26/07/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Leuven 2017 | Gi Chokes & Coathanger Guard (Alexander Neufang)

Class #855
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Sportoase Leuven), Alexander Neufang, Leuven, Belgium, 26/07/2017

The title for this session was 'murdering people with the gi', which proved to be an apt description. It was packed with nasty gi chokes, wrapping them around the neck and punching the arm through. I had trouble getting any of them, I think due to my pressure perhaps being a little off, or not thrusting enough. Probably not the kind of techniques I'm likely to use, but certainly effective. These are all chokes that Neufang has been using successfully in competition.

A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jul 27, 2017 at 12:20am PDT

Fortunately for me, the final technique was better suited to my style. I have seen something similar before, but not had it taught to me previously. I couldn't see how he set it up, but the idea is you have closed guard, then you get your foot across and hook it under their far arm. This ends up in what I've seen called the 'coathanger'. From here, you can get a sweep by pulling on that arm with your foot.

There is also an unusual choke, if you get a deep grip with your arm on the coathanger leg side, gripping the opposite collar (the one that will be on the coathangered arm side). Bring your free leg over their head and push. You can switch into a triangle too, bringing your leg over and switching. Then finally there's the option of pulling their arm across and taking their back.

24/06/2016 - Private with Kenny Polmans | Half Guard & Side Control | Gi Chokes & Gi Tail Attacks

Class #740 - Private #024
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Sportoase Leuven), Kenny Polmans, Leuven, Belgium, 24/06/2016

A video posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jun 24, 2016 at 12:00pm PDT

My private lesson with David ‘Morcegao’ put me into a mindset of asking other black belts their prices. I liked the selection of techniques Polmans showed in his class, his teaching style suited me, plus he’s also close to my size and age. As if that wasn’t enough, his fees were incredibly reasonable too. :)

We got started immediately after his class on side control finished. I began by asking about the position we’d just done in the class, as I didn’t quite get it right. I have been playing with the breadcutter choke for a few years now, without a great deal of success. The problem I tend to have is that while I can get the grip behind the collar, I will generally then struggle to move into a submission.

Instead, I’ll get the initial grip, fail to get the second grip, then vacillate over switching to something else because I don’t want to lose position. I know three or four follow ups (i.e., these), but rarely go for them because they don’t feel tight enough.

Kenny had plenty of good advice. To begin, getting that initial grip can sometimes be tricky, as your arm gets stuck and you can’t reach far enough under their arm. Therefore you want to make enough space. With your cross facing arm, grip their far shoulder/gi material. Use that as an anchor point to lever them up with your arm. It’s then easy to reach through under their near arm, securing that near grip on the back of their collar.

Once you have that in, it’s important to wedge the knee nearest their hips underneath them slightly. That will prevent them putting their back flat, which would take away the space you need for the collar grip. Normally this point is where I have trouble getting my second grip in. In Kenny’s version, you already have it in place: rather than trying to insert your arm over their neck, you loop your arm around that far shoulder grip you secured earlier.

At this point, it’s similar to the Xande version I like, a blood choke, rather than the air choke David showed me in his private (because unlike me, David is of the Chris Paines nasty catch wrestling mindset ;D). That elbow of the shoulder arm drops down to the near side. When demonstrating, Kenny tapped his demonstration partner much earlier than that, so I’m not sure if that had some windpipe in it, or if it’s just that efficient. ;)

If they are blocking your shoulder grip by grabbing that arm, grab them back, gripping their tricep or elbow. Pull that across, so you can trap it underneath your chest. Once you’ve trapped it under your chest, bring your arm (the same one you just used to pull their arm across) under their head, like you were cross facing. You still have your original grip on the back of the collar. Grip on their shoulder, driving through them for the choke. If that doesn’t work, stretch out your leg nearest their head and drop your same side hip.

Shifting to the lapel, Kenny then went through his take on the gi tail baseball bat choke, something I first encountered on Roy Dean’s excellent Purple Belt Requirements. Pull out their far lapel, feeding that under their head to your cross facing hand. Secure the grip, then cut in your original hand, gripping on top of your other first, elbow angled in (aim to put it in the crook of your other elbow).

