Possibly violating the Geneva Convention

Today I worked on more jab counters. In this set-up you step laterally 45° off line switching to the opposite lead. Simultaneously slap their jab offline.

1. Pivot 90° to original lead and deliver cross
2. Pivot 90° to original lead and deliver rear kick to the back of their leg
3. Pivot 90° to original lead and deliver rear kick to the kidneys
   1. Step through to throw cross
   2. Step through and in to throw rear elbow
   3. Step through and throw the rear knee to the midsection
   4. Step back and use this hip torque to throw a lead kick to their midsection
   5. If they create space due to injury or trying to escape, you can pursue by stepping through to throw the kick again
4. Throw the (new) rear kick to the midsection by lengthening and pivoting
5. Throw a jabbing side kick with the (new) rear leg to the lateral side of your opponent’s knee. Then pivot 90° to original lead and deliver rear kick to the back of their leg (careful you could really jack up somebody with even mild overzealousness).

Excellent technique is obvious...in retrospect

Today I worked some elbows off my opponent’s jab. Each of these used a “draw”, that is a parry and retreat to make your opponent advanced more aggressively to land their jab.

1. Rear jab catch slide back, rear jab catch while bringing elbow parallel to the floor, step and twist to deliver the horizontal elbow. Remember to step forward and not off to the 45° angle. Stepping forward is a better representation of hitting and cutting the head, stepping at the angle makes for more sound on the pad…guess which one is better?
2. Rear jab catch slide back, lead jab catch slide back, lead jab catch downward pull, twist and deliver horizontal elbow.
3. Rear jab catch slide back, rear jab catch hook the jab hand, pull by twisting the body, pulling them into the lead upward elbow.

My First Wrestling Class*

*This title should be taken with a grain of salt. My BJJ coach, Jack McVicker, has made wrestling a part of his game and passed what he considers the highest yield on to his students. I had numerous wrestlers teach when I was chief instructor of Goshin Jitsu.

At the young age of 40, I participated in my first wrestling class. That is, a class that only did wrestling, not as part of another grappling art or mixed-martial arts training. I think I know now why wrestlers start a “little” bit younger than 40.

Penetration Step: Step forward on the heel, roll to your toes, then to your same knee. Bring your trail leg up so that the toes land parallel with your knee line. This allows for greater variability when turning the corner. Hands grasp behind the knees. Face welds to their hip.

Sprawl: Toes back, hips forward, cross face. We practiced off our partner’s penetration step, sprawling on top of them. Rotate the hip opposite their face weld into your opponent, this gives space for you to cross face from their ear to their nose to their opposite ear. Underhook on the opposite side. Remember that if their takedown folds you, it is better to reestablish the cross face then try to hold their hips.

Go Behind: From the front headlock, sprawled on your toes, cupping their chin with one hand while placing your shoulder at their proximal thoracic spine. Cup their opposite elbow, rotate away from this side, pull/lift their elbow, so that their head goes toward the mat and their arm comes away from it. Now, release their chin and place your forearm on the back of their head and the back of your hand on their triceps. Step a little forward with the foot on this side and then pivot step bringing your other leg around so that you are parallel in the same direction as your opponent. Secure grips under each arm pit.

Snap Down: Tie up behind their head and controlling their opposite biceps, push into them and then violently snap their head forward. Secure the front headlock grip on their chin. Then sprawl to pull them to the mat.

Peek Out: More optimal, less intuitive, go in the direction away from the headlock. Place the hand that is on the same side as their headlock between their legs, touching the opposite knee if possible. Bring this leg through so that it is outside and perpendicular to where it started. Your head should trace under his body, with your neck being attached to his lats. Your other arm swims, almost as if you are trying to elbow/backhand your opponent. Reverse direction to spin behind/next to your opponent and be able to take their back.

Half Sit-Out: Less optimal, go in the direction of the front headlock. Post up on the foot on the same side as the headlock, sit on the opposite thigh. With the outside hand secure your opponents elbow, with the inside secure his wrist. Now bring your head toward his centerline, essentially unwrapping the front head lock. Secure the 2-on-1 grip on their arm.

Catching kicks means using your head...just not literally

I’ve always considered myself an expert at catching kicks…I mean that I’m really good at getting kicked in the legs, liver, and head. Apparently there is a better way. Always step laterally with the kick to decrease its kinetic energy.

Overwrap catch: As you step laterally away from the kick over wrap the kick and tuck their shin into your trapezius. You can wrap at the knee or the ankle. For these variations we are doing it at the ankle.

Elbow Underwrap: Reach across your body and cup the kick pulling the kick into the ipsilateral elbow. Literally, pulling the kick into your elbow to damage their shin.

