Clinchology 101

Until today I consider myself as someone who knew how to handle the clinch.  That was until Ian dropped some knowledge on me.  True muay thai fights with elbow strikes, which changes the dynamics of the clinch significantly.  Your desire to drive forward and wrassle in the clinch is diminished by the prospect of cuts and knock outs due to crisply thrown elbows.

Loose clinch (heads are far apart)

• Pivot step 90°, keep pushing away, deliver a knee to the body or head as appropriate to the rules you are fighting under.

• Swim inside (bring first one hand, then the other inferiorly and medially to their clinch) and establish your own clinch.

• Swim one hand inside, use the other to drop inferiorly pulling on their arm while pulling them into the upward elbow.

Hip space clinch
Overhook and grab their head on one side, place the ipsilateral shin across their waist like a roller coaster seatbelt.  Drive your shin down and away from you by extending the hip while simultaneously turning your chest away from your opponent

Tight clinch (heads are tight)

Overhook one side and on the contralateral side place your palm in their axilla or hip. Step the foot opposite the overhook in close to your opponent, dip the knee.  Immediately thrust with this hip as your pull with your overhook and push with your contralateral hand.  Rotate as if to throw your opponent behind you while simultaneously sweeping with the leg opposite the side you bumped their hip.

If their arms are parallel, their elbows will close off the space to allow you to swim inside and re-clinch. Overhook one side and turn 90° away from this arm, lifting your chest higher.  This should extend and break their clinch, but you may need to do the same going back the other way to free yourself. If they stop your turn with flared elbows, swim inside.

One hand push variations
Each of these uses the push to your opponents face to set-up clinch counters.  The hand goes superior and lateral to their arm on the same side. Straighten your arm to create space.

Long range sweep
Hook their opposite cubital fossa with your glove, pull down as you push, spinning them, sweep with the same leg if needed.

Pivot step
Using the push pivot 90° away on the same side as you are pushing, control the far hand with your free had, throw the knee to the gut
With near elbow: If you feel them pushing against your hand, collapse it medially to throw a horizontal elbow to the head
With far elbow: Collapse your outstretched arm on your opponents arm to tug them close, throw the horizontal elbow with your opposite arm.

Tiip Combinations on the Suitcase Pad

Today we worked on tiip combinations.  Now, the mindset is different to one that I’ve previously trained and preached.  The tiip is an opener followed by a fake.  Rather than predetermining that I will do combo xyz, I need to to obey the energy of my opponent.  I’m proactively reacting, what they do predicates my next move.  So in each “combo” I’d tiip and then fake it by raising my lead leg to knee height.  Options:

• Rear kick
• Lead kick
• Jab
• Jab cross
• Lead hook
• Lead hook, rear (leg) kick, lead hook
• Cross, lead kick, cross

If my opponent runs on my fake tiip and then returns, I can fake it again but hop forward and laterally to throw the rear kick.  This allows the fake to cover distance.  Also if the jab is working, fake it and throw the tiip.

Interestingly enough, Ian fed all these using a suitcase pad.  This is a new use of a pad I had sort of relegated to developing leg kicking power.  When a knowledgeable and creative person holds pads it really elevates the level of training, so drilling with the pad was a lot of fun.

Swing Evasion

I’m calling the lesson today, the swing evasion because I practiced it by getting out of the path of my son’s swing.  Probably not it’s intent, but usable for this purpose.

We worked on high kick evasion, from a short, medium, and deep penetration step.  In each case there is a posterior lean, staying on the ball of the rear foot, to allow you to spring forward immediately after the kick has passed.  The rear hand stays high on the temple.  The lead hand rotates making the forearm parallel to the floor, the elbow at right angle.  The shoulder meets the ear on this side.

• Short kick: Just lean, feet don’t move
• Medium step kick: Rear foot drops back
• Deep penetration step kick: Rear foot drops back, lead foot is dragged with you (almost a karate rear leaning stance)

We worked this shadowboxing and then on the pads, delivering a kick relaxed and rapidly after each.

Ian also showed a bit of dirty pool, catching a kick and then throwing onto the ropes.

Step Kick

The step kick is used when you and your opponent create space after engaging with them.  This can either occur because they retreat dramatically, they’re hurt, or you push them to range.  Basically the rear leg steps to the lead leg, on the ball of the foot, it then springs your forward, your lead leg landing laterally depending on how aggressively you chase and the rear leg kicking.  The rear leg is the coiled spring that not only drives you forward but simultaneously drives the kick.

• Rear catch-lead scoop/step-push-step-kick
• Rear catch-lead scoop/step-push-cross-two lead kicks: Remember to extend the base leg and stand tall, hip rises on the kicks
• Rear catch-lead scoop/step-cross

Rear catch is a regular catch of the jab.  The lead scoop/step is performed by turning the hand 180° inferiorly while stepping laterally off-line, use the arm and lead step to push the shoulder of your opponent.

Howe It's Done

Today I sat in on Chris Howe’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class and had the pleasure of seeing him teach.  Chris and I share the same Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor, Jack McVicker, and have trained together in the past.  It is fascinating to see the details that Chris explains, because while much of the source is the same, we have different contexts and insight into the same technique.  Although we have trained with different people and gone to different seminars it was illuminating to have someone teach familiar technique with a different viewpoint.  Just a reminder to take advantage of the knowledge that might be sitting right next to you.

Dive Pass

We started with the Dive Pass, control both pant legs just distal to the knee, thumbs toward you.  Push the leg laterally to the mat, then dive the ipsilateral shoulder to their abdomen, head crosses the midline.  Underhook the unpinned leg and regrip the pinned leg on the lateral side of the pants.  Now, use a “windshield wiper” to free your leg, that is, trap their leg with your lateral leg to allow the medial leg to overhook.  You can use your outside knee laterally, to push their leg medially to facilitate an easier pass.

Rather than passing you can also knee bar, by transitioning back in-line with your opponent while squeezing your knees, this should straighten their leg with it the knee pointed straight up.  Your pubic ramus should be just proximal to their knee, loosely triangle their leg and do a leg curl.

North-South Attacks

To set-up the north-south attacks from side mount, reach the arm nearer their head over your partner’s head, your arm tucked just under their lateral arm, your hand over their kidney (I like to grab the kimono here) and tuck your elbow to their head.  Your other hand controls the near hip, now rotate to north-south position to force their arm in their hip to “pop out”.  Underhook this and grab their trapezius/kimono sleeve.

