This might seem a little flashy at first.
But it’s part of a sequence offense for the deep half that begins with the waiter sweep. A common reaction when going for that sweep is that opponents shift their weight forward. That’s when the knee comes into play to add extra leverage to the sweep.
But this is also an option. And the whole sequence will be added to the Trickery course soon.
Find out all about it here:
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The connection between the kneetap sweep and the dope mount transition is just magic. They flow together so seamlessly, and it has worked so well for me.
Learn more of the game here:
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Since this is a quick demonstration, I’ll break down the principles a bit.
Before any scissor sweep can occur, you must damage the structure of an opponent’s position. Generally, that’s done by loading the person’s weight forward. That brings their hips off of their heels and creates a lightness in the lower body.
But, one thing that can always be counted on is resistance.
Opponents will widen their base or sit back more, and that’s where the kick out comes in. It’s another way (and perhaps a better way against larger opponents) to run roughshod over structure and sweep to mount.
The resistance doesn’t stop there though.
Sometimes, people also base out on their foot. And when that happens, it creates an opportunity, because they have shifted their base to one quadrant and left a massive hole behind. Towards the direction where the foot is planted, their base is strong, but that’s not so true the other fact.
In fact, it’s easy to off balance them in that direction. And that leaves them with a choice. They either base out on the hand or they get swept. Either you win, because if they base, your grip is already in the collar.
And now their posture makes the transition to the loop choke almost effortless (if you’ve spent time working on its execution).
Behold this message that came in on the book of faces recently from Mike Lamarche:
“I come from a small town in Ontario where jiu-jitsu is a couple hours away. Our dojo had open up and we kind of do self training also video tutorials from out affiliate Chino Jiu-jitsu. I just wanted to know from your opinion, what would be a good foundation of things to know and learn in my situation.”
I like questions like this.
Right off the bat, it shows that Mike is really thinking about how he can improve even in a situation that isn’t ideal for learning the art.
He’s in a small town. There’s no high level instructors around. And he can only depend on video and trial and error.
It sounds hopeless, but it’s not.
In fact, it can be an opportunity.
First though, let me answer this question.
My philosophy about building a good foundation is that you must start with a focus on movement. No other aspect of the game can restrict you or unleash your ability like movement can.
Generally, when I look at people struggle with technique, it’s not because they don’t know what to do. It’s because they can’t figure how to tell their body to do what they want, either because of physical limitations or motor skills.
There’s nothing wrong with that. It just means that you’ve discovered something that can be improved on.
And the best place to start that development is the shrimp, bridge and roll. Those three movements form a large percentage of the game on the bottom. And they can be easily drilled with or without a partner.
Then when you expand out from there, you have to find more and more drills that will allow you to replicate and improve movement.
That’s the best way to build a firm foundation.
Now here’s why it’s an opportunity:
Once upon a time my coach, Mike Moses, told me a story about what it was like training twenty years ago.
At the time, he was in the same situation as Mike Lamarche.
There were almost no high level instructors in the area and learning opportunities were slim. He had the bug though. He wanted to learn, but most of his instruction was coming from someone who was a blue belt at the time.
So they didn’t have access to a lot of technique (dark times, indeed). But, every little bit of knowledge they found was drilled ad nauseum.
He became really good at a small subset of the game, a true specialist, and that was enough to start absolutely ripping through the competition scene.
Quality over quantity.
Take what lesson you want from that.
But know this, improving movement through time and effort is the key to building a firm foundation.
And for more tips, tricks and stories that will help you expand your game, sneak into my newsletter:
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If you would like to explore lapel trickery to a deeper level, there is a place you can go:
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