Overwrap Series Kick to Rear Leg Side:

• Pull their leg by twisting at the hips and throw a cross
• Obtain cross control of their neck with your free hand, step forward with rear leg and deliver knee opposite their kicking leg
• Obtain cross control of their neck with your free hand, step forward with rear leg and kick sweep their base leg with ipsilateral leg, simultaneously pull their head

Underwear Series Kick to Rear Leg Side

• Pull their leg and throw cross
• Pull their leg, step forward, and deliver rear up elbow
• Pull their leg across your body, step behind them, reach across their anterior body to their far shoulder, lift their leg, push backward, and kick sweep their far leg. This works best if they are leaning backward or bending their knee to defend the knee clinch.

The poetry of footwork is not well suited for words

More footwork today. When I started my lessons at Top Level Gym, I learned the slow, soothing rock step from foot to foot. A gentle rhythm of a swaying cobra, soothing unto lethality. Now, we’ve added the more aggressive darting of a mongoose. Using a 60-40/40-60 rock from lead to rear, we are bouncing in and out of range, the front leg returning to the rear but neither staying in the exact same place. Thus constantly moving getting close enough to strike and then exiting. The stance has become quantum, not static within its structure. Imaging skipping rope, with the a lead leg moving the body into and out of range.

We worked throwing two jabs, then faking the jab by shortening the lead step in, followed by a lead kick (forcing the rear leg to move with the rest of you so that you have a stable, base kicking leg).

We then switched up the two jab fake by dropping the level for a body cross, pivot stepping out at 45 degree angle throwing a hook, finished with a rear kick.

Light Bulb

So after an unholy warm-up of sets of 10 individual then rapid kicks we worked on a series of simple “same-side” combos:

• Cross-same side kick
• Same side kick-“simultaneous” cross: that is throwing the cross immediately after the kick lands with your kicking leg in the air. Formalizing what I already do sometimes when the target presents itself right after I’ve kicked
• “Superman”: Fake the kick, by lifting the knee then winging it inferiorly as you throw the cross

The idea is that is you are throwing opposite, e.g. jab-kick, the breaking of the cycle or rhythm with the cross and same-side kick will be more likely to score.

In order to make this kicking sequence more effective we worked on the step-out bounce. Previously I’ve been rocking foot to foot, but sometimes it helps to bounce foot to foot, bring in the lead foot to the base leg (think Matee’s warm-up at his seminars). Bringing the lead leg back, loads it allowing your to spring forward, switch leads to step back retreat, or to easily reset for tiip or kick.

Years ago I trained for a week in Kyoto Japan. While sparring, I had a number of folks do exactly this to me. It was incredibly frustrating because they could transition into and out of range more rapidly than I could. Having it broken down makes it more easily added to the arsenal.

I still do muay thai...really...

Today’s private lesson focused on the reaction after defending the lead kick:

• Use the rear leg cover to defend their lead kick, rather than returning the cover leg to its original position, use it to step backward and retreat. Read your opponents reaction. You may have to do this multiple times to read them appropriately.
• If they stay there, rear leg cover, return the rear kick.
• If they retreat, step with the lead kick to close, return the rear kick.
• If they are aggressive, that is step in after each kick but without punching, check the kick with the lead leg, return to your original stance as you throw the cross.
• If they step in with a cross, rear step with the kick but leave the lead foot in place (a rear slip). Use the lead hand to cup their wrist, keeping your arm parallel with the ground, pull laterally, tipping them forward into your short hook or elbow. Use the sudden twist of your hips, without turning your legs, to increase power.

Always remember to circle out when you get near the ropes to restart the process of pulling them into this game.

You don't have to push very hard, they're standing on one leg

Today I warmed up with three rounds of progressively faster:

• 1-2
• Right kick
• Left kick
• Alternating knees
• Alternating tiip

First round was at my own pace, the second had at least 20 kicks and knees, and the third at least 30, in the same time interval.

Next we worked against the fighter who is attempting to close with a knee. That is, throwing the ranged knee to close, because that is either their style or you have shut down the game elsewhere. At first you read your opponent by check hand (simply extending your lead hand to push/guide them away as you step away), jab, and tiip. As they wear down, you work into landing your shots.

Throwing their left knee, you will typically evade to your left, and vice versa.

Lead evasion

Step your lead foot off 45° and your rear foot follows shifting but not changing your stance, simultaneously your lead hand checks, followed by a rear kick or cross. Alternatively, you can step and throw a diagonal downward  lead elbow, trying to cut the eye. Your hand will tuck to your ribs.

Rear evasion

Step your rear foot through to the 45°, bring you off line but not switching your stance, throw the downward diagonal elbow with your stepping leg. Alternatively, use this hand to check, and bring your lead foot back (switching to the alternative lead), to throw the kick with your new rear leg.

A final alternative is to catch the knee and sweep, again “circling” the knee (they knee left, you step left). In the direction you are circling, this hand will push on your opponent’s chest while the other underhooks their knee. You can throw a knee to their thigh, before sweeping them backward by pushing and lifting while placing your leg behind theirs.

