Garry Tonon v Kron Gracie

Kron Gracie v Garry Tonon ADCC China 2013 -77kg second round. Go to http://www.bjjscout.com for ADCC day 1 and 2 review.

class notes: bottom control (guard) masterclass

Takedown drill warm up: double leg to side bag clinch to single leg.

Key learning points are the hips; keep them pinned to him if you want the takedown, keep them away if you don't want it and want to avoid him getting it. Throughout each phase of movement in this drill they should feel head pressure.
On the outside of the ribs on the double leg.
On their shoulder blades on the side back clinch.
On their front ribs on the single leg.

This image below illustrates the depth and commitment of the double leg.

In essence you are moving around him whilst in contact. For example, shoot in on the right leg, move around his back and capture the leg leg for the single.

Bottom control 1:

Submit or pass. Person on their back has to look for creative and a variety of submissions or submission attempts. Top person has to avoid the submission and pass the legs to side control. When passed, start again. The one thing I noticed was when going for the shoulder rotation (omoplata) they might defend by sitting up and pulling away. From here you can slide the near side leg under his chin to set up the shin choke (gogplata). The angle is far from perfect so you need grap your foot by reaching around his head. You might not even get the finish but having the shin across their neck will generate movement from them so you can explore other positions.

My partner got some nice elbow extension on me. The type when the pressure is applied to the tricep and my hand is on his shoulder.

Submit or reverse: Similar to above except the person on top is not trying to pass. They are preventing the submission and keeping their base to avoid being swept.

Inversion from open spider guard

inversion dexterity from the bottom: side control to north south - 'roll' out

These are complicated motions to describe in words, hopefully these images will give some clearer ideas of what we were doing.

dexterity against the wall



This is an example of the dexterity drill we dill.



This video, start at 1.48 gives an idea of the motion. We were not using the inversion as an entry but from contact range already.



Again, this video is not what we were doing but is a creative way to get the triangle from an inverted position.



This video looks very similar in terms of movement that we were looking at. Start it at 2.22

Ronda Rousey's arm bar set up

http://www.mma121.com | In this video you will learn how to do one of the Elbow Extension (Arm Bar) set ups that Ronda Rousey used on Miesha Tate in their bantam weight title battle at Strikeforce. This was the first of two arm bars that Ronda Rousey went for in the fight, she almost won it with this one but Miesha Tate managed to escape despite her arm being badly hyper extended. This Arm Bar set up started when Miesha Tate was doing up kicks towards Ronda Rousey before Ronda span past the legs and took a knee on belly position and cleverly held on to the leg while going for the submission. It's a great set up that can be used in MMA or BJJ but it does leave some defensive opportunities because of the knee on stomach start position.



www.promai.com/mma

Akiyama's trip throws

http://www.mma121.com | Learn how to do Yoshihiro Akiyama's amazing trip takedowns that he used on Jake Shields at UFC 144. Akyama may have lost to Jake shields at UFC 144 but he still managed some impressive looking dynamic Judo style takedowns on the way. The technique looks incredibly fast when you watch it in real time but the real key is in the preparation. In order to perform an outside trip on the front leg at such a pace Akiyama prepares himself while Shields is closing the distance instead of waiting for the clinch to be solidified before starting the takedown. Akiyama does this by recognising the times when Shields is closing for a clinch and before Shields has the clinch formed he starts to turn sideways and looks for the underhook on Shileds rear arm. Because of this preparation when shields moves in Akiyama is already half way through the technique, he's stepped most of the way across the front leg and his lead hand is waiting to pummel under. If he gets that position it's a very tough takedown to stop but if it goes wrong Akiyama can end up with his back to his opponent like he did with Jakes Shields in Round 3 of their fight. A great example of Judo in MMA



www.promai.com/mma

Ground control practise on a basketball

http://www.mma121.com | In this video PRO MAI MMA Chief Instructor Lee Aylett demonstrates an unusual drill that's designed to improve your ground / grappling control where you try and remain balanced on a basketball. Control when you're in top positions like centre control (mount), side control or invert side control (scarf hold) on the ground in both MMA and BJJ depends largely on your ability to keep pressure on your opponent. In turn this means that you have to be continuously aware of your centre of gravity and adjust it as necessary.

In this drill you balance your upper body on a basketball and nothing other than your feet are allowed to be in contact with the ground. You then have to transition into different positions and strike while retaining your balance and position on the ball. In order to avoid slipping off the basketball you have to continually adjust your centre of gravity just as you would in a real grappling exchange.