Paper cutter choke

Transition back to the side mount.  Using the arm over your partner’s head, pull your elbow to your hip, catch the far lapel and drop your forearm across their neck, drop the elbow under their chin, and flare the elbow slightly, roll your weight by dropping the hip nearest the head to the mat.  If they try to turn into you pull them flat with your triceps grip arm.  This arm will also cause counter tension as you choke

Reverse, arm-in, guillotine

Transition back to the side mount.  Place your knee next to their ear and your head overhook elbow near the contralateral ear.  Pull your elbow to your hip, lifting their head onto the “ramp” formed by your thigh.  Wrap their head and grip your opposite wrist (now freed from controlling the arm/sleeve).  Now transition back to be parallel with your partner.  Move inferiorly, trying to slide such that your arm stays wrapped tight to their neck and your trapezius tight to the opposite side.  Your head should slide next to their chest, so that you can hear their heart beat.

Near straight arm bar

From the paper cutter choke, if blocked, rotate your distal leg so that your toes point to their head and your opposite hip.  Shift your weight unto your blocked choking hand on their chest or onto their far arm.  Slide the leg nearest their head around their head until perpendicular but across their head.  Now sit back as the knee nearest their legs rotates to the ceiling, squeeze your knees together.  Grab this knee with your free hand to increase arm bar pressure.

Kimura

If you obtain north-south and you decide or if their arm does not “pop out”, you can instead pick-up the kimura.  Use the overhook to pivot your opponent on to their side, using your legs to push.  Slide the overhook arm underneath their forearm and grab your opposite wrist which in turn grabs their wrist.  Tuck your leg to their face and your opposite knee to their back, foot on the floor.  Lift their hand free from their body, use the push-pull of the figure four to rotate their shoulder posteriorly.

Deep kimura/biceps slicer

You get a kimura set-up but your opponent stays flat on their back.  Release their wrist and shoot the hand gripping the wrist, like a hook, so that forearm is trapped proximal to your elbow, posteriorly.  Your other forearm is in their cubital fossa, the palm of this hand on your distal biceps.  Imagine a really loose rear naked choke of their elbow joint.  Your free hand and forearm should be on the mat, their hand near their hip.  Move out next to your opponent on this side.  Keep your chest on your hands, walk your feet toward their feet as you lift your trapped forearm.

Steel tests steel

Training today with Mat Stratta of Endurance Training Center Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu we talked about a challenging training environment.  The idiom that “steel sharpens steel” is often used to describe training hard or with people that push us.  While I appreciate being compared to an amalgam known for its durability and ability to keep an edge, the idiom is historically inaccurate and more importantly perhaps not the best way to view training.

When steel hits steel, it was in battle, blades were notched, bent, and blunted not sharpened.  Blades that were true served their masters without breaking but certainly they lost some of their edge.  Competition tests but it also injures, if you are always competing you’ll be tried but you’re unlikely to improve.

Steel is sharpened on stones, either a whetstone or grindstone, whose friction was carefully applied to sharpen and straighten.  The battle tested the mettle, the sharpening was a careful and skillful assessment of weakness and dullness that was then meticulously ground out.  When we train we refine, we sharpen, our coaches and training partners are our grindstone, they smooth our imperfections and sharpen our edge.

Steel tests us.  Stone sharpens us.

Grab first for advantage, grab best for victory

Megaton feels that 80% of your grappling will either be passing or attacking from guard so it is important to train from there.  We used various training scenarios to warm-up.  All these are trained at 50%, there is no winning at warm-up:

• Passing the guard versus partner trying to prevent passing, no submissions or sweep, e.g. the bottom player is ahead,
• Staying in the guard versus partner trying to sweep or reversal, no submissions, e.g. player inside the guard is ahead.

Upa technique: Even as basic a technique as the upa can still have details that make it more efficient and technical.  When you upa, grab their sleeve distal to the shoulder on the side you plan to turn toward and pull them to you, making everything more cylindrical.  Drop your elbow on top of their thigh (the same one you are trapping with your foot).  Use both feet to bridge straight, trying to put your opponent on their head, before trying to turn over.
Shark cross collar choke: Open the lapel with your ipsilateral hand to insert your contralateral hand, palm up as deep behind the neck as you can.  Twist your shoulders, chest perpendicular to the opposite collar and position your hand like a shark going in for a bit, that is, so that the fingers will not collide with the kimono lapel.  Square up.  Your choke should be tight even before starting to try to submit them.
Z-guard tripod pass: The Z-guard is basically the half-guard with the superior knee inside and diagonal across the thorax.  Underhook the top leg and grab the pant leg on the bottom just proximal to your partner’s knee.  With the other hand grab the same side lapel.  Tripod up and slide the trapped knee through, then use it to clear their bottom leg, take the side mount.
Z-guard shrimp out pass: If you are unable to secure their collar, grab their ipsilateral sleeve, transition to this hip, shrimp your butt away from your opponent, using your bottom shin to pry your leg out.  If they try to get up pull them flat with the sleeve control or with both sleeve and pant leg.
Cross collar and arm choke: From guard (or half-guard) obtain cross collar control,  reach across and pull their arm across forming a choke with their arm and your forearm.  Shift in the direction of their crossed arm to avoid getting drilled by their elbow, place pressure with your chest on their arm as you pull them in with the cross collar control.
Hooks-in elevator sweep variation: Obtain ipsilateral collar and sleeve control, transition onto the same gluteal as you have sleeve control.  Elevate the hook on the collar control slide to sweep them to the sleeve control side
Hooks-in to X-guard sweep: Grab both collars and lift onto your hooks, pivot to one side placing your head on one shin and under hooking this leg.  The leg that was ipsilateral stays hooked behind their knee while your opposite foot pushes the medial thigh away from you.  Transition to kneeling and to your feet, pull/step backward to pull them to that mat, reversing position.
Hooks-in to reverse arm bar:  You do the above and your opponent posts both hands to the mat.  Under hook one arm, rolling your forearm over their arm just proximal to the elbow, grip your hands together.  Simultaneously, bring your hook out on this side and place in their hip, rotate the knee to their ribs.  Apply the reverse arm bar.
Toreador hooks-in guard pass:  Your opponent has you in hooks-in guard, grab their pant legs distally thumbs toward you.  Staple their feet to the mat, stand and pass to one side, try to find their heart beat and drive your weight into them to pass.
Tilt hooks-in guard pass:  Your opponent has you in hooks-in guard, underhook his leg and grab the distal pant leg, with your other hand grab their kimono in the back.  Post the leg on the same side as your under hooking arm.  Pull, tilting your opponent right to the mat.
Knee tap takedown:  From standing, grab the ipsilateral collar, pull them so that they step with their opposite foot, then drive laterally over this leg, tapping their knee on the way for the takedown.
Reversing reverse side control: Your opponent has obtained reverse side control, the arm nearest your head reaches across your body and is near your hip.  Grab this sleeve with the hand nearest your opponent.  Post up and roll away from your opponent, pulling them over you and somersaulting onto their back.
50-50 guard ankle locks