Put your knee on their belly to stop them escaping, then apply the choke. Your original arm stays fairly static, that’s mainly there as a wedge for pressure. If you need more leverage, you can try rotating around to a north south type position, putting your head on their chest.

You also have the armbar as an option from there. Move your original grip from under their head to pull up on their near arm. Step over their head, drop back and finish. If you have trouble with their turning into you, grip under their leg, securing their thigh.

Wrapping that far lapel over their arm works well too, especially as they’ll often try to block you feeding it by their neck. As a side note, keep your head turned towards their legs on top in side control when they are framing into your neck. That way, they can’t generate as much pressure into your throat with their forearm. Anyway, this is where the Americana comes in, same way I teach it (except that as before, Kenny likes to go to a low knee on belly for control).

I find that I try many of my favourite attacks in half guard in side control as well, so half guard gi tail attacks is what I asked about next. First thing Kenny pointed out was that you need to get the knee of your trapped leg out, in order to have the necessary mobility. He started with the gi tail ezequiel I like from there, along with the choke where you wrap the tail around, then cut in the elbow.

If they try to block your shoulder grip, as with the breadcutter, pull their arm across, cross-face and go for the pressure choke. This time, Kenny pulled on the sleeve and folded himself over the arm. Other than that, it was the same motion as before, just with your leg trapped in half guard. As ever with top half guard, you should also always keep in mind that the pass is an option too (he ran through his take on the hip switch pass as a result).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

23/06/2016 - Private with David Morcegao | Open Guard & Side Control | Stiff Arm Frame, Knee Cut Counters & Gi Tail Choke

Class #737 - Private #023
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Sportoase Leuven), David 'Morcegao' George, Leuven, Belgium, 23/06/2016

I hadn't intended to do any privates when I was booking the camp, but David mentioned he was only charging €40 for two people, a price too good to pass up. That set me off on a private lesson spree, booking another for Friday and a third for Saturday, each with a different instructor. For anybody going to a BJJ Globetrotter camp, I would therefore recommend bringing along a 'private lesson piggybank', to take advantage of affordable one-on-one attention. You can also grab black belts at open mat to ask them stuff (e.g., Christian said to do that, as he wasn't looking to do privates at this camp), but I feel better able to babble after having paid for an hour. Especially as I ask LOTS of questions. ;)

A photo posted by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jun 23, 2016 at 11:02am PDT

First on my list was knee cut counters. David began by suggesting you grab the foot from a reverse de la Riva position. If you mess up and they have gotten a knee through, you're in trouble. They want their balance centered, you want to disrupt that. Bump them with your knee, with the intention of swivelling up behind them. It could be either knee, depending on the position.

Pulling on the collar can help you with that too. You will end up in a scramble, like Haueter said, meaning that a wrestling approach will pay dividends. You're spinning through behind the leg, looking for the back or possibly moving into a single leg off that position.

If you can get some kind of purchase on their leg, you can turn, rolling them over. Securing a collar and grabbing their knee will help with this too, stiff arming to stop them recovering their position. If they don't fall over (e.g., you end up with their leg, but they still have some base), hook the leg as you turn, then stand to complete the single leg. If they are on their knee, you can tap that knee and drive through.

A late option is to try and spin through, your arm going underneath their body. Your other arm loops over their head, ending up in a brabo choke type thing (anaconda? I get confused as to which is which). To complete the choke, you're curling your body around their head.

Along with knee cut counters, I more generally want to improve my open guard, particularly the sitting guard frames I've been playing with from Ryan Hall. Rather than curling your arm in when you have it behind their head, make sure you're redirecting that head. That's a great point, as like David said, just curling the arm ends up using triceps. In a related point (which applies to side control frames too), you can reach for their shoulder, getting the lower part of your forearm into the throat.

