BJJ Technical Questions

Bigger Stronger Leaner
21

"The problem is SO much ego is involved that everyone’s afraid of getting tapped. They want to be the gym badass and act like they’re at the fucking mundials every class.

If you relax, work on your weaknesses, and not mind getting tapped you’ll be the guy that gets tapped all the time in training but you’ll also be the guy with all the golds… no holes in his game… and that is continually improving."

Word… Marcello lays it out perfectly in the video I linked earlier. Of course you have to read the sub titles. That video was on the most influential I have ever seen. No cool moves or secret techniques, just Marcello laying out the heart and soul of BJJ.

Every top Brazilian BJJ player ive known or watched, emphasize one thing “sense of touch” feeling what your opponent is doing. You can’t develop this if you lock the game down all the time because your afraid of losing position or getting tapped.

22

Love the thread…

Here’s one: I am on bottom and have my opponent in half guard. I do well if I don’t allow my opponent to get his arm under my neck and get the far underhook. However, I struggle alot when this happens. I know not to let it happen, but sometimes it does. My partners tend to have (say their right leg is trapped, so their left arm under my head, right arm underhooking, and grasping their hands. Standard control position) such good shoulder pressure on my face pushing me away from the elbow escape.

What do you guys do in that situation? Oh, also my opponent keeps his face/head very low by my far shoulder so it is very hard for me to crossface him, create space, and get the underhook back. Then he is passing by putting his untrapped foot on my leg and working out slowly.

23

Best thing i learned to get that kinesthetic awareness… train blindfolded/ with your eyes closed. Looks kinda gay but it works :slight_smile:

24

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:

Guillotine sweep! I saw it in an old Royler Gracie book, and have never been taught it in any of the many schools I’ve trained at.

I am the ONLY guy I see using this. Why? No clue, since it’s super effective. I’ve even caught brown belts with it.

Guillotine Sweep when Stacked - YouTube [/quote]

Nice sweep, thank you for posting it.

25

[quote]danew wrote:
Love the thread…

Here’s one: I am on bottom and have my opponent in half guard. I do well if I don’t allow my opponent to get his arm under my neck and get the far underhook. However, I struggle alot when this happens. I know not to let it happen, but sometimes it does. My partners tend to have (say their right leg is trapped, so their left arm under my head, right arm underhooking, and grasping their hands. Standard control position) such good shoulder pressure on my face pushing me away from the elbow escape.

What do you guys do in that situation? Oh, also my opponent keeps his face/head very low by my far shoulder so it is very hard for me to crossface him, create space, and get the underhook back. Then he is passing by putting his untrapped foot on my leg and working out slowly.[/quote]

Good question Danew, and I can think of one technique off the top of my head which is to swim your arms up over your head “like you are making the letter A” as you bridge somewhat to make space. Then you bring your hands down toward you and your opponents face and try to slide it between you and his under hook. But… let me get on the mat tonight with my Profesor and review this tech. Super important tech, and I don’t want to steer you wrong.

26

[quote]Xen Nova wrote:
Best thing i learned to get that kinesthetic awareness… train blindfolded/ with your eyes closed. Looks kinda gay but it works :)[/quote]

It works really really well.

I also like to try and defend/pass the guard no hands. You have to have a good partner to make it work, but it really helps with hip movement/body position and balance.

27

Simmer down there bigjitsu, not trying to question your credibility or put you on the defensive, only wondering. And yes it would make a diffrence, if you train with Fred Ettish I wouldn’t take you near as serious as if you trained with Jacare or Marcelo.

For me side control in gi or nogi is all about underhooks and get to my side, there are alot of options, its all going to depend on what your partner does.

28

[quote]Bigjitsu wrote:
danew wrote:
Love the thread…

Here’s one: I am on bottom and have my opponent in half guard. I do well if I don’t allow my opponent to get his arm under my neck and get the far underhook. However, I struggle alot when this happens. I know not to let it happen, but sometimes it does. My partners tend to have (say their right leg is trapped, so their left arm under my head, right arm underhooking, and grasping their hands. Standard control position) such good shoulder pressure on my face pushing me away from the elbow escape.

What do you guys do in that situation? Oh, also my opponent keeps his face/head very low by my far shoulder so it is very hard for me to crossface him, create space, and get the underhook back. Then he is passing by putting his untrapped foot on my leg and working out slowly.

Good question Danew, and I can think of one technique off the top of my head which is to swim your arms up over your head “like you are making the letter A” as you bridge somewhat to make space. Then you bring your hands down toward you and your opponents face and try to slide it between you and his under hook. But… let me get on the mat tonight with my Profesor and review this tech. Super important tech, and I don’t want to steer you wrong.