I used the bag to work on this, giving it a shove or a kick to move and then as it swung back toward me to work on any of the above. I would try to push to hard, and the bag would push me aside. My coach, Ian, explained that this provoked set-up was for a fighter trying to knee you, they are standing on one leg, when they do this is when you check. This necessitates less physical force, to stop and place them at range.

The Sadistic Relationship Between My Right Foot and I

Today my private muay thai lesson focused on range finding the leg kick using the pendulum action of the heavy bag.

• Warm-Up Kicking Round: Alternating leg kicks, throw the kick, return to the “loaded” lead for this kick, then step backward to load the opposite side and kick. The idea is to have a relaxed and therefore rapid pattern of kicks, as these are leg kicks remained in the hunched position and bend the leg to lower the kick line
• Warm-Up Punching Round: Jab-cross-hook in the upper line, then jab, shift the weight over the lead foot to lower the cross line, and finish with a body hook. It is important that the lead knee does not over rotate creating a target for a oblique kick to the lateral side of the knee. Keep the lead hand slightly more extended, thumb toward your, shortening the distance to the target (greater speed) without overextending and not defending the head.
• Lead hand-rear leg kick: Throw a jab, lead hook, or jab-cross-lead hook followed by a rear leg kick, adjusting your stepping to allow the kick to be thrown and land effectively, depending on the changes in range due to the swinging of the bag.
• Jab-lead leg shift cross-body hook-rear leg kick.
• Lead tiip, rear leg kick, lead push, rear leg kick. Get the heavy bag swinging, as it come toward you meet it with the tiip. Hit with the flat of the foot to stop your opponent without sending them to far backward, the target would be just medial to the iliac crest trying to lock their leg out, the foot then drops anteriorly and laterally to allow the delivery to the follow-up leg kick. The push is an extension of the lead hand catching your opponent in the chest (e.g. when the bag swings back to you), followed immediately by the rear leg kick.
• Lead step push, rear leg kick. Your opponent is attempting to clinch, extend your lead hand and step, pushing them to kick range, throw the rear kick.

Asthmatic Obscene Phone Call

Is what I sounded like after:

5 sets on each side of 10 kicks then 10 quick kicks

2 x 3 minute round of jab, right knee, right kick, right kick x2, cross, left knee, left kick, left kick x2. 10 kicks each side at the end of each round

1 x 3 minute round of jab retreat, jab cross retreat, and jab cross hook retreat

1 x 3 minute round of jab cover, jab cross cover, and jab cross hook cover

Jab-Range Find

Jab, then side step with range find twice, cross

Jab, then side step with range find twice, rear kick

Jab, then side step with range find twice, rear round knee

Lateral step to parallel, cross (kick)

Slip, upward deflection, rear round knee

Step off, grab and pull, elbow

Winter Wisdom

You have reached a new level of wisdom when you don’t remember the six pieces of wisdom preceding the piece that you have been allegedly quoted upon. So I will now attempt to reconstruct all the pieces the Joker mokuroku that I don’t actually remember ever uttering:

1. Don’t run in the snow. The cardio benefits are probably not mitigated by the potential ankle, knee, and blunt force traumatic injury of falling on your @$$.
2. Don’t leave your gear in the car all day, there is nothing more futile than trying to warm-up in a subzero jiujitsugi. Either grab your gear at home just before class or bring it into your nicely heated office (if you have one).
3. Warm the mats up. Cold mats are harder and suck to fall on.
4. Not a clue. But I want 12 Winter Wisdoms.
5. Check the weather forecast and road conditions before going to class. No amount of rolling around with sweaty dudes is worth getting stuck in the snow or in a fender bender.
6. Wear gloves from home and into class, jamming your ice cold fingers onto a frigid floor ranks up there with kidney stones and child birth in pain level.
7. Wear a hat from home and into class, cold ears have vasoconstricted blood vessels that are more likely to burst if traumatized and hence produce cauliflower ear.
8. Garage training is for the late spring, summer, and early fall.
9. Cold does not sterilize. You still need to wash your combat sports attire after each use. Anecdotally the incidence of skin infections increase over the holiday season, probably because people believe that a cold, sweat-soaked gi is magically cleaned as well as the fact that people are going home and training at the filthy gyms there.
10. The cold does not cause upper respiratory tract infections (e.g. “colds”), you need germs and people infected with them to get sick. If you are snotty, sneezing, coughing, or febrile stay away. Your training is not worth my health.
11. Bring separate (dry) shoes for training, ice in treads turns into a water hazard.
12. Remove all wet attire prior to leaving practice. The Northwind will find it. And inflict frigid pain for it.