This MMA training drill is fantastic for improving the responsiveness of your movement and control and it can be done on your own when you don't have a training partner around.



www.promai.com/mma

Arm bar to triangle choke

http://www.mma121.com | In this video you will learn how to switch your attack to a Leg Suppression / Traingle Choke when your opponent defends the Elbow Extension / Arm Bar. It's very common for an opponent to defend the Arm Bar by pulling their arm back through the hips before the submission is locked in. When this happens there is an opportunity to retain control and chain the submission into a Triangle Choke. This requires the person applying the submission to think ahead, react fast and control well with the legs.

This submission combination is great for chaining together in MMA competition or BJJ matches



www.promai.com/mma

Class notes: UFC Fight Night Austin - Edgar's takedowns

Frankie take down

Round 2 against Cub Swanson:
My words would be ineffective if preceding Lee's words so here is the video he made.



Side back control from standing, side body cinch, apply pressure with the shoulder to the back to drive him down to the floor, he will push back up, keep the grip and slide around to his front, keep the head against his body, slide down to the double hip lift.

Marcello Garcia inner forearm choke from the back, hand on the shoulder and squeeze your elbow to your shoulder. The concept was tilting the head forward to close the gap and pressure to the back of the head. Lee showed a reverse gogoplata, and omoplata (shoulder rotation with the legs), spider web from the back to inner forearm choke.

In the following video you can see Garcia applying some very tight forearm chokes.

At 1.21, 1.44, 2.20, 2.39 and so on... He uses the concept Lee was talking about, closing the chin to neck gap and pressure on the back of the head.



In this video you can see Garcia doing the one armed inner forearm choke, first at 0.17. It is quick and horrible. It feels like the throat is being crushed.



Freeform sparring

Some footage from the class

Class notes: UFC 180 finishes

Relaxed grapple warm up.
I rolled with Milzy which was a great way to get warmed up and move.

Submission grapple flow.
Again I was with Milzy, this time we were looking for submissions. Thankfully he was being very kind. He is fast, powerful and very slick on the floor so is always great to roll with as you learn so much about space, pressure, position, weight distribution, isolation of limbs and general ground craft.

The main part of class was learning and refining the 3 subnmission finishes from UFC 180

The Mexican kid with the inner forearm choke. Benitez v Brown.

This was something I remember Lee showing this concept a time ago; going palm to palm on the inner forearm choke then making a L to lever your elbow over his shoulder. this makes the choke incredibly tight very quickly. For me it was important to get the armpit over his head as this made quite a lot of difference in terms of tightness and ultimate completion of the technique. If you get a chance to watch the video of the fight, Brown is out cold before he hits the ground (Benitez pulled guard).

Ricardo Lamas inner forearm and shoulder choke

This choke we started from the partner being on all fours so we could drill the correct positioning. So, slide an arm under his armpit and across his neck. Take a palm to palm grip at the other armpit. Clear his defending arm and get your hips across so you push his arm across his neck/centre. You then need to get on the same plane as him in that your heads point along the same direction. My mistake was that at first I was going off to the side and thus losing any quality in my work. By being squareer to him you are much tighter on him. The outside leg goes over his back to stop him escaping that side, the other leg is tight to his chest. To finish the choke, I think you pull up on your forearm then pull back towards your shoulder. It looks like a guilotene but the arm is in.

Kelvin Gastleman inner forearm choke from the back

The new bit of learning for me was about using the forearm to apply the choke, the hands were the fulcrum and you pull the elbow back to your shoulder to close it off. Tight, painful and generally horrible. I liked it also as you do not need to only go for the bicep and forearm suppression with the chin at the elbow fold. This gives you other options. In playing around it helped if the head was folded forward over the arm as this gave the choke great initial tightness.

Freeform grappling with Craig, Rob and Neil. Rob landed a beautifully illegal punch to my right eye ball!!

5 tips to living a good life:
Meditation,
Movement/mobility,
Exercise,
Sleep,
Nutrition

Class notes October 2014: side back control

Pinning drill form the knees - start from the knees, takedown and wrestle for position. There was no submissions just trying to keep the partner pinned. They could try to reverse the position and pin you.

