North South Choke by Marcelo Garcia

Marcelo Garcia talks with Stephan Kesting about how to set up and execute the North South choke.

The Art Of Killing

Some nice throws in this video: Budo: the art of killing (1978)

Advancing Position While Opponent Is In Turtle Position

Mark taught class today because Dominic was out of town. Mark taught some very moves when the opponent is in the Turtle Position.

1. Rolling forward and putting in your hooks:
1. Start out behind your opponent. Make sure to keep your hips close and apply weight near your opponent's hips.
2. Double under hooks and grab your opponent's gi collar with each hand.
3. Force your opponent's head down by grabbing their collar deep.
4. Now start applying pressure across your opponent's back with your head diagonal across their body. Your head should be close to their head if not more over.
5. Tuck your chin in and roll forward diagonally.
6. While your opponent is in mid-air put in your hooks.
2. Chest bump to side control:
1. Start out with your body perpendicular across their back.
2. Grab your opponent's arm and ankle farthest away from you. Note that your knuckles are faced up. Also, you are NOT reaching around their head and butt; and you are not reaching under their arm and leg. You are reach across their arm and legs.
3. Pull their arm and leg towards you and use your chest to bump and roll your opponent over. Do not let go of the ankle, use this to obtain side control.
3. From behind to North-South to arm bar:
1. Start from behind.
2. Under hook grab your opponent's closest arm.
3. Now start to go perpendicular to your opponent.
4. Now get your opponent to lay down on their side by collapsing the arm.
5. Continue into North-South position.
6. Place your knee on their rib while hanging onto their arm.
7. Finish with arm bar (knee in arm pit).
4. Roll opponent over knee:
1. Start by pressuring down on one of your opponent's shoulders across back.
2. Grab your opponent's belt with arm parallel to your opponent's spine.
3. With your other hand grab your opponent's ankle. The grab is more like an upwards cup.
4. Put your leg straight on top of their head. It's kind of like help tucking in their head.
5. Next, roll back and use your momentum to roll your opponent over your leg.
6. Take side control.

Learned 2 takedowns from "Russian" David.

1. Single leg takedown:
1. Start by going for a double or single leg take down. Mostlikely you will end up with only one leg.
2. Now trap their leg in between your legs. Also hold onto their leg with your arms.
3. When ready, shoot down for their other leg while keeping the trapped leg in between your legs.
4. This should take them down because both legs are trapped.
2. Drop and roll:
1. Start by trapping your opponent's arm. Almost like in a figure-4 grip, but not necessary.
2. You can try to step in and go for a single leg hook sweep. Usually this does not work, but it gets them to square up with you.
3. Once they are squared up with you, you can drop the other leg in and lay down, pull and roll them. You will mostlikely end up in side control. What you are basically doing is blocking their arm so they can't post and using your body to break down your opponent's dead zone.

David also offered me another tip. He said to control your opponent's wrist as much as you can. Especially, when they have you in side control. Don't let the opponent control your head, but instead grab their gi/wrist and push it across their chest (i.e. push their arm to your side) and hip escape outward.

Tip from Mark. I had the Omoplata on Dan but couldn't sit up and finished. Mark walked by and shook his head then said, "change into a triangle." I totally forgot that you should use your opponent's momentum when trying to sit up preventing the Omoplata as a transition into a triangle. I need to remember this!

Guard Pass Where You Control Opponent's Arm

Today we learned the "double under" guard pass:

1. First start out by controlling the opponent's hip with one hand while pressing down on their stomach/chest holding the lapel with the other hand.
2. Step up with the foot on the side that is pressing down on the stomach/chest.
3. Let go of some of the lapel and tuck in your elbow.
4. Then step up with the other foot.
5. Stand straight up and let go of more of their lapel while making sure to tuck your elbow.
6. Now reach behind your back with the other hand (that was controlling their hip) and open their guard.
7. Once their guard is open, use combat stance (tuck your elbows) and get close to their hips. Or immediately go to the next step.
8. Roll both of your arms under their leg and secure this position.
9. Control their hips by moving it on top of your knees.
10. Cross face one arm with thumb inside opponent's lapel.
11. Sprawl and pass.
12. Make sure to secure the side control position.

Justin worked with me on another guard pass. This one was very similar to the one above, except the twist was controlling the opponent's arm by tucking it under your "straight" arm.

1. Eventually, grab one of your opponent's arms and then tuck it under a straight arm.
2. Step up on the side of the arm that is being controlled. Since you are controlling the opponent's arm on that side, they can not grab your leg.
3. Post up with the other leg, step back, and then reach back with your hand to open the guard. Note that the hand that reaches back is the one that was the straight arm. The other hand is still controlling your opponent's arm, but make sure to keep your elbow tucked.
4. Once the guard is opened, continue to pass as usual (i.e. sprawl).

I rolled with a really tall guy named Cyrus. He's got to be at least 6' 5" and 250 lbs. I almost got him in a rear-naked choke but time ran out. One thing Professor Dominic showed him that I thought I should keep in mind if I ever got caught like that was: if your opponent has one if your lapels from behind, the side you want to escape (by placing your back on the mat) is opposite of the side the arm holding onto the lapel.

