Wednesday Class 12/28/2007
Finally! Back to class. I wanted to go to class yesterday, but waited another day so I wouldn't risk infecting anyone else at school with whatever crud I had. Walking in, I learned quickly that it was pervasive. Glad I wasn't the only one.
Technique today was a nice transition from half guard to a triangle. It's a methodical technique, as opposed to an explosive one. These are the techniques I prefer, as I am more of a plodding, methodical grappler.
On a side note, I think for 2008, I'm going to start detailing techniques a bit differently. I've found recently that I'm going back and looking at technique descriptions, but looking for something specific. So, this year I'm going to start by outlining the technique and then detailing it. That way, if I just need a refresher on the technique, it's right there.
Half guard to Triangle
- Start from good half guard position.
- Overhook outside.
- Control inside wrist.
- Pivot on hips to bring shin inside.
- Continue to pivot hips, bring leg over back.
- Get good angle.
- Grab shin.
- Lock in triangle position.
- Lift hips to pull arm across.
- Pull down on head and squeeze for tap.
1: This technique starts from a good half guard position, meaning I'm up on my side, creating space with my elbow so that I can't be flattened out.
2: Many techniques work from an underhook in half guard and even a 1 month new guy can tell that they're getting too high and squirrelly when the guy on the bottom starts working the underhook. So, this one actually works with an overhook grip, which is generally very easy to get. If it's not right there for me to reach around, I can bait my opponent by moving for a sloppy underhook, allowing him to fish back in and basically give me the grip I want. From there, I can lock his arm in by pulling my elbow in tight, or with a gi, grabbing either his lapel or my own.
3: Now that I've got the overhook, I'm going to control his other wrist. By now he surely knows I'm up to something, but is probably not thinking triangle. So, I'm going to control that wrist, pushing it out as far as I can.
4: I'm now going to pivot on my hips. I'm careful to keep my outside leg up on his back so he doesn't pass into side control. As I pivot on my hips, I'm going to bring my knee up in between my body and the arm that I'm controlling. I should be able to do this without releasing my overhook on the other arm.
5: Now that my shin is up, I might have difficulty bringing my leg around. Easiest way to do this is to keep pivoting on my hips, so that I'm now moving almost over to the other side (opposite of the side I started on). This makes it easy to pop the leg out and over his back. I will need to release my overhook at this point.
6: A common mistake on the triangle is to lock the legs in without getting a good angle. So, I'm careful to turn my body so that my leg is directly across the back of my opponent's neck. If you have short legs like I do, this is critical.
7: My mission now is to keep my opponent from posturing up, so I'll reach up and grab my shin. Never my foot.
8: I elevate my hips and bring my other leg over to get the triangle position.
9: At this point, his arm is probably not across his body. Coach showed us a technique for getting the triangle choke without bringing the arm across, but for now we're just doing it the standard way. If I try to drag or pull his arm across it could be difficult. Elevating my hips, however, makes his arm light so I can pull it across my body.
10: Pull down on his head, squeeze my legs together and wait for the gurgling and the eventual tap.
Detail: Coach shared a tip for getting the tap. Sometimes, you'll have a triangle locked in, arm across, pulling the head (or alternatively reaching around the knees as detailed elsewhere) and can't get him to tap. He's posturing up and causing problems. If this happens, walking my shoulders back will flatten him out, make my legs very heavy and get the submission.
I drilled with Jeremy and we both found that getting the overhook and grabbing our own lapel gave us a little more room to shift our hips, while grabbing the opponent's lapel locked him in more. I'm sure that will come in handy later.
Sparring was good and warrants its own post tonight. :D