Grappling class:

Wrestling against the cage, no grip flow. Not being static and keeping the hips away and concave spine. I felt having when with my back against the cage I could use soft arms to feel and direct my partner's head without too much energy expended. I was just flowing with his movement, something that we have been working on in the other martial arts class I go to (Workman Martial Arts https://www.facebook.com/workmanmartialarts)

Side back control, with a leg on the inside Phil Davis domination from UFC 179 over Glover Texeria

We worked the basic position but we had a leg through his leg and we then hooked it behind the knee for a figure 4 control. We then looked at breaking the arm down, applying shoulder pressure, staying no more then in the centre of his back to avoid being rolled. The key was the shoulder pressure which had to be felt. It was something Georges St Pierre dominated Nick Diaz with. It was a small but vital detail that I had noticed before but will be something to watch out for in the future.

Side control far arm manipulation: getting the head up, inverted triangle, hips over the shoulder, you can face plant, go for the elbow extension, downward shoulder rotation. Tight with the inverted triangle is key.

Here is a video detailing some similar learning points we went through:



Free form sparring with Craig and Lee. With Craig i went for a head and arm but he cheekily turned it into some type of knarly neck crank. I then managed to secure a triangle from my back which he rolled to his back and I finished from top position.

Lee got me three times with a triangle, arm extension and then a downward shoulder rotation (DWL) with me face down.

Was great to be welcomed back.

Class notes July 2014: arm drags

The standing grappling part of the class was a refresher and then some from the learning of last week.

Arm drag from fixed positions:

Right hand on same side shoulder: arm drag

Right hand on opposite side shoulder: head and arm choke

Right hand on same side hip: DWL

Right hand on opposite side hip: Double lap

As well as working the variants with the left arm, mixing it up, incorporating fast twitch speed and reaction. Ensure the motions are tight and small. With speed comes erratic movement patterns so we tried to train to our perfect ideal of tight and small.

4 variants of the arm drag from the inside and outside wrist control (with punch down the centre)

Arm drag to back shoulder and hip control:

When done to you this feels most unpleasant, firstly because you are spinning around with your head below heart height, secondly, they are not applying much force and so are riding your attempts to escape. Below are the 4 variants of the arm drag entry to get to their back and hip.

Class notes April 2014: grappling from the pummel

Grappling from the pummel: The techniques we looked at tonight can be labelled loosely for memories sake, and even now only a few hours later I am struggling to remember all the variations. I think this is because it for me was about flow and not individual moments.

The individual positions were from the Thai clinch:
Headlock take down,
Chicken wing,
Standing Kimura,
Bail out and strike,
Two hand to One shoulder control.

There was a few more but 2 things stick in my mind, the corrections for the Thai clinch and the concept of flow. For the Thai clinch we were reminded about weight distribution - have weight in the back leg so the front can start to knee. Heaviness - put your weight through the top of their head, let them carry you. Squeezing forearms - clamp down as being in the Thai clinch is murder. No technique is worth fighting for. Don't stay and fight for a technique or a position, if it is not there or working, go to something else. Be fluid and keep moving but with control. Don't resist the resister. This was something me and Tristan had time to play with. Starting from the half Thai clinch, we would take it in turns to see what we could get, always going back to the Thai clinch if it was there. Being the one being moved around is quite alarming as you have not time to get set, you are always thinking about defending, about moving away from the pressure, the pain or escaping too. What was most refreshing about this part of the class was Martin's honesty. He said that what he was teaching was messy, few people teach messy as people like crisp, neat and tidy. But rarely to thing look neat and tidy in the chaos of combat. Messy in the visual sense not in the practical sense. Here is a video that is a stylised version of what we were doing and i can see many of the positions we trained in this drill.



The final part of the grappling tonight was countering the double wrist lock. Change levels and secure a hip capture palm to palm grip

Class notes March 2014: standing neck crank

The pummel: addition of detail from previous blog entries, when turning the shoulders for the underhook there is a slight pushing motion with the upper arm and shoulder. This subtle motion adds to moving the partner and affecting his balance. The rear arm is also activated so that the lat muscle is helping to secure his underhook and give it no space to move around.

Half Thai clinch: This was covered a few sessions ago but new details worth mentioning is that as he goes for his underhook you take the back of the head. You still have the underhook on the other side so clasping the shoulder and pivoting with help to to control him. I think we only looked at pivoting one way and that was towards half Thai clinch side. Full Thai clinch: don't let go of the contact to get it. Steps of the ladder. Swim your underhook out to get full clinch.