2014 Fall Megaton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Seminar "Don't look at my eyes, look at the technique"

Counter Intuitive De La Riva Guard Pass: Free the grips, grab their ankle on the unhooked side (with either one or both hands) rapidly pop your hips forward. As your hips return to neutral, guide their leg to your opposite side (a lá the “leg drag”), slide the hooked knee to the mat. Bring the elbow on the side medial and then laterally, clearing their top thigh, then underhooking their head. Switch step your free leg across your opponents legs, insert your free hand at their hip to control. Now draw your other leg through to obtain side mount.

50-50 Guard to Straight Ankle Lock: Their distal leg should be next to your flank, overhook their ankle and grab your opposite lapel. The leg on this side is just lateral to theirs, your contralateral foot is tucked under their butt on the same side. Roll laterally, externally rotating their hip, until your are nearly face down. Now extend (don’t arch) your body to submit with the straight ankle lock

Lasso Guard Pass: Take your free hand and adduct their knees, place your shoulder on their lateral thigh, weaving your arm posterior and medial to their top leg, grab their opposite pant’s leg or bottom sleeve. Place your head on the mat next to their torso, pike up, control their lapel with your free hand, and slide your knee medially, over their bottom shin. Clear their legs with this knee. A variation would be to control their ipsilateral sleeve with your free hand, drop laterally to your hip on this side, using your sleeve and leg control from allowing them to come on top. Pull your leg free and take side mount.

Reverse De La Riva Guard Pass: Your opponent has reverse De La Riva, deny them control by grabbing their hook side, ipsilateral, lapel. Transition out to your hip and underhook their head. Free your leg.

Over-Under Guard Pass: Push one of their feet down, enter your opponents guard but they have this hook in. Overhook this leg and grab their distal pant leg, underhook their opposite thigh, keeping their hamstring on your shoulder, control their pant leg just distal to the draw string line. Place your head on this side of their stomach and walk your legs, circling toward their head. You may need to circle back to free their hook or to push it down with your lateral-most leg to step over with your other leg.

Spider Lasso Guard Sweep: Set-up lasso guard and place your other foot in the ipsilateral cubital fossa. You can perform a simple sweep by pulling them toward you and lifting either way, although I found sweeping to the lasso side more easily done.

Worm Guard Defense (before they cross the gi to the opposite side)

• Use our ipsilateral hand to reach behind you and push their leg down, step around this leg and pass it between your legs
• Pull the kimono skirt up, prying it from their grip

Worm Guard Defense (after they cross the gi to the opposite side)

• Spin and go to the mat while grabbing the foot and look for a figure four ankle lock

Oma Plata Lock In: Once you have the oma plata and are sitting up, free the skirt and obtain a good grip, drop your elbow behind there back to tighten the grip, scoot laterally to finish.

Spider Guard to Overhook X-Guard: From spider guard, scoot underneath and bring your hip control leg through their legs. Overhook his ankle on this side with your arm. Bend your knee and thread your foot back to his anterior side, placing your foot in the far inguinal area. Now if your opponent tries to step around this hook, pull him back into place by applying pressure on his arm with the foot in his cubital fossa. Now reestablish this foot behind his popliteal fossa. Pass his sleeve to your overhook hand, control the collar on the same side, Extend your legs and pull laterally, they will fall on their side.

Quarter Guard Knee Bump Sweep: From quarter guard your opponent posts to his free foot. Pass their far skirt to your top hand, giving them a “gi-string”. Your opponent grabs your bottom sleeve. Re-grab his sleeve, bump them with your top knee and come on top.

Half-Guard Half-Somersault Sweep: From Z-guard (shield guard) obtain contralateral sleeve control and ipsilateral grip on their distal pant leg on the side opposite the Z. Bump them toward the gripped leg, if they fall over come on top. If they resist pull their arm across your body, loading them on your knee, now lift them over your head with your legs and roll backwards until you are in the top half-mounted position.

Megaton talked a good deal about his approach to jiu-jitsu:

“I love to compete, I hate to lose” He talked about the importance of competing at least once in your life. He also noted that there is only winning or losing, whether by submission, points, or a single advantage it does not matter, a win is a win, a loss is not. He noted the importance of attending a rules course at least once a year.

“Train like you compete.” If you practice giving up position and points you will do it when you compete. Always grapple with the guy that gives you the most trouble. Become a black belt in a particular position and know how to get there and what happens there.

“For every action, reaction”. In the context of the game we play, we can limit that reaction to options that we have answers for. We should do what we know to do best, and expect reaction and have our own to react with.

“Jiu-jitsu is simple, we make it complicated.” We need common sense and moves that work for us, not an ever expanding lexicon that is ineffective. Do the simplest, biomechanically effective method of getting the result you desire.

Vicious Details

On the Gaussian distribution of vicious, I’m at least in the 90th percentile of humanity. I cultivate methods of hurting other human beings. But I’m an amateur compared to the likes of muay thai former world champion, Matee “Dragonleg” Jedeedpitak, as demonstrated by his seminar at Top Level Gym. Matee has an apparently inexhaustible set of ways to control and inflict damage in the ring.

