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.

12/10/2020 - Teaching | Side Control | N/S Kimura

Teaching #953
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 12/10/2020
Short Version:

• Control far arm, lock to chest
• Pull them up onto their side
• Step over and sit on their head
• If necessary, switch arms, then establish figure four
• Turn whole body to apply kimura

Full Version: For the north south kimura, start in side control, controlling their far arm. This is made easier if they aren't careful and let you bump their arm up onto your shoulder. Often they'll put it there themselves, attempting to reach your head, enabling you to trap their arm by your shoulder. Another possibility is that they turn and try to get an underhook.

Whether they put it there or you do, the next step is to wrap your arm over theirs, aiming to get just under their elbow to kill mobility in the limb. Ideally, also pull them up by that arm, so they're rolled onto their side. To lock it in place, grab your own collar, or just somewhere on your gi if you can't reach far enough. You'll also want to use you head, clamping your skull against their forearm. Braulio advises following their arm with your head: e.g., if they try to fling it down to the mat or something like that. Don't let them work their arm past your head.



You're also going to move round to north-south, so again you need to block their legs from running after you by putting a hand on the mat, near their bum (although it should be a bit harder for them to turn if you've locked up that arm). As you move around, you want to jam your knee into the armpit of their free arm, swivelling your lower leg under that arm as you move around. That makes it harder for them to escape. If you can't manage that, slide your knee over their free arm once you've got to north south. It is useful to maintain some kind of control on that free arm, as otherwise they can use it to try and create some space to escape.



You essentially end up sitting on their head, so in drilling, be aware that you don't want to squish your partner. You can take a bit of the weight off by transferring it to your knees: obviously in competition, that's less of a concern. As you sit up, make sure their elbow is glued to your chest.

The next important step is to establish a figure four on their trapped arm, which can be easier said than done. One simple method Kev showed me is to put your free hand in place, ready to grab their wrist. Next, turn your head away from their arm: this will push your shoulder forwards, which will then also knock their arm forwards, putting the wrist right into your waiting hand. It's then simple to complete the figure four grip.

To finish the kimura, simply turn back in the other direction, pushing their wrist towards the side their elbow is pointing . Alternatively, you can also bring the elbow of your non-clamping arm to their trapped arm side. Turn your body so you're facing their head, then apply the kimura from that lower position.

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If you make a mistake while looking to apply the kimura from that upright position, or they simply defend well, you might find that they are able to grab their own belt or gi. This will make it tough to complete the submission. You can try pulling in the direction their knuckles are pointing, or Roy Dean's option of using rhythm to break that grip. Push their arm towards them twice, as if you are really trying to break their grip, then yank hard in the other direction (aiming for the direction in which their fingers are weakest). Lovato Jr suggests adjusting your grip so that you're holding the meat of their hand rather than their wrist. He then does two quick jerks to yank their hand free.

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Teaching Notes: Last class before a bit of a holiday.

09/10/2020 - Teaching | Side Control | Kimura hug

Teaching #952
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 09/10/2020

Short Version:

• They grab their gi/belt to block your kimura
• Release your grip on your own wrist, instead grabbing your other tricep
• Release your grip on their wrist, reaching under their elbow and grabbing your remaining tricep
• Walk your elbows out, then move your legs around past their head
• With your weight on their shoulder, tilt your elbows towards their head

Full Version: This follow up to the kimura is a technique Daniel Bertina has been using since he was a child training judo, apparently. You go for the kimura, but they grab their belt or whatever to block your submission. Reach all the way through with your wrist gripping hand, hugging your own triceps. Your other hand goes under their elbow, reaching for your other triceps. Squeeze your arms together and wriggle them forwards, for a count of 1-2-3.

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Next, walk your legs around towards their head, until your can shift your weight onto their far shoulder. To finish, twist your elbow nearest to their head up to apply a shoulderlock. Daniel advises bringing your leg through into a scarf hold type position, then applying the finish. I've decided to call this the kimura hug, which feels appropriate (and I like that it sounds cuddly instead of nasty ;D). It's possible to get the tap from the cutting pressure of your forearm, though personally I prefer to avoid anything that relies on pain and leaves lasting soreness.

To avoid that pain, all the person on the bottom needs to do is keep their gripping fist horizontal, to avoid engaging the muscle (ligament? Something pops up when turn your hand). Make sure they don't turn their thumb up, as that will then increase the forearm pressure. You can do this on the near side too, as well as an acrobatic jump into the position off a guard pass.