Arm drag: Trace the arm back, punch the hips and no matter what his size grab around at the hip bone. Any further and he can look for the DWL. DWL: Trace the arm back, rev the wrist and reach over his arm, maybe catching a naughty elbow on his nose on the way over... This is what can happen to the elbow on the ground if you chose not to tap when in a deep DWL:







Standing neck crank and the magic bones. If he goes low with the Thai clinch or head control you can look for this which at first glance is a guillotine. In fact it is a bloody horrendous neck crank. His head needs to be at your ribs just under the pec muscle and you want the hairline at the forehead to be on you. Slide your forearm along his jaw bone using the key bones of the arm, the 3-4 inches of ulnar and radius bone from the wrist crease, then go palm to palm. This driving of the forearm will cause the head to turn, as if he is looking across the front of your torso. As you push your hips forward pull the radius bone towards you causing both big pain in the jam but tremendous pressure on the neck.



This is a nice technique to use if you have gone for the choke and he has worked his head out. Even though we were not doing it hard, my neck is still not 'right' almost 3 hours later. If this was done in the heat of combat it really would mess up someone's neck for a long time. I have just looked at this bit with no sound so don't rely on my lip reading.



His use of the forearm looks really good in terms of what Martin was talking about as the key bones on the arm in grappling. The neck crank he does later on in the video, not the set up but the actual crank position looks quite similar to the one we were doing last night. It looks like nothing but until you have felt those bones grinding across your face, well enjoy the thinking about future parts of training we are yet to wince from.

class notes April 2013: throws

Front hip lift: as with the naming convention it simply refers to the part of the body being used and on occasion a direction. Start in standard shoulder control clinch and the secondary grip on the tricep. Transfer to side body clinch with head on shoulder blade, squeeze the elbow together, thrust with the hips as you look up and lift onto your arching chest. To complete the throw relax the shoulder and dump him on the floor with you in a dominant position to continue.

Back hip throw: first looking at using shoulder control and tricep grip then and underhook and overhook clinch grip as this secures their shoulders. Anyway the first one we looked at was concerning the feet. Initial step is in front of his foot, not past, get your hips lower than his then attack with your chasing foot. That one steps a little deeper between his legs and triggers a fast insert of your hips into his hip space. Lift and throw.

Double leg takedown into calf trip: starting front body clinch, drop and change the level to go for the double leg takedown. Importantly shift the stance back a little to enable you to get the front knee to the floor. From here wrap the outside leg around their front calf and drive forward, keep the calf wrapped and thus controlled when they are on their back, you then move into your next positional transition.

Sitting takedown from side body clinch: step behind his knee so that you are square in your stance. Simply, sit your arse down whilst maintaining your body clinch grip. He should go down with you. Do not turn or rotate him as you go down, trust the motion. Here is a great video of Rhonda Rousey in an open workout. She pulls off a few of the moves we trained tonight plus some we could never imagine!!!

Class notes April 2013: muscle compressions

6 submissions: these are all high risk and low success rate submissions.

1: bicep compression from pre elbow extension in sitting side control: top arm under (through his elbow crease) and same leg crossing over into what looks like a triangle or figure four position. This is because you are better balanced here as we'll as the arm and leg tie up works better from here. Small part of the forearm near the wrist bone will be digging in nicely to the bicep.

2: bicep compression when opponent is in turtle position. Side back control and wrist control on his outer arm. Feed the other through as you dive over and elegantly face plant. Squeeze the knees together ( your shins will now be on his torso and neck respectively) making sure his arm angle is straight from the shoulder to the wrist (whilst folded) to complete the compression.

3: side control to leg attack, as if hunting for the knee extension. They cross their legs to prevent to submission so you manipulate the heel, lever the forearms. This causes his lower shin to be compress his lower calf, if fails then the knee extension is there.

4: calf choke from back control: pass the lower leg around the neck and secure with the other hand, fold the foot onto his shoulder to secure the position. Lean forward as if rolling over his head. This will cause tremendous strain on the front and back of the neck and when released coughing and gagging might occur. This for me was the grimmest of all the submissions this session. The most pain and panic. Horrible.

5: shin choke from centre control: pass the shin onto his neck, weight towards the foot or you will get rolled. This one finishes quickly. It looks like a simplified gogoplata from mount.

6: centre back control, ankles crossed into lower calf compression. This requires some manipulation of his legs to get them in the right position. Crossing the ankles is a no no anyway so hopefully of he is doing this then he won't be too aware of the attack coming his way. I made this very foolish mistake early on training in BJJ and the guy I was fighting with, in class and 4 days before a big competition, took advantage of my position and chose to put his leg over my top ankle. This resulted in my knee being messed up very badly after an audible crack followed by an involuntary howl from me. Point is be careful with the knees. They can go quick without any pain warnings

Class notes March 2013: outward arm manipulation

Clinch grappling warm up with Phil then Milzy. This is one of the best ways to warmed up quickly, especially if you do it with someone who has a major size and strength advantage. It is a great way to build some resilience and tenacity.