We started with a light warm-up of bouncing on the balls of our feet, then translating this into stepping out on alternating sides throwing a jab-cross. We then did one sided kicks and knees.

When you slip it is a more lateral motion and slouch than boxing to avoid getting kicked or kneed. It is important to keep looking at your opponent. Recover to your original posture, slipping back and then to the angle off the cross. To warm this up we slipped our partner’s jab, then cross, then the combo jab cross.

The jab slip counters:

• Elbow: As you slip, step deeper bringing your inside elbow up, fist pointed at the floor, and rotate the shoulder to provide power. In practice, target the flat part of your proximal forearm to their chest. In a fight, consider the axilla or chin (depending on your rules).
• Hook: Whip a hook to the chin, using the second knuckle (index finger) thumb down as of you were stabbing at a 45° degree angle into their neck. It is like throwing an inverted back hand but hit with your knuckle. We subsequently drilled this with the pads, but threw it to the belly pad for safety, followed by cross-hook-cross.
• Lead Kick: As you slip, slap/check their jabbing arm at the elbow, spinning them away from you. Now from there deliver the lead kick to the ribs, no step, simply use the spring rotation of the check. It is even more important to keep your rear heel elevated to allow the pivot.
• Hop Rear Kick: Again use the slap/check, if they step away use a small hop to deliver the kick to the leg with your rear leg. It is important to note that if they are in motion Matee recommends delivering the kick to just above the knee while if they are stationary to hit the mid-thigh.
• Side clinch: Enter as if throwing the elbow, but roll the hand up to (a) either grab the neck and push on the trapped arm or (b) clinch the hands together. Step back and knee, then pivot out to knee again.
• Body clinch: Lower your level and clinch at the waist, place your leg behind their near leg, bump it and throw them over this leg.

In order to apply this concept we drilled:

• Jab slip practice: Slip the jab laterally, straight back and medially but pretend you are sparring so that the jabs come in a broken rhythm.
• Jab-cross slip practice: As above but now slipping the jab and cross.
• Jab slip counter practice: As the first drill, but now try to apply the slip counters.
• 4-strike clinching: They throw any four alternating punches and you slip them all, return two strikes to their gloves.

Lastly we worked on some clinch counters:

• Side clinch escape: Your opponent has you side clinched. Drop your weight by bending your knees and post on their hip with your lateral hand. Lean laterally and lift your medial (formerly trapped) arm up and back (think backstroke) to escape.
• Face push clinch defense counter: You have the plum position and your opponent is pushing on your face. Look to your strong side and snap your opponent toward you (down if they are taller) as you lift the elbow on this side. Pummel your head to their triceps.
• Side clinch forearm insertion counter: Your opponent defends the slide clinch by placing a forearm in your neck, rotate your shoulder (catch their elbow between your pectorals and deltoid) and pass their frame, step behind them.

Of course Matee stressed relaxing, but also pointed out that anticipation and nervousness did not make things better. He points out not forcing your counters but having them as options depending on the rhythm of the fight.

Eddie Bravo Jiu-Jitsu for Mixed-Martial Arts Seminar

“I’m not that flexible. I just use my flexibility all the time” — Eddie Bravo

I have had limited exposure to Eddie Bravo’s variant of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, basically from reading his book Jiu-Jitsu Unleashed, intermittent clips by his students covering miscellaneous techniques, from Joe Rogan’s commentating of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and mostly the unflattering attempted application by training partners who have limited knowledge obtained in an even less systematic way. That’s a long way of saying that I had an ambivalent to negative view of 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu. But if it didn’t work, why have I continued to hear about it for the past 10+ years? Things that don’t work in applied martial arts do not flourish, they wither and die. So when a friend of mine messaged me about an Eddie Bravo seminar at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu Indianapolis, I decided to be scientific about my opinion and check it out.

Eddie is an excellent instructor, he’s passionate about jiu-jitsu, explains and demonstrates well, and breaks some fairly complex stuff into digestible chunks. Occasionally he calls out what each side does, drill sergeant style, other times he has you work on your own. And yes each position and submission has a name. I’m not sure I caught them all. His jiu-jitsu is different, an addition for doing jiu-jitsu when neither you nor your opponent is wearing a gi, but it is not so radically different that someone like me, who has trained for a quite some time couldn’t pick-up the “pathway” he was elucidating.

I’ve been focusing on grips and grip fighting for the past few months, from my observations today the 10th Planet System allows you to have grips where normally there isn’t anything to grip. Eddie’s pathways are a method to prune your opponent’s decision tree.

