March 26, 2007
The Dangerous Locks
Not all submissions are created equal: some cause pain, some put you to sleep, and some do a lot of damage. Today I want to talk about the latter category, those submissions most likely to send you to the orthopedic surgeon. Knowing which locks are dangerous is important for at least two reasons: first, you need to know which submissions to tap out early to if you are caught in one yourself, and second, it helps you preserve your training partners.
Many dangerous submissions have a narrow margin between the onset of pain and the onset of damage. When you get caught in a straight armbar (which is a relatively safe submission) you initially feel pain, then more pain, then a whole lot of pain and then something goes 'pop' in your arm; in other words you have lots of warning to tap out before major damage occurs. For a Kimura, on the other hand, the situation is a bit different: pain and damage come much closer together, and the margin for error is smaller. An even more extreme example is the heel hook, where you sometimes get damage BEFORE the onset of pain, especially if the recipient is all hyped up on adrenaline. It goes something like this: the lock is applied, something goes 'pop', and then the pain starts.
So which submissions are dangerous exactly?
As I mentioned above, the Kimura isn't the safest armlock in the world, but other arm manipulations have an even higher injury rate. The two worst offenders are bicep slicers (aka bicep compression locks) and wristlocks.
Among the leglocks, anytime there is rotation or twisting to apply the lock it becomes a lot more dangerous. Twisting leglocks include heel hooks, reverse heel hooks, toeholds and steering wheel footlocks: all are very effective and efficient submissions, but they have destroyed the ligaments in many grappler's feet, ankles and knees.
When it comes to attacking the neck, most chokes and strangles are relatively safe given that you release the technique the moment the person taps out or loses consciousness. There is a slight tendancy for chokes, which attack the windpipe rather than the side of the neck, to cause bruising in the throat if applied vigorously. Neck cranks, however, are in an entirely different category. If you are not very careful and/or if they don't tap out, a neck crank can very easily damage the ligaments, muscles, nerves and/or joints of the neck. This can end someone's jiu-jitsu career, not to mention making pain-free life a distant memory.
The above is NOT an exhaustive list of all dangerous submissions, but it's a good start. I just wanted to highlight the submissions that, in my experience, have the highest percent-injury rates. Also (and this should be obvious) you can severely damage an opponent with just about any lock if you apply it irresponsibly, so don't go crazy with your armbars and ankle locks just because I consider them safer than neck cranks!
Next time I'll address how to train these dangerous submissions in a realistic way without crippling everybody in your club.
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March 14, 2007
A Better Armbar?
The armbar, as it is usually taught, involves using BOTH of your hands or arms to control ONE of your opponent's arms. This two-on-one control can be used when trying to break through your opponent's defenses, as in the photo below:
The two-on-one arm control is usually retained right until your opponent taps out to the finalized armbar, as in the following photo:
The two-on-one arm control is usually retained right until your opponent taps out to the finalized armbar, as in the following photo:
Prior to a few years ago, I'd seen some one-handed armbar variations where the top arm controlled the arm and the bottom hand controlled the near leg. I thought that these were simply interesting variations, and not really bread-and-butter material.
Then my my longtime training partner, Vlado Skrepnik, started attacking me with the one-handed armbar. I remember feeling really frustrated, because his control of my leg effectively killed most of my escape techniques. Most armbar counters rely on turning into your opponent, or turning away from your opponent and/or getting to your knees - all of which are nullified by his control of your leg. For example, completing this simple armbar escape, becomes virtually impossible until you free your leg from his grip, because you just can't get your legs underneath you in base while he is holding your near knee.
About a year after after Vlado started using this style of armbar I came across a book by Eddie Bravo, and discovered that Eddie calls this position the "spider web" and uses it as the foundation of his armbar attacks. Maybe these guys were onto something, I thought, and decided to find out for myself.
Since that point I have experimented with this style of armbar, and generally I've been pretty happy with it. It really does make it much more difficult for your opponent to escape the armbar position. Furthermore if you don't give up much control or power over his arm IF you use correct technique.
Below I'll take you through a two variations of the initial position, and then show you a simple way to break your opponent's grip when he locks his hands together to counter your armbar.
One-armed armbar, shallow grip
I am sitting up and leaning slightly towards his legs. Note how my bottom hand controls his leg by gripping behind the knee (with the gi you can grip cloth). My top arm is inserted DEEP on his arm (inner elbow to inner elbow) - in this case I am cupping my own thigh to keep things tight. I prefer crossing my feet in this armbar position, and having my bottom foot over my top foot feels the most natural to me.One-armed armbar, deep grip
This variation is pretty similar except that I am lying down on my left side and my left arm is hooked much more deeply around his leg.One-armed armbar counter and recounter
Here I am in the one-armed armbar position, but my opponent is blocking my armbar by clasping his hands together and preparing his escape. I have many options to counter his counter (what I call 're-counters'), but here is a simple, high-percentage option:
Maintaining my grips in exactly the same position I place the foot of my bottom leg on his far bicep. I push with my leg and pull with my lower back creating a tremendous pressure on his grip. If he needs more convincing to let go I 'jackhammer' my leg in a series of short, sharp stomps.
My opponent has released his grip, and I keep my foot on his bicep while falling back. The crook of my elbow starts sliding up his forearm towards his wrist, increasing the length of my lever and the amount of force I can generate on his arm.
I've now fallen all the way back, still maintaining my grip on his leg. Note how the crook of my arm is now at his wrist, which is much more secure than grabbing his wrist with my hand. He taps out!
Labels: armlocks
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