• Straight ankle lock:  Wrap their ankle, wrist in their Achilles tendon, roll away from them, sliding your outside foot underneath and through their legs, posting the top of your foot on their far hip,  straighten your back to finish.
• Inside figure four: Bump their knee to expose the ankle and foot, reach across your body to grab their toes, pinky finger to pinky toe.  Slide your near hand underneath distal ankle and grab the figure 4.  Attempt to put your opponent’s toe in their rectum, they should submit prior to this occurring.
• Reverse straight ankle lock:  Again expose their ankle and foot, place your near wrist on their Achilles tendon, use your other hand to pull your hand toward your face for the ankle submission.  This is not a heel hook but a straight ankle lock.

My title comes from an observation today.  I believe that grips are critical for securing advantage and victory.  Megaton pointed out that sometimes your opponent gets a grip and you cannot free yourself.  In these cases, obtain your own grip to shut down their game.  Similar to Tony Blauer’s “Closest Weapon, Closest Target” this is “Nearest G, Nearest Grip”.  Then capitalize on this change in the control dynamic.

I'm a sick person

I have a problem.

I take particular pleasure in learning novel ways to maim other human beings.  I have no guilt regarding this.

Today my muay thai private reviewed the straight knee to the head.  Either you can jab and then grab with the lead hand, pulling the head down by pulling with the arms as the hips drop back or you can pull their jab inferiorly with your rear hand, catch the cross with your lead and then undertook as you rotate laterally while grabbing the back of their head with your rear hand.  Ian then noted that this same thing could be done when someone tries to block your knees with their forearm.  If they frame against your body, or simply try to block your thigh you can pull their arm out of the way by underhooking as above.  If they post their arm on their own body, knee them with the intent of breaking their arm.  Stupidity is punishable.

Next we worked on leg kicks (pun not intended).  The style that Ian teaches, has balance and speed as its central dogma.  To stay on balance while kicking the body stays erect and above the hips.  To deliver a higher kick the base leg and torso lengthen.  To deliver a low kick the base leg bends.  To throw the low kick the rear foot springs forward landing just behind where your lead foot was.  The lead shin should be hitting the target as your base foot lands.  Your shoulders turn over with the kick as if you were a stiff man trying to tie the laces on your base foot.

After practicing on the bag we went to the pads.  I threw the jab stepping into and out of range, when my opponent stays put I follow with the low kick.  If he stays put, bring the kicking foot back to a good stance (easy if I kept by balance)  and throw the cross.  If he evades backward, fake the right cross,  step the lead foot off to the diagonal as I lead slap hook and pivot my rear foot laterally, shifting off line from my opponent.  Throw the rear kick.

Note to self, throw jab-cross.  If you throw cross-jab (particularly when I switch stances) I might be better served with a lead hook.  And you can turn a rear uppercut into a cross.

The Thrill of the Chase

A fight is a hunt, a chase.  Not like the big game hunter but like a predator.  Always on balance, never greedy, positioning oneself to strike with absolute surprise and ferocity.  In the ring you chase but do not over-extend, you may even go backward in pursuit of the optimal position to deliver damage.  Your tactics determine how you chase, depending on if your opponent is hurt, off-balance, or evading.  The chase is addictive, do not let the thrill of the hunt lead you to lose your prey.

In my lesson today Ian had me work some tiip derived combinations.  We worked front and rear defensive and offensive tiip.  The defensive lead tiip shifts your weight over the rear leg, base foot rotated externally to keep it straight.  The knee rises up between the umbilicus and inferior chest before the kick extends using the hips,  This is a defensive jab, thrown just as your opponent shifts onto their lead foot off their rear to advance forward.  The offensive lead tiip, bring your rear leg to the lead, foot rotating externally, throw the kick as described above.  The rear tiip is thrown by rising onto the ball of the lead foot and driving the rear foot through and extending from the hips.  Again on defense attempt to catch them on the step.  Ian held all these combinations, occasionally making me miss to see if I stayed on balance.

We also worked jab upper cut elbow, lead and read. For the lead throw the jab (no wind-up!), step the lead foot to mid-line and bring the elbow up, as if the hand were to rapidly style your hair.  Do not punch yourself in the face. The rear combo again enters with the jab, then step laterally to bring your rear elbow midline. Throw the elbow upward, catching with the tip.

We also worked offensive and defensive tiip. One key is to keep the base leg “locked” and straight. The lead offensive tiip is thrown by stepping the rear foot to the lead, lifting your knee to the target height and jabbing with the ball of the foot.  The rear offensive tiip is throw by stepping forward, rising on the ball of the lead foot, and driving the rear foot through to kick.  The defensive tiip needs to be timed, try to catch your opponent as they step onto their lead foot, shifting the weight off their rear foot.  For the lead defensive tiip shift your weight to the rear leg, keeping it straight and foot flat, throw the tiip.

Coming full circle to the chase argument, using the concept of the offensive tiip.  If you throw the lead tiip and your opponent backs-up, follow-up with the rear tiip.  If your opponent is hurt, remaining fairly close to you, the lead tiip is followed by a kick on this side.  To throw this, hop your rear leg laterally, making sure your weight shifts over this leg, your tiip leg sets posteriorly to throw the kick.  If you knock your opponent off balance and need to “run them down”, step forward with the tiip, step through with your rear leg, setting it as the base leg.  Allow your shoulders to twist to slightly to the side throwing the kick to generate more torque, throw the Thai kick.

“Side-kick” tiip, both offensive and defensive.  Defensively, throw this tiip as if you are throwing a Thai kick, but the leg comes out straight, turn your hips to allow the leg to extend further, foot at 45° from the ground.  Your weight stays over your foot.  For the offensive version, the leg comes up and you spring forward to deliver the kick.

