29/06/2022 - Teaching | Back | Bow & Arrow Choke

Teaching #Evening
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK -29/06/2022

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Tonight, it was time for the signature move at Artemis BJJ, the bow and arrow. Starting from standard back control with a seat-bet grip, you open up their collar with the hand you have under their armpit. Fold it over (a handy tip from James '300' Foster), then grip it with the hand you have over their shoulder. Don't grip too high, or you'll lack the range to finish the choke.

Next you want to get hold of their non-choking side leg. If you're having trouble grabbing it, Dónal suggests using your same side heel to dig in by their knee, curling your leg back. That should bring their trouser leg in range for you to grab with your free hand, establishing a good anchor point. You then want to swivel your body, in order to get your leg-grabbing side foot to the outside of their other thigh.

I tend to push off their non-grabbed leg side thigh with my same side foot, to help me move my other foot over. Once you've got that foot locked in place, you want to keep it there to block them from trying to turn into an escape. Along with your initial grip on their leg, that hook with your foot gives you better leverage to move into the main choking position.

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To get there, swing out your non-hooking leg. You want to end up with your opponent's head on the thigh of that leg you just swung out. Tuck the elbow of your choking arm back by your hip, as pulling on the elbow is one of the main escapes. To finish, pull your hand down (like you were cracking a whip), pressing your forearm into their head (you can drive with your shoulder too). If that doesn't work, you can try increasing the range by gripping with less fingers (though this does make your grip weaker). Putting a leg over their shoulder and then crossing your feet can give you more leverage, as you can then thrust your hips up into the choke.

If that still isn't getting the choke, try bringing the hand that was gripping their leg behind their head, driving it through to push their head forward as you lock in the choke. For even more leverage, you can bring it under their arm. That then sets you up for yet another follow-up submission: the armbar is right there from that position.

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Teaching Notes: Rewatching the video from a BJJ Globetrotters class I went to in Leuven 2018, I realised the importance of crossing the legs over the shoulder. Rather than it just being an option, it feels like it is fairly key to getting the leverage. It also reminded me that it is worth showing the leaning back option, which functions as a simplified method. I still prefer being upright, but going straight to bringing the leg over the shoulder to then cross the feet is a viable option that I need to show too.

27/06/2022 - Teaching | Back | Armbar

Teaching #Evening
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 27/06/2022

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Along with chokes, armbars are another good option from the back. You have the usual seatbelt grip, with one arm under their armpit, the other over their shoulder. Chop your hand up between their elbow and torso, to then wriggle through and grab their shoulder. Reach your foot on the armpit side over to the opposite hip, hooking around with your instep. Use that to swivel: you can also add in a swing with your other leg to help the rotation, much like with the bow and arrow choke.

You can also push off the floor if you prefer. As you turn, bring your free hand to their head and stiff arm it away. Keeping their arm tight and your bum close to their shoulder, bring your leg over their head. You could also try shifting into a more bow and arrow position: the leg going over the head is usually the biggest risk in this technique, as that is where you're liable to leave the most space.

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Finally, adjust your position if necessary (e.g., scooting your hips in closer to their shoulder in order to prevent giving them any space), squeeze your knees then gradually drop back. Don't let go of the figure four until the last moment, moving up to the wrist. Raise your hips and pull down on the arm to finish. Make sure their thumb is pointing up (if it isn't, you can still finish the armbar, it's just a bit more awkward as you have to angle based on their elbow).

To add further control, you can put your leg higher on their head, making it more difficult for them to raise their head up. If they do manage to turn in towards you, you're in a good position to move straight into a triangle from guard. Quite often they will also link their hands together: there are many methods for breaking the grip, but one I like is simply kicking their grip apart (making sure you aren't giving up too much control in the process).

Another option for putting them in position for the armbar is to put both your feet on their hips and push them down. That way, there is much less distance for your leg to cover when you're trying to bring it over their head.

