A deep half micro battle

  • January 30, 2018

Years ago, one of my training partners (a fellow player of the deep half gyard), made a catastrophic blunder and paid for it.

Yup, he ended up getting cross choked to the edge of oblivion.

Why?

It’s because he lost the crucial micro battle for head position and angle in the position. He allowed his opponent to flatten him out, and that situation is fraught with peril, as he discovered.

The back of his head should have been firmly connected to his opponent’s thigh and he should have been on his side.

But there is a moment in the transition to the position where creating that ideal condition can be taken out of a person’s hand.

That’s where the micro battle truly flares up.

One small hand placement in the middle of the transition can slaughter the structure of the position and create a clear path to the pass.

It’s interesting stuff.

And by tomorrow, a breakdown on the principles behind its execution will be loaded up to micro adjustments.

Grab it here soon:

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Snatching the underhook away from bottom side control

  • January 26, 2018

This whole week, I’ve been teaching classes exclusively focused on escaping from absolutely horrible positions on the bottom.

And last night, I taught a defensive sequence that starts with stealing the underhook away even when the guy on top gives you almost no space at all.

Most interesting thing about it?

A concept.

And it has a connection to that word that I use oh so often. Yup. It’s a micro thing. In fact, I call them micro advantages.

Little things like grips, angles and limb positions that give you an advantage in a specific position. And when it comes to bottom side control, getting the underhook is definitely a micro advantage if you want to escape the position.

Why?

It’s because it magnifies the effect of your bridge by increasing your ability to shift your opponent out of position.

In the absence of any defensive response (and there is a ridiculously easy one), the escape is a foregone conclusion once the underhook has been outright stolen in broad daylight.

But it’s hard to steal it.

Unless…

You do one small thing.

And it’ll give you the space you need to commit robbery like a pickpocket that bumps into a person and loots their wallet without anyone noticing.

And you know what?

You can learn exactly what that tactic is with ease. I just uploaded to the tube, and it is the exact same lesson that I taught last night.

Behold:

A small grip that made all the difference

  • January 23, 2018

A few months back, two high profile matches happened almost side by side.

They weren’t at the same event, but the time between them was almost inconsequential. What was interesting about them though is that at one point the same exact situation occurred, but the outcome was totally different.

Why?

It’s because of one small difference in grip.

Yup.

That’s all.

That one grip made the difference between sliding off an omoplata like an eel lathered in oil and locking on the attack in a way that gave the opponent no opportunity to escape.

I noticed right off the back because I use that little grip too.

And I know it’s significance.

In fact, I remember learning it many years again from Jordan Schultz during a seminar when I was a purple belt. The topic was completely focused on the omoplata and the monoplata (it was kinda his thing). Several of his setups and transitions were based on the grip too.

He used it to break posture and expose the arm to attack.

I’ve realized though that it accomplishes far more than just that. In fact, in the gi, there’s NO way that I’ll go for the omoplata without it.

Here’s why:

That grip anchors me to their shoulder. They can’t pull away. As long as I have that grip, they’re mine.

It doesn’t even matter if they roll.

I’m still attached to them, and I can roll right back through to reset the attack or I could snatch up the armbar. Either way, absolutely nothing has changed. I still dominate the situation.

I had an epiphany as well.

Awhile back, I had someone in the omoplata, and the grip was set too. So all was good, but he was actively trying to escape, and I had to transition with him to keep the attack in play.

It was that moment that I noticed something.

His head was lower than mine.

So…

I did what I do. Yup. I loop choked him. It was straight vicious.

In fact, I even made a micro adjustment listen that broke down the application and concept behind the grip and a few additional offensive options that flow from it.

You know what though?

It’s on the chopping block.

In a few short days, it will be replaced with a new lesson. So if you want to grab and study it to your heart’s content, now would be the time to act.

More details can be found here with just a little innocuous click:

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Random tips for finishing the omoplata

  • January 22, 2018

A straight up ridiculous grip

  • January 21, 2018

Almost two years ago, I attended one of Renato Tavares’ seminars.

And on that day, he brought a special guest. It was a guy whose name you probably won’t know. His name isn’t often written on the web, and he’s no darling of social media.

(If you want to look him up though, his name is Fabricio “Bicudo” Medeiros. And he even has a few competition videos out there.)

I had no idea who he was when I met him.

But I was shocked, shocked when I discovered how long he’s been training. Over 30 years. Imagine that.

That’s a wealth of experience.

And I picked up something special from him on that day.

It was a grip.

Yup, just that. But it’s VICIOUS. He showed it towards the end of the seminar, during a Q&A session, when someone asked him about his favorite way to pass the closed guard.

It blew my mind.

I started playing with it right away. And when set up right, it’s just straight up ridiculous. In fact, I learned that lesson the hard way once. I remember distinctly when it happened. At the time, I had been showing it to all my training partners, and one of them actually used it against me….

First off, he broke one of the cardinal rules.

If I show you something cool, you must not, under any circumstances, use it against me (I really should write up a formal contract and make everyone sign it).

It showed me though, in no uncertain terms, how powerful the grip was though.

Why?

Because I couldn’t break it. And I tried. I TRIED. It was frustrating. And it’s hard to stop the pass once it’s set.

Lately though, I’ve been using it not only to pass but also to take the back and immediately threaten the choke. And that transition is what I plan to cover in the next micro adjustment lesson.

You can find out more about that course here:

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