Failure was an absolute certainty

  • November 28, 2017

Recently, I started re-reading Mindset by Carol Dweck.

It’s one of my favorite books in the world, and I consider it to be required reading for anyone who is serious about excelling in anything. In fact, I would even rank it significantly above the Inner Game of Tennis, which is a damn fine book as well.

Anyway, in Mindset, the first story told is of her experience studying how kids cope with failure.

To do that, she brought kids one at a time to a room in their school, made them comfortable, and then gave them a series of puzzles to solve.

At first, each puzzle was easy, but progressively, they became more and more difficult, until failure was an absolute certainty. Some kids shocked her though. When faced with failure, they got excited.

It was the strangest thing.

The challenge and the opportunity to learn fired them up, and that experience was the spark that led her down a path of further study into the role that mindset plays in achieving success in all endeavors.

Now why does any of this matter?

Well, it got me to thinking about how my experiences with failure have shaped my skill development. In fact, I asked myself this question:

If I could erase every time I’ve failed on the mat or in competition from existence, and leave only my successes, would I be better or worst than I am right now?

Of course that’s a hard question to answer, but my first inclination is an emphatic no.

Failure has often led me to make vital adjustments. And without it, I just don’t see how creativity is possible. Trial and error is one of the life’s best teachers for a reason.

Case in point:

Many years ago, at Evolve (my original academy), there was wrestler that we all called Smiddy. He had a ridiculous overhook in top half guard, and he loved to break you down with it then snap a guillotine on you lightning quick.

For the most part, I’ve survive through most of the choke attempts, but that overhook was lethal. It put all kinds of pressure on my arm, and at some points, I was just mere inches away from getting armbarred.

Then I made an adjustment.

I started driving my shoulder into his armpit and shooting the underhook deeper. It reduced the pressure in an instant and made the position comfortable for me again.

From there, I could attack.

That whole shoulder drive is a detail that I haven’t yet broken down in half guard trickery (otherwise known as the institute of higher half gyard learning) but it will be explored soon.

And more crucial details can already be found inside.

So if half is your kind of game, go here:

[btnsx id=”6774″]

Lesson learned from playing on the bad side

  • November 27, 2017

Over the last few days, I’ve been making a conscious effort to drill and play half guard on my bad side.

As a result, I’ve had a revelation about the mechanics of the tilt.

I realized that there was a way to magnify the force generated in the sweep. One that I simply hadn’t been using on my good side.

Why?

It’s because I didn’t need to. And there was only one exception to that operating process. I used it with the hip tilt counter to the over under and nowhere else.

On my bad side though, I just couldn’t generate the same leverage because I hadn’t spent years developing vital movement mechanics though, so I had to cheat.

And I did it in the very best of ways.

I planted my feet and bridged before shooting the hip across to finish the sweep.

Anyway, that may be helpful if you’ve been having trouble tilting with authority.

If, however, you have no knowledge of how devastating the sweep can be and all the additional offensive options that can flow from it, one of the best places to learn such things is up in my half guard course.

And this is the very last day, to get it half off when you snatch up all the little tricks in my micro adjustments.

So not only will learn all kinds of half guard tricks, but all this will also be at the tips of your fingers:

  • How to make your darce chokes more lethal with just a slight modification to the attack. (This was inspired by several of the insights I learned from Dave Porter, and his darce is phenomenal.)
  • Why someone gripping your pants in your closed guard is a gift that you should take without the slightest bit of remorse. (‘Tis one of the easiest ways to hit one of the most basic closed guard sweeps.)
  • How a small adjustment to foot placement will radically increase the effectiveness of the x pass. (When I learned this from Abmar Barbosa, it blew my mind, and it changed how I do this pass for all time.)
  • A IBJJF legal ankle lock from the 50/50 that I’ve caught many people with nonchalant ease over the years. (Because I have this in my arsenal, I caught remember the last time I was frustrated about being stuck in 50/50.)
  • How to create soul crushing pressure. (It’s so bad that not only will people tap to the choke but even when they somehow survive that first threat, they still wish they were anywhere else but there at that moment.)
  • Some simple tactics for finishing the choke against hyper defensive opponents when you’re on their back. (Few things are worst than having all your attacks neutralized when you’re in dominant position.)
  • A stupid simple method for dealing with those who choose to stall in your closed guard. (When done right, it’ll give you immediate offensive opportunities.)
  • The one little grip that will drastically increase your control of the omoplata in the gi. (If you want to finish the submission more often, it’s something that must be in your toolbox.)
  • How to approach escaping from the back on a philosophical level. (You’ll learn exactly what your key objectives should be and how to increase both your survival rate and your escape probability.)
  • An exploration of the long step counter to the reverse de la riva and what can be done to counter. (Something you can steal and dance on fools tomorrow with.)
  • A breakdown of an aerial assault counter to the kneecut. (You’ll learn why it works and what can be done to kill it from the other side.)
  • The specific angles that decide who wins or loses the battle in the over under butterfly position. (I learned this many moons ago when I was a blue belt, and it has been a mega game changer.)
  • A solution to a position that frustrated me for way too long during an hour and half superfight. (I should have figured this out during the match because the solution is way too simple.)
  • How to deal with opponents who bait the triangle in order to pass in a way that will leave them frustrated and helpless. (This change in tactics has reaped massive benefits for me.)

….And time is running out.

Burst through the gates here as your scream we don’t need no stinking badges:

[btnsx id=”7084″]

Committing blatant homicide on the elbow escape

  • November 22, 2017

Many years ago, I discovered a small little counter to the elbow escape from mount.

It’s a micro adjustment in the truest sense.

And it absolutely slaughters the escape. In fact, it’s so bad that I would even call it murder in plain daylight.

Let’s explore:

When it comes to the elbow escape, I break it down into a series of conditions that have to set for it to work.

1. The top guy’s hands must touch the mount. (It means that his legs will be light enough to manipulate.)

2. The bottom guy’s elbow, on the side he’s escaping, must be on the inside of his opponent’s knee. (It makes it easier to push down the knee and that increases access to their ankle.)

3. The bottom guy must straight his leg on the side he wants to escape and partially rotate his hips that way without turning his upper body. (It creates a situation where you can easily use the knee against their ankle to create space for escape and it also doesn’t expose the back at the same time.)

If those three things are done well, the rest of the steps are pretty easy. But it’s that last one where the opportunity lies.

When that leg straightens….

That’s when I strike.

More:

Another counter lies in control of the head.

Their chin will always turn towards the direction they want to escape. Why? It’s because that’s how the body works. The head must lead the way. And therein lies the clue for how to proceed with your homicide.

It’s not hard at all to use your arms to turn their head other way.

In fact, I use my elbow all the time for exactly that.

But if you’re imagining raining down blows on your foe. Nothing could be further from the truth. All you do is put your elbow down right beside their head and then drive it across ever so gently.

(I like to show how much I care.)

You’ll have to figure out that one on your own though. I haven’t put it on tape. But the first counter can be learned quite easily.

It’s up in the micro adjustments course right now.

And that’s not all you’ll find within either.

Here’s a little glimpse at what else is inside at the moment:

  • How to make your darce chokes more lethal with just a slight modification to the attack. (This was inspired by several of the insights I learned from Dave Porter, and his darce is phenomenal.)
  • Why someone gripping your pants in your closed guard is a gift that you should take without the slightest bit of remorse. (‘Tis one of the easiest ways to hit one of the most basic closed guard sweeps.)
  • How a small adjustment to foot placement will radically increase the effectiveness of the x pass. (When I learned this from Abmar Barbosa, it blew my mind, and it changed how I do this pass for all time.)
  • A IBJJF legal ankle lock from the 50/50 that I’ve caught many people with nonchalant ease over the years. (Because I have this in my arsenal, I caught remember the last time I was frustrated about being stuck in 50/50.)
  • How to create soul crushing pressure. (It’s so bad that not only will people tap to the choke but even when they somehow survive that first threat, they still wish they were anywhere else but there at that moment.)
  • Some simple tactics for finishing the choke against hyper defensive opponents when you’re on their back. (Few things are worst than having all your attacks neutralized when you’re in dominant position.)
  • A stupid simple method for dealing with those who choose to stall in your closed guard. (When done right, it’ll give you immediate offensive opportunities.)
  • The one little grip that will drastically increase your control of the omoplata in the gi. (If you want to finish the submission more often, it’s something that must be in your toolbox.)
  • How to approach escaping from the back on a philosophical level. (You’ll learn exactly what your key objectives should be and how to increase both your survival rate and your escape probability.)
  • An exploration of the long step counter to the reverse de la riva and what can be done to counter. (Something you can steal and dance on fools tomorrow with.)
  • A breakdown of an aerial assault counter to the kneecut. (You’ll learn why it works and what can be done to kill it from the other side.)
  • The specific angles that decide who wins or loses the battle in the over under butterfly position. (I learned this many moons ago when I was a blue belt, and it has been a mega game changer.)
  • A solution to a position that frustrated me for way too long during an hour and half superfight. (I should have figured this out during the match because the solution is way too simple.)
  • How to deal with opponents who bait the triangle in order to pass in a way that will leave them frustrated and helpless. (This change in tactics has reaped massive benefits for me.)

….And of course, there is the elbow escape’s blatant homicide that I mentioned earlier.

Go here, if interested:

[btnsx id=”7084″]

And know this:

For the next week only, upon signing up, you’ll receive an exclusive coupon that will chop half off the price of all my other courses. Seize upon this opportunity, if you so wish.

Stacked to hell and back again

  • November 21, 2017

I LOATHE being stacked.

It’s not even because I’m uncomfortable. No. I can hang out there all day. But if I get stacked, it means that I done fugked up.

I made some small error somewhere or I failed to make an adjustment as soon as control started to slip away.

And who can I blame for that?

Who else but yours truly.

So I pay attention to situations where it can happen. And the one place where you will absolutely feel the stack sometime in your life is when you go for the armbar in closed guard.

I know, I’ve been there.

The guy feels your transition and he has that ‘oh noes’ moment. It’s like a light goes off in his mind and he just reacts, driving into you and stacking you onto your neck.

Of course, there is a counter there. You can spin under and finish the armbar belly down. But I’m a slacker. I prefer simple efficiency.

Why invert and spin when you can just prevent the stack in the first place?

It’s a no brainer to me.

And the absolute best way to accomplish that is something that I learned from Pedro Sauer, the esteemed (and frankly, brilliant) master of efficiency.

A few years back, I attended one of his seminars. And it was all Q&A. He offered everyone the opportunity to ask a question and then he would share some gem of knowledge.

I had just one question.

It was as simple as simple could be.

I just wanted to know how he did armbars from closed guard. And he shared one small detail that BLEW my mind. It was a gamechanger. I’ve never forgotten about it. And I yap about it aalllll the time.

That one adjustment absolutely slaughters the stack.

And you will definitely be able to learn it in my closed guard course.

Hop on over for the deets:

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The curse of triangle orthodoxy

  • November 14, 2017

Not that many years ago, the most common methodology for finishing the triangle required that you lift your hips, pass the arm across, and pull down on the head.

It was gospel.

Hell, you can even say that it was orthodoxy.

If you did it any other way, you were dead wrong.

But hidden in the depths of those execution is a problem. I would even call it a curse. The problem lies in that first step. When the hips lifts, an opportunity is created, small though it may be. If the opportunity drives their hips forward at that exact moment, the structure of the position will be damaged, and the threat will be diminished.

And it’s not even necessary.

The arm doesn’t have to go across.

No space has to be given.

And you can easily lead foes into the great dreamland with a few minor adjustments if you understand the position. And it is, indeed, a position more than it is a submission.

In fact, there are a whole host of attacks that exist in the position.

And there is one adjustment in particular that will give you a whole ‘nother level of control.

That, right there, is going to the next update to micro adjustments.

And you can find out more about what else is inside here:

[btnsx id=”7084″]