Loop chokes straight out of the pits of hell
This is a undeniable fact:
If you want your attacks to succeed, you must improve your setups.
Let me give you a real life example.
I’ve known the loop choke from half guard for many years, but I had an absolutely horrendous success rate with it. Whenever I would go for it, guys would just posture up a little and the threat would vanish into thin air like an illusion.
The only time it worked was when my opponents dropped their head for me and drove in (perfectly setting it up for me).
Such occurrences were rare, obviously.
But then at a certain point, I realized that the hip tilt would be a good setup to the attack. Man, I hit that sweep all over the place. It works like a charm. And when done right, it makes your opponent choose between a rock and a hard place.
They either get swept or they base out on their hand.
What’s interesting for the loop choke though is what happens to their posture. It naturally drops, no matter what their reaction is.
And I’ve been absolutely ripping people to shreds with the loop choke because of that fact.
Guess what though.
Over a year ago, my setup got taken to a whole ‘nother level. I was visiting Dave Jacobs’ academy at the time, and during the open mat, I got into a discussion with Greg Souders.
The topic?
The loop choke.
Some ridiculous science was dropped, and one of the things he showed me was a setup, which was remarkably similar to mine in principle but different in tactic.
Instead of damaging his opponent’s structure laterally, he scoots away, which creates all kinds of interesting reactions. And in combination with my lateral attack, something magical is created.
It’s an offensive loop that leads back to the choke from multiple directions.
And whoa, it’s scary. I would hate to be on the other side of it.
But I have no problem with making others suffer.
And you can do the same. How I setup the loop choke from half guard is thoroughly outlined in the one of the lessons of the half guard course.
But if you’re not ready to embark on the path of half guardian mastery, here’s a quick breakdown of the setup I learned from Greg:
Desperate clingers, and how you can punish them
There’s a certain kinda guy in the room that I’ve run into more than once.
He absolutely refuses to give an inch, no matter what. Hell, the position could be completely and utterly lost and yet he still clings on desperately. Sometimes, it’s a grip and other times, it could be a particular guard.
It doesn’t matter.
He won’t let go.
And he’s perfectly fine with stalling you out for minutes on end. And he doesn’t care that this isn’t a tournament. In his mind, winning is all that matters. That’s why he’s going to hold on for dear life, and if you let him survive, he’s going to feel like it’s an accomplishment.
I’ll give an example.
I use to train with a guy I couldn’t pass with a normal kneecut. I would almost pass him then he would lock up a deathgrip on my ankle. It wouldn’t move. His ability to pinch with his legs was just unbelievable, and I would get stalled there allll the time.
Back then, I didn’t have some of the angle adjustments I have now.
But I did come up with a way to counter him.
I started forcing the quarter guard by tripoding up and then driving across, so that both my knees were on the ground. Yup, he still had his deathgrip. My ankle was still trapped, but it was a whole new situation.
And from there, there are three specific ways to punish the guy.
The first, which I like a lot, is to do a reverse kneecut. When done right, it’s sooo hard to stop, and I consider it to be a vital tool in any half guardian’s arsenal (to play the half, you must also thoroughly understand how to destroy it).
Next up in the lineup is passing straight to mount. I do it a little differently though. I don’t like tripoding straight up. It’s far too risky. Instead, I create a certain angle that not only makes easy to clear the legs but also takes away almost all of the risk.
And last, there is also a rolling backtake for the sneaky and devious to play with, if they so wish.
Most of those are already laid out in all their glory up in micro adjustments.
Here’s where to learn em:
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The precursor to destruction
Hip Tilt.
John Wayne.
Crowbar Sweep.
All those names are used to identify one of my favorite sweeps, but in my mind, I think of it simply as the precursor to destruction.
Wonder why?
It’s simply because I actually prefer when people defend it. Hell, a lot of times, I want them to defend more than I want to complete the sweep. In fact, sometimes I get downright giddy when I see that hand post on the mat.
In that moment, a whole host of options appear in front of me, and all I have to do is pick their poison.
Most often, I choose the loop choke but that’s only because of preference. I also have the kimura on either arm, a sneaky little armbar, and two ways to blow straight past their defense and finish the sweep.
And what’s even better is that it doesn’t matter if an opponent knows it’s coming. They’re still forced to make a decision.
Be swept or suffer.
It’s a real rock and a hard place dilemma.
That’s how I roll.
And how you should too.
Any time you can force specific and predictable reactions, there will be opportunities to make your opponent suffer. You just have to find them, and hone your sequence through diligent practice.
But to do that well, a certain perspective is required.
When opponents counter me, I don’t get mad. Instead, I look at it as an opportunity. In those moments, they’re actually helping me. That kind of feedback, if I use it, can be EXTREMELY available.
And with it, I can create far more precursors to destruction.
If you want to see a more of what I do with the hip tilt though, you’re lucky. There is a whole section in my half guard course devoted to the hip tilt and the attacks that flow from it.
Up your game here:
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