A danger lurking in the over under
This week, I’ve been teaching a lot of lessons on the over under, and there are few details that I like to focus on.
Can you guess?
You might.
Or maybe not.
But one of my central principles is that there is a micro battle that is fought the moment the position is established. It centers around the top guy’s shoulder,which must connect to the bottom guy’s belly in order to facilitate the pass.
I’ve realized something though.
The other shoulder is just as important. It’s role lies in smashing the thigh and forcing that leg on the underhook side to spay out uselessly.
Why?
It’s because there are whole host of dangers that await any passer who fails to stop that leg from moving freely.
Case in point:
Last night, I taught three specific counters to the over under position when that second shoulder pressure isn’t applied correctly. The first was a stupid simple sweep that I once even hit on Mahamed Aly. It’s so frightfully easy that you’d think it shouldn’t work, but it does (oh does it ever).
And it’s even in the half guard trickery course.
But the other two aren’t
And the second one is an inversion of the back take that Andre Galvao hit against Roberto Tozi several years ago. It’s a real tricky counter too. If you’ve never seen it before, you’d never expect it.
Not in a million years.
Then lastly, is just a triangle. But there’s a specific method to creating the space necessary to hit while someone is trying to crush your soul with pressure.
Those last two options are going into micro adjustments this weekend.
And you’ll be able to learn it (if and only if you sign up):
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A warrior’s code from a little known source
Outside of Jiu Jitsu, I don’t do that much.
The days when I used to spend hours watching TV or playing RPGs are long gone. But I still have a hobby of sorts. I read. But the fiction that has my attention these days isn’t something that most people would even know of.
Why?
It’s because the books weren’t originally written in English. They’re Chinese fiction with a focus on battle, cultivation (extraordinary martial arts and power growth), and political strife.
I only bring it up, though, because not that long ago, I chanced upon a particular concept that has a clear and obvious application to training.
Behold in all its paraphrased glory:
“After survival a battle, you must reflect on what happened no matter what, regardless of defeat or victory. That is the only way to achieve the most improvement.”
The moment I read that I had to stop.
It was profound yet undeniable. At the same time, though, I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t put that principle into practice. And there are so many opportunities to do so too. It applies to more than just tournament experience.
Every time, you roll, it’s a battle that you have survived. And thus there are lessons that can be taken from the experience if you just stop and reflect on what happened.
I’ve had some of my best revelations that way.
But I’ve also been very inconsistent about doing it. Nowadays though, one of my goals is to walk away from every roll with at least one new question. And even if I don’t give each of those questions priority, I must at least make myself conscious of it.
And I would suggest the idea to you. Of course, it’s not technical, but it help you reap the most benefit from your training sessions.
Anyway.
Tomorrow, I’m heading out to Vegas for old man Worlds, so feel free to say hi, if you’re out there too.
And those who’d rather learn some technique, check out my half guard course. It addresses several core problems that make the difference between success and failure when it comes to the foundational attacks of the game.
Learn more here:
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