March 02, 2010
The Best Brabo Choke Resources
Shortly after Paulo Thiago defeated Mike Swick at UFC 109 I was asked to write about the 'Brabo' choke (Thiago finished the fight in the second round using the Brabo choke).I've always had a suspicion that this attack (also known as the 'Darce choke') would become a more popular attack. That's why, several years ago, I asked Marcio Feitosa to teach a photo tutorial on the Brabo choke.
Grapplers are finally catching on that the Brabo choke is a very powerful attack that you can hit from a number of different position. That's why we're seeing it more and more in submission grappling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA.
All this being said, I have to point out that the Brabo choke is NOT a submission that I've studied very deeply. Sure, I could show you the basic mechanics and a few tricks, but I'm just not your man if you want a ton of detail about this attack.
Fortunately someone else has done the heavy lifting on the Brabo Choke: Matt Kirtley has put together a really good series of articles on this attack at Aesopian.com. Here's a list of articles that you should read if you want to make it one of your go-to moves:
- Brabo Choke Homework: Trigger Position
- Brabo Choke Homework: Progressive Grips
- Brabo Choke Homework: Crossing the Arm
- Standing Up, Sitting Out and Brabo Chokes
Labels: arm triangle, Brabo Choke, chokes, D'arce choke, no gi
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
May 17, 2009
Gi? No-Gi? Self Defense? MMA? No Problem!
There's a long-standing debate in the grappling community whether training with the gi helps your no-gi skills.
My personal preference is to train both with and without the gi.
And for what it's worth, MMA super-coach Ricardo Liborio believes that anyone just starting out should train with the gi, even if their ultimate goal is to fight in MMA. (This is discussed further in BJJ Secrets for MMA, a resource available to Grappling Tips newsletter subscribers).
But today I actually want to focus on something slightly different...
Let's assume that you're interested in BOTH gi and no-gi. Or that you're planning on doing some MMA sparring at some point. Or that you'd like your BJJ skills transfer well in a self defense situation
In this case you should be aware that some styles of BJJ translate much better to no-gi than others.
For example, the traditional sleeve and collar grip from closed guard works great in gi-based BJJ, but translates very poorly to no-gi. You just don't have the same handles available to you when you're wearing a rashguard and board shorts.
A good set of grips, but only WITH the gi...
A lot of great BJJ players have gotten pounded in MMA, because they were so reliant on the gi. Without their familiar handles were unable to control their opponent's posture in guard, and if you can't control posture and distance in the guard then you're to get smoked in the head for sure!
Now there's nothing wrong with gi-dependent moves, so long as
1. You're focussing on gi grappling or gi-based competition, or
2. you have enough time to develop a no-gi game that looks entirely different from your gi game
If you don't have the time to develop two entirely different games then what you want is a game that works both in gi and no-gi contexts. For example, maybe specializing in a double-sleeve grip spider guard might not be the best idea...
Instead using grips like the underhook, the overhook and head control would much better. That's because these grips work great both with AND without the gi.
The point is to make most of your game as transferable as possible!
So here's your homework.
If you train with the gi more than 50% of the time, then go through your best offensive and defensive moves for each of the fundamental BJJ positions. Now ask yourself whether those moves are gi-dependent or gi-independent.
If more than half of your moves are reliant on the gi then I predict that making the jump to no-gi grappling could be a rough and difficult process.
In the end, of course, it's entirely YOUR decision how reliant you want to be on the gi. Just be conscious about the consequences of your decision, that's all...
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon
My personal preference is to train both with and without the gi.
And for what it's worth, MMA super-coach Ricardo Liborio believes that anyone just starting out should train with the gi, even if their ultimate goal is to fight in MMA. (This is discussed further in BJJ Secrets for MMA, a resource available to Grappling Tips newsletter subscribers).
But today I actually want to focus on something slightly different...
Let's assume that you're interested in BOTH gi and no-gi. Or that you're planning on doing some MMA sparring at some point. Or that you'd like your BJJ skills transfer well in a self defense situation
In this case you should be aware that some styles of BJJ translate much better to no-gi than others.
For example, the traditional sleeve and collar grip from closed guard works great in gi-based BJJ, but translates very poorly to no-gi. You just don't have the same handles available to you when you're wearing a rashguard and board shorts.
A good set of grips, but only WITH the gi...A lot of great BJJ players have gotten pounded in MMA, because they were so reliant on the gi. Without their familiar handles were unable to control their opponent's posture in guard, and if you can't control posture and distance in the guard then you're to get smoked in the head for sure!
Now there's nothing wrong with gi-dependent moves, so long as
1. You're focussing on gi grappling or gi-based competition, or
2. you have enough time to develop a no-gi game that looks entirely different from your gi game
If you don't have the time to develop two entirely different games then what you want is a game that works both in gi and no-gi contexts. For example, maybe specializing in a double-sleeve grip spider guard might not be the best idea...
Instead using grips like the underhook, the overhook and head control would much better. That's because these grips work great both with AND without the gi.
The point is to make most of your game as transferable as possible!
So here's your homework.
If you train with the gi more than 50% of the time, then go through your best offensive and defensive moves for each of the fundamental BJJ positions. Now ask yourself whether those moves are gi-dependent or gi-independent.
If more than half of your moves are reliant on the gi then I predict that making the jump to no-gi grappling could be a rough and difficult process.
In the end, of course, it's entirely YOUR decision how reliant you want to be on the gi. Just be conscious about the consequences of your decision, that's all...
bookmark this! del.icio.us | Digg it | reddit | Yahoo MyWeb | Google | StumbleUpon