Continue reading]]> Outside of Jiu Jitsu, I don’t do that much.

The days when I used to spend hours watching TV or playing RPGs are long gone. But I still have a hobby of sorts. I read. But the fiction that has my attention these days isn’t something that most people would even know of.

Why?

It’s because the books weren’t originally written in English. They’re Chinese fiction with a focus on battle, cultivation (extraordinary martial arts and power growth), and political strife.

I only bring it up, though, because not that long ago, I chanced upon a particular concept that has a clear and obvious application to training.

Behold in all its paraphrased glory:

“After survival a battle, you must reflect on what happened no matter what, regardless of defeat or victory. That is the only way to achieve the most improvement.”

The moment I read that I had to stop.

It was profound yet undeniable. At the same time, though, I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t put that principle into practice. And there are so many opportunities to do so too. It applies to more than just tournament experience.

Every time, you roll, it’s a battle that you have survived. And thus there are lessons that can be taken from the experience if you just stop and reflect on what happened.

I’ve had some of my best revelations that way.

But I’ve also been very inconsistent about doing it. Nowadays though, one of my goals is to walk away from every roll with at least one new question. And even if I don’t give each of those questions priority, I must at least make myself conscious of it.

And I would suggest the idea to you. Of course, it’s not technical, but it help you reap the most benefit from your training sessions.

Anyway.

Tomorrow, I’m heading out to Vegas for old man Worlds, so feel free to say hi, if you’re out there too.

And those who’d rather learn some technique, check out my half guard course. It addresses several core problems that make the difference between success and failure when it comes to the foundational attacks of the game.

Learn more here:

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Continue reading]]> Random thoughts on stack killing adjustments…

* Even small adjustments to angle make a large difference.

Here’s a story about that:

About three years ago, I had an opportunity to attend a Pedro Sauer seminar. And he ran it a little differently than I’m used to. It was entirely Q&A. Everyone asked questions, and we covered a wide range of topics. When it was my turn though, I only had one little simple question.

How do you finish the armbar from closed guard?

That’s all I wanted to know.

And he gave me a detail that blew my mind. No joke. I cannot overstate how powerful that little detail was. It revolutionized the mechanics of my finish. I’ve never forgotten it, and I never will.

And guess what?

It was just a small angle adjustment to the ankle in the transition of the attack.

* The fight centers around the alignment of your knees relative to your hips.

Another story…

Way back when I remember watching a few clips from a Renzo Gracie seminar where he was asked about the finishing the triangle against the stack. In response, he showed how you can frame on the inside shoulder and shoulder work back to create an ideal finish angle.

I just had to stop everything and absorb that.

That frame was magic in its simplicity and principle. And that’s because without it, there is no way to even bring disconnects your hips from your opponent’s control.

The shoulder walk isn’t going to get you annnnyyyyyywhere. But once you add the frame, they can’t stop you.

In hindsight, it was stupid simple.

And when done right, it allows you to just smirk in your opponent’s face as they strain in their attempt to smash you.

Loads of fun, that.

Anyhow.

If you’re curious about the specific adjustment to the armbar from closed guard, in can be found somewhere on the tube. I’ve no doubt spent some time dissecting it whenever I’ve taught the armbar, but if you want a lot more offensive bite for your closed guard as well, there is a better place to go.

Inside that seekret place is a whole system off of offense for the closed guard, that flows from one attack to the next, leaving adversaries little chance to escape.

And I’m not whistlin’ dixie about this either.

The system is strong (but that’s only if you work on it).

There’s no such thing as a technique or system that works perfectly with no practice at all.

You have to invest time into mastery.

And if you’re willing to make that commitment, you’ll also find drills and principles for improving your armbar finishes.

Step right this a’way to learn more:

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Continue reading]]> Sprawl and smash.

All day.

That’s the mentality of a certain subset of pajama wrestlers all across the globe. They see your guard, and they raise you a good ol’ smash.

And it WORKS.

Some crumble under the pressure.

Hell, I’m even a fan (sometimes).

Pressure used in the right way can create opportunities in even the oddest of places. It’s like a skeleton key that can unlock all doors.

And that’s why it often used to smash through the half guard.

Case in point:

A common strategy for dealing the kneeshield is to weave an arm through the legs and sprawl back hard to break the lock of the ankles and open up passing opportunities.

It’s effective too.

The guard just vanishes into dead air (when done right).

But that’s not even the worst of it. They also, often, grab your collar and drive their head into your chest. It creates an ideal passing situation.

Why?

It’s because your spine gets straight up torqued.

The legs go one way and the upper body goes the other. It’s like someone took an axe and bisected you straight across the middle, without all the blood and gore.