Teaching to my detriment

I’ve been involved with martial arts since 1985 and have always had a striking component to my training.  I started with hard styles of Uechi-Ryu and Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do, but found that I wasn’t training the way I was fighting.  I gravitated to the eclectic Goshin Jitsu which used a boxing and kickboxing framework for their striking which seemed more applicable.  I’ve trained for many years in Jeet Kune Do, which is more of a philosophy than a style as it evolves to what works rather than being a dogmatic method.  I subsequently became interested in Muay Thai and have trained that for over a decade.  The unfortunate side effect of training this long is that eventually you become the senior member of the class.  It is not because I am more skilled or more able that I coach, it is because I’ve been too dumb to quit.

Now that I’m doing muay thai private lessons my technique is under a microscope.  I have bad habits, mostly I assumed from injury and lay off.  In muay thai, the way that you throw kicks or knees is by extending on the base leg.  I don’t do that.  I see people doing it, but I don’t do it.  I teach the extension, but I don’t do it.  Sure I can blame deconditioned leg muscles or poor balance but honestly my legs are stronger now than they have been in years.  Training this week, we figured it out:  It’s a bad habit from teaching.

In order to show that I was using the point of the knee to strike and since on average people are smaller than me, I was pulling my knees and crouching so that I didn’t obliterate half my demo partner’s rib cage.  I look sort of like a toddler being toilet trained who is trying not to pee themselves.  The more you coach, the more you teach, the less you train.  So by demoing it to prove one point, I managed to teach myself wrong.  You can do the extension and rapidity of a knee well, and focus on that by “slapping” them with the distal anterior surface of the thigh rather than trying to drive the bony part of distal femur through their thorax.  Try.  You like.

The above point came up when we reviewed material from the Matee seminar a few weeks back.  We review catching the jab, cross, clearing the cross hand and pivot stepping while side clinching to deliver the knee. Alternatively you can slap their rear hand down and let them step into your rear horizontal elbow.

The other (cool) thing we worked on was saving yourself from a caught thai kick.  I threw the rear thai kick rapidly and relaxedly.  As soon as it hit, I rotate the knee outward and recovered.  Next when working with my coach, I threw the kick on Ian, who caught it.  The rotation freed my foot so that I could place it on his torso/hip and push kick away.  You’re not pulling your leg out, you’re freeing it to push your opponent away.

Matee "Dragon Leg" Jedeepitak Muay Thai Seminar

Today I had the opportunity to attend a seminar by Matee Jedeepitak, a Lumpinee Champion for 6 years (something like 14 years longer than me j/k).  He is humble and humorous, apologizing when in his excitement to teach he slips into Thai.  His legs are massive, his calves are nearly spheroid from bouncing on the balls of his feet for decades.  His grace as he demonstrates footwork and technique is like watching fine art but I have the distinct impression that getting within range of his eight limbs would be akin to stepping into a man-sized blender.  Thanks to Ian Ransburg and Top Level Gym for hosting the seminar.

Warm-Up

“Footwork” consisted of being high on the balls of the feet and gently bouncing from foot to foot while keeping your hips over the feet.  We then did alternating lead jab cross, by shifting the weight forward with the new lead, going through the “footwork” steps for two beats.  Next was kicking, one side repeatedly bringing the knee and leg straight up to throw rapid kicks.  No hip rotation for this warm-up.  We then did same side knee kick then transitioning to the opposite side.

Catch Lead Elbow

Use your rear hand to catch and hook their jab, curling the wrist to grip their glove at their wrist.  Rotate the shoulders, pulling their jab hand and throw the lead elbow, bring the hand to the opposite side of your head, acting as a defensive shield should the elbow miss.

Catch Catch Lead Elbow

Catch the jab with your rear hand, catch the cross with your rear hand, simultaneously step 45° on the ball of the foot and rotate on your lead foot, letting their momentum pull them by while you throw your lead elbow.  The elbow is horizontal if your opponent is your height, downward diagonal if shorter, and upward diagonal if taller.

Slip Outside Clinch Drop Step Knee

Slip to the outside of your opponent’s jab, the contralateral hand on their elbow.  Step forward with your rear foot while your free hand grabs their neck on the far side.  Push their arm to cinch the grip, drop step your new rear foot and pivot 90°.  Slouch and keep the knees bent, keep your shoulders horizontal, your goal is to make your opponent support your weight.  Throw the rear knee.

Fake Jab Clinch

Throw the jab, provoking your opponent’s catch, now fake the jab and step to catch their neck on the outside.  Drop step and pivot 90°, pulling them forward, push against the side of their head with your free hand, throw the rear knee.

Catch Catch Cross Clinch Clear Drop Step Knee

Catch jab, catch cross, reach your rear hand (that caught their jab) and grab your opponent’s neck on the opposite side.  Sweep their hand clear with your lead hand and drop step for the rear knee.

We subsequently did a variation of this where we just tapped our opponent’s hands to clear them and then used a forearm that might accidentally be an elbow to the face to secure a cross clinch grip, not cheating but certainly not sporstmanlike.  From here we cleared the arm to then drop step pivot them to the rear knee.

Defense From the Above

Bring your swept hand thumb up and grab their neck, use your free hand to cup their elbow and rotate upward, setting up your own clinch (cupping the far neck and putting pressure with your other hand on their arm), either step back and knee, or grip palm-to-palm and do the same.

Underhook Kick Catch Pass

Your opponent throws a Thai kick to the body, they will hit your arm and you catch their kick by reaching across your body with your contralateral hand, hook their distal leg with your glove by curling the wrist.  Drop step your lead leg as you pull their leg across your body, drawing them to you.  Grab their neck with your free hand.  Now knee to the near butt cheek as you lift their leg and pull them backward for a throw.

If they throw their kick low, use the underhook catch to pull the soft part of the shin into your elbow.

Overhook Kick Catch Pass

Step with their kick and cinch a tight overhook kick catch.  Drop step your lead leg and pull them toward you as you pull their kick to the opposite side by letting it slip to the hand that caught it and passing it to the curled wrist grip on the opposite side.  From here you can either clinch if you are close enough, punch, or knee.

Freestyle Rounds with Single Element

We finished with a freestyle round where the holder called various combinations.  During each round we highlighted one of the techniques learned above, and in order to integrate the technique into our arsenals, it was set-up without a verbal cue.  We did catch lead elbow, jab trap forearm “elbow” knee, and out choice of catching the kick to clinch.  After each round we did 30 seconds of punches, knees, and kicks. After both sides had done their rounds we did 30 seconds of push-ups, crunches, push-ups, and seated cross toe touches.

