Class #970 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Kirsty Wynne, Bristol, UK - 15/04/2018
I don't normally get to train on Mondays now as I have carved that out as an evening to spend with my partner, but as she was busy this evening anyway, I took the opportunity to experience a fundamental class taught by Kirsty. I'm very glad I did, as it was excellent. Ever since I managed to tempt Kirsty onto the instructor team, I've been getting rapturous feedback from students. It is well justified, judging by tonight. In the course of about 10 minutes, I understood more about turtle defence then I did after 12 hours with Priit. That goes to show what a difference teaching styles make, when one happens to fit you well: brilliant stuff, Kirsty! :D
She began her class with a series of drills, to get you used to the motions in Priit Turtle. First, sit on the ground with your legs stretched in front of you. Curl in your right leg, so that the foot is by your left thigh. Then curl back your left leg, so that your foot is pointing behind you (so, sort of like a hurdlers stretch). Bring your head to the mat in front of your right leg. Use that balance to switch your legs, rotating them in the other direction to previously, returning to your starting position. Repeat on the other side.
Next, start in the Priit Turtle position, with your head, toes and knees on the mat, elbows tucked back. Straight your right leg, then fall towards your left leg. You're now back into a similar position from the previous drill, so can again rotate your legs in order to end up in that seated position with your legs outstretched (which Priit calls the 'passive turtle', or more evocatively, the 'panda').
In order to defend from here, you need to stay active with your arms defending, stopping them getting a seatbelt, as well as using your elbows to dislodge any attempt to get a hook with their leg. If they swing a leg high enough, to try and circumvent your arms, bring both arms underneath their leg. Lean forwards and base on your head, then turn over their leg. As you do, pin that leg with your trailing shin, staying tight to their leg. Windscreen wiper your other leg over the top. Bring your inside hand through, so that you can put your first on the mat by their hip. This is to stop them bringing their knee through as you move around to side control.
You could potentially bring your arm under, in order to get to something like that headquarters passing position I talked about with Paulina a few weeks ago. However, as Kirsty pointed out, that could leave you at risk of a triangle from underneath side control, because your head is low enough that with a small push, then can pop over your arm with their leg. A safer option is to get your arm in front to bodylock instead, which has the added advantage of preventing them from being able to escape their hip in that direction. This means you've blocked off both hips, making the pass much easier.
Great class, I hope I can make it down to more Monday sessions with Kirsty.
Class #771 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 02/10/2016
Again, I can't remember what we did today, so I'll talk about what I can remember we did at an open mat this week. Mainly I write the training notes on this blog as a reference for me (e.g., notes I want to remember for the next time I teach something), but apparently other people do occasionally read it. I had an email from a chap called John Kim, who was asking about the Rickson write-up I did of a seminar a few years ago. He was having trouble visualising the side control escape, so asked if I could do a video.
As it was side control month anyway, that fitted well. Simon and I had a play with it at the Friday open mat last week, I also had a play with it during sparring. I had some success against newer people, but as you'd expect, not so much with the more experienced. It was handy having the reminder, as I'd forgotten about it until John's email. Here's the video:
I am only a purple belt so would feel a bit silly putting up instructional videos at this point, but I'm happy to film my students drilling stuff. Any other requests, let me know. October is mount month, so I'm up for doing any mount stuff from my blog. ;)
I used to really enjoy Chiu's classes back when I trained at GB Brum in 2010, so it was cool to get to train under him again. Especially as today, he picked side control escapes from a position similar to the running escape: perfect. :)
Chiu called his class 'foetal side control escapes', which makes sense after you see the position he's talking about. First, he talked about getting two-on-one control on their far arm. From a no-gi perspective, you can grab their far arm with both your hands, without worrying too much about their arm near your head (in gi, it's a lot more dangerous, but he got onto that later).
After having us drill that with some light resistance, Chiu added in the legs. You've created space with your two on one grip, meaning you can bring in your knees (like the 'shin-in-elbow' trick Ed Beneville wrote about it his book, Strategic Guard). If they raise up, that gives you the space to spin back to guard: for drilling this particular technique, your partner needs to be helpful and stay low, stopping you turning in towards them. If you can't get the arm (e.g., they are trying to moving to north south), you can push on the head to stop them going where they want.
If you can get your knee in, lift that leg to make some space (pushing into their arm with your shin), until you can insert the other leg. If you can get your feet into the crook of their elbow, even better. At that point, it is difficult for them to prevent you making enough room to recover some kind of guard.
In a detail reminiscent of the running escape, you may want to make more space by shrimping your hips into them. You also want to make sure you are monitoring their leg with your inside arm (like your arm is stuck inside their knee), as otherwise they will probably try and get to knee on belly to then rip their arm free. Turning yourself towards them at that point is another good option, spinning into guard once they've given you that space.
A granby roll can work from there too, in the same way as it does from the running escape. However, also like the running escape, sometimes it is tough to get that rolling motion, which can also put pressure on your neck. Digging your feet into the floor and then shrimping towards them is therefore preferable in that situation.
The foetal defence feels like a guard from under side control. It has attacks too, such as switching into a reverse triangle. I was finding it felt natural to push on the back of their arm and spin out. For others, the triangle might feel like a smooth transition. You have the two on one grip, a foot into the crook of their elbow. Kick up with the foot in the elbow, the other leg going behind their arm. Your kicking foot shoots around the side of their neck, locking it with the other leg over your shin. Pull on their elbow and squeeze to finish.
Finally, there is the important question of how to avoid getting choked when trying this in the gi. If you're lazy, they can potentially sneak a hand under your head and secure a bow and arrow grip, or potentially loop their arm over for a breadcutter style choke. To prevent that, keep pressuring their arm by pulling your head back, following that arm if they try to bring it over the top of your head.
If possible, hide your collar under your armpit, which prevents them gripping it for a choke. Do not curl when you're in the gi, that gives them enough room for the choke. In terms of gripping, Chiu recommends grabbing the wrist, lifting the leg to get their elbow up. If you grip the gi and don't lift your leg, they may be able to rotate your arm down to put pressure on your grip.
This weekend marks my first 2016 trip to my instructor's academy, RGA Bucks. Kev was away judging BAMMA, but as usual Dan was covering. His class was fantastic. I've mentioned a few times that I need to work on open guard, based around the Ryan Hall 'Defensive Guard' DVD. That is pretty much exactly what Dan covered, based on a recent David Onuma seminar. Judging by this, I really need to get myself down to an Onuma seminar: detailed tweaks on the basics, my absolute favourite stuff to learn in BJJ! :D
Dan kicked off with one of those tweaks, related to maintaining open guard as they look to pass with a knee cut. Block with your near arm, bent at right angles to make a frame. To generate base, pop up on your other elbow. I thought that you would need to come up to your hand, but that actually doesn't help you in this situation. I do this all the time, which can work against less experienced people, but higher belts will eventually grab that basing arm and pull it.