If you want to move effectively, it’s the absolute worst position to be in (that’s why they put you there).

I look at the initial grip for the transition totally different from most people though. I get damn right giddy (or as close to that as my stoic heart will allow) whenever someone tries to use it on me.

It’s a gift.

And I have no qualms at all about accepting it.

I’ll take it whenever I see it, no if, ands or buts.

And what do I do with it?

Hah.

The best place to find out is in the “Half Guard Trickery” course.

Amidst the many lessons found within is one of which breaks down what I like to call the Half Lasso position, and once you understand that, it will change your perspective on the leg weave pass.

You’ll start to see it as the gift I do.

Learn it here:

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Continue reading]]> In the past, I’ve done a bit of research on the art of the con.

And back then, I chanced upon an extensive interview of a small time grifter. It was packed with all kinds of little lessons for distraction and misdirection, but while I was reading, one story made me stop everything for a moment.

In it, GM (the grifter being interviewed) talks about the contrast between himself and his sister (who also engages in grifting). He calls her a wolf that has cunning for days but no restraint at all.

And one example he gives to support that point is a con she once ran.

During it, she slept with eight different men without condoms, and then hit them each up later for $500 in abortion money.

That’s crazy for a whole host of reasons.

I immediately saw a connection to people who take far too much risk when setting up their attacks though.

Now I am for misdirection and conning people. Hell, that’s the name of the game.

To make what we do on the mat look and feel easy, we must focus attention away from our true intent.

We must distract.

But I refuse to accept the notion that the risk must equal the reward. That’s a bunch of ptooey.

That’s why I prefer the con that GM calls the Pigeon Drop.

It works like this:

Go to the bank and make sure that you have two different bills. One must be a $5 and the other a $50. Then at any store, grab something cheap and go up to the cashier. Take out the $50 and let the cashier see it clearly. Let them mark it in their memory banks. But right before they ring you up, add something else to the order to distract and then switch the bills.

It takes sleight of hand, obviously.

And I am in no way advising you to give it a try.

(If you do that, that’s on you, buddy.)

What’s clear though is that the attention is being focused on the $50, a distraction is made, and the situation is changed in that moment.

That’s how the short con works on the mat as well.

Case in point:

For the loop choke from half guard, I have three different setups for the same attack, and all of them work off of the principle of distraction.

The one that most people have seen, though, was posted on the tube many moons ago and I’ve been hitting it in the room for a long long time. So when I go for it, most people know it’s coming, but they still get caught often.

That hip tilt forces them to react, and in that moment they get distracted, their attention is focused on the wrong thing, and then I….

STRIKE.

And it works far more often than you would think.

Just imagine if you apply that same methodology to your attacks. Your attacks would start to flow like water. You just have to think more deeply about the situation that would be best for making your attack work.

That means that you focus on creating logical reactions from your opponent that don’t require you to risk it all.

And if you be wanting a wee bit more education in this, some tricks await here:

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Continue reading]]> There’s a certain kinda guy in the room that I’ve run into more than once.

He absolutely refuses to give an inch, no matter what. Hell, the position could be completely and utterly lost and yet he still clings on desperately. Sometimes, it’s a grip and other times, it could be a particular guard.

It doesn’t matter.

He won’t let go.

And he’s perfectly fine with stalling you out for minutes on end. And he doesn’t care that this isn’t a tournament. In his mind, winning is all that matters. That’s why he’s going to hold on for dear life, and if you let him survive, he’s going to feel like it’s an accomplishment.

I’ll give an example.

I use to train with a guy I couldn’t pass with a normal kneecut. I would almost pass him then he would lock up a deathgrip on my ankle. It wouldn’t move. His ability to pinch with his legs was just unbelievable, and I would get stalled there allll the time.

Back then, I didn’t have some of the angle adjustments I have now.

But I did come up with a way to counter him.

I started forcing the quarter guard by tripoding up and then driving across, so that both my knees were on the ground. Yup, he still had his deathgrip. My ankle was still trapped, but it was a whole new situation.

And from there, there are three specific ways to punish the guy.

The first, which I like a lot, is to do a reverse kneecut. When done right, it’s sooo hard to stop, and I consider it to be a vital tool in any half guardian’s arsenal (to play the half, you must also thoroughly understand how to destroy it).

Next up in the lineup is passing straight to mount. I do it a little differently though. I don’t like tripoding straight up. It’s far too risky. Instead, I create a certain angle that not only makes easy to clear the legs but also takes away almost all of the risk.

And last, there is also a rolling backtake for the sneaky and devious to play with, if they so wish.

Most of those are already laid out in all their glory up in micro adjustments.

Here’s where to learn em:

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