Conclusions

Matee wasn’t trying to provide us with answers, combat sports are too chaotic, too uncertain to be definite, instead he was giving us options.  Options that are dependent on our body type and our opponent.  He repeats the advice that every champion I have ever trained with has told me: play, don’t force it.  A personal aside, I need to to keep my torso upright when I kick.

Play or play not, do not try

Having finally foiled the conspiracies of the holidays, work, and aberrant weather I made it back to a muay thai private.  Ian has been trying to teach me to relax.  One of the concepts he uses is that of play, like tag, don’t try the technique, play it.

We reviewed and warmed up with shadowboxing, looking at my movement and striking.  On the thai kick, I need to keep my weight evenly distributed so that after I throw it and miss I land with my weight evenly balanced between my feet.  This way I can push off my rear (kicking) leg and land on the ball of my lead leg to pivot back toward my opponent.

We then worked on flowing into kicks, using a jab-cross-hook combination to close, then stepping away and going either left or right to the kick:

• Jab-cross-hook, shuffle back (rear leg moves first), flow step in the lead direction around the bag pushing/checking with the lead hand twice and then without changing tempo or range, throwing the rear kick.
• Jab-cross-hook, roll step to the opposite lead, flow step in the new lead (former rear) direction around the bag.  Again push/check with the new lead hand twice and then, also without change in tempo or range throw the rear kick.

This, of course, uncloaked an inadequacy in my hook: I slap like a prepubescent girl.  So Ian made me increase my range to the bag, I tend to shorten punches rather than extending them, I can reach the bag with more power on the hook, by snapping the hip rotation, driving the hook a few inches by arm, but a few feet by this rotation.  The 90° frame of the hook remains intact, it is the quick synchronous, rotation of the hips and shoulders, that delivers power through speed.

Ian also pointed out a good way to work on the very balanced style he teaches is by alternating leads and doing the same combinations in shadowboxing, transition from lead to lead by pivoting and roll stepping.

Maximus Sweep Series

I had the pleasure of rolling with Max Burt of Muncie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tonight.  He swept me with his sweep series, so of course I had to ask how he did it:

• Lat load sweep: Obtain cross arm control and pull across your body, reach your ipsilateral arm to grip their far lat just inferior to their axilla, or if you can lapel wrapping it inferior to the axilla.  Free your opposite arm and post the elbow on the floor, keep your torso tight to their arm so they cannot retreat and escape the sweep.  The foot on the ipsilateral side as your lat control arm, goes to the floor, blocking their leg.  Use this post and your elbow to lift, using the lat control to pull them forward and then sweep them over the shoulder of their crossed arm.
• Extension sweep:  If they block the sweep above, by posting up with their leg, undertook the arm opposite, pulling it straight and extending past your head,  now kick with your posted leg, using the thigh against their flank to sweep them laterally over the side with the extended arm.
• Take the back fake:  If they’ve shut down both the above sweeps, work toward the back (cross arm side), your trail leg foot hooks their far thigh at the knee.  Kick your free leg across their back, perpendicular to their body, this should make them roll and if not, take the back.

Max also showed me a sweep from 50/50 guard, grab the lapel on the grape vined side with your opposite hand, obtain ipsilateral sleeve control with your other hand. Pull your opponent toward you as you shift your legs to the outside, rolling your inside knee to the floor, but preventing your opponent from going belly down.  Free their leg and move it to the opposite hip, now hip switch out and take the back.

Tiip Defense

My muay thai private lesson this week focused mostly on the tiip. We worked it in shadow boxing, covering the tiip’s utility as a countering tool and as weapon to use when your opponent doesn’t move.  The rear tiip is probably more usable as an offensive tool than the lead.  When throwing the lead, the rear foot becomes more perpendicular to the body, either by stepping up or by pivoting.  Now drive the lead leg knee up and seamlessly integrate the extension with the hip thrust.  The knee optimal knee height is important to attain before forward acceleration is initiated.  This is a “push” kick not a foot slap.  We spent the majority of our time working on tiip defense:

• Lead pass, rear kick: Spring laterally in the direction of your rear foot as you clear the tiip with an inferior and lateral sweep of your lead hand.  Your rear foot should land on the ball, ready to explode into the kick, as the lead hand returns to the guard position.  Spring forward, your rear kick landing as your lead foot contact the mat.  Remember to step laterally enough to generate power.  Drive the knee toward the target, extending the body to allow the kick to whip into the target.  Recover to a ready position.
• Lead pass, lead kick: Similar to before, spring laterally and clear the kick.  Now switch step, raise the new rear arm to head height, and deliver the kick, again leading with knee to the target.  Remember to extend the base leg and torso.
• Rear pass, rear kick: Do the perpendicular pivot step while simultaneously using your rear hand (which turns into your lead hand as you pivot) to sweep inferiorly and medially.  Make sure you do a full perpendicular turn, placing your weight deliberately so that you may spring off the ball of the (new) rear foot.  Throw the rear kick.
• Rear pass, cross: Step 45° diagonal and switch leads, your (new) rear leg drags a little, just to get offline of your opponent’s tiip. Simultaneously sweep your new lead hand inferiorly and medially.  Now throw a quick cross, returning to the guard position at the same time as your legs.
• Rear pass, rear knee: As above but this time throw the rear knee, remember to pop the hips and extend the body.

Ian and I talked about how important good technique is.  Often in our excitement we want to go hard and fast.  Maybe to impress others, maybe to try to get a good workout, maybe because this what we think combat sports are about.  But untrained hard and fast leads to injury and pain which in turn often causes technical errors and longterm incorrect technique.  Speed comes slowly, technique lasts when it has gone away.

Megaton Seminar: You don't have to be smart

Megaton had a light warm-up to start his seminar, nothing like the grueling hour we used to endure back in the old days.  We did jumping jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups.  We then did break fall practice, slapping the mat from the supine position, sitting, squatting, and standing.  We then did forward rolls, note that you roll over your lead leg, place the palm of the opposite hand on the floor, and then roll over the back of your other hand, forearm, arm, and shoulder.  We finished with backward rolls.  Whether you have a strong judo arsenal in your combat sports arsenal or not, a clear understanding of break falls and rolls is critical for your development.