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You'll most likely have to break their grip as they defend against the armbar. The simplest is putting your foot in the crook of their arm, pulling with your arm as you push. Alternatively, reach through around their arm to grab your own hip, then lean off to the side and back in a semi circle. Finally, there is the complex option, where you reach you hand that's by their head through. Your other arm goes in front of their elbow, gripping your hands together. Twist to open. If that is too awkward, reach both arms through parallel, achieving the same kind of pressure, if to a lesser extent.

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Teaching Notes: Matt H once again had an armbar grip break for me to try. This time, your arm nearest their legs loops through under their arm, aiming to grab your hip (that's nearest their head). If you can't get all the way to your hip, wriggle your way there gradually. You can also try really jamming it through, to maximise reach. Once you've grabbed your hip, lean towards their head, adding power and leverage.

However, that isn't as clean as the twisting grip break, which is all leverage. Also be aware that there are tougher grips to break than hands together. If they grab their gi and protect that with their other arm, even harder to loosen up.

There is quite a lot to fit in with the three grip breaks, but still worth mentioning that a common method they've use to escape is pushing either your leg off their head, or shoving your other leg down towards their legs. There is a lot of detail I can go into with armbars, so the question is how far to go with that. Probably enough to split across two classes, but meh, you have the introduce the armbar some time, so then again, not good to overload with detail.

22/06/2022 - Teaching | Back | Panda defence & scoop escape

Teaching #Evening
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 22/06/2022

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Before they get their upper body grips, immediately leans forwards. Protect your neck by keeping your hands close, palms facing outwards (snapping at any grips attempting to come in: IIRC, Priit uses the handy metaphor of piranhas). Keep your forearms tightly in your hip creases, elbows slightly past your hips. The further you can lean forward, the better.

If they attempt to step a leg over the top of your leg, underhook it, turn and go for the pass. If your defences havea gat and they do manage to get their hooks in, grab around their feet. With your arms inside their legs for extra leverage, pull up on their feet. That should make it really hard for them to do anything proactive.

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This then leads to the scoop. As with any escape, you need to stay tight. Should you prefer a different hand position to the piranha, there are numerous schools of thought on just how to do that: clamping your hands to both sides of your neck (which I learned as the 'Shirley Temple' defence), crossing your hands over your neck, grabbing both your collars, and Saulo's method of just grabbing one collar, keeping the other hand free to block.

If you go for any of those options, you need to be careful that you don't reach too far with that free hand. If you do, then you may give them space to establish a firm grip or launch their attack. Keep the 'defensive zone' of the free arm small, with your elbow staying tight. Should they manage to get past your arms and being setting up a choke, you'll probably have to bail on that and simply grab their arm. The first priority when somebody takes your back is protecting your neck.

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What Saulo calls the 'scoop' back escape starts with that hand positioning, one thumb in the opposite collar and the other hand defending. The same thing works from the panda position too (but be careful if you are pulling up on their feet, as their legs are in a vulnerable position when you move your hips forwards). For this escape to work, you need to have prevented (or cleared) any grips they have below your arms. That then enables you 'scoop' your upper body down and your hips forwards, as low as you can. Next, kick out one of your legs to clear their hook (you may also need to nudge it with your elbow), then drop your other elbow down past their other leg and turn.

That's a little counter-intuitive: keep in mind you are not turning towards the hook you kicked free. You also need to be careful here that they can't re-establish their second hook: block it with your elbow and knee if they try. Once you've turned, stay heavy on their leg and move up into side control.

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Teaching Notes: I should look more into that escape where the feet are grabbed and Priit spins around from there. Also, emphasising the elbows are on the inside of the legs when they get their hooks in against panda. Do you need both arms under the leg when they step a leg over, or is one enough? To turn you would have to remove one arm anyway, unless I'm forgetting something Priit taught.