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Teaching Notes: Covering for Alasdair, hence why I was teaching on a Friday. The classes are continiuing to go pretty well, decent numbers and more opportunities to keep adding back more classes appearing. In terms of the technique teaching, I don't have too much to add, so I'll copy the notes from the last time I taught this. Which were:

It is of course important that people already know the kimura for this. Walking out the elbows is important, also dropping your weight onto their shoulder. Generally when people couldn't finish the submission, it was one of those two things, so that's what would be worth emphasising next time. I mentioned briefly you could do this from a north south kimura they were blocking too, which is worth mentioning as I find myself going for that far more often than a standard side control kimura.

05/10/2020 - Teaching | Side Control | Americana

Teaching #951
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 05/10/2020

Short Version:

• Use your chin to clamp their arm, when it's pressing into your neck
• Lean forward to bring their arm down, lift your shoulder slightly, press on their wrist
• Bring their arm to the ground, your elbow by their head, right angles
• Lift their elbow, 'paint' their knuckles towards their legs
• Bring their elbow in towards their side if they have flexible shoulders

Full Version: I see the americana as the classic submission from side control: I'm fond of that technique, as it is one over which you can exert lots of control. However, it does have a reputation of being a technique that is mainly used by stronger people bullying a smaller opponent, so if I'm going to continue viewing it as a core basic submission, I need to keep refining my understanding to make sure it is functional whatever your size.

There are various set ups, but I decided to show how to go for the americana from that strong, orthodox side control position I've mentioned before. To start, you need to isolate their far arm. Often the set up is that they've pushed their forearm up towards you (which is why from an escape perspective, you don't want to be shoving up with your arm and trying to benchpress them). A simple Roger Gracie method is to trap their wrist with your chin, then drive their arm to the mat with your weight. Lift your shoulder slightly to then insert your hand on top of their wrist.

There are different arguments regarding gripping their wrist using your thumb or not. Some feel that having the thumb there provides better control, and that is the instinctive way of holding something. However, most BJJ instructors I've seen describe gripping for the americana advocate a thumbless grip, so that all of your fingers are over the other side of their arm.

That's the direction they want to escape, so that's where you want your strength. It also means you can really push down, rather than squashing your own thumb. Then there's the point Kev at RGA Bucks makes, which is that he feels the thumb can act as a lever for their escape.

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Support your hand with your head if you're having trouble pushing their arm to the mat. Also be sure to keep their arm away from their body, so they can't grab their belt or gi. The aim is to put the arm at right angles. Another handy tip is to get your elbow into their neck. That means they can't turn towards you to relieve pressure on their shoulder and begin an escape. Finally, you also want to make sure that their elbow is stuck, keeping the arm you have underneath their arm tight so they can't slip their elbow free.

Finish by 'painting' the floor with their knuckles, moving their hand towards their legs, lifting their elbow off the floor. You may need to adjust the angle of their arm, depending on how flexible they are. Make sure you don't give them space by their shoulder, or they can relieve the pressure and perhaps begin an escape.

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Saulo has a few extra details in the version on his instructional website, BJJ Library. If they are pushing up into his neck, Saulo moves his body forwards to move their arm away from their side. He then locks one arm under their elbow (again, to stop that elbow slipping free of your attack), grabbing their wrist with the other (this is easier to get if you time it for when they next try to shove into your neck. You can then drive it to the mat. Slide your elbow arm through, grab the wrist, then suck in their arm to tighten the angle, before completing the submission.

Yet another set-up option crops up if they are pushing you towards their legs. Move a little with their pressure into your neck, leaning away as if that escape attempt is working for them, then turn back towards them, driving their arm to the mat with your bodyweight, head and hand. You can increase the power by switching your legs as you move back, then switching again as your return your weight towards them. Alternatively, you can simply turn your body slightly as they push, with the intention to get enough space to go for their wrist, then push it to the ground, where you can finish as before.

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Finally, you can also wrap their gi lapel over their arm, especially if they are begin very defensive and keeping that arm in tight. This is the same technique I teach from half guard: as a set up for the americana, I find it works just as well from side control. Many of the attacks will work in both positions (naturally side control attacks that function by swiveling round to the other side, like a baseball bat choke, won't have sufficient rotation in half guard).
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Teaching Notes: It's been a long time, but I was finally able to teach an almost 'normal' class tonight, in terms of being able to demonstrate technique on a person. I've been doing grappling dummy and solo drill classes from home since March, which moved into grappling dummy sessions at the gym in the middle of September.