Today’s seminar worked on grappling for MMA. We started from the butterfly guard with the over-under control of your partner’s arms (Cocoon). You could simply butterfly sweep but instead. break your opponent’s posture and pull them with you to the mat, free the foot hook on the overhook side and bring this calf up across your opponents shoulders. Your underhook hand grabs your ankle on the lateral side of your leg, palm facing you (Jersey because it’s close to New York the same position from the closed guard). Attempt to bring your knee and heel together. Free your overhook and grab his contralateral axilla, bringing your forearm superiorly to your shin. Release your grip on your shin and place a C-collar with this free hand in their cubital fossa (Meathook).

From the Meathook you could replace your C-collar with wrist control and free the leg underneath your opponent to set up the triangle, by sliding this leg inferiorly to your leg across their shoulders, and then cinching it behind this knee as it transitions back to parallel with your opponent’s body.

If they attempt to control your leg with their free hand, i.e. preventing the C-collar control, instead place your free hand on their pectoral, free your Meathook and grab your foot. Lift it over their head allowing it to land on the shelf formed by your forearm. Release your foot and S-grip behind their head, your former Meathook hand superior to your shin and your shelf hand inferiorly. Figure four your legs a lá an “air triangle” to finish the Gogoclinch.

• If you can get “deeper” either due to the size of your opponent or latent flexibility, consider a Gable grip, including your knee inside the circumference of your arms, or even applying a D’arce choke including your own leg

• If your opponent disrupts or prevents your leg figure four, simply go for gogoplata by grabbing your foot with the same side hand, scissoring their neck between your forearm/wrist and shin.

• If they defend the gogoplata by grabbing your foot, peel it off with your free hand and reapply or use this to set-up your Gogoclinch but now with your foot hooked into their axilla on this side (Hazelett). Now take the hand that would have been applying the gogoplata and grab the wrist of their free hand, abduct your knee of your bent leg to flatten them, preventing them from rolling. You can do a one handed kimura by attempting to push this hand to back of their head.

• If they post up on their leg, you can hook the free foot of your Gogoclinch in their popliteal fossa and then rather than grabbing their wrist grab their ankle on this side (Hazelip). You can again apply the one handed kimura as above.

• If you end up in the Gogoclinch and your free leg is superior to their shoulders drop your calf across their posterior neck, grab this ankle and pull down to submit (Double Bag).

If your opponent defends the Gogoclinch position and gogoplata by dropping their head to the mat, prop yourself on your elbow and place your gogoplata foot flat on the floor next to their head. Grab their chin with your free hand. Now transition up to your other knee, pushing into your opponent and rolling them laterally. If they post, switch the angle and push over their shoulder and head. They will roll to their back and you will be seated perpendicularly to them. You can control their far wrist and reapply the gogoplata with your other hand.

• You can apply a shoulder separator by creating a loose triangle, putting your free foot in his axilla and extend as you grab his free wrist and pull.

• If this is unsuccessful, free your foot from the axilla and lift it over his head and arm. Now lift his straight arm against the popliteal fossa to arm bar. 

• Lastly you can return to the loose seated triangle and attack his trapped arm by hooking the elbow with your forearm and locking it out (Monoplata).

The Cocoon is the “golden clinch” it is an optimal place to set-up this game, most people will not give it to you. One method to do this is to allow your opponent to get to the half-guard. Overhook their arm on the same side as you have their leg with your straight arm controlling their free knee (Pimp Hand). To keep them from advancing, bring your lateral leg superiorly to their trapped leg and triangle it with the medial leg, which then hooks your foot inferior to their ankle (Lockdown). Now insert your hook laterally to their thigh and bend the medial leg superiorly to their leg, clamping it between your legs (Stomp). Your opponent will pinch their knees together to prevent you from going back to butterfly, so start kicking/wiggling the medial leg to free it (Mermaid). You can now return to hooks inside but in the Cocoon position, if your opponent doesn’t limp arm out.

Next we worked from the Z-Guard with our opponent throwing blows (opened handed slaps). Free the top leg, removing the support of your knee from their chest, by shooting it wide while diving your head to their stomach. Grip around their waist with an S-grip, the arm anteriorly tight to your body, they will wi. Pull them forward, professionally overhook their near leg with the leg you initially freed and transition your other leg laterally, using your shoulder and head to post. Now drive into them to put them on their back.

 

Above Garage Door Grappling Mat Storage Rack

As someone who feels that martial arts training is an important part of their life, it is inevitable that some sort of home gym set-up occurs. I had grown tired of the climatological extremes of garage training at our old place so I had not pursued it at our new home. However with available training partners only a few blocks away, I felt that it was a good time to have a midlife training crisis and supplement with some garage rolling.  Unfortunately although my garage is advertised as a two-car garage, it really only feels like a car and a half.  There is very little room for storage, particularly something as bulky and space consuming as mats. The next house we get will have a finished basement.

I did some investigation on the internet and found this interesting article on the Family Handyman. I wanted something like a shelf but the idea of using rollers to assist with storing the mats appealed to me. A friend of mine had some solid (non-folding) mats he was interested in getting rid of, they measure 3’ 6” by 6’ 6” and weigh approximately 50 lbs, so this needed to be a sturdy arrangement. I decided on using three rollers based on six foot 5/8” threaded rods, with 5’ PVC as the roller.