Instead of coming up on your hand, stay on your elbow. Make sure that your shoulder is in front of your elbow. This alignment makes it much harder for them to accomplish their inevitable attempt at yanking your basing arm. Use that frame to get your near foot onto their hip, push to create distance, then re-establish guard.
At this point, there was another very handy tip, which I will be implementing immediately into my classes. Once you have the closed guard and want to break their posture, you don't have to bring your knees to your chest to do it. That's a powerful option, but it does take some energy. A considerably more efficient method is to drive your heels into their lower back instead. That achieves the same goal of knocking them forwards, while also saving your gas tank.
When it comes to escaping side control, they want to dominate your near arm. It puts you in a rubbish position if they manage to isolate it. To get your arm back, bring your heels close to your bum, then turn to replace your elbow block inside their hip. Rotate the hand of your other arm (never bring the arm past their head, that's asking to be americanaed), grabbing their shoulder.
From here, don't drive it up. Bring your elbow out, twisting your forearm into their neck and jaw. Walk your feet towards their head, then bring your knees in to recover guard. If they manage to get such a tight underhook that you can't free your neck-pressure arm, grab your far hip instead.You can then turn to apply a weak shoulder lock.
It won't be enough to make them tap, but it will make them think. Don't bring your knees in to guard yet, get that turn first. Then you can bring your knees in, continuing to apply the pressure on their shoulder. This puts you in a great attacking position. You've got the option of the overhook guard, as well as pressing armbars and shoulder clamps.
Great sparring today: the mat was a sea of purple, along with two white belts, a brown belt and a black belt. Needless to say, there were no easy rolls available! I started off with Stuart, probably my favourite guy to roll with in the whole club (apart from Kev himself, of course). Stuart is about my size and he never goes super hard. That makes for a fun spar, with plenty of movement. I was going for the kimura grip, along with trying tips from Ryan Hall. The additional tweaks from today's lesson are going to be a big help, I think.
I then had a short roll with Dan, where I was looking to attempt that knee cut counter AJ Sousa showed on BJJ Library, but didn't get into the right position. My old training partner Liam was up next. We started training at roughly the same time, but he's improved rather quicker than me, meaning while I'm still purple, he's a black belt. I imagine he wasn't going very hard, nevertheless I had a bit of a confidence boost in that I felt I held my own (he did catch me with a pressing armbar from the top of half guard, so I need to be careful of that arm in that position).
He also had some tips for holding the top position in half guard. At one point I was able to get on top and move through into a cross-face. I was trying to get the Ribeiro super-hold (cross face and underhook), so I could then bring my shin over his leg and start to pass the half guard. I think he reversed me at some point, but regardless, the tip he gave was to bring both arms under the head. That might initially feel vulnerable, but as he demonstrated, when you then drive your chest into their head, it's tight!
I finished up with two bigger purples, where I took the opportunity to work on my defence. In the first roll, I spent a lot of it with my knee driving into their and pulling on the sleeve, to stop them progressing from side control to any kind of attack. I guess it did work, but I should have probably attempted to move into some kind of escape instead of holding that so long. I was getting pretty tired by the final roll: next time, I definitely want to stick around for the yoga. I'll be back in April, when there won't be a niece's birthday to rush off to. So, yoga time! :D
The next day, I did my usual art trip. The exhibition picked for this visit was Delacroix at the National Gallery. I already knew there was a lot of it I wouldn't like (as I'm not fond of most Impressionists, especially Cézanne and Gauguin). Due to that antipathy it only took 45 mins, but assuming you don't have an allergy to Impressionism, I'd say leave about 1.5hrs to do it properly.
However, I do like Degas. It was cool to see some more Moreau too, as I enjoy the Symbolists. I also enjoyed Frederic Bazille, who I wasn't familiar with before. Plenty of bigwigs today, like Van Gogh (not a fan of his work either, except the early stuff). It was still worth it I thought (on my father's membership at least, I wouldn't have paid full price), although the exhibition felt a little flabby. In my opinion, it lacked a sufficiently coherent narrative. It bounces between landscape, religious painting, portraits and others. Then again, the intention is to show Delacroix's influence on modern art, so I guess it needs to be broad for that. Note you aren't allowed any photography, even without flash: the pics I'm using are from a book.
Class #665 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 22/09/2015
A number of people have been asking for a day session over the last few months. I'm now working from home one day a week, enabling me to take a long lunchbreak to fit in training. The daytime classes therefore start this Tuesday from 13:00-14:00. I'm going to just run it as open mat, because that way people can drop in and out during their own lunchbreak at work (especially as quite a few students work close to the gym). There are also a few people who can stay the whole session, as they either work from home or on shift patterns that accommodate it.
It worked out well for a new person trying out Artemis BJJ, as I could run through some basics with him. I first showed him what side control looks like on top and on the bottom, then ran through the basics of shrimping and bridging. I'm not always certain how much is too much information for somebody brand new, but he picked things up well. It also meant I could set him going with those drills to practice, while I went and helped out some of the other people at the open mount.
As ever, I did some more work on Rockwell sit-up escape. I think the main difficulty I'm having is getting to the side with enough space to turn. Does that mean I need to make better use of my outside foot, to get the angle I need? Or perhaps I'm focusing on the wrong thing and it's more about the power of my bridge? It could also be that I need to shove them more towards my legs. Regardless, I need a good escape to combine with that too. I've been trying to put in the elbow push, though that too isn't an easy one to get. Something to keep on practicing over this month, before we move into mount in October.
Class #663 Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 06/09/2015
Looking again at what Jeff Rockwell says about frames, I realised that I had my arms too bent when drilling on Friday. I was also too low on their arms. The way Rockwell shows it, you have your forearms in front of you, almost at right angles, pressing your forearm into the crook of their elbow and the side of their neck. That's a different angle to the standard side control defensive frame, where you're more underneath your partner. This version stops them getting weight on you, and it is also something you can throw up as soon as they start to pass.
I think there is an element of pushing them towards your legs. I definitely had to make some space in order to do the initial bridge, as that's immediately followed by a quick horizontal slide of the elbow-arm, shifting across into a collar tie. Once that is in place and I've sat up, it gets easier. Sitting up is the most difficult part so far.