Throws

• Seonagi: Your opponent has a single same side lapel grip.  Reach superiorly to their grip, and secure the ipsilateral lapel.  Pull medially across your body to make your opponent step laterally, as they do meet them by turning into them. Simultaneously place your cubital fossa into their axilla, fist up palm toward in-line with their shoulder, your feet squaring with them and pointed in the same direction.  Bend forward to lift and throw them.  
• Osoto gari: Control one arm at the elbow with the other at the lapel, lift their arm and fit tightly but stepping laterally with enough room to clear your hip.  You should close with half your chest in contact with half theirs, pushing them backward at a 45° angle, anchoring them to this leg.  Reap with a bent leg, by acting like a "dippy bird", chest coming down as leg comes up.
• Hopping variation of osoto gari: If the leg you wish to reap is positioned posteriorly, reach your leg reap leg forward, hooking your heel behind their knee.  Now hop forward as this leg pulls toward you, your will reap them as your body moves forward and the leg pulls posteriorly.
• Twist sweep: With lapel and opposite elbow control, close with your opponent, lateral chest to lateral chest on the elbow control side.  As you do push their elbow backward as you pull their lapel, your objective is to twist them.  This twist should provoke them to step on the lapel control side.  Block their step with the dorsal surface of your foot.  The twist and sweep all occur simultaneously, you are not kicking their leg, they are kicking your foot because they are provoked to step.

Suicide chokes

• Cross collar and triceps control:  From a neutral kneeling postion, obtain cross collar control and pull forward, looping your arm over their head with the lapel across their neck.  Now dive your head underneath them on the side you are gripping, attempt to get your head to the opposite side as you turn over.  Cup their triceps on the side opposite your lapel grip.  If they roll to escape simply follow them by rolling with them, when you reach a prone position, hip switch to obtain a perpendicular position to your opponent, release the triceps, put your palm on the floor and slide your hand away from you, increasing the wedge height behind their head.  Start with a loose grip on the kimono lapel, too tight and you will run out of room putting undue pressure on your wrist.  Also when you hip switch, move away a little to tighten the choke.
• Suicide mata leao: From the same neutral kneeling position, your pull forward with the cross collar grip, but they post their hand on this side on the mat.  Continue to loop their head, but this time underhook their posted arm and place the hand on the back of their skull.  Dive your head lateral to their posted arm to cinch the choke.

4-Points reversals

You are in the four points position, with our opponent hugging your from the top, parallel with you.

• Hip out:  Grip their opposite pant leg at the knee, step out the leg on this side laterally.  Throw your free elbow up and back, simultaneously drive your head laterally and up, sliding along your opponent's body.  As soon as you are clear, turn the corner to obtain rear hip control.
• Roll to arm lock: Grip their opposite sleeve, to block their post.  On the side opposite their controlled sleeve, step your leg out laterally to facilitate a barrel roll in the direction they cannot post.  Once they are on their back, wrap your free arm around the limb you have a grip on, proximal to their elbow, securing the figure-4 and locking the elbow.
• Pulling guard:  Step the leg up on the outside of your opponent's body, simultaneously popping your head out on the opposite side, sit back, pulling them to the guard.

Wrapping Up

Brabo choke from guard: From the closed guard, free the kimono and feed it over their back to the opposite side, cross grip the distal piece of the passed kimono, and bring your forearm close to your opponent's body.  Now pull your opponent's arm (the one ipsilateral to the manipulated kimono) across your body.  Re-guard into a high closed guard, keeping their dragged arm's elbow against your torso, to tighten the choke.

Transition to arm bar:  If your opponent ducks under the passed kimono to avoid the choke, use the kimono to wrap their arm, then pull their arm across your body.  Drop your forearm across theirs to keep the wrapped arm trapped.  Now use your free hand to reach across to grab the shoulder fold of their kimono to spin to the arm bar.

Spider guard to X-guard sweep

From the spider guard, switch to a De La Riva hook, cup the ankle on this side, use your other leg to push their rear leg back.  Undo the De La Riva hook and set-up the X-guard, by bring this foot into their far hip, with your knee now behind their cupped leg.  Your other foot now goes behind their far knee.  Pass the arm sleeve of their rear leg to the hand that was cupping their heel, making an overhook of their leg.  Extend your legs as your tilt them laterally over their trapped arm.  Come to the knee on stomach position.

Berimbolo

From seated De La Riva, cup their ankle on the hook side, and obtain the cross collar grip with your other hand.  Extend your legs and push laterally to have them fall to their posterior.  Now perform a straight roll, perpendicular to their hooked leg.  As you end up on your back, you should still be hooking the leg, your opposite leg is across their body at the hips, switch your ankle grip to their opposite ankle.  Now roll them by pulling with your leg hook and guiding their ankle.  You should end up behind them but will need to pull them/climb to get their back.  If not you can simply sprawl on their legs and pass.  If that was clear as mud, this may help:

Leg Drag Pass

From a open guard position, grip one pant leg with both hands, pressure in and then retract simultaneously pulling their leg across your body.  You want to get the posterior side of their thighs against your legs.  Keep the grip ipsilateral to their leg and move your opposite hand to grip their same side collar (your arms will cross).  Now pull yourself forward placing your head on the same side your hand is, creating an intense pressure from the tripod position

Lasso Guard

The lasso guard is set-up like a spider guard, but you control one sleeve and have their arm wrapping your shin.

• Lasso guard to oma plata:  If you chose to dive or if your opponent attempts to pass your leg, spin underneath, clear their leg and obtain the oma plata.
• Lasso guard to sweep: Rather than going all the way to the oma plata, keep your shin against their cubital fossa.  Either push on your ankle with your free foot or triangle your leg to sweep your opponent by their arm.

Tiago Alves Seminar: They can beat you. They can cut you. They can hurt you. They can never take your knowledge.

Today I went to a seminar by Tiago Alves hosted by Max Burt of Muncie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  We started with a timed jog around the abundant mat space of the gym.  Then we did mat lengths of:

• Shrimping: Use your foot and the ipsilateral shoulder to elevate the ipsilateral hip, moving it laterally and superiorly, nearly turning over.  Use the walk between the hips and the foot/shoulder to move down the mat by alternating sides.
• Forward Shrimping: Using only one foot and the ipsilateral shoulder, lift the hip on this side and move it toward the foot by bending your knee and activating the leg muscles.  Move down the floor by switching sides, again walking by using foot/shoulder and the hip.
• Shoulder Roll:  Sitting on the mat with your legs extended in front of you, roll to your shoulder by tucking your hand underneath the space between the floor and your legs made by bending your knee.  Roll shoulder to shoulder, not over your back, your feet can touch the mat if you're flexible enough.  Position yourself at a 45° degree angle to the wall so that you can roll one way then pivot 90° to roll the other.  In this fashion you can work your way down the mat.

