Megaton Dias Seminar: The Best Position is Efficiency

Wellington "Megaton" Dias, your humble blogger, Jack McVicker

Keeping it Old School: There are no new techniques, just different things that become popular and different people who market them better.  While it is fine to learn the berimbolo, 50/50, rubber guard, or whatever, do not do so at the expense of basics and solid positioning.

Situation: Jiu-jitsu is situational, everything works but only at the right time and position.  You can't do what you want, you can only want to do what they give you.

Efficiency: All the positions of jiujitsu should not be focused on as individual and absolute solutions but rather as more or less efficient ways to win the fight, based on the situation of the moment.  Guard is a dynamic change from one type of guard to another, depending on which has the best cost to benefit ratio given an opponent and action at the moment.

Intellect should trump emotions:  Fight with your brain, not your fears.  It is the sign of a great fighter not that they win easily, but that they win in the face of overwhelming adversity by cool and collected intellect.

Illegal Techniques: While rank novices should be discouraged from doing illegal techniques, everyone who is aware of safe training should avail themselves of all techniques, including foot locks and knee bars so that they become used to them before they become part of their legal competition arsenal.

Closed Guard Arm Drag Series

From the closed guard, free the control of the lapel using two-on-one sleeve control, and pull their arm cross body and into the axilla.  Grip the triceps area of the the gi (or cup the triceps if no-gi).

• Straight Arm Bar: Pivot your body and bring the leg over the head for straight arm bar
• Reverse Arm Bar: If they resist the above and attempt to smash, bench press your knees and bring the near arm wrist blade over their other arm, just proximal to the elbow.  Grab with your other hand and pull down, keeping an arch in your body and hence space between their elbow joint a you for the submission.  Your ear should go to your shoulder, trapping their wrist.
• Oma Plata:  If they avoid the reverse arm bar, swim your near arm inside and wrap catching their arm beneath the axilla, note that this is the other arm from the one you originally trapped above.  Spin for the oma plata submission by pushing your far foot against the lateral portion of their neck.
• Arm Triangle:  In this case use a two-on-one sleeve control free the grip and to pull the arm cross body but do not trap it in the axilla, instead release the opposite hand control and wrap your partners neck, locking this hand into the deep figure four on your other biceps.  I usually place this hand on my head for added pressure.
• Side Ezekiel:  Similar to the previous, but this time the wrapping arm's (still the one that is opposite the grabbed arm) hand goes inside your opposite sleeve and the knife edge of your free hand slides down your arm against their neck for the choke.

Side Ezekiel, Mounted Variation: If you insert one hand for a cross collar choke your opponent may turn on their side to defend, in which case switch to the technical mount. Free your grip and wrap this arm around their neck gripping the inside of your opposite hands sleeve.  The free hand slides down your arm to their neck for the choke.

Pulling the Guard to De La Riva to Pump Handle Sweep: Control lapel and sleeve, sit and place your sleeve-contol side foot into their hip.  Drop this foot to their thigh and push them away, use the pendulum action of your other leg to place the De La Riva hook.  Pass the sleeve under their leg to your other hand, then reach up and grab same side lapel and pull down as you tilt them sideways.

Spider Guard Lateral Sweep:  Control the sleeve grip with the same side foot in the cubital fossa and the contralateral side with lapel control grip and the foot in the hip.  Switch the foot in the hip to a De La Riva hook and switch the grip to sleeve control.  Now elevate the cubital fossa as you pull down on the sleeve on the De La Riva side to sweep them sideways.

Spider Guard Tomoe Nage Sweep: Control the sleeve grip with the same side foot in the cubital fossa and the contralateral side with lapel control grip and the hook under their thigh.  Pull your partner forward, and as their weight shifts move your foot from under thigh hook to their same side hip and elevate.  You should sweep your partner over the shoulder opposite the thigh hook.

Reverse De La Riva to the Back: From De La Riva guard, obtain a cross collar thumb pointed inferiorly grip on the lapel opposite your hook.  Take your other hand and place it anterior to the contralateral ankle.  Now bring the extended leg in and replace the De La Riva hook from the medial side, the former De La Riva hook leg frees the hook extends to their hip.  Now pull the lapel and use your opposite hand and legs to spin you underneath and between their legs.  The hook leg should rotate around their leg to be in position for the rear mount hook and your other shin should be behind their same side knee.  Grab their belt and kick this leg forward to obtain rear mount.  If they flop forward, like a banana, climb to take their back.

Lasso Guard to Biceps Slicer: Set up a lasso guard with your shin in the cubital fossa in the ipsilateral, bring your other leg across their body so you end up perpendicular to your opponent, with their forearm trapped against your abdomen.  Now grip the trapped arm's triceps and pull as your knee flares laterally.

Two Ways to Pass the Z-Guard

One of your legs is trapped between your partner's legs, the inferior leg is beneath your shin and your knee is sandwiched between this leg and your superior leg.  Grapevine the trapped  side's arm behind the superior leg and in front the the inferior leg.

1. Post on your free leg, turn perpendicular and baseball slide out your trapped leg.  Immediately switch your hips back toward your partner to obtain side control.
2. Fall forward onto your free side and step the trapped leg back over to the negative side.  Then switch your hips back to regain side control.

Ridiculously Simple Foot Sweep: Control the kimono at the elbow and lapel, take a pivot step away from the lapel control, lift their elbow and pull down on the lapel, as you sweep in front of (lapel grip side) where they would step.

Ridiculously Difficult Foot Sweep: As above, take a pivot step away from the lapel control, pull their elbow down and lapel up as you sweep in the direction of your step (elbow grip side), attempting to bring their near foot to their far foot.