When my drilling partner added in more resistance, it was unsurprisingly harder to get, but seemed to lend itself to scarf hold escapes (though that might also have been because my partner was a judoka). They are already being pushed towards the legs, so it presumably feels fairly natural to turn into scarf hold. I need to look again at that stiff arm options Rockwell shows on that: I was shoving and reversing them, but I was being sloppy. Working into the frame when they've already got a cross-face is tough too, but that can be a good moment to try the standard stiff arm I first learned (shoving into their elbow from behind, like I was practicing on Friday).
Class #546 - Private #018 RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 28/02/2013
This is a technique I've used many times, I've learned it from several instructors, I've studied DVDs, I've had private lessons on it before and I've taught lessons on it myself. However, I've never had a private lesson on the running escape with my black belt instructor, Kev Capel. I was therefore looking forward to the tweaks he could add, hopefully enabling me to finally break through some of my problems with that technique.
My biggest problem, a long-term issue I've mentioned frequently over the years on this blog, is that I stall in what Saulo calls the running escape 'survival posture'. I'm aware of the escape from there, having taught both Saulo's original turn to guard and hip swing in multiple lessons, but I am still failing to do it enough myself. Dónal's tips in my previous private lesson on the topic helped, where he recommend shoving with your elbow and arm to make space before the swing, but my technique remains inefficient and overly passive.
More practice is one obvious solution: since late last year I haven't been getting as much sparring time as I would like, though now that Artemis BJJ is up and running, I'm at least getting regular training again. That should improve further once we open up our second location in a month or two. In preparation for this lesson, I re-read my old notes and had a look at some more videos. Jason Scully has a quite different version on the Grapplers Guide, which has really expanded its video content since I reviewed it way back in 2008. Scully has one video on the running escape that particularly caught my attention, as it deals with the common situation that they have got their arm past your hip. This is something Jeff Rockwell covered during his lesson on the technique too, but Scully's variation is one I haven't seen before.
The main difference is how Scully uses his elbows against the person on top. He digs one into their armpit, so that the point of the elbow is poking out, the other elbow in a parallel position on the other side. With that elbow in place, Scully can pop free, pressuring them downwards, putting him in position to attack the turtle. That's an option I intend to play with in the future and mentioned briefly to Kev in this private, but more important is building on what I already know.
On that score, Kev provided me with some excellent tips. From the standard running escape survival position, Kev noted firstly that you must keep in mind it is a bad position to be in: from his perspective, that's actually where he wants you to be during his leg drag pass. Still, if you can prevent them securing a good grip with their arms and trapping your legs with their knee, you have a number of escapes from here.
That begins with the leg swing escape I normally do (and should be doing more often). Make some space by shoving them with your elbow, then push off your feet to fire your hips into them as well, swinging your legs through to establish guard. This is ideal for when their weight is high on your body. If their weight is low, then you won't have the space to get your hips up.
However, to get their weight lower on your body, it is likely that one of their legs will be in range for your next escape, empty half (among Eddie Bravo's least silly bits of terminology). In the running escape, I raise the knee of the leg I've stepped over. With that same leg, reach back and hook their leg: this should be especially easy to do if they are looking for that leg drag and therefore have their leg close to yours. Hook and pull it towards you, switching it to your bottom leg once it becomes feasible. You can then transition into butterfly guard and may even be able to go right into a sweep.
If that fails, it will probably mean they have moved up your body to avoid their leg getting trapped. To do so will hopefully leave enough space to return to the previous escape, swinging your legs and hips. Be ready to make that transition if the empty half moves out of reach. Yet another option is to go for their arm instead, which will be looking to get past your hip.
Grabbing the sleeve of that arm and stiff-arming it away from you is a surprisingly powerful control. This works when escaping the back too, as they will find it tough to maintain control if that arm is stuck out away from their body like that. You can use that grip as leverage to recover guard, or in a similar motion to the stiff arm escape I've discussed before, except it is on the far arm rather than the one near your head. Should they manage to bend their arm, you still have the option of Beneville's 'shin in elbow' trick from Strategic Guard. Pressing your knee into the crook of their trapped arm can act as another leverage point to walk your way back into guard.
A more unorthodox approach, which Kev has been taught by Roger in the past, is to wrap your arm around the outside of your leg. Doing this to both legs makes it more difficult that you'd expect for them to pass, as they are almost certainly going to put their arms in range to be gripped. Finally on side control, Kev uses a simple escape for when they are moving to north-south, so essentially it's a transitional side control escape. As soon as you feel them moving around and putting their arm by your hip, bridge and turn in the direction of your hip bracing arm.
This is from the usual side control bottom frame of an arm into the neck and the other by the hip. If they are moving towards your head, that arm into the hip ends up taking a bit of weight. Nevertheless, you shouldn't need to shove to get this turn. It feels very smooth when you practice it, turning and then slipping that hip bracing arm down and around their leg or back. You can then move directly into the usual side control escape to your knees, grabbing their far knee and moving into side control top yourself.
We finished off the private lesson with a couple of techniques from my favoured lasso spider guard, as I mentioned that's somewhere else I often stall. Although I'm aware of the basic sweep where you bait them to try and pass to the opposite side of the lasso and roll them over, I rarely land it. I tend to look for a tripod/sickle sweep combination when they stand up. However, if they are on their knees I don't have a go-to option: thanks to Kev, now I do.
Start off with the classic option of kicking your leg up into their non-lassoed bicep, looking to knock them over. To resist they will probably stand up. From here, if you're not going for that tripod/sickle combination, unwrap the lasso and put that foot on the floor between their legs. Kick the other leg up in their bicep and pull on both their arms, with the intention of making them take a big step forward. That should put their legs in range of your arms: wrap them both up tightly. Put one foot into their hip (or just use your calf on their thigh), the other pressing into their other leg.
From here you can knock them backwards like the double ankle sweep, then come up into a straight footlock (you already have your arm in position to attack their achilles tendon) or pass. I would most likely opt for the pass as I remain uncomfortable with leg locks (mainly because it seems too easy for the other person to injure themselves if they try to explode free in the wrong direction, plus it often seems to leave my foot in an equally vulnerable position), but I should probably get comfortable with at least the 'safer' options like a straight ankle lock. There is a bicep slicer from the lasso grip too, which makes me uncomfortable for the same reason, especially as it is mainly pain compliance.
Another sweep option from the lasso spider guard also involves tempting them to stand up, but this time you keep the lasso. I initially thought it looked complicated (as any long-time reader of this blog will know, I find anything complex off-putting), but the application is fairly simple. I never use x-guard (my own personal hang-up about only focusing on techniques that feel mechanically simple), but this version made sense. Put the foot of your lasso leg behind their same side knee, then bring your other leg in front of their ankle. From that position, you can roll them over and pass.
