Beyond honing your execution of technique to the highest level possible, you must also develop a deep understanding of strategy.
In any situation, your opponent has ideal responses from their point of view.
You have to expect them to choose their best course of action. And if you pay attention, you’ll be able to not only recognize how they’ll respond but also punish them for doing the right thing.
Then as you expand your understanding of their counters and how to destroy them, your skill will also make massive leaps forward. And just from me to you, this way of exploring the art is just FUN.
I’m going back through all the techniques I know with that intent in mind. And I’m going to share some of the sequences with you, starting with this one from closed guard.
Closed Guard Lapel Offensive Series
The first fight in closed guard is always breaking posture. That MUST be done before you can open up the vast majority of your attacks.
That’s why you’ll see one method of doing that when they’re framing against your hips in the video. But I encourage you to expand your tools in that area and learn how to use your hips to assist you.
That small thing will do a lot to make your closed guard more dangerous.
Now in this sequence, the goal is to create a funnel where each attack pulls them deeper into the depths of danger. It starts with getting the lapel out, and then things progress from that point.
You’ll also notice that the individual tools are basic. It’s a triangle choke, cross choke, armbar and brabo choke. And those aren’t even the limit of what you can do.
Be creative.
Play with it.
And if you have success with it, let me know. I want to hear about your success.