Grappling Tips Newsletter

February 27, 2007

MMA & Grappling Blogs

Over the last few years there has been an explosion of great blogs devoted to jiu-jitsu, submission grappling and MMA. I thought I'd share some of my favorite ones with you this week:

There is a TON of good reading and information in the above blogs. If you think that I've missed any good grappling-related blogs please let me know!

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 11:22 PM

How To Get Posture While Pinned

As we've discussed in previous posts, achieving good posture when pinned under your opponent is the first, and often the most critical, step in the escape process. Today we'll address how to achieve good posture on the bottom while your opponent is doing everything he can to prevent it.

Most of the time when I am on the bottom I use one of two strategies to get into proper posture:

1 - Use your bridge. The bridge is an important escape motion, but it is also a useful tool to create space, allowing you to move your hands, forearms and elbows into position.

For one example of this concept, let's say that you are trying to get to the following position (more more fully described in this tip):

To do this posture correctly you have to get your left hand under your opponent's armpit by sneaking your hand between your chest and your opponent's chest. Too much friction and too little room can make this a difficult task. One solution is to do a series of short little bridges, one right after the other: every time you bounce your opponent his chest pressure lessens momentarily, and that means you can sneak your hand a little bit closer to its goal. Of course you should save some energy, because as soon as you get to your posture you need to do a big bridge to throw your opponent up and come out the back door!

2 - Posturing during the pass. In every successful guard pass there comes a point when the person on bottom realizes that getting pinned is inevitable. THIS is when the bottom person should start fighting for posture, NOT once the guard pass is finalized and his opponent's position is stabilized. It is much easier to establish posture in the final few moments of the guard pass than it is to fight to get your limbs into position under a tight side control.

It takes beginners a while to grasp this concept because they don't know how to posture, and also because they have difficulty recognizing the point of no return in a guard pass. The solution to this problem is time on the mats.

Intermediate-level grapplers - roughly blue belt level in BJJ terminology - sometimes also have problems grasping this concept, but for different reasons. These grapplers have learned many things since they were beginners, including:

how to prevent common guard passes, and
how to relax while pinned on the bottom.

However in this case, 1 plus 2 equals premature relaxation; they settle into 'being pinned mode' a second or two too early, instead of fighting to establish posture in the final stages of the guard pass.

If you are grappling someone who relaxes prematurely it goes something like this: you battle to get your grips and establish posture, you finally figure out a way to uncross their ankles, you control the legs and hips with difficulty, you force the guard pass as they try to wriggle out of it, and then, all of a sudden, they just give up and lie on the mat like a starfish. The solution lies in their training partners recognizing the problem, printing out this tip and giving it to them.

Set your escapes up early by fighting for posture before your opponent has stabilized his position: you won't be sorry you did. If you are already pinned then try to imagine yourself as a ratchet: every time your create space, or are given space by your opponent, your limbs move into better posture and never give up the ground you've gained.

Labels: positions

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 1:37 PM

February 19, 2007

Is it 'only' a mild concussion?

Concussions are an ever-present possibility in grappling, especially if you do a lot of takedowns or striking. This article on post-concussion syndrome is well worth a quick read just in case you, or someone you know, suffers from headaches, dizziness and trouble concentrating after a blow to the head.

Labels: Injuries, MMA

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 12:12 PM

February 17, 2007

Posture Under Side Mount

Recently we discussed the concept of 'posture' and how it applies when you're pinned underneath someone. A few people have contacted me since then, asking for specific examples of posture while pinned.

Let's start with with just one pinning position: here are the three most common postures used to defend submissions and set up escapes while pinned in sidemount. These postures all assume that your opponent is on your right side and that you're defending the mount by placing your left knee on his right hip:

In the first posture the arm furthest from your opponent (i.e. your left) is pushing the left side of your opponent's neck and jaw using the bottom part of the forearm. Your other arm is pushing into your opponent's left hip, again using the bottom part of the forearm. This posture lends itself most naturally to putting your opponent into your guard, but can lead to other escapes if your opponent blocks your reguarding attempt.

Posture 1: First Angle. Note the forearm on the neck/jaw area

Posture 1: Second Angle. Note the forearm/elbow pushing on the opponent's hip

In the second posture your far (i.e. left) arm goes under your opponent's right armpit and your near (right) forearm pushes his hip (just as above). Usually when you are in this posture you will bridge and try to throw your opponent over your head with your left arm while turning to your left. If you do this move correctly you should end up on your knees, either on top of him and ready to take his back, or under him and in position to attack with a low single leg takedown.

Posture 2: First Angle. Your arm is buried under your opponent's right armpit

Posture 2: Second Angle. Another view of your arm position

In the third posture your far (i.e. left) forearm is in your opponent's left armpit and right forearm in its usual place, pushing against your opponent's left hip. This posture resembles the 'don't shoot, I surrender' hand position. Once here, I usually start bridging to both sides, pushing with my arms, sometimes with my hands apart, and sometimes with my hands clasped together. This is very destabilizing for your opponent, and eventually an escape opportunity will open up.

Posture 3: First Angle. Your arms block both the hip and armpit on your opponent's left side

Posture 3: Variation. Your arms still block his hip and armpit, but this time your hands are clasped together

Next time I'll discuss some strategies on how to achieve these postures: as I've said before, this can often be the toughest part of the escape battle.

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 1:30 PM

February 04, 2007

Training with an Injured Wing

Q: How can I still train if I have an injured hand, wrist, arm or shoulder?

A: One great drill to do (whether you are injured or not) is the 'Two Legs, One Arm Drill". Start with a partner. Both you and your partner grab your own belts (or waistband of your shorts) with one hand, effectively taking one arm out of play. Now you start with one person in the open guard trying to pass: he can stand or kneel as he wishes. The other person defends using one arm, both legs and hip movement; if he can pull off a sweep, so much the better! If one person passes the guard both people stop, go back into the guard, and start again.

I have used this drill while injured on a number of occasions, and every time the leg agility and open guard defense have improved noticeably. The hard part is not letting go of your belt while scrambling, but this is critical to the drill.

In addition to this drill, I would suggest that you do whatever you can on the conditioning front. Can you still run? Go on the stairmaster? Weight train your legs and core? It will all pay off when your injury heals and you are ready to go 100% on the mats again.

Labels: Injuries, training

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 10:00 PM

Homemade Grappling Dummies

Q: I would like to own a grappling dummy but all the ones I have looked at are very expensive. Do you have any suggestions?

A: There are many commercially available throwing and grappling dummies available on the market, including the Bubba dummy, Erik Paulson's Motion Master and Submission Master dummies, the Adam Takedown Machine, the Big Blue Dummy, etc. These are all quality products and can all be valuable training accessories, but as you point out they are very expensive, ranging from c. $400 to over $2000, not including shipping!

One possible solution is to try and make one yourself. An example of plans can be found on this site. If you make it and find that you DON'T enjoy using it then at least you are only out about $50, rather than ten times that much.

One quick note: if you build a dummy make sure that the knees and elbows bend. I have only limited experience with grappling dummies, but I have found that I prefer dummies in a 'turtle' position rather than in a standing position (ie straight legs and arms). The 'turtle' position simulates ground postures and positions (both top and bottom) much better than a straight up, 'standing' position.

Labels: conditioning

permanent link to this article posted by Stephan @ 9:52 PM