We did a brief spar at the end (there was some light specific sparring in side control to work on those escapes, which was useful). Just like the last time I sparred Kev, he totally dominated with his grips on my legs by grabbing near the ankles. I struggled to do anything from there (not that I was expecting to, given Kev is not just a black belt, but the 2014 European Champion in his division), so I need to remember to be more vigilant about breaking grips.
Next time I'll think a bit more carefully about timing the theme of the private lesson with the position of the month at Artemis BJJ. Guard attacks and the running escape were two of the big topics I wanted to cover, but now I can match up the private with whatever position is being covered in Bristol the rest of the month. I'll most likely head up again in April, when we'll be looking at the back at Artemis BJJ. I still want to do more work on back escapes, which will fit nicely (and follows on from the running escape, as if I mess up I'll often then need to escape the back).
Class #544 Bristol Sports Centre, (Artemis BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 10/02/2014
We hope everyone has enjoyed their two free weeks at Artemis BJJ! For anyone new, the first week is still free, but we're now also bringing in our monthly fees. For this first month, we're already halfway through, so we're just charging half price up until March.
Dónal went with the escape to knees today, where as ever he does it slightly differently to me (I taught it last week). We both feel it's a huge plus to have multiple instructors teaching, as even if we teach the same technique, we're going to have a different perspective. The two details Dónal adds relate to swivelling your arm through and how you then complete that motion.
When you are framing your forearm into their neck, Dónal suggests getting the elbow of that arm into their armpit, hiding it there. That helps stop them attacking your arm and it also makes it easier to swivel the arm around the back. Once you've got it through to the back, you might find they try and resist. If you shove with your arm, it is going to be hard to move their weight. However, if you twist your hand, so your little finger is moving towards your head, that creates a more powerful skeletal structure. I'm not sure exactly why that is stronger, but give it a try. :)
Like my previous lesson with Dónal, I was in more of a teaching role today, although I was drilling this time. We have a few kids that train with us (once that gets up to a decent number we can bring in a proper kids class, separate from the adults), so I was drilling with him. I haven't had much experience teaching kids, so that's useful, although when we do have a children's class it will be Dónal heading it up.
Sparring at the end was good and relaxed, as top side control is among my favourite positions. I feel comfortable holding the position, especially with beginners. Still, it was a good reminder on keeping my hip in contact with theirs and being careful of that knee. I also did get caught in half guard once, so that's something else I need to avoid. I haven't had too many people that try to snatch half guard from under my side control: it's handy to feel it in action, both so I can practice countering and give it a go myself when underneath.
More on side control on Wednesday, when I'll be going through some tips on maintaining.
Seminar #014 Glasgow Club Bellahouston (BJJ), Rickson Gracie, Glasgow, UK - 03/11/2013
This November marks numerous anniversaries, with varying levels of significance. Perhaps the best known is that this month is the twentieth anniversary of the Ultimate Fighting Championship: UFC 1 was held on the 12th November 1993. A lesser known anniversary is that in the same month Royce stepped into the Octagon, BJJ was first taught in Europe, thanks to BJJ and MMA pioneer Remco Pardoel. He brought Romero 'Jacare' Cavalcanti to the Netherlands in November 1993, shortly before that first UFC and well before the vast majority of people in Europe had even heard of BJJ (which is why Remco remains high on my list of people I'd love to interview). Remco went on to fight Royce in UFC 2, followed by a spot at the first Mundials in 1996.
On a personal note, as of yesterday it is seven years since I took my first official class of Brazilian jiu jitsu, taught by Felipe Souza at the Roger Gracie Academy. November 2012 was the first time I flew to the United States. Today, I've got a new November anniversary to add to that list: November will now also mark when I trained with Rickson Gracie (shame about the picture quality: the guy who took it must have hit the wrong button on my phone).
When I previously went to Scotland, it was as part of a short holiday in Galloway: that involved an extended car journey spread across two days. A much quicker option is to fly, so I booked a £78 flight from Bristol. It meant for a long day, getting up at 05:30 and returning home at 23:40, but I thought it was worth it for the experience. I certainly wasn't the only one, as when I arrived at the sports centre, there were over a hundred people in attendance. That included several black belts, such as the UK trailblazer, Rick Young (who would also be a fascinating interviewee).
Thanks to Scott McVeigh, the organiser of the seminar who had very kindly given me a heads up before he released the date to the public, I was able to speak briefly with Rickson before the seminar started (that interview can be found in issue #18 of Jiu Jitsu Style Magazine, available here). I met Scott last year and he has stayed in touch, inviting me to multiple seminars since then. I was pleased I could finally take him up on the suggestion today. At £95 it is the most expensive seminar I've attended to date, but you have to expect that with a name as big as Rickson.
The man himself warmed up on a Swiss ball in the centre of the mats, exhaling forcefully in what I assume was a specific breathing exercise. At various points he stopped, stood up, then walked over to shake hands with a section of the group, making a point of greeting everybody on the mats. His three hour seminar began with the technique he'd been practicing in full view up until he officially kicked things off: how to breathe.
Probably the most famous scene in the seminal documentary Choke is when Rickson demonstrates his impressive diaphragm and breathing control. We were treated to a live performance, as Rickson pulled off his shirt so he could emphasise the correct way to breathe. His main point was that you should use the whole of the lungs, rather than just the narrow opening at the top. Most of us do the latter, breathing with our chest. Rickson advises using the diaphragm instead.
To practice, lie down on your back, with a hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. When you breathe, your chest should not move, just your diaphragm. Also key is exhaling when you're tired, rather than desperately gasping for breath. Rickson said that you need to expel what he called "bad breath", in order to leave room for "good breath," as if you were a bottle of dirty water that needs to be emptied before it can be refilled with clean liquid.
Just like Michel Verhoeven's seminar a little while ago, Rickson then covered how to create a 'connection' with your opponent from the standing position. It isn't enough to have base: you also need to generate that connection. This was definitely the most 'invisible' part of the invisible jiu jitsu shown today, a number of people struggling to apply it as a result. The idea is that when the other person pulls or pushes, you stay put due to this connection. It's based around your hip and leg posture, as far as I could tell, sinking your hips and sticking your bum out slightly, keeping your legs apart on the top right and bottom left corner of a square. However, I say that as somebody who struggled with this one too.
Adding to that was the same connection from a different position, where your arms are wrapped around their waist. This again was difficult to understand, but the 'connection' this time seemed to involve driving the point of your shoulder into their side, rather than relying on your arms. Finally, there was yet another stand-up connection, when you're trying to move in for a takedown. Rickson went through an exercise where you're grabbing their collar, pushing into their chest, then mirroring them with your feet as they move.