[/quote]

Thank you, I look forward to hearing what you have to say

29

[quote]danew wrote:
Bigjitsu wrote:
danew wrote:
Love the thread…

Here’s one: I am on bottom and have my opponent in half guard. I do well if I don’t allow my opponent to get his arm under my neck and get the far underhook. However, I struggle alot when this happens. I know not to let it happen, but sometimes it does. My partners tend to have (say their right leg is trapped, so their left arm under my head, right arm underhooking, and grasping their hands. Standard control position) such good shoulder pressure on my face pushing me away from the elbow escape.

What do you guys do in that situation? Oh, also my opponent keeps his face/head very low by my far shoulder so it is very hard for me to crossface him, create space, and get the underhook back. Then he is passing by putting his untrapped foot on my leg and working out slowly.

Good question Danew, and I can think of one technique off the top of my head which is to swim your arms up over your head “like you are making the letter A” as you bridge somewhat to make space. Then you bring your hands down toward you and your opponents face and try to slide it between you and his under hook. But… let me get on the mat tonight with my Profesor and review this tech. Super important tech, and I don’t want to steer you wrong.

Thank you, I look forward to hearing what you have to say[/quote]

Out of curiosity, who is your coach?

30

Great Thread…

I have always felt the Gi is where the
techniques come from, so much more opportunity and refinement-
that Marcelo Garcia vid is always something
I think about in the Gi.
That and after years of judo there really is no “no-gi” judo unless your armenian.

I guess I am the opposite here “real” wrestler/judo player
who likes to roll with the Bjj types

naturally my take downs/pummeling/grips
are tight I am usually far more dominant then
most.
and yes I still struggle with plenty of guard issues- I dont give away much,
but I tend to “Post” with arms or feet
and give them away.

what is strange- its sometimes like practicing a foreign language- you want to try your new language, they want to try their
english or whatever.

People always want to work takedowns/throws
with me I always want to be on the verge
of getting tapped…
I also find I get lured in by the better players with very very subtle guard positioning- how much gi they grab,
what their right foot is doing while they have underhooks, what their elbow/forarme is doing to my beathing,
just smart stuff, that takes me time to figure out.
kmc

31

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Sentoguy wrote: What do you do (and I’m just asking about personal preference) if the guy defends/escapes your guillotine? Like let’s say he throws his arm over your shoulder, grabs your wrist with his other hand while pulling down (to relieve pressure on his neck), and again postures up placing his weight down into his shoulder/your neck, thus forcing you to let go of the guillotine. Do you have a flow from there that you like to use?

Guillotine sweep! I saw it in an old Royler Gracie book, and have never been taught it in any of the many schools I’ve trained at.

I am the ONLY guy I see using this. Why? No clue, since it’s super effective. I’ve even caught brown belts with it.

[/quote]

Thanks C-Law. So it’s basically an elevator, but using the arm to block him from being able to base out. Cool, I’ll have to give that a shot next time I get into that position.

32

[quote]Bigjitsu wrote:
danew wrote:
Love the thread…

Here’s one: I am on bottom and have my opponent in half guard. I do well if I don’t allow my opponent to get his arm under my neck and get the far underhook. However, I struggle alot when this happens. I know not to let it happen, but sometimes it does. My partners tend to have (say their right leg is trapped, so their left arm under my head, right arm underhooking, and grasping their hands. Standard control position) such good shoulder pressure on my face pushing me away from the elbow escape.

What do you guys do in that situation? Oh, also my opponent keeps his face/head very low by my far shoulder so it is very hard for me to crossface him, create space, and get the underhook back. Then he is passing by putting his untrapped foot on my leg and working out slowly.

Good question Danew, and I can think of one technique off the top of my head which is to swim your arms up over your head “like you are making the letter A” as you bridge somewhat to make space. Then you bring your hands down toward you and your opponents face and try to slide it between you and his under hook. But… let me get on the mat tonight with my Profesor and review this tech. Super important tech, and I don’t want to steer you wrong.

[/quote]

Emphasis mine. Getting out of side control, mount, or improving on 1/2 guard (basically any time you’re on your back and not in guard) is all about as C-Law said, staying active and bridging to create space/cause the opponent to react a certain way that opens them up for a counter.

Too many people want to just get into 1/2 guard and stall there, just trying to hold onto their opponent rather than trying to use it to improve their position.