This time, I was able to organise a support bubble with Laura, meaning I can now demonstrate on her. Yay! I was feeling rather rusty, plus I don't think the camera recorded properly, but it was awesome to have a human arm to manipulate, instead of the rolled up towels I've been used to with my grappling dummy. ;)

Main thing, as is often the case with americanas, is making sure people are focusing on pushing the hand through rather than lifting the elbow up. I also want to keep working on the series Mike V showed at camp, though I still haven't mastered his fine details. I think I have some backlog to still write up from before lockdown too. Apparently 6 months isn't long enough for me to catch up. :P

16/03/2020 - Teaching | Side Control | Americana

Teaching #947
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/03/2020

Short Version:

• Use your chin to clamp their arm, when it's pressing into your neck
• Lean forward to bring their arm down, lift your shoulder slightly, press on their wrist
• Bring their arm to the ground, your elbow by their head, right angles
• Lift their elbow, 'paint' their knuckles towards their legs
• Bring their elbow in towards their side if they have flexible shoulders

Full Version: I see the americana as the classic submission from side control: I'm fond of that technique, as it is one over which you can exert lots of control. However, it does have a reputation of being a technique that is mainly used by stronger people bullying a smaller opponent, so if I'm going to continue viewing it as a core basic submission, I need to keep refining my understanding to make sure it is functional whatever your size.

There are various set ups, but I decided to show how to go for the americana from that strong, orthodox side control position I've mentioned before. To start, you need to isolate their far arm. Often the set up is that they've pushed their forearm up towards you (which is why from an escape perspective, you don't want to be shoving up with your arm and trying to benchpress them). A simple Roger Gracie method is to trap their wrist with your chin, then drive their arm to the mat with your weight. Lift your shoulder slightly to then insert your hand on top of their wrist.

There are different arguments regarding gripping their wrist using your thumb or not. Some feel that having the thumb there provides better control, and that is the instinctive way of holding something. However, most BJJ instructors I've seen describe gripping for the americana advocate a thumbless grip, so that all of your fingers are over the other side of their arm.

That's the direction they want to escape, so that's where you want your strength. It also means you can really push down, rather than squashing your own thumb. Then there's the point Kev at RGA Bucks makes, which is that he feels the thumb can act as a lever for their escape.

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Nov 15, 2017 at 12:46am PST

Support your hand with your head if you're having trouble pushing their arm to the mat. Also be sure to keep their arm away from their body, so they can't grab their belt or gi. The aim is to put the arm at right angles. Another handy tip is to get your elbow into their neck. That means they can't turn towards you to relieve pressure on their shoulder and begin an escape. Finally, you also want to make sure that their elbow is stuck, keeping the arm you have underneath their arm tight so they can't slip their elbow free.

Finish by 'painting' the floor with their knuckles, moving their hand towards their legs, lifting their elbow off the floor. You may need to adjust the angle of their arm, depending on how flexible they are. Make sure you don't give them space by their shoulder, or they can relieve the pressure and perhaps begin an escape.

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A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Dec 21, 2018 at 12:42am PST

Saulo has a few extra details in the version on his instructional website, BJJ Library. If they are pushing up into his neck, Saulo moves his body forwards to move their arm away from their side. He then locks one arm under their elbow (again, to stop that elbow slipping free of your attack), grabbing their wrist with the other (this is easier to get if you time it for when they next try to shove into your neck. You can then drive it to the mat. Slide your elbow arm through, grab the wrist, then suck in their arm to tighten the angle, before completing the submission.

Yet another set-up option crops up if they are pushing you towards their legs. Move a little with their pressure into your neck, leaning away as if that escape attempt is working for them, then turn back towards them, driving their arm to the mat with your bodyweight, head and hand. You can increase the power by switching your legs as you move back, then switching again as your return your weight towards them. Alternatively, you can simply turn your body slightly as they push, with the intention to get enough space to go for their wrist, then push it to the ground, where you can finish as before.

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A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on Dec 24, 2018 at 1:45am PST

Finally, you can also wrap their gi lapel over their arm, especially if they are begin very defensive and keeping that arm in tight. This is the same technique I teach from half guard: as a set up for the americana, I find it works just as well from side control. Many of the attacks will work in both positions (naturally side control attacks that function by swiveling round to the other side, like a baseball bat choke, won't have sufficient rotation in half guard).
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Teaching Notes: I didn't do teaching notes at the time, so I'm adding this in October. Totally can't remember how that class back in March went, but as it was just before the first lockdown hit, I am assuming it was prety quiet and uneventful anyway. ;)

11/03/2020 - Teaching | Side Control | Near side armbar

Teaching #946
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 11/03/2020



First you need to isolate their near arm. The old school method is to dig your knee inside and open it out towards their head, but people will often be wise to that and keep their elbow in too tight. The method I use is to grip their elbow, turn my hip to the mat, then scrape my hip bone along the mat. The idea is to scoop up their arm through a combination of driving presence from my hip (powered by your legs, walking up to their head) and lifting the elbow with my existing hand grip.

