Tuesday, February 26, 2013
MMA and me; day 285
So I have been so excited about teaching, and focused on that aspect of being at the gym, that I have COMPLETELY neglected my blogging duties. Shame on me. The funny thing is, we haven't actually covered anything new in the few (several) classes since then. We have gone to a very, basic approach, and been drilling like crazy. Making your fundamentals solid, and drilling technique as much as you can, is what really makes a solid bjj practitioner. Drilling them over and over, to the point of frustration, makes them second nature in a competition. It has been said that when you perform a task 10,000 times, you are beginning to scratch the surface of understanding what that task really means. The first time I heard that, I thought I knew what it meant, but I now know that I have a long ways to go to truly comprehend it, ad I couldn't be more excited for that journey. I hope to see you in the gym tonight!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
MMA and me; day 284
Day 2 of teaching is now in the books, and once again I focused on gi chokes. We covered the clock choke, and baseball choke again. A couple things worth mentioning about the grips on these two. For the clock choke, when I set my initial grip, and then set up the second, when I drag the elbow across their head, I like to twist my hand inwards, so my palm is almost facing away from me, and get four fingers inside the collar, as opposed to the traditional method of hooking inside the collar with the thumb. I mostly do this because I recently jammed my thumb pretty bad, and though a bit more difficult to get the four finger grip, it wasn't as painful. Secondly, with the baseball choke, with the near side hand, I sometimes like to invert the grip, so when I turn it back in to close the hands together in the "baseball grip", it turns the edge of the collar into the side of the neck, making it more uncomfortable for your opponent. Again, like the variation in the clock choke, it can make the set up slightly more difficult, but can also make it more effective, should you choose to go that route.
We also worked on a new choke, the loop choke. From side control, switch to low judo, keeping tight against their ribcage. Start to pull open your jacket, clearing it from your belt. If you want, open up their jacket as well, as it can help confuse your opponent, and disguise what you are doing. With your inside hand, grab the corner of the same side of your open jacket, making sure to leave a good healthy amount of it sticking out of your hand. Sliding back into side control. bring your now head side hand (still gripping the corner of your jacket) up and as far under your opponents neck as you can. Keeping the grip on your jacket, orbit your elbow around their head (this is where having a lot of gi to work with comes in handy), as far in front of their chin as you can, and then slide it across their chest to the near side of their neck. From here, drop your elbow to the ground, motorcycle grip the gi, and wait for them to tap. Like most of the gi chokes, the better you establish your grip, the more likely you will be able to maintain the hold with minimal exertion, and wear out your opponent. Gi chokes are pretty sweet!!
We also worked on a new choke, the loop choke. From side control, switch to low judo, keeping tight against their ribcage. Start to pull open your jacket, clearing it from your belt. If you want, open up their jacket as well, as it can help confuse your opponent, and disguise what you are doing. With your inside hand, grab the corner of the same side of your open jacket, making sure to leave a good healthy amount of it sticking out of your hand. Sliding back into side control. bring your now head side hand (still gripping the corner of your jacket) up and as far under your opponents neck as you can. Keeping the grip on your jacket, orbit your elbow around their head (this is where having a lot of gi to work with comes in handy), as far in front of their chin as you can, and then slide it across their chest to the near side of their neck. From here, drop your elbow to the ground, motorcycle grip the gi, and wait for them to tap. Like most of the gi chokes, the better you establish your grip, the more likely you will be able to maintain the hold with minimal exertion, and wear out your opponent. Gi chokes are pretty sweet!!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
MMA and me; day 283
Wow, it has been a while. I took a break from writing, because I was focusing on training for my first MMA fight, and now that I have gotten that behind me, it's time to dive back into what I really love, jiu jitsu! I taught my first class on Tuesday, and while it was a little intimidating, and a big step for me to take personally, it was a lot of fun!
I decided to start in an area that I find very interesting, but also need a lot of work on, and that is lapel chokes. I started with the clock choke, one of the first gi chokes I learned, and one of the most basic chokes. From a full mount, pull their jacket open with your right hand, and slide your left hand up their left lapel (on your right, for the cross grip) as deep as you can get it. Leaning across their body, drop your right elbow to the mat and drag it towards their head, pushing their head and neck into the cross grip you have established. Keeping the pressure on their head, sneak your right hand thumb inside their lapel on the opposite side of your cross grip (again, very deep behind their head) and bring your elbow off of the mat, over their face to tuck it under their chin. From here, you want flare your elbows out wide and drive them towards the mat, while at the same time, rounding your back, and dropping your head to the mat, as far above their head as you can, for the submission. To help get a little more pressure, you can roll your hands inwards, what we like to call the "motorcycle grip" As with most gi chokes, you don't have to strain to hard, and once you have it locked into place, don't adjust or fidget with it. Friction is your friend, and for the opponent in the choke, it does not feel good.
