In a bitter battle, the elbows clash against the knees

  • July 31, 2017

A few years back, Nic Gregoriades crossed the Atlantic and eventually found his way to Delaware to teach a seminar.

If you don’t know, he received his black belt from the all time great, Roger Gracie, and he is the major creative force behind the Jiu-jitsu Brotherhood.

I happen to like his style (its very focused on concept).

So I traveled through twists, turns and back roads to attend. And we’re going to talk about one of the concepts I learned from that event.

It’s the idea that there is a micro battle that is constantly fought between the elbows and the knees.

Case in point:

In mount, the elbow escape is my favorite method of getting out. I like how it easily connects to half guard. When I first learned it though, I had a lot of trouble getting my knee under one leg.

That left me stuck in the position (not fun).

And one of the many adjustments that I made a difference for me is an emphasis on getting my elbow inside of the knee on one side. That little micro position allows me to easily push that knee lower on my body, which in turn makes it easier to slide my knee under the shin.

From there, it’s a fait accompli. I’m out of there. Dueces.

On the flip side though, when I’m on the top, I always aim to keep my knees inside of my partner’s elbows. It allows me to easily expose the arms. Even when they’re super defensive, I can drive my weight forward and slowly but surely separate their elbows from their body.

That’s when the armbar transition opens up.

And I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve hit it with that exact same setup.

Ultimately, it is a fight for the inside space. If you win there, the elbows can beat the knees and the knees can beat the elbows.

It just comes down to who focuses first on the right battle.

Yup.

And in fact, that’s the focus of my newest course. It’s just about these micro positions and adjustments that make a difference in the game. And I’m expanding my weekly taping agenda to include at least one addition a week.

If exploring the micro game sounds like your cup of tea, there is a place you can go to learn.

It’s right here:

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Better than the average mechanic

  • July 16, 2017

Mat chat time:

Many moons ago, after a great training session, amidst many grand puddles of sweat, a few of us had a discussion.

I could regale you with a fascinating tale of how it took many turns and covered several topics.

But no, I just want to share one thing.

One of my teammates used to work in the car industry. And he often found himself bored with routine maintenance and daily customer interactions. But he LOVED new and challenging projects. They motivated him.

While he was telling his tale, I felt an instant sense of connection.

I’m the same way. I love a challenge because it is only by stretching ourselves that we grow. And growth excites me.

Get thee away from me, average.

We aren’t friends.

Anyway.

He also told a story about the part recall on a certain model of car. The estimated time for service was 30 minutes. And he said most mechanics took an hour and a half to do the work.

But listen to this.

He was different.

It took him 15 minutes. Why? Because he was efficient. Through repetition, he learned the process in and out.

There’s a lesson there if you choose to snatch it.

Challenging yourself to solve new and interesting problems is one path to growth, but it is not the only one. It’s also possible to grow through improvement of process.

And the same principle applies to our game of choice.

Don’t get so excited by learning new movements, concepts and techniques that you neglect deep exploration.

In fact, at the very least, give yourself a monthly project.

It should focus on one topic. And your goal is to dig as deep as possible. Shoot for a high number of reps. Challenge yourself. And make some progress every time you step on the mat.

NO MATTER WHAT.

Hell, if you’re a half guardian, I’ll even give you heaps of help.

It can be found here:

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A troof for the ages

  • July 15, 2017

Behold…

One troof you’ve probably not heard anywhere near enough is that:

Technique is only as good as the conditions that you drill in.

Case in point:

These days, even the best shrimp escape for side control isn’t enough to make me give up control. You ain’t getting back to closed guard that easy, son.

At best, you’ll make me move.

It’s not because the technique is bad though. More often, it’s just because people don’t account for how I will defend their first attempt. It’s all or nothing. Escape or reset.

Instead, that first attempt should be just to make me move.

THAT should be your goal.

Creating movement is the key to escaping from bad situation. In fact, you should aim to create so much that control slowly yet surely slips through your opponent’s fingers.

When you do that well, you create opportunity.

And if you’re savvy enough to take advantage, escape becomes much easier and your comfort levels, even in the worst situation, jumps through the roof.

For example…

Earlier today, one of my students wanted to work on escaping side control. So I had him do some situational rolls, so that he could work on his technique against after resistance.

He struggled.