Next we moved to partner drilling from the four points position.  The hips and upper thighs are the contact and control surfaces for you as the top player.  When the bottom partner moves you can either switch hips or you can walk.  The entire time work on dropping the hips while you move, not raising them (which at first glance seems to be needed to move), simultaneously keep the legs wide.  There is no need to "run" around your partner, simply alter the direction but not the magnitude of your pressure.  We  drilled 60 second intervals where the four points partner moves but does not try to escape while the top partner cannot grab, isolating hip and leg movement.  Then we added grips and drilled it again.  Next we covered the cases where the four points partner attempts to pull guard or to roll:

• Pulling guard: As the top player, you feel their body shift, keep your legs wide and drop your hips into your partner.  It is possible to move laterally to clear the legs, but you can end up sprawled on your partner's legs if necessary.
• Rolling: If the bottom player tries to roll, make sure that one of your hips is placed on their sacrum and use the ipsilateral arm to hook your elbow anteriorly to their hip.  Then turn this corner, allowing the bottom player to land supine, while the top player secures side mount.

We drilled this in 30 second sets either "slow" or "fast".

After getting the movement of the four points position we moved onto technique for offense from the top:

• Defend the roll, one hand lapel choke from the back: From the four points position, you as the top player secures your partner's contralateral lapel while placing your palm on the proximal part of your partner's near triceps (don't grab).  The bottom partner wraps the arm gripping their lapel and attempts to roll laterally.  Move with the roll, sprawling on your partners legs, then clearing them by moving further in the same direction. Your knee should end up in their popliteal fossa.  Use the free hand to grab the contralateral collar, across your opponent's anterior neck.  Move the contralateral knee (the one on the "rolled" side) superiorly up near your opponents shoulder, placing it on the mat.    Now roll to the mat on this side, pulling with the hand across their neck.  You will end up on your back, re-grab their forearm with your "trapped" arm, use the leg ipsilateral to your choking hand to overhook their shoulder and proximal arm to finish the choke.
• Defend the roll, 180° roll to the one hand lapel choke from the back: From the four points, in the top position you again have secured the contralateral lapel and your partner on the bottom again attempts to roll.  However they feel your weight shift and recover, this recovery should relatively open the neck.  Secure a cross lapel grip with your free hand, anterior to their neck.  Release the original grip you hand and clasp their forearm on this side.  Now roll sideways, placing your shoulder over their posterior neck and pull them with you, somersaulting them .  You pull with the arm controlled side to allow their ipsilateral hip to cover your ankle, while your other leg overbooks the shoulder and proximal arm.  Use this to finish your choke.

Then from the bottom of the four points position we built and chained the following together:

• Sit reversal:  From the four points position you circle towards your partner as if to grab their far leg.  Simultaneously kick the leg adjacent to them ceiling ward (you may have to kick more than once).  The kick rotates and moves your body so that the top players ends up sliding from your hip to the middle of your torso.  Remain propped on the elbow furthest from your partner and sit your far knee and shin next to your partner, the other extends across the mat.  Using a rear elbow motion to to pull them laterally over your proximal legs and hips.
• Taking the back:  If your partner defends your reversal by stopping their momentum with their lapel gripping hand by switching it to the mat. Simply use your top leg to overhook their near calf,  remain propped on your elbow and pull your other arm tight to your body in the space between you and your partner. Grab their far hip at the belt line
• Reversal from the whizzer: Your opponent whizzers the arm your freed and placed across your opponent's belt line.  Take your far leg and place the proximal part of the foot, into their popliteal fossa.  Now roll laterally and extend your hook reversing them to their back.  Now if they turn over to four points you can start from the beginning.

After the work from the four points we turned to the guard

• Pump handle single leg with pass to kimura:  Your partner is posted with one knee up, you have control of both sleeves with your foot in the the hip opposite from the one posted up.  Your free leg acts as pendulum to get you sitting up and moving your base laterally in the direction of and around the posted leg.  Now feed the arm from the unposted side under the posted leg and grab the sleeve with the contralateral arm.  Remove the foot from their hip and hook their leg.  Now put your head just medial to their shoulder and sit up,  you can cup their posterior knee with your free hand, in order to do a single to double leg from the ground.  Now pin their bottom leg with the hand holding the passed arm.  Start circling toward their open side, following the "pump handle" arm to its origin.  Their free leg can stay betwixt your legs until it gets to be hip height.  Now slide over it, placing your inferior knee to their hip.  Now transition further, circling their head.  Use your free hand to undertook their arm posteriorly, release your sleeve control hand to secure kimura.
• Koala guard to 50-50 60-40 guard:  You have the same set-up as above but after you have secured the grip on the passed arm, your partner stands.  Use your free hand to grab the skirt near the butt. Put the foot posterior to them at the anterior side of their hip.  Use this foot and the skirt grip to rotate your head to be lateral to their far leg.  Pike up and secure a triangle over this leg and the arm, with medial leg (the one placed in their hip) passing anteriorly to their arm and this foot extended laterally from their body and posteriorly to your other leg (i.e. medial leg forms two parts of the triangle).  Sweep them backward by flexing your leg and extending your hips.  You are now in 50-50 guard but in reality its more like 60-40 since you have them more controlled than they do you.
• 50-50 guard pass to ezekiel choke and arm bar: From the 50-50 guard lay supine, clear their triangled leg by passing the hand lateral to them posterior to their heel, cupping it and moving it laterally.  Place the lateral leg knee in their popliteal fossa and then bring your other (medial leg) shin behind their thigh by pulling your knee to your chest.  Now clear their leg in the opposite direction as you come to your knees, pushing them onto their side facing away from you.  Bring your inferior arm medial to their upper arm and to their contralateral neck, place the shin of your inferior leg into their back.  Ezekiel choke by using this hand to grab the sleeve of your opposite arm.  If they have strong neck, keep your inferior arm wrapping their neck and use the other hand to scoop up their arm nearest the mat.  Move your superior leg over their head and sit for back for arm bar.
• Koala guard to taking the back:  Should they free their gripped sleeve while going for your 50-50 set-up, simply place both of your shins into their popliteal fossa, pull on the skirt to gain access more gi and belt.  Now make them squat as your kick both shins forward to obtain rear mount.  Seat belt grip to control while getting hooks.  Tiago grabs his fingers and places his seatbelt higher and nearer the neck than I am do, so I will try this as well.