Next we drilled the baseball choke, another simple, but effective submission. From a knee on belly side control position, reach across with your leg side hand to cross grip their lapel with your palm up, four fingers in, and your knuckles against their collar bone. *note* this is simply a guide for where you hand should be positioned. With your head side hand, grip the other lapel palm down either with four fingers in, or thumb in. When you bring your hands together, they should look like they do when you grip a baseball bat. Traditionally, your head side hand will use the four fingers in the lapel grip, but I occasionally like the thumb in grip because when you turn the hand in to get the "baseball grip" it turns the lapel in as well, digging the edge into the neck, and creating a bit more pressure. It's not as secure, so it's not something to do every time. Once the grips have been secured, slide your knee to the mat, and "box car" your knees side by side, and tiptoe the knees around their head to a north south position, keeping heavy pressure on the grips, and on their chest. As you circle around, slide your head side elbow across their neck, and under their chin. From here, walk your hips out behind you, just a little bit, and flare the elbows out to drive them to the mat, and roll your fists inward for the submission.
Last, we worked on a choke from guard, the belt choke, which works on a lot of similar fundamentals as the guillotine choke. With your opponent in your guard, when they start to posture up, grab their right lapel with your left hand, and climb up it to get a deep cross grip with your right hand. From there, open your guard and shrimp your hips out to get onto your right hip, and reach across their back to grab their belt in the middle of their back, keeping the inside of your left arm tight against their neck. Once you have secured the belt, close your guard back up to begin working for the submission. With your right hand, pull the lapel across their neck, while using your hips and legs to twist their neck into the lapel. Your arm grabbing the belt isn't moving, but is rather being used as an anchor for the rest of your body to maneuver around. It takes some figuring out how to position your body correctly, don't lay flat backed on the mat, don't use your arms as the main pressure, but more legs ad hips, and you will get it no problem!
Well, I was nervous, but I got through my first class. I am very excited to be teaching something I love so much, and I am so thankful for my team, my gym, and my amazing coaches!
I decided to start in an area that I find very interesting, but also need a lot of work on, and that is lapel chokes. I started with the clock choke, one of the first gi chokes I learned, and one of the most basic chokes. From a full mount, pull their jacket open with your right hand, and slide your left hand up their left lapel (on your right, for the cross grip) as deep as you can get it. Leaning across their body, drop your right elbow to the mat and drag it towards their head, pushing their head and neck into the cross grip you have established. Keeping the pressure on their head, sneak your right hand thumb inside their lapel on the opposite side of your cross grip (again, very deep behind their head) and bring your elbow off of the mat, over their face to tuck it under their chin. From here, you want flare your elbows out wide and drive them towards the mat, while at the same time, rounding your back, and dropping your head to the mat, as far above their head as you can, for the submission. To help get a little more pressure, you can roll your hands inwards, what we like to call the "motorcycle grip" As with most gi chokes, you don't have to strain to hard, and once you have it locked into place, don't adjust or fidget with it. Friction is your friend, and for the opponent in the choke, it does not feel good.
Next we drilled the baseball choke, another simple, but effective submission. From a knee on belly side control position, reach across with your leg side hand to cross grip their lapel with your palm up, four fingers in, and your knuckles against their collar bone. *note* this is simply a guide for where you hand should be positioned. With your head side hand, grip the other lapel palm down either with four fingers in, or thumb in. When you bring your hands together, they should look like they do when you grip a baseball bat. Traditionally, your head side hand will use the four fingers in the lapel grip, but I occasionally like the thumb in grip because when you turn the hand in to get the "baseball grip" it turns the lapel in as well, digging the edge into the neck, and creating a bit more pressure. It's not as secure, so it's not something to do every time. Once the grips have been secured, slide your knee to the mat, and "box car" your knees side by side, and tiptoe the knees around their head to a north south position, keeping heavy pressure on the grips, and on their chest. As you circle around, slide your head side elbow across their neck, and under their chin. From here, walk your hips out behind you, just a little bit, and flare the elbows out to drive them to the mat, and roll your fists inward for the submission.
Last, we worked on a choke from guard, the belt choke, which works on a lot of similar fundamentals as the guillotine choke. With your opponent in your guard, when they start to posture up, grab their right lapel with your left hand, and climb up it to get a deep cross grip with your right hand. From there, open your guard and shrimp your hips out to get onto your right hip, and reach across their back to grab their belt in the middle of their back, keeping the inside of your left arm tight against their neck. Once you have secured the belt, close your guard back up to begin working for the submission. With your right hand, pull the lapel across their neck, while using your hips and legs to twist their neck into the lapel. Your arm grabbing the belt isn't moving, but is rather being used as an anchor for the rest of your body to maneuver around. It takes some figuring out how to position your body correctly, don't lay flat backed on the mat, don't use your arms as the main pressure, but more legs ad hips, and you will get it no problem!
Well, I was nervous, but I got through my first class. I am very excited to be teaching something I love so much, and I am so thankful for my team, my gym, and my amazing coaches!
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