as that is my comfort zone for teaching BJJ. I'm not sure if he's reading, but basically the stuff I went through is all in my earlier write-up of my side control escape class, here

18 May 2010

18/05/2010 - BJJ (Basics)

Class #312
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Nathan Roberts, Birmingham, UK - 18/05/2010

I cleverly managed to leave my house keys at my gf's place in Bristol on Sunday, which meant I couldn't actually get into my flat until Tuesday. That also meant I couldn't get to my gi on Monday, so I shifted my schedule to the Tuesday beginner class instead. I'm very fortunate in that my gf is not only lovely, but rather more efficient than I am, so she quickly got those keys sent up to my office. Otherwise I probably would have had to write most of the training this week off.

Nathan began with some interesting drills, where the idea was to lie next to your partner in various configurations, such as head to toe or back to back on your side, then try to get to a dominant position on top as soon as Nathan shouted 'go!' Presumably the idea is to develop the ability to scramble, as well as not easily give up the mount/side control etc.

In terms of technique, tonight's session was a continuation of what Nathan taught last week. Having secured the mount, you could now go for a choke. They will most likely have their elbows in, hands crossed over, looking to defend their neck. Attack their top arm, pushing it down as if you're going for an Americana. If they don't defend then keep going, but most likely they will turn towards the arm you're attacking.

That helps defend against the Americana, but it also presents their collar to you. Reach in deep with your opposite hand, palm up. If you want to get deeper, wriggle your knuckles to work your way to their label. You can also pull up on their gi collar lower down with your other hand. Once you've established that grip, bring your free elbow around to the other side of their head, and grab behind their shoulder.

Next, scrape your forearm over their face. This can be very unpleasant, which should enable you to press your forearm into their neck. I get the impression Nathan doesn't subscribe to Saulo Ribeiro's "treat your training partner like your best friend" school of thought. Still, it is undeniably effective: my drilling partner, Sofia (or maybe Sophia, not sure on the spelling) made good use of her forearms and gi to really dig in, so that it was almost a relief when she started to apply the choke. There are going to be a lot of gi burned necks tomorrow!

I frequently have trouble getting the right position for cross chokes, so I was looking closely to identify the right position. Judging by that, you want to get the top of your wrists (so just under the bottom of your palm, on your thumb side) close to their earlobes. You then bring your elbows back (don't flare them), then twisting your hands so your palms face in the opposite direction, drag your collar hand back.

Another option is to go for the ezekiel choke, something I've wanted to get right for a good while now. One arm goes under their neck, then that hand grabs your free arm's sleeve. Pull that fabric tight into their neck. Your head is close to theirs, helping you to sneak your free hand through across their neck. You can now pull with your sleeve grip and chop with your other hand, as if you were attempting to decapitate your opponent.

If they try to bridge you off, then remember to use your head as a third arm, posting on your forehead. You can also attempt to ‘ride’ their bridge by lifting your hips, taking away their power. This is something Saulo talks about in his DVD, though possibly a little different, as he was raised up, rather than bending forward in the process of attacking with a choke.

Alternatively, you can make your free hand into a fist. Wriggle your knuckles into place, then again, press down with that hand while pulling your sleeve under their neck. In both cases, this choke is generally quite swift, whereas the earlier submission can be slow, and may require you hold it for a bit before it takes effect.

As I'm always getting my hand blocked when I try this, I asked Nathan for his advice. He suggested that if their focusing on blocking that hand, you might find you have an opportunity to scoop up under their elbow with your same side arm, launching a new submission attempt. In turn, that may act as enough of a distraction to get your hand through for the ezekiel. This is possibly what Kintanon has been advising I try, when he says you can switch from an ezekiel to an armbar.

Specific sparring was from mount, with four of us staying on the bottom for a round. I was in the first group, and found that I could generally get an elbow into their knee, and then shift to half guard. Sometimes it also enabled me to just make some space, whereupon I could bring a knee through and work into open guard. Still, it was all white belts, as the other two blues in the class were in the same group as me.

On top, I went with two white belts, beginning with my drilling partner. As I have a size advantage, I tried to stay as technical as possible, but I'm still dubious that the manner in which I shifted to an armbar would have worked against anybody bigger. Most likely I left a little bit of space when shifting my legs up, which was covered by that size difference.