It was much easier to understand the two side control escapes Rickson taught us next. Both are mechanically quite simple, functional against the orthodox side control position where they have one arm under your head, the other by your far arm (as per that picture of Xande). Instead of the usual frame against their neck, your arm clamps on top of theirs, reaching for your legs. This is your point of connection.
Swing your legs up and then across, towards their hips. That should generate the momentum to turn so you're facing them, freeing your shoulder and pulling yourself onto your side. Use your outside foot for base as you shrimp back, where you can then either turn to your knees or look to recover guard. Maintain that connection of your outside foot to the floor, dragging your other leg out as you slide backwards.
The second option is for countering the cross-face. If they are driving hard into your face with their shoulder, the first escape variation will be difficult. So instead, you're going to move the arm that would be normally be against their hip (in an orthodox side control defensive frame). Reach underneath them, towards your same side hip. Using the shoulder of that arm, bump them with some quick bridging motions.
You're looking to knock them over your head, giving you the space to then swivel free past their arm, potentially even getting some control of their arm in the process. As ever in jiu jitsu techniques work best in combination: when they relax their cross-face to deal with this second escape attempt, it's the perfect time to switch back to the first variation.
Rickson followed up with some drilling of the side control top position, emphasising that you should aim to cross the line of their sternum with your own. He had us drill that without using our arms (I saw something comparable in Andre Galvao's book, which I turned into a drill I often teach in my own classes).
The topic moved on to the armbar from guard. Once you have control of their arm, rather than climbing for the armbar gradually, stepping off the hip, Rickson advocates jumping your legs up onto their shoulders right away. He feels that the slower approach, where you push off their hip to get your legs up there, gives your opponent time to stack and escape. I wasn't sure where you were basing for Rickson's shortcut, but when drilling it felt like I was pushing off my own shoulders as I flung my legs to wrap up high on their body.
The advantage of this method is that once you have the arm and spring to that position, they don't have much of a chance to resist: it's like you've skipped a step of the armbar set-up. You aren't scrunched up at any point, because you've gone straight to that stretched out position. Once you've got your legs by their shoulders, keeping your knees tightly clamped and calves gripping their back, you just have to bring your leg over their head to lock it in. Similarly, Rickson advised that if they stand, you need to become adept at walking your legs up their back, 'biting' in as you move, until you reach the shoulders and can again lock in that armbar.
Update August 2016: I've since had a chance to teach this myself, having learned a slightly different variation from another BJJ legend, Chris Haueter.
Sticking with offence from the guard, Rickson transitioned into taking the back, where the scenario is that you've already knocked them to the side and the route to their back is available. As with his perspective on the armbar, Rickson feels that the typical crawling around the back involves too much effort. He instead prefers to wrap one arm around the back, securing you in place pressed against their shoulder.
The difference comes with the legs. He locks those low on their back, then stretches his limbs out. You can use the lower leg (which will be across their stomach) to chop into their far knee, a bit like a scissor sweep. That should hopefully put them on their belly, making it easier for you to shimmy round and establish the back position.
Rickson then took a leaf out of Marcelo Garcia's Advanced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, in that he also highlighted the importance of the seat belt grip when taking the back. Just like Marcelo, Rickson showed how if you have that seatbelt, you can maintain the back even without having your hooks in place. If your opponent is in the turtle, apply the seat belt. Be sure to lock it into their chest, not their head: with the latter, they can pop their head free.
From there, you can leap over and roll them into place, ready to insert your hooks. You can also do what Marcelo demonstrates, crawling behind them to force a seated position, where again you have a good opportunity to insert your hooks. You can then follow up with Rickson's suggested submission, the rear naked choke.
Rickson's concept here reminded me a bit of Saulo's defence. Saulo likes the have one thumb in the opposite collar, while his other hand stays mobile, blocking any attacks. Rickson does something similar with his offence. He works his choking hand in, digging past the jawline, then uses his other hand in an almost defensive way, stripping their grips and preventing them from blocking his choking arm. Once it is in place, he can finish the choke. As Demian Maia shows, you can complete the choke without getting your second arm behind their head, or even with just the one arm.
There weren't any breaks, meaning I don't think I quite caught the final two techniques. I concentrated on getting the earlier material in my head, as that interested me more. Nevertheless, from what I remember there was a discussion of vale tudo guard, something which Rickson feels has been increasingly lacking in modern MMA. This revolves around getting your shin across their stomach to control the distance, whacking into their side with your other heel.
The three hours finished up with a guillotine Rickson apparently learned from Kron. It's cool that his jiu jitsu is still evolving after all this time, though I have to admit I did not get good notes on this one. From what I can recall, it was applied with the palm down rather than up, but I may well be misremembering.
Rickson's teaching style doesn't spend too long going through the details. He'll run through the techniques a couple of times, then have everyone drill it for a few minutes before moving on. Although it did not feel like he was spending much time on explaining, his words were efficient, as aside from the vale tudo guard and guillotine, I didn't have any trouble recollecting the key points Rickson had made.
He also encouraged everybody to ask questions, both in drilling and immediately after he finished demonstrating. Generally he would answer questions by inviting the person who asked to drill it with him in front of everyone else, making sure they understood. Rickson did not stick with one uke either, rotating regularly by randomly picking people standing nearby. The pattern tended to be having them try their typical approach, he would show his variation, then he would get them to attempt it again, correcting as necessary.
Rickson is obviously well practiced at being a celebrity. He signed books and then posed for pictures with anyone who asked, resulting in a large huddle around him with people waving their phones (myself included). There was plenty of Rickson merchandise for sale, mainly t-shirts, gi patches, tank tops and baseball caps, emblazoned with the old Rickson Gracie Association logo. I think there were a few gis on offer too (though I'm not sure if they were the classic Mizuno gis I've heard used to be a staple at Rickson's schools).
In the weeks leading up to November, I had arranged to speak at greater length with Rickson after the seminar, for the JJS interview. Unfortunately that didn't work out: I guess Rickson was busy or simply tired (he had sounded under the weather), as he went straight back to the hotel instead. I think he will be over again next year, though I'm not sure when. Heading over to the Netherlands and training with Michel Verhoeven would be a great option as well: comparing the two seminars, I feel confident that you would not be disappointed if you went to Verhoeven's class hoping to learn Rickson's jiu jitsu.
