The best way to show someone nothing

  • October 3, 2017

Since its inception, I’ve made radical changes to the micro adjustments course. The last being the restriction of content to just 15 lessons at any one time.

It’s not something that went down without some blowback either.

In fact, here’s an example:

“Noooooooooooo! Not the bow-and-arrow technique!!!!!!!!!! Is there really no way we can have an archive of old lessons to refer back to every so often? These little adjustments are gems – I can see myself coming back to them all the time.”

It wasn’t a decision that was made without forethought though. In that weird little thing called my mind, I envisioned sharing little insights, principles, techniques and tricks on a weekly basis for years to come.

That’s 52 lessons a year (at the very least) averaging between anywhere from 3 to 7 minutes.

Without some management…

The bloat would have gotten insane.

That right there is the absolute best way to teach someone nothing.

It’s the kinda thing that happens in the academy too. People try to learn everything at once and end up learning nothing. The better path is to focus on one thing at a time.

It’s hard though, I know.

I like feasting too, but sometimes you just have to take a bite and savor it for sometime to truly nourish yourself.

That’s the philosophy behind the changes I made to the course. I wanted people to take the time to savor each small lesson, experiment with the technique, and use the principles as inspiration to improve their games, rather than feast and forget.

And frankly, those that are capable of such laser focus go much further in the game.

Anyway, if you’re not a food eating champion, head here for more details on the course:

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The backtake that killed dreams

  • September 27, 2017

I’ve told this real life tale of utter domination before.

But at times, it bears repetition because of the principles that can be discovered within its depths.

Anyway, too many years ago to bother counting, I watched as a teammate of mine harvested souls one after the another with the same exact strategy. It didn’t even matter that they knew it was coming.

Hell, I even heard the coach of one girl warn her over and over again about it.

Psh.

That didn’t change annnnnything.

The grip still got set, and from there, it was a wrap. Slowly and methodically, the back was taken, and doom soon followed.

Dreams were crushed.

But one was realized.

On that day, Rachel Demara, became the first World Champion that my academy ever produced. Her strategy wasn’t complicated either. She pulled to closed guard, attacked the arm, and then set a certain grip while her opponents were distracted by the submission threat.

Simple.

What that grip accomplished though was amazing. Not only did it lock her opponent’s arm across the body, leaving a clear path to the back, but it also immediately opened the door to a quick and lethal choke.

The whole series is pure platinum.

In fact, I still use it to this day.

But it’s not in its old form anymore. I tinkered with it more than a little bit. Now that system has far more offensive options and even the initial grip has been mutated into a monstrosity that devours souls without remorse and crushes dreams without blinking.

And it can all be discovered here:

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By axe or by guillotine

  • September 23, 2017

Something morbid to think about on this fine Saturday evening:

At the height of the French Revolution, there was a familiar scene.

One after another, those who were condemned to execution stumbled down from carts and were marshaled into line, as each in turn was led up the steps of a scaffold, where blood soaked the boards and dripped down through the cracks.

They had to watch as each person in front of them was strapped to the guillotine and know that they would soon share the same fate.

There was no escape.

No hope.

Only death awaited, and it came from above.

The guillotine had no remorse. Once released, it struck true, and a head would roll, regardless of guilt or innocence.

Now look, I’m not bringing this up because it’s fun to talk about, but because there are times on the mat, where you have to imagine yourself as an executioner. And if you tap into that mindset, your opponents will feel that same sense of hopelessness of those condemned to die.

Here’s what I mean:

Whether by axe or by guillotine, the strike must always come from above.

And the same exact thing applies to certain chokes like the loop choke, guillotine, and hand gun choke. Your head must always be above theirs before you strike.

It’s not negotiable.

The condition is set in stone.

And there is power in that knowledge.

If you internalize it, you’ll start to recognize immediately when someone moves into your strike zone. And once there, all you have to do is swing the axe or release the guillotine.

And you know what?

That recognition of execution conditions can be more broadly applied. All you have to do is take the time to break down what specifically has to happen in order for you to succeed with a particular technique.