Mounting bracket (upside down) constructed from 14" 2” x 4” with two 5” corner braces bolted on with three 1/4-20 x 2 1/2” machine bolts. SAE 1/4” washers were used on both sides. The hole at the “top” is 5/8” to accommodate the six foot 5/8” threaded rod used in the roller assembly.

The mats I have are 6’ 6”, so I placed the brackets every other ceiling stud thereby spanning approximately 5’ 6”. Originally I tried placing the rollers as near the outer wall as possible, but the garage door would impact the mounting brackets as it turned from vertical to horizontal, so I moved it in one ceiling stud in and had no clearance trouble.  I measured the opposite mounting bracket position with an assembled roller and confirmed that the bracket would be mounted into the ceiling stud with a stud finder.

I used six #14 x 2 1/2” wood screws into the ceiling stud to mount each of my constructed mounting brackets.

Next I made a 5/8” hole in another 2” x 4” and mounted it on the end of the threaded rod to line the mounting bracket furthest from the garage door. Using this “straightedge” and a stud finder I positioned the mounting bracket. Once mounted I measured and trimmed the connecting 2” x 4”. I did the same thing on the opposite side but confirmed my position with a roller assembly before fastening the opposite mounting bracket. I then attached the connecting 2” x 4”s to the threaded rod.

At this point I weight tested the assembly with my own (not inconsiderable) bodyweight. Nothing moved, nothing broke, and nothing sounded like it was going to give.

Using the connecting 2” x 4” and a stud finder I fastened the middle mounting brackets. Then I bored out the 5/8” hole for the threaded rod in the connecting 2” x 4” on both sides. I assembled the inner hardware of one side and the PVC pipe of the roller, and slid it through the inside holes nearest the wall. It was slid far enough to allow the opposite end to clear the mounting bracket on the opposite side and then I slid it into the mounting bracket hole after placing washers and inside nut. I then tapped the rod into place gently with a mallet, adjusting the nuts on both sides to allow equal amounts of the threaded rod to be seen bilaterally projecting.

A roller assembly is a nut, locking washer, flat washer, connecting 2” x 4”, mounting bracket, flat washer, locking washer, nut, 5’ of PVC pipe, nut, locking washer, flat washer, mounting bracket, connecting 2” x 4”, flat washer, locking washer, nut.

All told this project took me between 6-8 hours including hardware shopping time. But I’m a pretty poor excuse for a carpenter.

Empty, finished mat rack with garage door closed

Empty, finished mat rack with garage door open

Loaded mat rack

Physics of Disdain

“I hate losing more than I even wanna win.” — Billy Beane, Moneyball

I am secure in my knowledge that I’m pretty good at jiu-jitsu, but I’m also very aware that I can only get better while being one injury away from never getting on the mats again.  Ultimately my goal is to be able to blow through anyone on the planet and submit them at will. Realistic, no. Inspiring, yes. Recently I’ve been less than happy with my ability to pass the guard (not that I’m thrilled about my ability to play guard) so I’ve been watching the best and thinking about the rest. Part of my conceptual thinking was inspired (stolen) from Jeff Serafin’s Art of Uncomfortable guard passing concepts and the Mendes Brother’s Leg Drag.

Fighting is essentially trying to get ahead and if you are ahead, staying there. In combat sports that has to be done within the rules of game. For example, get grips first, if you’re not first, get a better grip than your opponent.  When I pass, for whatever reason, I am often faced with an open or spider guard.  I’m not light and I’m longed limbed so it is difficult to contain me in a closed guard, passing on the ground while certainly feasible does leave a certain amount of space for opponents to re-capitalize given my length of limb and spaces it provides. This is a long way of saying, I often finding myself standing and trying to pass the open guard.  I’ve been watching how Rodolfo Vieira passes and it has been inspiring, BJJ Scout has an excellent analysis of this:

When I first watched Professor Vieira pass, it seemed to me as if he had nothing but disdain for his opponents guard. It would have been called cocky if it didn’t work.  The key that I noticed, which is true for all top competitors, is that they do what they do not regardless of their opponent but because it prunes the decision tree of possible actions by their opponent.  The open and spider guard work by getting the legs at a 45° angle with the floor, this provides the maximal amount of force against your opponent with your feet having the greatest amount of friction. Vieira destroys this by changing the angle reducing the efficacy of his opponent’s legs and the ability to control the open guard with their feet.  He increases the angle by advancing, contemptuously appearing to walking into the guard. By driving in, dropping and then lifting the hips, your opponents feet are displace upward, they lose contact with your arms or hips.