I'm keen on improving my chokes from side control too, as I go for those a lot. David had a nifty little tweak on my favoured gi tail choke. If you can't get the basic gi tail to work, bring your other hand through to grip on top of your first grip, similar to a baseball bat grip, but on the side. Lever their head up for the choke (David described it as a steering wheel), being careful not to put your forearm through too deeply.

25/09/2014 - Artemis BJJ | The Back | Turtle Escapes To Half Guard & Gi Tail Choke Details

Class #595
Artemis BJJ (Impact Gym), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 25/09/2014

Fairly straightforward class tonight, with an escape from turtle that essentially involved turning to half guard. I'm not sure I quite got all the details, especially as I'm writing this up a few days later, but the situation is that they have one hook in. First, be careful to block their other hook creeping in, keeping your elbow tight.Turn towards the side they've hooked, spinning towards the floor rather than towards the ceiling. Immediately secure an underhook, putting you into half guard.

In sparring, I was with a strong white belt, playing around with the back take option Dónal showed earlier. I was a bit uncertain about it on Tuesday, but it was working great today. However, I need to grip higher. I was just grabbing whatever bits of gi I could and then rolling over their shoulder. I should have been grabbing right under their armpits and pulling the gi in tight there before rolling, so I'll work on that next time.

Underneath, I went for the wing escape a few times, but generally stayed lazy and just clamped in tight. Once he gave me some space, I grabbed the leg and went to half guard. A few times, I ended up wrapping the bottom of both his legs with mine and then wriggling back into guard, which was a bit random.

With Rafal, I got into the gi tail grip nice and deep, but wasn't able to do much with it. I looked for the choke, then I thought about sweeping, failing to get the post/posture/leverage thing yet again. Finally I thought maybe a triangle, perhaps by digging my leg in and then kicking out. I got confused as to grips: fortunately for me, all was about to become clear.

Dónal had been watching, so I got a quick refresher on the private he taught me a while back about gi tail attacks, with some extra details. The main addition was using their arm to choke them when you can't get into the standard gi tail choke. Reach across with your free hand to grab their elbow, pulling that across your body. I had tried to do that in sparring, but I was just pulling the elbow backwards, thinking about triangles without being in position.

Instead, you do pull it back, but you're just opening it. You've reached right across to grab it. Turn, moving that elbow to your other hip, where you can clamp in with your body to keep it in place. Push off their arm-side hip to scoot your hips out, which will enable you to trap their arm even more. At that point, pulling on the gi tail should result in a choke, combined with pressing into their trapped arm.

The triangle is an option too, but rather than pulling the arm out to get my knee in, you can instead kick the leg down, then swing it around. They aren't normally defending against the leg in that direction, so it's a higher percentage approach.

30/11/2013 - Private with Kev (Closed & Open Guard)

Class #538 - Private #017
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 30/11/2013

I've taken a private lesson with Kev before, three years ago. Since I started training at the Wycombe branch in 2009, RGA Bucks has remained a home base for me, even though I have moved to various bits of the country in the ensuing years. Kev is still the black belt overseeing my rank, which also hasn't changed since 2009.

I wasn't making it back as often as I'd like in 2012 and 2013, so I decided in October this year that I was going to get down to RGA Bucks more regularly. I can combine that with visiting my parents in Aylesbury for birthdays, which I try to set aside for family time. I've got two nieces with a third on the way, so in addition to the rest of my immediate family that makes for eight birthdays a year plus xmas. So, at worst that should average out to a trip to the RGA Bucks mats about every two months.

A long-distance instructor/student relationship isn't all that common in BJJ, but with regular contact I think it can work. For the first of what should be many private lessons over the next few years, Kev and I started off by talking about where I'm at in my jiu jitsu game, as well as how things went in sparring during the preceding lesson. As any reader of this blog will know, I am an inveterate self-analyser, so I've got a reasonable idea of my weak areas. That means it's extremely useful to run through them with a black belt (especially a black belt close to my size who also happens to be a very good teacher, like Kev).