Takedown from shoulder control: You are deep in their space, your knee is behind theirs, your torso pressure is on them so there are no gaps when you bump the knee and pull the shoulder down to collapse their structure. This works when you have opposite legs forward.

Knee trip and shoulder take down: I sat out of this one as my knee is still sensitive to the slightest lateral pressure but sometimes it is good to watch and see how other people move and apply themselves. The trip is simply a barring action (the hand on the side of the knee) so that the leg has nowhere to go. The arm in shoulder control straightens from the bicep and the ‘bowls’ as the trip happens acting as a fulcrum. This technique works when you have the same leg forward as the partner. The two above techniques can then be used in combination when pressuring the opponent and can be chained or switched between each other meaning if he changes legs then either can be attacked.

Outward arm manipulation from side control: Worked on securing the arm by wrapping as well as looking for it without losing control of his base and simply fighting to gain control of his arm.

Upward shoulder rotation from side control: From control we can start to look for submissions. The worst case scenario is that you don’t get the sub but his arm is now depleted and thus a less effective tool for him. Best case is a submission. If you have control of his arm then take your time with this, rushing will create gaps and errors. When you have wrist control, use the head high knee against his head and same side elbow

Elbow extension from side control: As he fights to escape by straightening the arm you can now look at the elbow extension. Make sure his elbow is off the floor as this adds to the pressure and the sub will come on a lot quicker.

Switching between the two above: Similarly to the takedowns at the start of the class, these two submissions depend on the energy he is giving you, plus you can switch between the two. Again if they don’t come off, he has a very tired arm.

Clinch grappling with no grip and eyes closed with Seb and Charlie: Apart from being rag dolled around at will by both Seb and Charlie it showed me the potential of what can be and how devastating the clinch position is when you are in control. Mostly I was defending and defending and trying to keep to their tempo. Both are excellent at changing levels, consistent pressure and constant movement making you second guess and not take the lead

Class notes March 2013: the lion killer

4 basic takedown drilling: the single hip capture, double hip capture, single and double leg.

When drilling it is important to keep the pressure always on them so they are being controlled by you. Pressure does not mean always forward.

Forearm and bicep suppression (the lion killer)details. We spent a few minutes getting the mechanics down on a kneeling partner: at least the wrapping arm to get the elbow under the chin by driving the shoulder forward, arms are relaxed, other arm with back of hand on the head, head to head, turn the muscles on from relaxed and this should enable to technique to finish.

Freeform grappling: A good hard couple of rounds with Craig and a big fella who likes competitive shooting (sorry for not remembering your name). Worked with Craig on how to transition from bottom and half bottom control to the knees. We also looked at how to not slide over the head when in back control with the person the floor in the turtle position

Class notes February 2013: shoulder control part 2

Single leg, single hip, double hip and double leg takedown chain grappling. Keep the pressure on be that movement in any direction, just make sure that the head stays in contact with the torso then the chest pressure on his legs. Gaps equal opportunities to escape so give him none. As this was the first session of the class it is surprisingly tough on the legs as the quads are always turned on. When the quads are working so is the heart.

Shoulder control takedown from knees: Secondary grip on tricep and pinch down with your elbow, step your knee in front of his knee to create a barrier and pull him over that as you follow into a high angle side control.

Shoulder control in side control: Use the shoulder to pin his shoulder or face to the mat, use the head to keep the gaps tiny so there is no room for him to work an arm in for underhooks. Escaping side control by getting to the knees using lat control: Firstly you need to create space as if his side control tight there will be none. Push the head or angle your body away to create a gap between his shoulder pressing down and yours. When the gap appears work the arm in and through for the underhook and most importantly is to turn to your knees as quickly as you can. From here wrap the arm around and grab a hold of his lat muscle. This will enable you to pull on it for 2 effects. Number 1, if he braces against the pull then you have a solid structure to work against to get the legs out from under him. Number 2 is that he pushes back into to you so you simply roll him back over you. Your forearm will be against his hip so you are pretty much effortlessly using his structure to sweep him. Very little power is needed, just his applying his momentum against him.