It was much more difficult to deal with an actively resisting opponent than to drill (obviously). That shoulder pressure was on point and he struggled to even move.

In that situation, you have to do little things to break the structure of the position, and once that’s done, massive movement must be created.

And you know what?

You learn some of those little tricks now if you so wish.

Or not.

It’s up to you:

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Barbarians just want to rampage through your guard

  • July 14, 2017

The city is surrounded.

Barbarians are at the gate, and they’re making a loud clamor. You can hear swords banging shields, shouts and jeers, and sound of countless feet stomping the ground combine in cacophony of noise.

It’s grinding on your nerves.

And it’s already been a few weeks. Supplies are running short, and soon it will all come to head. You can see them preparing the battle rams and ladders.

They want to smash through the gates and go over the walls, and once they do, it will be nothing short of hell.

Blood and mayhem.

And all you can do is wait or sally forth to do battle.

A similar dilemma faces us when we play guard. In fact, there is a zone that we must defend at all costs.

It’s the space between your shoulders and your hips.

That’s your base. All your riches and the foundation of your power lies there. The barbarians must not get through the gates. And that is something that you must keep in mind at all times.

Even in the most precarious of situations, you have a line of defense. It consists of your hands, forearms, feet, and shins.

Frustrate your opponent with those tools. When they clear one, bring another to bear. One after another again and again.

Watch as despair and hopelessness filled their eyes, and then strike when they least expect.

It’s a game.

And strategy is your friend.

Always defend your home base.

And you know what?

You can add another layer to your guard, if you so wish, over here:

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Three adjustments that changed my game forever

  • July 13, 2017

Let’s chat about ah ha moments.

They’re those times when something just clicks for you. At that moment, it all makes all sense. And they’re sneaky too. Sometimes someone will show you something that makes you smack your head and wonder about why you didn’t think of it first or perhaps you’ll just stumble on a insight out of nowhere.

I’ve had many of those experiences.

But in an effort not to toot my horn (this time at least), I’ll just focus on what I’ve learned from others.

Let’s go…

1. Creating leg torque

Back when yours truly was a not so wee little white belt, I had an opportunity to train with Fred Ramie while he was visiting from out of town. At the time, he was a brown belt, and even back then, I was a disciple of the half, so I played it against him.

It didn’t go well.

I couldn’t do anything to him.

Oh, I tried. Yes, indeed, I tried. But it was no go.

Afterward though, I asked him for advice on what I could have done better in that situation, and he showed me the leg torque.

It blew my mind.

I’ve never forgotten.

And over time, my understanding on the principles and applications of that small adjustments has continually expanded, and it all started with that one moment.

2. Popping the collar

Nowadays, I’m almost anal about popping the collar on the back when going for the bow and arrow choke or any of its variations. It’s such a small thing but it makes a massive difference when it comes to maintaining a strong grip, getting under the chin, and finishing the choke clean.

I first learned that from Roberto Torralbas.

And the first time I used it, I was like wooooow. It’s just amazing the difference it made. All my chokes just went to a whole ‘nother level in an instant once I started incorporating it into my game.

3. Kicking the leg out

In the early days, I would often run into situations where I would get on the back and then the guy would lift his hips up and drive back to stack me there. Then we would enter this strange contest of wills.

I couldn’t attack.

He couldn’t escape.

And I had no answer for it at all. But then my coach, Mike Moses, showed me how I could hook one leg and kick out to instantly destroy the structure of that position.

It had to be done on the same side as the primary choke though. Otherwise, it would aid in their escape rather than setting the stage for their doom.

That’s been in my game ever since.

Anyway.

I think about these things sometimes because this art is fundamentally about learning. Every time, you step on the mat, there’s an opportunity to learn something new and there’s someone that knows something that you don’t.

Those are realities that I appreciate.

And if you’re ever on a mat with me, feel free to pick my brain. I have no problem with helping you expand your game as much as possible.

Case in point:

All my courses are different than traditional instructionals.

I didn’t tape any of them all at once and none of them are static. I often go back and add or replace lessons, whenever I feel that an improvement can be made.

The reason behind that is because nothing remains the same. The game is always changing, and you have to embrace the chaos in order to take it far.

And on that note, I just added new lesson to my side control escape course. It breaks down how to escape with crucial details for reversing the position even when your opponent is hellbent on smashing you into the mat with the force of ages.

Learn more here:

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