30/05/2022 - Teaching | Side control | Baseball bat choke

Teaching #Evening
Artemis BJJ (Easton Rd), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 24/06/2022

Start in standard side control, one hand under their head, heavy cross-face. Slide that back slightly, in order to grab right behind their collar, where the label would be. Straighten that arm firmly, so that your forearm is pressing into their neck.

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The tricky part is bringing in your second hand. You need to get your hand on top of the other, holding their collar like a baseball bat (hence the name of the choke). To do so, your second arm has to slide down along their far lapel (fingers first), as you have to get your second arm pressed against the other side of their neck for the choke. Angle the elbow of your second arm inwards, towards your first arm.

Put your knee on their belly to stop them escaping, then apply the choke by twisting inwards. This should make your arms press firmly into both sides of their neck: your first arm stays fairly static, it's the weight dropping through the second elbow that applies most of the choke. Be careful you are pressing into the sides of the neck, not the windpipe. If you need more leverage, try rotating around to a north south type position, putting your head on their chest.

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A handy alternative is to use the gi as a way of providing the grips you need. Pull out their gi lapel on the far side, dragging that under their arm. Grip it with your crossfacing hand, straightening your arm into their neck. The second grip comes in as before, except that this should be much easier because you don't have to slide it inside their collar, where they are likely to realise and block the hand. Once you have the grips in place, you can finish as before.

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Years ago, Donal showed me a method for avoiding telegraphing your grips. He suggested putting in your second grip first. This is a little confusing at first, but if you get into the habit of putting in your second grip (backwards, as you're going to follow it in a moment), it will make you baseball bat choke sneakier. Admittedly I get confused, as I haven't practiced it enough yet myself. ;)

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Teaching Notes: Importance of mentioning knee on belly as a way to stop them escaping their hips. I could mention that you can do the same thing from the bottom, though it is low percentage. Possibly go more in depth on Donal's second grip first (but backwards) method, though I did remember to show it.

28/11/2018 - Teaching | Side Control | Baseball Bat Choke

Teaching #818
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 28/11/2018

Tonight I went through the the baseball bat choke, popping up to knee on belly. Start in standard side control, one hand under their head, heavy cross-face. Slide that back slightly, in order to grab right behind their collar, where the label would be. Straighten that arm firmly, so that your forearm is pressing into their neck.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 2, 2019 at 6:28pm PST

The tricky part is bringing in your second hand. You need to get your hand on top of the other, holding their collar like a baseball bat (hence the name of the choke). To do so, your second arm has to slide down along their far lapel
(fingers first), as you have to get your second arm pressed against the other side of their neck for the choke. Angle the elbow of your second arm inwards, towards your first arm.

Put your knee on their belly to stop them escaping, then apply the choke by twisting inwards. This should make your arms press firmly into both sides of their neck: your first arm stays fairly static, it's the weight dropping through the second elbow that applies most of the choke. Be careful you are pressing into the sides of the neck, not the windpipe. If you need more leverage, try rotating around to a north south type position, putting your head on their chest.

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A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Jan 3, 2019 at 6:29pm PST

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Teaching Notes: Getting the pressure from your arm, having hands close together, dropping the elbow. So yeah, all the usual stuff. That arm needs to bend to drop in and rotate, the other arm must stay totally straight. On the straight arm, you do drop your shoulder a little, which is worth pointing out (though not as much as with the gi tail choke, where it's a major part of the pressure).

10/05/2017 - Teaching | Side Control | Baseball Bat Choke (Gi Tail)

Teaching #661
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 10/05/2017

A photo posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Sep 23, 2016 at 12:00am PDT

Tonight I went through the the gi tail baseball bat choke, something I first encountered on Roy Dean’s excellent Purple Belt Requirements. Start in standard side control, one hand under their head, heavy cross-face. With your other hand, pull out their far lapel, feeding that under their head to your cross facing hand. Secure the grip with your cross-facing hand, palm down. Straighten that arm firmly, so that your forearm is pressing into their neck.

The tricky part is bringing in your second hand. You need to get your hand on top of the other, holding the gi tail like a baseball bat (hence the name of the choke). To do so, your second arm has to thread inside your opponent's arm, as you have to get your second arm pressed against the other side of their neck for the choke. Angle the elbow of your second arm inwards, towards your first arm.

Put your knee on their belly to stop them escaping, then apply the choke by twisting inwards. This should make your arms press firmly into both sides of their neck: your first arm stays fairly static, it's the weight dropping through the second elbow that applies most of the choke. Be careful you are pressing into the sides of the neck, not the windpipe. If you need more leverage, try rotating around to a north south type position, putting your head on their chest.
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Teaching Notes: I tried teaching this as a follow-up to the gi tail choke I taught earlier in the week, which does work. However, using your own lapel makes it tricky due to having to reach inside your gi, without a lot of wriggle room. Next time, I'll stick to teaching it based on pulling out their far gi lapel rather than your own. That way you don't have to fight past your own gi.

Two other things to keep in mind are that some people find that kind of grip can be hard on the wrist: I suggested switching to a standard baseball bat choke (where you grab their collars), but I'm not sure that makes it especially easier on the wrist. Finally, it's worth emphasising the rotation as an important part of the choke. Some people were staying quite static and relying on the arm squeeze, whereas this choke really needs that spin to achieve decent leverage. Not that it's impossible to get with just the arms if you cut in enough, but rotating is more efficient.

21/09/2016 - Teaching | Side Control | Baseball Bat Choke (Gi Tail)

Teaching #563
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 21/09/2016

A photo posted by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Sep 23, 2016 at 12:00am PDT

Tonight I went through Kenny Polmans take on the gi tail baseball bat choke, something I first encountered on Roy Dean’s excellent Purple Belt Requirements. Start in standard side control, one hand under their head, heavy cross-face. With your other hand, pull out their far lapel, feeding that under their head to your cross facing hand. Secure the grip with your cross-facing hand, palm down. Straighten that arm firmly, so that your forearm is pressing into their neck.

The tricky part is bringing in your second hand. You need to get your hand on top of the other, holding the gi tail like a baseball bat (hence the name of the choke). To do so, your second arm has to thread inside your opponent's arm, as you have to get your second arm pressed against the other side of their neck for the choke. Angle the elbow of your second arm inwards, towards your first arm.

Put your knee on their belly to stop them escaping, then apply the choke by twisting inwards. This should make your arms press firmly into both sides of their neck: your first arm stays fairly static, it's the weight dropping through the second elbow that applies most of the choke. Be careful you are pressing into the sides of the neck, not the windpipe. If you need more leverage, try rotating around to a north south type position, putting your head on their chest.

Should they defend, that can lead into an armbar, which I'll be covering later. :)
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Teaching & Sparring Notes: This went pretty well. Things to emphasise would be getting the first arm straight into the neck and the cutting angle of the second. I don't remember too many issues with this one, the main part I want to practice is good follow-ups from here. I know a bunch from the breadcutter, but I use the baseball bat choke much less often (as it's hard to get that second hand in once people know what you're going for). Still, I should try it more often.

In sparring, I've been trying out Chiu's two-on-one escape a lot. I need to be careful I don't get too flat, or the escape is scuppered. Also, watch out for armbars: I didn't get stuck in one, but it's a risk. Best thing is that it opens things up, with different options. On top, I had a fun roll with a new guy, swivelling around to north south/knee on chest to stop them getting their guard back. I was pleased to get a pressing armbar while up there, so I think he tapped early, I didn't feel I had it locked in. But that demonstrates he's a good, sensible training partner, which bodes very well. :)