01/06/2022 - Teaching | Back | Basic maintaining

Teaching #Evening
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 01/06/2022

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The back is a great position to be in. There are lots of submissions, your opponent can't easily see what you're doing, and you'll also get four points in competition (once you've got your hooks in). The first thing to note is a basic safety point, which is don't cross your feet. If you cross your feet, then all your partner has to do is cross their feet over yours and bridge, footlocking you. Instead, you want to be hooking your insteps inside their legs, or digging your heels in. The idea is to generate enough connection with your feet that when your partner rolls to one side, you will roll with them.

Having said that, there are situations where you can cross your feet. The main one to avoid is crossing them in front, low enough that your partner can easily triangle their legs over the top. You can get away with crossing them up higher, though be aware that in competition you won't get any points. Another option where crossing your feet can conversely be a great control is a single hook, Marcelo Garcia style. One leg is in front, the other behind: this can be useful when you only have one hook (though again, it won't get you points in competition, despite being a good control).

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Second, you want to get a good grip with your arms. The harness grip (as always, various other names, like over-under and seatbelt) is a solid option for both gi and nogi. Begin by getting an arm under their same side armpit, so they can't slide down (as otherwise they can go for the scoop escape). If they have a gi, you can help secure the position by grabbing their opposite collar. The other arm comes over their shoulder.

If you can't grab a collar, then link your hands together, using that to lock yourself in place. You could also grab under both arms grabbing a collar, which is a excellent way to hold them in place. However, that means both your arms are occupied: for attacks, you have more options if you keep one arm free, to go over the shoulder.

Your arm by the shoulder is the one you'll be looking to shift into their neck and/or grabbing a collar, where you can start working for a choke. Stephan Kesting advises that rather than linking hands, you can grab your own arm, which in turn means you are blocking the best grip your opponent wants to get. As ever, play around and see what you prefer.

Third, keep your chest pressed against their upper back. To escape, they need to create space, so don't let them have any: stay glued to their upper back. This is very important, as most escapes will rely on them creating distance between your chest and their upper back. You also don't want them to put you flat on your back, like in the bridge escape, as then they can start moving their hips. If you drop back, make sure you've moved to the side. However, your ideal position is getting them face down (as long as you have your grips, otherwise it can be awkward to move into position for an attack).

Fourth, follow them with your hips, similar as when you're in their guard. If you keep moving your hips to square back up whenever they try and shift away, that again stops them creating space.

Finally, you want to keep your head locked to theirs, providing additional control. It also helps you to see what they're doing. Otherwise, their head would be blocking your line of sight. Place your head next to theirs on the armpit hand side, as that way you're controlling both sides of their skull.

Often, you will find that you end up falling to one side. Ideally, you want to try and fall to your choking arm side (the arm that is over their shoulder), as if they try to escape that way and you have a choke partially locked in, they're moving deeper into the choke. It also means you have greater mobility, as falling to the other side your arm would be stuck under their armpit. Be sure to also keep your bottom foot hooked: if they clear the top one, you can recover, but losing the bottom one means it will be tough to prevent their escape.

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I finished off with the simple way of recovering mount from the back. They've cleared one hook and managed to put their shoulders onto the mat. It will be tough to regain your back mount from here, especially if they've moved over your leg. As soon as you feel their bum move past your knee, bring your remaining hook over their body and clamp the heel to their far hip. Make sure it is providing you with enough control that they can't simply shrug you off. Pull out your elbow for base, then turn and slide through into mount, using your heel for leverage.

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Teaching Notes: I can't think of anything particular to add, so I'll just repeat what I said last time. You can only have head tight on the armpit side, that's worth noting. If they fall the other way, go for the choke, I guess? Also, Tom Barlow's tip on establishing the seat belt close to their armpit, harder for them to strip it away.

I reckon Charles' tips on kicking behind the legs could help here. I'm still not sure on the best format for the lesson, maybe that fits better in the 'regaining hooks' class? I do like mentioning the single hook, but it's possible I could put that all in the regaining hooks lesson. Next time, I'll try have the single hook stuff and Charles' material, see if that makes things too long or not.