Front Row: Your humble blogger, Tiago Alves, and newly promoted faixa preta Max Burt

Balance thyself, unbalance thy opponent

Another day of upgrading my striking software.  I know I need to relax, my body just hasn't agreed yet.  I am cognizant of my new first commandment: "Balance thyself, unbalance thy opponent."  I'm just not sure I can apply it.  Again when side stepping, the head moves over the moving leg, like a normal step, just laterally and rotating.

We reviewed the walking knees.  With a lead leg half-step, land on the ball of the foot, the rear knee goes straight forward as you extend your base leg and open the chest.  The knee drives forward, made sharp by the flexion of trying to get your calf to your thigh, the foot angles laterally to drive the knee midline.  A fluid, seamless, hip thrust finishes the knee.  In order to maximize precision, the hands simultaneously turn an invisible steering wheel toward the thrown knee side.

Ian then showed some clinch knee technique.  From a wrestling tie up, throw three curve knees, then pummel inside to plum.  Drop step backward, and simultaneous snap the head.  Throw a straight knee.  If they are strong, i.e. you are unable to pull toward you, push the side of the head, perpendicular to your original pull, re-establish plum and drop step pulling them in the same direction.

Plum defense, reach one hand lateral to their clinch and grab the neck, pull the this arm as you twist this shoulder toward your opponent.  Now, trip them over your leg on this same side.  This can be drilled in knee sparring, with one opponent simply using the shoulder twist to defend and counter, keeping their hands behind their back.  You can use the fist to hold by placing the glove knuckle behind the head on the opposite side.

Back'n Wrap

I was playing with wrapping the kimono around my opponent's arm the other day and two possibilities appeared.  Now they need some refinement but here's what I've got for now:

• From the guard, after wrapping the arm and attempting to pull it across for the armbar your opponent resists by pulling their arm back toward their body.  Adjust your wrap to further encircle the arm, then assist their motion and push their arm to the body, then set-up the triangle over the manipulated arm and switch to the opposite triangle.
• Again from the guard, wrap their arm, and pull for the cross arm lock.  If they defend, pass the gripped part of their kimono to your other hand, which has either gone behind their head or (if you have excessively long arms like me) their back via their opposite axilla.  Now post with your free hand and look for rear mount as you rotate them by pulling on their kimono.  If you have passed the kimono to the arm encircling your head you can choke them with their kimono by sliding your newly freed hand down your forearm on the side most proximal to your opponent.

Unathleticism

Your martial art, technique, and style should work for everyone regardless of strength, speed, stamina, size, or any other attribute. Intensive study of your martial art should refine technique, increasing your ability to defeat people of superior attributes.  Better attributes, i.e. better athletes, will obviously have better success, so the development of attributes is important but does not exclude improving technically.  The exclusion of skill for strength is as futile as thinking strength is not part of skill.

Today I worked on relaxing.  Which I think I do, but apparently I don't.  Ian and I worked on throwing the jab, without cocking but allowing the lead foot and hand to simultaneously land.  It is important to step without trying to jump off the rear foot.  And don't push, don't try to hit hard, just flick the hand out there as fast as it can, without trying to move it fast.

We worked two combination set-ups:

1. Jab-rear body kick/Jab-fake rear kick-lead kick: Short step "range finding" jab, then step laterally to throw the rear body kick.  Your partner catches and leg covers.  After this set-up, repeat the jab, then roll the rear knee medially, "showing the rear hip" to fake the kick.  Step the rear leg laterally to throw the lead kick to the body.
2. Jab-rear body kick/Jab-fake rear kick-cross-rear kick: Same set-up as above, but this time on the rear kick fake lift the knee, rotate the knee medially and rotate the rear shoulder through to throw the cross.  Then put the foot down to throw the rear kick.

This is the "Superman punch" but without leaping forward.  The advantage is that it is still a fake, but doesn't make you overcommit or get off balance.

We also worked some kicks, particularly obtaining height without sacrificing balance or speed.  A small lateral step is needed to permit hip rotation.  The knee rises to point at the target you wish to hit.  Rise up on the balls of the feet as the hips turn over, whipping the leg into the target.  Then recover rolling the base leg foot back to the mat and landing with the ball of the foot of the kicking leg in the rear position.

I throw elbows until the skin comes off

Some late notes on elbows.  I had my muay thai private earlier this week but one has to do the things that pay the bills before doing the things we do for thrills.  Not that writing notes is thrilling but it certainly helps me remember.

We used a short stepping jab followed by a longer stepping rear elbow.  So the first step is short just to get us to range, while the follow-up elbow is based on the feel of the opponent.  The second step, should bring your lead foot parallel with your opponent's lead foot.  Simultaneously the shoulders and hips rotate to deliver the horizontal elbow.  It should turn over, whipping the bony tip of the elbow into the bag, your fist ending up next to your chin on the opposite side, as if you had a sudden itch on your shoulder.  Your opposite arm covers your head.  Recover rapidly to your original stance.

The jab same side horizontal elbow uses the same short stepping jab, but this time partially retract the jab hand, and step your lead foot parallel to your opponent's lead, but midline.  You are essentially lengthening and narrowing your stance.  Simultaneously rotate your shoulders whipping the tip of the elbow into the bag and recover.

The stepping is important to deliver the short range of the elbow to the target.  It is key that the elbow rotate into the bag, avoid forearm smashing instead deliver a maximal amount of force to a minimal amount of surface area.

Next, in a display of saintly trust, Ian let me throw elbows at him.  We worked two scenarios, off the soft and hard cover off the jab.  If your opponent is relaxed you will punch into a pillow, after the next jab, roll your lead hand around his wrist and pull, ripping his structure from his head, and throw the same elbow.  If he is resistant and bounces off your jab, then throw another jab, roll around his wrist and pull him to your centerline as you half twist to drive in the elbow.

Last we tied up, wrestler style.  Use a small drop step and a sudden jerk of your nearest/rear hand to pull him sideways, then rapidly deliver the rear horizontal elbow to the temple with a counter twist.