Obviously I try to get a good grip on their pant legs to help facilitate good posture and re-positioning of their legs as I glacially displace their open guard. Either I grab first, or break their grips to get there. Sometimes simply to slow them down, I step in first and then break the grips, if I’m a step or two behind.  It is important not to hunker over your opponent but to try to lift their hips off the mat as you approach.

My first iteration was the “horse stance” I ended up moving in but with my feet parallel and both within reach of my opponent.  While this was effective it is is limited because they can bump you backward and have a choice of legs to snare.  Remember that you are trying to get them off-balance and defensive, no trying to climb on top of them, you climb on top of someone and you will be swept.  You will notice, as BJJ Scout points out, inserting a knee either inside or outside their knee is a more effective way of breaking them down.  So my second iteration was to try to control the pant leg and drive my knee on the medial side of theirs, bending and abducting their leg laterally.  Do not allow them to hook inside. A third variation is step slightly laterally and pull their leg in the contralateral direction, placing your opposite knee on the lateral side of theirs, bending it medially and adducting it, into a leg drag-esque position.

From the medial knee insertion, you can start to pass by knee slide, by “hiking” their opposite leg through your own, or switching to a leg drag. From the lateral knee insertion you can practically drop into the side mount from there, if they turn back fast enough you can drop into their half-guard and pass from there (after getting your advantage for placing their shoulders on the mat).  You will also notice that Vieira switches directions, so drive for your pass but if it’s not working try passing on the other side by switching to another pass, e.g. “hike” to one side, knee slide to the other.  One thing that I found effective, when I couldn’t hip lift in well enough was to grab both legs and toreador pass, they’re fighting your pressure so much that their legs are easily extend and get stapled to the mat.

Attention to this concept will make you do something else: when you play open guard you will not want them to do this to you, so you will get good grips and stretch them out, making sure their posture is something their mothers would bemoan.

D-FENS

If they catch your kick:

• Your kicking leg foot dorsiflexes, then bend your knee pulling your opponent to you. Grab their neck with the ipsilateral hand, your contralateral hand can control their free arm biceps. Place downward pressure at 45° across their hip line. If necessary push their head toward the floor, turn through and pull your leg out (as if finishing the turn of the kick).
• Recoil your kick leg by turning the knee laterally, this rotates the foot in front of them.  Tiip them away.

If they get double underhooks #1:

• Place knee on there abdomen just inferior to the umbilical line, your foot should hook medially to their knee. Create space to inset the ipsilateral hand in plum clinch and use pressure with your forearm to create space. Pop your hips back to break their grip, overhook with your free hand and load your wedge knee to throw it.  If your opponent reaches for your leg while the “hook” is in, elbow him to the head.

If they get double underhooks #2:

• Drop your weight and put your hands on your opponents hips.  Place the back of your head on the side of theirs, step laterally to this side and drive their head toward the floor.  Overhook in the side closest to them, rotate your body away to insert your other hand on the side of their face and drop step this leg, to set-up a lunging side clinch position.  Keep your weight on them but at the range of your extended arm. If they stay, knee to the head.  If they stand-up let them go. If they rise, go with them and throw the head kick. If they try to rotate away from you, step in a kibadachi (horse stance) behind them, placing your leg midway between theirs.  Now calf raise on this side, displacing their legs as your upper body turns, dumping them backwards over your leg.

Flick, Interception, and Chasing Kicks

After an unintentional several week hiatus due to professional and personal commitments, I got to do a muay thai lesson today! We worked on kicking combinations after leg cover.  This is in defense of a kick to the medial side of your lead leg.  Your lead leg elevates and crosses diagonally to meet their shin perpendicularly.

• Lead leg cover, step back to the opposite stance and then step back again to regain your original lead, creating distance to allow for interception.  As your opponent steps forward dropping their weight to throw another leg kick, shift your weight onto your rear leg, straightening and rising, as you drive your lead knee upward towards your opponents neck, turn it over to flick a quick kick to their head as they duck in to kick.  Do not step with your base foot!  Recover by bringing the kick back, opposite stance, then rear step to your original lead.
• Lead leg cover, step back to the opposite stance and then step back again to regain your original lead, creating distance to allow for interception.  Your opponent remains tall on their second kick, again leg check, switch step off the 45° with a slight step forward to throw the kick.  As you switch step your kicking leg arm rises to head level.  Recover by bringing the kick back, opposite stance, then rear step to your original lead.
• As your opponent engages, throw a stopping tiip, from here switch step off the 45° with a slight step forward to throw the kick.  Again lift your “kicking” arm on the switch step.  Recover by bringing the kick back, opposite stance, then rear step to your original lead.
• As your opponent engages, throw a push tiip, making them step back.  Drop your kick leg to step, letting your body pivot toward this side to load the kick from this side, throw the kick.  Again, recover by bringing the kick back, opposite stance, then rear step to your original lead.

And a personal note: my lead hand does not need to move to leg cover.

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.