Random thoughts on stack killing adjustments…

* Even small adjustments to angle make a large difference.

Here’s a story about that:

About three years ago, I had an opportunity to attend a Pedro Sauer seminar. And he ran it a little differently than I’m used to. It was entirely Q&A. Everyone asked questions, and we covered a wide range of topics. When it was my turn though, I only had one little simple question.

How do you finish the armbar from closed guard?

That’s all I wanted to know.

And he gave me a detail that blew my mind. No joke. I cannot overstate how powerful that little detail was. It revolutionized the mechanics of my finish. I’ve never forgotten it, and I never will.

And guess what?

It was just a small angle adjustment to the ankle in the transition of the attack.

* The fight centers around the alignment of your knees relative to your hips.

Another story…

Way back when I remember watching a few clips from a Renzo Gracie seminar where he was asked about the finishing the triangle against the stack. In response, he showed how you can frame on the inside shoulder and shoulder work back to create an ideal finish angle.

I just had to stop everything and absorb that.

That frame was magic in its simplicity and principle. And that’s because without it, there is no way to even bring disconnects your hips from your opponent’s control.

The shoulder walk isn’t going to get you annnnyyyyyywhere. But once you add the frame, they can’t stop you.

In hindsight, it was stupid simple.

And when done right, it allows you to just smirk in your opponent’s face as they strain in their attempt to smash you.

Loads of fun, that.

Anyhow.

If you’re curious about the specific adjustment to the armbar from closed guard, in can be found somewhere on the tube. I’ve no doubt spent some time dissecting it whenever I’ve taught the armbar, but if you want a lot more offensive bite for your closed guard as well, there is a better place to go.

Inside that seekret place is a whole system off of offense for the closed guard, that flows from one attack to the next, leaving adversaries little chance to escape.

And I’m not whistlin’ dixie about this either.

The system is strong (but that’s only if you work on it).

There’s no such thing as a technique or system that works perfectly with no practice at all.

You have to invest time into mastery.

And if you’re willing to make that commitment, you’ll also find drills and principles for improving your armbar finishes.

Step right this a’way to learn more:

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Sprawl and smash.

All day.

That’s the mentality of a certain subset of pajama wrestlers all across the globe. They see your guard, and they raise you a good ol’ smash.

And it WORKS.

Some crumble under the pressure.

Hell, I’m even a fan (sometimes).

Pressure used in the right way can create opportunities in even the oddest of places. It’s like a skeleton key that can unlock all doors.

And that’s why it often used to smash through the half guard.

Case in point:

A common strategy for dealing the kneeshield is to weave an arm through the legs and sprawl back hard to break the lock of the ankles and open up passing opportunities.

It’s effective too.

The guard just vanishes into dead air (when done right).

But that’s not even the worst of it. They also, often, grab your collar and drive their head into your chest. It creates an ideal passing situation.

Why?

It’s because your spine gets straight up torqued.

The legs go one way and the upper body goes the other. It’s like someone took an axe and bisected you straight across the middle, without all the blood and gore.

If you want to move effectively, it’s the absolute worst position to be in (that’s why they put you there).

I look at the initial grip for the transition totally different from most people though. I get damn right giddy (or as close to that as my stoic heart will allow) whenever someone tries to use it on me.

It’s a gift.

And I have no qualms at all about accepting it.

I’ll take it whenever I see it, no if, ands or buts.

And what do I do with it?

Hah.

The best place to find out is in the “Half Guard Trickery” course.

Amidst the many lessons found within is one of which breaks down what I like to call the Half Lasso position, and once you understand that, it will change your perspective on the leg weave pass.

You’ll start to see it as the gift I do.

Learn it here:

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In the past, I’ve done a bit of research on the art of the con.

And back then, I chanced upon an extensive interview of a small time grifter. It was packed with all kinds of little lessons for distraction and misdirection, but while I was reading, one story made me stop everything for a moment.

In it, GM (the grifter being interviewed) talks about the contrast between himself and his sister (who also engages in grifting). He calls her a wolf that has cunning for days but no restraint at all.

And one example he gives to support that point is a con she once ran.

During it, she slept with eight different men without condoms, and then hit them each up later for $500 in abortion money.

That’s crazy for a whole host of reasons.

I immediately saw a connection to people who take far too much risk when setting up their attacks though.

Now I am for misdirection and conning people. Hell, that’s the name of the game.

To make what we do on the mat look and feel easy, we must focus attention away from our true intent.

We must distract.

But I refuse to accept the notion that the risk must equal the reward. That’s a bunch of ptooey.

That’s why I prefer the con that GM calls the Pigeon Drop.

It works like this:

Go to the bank and make sure that you have two different bills. One must be a $5 and the other a $50. Then at any store, grab something cheap and go up to the cashier. Take out the $50 and let the cashier see it clearly. Let them mark it in their memory banks. But right before they ring you up, add something else to the order to distract and then switch the bills.

It takes sleight of hand, obviously.

And I am in no way advising you to give it a try.

(If you do that, that’s on you, buddy.)

What’s clear though is that the attention is being focused on the $50, a distraction is made, and the situation is changed in that moment.

That’s how the short con works on the mat as well.

Case in point:

For the loop choke from half guard, I have three different setups for the same attack, and all of them work off of the principle of distraction.

The one that most people have seen, though, was posted on the tube many moons ago and I’ve been hitting it in the room for a long long time. So when I go for it, most people know it’s coming, but they still get caught often.

That hip tilt forces them to react, and in that moment they get distracted, their attention is focused on the wrong thing, and then I….

STRIKE.

And it works far more often than you would think.

Just imagine if you apply that same methodology to your attacks. Your attacks would start to flow like water. You just have to think more deeply about the situation that would be best for making your attack work.

That means that you focus on creating logical reactions from your opponent that don’t require you to risk it all.

And if you be wanting a wee bit more education in this, some tricks await here:

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