Stay tight, walk up high to their head, then turn your hip back down to trap the arm. Reach your arm through, then pull your elbow back to trap their forearm and wrist in your armpit. Your leg nearest their legs curls inwards, tight to their side. Bring your other leg over their head, making certain everything is tight: so, pull your heel in close to their skull, scooting your but forward as close to their shoulder as you can.



Your knee nearest their legs pops up, with your foot tucked underneath them (though if possible, you can bring that leg over to get a stronger position). To control from that position, squeeze everything in tight, so knees together and firm grip on their arm. From here, you may be able to lean back for the submission, if you have their arm properly configured under your armpit. If not, control the wrist and adjust into a more standard grip, drop back, pull down on the wrist and lift your hips.


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Teaching Notes: Popping you knee up is key, as always. Also getting your heel close to their skull and your bum in close to their shoulder. As with all armbars, people leaving space is invariably the big reason they have trouble with the technique.

09/03/2020 - Teaching | Side Control | Far side armbar

Teaching #945
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 09/03/2020



First you need to secure their far arm. Sometimes they will give it to you by reaching up past your head (on the side closest to their legs), generally if they're inexperienced. That makes it easy to clamp their arm by wrapping it with your own arm, keeping your head low so they can't circle the arm safely back into your neck.



If they don't give it to you, there are a few ways to force it. My preference is to slide my arm into the crook of their elbow, pull their arm across, then rotate my arm around to lock their arm in place. A good option I saw Seymour Yang show is to try for an americana. They will often attempt to straighten their arm to escape: when they do, be ready for it and again clamp their arm in place. Naturally if they don't escape the americana, great, you go for that submission.



Once you have the arm locked, pull them up onto their side. You could do that by pushing off your other hand on the mat, some people also like to put their knee on the belly at this point too. Once they are on their side, turn your hips so you can get your knee (nearest their legs) into their armpit. Push their head down and step your other leg (nearest their head) over, aiming to get your knee to their far armpit. The sole of your foot should be on the ground.



From here, you can either grab their trouser leg and sit down, or I like to grab their other arm and pull it towards me. That acts both as a balance, as well as preventing their ability to turn. Lock their wrist to you, scoot your butt in closer to their shoulder if there is any space. Also make sure your outside foot has the heel pinched to their head. Your other foot is tucked underneath them. Your knees should also be squeezed together.



Then, and only then, drop back, pull on the wrist and raise your hips for the finish. There is no need to rush: take a bit of time to make sure everything is tight. Beginners will frequently lose position because they get too excited and leap into armbars, leaving loads of space. Going slower with more control will pay off. :D



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Teaching Notes: Emphasise the squeezed knees, a lot of people forget about that. Also, don't drop back immediately, sit down and tighten everything up first. Worth demonstrating how that crazy spin leaves too much space, take your time instead. Xande's version is definitely better than what I was doing before, it feels much tighter. So, I will stick with this version (off his excellent instructional from back in 2010).

29/11/2019 - Teaching | Side Control | Reverse kimura

Teaching #919
Artemis BJJ (Easton Road), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 29/11/2019



Once you have a step over triangle from side control, a number of options become available. One of the more unusual ones is what Baret Yoshida calls a reverse kimura. Yoshida's set up comes into play when you are trying for a standard kimura from north south, but they lock their hands together. That makes it easy for you to thread your leg through and lock in a triangle. You can then drop to the side.

From there, bring the arm you have closest to theirs inside those locked arms. This is liable to be a tight squeeze, so works better nogi. You can also try using the lapel wrap during your kimura set up, as that way you can maintain some control as you attempt to shove your other arm into the gap. Once it is through, wedging your elbow/forearm against their arm should result in a tight control. Your can then lock your hands together and twist. At worst that should break their grip, at best you'll have enough control to apply a kimura due to how you've locked their arm in place.



Another situation you might be able to apply this from is when they are defending an armbar and have locked their arms together. The same principles apply, though you have a little less control as you can't lock on a triangle from this position.
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Teaching Notes: It is tricky to get the arm inside, especially if you're bigger and both in gis (due to all that friction). Grabbing the elbow and pushing it to make space, so it ends up flared out, helps a bit. Also, demonstrating nogi when somebody is too big to get it in the gi.

I'm also curious is this has applicability outside of the specific scenario Baret Yoshida shows it from, which is when they lock their hands as you go for the n/s kimura. There are plenty of situation where the hands are locked, most notably armbars from the mount: could it work there? Something I want to play with some more.