Alright, first things first. It’s been a good year, and I have a lot to be thankful for. I’ve got a great family and a nice place to live. I’ve stayed injury free and got to train 200+ days this year. I have some awesome students, who keep me on my toes. Things are good.
Now then, you’re probably wondering what I’ve gotten you for Christmas, greedy whelp. I don’t blame you. Uncle Bart is a giver.
Check out this video of Genki Sudo at the Westside Grappling Tournament, 2001.
Genki transitions like a bandit – side control, north south position, mount … Sudo really gets the “Position before submission” mantra.
Also notice how he “bites” down with his legs. Do not pass go, do not pass guard, do not collect $200 dollars. In that first match, he finishes the opponent via triangle and one thing that made that happen was his immediate response when the guy tries to stack the guard and escape. Sudo grabs a leg and pivots to the side. Very exemplary.
The longer a fight lasts, the sweatier the combatants gets. The sweatier the guys get, the harder it is to lock in submissions – especially if your opponent is a hairless manatee, having shaven himself from head to toe. Moves that require gripping or friction lose effectiveness as things get slippery.
At first blush, it’s an odd thing to think about – but it’s important. If you have a jujitsu-heavy MMA style, you have to plan that some submissions just won’t work very well in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. In particular, The armbar and triangle from guard are two that get harder lock in later in fights. You’ll slap them on and squeeze confidently, only to your chagrin when your grease monkey opponent slithers out his head or arm. Conversly, the mata leo/rear naked choke is one that seems to hold up well despite the sweat coverage.
This is good news if you’re a ground and pounder – you can be agressive while in the opponent’s guard with a diminshed fear of submissions when you start to sweat.
The picture above is of two men participating in the Turkish sport of kirkpinar – oil wrestling. In kirkpinar, they rub down each other with olive oil, wear traditional black pants (leather?) and wrestle furiously. I am not making this up.
Waaaagh! Wrestlers. They’re a tricky sort, and as big names like Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, and Brock Lesnar have shown. The purpose of this article is to help fighters who have difficulties in dealing with wrestling based mixed martial artists. Certainly, I don’t know it all. Hopefully though, you’ll get some tips and ideas to take to the mat and gain an upper hand against wrestling MMA’ers.
In part 1, I discussed the basic wrestlers strategy, side control management, preventing the guard pass, and striking from the guard.
In part 2, I want to add some details about dominant positions, submissions from the ground and elaborate a bit about the standing striking game.
After posting the million different variations of the omoplata, I wanted to give you some deeper instruction on the reverse omoplata, aka the inverted omoplata. Over at Aesopian’s blog, he mentions
As a beginner at the time it struck me, “How many ways can you think about a position? When is mount not just mount? When is guard not guard?” Those questions have become a kind of mind-clearing Zen koan. It opened me up to thinking about a lot of things in new ways and a lot of good has come from it.
What happens when I think of mount as “guard from the top?” I get omoplatas.
He then proceeds to walk you through a tutorial with 3rd degree blackbelt Eduardo de Lima.
This whole detailing of the omoplata – it isn’t just about the submission, it’s about the thought process. I love the dynamic, nebulous and mind expanding nature of jujitsu. Most submission techniques are usuable in many positions and situations – the limiations are due to your static perception. Anyway, if you’re inclined, expand your mind with the revrese omoplata instruction here.
Happy Friday! I’d like you to kick off the weekend (ie: start slacking immediately) and check out go check out Animals Performing Jujitsu Moves over at one of my other project sites.
Normally I’m not much of a “cute” person, but combine it with jujitsu and you’ve got me.