The full picture is massive, given how many people there were, so to explain who is in this small section I chopped out: Rickson is obviously the guy wearing the red and black belt, on the front row. To the right of him is Scott McVeigh, the Royce Gracie black belt who organised the seminar. To the left of Rickson is Rick Young, the first British man (I think) to ever train in BJJ. Going up from Rick to the top of the pic, there's me with my unruly hair and carefully exposed RGA Bucks logo. ;)
Class #533 Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Jamie Horsman, Bristol, UK - 29/10/2013
Jamie (who received his well-deserved purple recently) taught the class tonight, teaching the running escape. Jamie began with the version Saulo teaches on Jiu Jitsu Revolution 1. They have near side grips. Bridge to make some initial space. Your aim is to create a gap so that you can turn on your side, getting your hand past their near shoulder: Jamie noted here that you only want to turn a certain amount, so not so far that they can start crushing their weight down onto you. Use that hand as a block, then step out with your bottom leg. Be careful you don't elbow your partner in the face as you do that, especially if you're pushing off their shoulder with your hand. That was followed by a slight variation, where rather than a big step out with the bottom leg, you 'scissored' them to enact the turn.
Jamie also covered the basic guard recovery, where you bridge, shrimp out, then insert your knee, shrimping again to establish guard. Geeza added in some useful details, as when he gets to that knee-in position, he uses it to shove their leg back. He can then bring his outside leg around to secure what he calls 'good' half guard (which he's mentioned before). In that position, you can retain control while also staying relatively mobile, which is much more difficult if you are instead holding half guard by wrapping inside their leg.
Sparring started with specific work from side control, before getting into free sparring. I had an enjoyable light roll with Tony, as he was injured: we played from guard. I wasn't able to do much about his base and he also prevented me from securing that deep Relson grip. Sweeping wasn't getting me too far either, as I wasn't combining techniques: I have a bad habit of going for a sweep, they post out, then I don't capitalise by transitioning to disrupting that arm.
I kept things light with Berry, who is also injured, looking to get on top. Attacking the turtle, I had a quick go for the Gerbi choke Kev taught on Sunday, but there was no way I was going to be able to feed that gi tail through. I'll keep having a play with it when I'm attacking turtle, as it's useful to have something other than the Felipe-style clock choke to go for (which is the main thing I currently attempt from turtle).
One of the white belts mentioned something interesting at the start of class, about how they've been having lots of success going for Ezequiels from side control. I only think of that submission from mount (and I guess I have to admit it is possible from inside somebody else's guard, but not something I use from there). I hadn't ever considered it as a side control attack, so that could be a fun variation to try.
Class #520 Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Study Hall, Bristol, UK - 01/09/2013
I was intending to train on Thursday, but as my gf had a bad day at work, I stayed at home so we could go out for a meal (as I've said many times before, BJJ is great fun, but I think your loved ones should always be the priority :D). Today I was looking to get in more work on passing the guard, continuing with the kneeling break. I'll also normally use study hall to practice the techniques I teach, which next week is side control escapes. Fortunately for me, those two things are exactly what my training partner Geraldine wanted to work as well.
I started off with the same guard break, encountering the old problems: keeping that lead hand in place, then getting enough distance to pop the ankles open. It also brought up a common issue that crops up after you've opened the legs, as they will frequently get their knee in their way. This happened to Geraldine in a competition a while ago, IIRC, so I showed her my preferred options for passing the knee shield.
I continued kneeling guard breaks with Berry, whose approach to countering them provided useful pressure-testing. He likes to bounce his hips out the way, as well as trying to break your grip on the hip, rather than the forward arm by their chest. That makes it tough to create the necessary tension to open their ankles, because their hips are free. On the plus side, I can still maintain my posture, because I have the arm on the chest: that gives me the opportunity to reset.
Therefore a key aspect I want to improve is maximising the weight I can drive through their hips. I'll need to experiment with arms positions, grips and also where I'm putting my head. It's possible I'm leaning too far forward or back, so I will keep a closer eye on that next time, to see if it is reducing the efficacy of my hip control when attempting to open the guard.
Through some light resistance, we worked out that switching my arms to the other side can be effective, although that gets a bit tiring. Having said that, the person on the bottom has to work harder, so they will probably get tired before you do. Either way, I don't like getting into battles of attrition, because that comes down to stamina rather than technique. I'll keep trying it, along with working out the right point to switch from kneeling to standing.
Sparring with Geeza helped that further, as he was mainly looking to see if I would flop to my back. I was keen to work on my passing, attempting to return to either combat base or some kind of open guard passing posture whenever I got knocked off balance. Geeza noted that I was using lateral motion, but need to combine that with more forward motion. I was getting stuck on his leg a few times, trying to do a big step over the top, but not pushing forward enough.
Arm control is something important to keep in mind as well. I played around with trying to get them to give me an arm from the kneeling break, which I could then try and pin to their hip. Geeza stopped me at that point to share a handy controlling position. He says cross-grip the arm you want to pin to the hip, then put your other arm across the top, clamping the knuckles of your pinning hand against the wrist that's over the top.
When I was underneath with Berry, I attempted to create angles to slip around the strong pressure of their arms. I also played around with different grips to prevent them posturing back up, which helped slow that process, but didn't open much in the way of submission opportunities, taking the back or sweeping. Or rather, I didn't combine my guard offence well enough.
Finally, I also worked on side control with Geraldine, keeping in mind what I wanted to teach next week. On top, I was focusing on connection with hips and control of their far elbow if they turn away (at one point I failed to control that far elbow, enabling her to spin to turtle). When she turned towards me, I switched to a cross-face, both my normal method and the version Donal suggested, where you just bring the arm in place and turn the elbow upwards.
Underneath I looked to reverse engineer what I'd done on top. I want to break the hip connection, starting with a bridge to make space, then wedge a frame in place (in my case, that's generally getting an elbow to their hip). I managed to partially turn away a few times, but Geraldine did a good job of keeping me under control. The stiff arm escape worked once (Braulio's version, shoving into the armpit and rolling them over), which was cool as I normally mess that up. So, I'll emphasise bridging and frames next week when I'm teaching side control escapes again, as well as the importance of staying tight and remaining calm.
Class #508 - Private #010 Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 10/07/2013
It's been three months since my last private with Dónal, initially due to some exams he was finishing off, then my trip to California. While in California, it was brought home to me yet again how much time I spend stalling in the running escape position. That renewed my desire to finally move on to the important part of the technique: the actual escape.
I have been mentioning the fact that I've been using the running escape to stall for a long while now. I've taught the technique myself a number of times, so I have an increasingly detailed idea of what I'm supposed to be doing, I just haven't been doing it. This month marks my first real attempt to make a concerted effort at practicing that escape portion, starting with some drilling last Sunday.