This Week's Training

On Monday we went over the most basic guard pass. The one with one straight arm and other hand on opponent's hips. I get the concept in theory and in my mind I can do it, but in real life I still have trouble with this guard pass. I feel like my arms are too short and I have to move back as I'm posted up.

Yesterday was an awesome day because I got to roll with J (aka Justin). He's really good, better than the 4 stripe white belt that he displays. When we first rolled, I started out in his guard and his spider guarded me when I opened him up. He swept me with the spider guard sweep that I hate and mounted me. I didn't want him on top of me so I tried to get him into half guard, but really it ended up like a quarter guard. While in quarter guard, he did a Neto Roll, it caught me by surprised and I ended up in his guard again! Lots of things happened after which he submitted me with an arm triangle. After the match I asked him to show the Neto Roll and he said it's supposed to get my back from it.

I also rolled with Glenn. I had his back most of the time but he did a good job of defining. He's pretty good for only being a 2 stripes white belt. I ended up getting him in a rear-naked choke. Justin told me I could have finished him with a gi choke from behind: grab the lapel then grab their collar from behind, try to push their collar through my arm grabbing the label, what this does is brings my forearm grabbing their lapel closer to their throat. Pretty interesting choke for when you don't want to keep fighting for the rear-naked or traditional gi choke.

Passing Guard Tips From Larry

Today I roll with a blue belt named Larry. He gave me some tips for passing guard. He recommended standing guard passes because they are more affected.

1. Hands to opponent's armpits and spawl.
2. Then put one of your knee in between their guard to open it.
3. Once opponent's guard is opened, get into "combat stance" and press one fist down on opponent's stomach holding while other hand is holding onto their leg. (here I don't the fist on stomach is required, but you could have both hands on their legs and stay in combat stand to prevent from getting swept).
4. While in this stance make sure you are close to their hip so that you are in control.
5. Push their leg down and pass.

When sparring with Larry, I observed his "style". Every time I was in his guard, he would push one of my arms across me and try to get my back. While fighting this and trying to open his guard, he would sweep me and mount me. I would this try to bump and get him into half-guard. After which he would S-mount me, after the S-mount he would work at getting my back. I would roll back and he would mount me. Basically, he had dominated with positions the whole time and I was playing all defense.

Larry said that this is more of a no-gi pass and Prof. Steve teaches it in the no-gi class. He also give me another tip:

• "Anytime you are about to do anything, think how it makes you vulnerable, how it exposes you." I think this is really good advice/principle. This is to help you be prepared in case you have to defend. Sometimes I'm so focused on passing guard or whatever that I forget that I could be exposing myself and end up getting submitted or in a worst position.

I looked up a standing guard pass on the internet and want to try this one out some time:

Frustrated...

Yesterday's Advanced class was very frustrating. I felt like a total "newb" rolling with the blue belts. Well, let me go over the techniques we learned in class first:

1.  An escape from Turtle Position, where the guy is on top in North-South Position with their arms around your waist. Start out by grabbing onto one of your arms and then basing out the leg on that side, then sit all the way through while holding onto their arm. It's like you are almost laying perpendicular on their back and arm-locking them. After which, you pass through and take your opponent's back from behind.
   
   It's similar to the following video here, but ending up in North-South.
   
   
2. Clock Choke. Click here to see the one I was taught in class.

Two things Prof. showed me after I sparred:

1. Getting one leg outside of opponent's open guard then applying pressure on their leg to pass to side.
2. Kicking out a leg and wrapping the arms around their body.

To be continued...

Clock Choke

In Wednesday's Advanced class, we learned the Clock Choke. At first I thought it was an awkward choke and that I was too light to finish it, however I tapped someone out with it. The key thing about this choke is really lay your weight on your opponent when you spawn.

Will update with some videos...

Techniques From Closed Guard

I missed the "advanced" bjj class on Monday due to work, so I went to the later "beginner's" class. It was actually a very enlightening class because I didn't get crashed by blue belts the whole time and got to work on some techniques I have been wanting to try. The beginner's class worked on the following techniques from the closed guard:

1. Pendulum Sweep
2. Pendulum Sweep attempt to arm bar

Some observations:

1. I often take people's back but have a really tough time finishing them. Especially with guys larger and stronger than me. Their defense is to grab onto my arm and pull down preventing me from finishing the rear-naked choke or the gi choke from the back. Any suggestions would be great!
2. I'm not exactly the strongest or heaviest guy, but I need to learn how to apply my weight and pressure my opponents better.
3. I need to work on my d'arce chokes.

Till next time... ;)

Back From Europe

So I'm back from Europe and just trying to get back into competitive shape. Today we learned another hip throw and how to escape from a high mount. The one we learned was feet to opponent's armpit then roll them to the side. Which is almost like the 3 high mount that is shown in this video (but the video shows ending up on the opponent's back):