Fall 2017 Megaton Dias Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Seminar

Strategy, Technique, and Mechanics

You need to apply strategy to win, taking the techniques you know to create reaction and opportunities to attack. You need one good takedown, one good guard pass, one good sweep, and one good submission. Thus we can prune techniques from our game because they are not optimally effective for our style or body type, but we cannot prune them from our mind because we must fully understand the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Learning technique is easy, application and strategy taking time and sweat. There is no right or wrong, there are better and worse options.

Understand the mechanics of each movement and how it teaches you something in the greater context of jiu-jitsu. Understand what principle         does the mechanic embody.

Conditioning

You will get into better shape with jiu-jitsu, but you cannot excel at jiu-jitsu unless you supplement your training with conditioning. 

Escape From the Rear Mount

“Dab"

On the side you wish to slide to your back on, place the ipsilateral forearm on your forehead with your ear to your biceps. Your other arm comes across with the hand protecting the “negative air way”. This is a defensive posture to prevent grips around your neck.

Seatbelt

If they have the seatbelt, grab the top forearm with your ipsilateral hand and push down with the underhook side arm. You are going to have to go away from the overhook arm of the seatbelt to escape.

Collar Control

If they have collar control, grab the forearm of with your ipsilateral hand. You will have to go in the direction that their collar grip hand is pointing.

First, bridge up and move superiorly toward their head, this removes leverage for the choke. Next move your back to the floor on the appropriate side, either the one you selected with good defensive posture or the one your opponent has selected for you by their grips. Move your back to the floor, before they attempt to mount, shove their superior leg between yours  and as they attempt to get on top, slide away to open guard.

Worm Guard Sweep

Control the distal end of their gi skirt, place your ipsilateral foot in their hip, wrap the skirt under your leg and pass it to your opposite hand. Regrip with the ipsilateral hand. They must either stand or post up on the opposite leg to set-up the rest of the worm guard, you may have to wrestle them to create reaction. Now pass the gi skirt behind the other leg, grab it with your opposite hand then regrab with your ipsilateral hand but now palm up. Bring your free leg behind the posteriorly wrapped leg and place the foot below your hip post post, anterior to their other leg. Control their near arm and pull them to their back as you roll on top of their legs, pinning them together. From here, either “hike” their leg through for the mount or slide your knee nearest their far hip to the floor, then pivot your other leg free to the side mount.

Worm Guard Choke

If you attempt the worm guard and they stay down, dropping their head to create pressure, pass the gi skirt under their neck and pass it to the opposite hand, your ipsilateral hand will regrab it with the arm behind the neck for the choke. The wrapped leg can come toward you, with the knee near the ear. The other hook can go wide or drop between the legs to bait your opponent to create more forward pressure.

Worm Guard Armbar

You have set up the worm guard but because they are in a tight kneeling position you cannot thread the leg for the sweep. Move laterally to your opponent and place the free foot across their distal shin. Pull anteriorly to allow your wrapped leg to slide above their knee and across their abdomen. If they fall forward, rotate 180° to a prone position to armbar. If they posture pull them backward into the standard cross body armbar.

Two-on-one Guard Sweep

You have cross grip control of the gi sleeve and ipsilateral grip control at the elbow. Your elbow grip side foot is in their hip. Grip their opposite heel with the elbow grip hand. Now your free leg goes behind their same side knee and you extend your post at the hip, sweeping them to their back and the ground.

Two-on-one Omoplata

Use your elbow grip to pull anteriorly and up while the wrist grip pushed inferiorly and back, creating a window for you to pivot to the omoplata. Look for this when they a posturing more.

Two-on-one Triangle

Place your free foot in their cubital fossa, if they are bringing their head down/lowering their weight, pull their arm across as you move your foot in their elbow joint into the triangle.

Spider Guard Armbar

You have one foot in their hip with same side collar control and the opposite foot in the cubital fossa with ipsilateral sleeve control. If they have their hand on your pant leg you will have to free this grip, if they have control of your collar then cup their elbow and pull gently as you swing the leg over the head and squeeze with the opposite knee for the armbar.

Spider Guard Triangle

 Use the same palm up guidance of their extended elbow to pull the forward as the elbow control side leg snakes behind the head for the triangle.

Baseball Slide Pass

When passing the guard look for one leg inside and one leg outside, now reach cross collar with the inside arm and drop your forearm laterally across your opponent’s neck as you slide your inside knee over and laterally to their thigh. Grab their gi sleeve on this side.

Baseball Slide Counter Knee Bump

If they are doing the knee slide, pinch their leg with yours and turn on your side, counter grab the gi sleeve with your same hand. Grab their belt with your top hand, using this hand and your top knee bump them forward to come to your knees.

Baseball Slide Counter Roll

Use your bottom leg to extend and pull you underneath your opponent in three “slides”. Place your palm on the lateral service of their far knee. Bridge and roll them to the far side. Bring your hook on the side closes to your opponent under his leg and lift, allowing your to insert your far hand and go to side mount.

Leg Drag

Cross grip their gi pant leg and grab under the heel with your ipsilateral hand. Hip bump forward and then pull your hip back, pull the leg to the far side, rotating your gi pant grip on the far side of their leg, lean forward placing their knee in your axilla. Now free this hand and grab their far collar, and lean toward this side bringing your knee between their legs and to the mat. Secure your position and walk around to the side mount.

Second Degree Faixa Preta

Today I was promoted to second degree black belt. I don’t believe I’m that good of a black belt and I’ve done martial arts for so long that I don’t put much stock in promotions, stripes and belts anymore. To me you’re only as good as what you can back-up with your skills and only as talented as what you can transmit to others about doing the art. That being said, I’m tickled that my instructor and his instructor think enough of my evolving jiu-jitsu to promote me.