The first point I took away from today's session was using the elbow to make some space before you go for the hip swing. After you have shoved your elbow into their chest, continue to extend it to push them further. Initially, especially if you are very defensive like me, that feels as if you're leaving it vulnerable. However, because you are immediately following up the elbow shove and arm extension with a hip bump and leg swing, they don't have a chance to capitalise on your arm being out there.
That bump with the hip is the second thing to emphasise. I know you are supposed to knock them with your hips to put them off balance and create space, but practicing with Dónal brought home just how important that was. Also, after you have bashed them with your hips, don't just flop if they manage to resist the bump. Instead, you have several options, which we drilled extensively in the private.
You can simply reset to a strong tripod, which at least prevents them from crushing down and passing. You also don't want to give up too easily, as you may find that you can continue pushing through and snatch a triangle or omoplata. If the way is definitely blocked, swivel your hips in the other direction. Spin right through, without your knee touching the floor, then move straight into butterfly guard and sweep. If you can't get your foot inside, you can go for an armdrag and back take inside, or armdrag and knee pick to take the top position.
Dónal also mentioned a few interesting tweaks from Norbi. He sometimes lies flopped in an even less active running escape posture than I would use, with both knees on the floor, arm underneath one of the legs. When he wants to move into an active escape, he braces his elbow under the top knee to raise it up (that brace making it hard for the top person to break down) and then move into the hip bump and swing.
Another tactic Norbi uses is baiting mount, by widening his legs in the running escape position, leaving a gap between his elbow and knee so it looks like a path to mount. As soon as they bring their leg over, he shoves it back between his legs with his elbow. You can then move into a deep half sweep, or establish full half guard.
Class #507 Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Study Hall, Bristol, UK - 27/06/2013
For some time now, there has been a desire at the club to get in some extra drilling time. Thanks to the efforts of Geraldine, we have something Geeza calls 'study hall', which appears to be the Gracie Barra answer to an open mat. The idea is that you come to the class with an idea of what techniques you want to work on, drawing upon the experience of the higher belts.
Originally Geeza was going to be leading the class, but unfortunately he has hurt his back, meaning that Dónal oversaw the study hall instead. We started off with the same warm-up as always, after which we just paired up and started drilling. There was a section later on where Dónal ran through some other drills for those who didn't have something specific in mind, but as Mike and I knew exactly what we wanted to drill, we kept going.
It was really good to have the opportunity for focused drilling. I'm therefore fully intending to attend as many of these sessions as I can. Today, the first technique I wanted to play with was the sweep I saw Henry Akins demonstrate at the Sandy Hook seminar. The reason I liked it is that the sweep looked mechanically very simple, directly from closed guard. I don't know if it has a name, so I'll just refer to it as the Henry Akins sweep. The scenario is that they are attempting to being their pass by putting a knee in the middle of your bum, after which they will look to open your guard.
The typical reaction to that is to pop your hips across to return to guard. If they put their knee in the middle, you pop across again. This can be very frustrating for them, but it can also be tiring for you, given that you may find yourself doing this repeatedly. To break that cycle, do it a couple of times, then switch direction. When they put their knee in the middle, rather than moving towards your other knee, move away, to the other side of their knee.
You also want to have a grip on the sleeve that side, using your opposite hand. You can then pull them forward, then turn your hips in the direction of that sleeve, coming up on top. If they try to resist, you can use your free hand to base (this is why you grip with your opposite hand). Drilling with increasing resistance, it appears to be a fairly effective sweep: even if they are resisting, as long as you can control that sleeve and remember to pull them forward you can still pull off the sweep. Possibly something that might combine well with the sit-up sweep, from a teaching perspective.
Next up I wanted to play with some butterfly sweep variations I saw on the Carlos Machado DVD I reviewed recently for Jiu Jitsu Style (and speaking of upcoming DVDs, Roy Dean's much-anticipated Black Belt Requirements will be arriving in a few months. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek: I'll be excited to see the finished product. Here is the trailer). However, while it was fun to test out what I'd seen Machado show, I think I need to do a lot more work on basic butterfly first, so I soon switched back to the previous Akins sweep.
The other technique I wanted to practice was the running escape. My drilling partner Mike was playing with the stiff arm escape, something I had already been planning to teach on Tuesday, so that was fortuitous. I was also thinking of how I might connect it with the running escape, as that is still something I need to improve. After briefly drilling the stiff arm myself, I was getting twinges from my right arm again, meaning that instead I just got in some reps on the completing the running escape, using the hip thrust type thing Marcelo and Saulo both use.
First off, don't kick them in the head: I did that when I initially shoved into Mike and swung my legs through. Secondly, timing the motion isn't easy. It is something I say when I teach it, but the whole weight distribution sensitivity is key. It gets harder as you get more fatigued as well, given that shoving your hips into them like that takes a bit of energy. If they are at all bigger than you or are just good at sinking their weight, that's going to be really, really tough. But meh, lots of drilling should help. :)
Practicing with Mike on what he wanted to drill was helpful for me too. We started off just working the mechanics, then gradually built up the resistance, to see if Mike could incorporate a few different sweeps after he used the stiff arm to prevent the double underhook pass. If he is able to get into the various off-balancing open guards that he uses, it becomes a struggle to avoid being swept (which made for an interesting challenge).
I was also trying to see where the weak points in the technique might be. One thing I managed to do a few times was bring my knee over the top as soon as I felt his stiff arm pushing me off-balance. That helped me re-establish my base to turn back towards him and go for mount. If he could hook under my leg before I could that, then I was at risk of being entangled in Mike's tricky open guard, or more simply he could just scoot back quicker.
I look forward to the next study hall: it's also likely to be useful for refreshing my memory about the technique I want to teach on Tuesday, as well as offering the chance for experimenting and refining those techniques before I get to my class. All in all, a very positive addition to the Gracie Barra Bristol schedule. :D
Class #496 Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Jamie Horsman, Bristol, UK - 20/03/2013
I was looking forward to seeing what the new instructors would be like, which is the main cool part about Geeza being away. Jamie hasn't taught before, so I also wanted to make sure I was there to support him. He started off with some self defence, as this was a Gracie Barra Fundamentals lesson, taking someone down when they headlock you then moving into an armbar.
The main technique was escaping to the knees from under side control. Jamie uses Geeza's method (which presumably is the official GB method: I haven't watched the DVDs for a while, so can't remember how Feitosa does it). Under side control, cross your hands over your neck, to stop your opponent having much in the way of offensive opportunities. You're then going to shift to the 'knife and seashell', which is another way of saying put a forearm into their neck, cupping their hip with the other hand (I prefer using the forearm on the hip too, but this is a viable alternative).
