Hello Elite Training Center Friends,
This week’s classes in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program saw us practicing techniques in stand up combatives and self-defense in how to pull guard from the clinch and also how to finalize the basic drop-knee style double leg takedown. On the mats, we explored how to pass the guard from the knees and how to take the opponent’s back if found on the bottom position using your own guard strategy with the legs wrapped around the top fighter body.
From the clinch the basic idea if you are being taken to the ground or you choose to pull the opponent into your guard, is to protect yourself when transitioning to the ground. You maybe taken down by design or by accident, so it is an effective strategy to use your guard. Once in the bottom position, a skilled ground fighter will use the guard to control the top opponent from strikes, holds and other attacked. In our classes this week, we focused on using a tight closed guard strategy protecting against the head butt, punches to the face and to the ribs.
Next from the stand-up combatives/self-defense aspects of our lessons this week, we learned the basic technique of a drop-knee double leg takedown. First it was important to focus on how the opponent was standing. Many times how the person you wish to takedown is standing will determine if you will perform a double leg takedown or a single leg taken for example. Secondly, we practiced level changing and shooting in with a quick penetration step. From the drop knee position with your hands snaking behind the opponent’s knees, we explored knocking the person down; the pick-up strategy; and, the trip technique. These 3 techniques were based on how the opponent was resisting the takedown.
On the mats, this week we challenged your understanding on how to pass the guard from the knees. Passing the guard of a skilled ground fighter is one of the most difficult things to do in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in my opinion; however, it was important this week to build off of the confidence we developed last week in how to behave inside an opponent’s guard. At a glance we worked on this week gaining superior posture & grips, effectively opening the legs of the opponent with leverage, technique and strategy; and finalizing moving to the “Shield Position” or combat base position. From this point of reference, the basic passing strategies that were cover were: Passing Over-The-Leg; Passing-Under-The Leg; and, Passing-Under-Both-Legs.
Depending on what classes you attending this week, different strategies and insights were showcased based on individual questions. However, it was important for me to teach you how to pass the guard putting one leg on your shoulder…A.K.A. Passing-Under-The-Leg Pass. Many of you have background knowledge in grappling; therefore, it was a key element this week that we built a solid guard passing game on the leg on the shoulder pass using pressure, grips, weight and technique. I reminded you about gaining the lapel grip or shallow grip on the gi to control the opponent’s hip. Without the gi: control the far side hip of the opponent. Nonetheless, we will have another class coming soon on basic guard passing from the knees where we can continue the basic understandings of passing under both legs pass and review related strategies. I believe it is class 19 in the curriculum where we get a chance to do this.
Lastly, on the mat this week, we trained the basic way to take the opponent’s back from your guard position on the bottom. Also, we learned how to perform the arm-triangle choke. The basic strategy was to try to win the fight using the choke; however, after the “College-Try,” when the opponent does not give up, move to the back mount position using many adjustments. Please note to keep your head up off the mat when using your leg/foot work on the mat to create space in the effort to take the back mount. Too many times, I have observed sparring matches in the academy where the top fighter got his or her arm out of the arm-triangle choke position reference point because the bottom fighter put his head to the mat during the transition to the back. Also, please take your time when adjusting to the back mount. There are many attacks you can do from such a superior angle. The position is very powerful.
Once the back mount position is established, you can break the opponent down and flatten his knees/belly to the mat. From this position, a match, contest or fight can be won by rear naked choke, strikes, armlock or other variations of a choke hold. We practiced gaining the back mount and having the opponent roll the position. The idea was to create a positional flow between you and your partner to practice three major positions in grappling: The Guard, The Back Mount & The Front Mount. Positional training such as this will help prepare you for the advanced program and endless hours of sparring against other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training partners.
Two mini lessons that were explored during this week and as I remembered were: 1. -The importance of training guard passing without focusing on striking techniques for now to learn proper grappling technique; And, 2.- Avoid the basic neck crank if someone is in your guard. I spoke about how neck cranks can be dangerous compared to a choke hold, and that sometimes chokes are a mixture of half choke and half crank. Learn to make adjustments so that your chokes are chokes: Not sloppy chokes that feel like a crank. From a jiu-jitsu professor point of view, I have spent over ten years teaching jiu-jitsu choke holds, and I can count on my hands the number of times a student asked me to teach them neck crank submission holds. I really don’t endorse neck cranks in the academy with your training partners. It is nice to be knowledgeable in them for a real fight; however, neck cranking walks the fine line many times of being painful verses putting an attacker to sleep. Your best bet is to focus on chokes!!!
Be ready for next week.
Best,
Prof. “little” Tony Pacenski
Elite Training Center
