Sunday BJJ 04/27/08

Sunday, we worked on transitioning from Knee on Belly to what we'll call Knee on Face. I also learned a slick head/arm choke from side control that Jeremy taught me.

The positional drills we did focused on starting in side control, controlling by gripping under my opponent's head with a thumb inside the lapel. This is a good grip to keep my opponent from turning into me. If he tries to turn in, I simply straighten out my arm. My other arm grabs down by his leg. From here, I bring both knees up tight to his body, then pop up into knee on belly.

Once I'm in a good position, I'll work to control his arm. My goal in this drill was to eventually take the armbar. So, I'll work to pull his arm up high. A common reaction to having someone put all their weight on your gut is to try and turn in. As my opponent does this, I'll keep both of my grips (on his sleeve and on his pant leg), turn and put my other knee on his jaw, the idea being to turn his face away from me. At this point, I can move back to Knee on Belly, or often take the arm as he focuses more on the pressure on his head then on protecting the arm from an armbar.

The choke Jeremy showed me is one I can definitely use. It works like this, starting in side control (my right arm is head side and my left is hip side):

1. Bring my right knee up, isolating his left arm on top of my thigh. I might need to sit out into a scarf hold position, and then up into side control in order to do this. Getting this arm high on my thigh is critical to the choke.
   
2. Move my arms to the other side of his body. I need to stay tight, clamping him down with my elbows on one side and my knees on the other. Jeremy recommended camping out here for a few moments, waiting until my opponent decides to stop struggling.
3. With my right arm, reach back under his body aiming for in between my own legs. I want my bicep as tight against his neck as possible.
4. Drop my hips all the way to the mat. I need to get them all the way down or that arm I isolated will sneak back inside and I'll lose the submission.
5. Reach under with my left arm, securing either a gable or "S" grip.
6. And finish by bringing my head to the mat next to my left arm, moving my legs toward the north/south direction.

This choke gets really tight, and as long as each position is clamped down, it's a very methodical technique.