Bridge into them, then turn to your knees. Geeza and Jamie end up straight on rather than off to the side. Bring your knees up one by one, then go to turtle. Straight on is how I first learned it at RGA, though I find that when I do that I tend to have trouble avoiding them sprawling on me and stuffing the escape. Hence why I teach the Roy Dean method of coming up on the side instead, but that doesn't mean straight on is any less viable, I just have trouble with it. ;)
Sparring was specific from side control. I'm relying too much on grips, which will end up burning out my hands if I'm not careful: I need to try and be less 'grippy' for want of a better word. Next time I'll try just placing my hands there, cupping the shoulder, the armpit etc and see if that works ok.
I focused on digging out their near elbow, along with just maintaining position and staying heavy. With white belts, they tend to get frustrated and start bridging wildly, meaning they get tired, so you can just swing your leg over quickly to mount. However, that's a bad habit, as swinging the leg over is risky: they could snatch half guard, or worse, time their bridge and come up in guard.
So, staying heavy was relatively effective, as I was generally able to hold position. Except with Nick. As normal, he rolled me immediately: the fact he's 105kg to my 65 obviously makes a difference, but still, I need to focus on transitions with bigger guys. I'm always telling people when teaching that side control isn't static, you need to keep moving, but this was a good reminder to do it more myself. :D
Underneath was less succesful. I was able to escape a few times and I think I did ok at conserving my energy, but a number of times after bridging and getting my knee through, I found myself spinning around unable to stop them following me. I need to block them from doing that: perhaps controlling the arm, like I taught yesterday, or simply controlling the knee? Another instance where I don't think I'm following my own advice properly!
I'm also not bridging enough, though that's partly due to my groin injury. I gave the spin out escape a try, where you reach under their body, but that didn't go too well. I also attempted the stiff arm without any success: I think I need to commit more, as I'm possibly giving up on it too early.
On my way off the mats at the end, I was amused by one of the kids watching. He stared straight at me and said "You're the strongest!" Especially entertaining as I was standing next to Nick at the time, who quite clearly takes that title. Unless he meant it in the Brazilian sense, so was in fact telling me I'm using too much strength and my technique sucks? The wisdom of children... ;p
Class #475 Raptor BJJ, (BJJ), Jeff Rockwell, Austin, TX, USA - 24/11/2012
Jeff Rockwell is a name that should be familiar to you if you spend much time on the numerous BJJ internet message boards. I think I first heard about him in connection to Aesopian, as one of a group of instructors sharing and discussing technique with each other online. I did not realise he lived in Austin until I saw Marshal Carper's post about training with Rockwell. The approach described there sounded right up my street, so I was keen to check out Jeff's school during my Texas trip (full write-up here). As he is an awesome guy, he immediately offered me a lift to the club when I contacted him over on the Grapplers Guide.
Training at Raptor Jiu Jitsu resulted in yet another example of the incredible sense of community that BJJ can build. I arrived into Austin on Tuesday, meeting up with the fabulous blogger Georgette, then trained at Sean Cooper's gym with her husband Mitch a few hours later. While there I met a gentleman called Mikal, who later invited me to his home for dinner, provided by the wonderful cooking of his fiancee Marlena (she was also willing to drive me round Austin, because she's super cool).
Also present were Jesse and Susie, who I'd first met on Saturday training at Jeff Rockwell's school (they work for the Enlightened Warriors, a charity that reminded me of Future Champions in the UK). Five people who had never met before that week, sat in a room getting to know each other, sharing food and drink, brought together by jiu jitsu. BJJ is awesome, for so much more than just the physical training side of things.
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After the warm-up, Jeff moved into some useful drills for recovering guard out of turtle. They are on one side of you, pressing their knee in looking to establish their hooks. Grab the far leg with your inside/near arm. Your near knee then goes up onto their hip. Base out on your free arm, using that to slide your other leg in and go to guard.
The next one is from a similar position, except they have a grip over your back. Protect your neck with your far arm, reaching to your near side collar. With your near arm, grab inside their near knee, bringing your elbow to the outside of their hip. Base out with your free arm, then walk up on your toes. Come up until you can support yourself on your head and shoulder, meaning you can roll through like Dónal’s comparable drill.
They will probably have their head clamped by your hip (if they are using the blocking method John talked about), so you want to push that with your free hand (which was the basing hand originally). With the other hand, you should still be holding their knee: as you roll through to recover guard, this arm straightens out, but continues to push into their knee.
When you recover your guard, they are probably going to move straight into the double-underhook pass. Try to avoid them getting their hands locked, as that will make it tough to defend. The natural impulse is for them to reach their hand across to grab your collar and start stacking (when drilling, it is helpful if your partner indicates which hand by opening it wide and moving it slowly towards the collar). Once you see that hand moving, grab their wrist and elbow.
It is possible you may need to hook underneath the elbow if they are tight and pry it free. Either way, bring their arm across your thighs and shove their wrist into your hip. Keep pushing on their elbow, then move your wrist hand to base behind you as you sit up. Continuing to brace against their elbow, you should now be able to make enough space that you can recover guard.
Next up was a favourite technique of mine, the running escape, which Jeff does a bit differently. Unlike when I have taught it, Jeff uses this against the orthodox side control grips. Block their cross face with one hand, the other gripping around their shoulder blade (that should mean you can wedge your forearm under their neck). Bridge and turn away from them slightly, but only enough that your shoulder can get onto their chest. Make certain you defend your neck in order to protect against chokes.
That then progresses to something similar to the Braulio escape. Do a big step with your bottom leg, spin over, your other arm sliding underneath your body and to your side to block any potential hook they might look to insert to take the back. As you go to your knees, that arm comes up like in Braulio's version. However, unlike Braulio, you are looking to use it to grab around their back and then recover guard, rather than necessarily as a prevention to them taking your back (though it can work in that situation too).
Sparring with Jeff I was working a lot of guard retention again, avoiding the holes he was leaving for me to fall into. Similarly with the other people I sparred with it was mostly about maintaining my guard, working the spider guard to an extent. I’m still not quite sure what is best for my injured leg, but I at least didn’t seem to aggravate it during sparring at that school. Like John, Jeff is another senior belt who is good at adjusting his rolling to the level of his partner. I've been very fortunate to train with several black belts on this trip.
I later sparred with a purple belt called Jessica, who has excellent guard retention. Rolling with Jesse was cool too. Jeff has a great bunch of students and an accessible, detailed teaching style. It was an absolute pleasure training with Jeff, as well as chatting to him about his background on the drive over. I can definitely recommend Raptor BJJ to anyone in the area: he also teaches a class at the University of Texas. So, go check it out! :D
.JPG)
