Aug 182009
Friday’s class was great. We worked on the tripod sweep from spider guard, had a good time sparring. All was right with the world.
Until Saturday morning when I woke up unable to stand up straight. I had/have intermittent shooting pain down to my toes and a constant tingling. It hurts. A lot.
This isn’t the first time my back has given me problems. But, to be honest, I thought I’d moved past it, for the most part. I have learned to live with some stiffness in my right hip, but this is ridiculous. I’m lighter and stronger than ever. While I know that I should still lose about 10 lbs, I’m pretty bummed out by this latest bout. It really, really sucks and I’m trying desperately to find a bright side.
I went to the urgent care clinic on Sunday because I couldn’t wait until Monday. Good thing, too because my doctor doesn’t have an opening until tomorrow morning. So, here I sit, unable to get comfortable, fairly well stoned out on muscle relaxants and mild narcotics waiting to go to the doctor in the morning… probably to get a cursory examination, more drugs and very little real information. Can’t wait.
But that tripod sweep was great. While working it as much as I could during sparring is probably what killed my back, I thought that it worked great.
That’s basically it, although some of the details are a little different. Todd recommends hooking behind the leg a little higher. It’s not pulling back at the heel as was done in the video (although I’m sure that works, too) as it is just blocking that leg from stepping back, as the other hand is blocking the heel. The sweep comes from the push/pull of the sleeve grip and the foot on the hip.
7 Responses to “Pain in the… back”
Comments (7)
Yeah I have to agree that the method shown on the video seems a bit strange to me as well. Normally this is done from the 2 on 1 guard so the way he puts the foot on the bicep strikes me as out of place.
Not sure about hooking the heel either as you are using a lot of strength to pull the heal out from under someone where as using the foot on the hip and hooking behind the knee seems like it would be easier to accomplish then the method shown here.
Schrambo, I prefer, rather than actually trying to hook the heel with my own foot which uses a lot of energy, to just keep my foot beind his in order to trip him other it as i pull with my hand and push my foot that is against his hip.
Steve, have you tried alternative therapies such as massage and chiropractic? From my experience as a massage therapist (orthopedic massage for 11 years) it sounds like you have some chronic muscle tightness in your hip girdle/lower back with possible disc herniation (of course I cannot diagnose that, but your pain pattern suggests that as a possible culprit). Massage and chiro on a regular basis can resolve those issues (depending on the severity of the disc problem if you have one), and may be the only thing that will get rid of your chronic pain. They might be something to try, especially since you're heavy into BJJ. That's pretty tough on the body. Hope it gets better!!!
I also suffer froma bad lower back from time to time. I learned a strech that seems to REALLY help. Sit up against a wall with your back flat and legs straight out in front of you. Pull your knees up so you feet are flat on the mat. Cross your right leg over your left. Feed your right arm under your righ leg and grab the top of your left leg. To complete the stretch attempt to straighten your right leg and tuck your chin. At first you will feel the stretch in the back of the leg you are lifting. Once the leg is loose you feel the stretch in your back and neck. All of those muscles are connected so you have to stretch them all. This stretch has worked wonders for me, hopefully it helps you as well.
Hi Steve, I feel your pain. I'm still working through a big back injury, with no training at all. Just wondering if physical therapy was an option. Mine was going out every few months, but I'm already feeling some increased strength after a few weeks of therapy. Good luck.
That's my favorite sweep! I do it the way Carlos Machado teaches it. He calls it the "Ankle Pick Hook Flip." Don't ask me why; he's got weird names for everything.
The way Carlos does it, you get your grips, then step on their far thigh to spread their legs apart, then hook behind their knee, then push on their hip and pull their heel out. I find it works much better this way, almost effortless.
Hope your back feels better! There's a book I just got called "heal your own back" by a physical therapist that explains the causes of low back pain and provides some very simple exercises to correct it.
Thanks for the kind words and suggestions. I'm working through it, and hopefully will be back on the mats in a week or two. I feel TONS better now than I did even two days ago.
Matt: That's exactly how Todd explained it, but as more of a "what if" detail. Pushing on that leg is only necessary if the guys is squared up. If he's staggering his feet, which is pretty common, you don't need to push that leg out and can go straight for the sweep. Todd says that he loves this sweep because most people naturally play right to it.