It is rare that I'm bigger, but makes for a nice change. My next partner reversed that situation, as he definitely had a bit of size on me. However, I'm pleased that I was able to keep him on his back, maintaining a low grapevined mount. Reaching around to grab material on the opposite shoulder, as demonstrated by Rob a few lessons back, definitely helped. Of course, I didn't manage to launch any attacks, which is the important next step: position then submission.

There wasn't any free sparring this time, so that will wait until tomorrow's advanced lesson. Hopefully my neck won't be too sore: I'm definitely not looking forward to shaving in the morning!

15 December 2009

15/12/2009 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #271



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 15/12/2009

Jem has relaunched her presence in the blogosphere, with a new project entitled 'Girls and BJJ in SEA'. As people who read her previous blog may remember, Jem has considerable experience in muay thai. She has also been training BJJ over four years, currently in Bangkok under black belt Adam Kayoom. It is always great to see new blogs pop up, especially when they're by women. So, go check it out!

This week, we're back to mount. Previously I was having success with the grapevined low mount, but tonight, I was again struggling to keep my position on top. I'm going to be optimistic and assume that is other people getting better rather than my game deteriorating: either way, it is good to encounter problems in sparring, as that gives you something to work on. It also helps iron out details in your technique. As the saying goes, if you're not tapping, you're not learning (though here it is a more a case of "if you're not finding flaws in your mount control, then you're going to have trouble making it tighter").

Kev began with a nifty flow drill I've seen in the pass, where you begin in guard. Pass to side control, transition to mount. Your partner then bridges and rolls, putting them in guard, where the process can repeat. This also meant that Kev was able to cover off the defensive part of the lesson in a way that enabled both partners to test technique at the same time. I found it useful to get in some more practice on the twisting guard break, as well as trying out a pass I saw on a DVD earlier that day (I should have a review up soon, hopefully by tomorrow).

The main technique for the beginners class was one I have been looking forward to seeing: the Ezequiel choke from mount. Of course, now that I'm finding it tougher to maintain the mount itself, that has become less pressing, but still handy to work. That is especially true when you consider part of maintaining the mount is constantly threatening (something I'm really, really bad at), so they're thinking more about defending their neck than trying to escape.

You start by getting one arm under their head. Grab your other sleeve, then bring that gi material close to their neck. This is what you're going to use to close off one of their carotid arteries. To block the other, put your other forearm and wrist against the other side of their neck. To apply the choke, twist your sleeve grip and press down, while also raising your torso up.

It is possible that forming a fist with your free hand will be useful, as you can then press the knuckles into their neck. However, keep in mind that the idea is not to shove that free hand into their throat: the power comes from twisting and pulling on your sleeve grip. Most likely you will find that you also end up squashing their larynx (especially if you're sparring a guy), which will probably cause them to turn their head. That makes it even easier to secure the choke. Also remember Saulo's excellent advice: "your training partner should be your best friend." Don't try and crush their throat, but instead apply steady pressure.

Sparring from mount, I was happy enough from the bottom. I was generally able to get my elbow to the knee and frame on Callum's hip, bridging to make enough space to insert my knee. From there, it was a matter of shrimping and lifting to freedom. I was using more strength than I would have liked, but that is a timing issue: I need to be more astute in gauging balance and where my partner's weight is sitting.

On top, it went rather less well. I tried my usual grapevined low mount, but found it difficult to keep those hooks in. The bigger problem was that each time I tried to shift up to go for an attack in technical mount, Callum was able to wedge his elbow under my leg and make space to escape (like I had just done). I could see exactly what he was doing, but that didn't help me stop the escape. I was looking to pull up on the arm to get my knee back in place, or drop back to grapevine (sometimes crossing my ankles to make it tighter), but to no avail.

When I asked Kev about that elbow into the knee, he first mentioned that you need to be attacking, giving them something else to think about. Specifically addressing the elbow, he suggested that either you drop back into a low grapevine, or alternatively, put one or both hands on their opposite shoulder.

Stiff-arming with your full weight behind it should shove them flat on their back. The downside is that this doesn't work so well if they are bigger than you, so grapevining tends to be more reliable. Shifting to technical mount at this point is tough: you need to beat their elbow, as playing catch-up is almost certainly going to end with them escaping.