Bottom control escape with shoulder control: I think (cant quite remember) it being similar to the side control escape... Bottom control super grip shoulder control: Over the trips so the shoulder is forced down and the elbow pins the head to prevent movement. Lee referred to the rubber guard and the relation to this movement in that you can isolate and pin the shoulder here and look for transitions and submissions too. This is something I am going to explore as I do enjoy the work of Mr Bravo but my hips struggle to fully express his ideas. Having the same concept but using different tools is a great eye opener for me. Submission hunting grappling: I worked with Ivan and the drill was to get a submission in 2 minutes. One person looking for the subs and the other simply defending. Lovely dril

Class notes February 2013: shoulder control

We started by simply practising the correct positional mechanics for shoulder control: eyes to the centre of his head driving with the forehead, shoulder clamped tight with same arm elbow tight and down, take a secondary grip with the other arm and strong base so your legs and knee position are disrupting his. Shoulder control with pummel escape and elbow strike: As he attempts to pummel out if provides you with an excellent opportunity, if timed well to elbow strike at close range. Elbows for one reason or another are something I am to keen on practising with, probably because of their simply destructive nature but perhaps I need to start thinking about when they can be used as a striking tool.

Shoulder control with leg trip and takedown: This works as you move him around and his stance goes long and skinny. As you sweep the leg from under his hip, pull down on the shoulder, as if you are pulling the shoulder down to his hip. Having no base or balance means he should go to the floor with you following him closely into side control.

Shoulder control with single leg capture: Change the level and literally slide your face down his torso as the eyes need to stay up to promote a positive and strong posture. Reach through and around both of his legs as your chest should now be pressing into his hip and thigh, both palms facing down as you grip hand to wrist with your elbow crease behind his knee. Lift high.

Shoulder control with bicep cricket bowl escape: Thrust your bicep into his tricep which will cause his shoulder bones to lift then bowl the arm straight. It feels like you are using your skeleton and not muscle to perform the action whilst disrupting his skeleton. Similar to the leg trip takedown talked about before, you are affecting his structure which is a much harder thing to defend as muscles don’t do anything to stop the motion is done correctly.

Side control outward arm manipulation: For me this was simply horrendous. My shoulders were ready to tap out even before the tiring of the arm happened. When in side control and working on the outward arm it is important to control it. By wrapping your arm under it so that the point of your elbow is on the ground this elevates his arm so that only the hand is on the floor. As previously stated, in itself this was not a good place for me. Lee had us simply making the arm tired, swapping our arms over to feel the wrapping on different sides. The sooner this was over the better for me. I guess the point is other people have similar shoulder tension so time to hunt for this position more in side control!

Class notes February 2013: front body clinch

Lee talked about never wanting to wilfully give up your back and when it hits the floor there is a second when you can bounce back up to the knees and then standing. See UFC 156 and this was used by firstly Benevidez and then Fitch. Obviously this always goes on but only now are my eyes open to it and seeing how an effective defence it can be rather than the temptation to pull guard (bottom control). Whilst Fitch ultimately lost the fight he sustained very little damage have his back taken for the majority of the fight. Primarily as he is a master at defending from that position but also the attacks are limited. Yes he was taken down and controlled easily, in the relative sense that you have Maia on the back, but he was not on his back for long and looked to pop up to his knees quickly.

Front body clinch: elbows pressure into the sides as if squeezing the lats. Having this done turned you more into a rag doll as your posture is controlled with greater ease. So how do you get out of the double underhooked front body clinch? One way is to get the pummel in when double undercooked by stepping back and turning the shoulder into the opponent. This should create a gap for the arm to swim through, then swap sides to repeat to establish your own under hooks. The key point here was the turning or driving of the shoulder into the opponent as this disrupts their base and grip to a greater extent.

Front body clinch fighting. Simply fighting for position. It still amazes me that watching the UFC how few fighters use the head as a controlling limb in clinch and grappling. Being a smaller man I find it an invaluable asset when in close as it has the added bonus of aligning the spine in the correct way too. Front body clinch lift from double hip capture. God damn horrid. Rag them around and when the hips get close change the level and drop down for the double hip capture and lift, looking up to the ceiling. As above with knee sweep to avoid the inner forearm choke or some kind of monkey style guard play. As above into double leg, head on same side as leg forward for square symmetry Small glove free form double leg shooting practise x 2 round

Class notes January 2013: getting back into it

Transition from side to inverted Downward shoulder rotation with the leg Own leg grab with head control Elbow extension with pushing the shoulder down Arm trap with leg for striking opportunities Free form grappling with Craig. Big moment for Criag as he pulled off his first sub against me; a swift and nasty inner forearm choke that I defended poorly and he deserved to get.