Another possibility is to make your opponent go on the defensive. If you’re just laying there not really doing anything, he/she is free to think clearly and start executing their offensive skills to try to improve position/work for a submission.

As Marcello said in one of the above posted videos (paraphrasing)“You always want to be offensive, because it forces your opponent to stay defensive”. Kind of like “the best defense is a good offense”.

While there aren’t as many options from 1/2 guard as say full guard, there are still some things you can do to make him start thinking defensively. I know most of the people here are strictly sport JJ oriented, so I’m not really sure how many of these apply but here are some options:

-rub your opponent’s floating rib area with the second knuckle of your pointer finger (same hand position as a “key strike”), this should create some space for you to work with

-use the arm that is underhooked to reach around the side of his head and try to get a hold of his nose,chin, or (if this is for real) fish hook the inside of his ear, the corner of his eye socket, or his mouth and use it to turn him. Even if you can’t get the turn, it will likely cause them to again be defensive, and most likely will create some space to work with, also don’t forget to use your head to help manipulate theirs.

-“Scorpion leg lock”- Tony Cecchine Catch Wrestling - Scorpion Leg Lock - YouTube
you’ve got to either hold them down or use their reaction to allow you to scoot out the side door with this. You’re also probably not going to submit someone with this unless they are really low level, or you’ve got freakishly strong legs/great technique. But if done properly it will get a reaction and force them to start thinking defensively.

I’m still waiting to hear about Bijitsu’s technique from here though.

33

Yes. But if you don’t trap his arm, and he’s able to base out, let go of the guillotine and go for the kimura.

Remember to combine: guillotine, kimura:

Also add sweeps to the combo:

34

Follow up for danew on 1/2 guard when top guy has head and underhook.

I’m glad I checked my techniques, the move I gave you earlier is for shedding the underhook only, and it should have read arm, not arms, so like 1/2 an A.

To restablish your underhook when your opponent has and underhook and your neck you can:

  1. Use your forearm on the side that is underhooked to either push down on your opps head or into his face. As you are doing this rock onto your inside hip and bring your outer knee in across your opps hips then push out as you straighten your upper body.

This will break the grip on the neck, then you can follow up with the tech i posted earlier, except you are only swiming the under hooked arm over your head. The key is to be on your inner hip.

  1. Use your underhooked arm to push down on your opps knee, at the same time bring your inside leg up and make a hook similar to that used in butterfly guard, then use it to lift you opp and sweep him.

As both his hands are already tied up holding you down, you dont need to trap his arm. This move was new to me, so I can’t say I have field tested it, but it felt solid in practice. Even if the sweep is unsuccessful, you still creat enough space to transition into number of other moves (ie, X-guard, little chair, butterfly guard, ect.)

Note: Aside from the WWF style name the “Scorpian leg lock” looks pretty good way for making space, and in fact one my friends just showed me a variant today… oh, but be careful because it would seem that this would make it easy for your opp to transition to cross body.

35

Thank you…I’ll drill it.

36

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

While there aren’t as many options from 1/2 guard as say full guard, there are still some things you can do to make him start thinking defensively.

I know most of the people here are strictly sport JJ oriented, so I’m not really sure how many of these apply but here are some options:

[/quote]

Because techniques are always evolving I couldnt say how many options exist from 1/2 guard vs full guard, but at this point in my own study I can think of at least a dozen 1/2 guard sweeps off the top of my head.

Less submission options to be sure. If you have a complete half-guard game your options from the bottom grow exponentially.

However, I must point out that 1/2 guard to me is far more then just what we think of as traditional 1/2 guard position, namely your legs locked around your opponents leg while he is at a diag angle across your body (hips to shoulders). I will look for some youtube vids and post them

PS
The key, IMO, for successful 1/2 guard is never letting yourself get flattened out. This goes for all bottom positions.

PPS: Remember the monkey grip

37

Get out of that 1/2 guard problem…
“jaws of life”, can’t find it on google but its very similar to what bigjitsu described. basically manipulating your opponents head so that you can get double under hooks yourself.

If i get 1/2 guard consider yourself swept. and yes never let yourself get flattened out. from 1/2 guard you should be trying to get up on a hip or posted on your elbow asap.

I’m primarily a 10th planet no-gi guy so my game is just slightly different and way more aggressive. It’s all about attacking and using your jiujitsu as an offensive weapon. Constantly endangering your opponent no matter what path you go down.

38

if you wrap your legs the other way on the scorpion leg lock, you’re doing a “lockdown”, which is the fundamental part of the 10th planet 1/2 guard methodology. best way i’ve seen to control your opponent if you pull 1/2.