And you’ll notice that sometimes, you don’t even have to force things.

People will walk smackdab into your strike zone on their very own. In those moments, don’t resist the urge. Strike. Swing the axe. Release the guillotine. And leave their head rolling along the ground.

Anyway, use that suggestion as you wish.

I’ll be exploring applications of this philosophy in greater detail up in the micro adjustments course.

Find out more here:

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The most basic of underhook half offensive loops

  • September 19, 2017

The first game that any half guardian worth their salt must develop is the underhook game.

Just having one attack there won’t serve you that well though. Eventually, you’ll run into those base gods that make coming up to knees and driving across an arduous task.

That’s why the easiest way to improve your offense in the position (other than small positional tweaks like connecting the shoulder and head to their body) lies in creating a continuous flow between the two basic attacks.

The knee tap and the shovel sweep are a natural loop.

Why though?

Well, it’s because they are attacks that take advantage of each other’s common defensive response.

Case in point:

When you have that good underhook, head position, and hip rotation through controlling the ankle, nothing is easier than coming up to the knees and driving across for the knee tap.

But you’ll run into people who have strong overhooks and the ability to easily adjust their base and pressure to deal with the threat. Sometimes, you can’t reach the knee. Or their driving pressure is just too strong.

That’s the perfect situation to lock down on that overhook and roll under for the shovel.

And if somehow, somehow they stop it, you can just roll back the other way and come right back up for the knee tap.

That’s a loop right back.

Just back and forth until they can’t react in time.

And if you’re savvy, you’ll start paying attention to what happens when someone stops one of your attacks. Usually, there’s another opportunity somewhere, you just have to notice it and take advantage.

Anyway, this loop and more are broken down up in my half gyardy course.

Just distract the guards with some scantily clad women and slip inside here:

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The Malys approach to submission grappling

  • September 14, 2017

As I was coming up the ranks, one of my biggest influences in the academy was a guy named Tyler Malys.

He was a blue belt when I first started, and we used to often get partnered up because he was also a big guy. But he wasn’t just as big as me. He was also more technical and strong as an ox. I got smashed on such a regular basis that it was straight up ridiculous.

I consider that reality to be one of the reasons that I gravitated to playing guard early. When we rolled, I was the small guy.

At a certain point though, he switched his focus to wrestling. In fact, he spent many years training with the wrestling team at Penn State, and his technical prowess just exploded exponentially. In addition to that too, he also spent almost year in Vegas training as one of Roy Nelson’s frequent sparring partners.

Overall, he’s just a straight beast.

And even now, rolling with him brings unique challenges.

But about a year ago, I spent several hours (over a few weeks) working with him on my wrestling, and we also spent some time discussing what a wrestling focused submission grappling program would look like.

In fact, he sent me a general outline for how he would like to structure the curriculum.

It breaks down the micro positions that happen on the feet with specific possible attacks for each. So there were attacks listed for the double overs, double unders, over under, collar tie, arm drag, russian and so on.

What was interesting to me then (and still is) was how many micro battles existed on the feet.

No joke.

The document is two pages long. And there are no explanations on it at all. It’s just a list of different technique options, organized by micro positions.

In hindsight, those discussions and that document are what made me start thinking about the micro battles in BJJ. It was also about that time that started becoming disillusioned with technique.

I realized that it doesn’t matter how secksy a technique is.

All that matters is how good you are at creating the conditions necessary for that technique to work.

And if you don’t understand what those conditions are and can’t create them consistently, you won’t have success at the highest level.

It’s that simple.

That’s why I’ve decided to delve even deeper into the conditions for each technique as a part of each new lesson in the micro adjustments course. The latest addition is an example.

I broke down the specific conditions required for the 50/50 ankle leg to work before showing a slight adjustment that makes the attack even more powerful.

That will be the flow.

And if that kind of teaching appeals to you, start learning my sneaky ways now. Each week, a new lesson will be added, but also an old lesson will be retired.

Here’s the link:

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