The main problem I've always had is my passivity, which in large part is down to my personality. What I need to start doing more is 'pulling the trigger' on techniques, rather than getting stuck thinking about the ten different options from that position, or going for it but then backing off when it doesn't seem to be as immediately effective as I'd hoped. That old "if you think, you're late" Saulo quote is relevant, so although I'm wary of anything that implies thinking is ever negative, I do need to try and be more streamlined in my reactions.

Kev went through a number of principles and technical tweaks that would help me with that, focusing on one of the biggest gaps in my jiu jitsu: an effective offence from open guard. Most of the time, I use open guard to simply keep people at bay, but as I just stay defensive, it becomes a matter of when rather than if they pass. I can manage to tie people up in spider guard for a while, pushing against their hips, but rarely move into any sweeps or attacks.

Similar to how I worked with Donal on improving what I already know and use, the main attack from open guard remains the tripod to sickle sweep combination. Kev suggested that I should be approaching open guard from an upright starting position, basing behind with one arm. That's more mobile and also less vulnerable than lying on your back with your feet flailing at them. From that seated position, grab their collar with one arm.

If you do the collar grip, be aware that there is a potential attack they can do here, if you're not careful. By basing on the floor with an arm, they can jump up into a armbar on your outstretched arm. Kev noted that Dan Strauss is a big fan of that. If you see them base on the floor with an arm when you have the collar grip, be prepared (e.g., elbow back, shift the grip, go for your attack, etc).

Presuming you aren't getting flying armbarred, with that collar grip, you can do a collar drag and take the back. You can also use it to swing in for their ankle with your other hand. That sets you up for either an ankle pick (a bit like last month at RGA Bucks), or moving into the tripod sweep. Interestingly, Kev advocates the heel grip, not the trouser grip. This isn't loose though: pull that heel up onto your hip, which both puts them off balance and makes it harder for them to kick free.

Particularly if they are futher away, you also want to follow the Roy Harris advice (Kev pointed to Michael Langhi, who says the same thing) about always keeping your feet on your opponent: that could be hooking behind their knees or leg, pushing on the hip, the chest, the biceps or their shoulder. To counter a leg drag and certain other passes, push off their opposite shoulder with your foot.

If you mess up and they get further along, there are two options Kev noted. The first one is when they drop their weight onto you. Shove their hand towards your legs (to prevent them turning towards your head and securing a cross face), bringing your other arm around their hip. From there, you can roll them over.

The second one was something Kev said he's been having a lot of success with. He calls it the nappy grip, which is an odd name but makes perfect sense when you see it. I've been told that the same grip is used in a number of guards, such as what gets called 'lapel guard' (specifically the grip switch Keenan does here at 01:18 or so). Kev also mentioned it has been used by Bernardo Faria at the highest level (some people apparently refer to it as the 'Faria grip', which would make sense).

As there doesn't seem to be a widely used standard term, I think I'll use mawashi grip: that's the thing sumo wrestlers wear and should help me remember what it looks like. The position reminds me of the de la Riva sweep position I learned at Gracie Barra Birmingham back in 2010, where you feed their sleeve between their legs to your other hand, then knock them over. If you can't get their hand, you can use their belt or lapel, which is what Kev does for this grip.

However, he takes it a step further. You've pushed their belt or lapel past their leg, then fed that to your other hand, which is reaching around the outside. You're then going to switch grips around, bringing your first hand around the outside and re-gripping. This clamps the lapel or belt tightly around their leg and bum, hence the name. It's the same kind of grip as the Roy Dean/brabo/lapel from closed guard, taught to me by Donal a few months ago.

Once you have that grip, you can then grab their hip and sweep if they put their weight on you like the earlier technique. If they don't have their weight on you, it's possible to move around and sort of old school sweep them. It also makes it very hard for them to push the knee through for a knee slide. I found that last time I visited RGA Bucks in October, as Kev did it to me repeatedly. The defence is to do a crescent kick, TKD style, as soon as they get that belt grip (be careful you don't smack them in the face, though).

