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!!