39

[quote]Xen Nova wrote:
if you wrap your legs the other way on the scorpion leg lock, you’re doing a “lockdown”, which is the fundamental part of the 10th planet 1/2 guard methodology. best way i’ve seen to control your opponent if you pull 1/2.[/quote]

just re-watched that move in the vid again and noticed the leg position is incorrect for most of all the 1/2 guard moves I know. You want your outside leg on the bottom and your your inside on top (like Xen mentioned).

The reasoning is that you can use you out side leg to “open” your opps leg and spread out his base and make it easier to sweep/create space. There is some debate on this but the way it was explained to me was that it saves you the trouble of trying to switch feet later.

However, this method of controling the leg leaves you open to your opp going what I call “cross body” (laying across your hips with his back to you)or being flattened via “crab walk”. But then there is no perfect solution, just the flow.

My current approach to half-guard, which is very popular at our school, and I have seen from a lot of the guys at Alliance, and Paragon (Jeff Glover in particular) is to shoot my inside arm inbetween my opps legs and hook his outside leg

(opposite the one I am controlling with my legs) and play from there.
This vid shows the entry with a transition in X-gaurd

Some good half-guard

  1. Another approach to danews question
    part of half guard sweep series - YouTube
  2. Old school Mario Sperry
    part of half guard sweep series - YouTube
40

[quote]Bigjitsu wrote:
Xen Nova wrote:
if you wrap your legs the other way on the scorpion leg lock, you’re doing a “lockdown”, which is the fundamental part of the 10th planet 1/2 guard methodology. best way i’ve seen to control your opponent if you pull 1/2.

just re-watched that move in the vid again and noticed the leg position is incorrect for most of all the 1/2 guard moves I know. You want your outside leg on the bottom and your your inside on top (like Xen mentioned).

The reasoning is that you can use you out side leg to “open” your opps leg and spread out his base and make it easier to sweep/create space. There is some debate on this but the way it was explained to me was that it saves you the trouble of trying to switch feet later.

However, this method of controling the leg leaves you open to your opp going what I call “cross body” (laying across your hips with his back to you)or being flattened via “crab walk”. But then there is no perfect solution, just the flow.

My current approach to half-guard, which is very popular at our school, and I have seen from a lot of the guys at Alliance, and Paragon (Jeff Glover in particular) is to shoot my inside arm inbetween my opps legs and hook his outside leg

(opposite the one I am controlling with my legs) and play from there.
This vid shows the entry with a transition in X-gaurd

Some good half-guard

  1. Another approach to danews question
    part of half guard sweep series - YouTube
  2. Old school Mario Sperry
    part of half guard sweep series - YouTube

[/quote]

Yeah, you could get the leg lock with either leg, and if you like using the inside leg on top, and you feel it offers you more options, no reason not to do it that way.

About the name (someone mentioned that it sounded too WWE like), it comes from Catch Wrestling (which the WWE has it’s roots in). A lot of the Catch moves have somewhat flashy names because Catch wrestlers often times traveled with circuses and the announcers felt that the flashier names would attract more patrons.

If you think the “Scorpion Leg Lock” is bad, then you’d hate one of the counters to the move (could be done with either of the opponent’s legs tying up your leg). It’s called the “Standing Indian Death Lock”. LOL. How’s that for a flashy name.

The thing that I don’t like about a lot of BJJ half guard sweeps that I see demonstrated, is that practically no BJJ guys that I see (even guys like Garcia, Jacare, and other extremely talented and skilled BJJ guys) control their opponent’s hips, or make their opponents carry their weight, while in half guard (or guard).

No disrespect to these guys meant at all btw, they are phenomenal grapplers. I just don’t think that BJJ teaches to do this.

That video you posted (the first one) is a good example of this. The guy on the bottom was able to even get his arms between the other guy’s legs because the guy on top was not controlling his hips, and in fact, his hips were well above his opponent’s center of gravity.

So yeah, if the guy on top isn’t controlling your hips, has space between your hips and his, isn’t making you carry his weight, and has his hips well above your center of gravity, then sweeps like those work great.

But, if the guy on top has his hips below yours, has no space between your hips and his, makes you carry his weight (basically is controlling your hips), then a lot of those sweeps don’t work so well.

Also, things obviously change between gi and no-gi. The techniques in the video with Sperry wouldn’t work nearly as well if you didn’t have the gi to grab hold of to manipulate your opponent. But obviously work quite will with the gi on.

In the end it comes down to what you can make work though, so to each his own.