In this private lesson, we had a brief spar at the start and end to first work out some weak areas and then to shore them up: again, Kev used that mawashi/nappy grip to great effect. The same principle can work in side control, like Roy Dean shows, as well as when passing, especially passing butterfly guard. When there is any clearance under their back, pull their gi lapel under their body, then do the same outside switch grip.

Donal's closed guard grip functions well too, of course. Kev has a tweak on that closed guard option, as he grips the same way, but deeper, securing his final grip by the armpit, not the neck. That also leads into the final bit of this write-up, where again it is something I've already been working on for a while now (Kev's lesson kept perfectly addressing those questions I've been raising with myself over the last year or two, possibly longer).

The general principle is that if your open guard isn't that strong, then why open your closed guard in the first place? Another way of putting it (I'm not sure who first said this: might have been Carlson?) is that they should be have to struggle to open your closed guard, don't give it to them. Either way, I have wanted to improve my closed guard for a good while, having taken several privates with Donal for that purpose.

I have been playing with chokes and sweeps. Kev prefers to take the back, an area I have considered but not concentrated on to the same extent. Break the grip on their left side, as most people are weaker there. Drag the arm across, then stiff arm, making sure you stay on top of their wrist rather than letting your grip slip underneath. With your other arm, reach around to their hip or their armpit.

Ideally, you want to be able to rotate them into your back control, relying on leverage rather than force or lots of agile scrambling (again, this builds on something I have already covered with Donal). That combines nicely with what Kev calls the kimura sweep, essentially a variation on the sit up sweep.

When you break their grip and drag their arm across for the back take, they will most likely resist, trying to pull their arm away. At that point, switch to a sit-up sweep, but keep hold of their arm, rather than posting behind for base. Knock into their opposite hip, then pull your gripping hand back to your armpit.

This will mean they can't post, so there is no barrier to knocking them to the mat apart from the knees and posture. That could potentially also fit into the windscreen wiper sweep, unsurprising because Donal's private lesson on that technique combined it with another sit up sweep variation where you grab their sleeve.

All in all a very helpful private: I'm looking forward to trying to implement this into my jiu jitsu. I am not training as much as I would like at the moment, but that should hopefully resolve itself soon, meaning I'll finally be in a long-term position where I can train as much as I'd like in a conducive atmosphere . :)

06/10/2013 - Study Hall (Closed Guard Offence)

Class #527
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 08/09/2013

Dónal was in charge tonight, but unlike previous open mats, this was more regulated. Rather than just everybody heading off to do their own thing, Dónal ran us all through a series of drills first. This was in keeping with what he's been showing over at Hit Fit, practicing various backstep motions related to passing the guard (like in Black Belt Requirements).

I don't think I'm remembering these in order, but the first one might have been where you're passing the guard, but they turn into you. Push on their knee, then replace that with your leg on their thigh, backstepping to move to the other side. They repeat the motion and you move back to where you started, re-initiating the loop. Same thing we did in a private a while ago. Another one, you're stood up, one hand on their hip, other hand into their same side knee. Push the knee away while still holding the hip so they can't shrimp out, then collapse onto them for side control.

If they are lifting you up and about to land the butterfly sweep, on the side they are hooking and lifting, turn your hips in the exact same motion from the first drill. You can then backstep off their hook and end up going straight into side control. That's the same thing Roy Dean shows. The final option I can remember is where they are in butterfly guard, they have one knee raised. Bring your same side knee up and use it to push their knee down. Your opposite hand goes onto their knee, turning the hand so you can stiff-arm into the crook of their knee. That stiff arm stops them recovering their position, so you can pass to side control or maybe even get right to the back.

The class was then split into drilling and sparring, so I naturally wanted to drill. My focus today was closed guard, particularly breaking their posture. I wanted to get them in the gi tail series, but if they resist and pull back, follow them and hit the sit-up sweep. With the gi tail, I think I'm relaxing the pressure on them too much so they can raise up. I could perhaps have a higher guard to bring my legs into it. I'm also not getting the gi tail deep enough when I initially pull it free, which means I don't have enough to grip properly.

When I'm coming up for the sit-up sweep, I need to be aware of the angle to pull back on their elbow/tricep to knock out their posting arm. If I don't, then I am going against their strong point. Could be I'm not bringing my arm up properly as I go for the sweep, because I'm thinking too much about the follow up techniques.

I finished off by playing around with various techniques from the Roy Dean DVD I recently reviewed, along with some baseball bat choke stuff (which I couldn't remember very well, so I must take another look at my notes from the private lesson on that).

11/09/2013 - Private (Closed Guard Gi Tail Grip)

Class #523 - Private #015
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 11/09/2013

Quite often when I'm sparring and get to closed guard, I'll break down their posture, wrap my arm over their back...then just sit there without much happening. I have several sweeps I like to go for, mainly the windscreen wiper and the sit-up sweep, but I feel I should have a couple of other options to attempt from that position. That's therefore what I wanted to work on with Dónal today: as ever, he more than delivered! :)

Once you've broken down their posture and have wrapped them up, Dónal suggests going for a particular gi grip. If you can get it, that becomes a powerful platform for launching several attacks. To initially get the gi tail grip, put your thumb in their collar as low as you can with your same side hand, while still remaining above their belt.

Slide it down, then briefly remove your leg on that side in order to punch your collar-gripping hand outwards. You don't want to have your leg swung out for too long as that may give them an escape opportunity, so you might also find that you have to do it gradually. Yanking the gi out in one motion is preferable, as then they have less reaction time, but you may not always get that luxury.

Pull that gi lapel across their back, feeding it to your other hand. It should be possible to do this while still holding them down, so don't relieve the pressure on their back. Your other hand should grab the gi lapel with the palm facing towards you. Grip it tightly and pull down, so your forearm is tight against their neck. Bend your wrist towards you, also tilting it slightly towards their neck, so that little bony outcrop by your wrist (on the thumb side) presses into the carotid.

From that grip, there are a number of different attacks. The simplest is a choke, much like the palm up palm down choke, with some similarities to the submission from mount I went through with Berry on Sunday. Punch your grip away from your while also shifting your hips, with the intention of knocking your partner to one side, transferring them towards your non-gi gripping arm side. Ideally that will mean you're now looking at their ear on the non-gi grip side, so can use your free arm to grab the gi material by their shoulder. That arm becomes a brace, then you squeeze and twist with your gi grip for the choke.

If you can't get them across for whatever reason, there is the option of a triangle instead. Put your hand slightly above their same side elbow with your free hand, then shove that backwards, swinging your leg over the top. Make sure you get over their shoulder too, or they can make space to escape. A handy tip when you can't budge their arm from the ground is to pop up on your shoulders and turn: this should lighten their arm, meaning your can scoop under their elbow and pull it across.

From there you can lock up the triangle as normal, though you'll need to release your gi grip first. Having said that, the gi grip is handy for keeping their posture broken as you set up the triangle. It might be possible to get a tap just squeezing with your grip in place and legs locked, but it would be low percentage.

Finally, you can try and take the back. You've set up your position as before, but aren't able to bump them over for the choke or push the arm back for the triangle. You can instead switch your gi grip to pushing their arm across their body, clamping your chest to their shoulder to prevent them pulling that arm back out again. Your other arm reaches for their far armpit, meaning that you can then flip them into the back position.

It's also worth keeping in mind that people may well put their hand on the mat when you initially get that grip, opening up the possibility of getting an overhook. As their hand is on the mat, the classic sit-up series and kimura could be there too, but I would have thought it would be hard to switch from a grip grip into a diagonal sit up and figure four. Still, something to play with.

Also, that gi grip is similar to what Roy Dean demonstrates on Brown Belt Requirements. He starts off from side control, using it for various chokes, before rolling through and applying the same grip from the closed guard. I'm keen to improve my chokes from side control as well, so this could be a good option to investigate next week (especially as it would follow on nicely from today).

I'm off to Doc Martin Land next week, so won't be back training until the week after that. :)