tallgeese

12/21 Warm up with PTK forms. Drilled thru Mount maintenance and escape. 40 min free roll.

I had to vote BJJ due to the heavy (like real heavy) focus that I have in it now, and have had for the better part of a decade. The last year has seen a radical upswing in the amount of FMA training I've been doing, but it's certainly not primarily what I do. Prior to that, I had spent 20 year in mainly an American karate system with Okinawan roots.

After you open your school, will you still be a LEO?? Yes. I'm doing the school part time. I'm keeping my cop job.

I certainly agree to a point, sensei. But there is a certain amount of decision making that goes into anything. My body can whip out a spider guard on command without thought, that does not mean that I should let it given a SD situation on the street. I have to understand that aspect of the equation before I let my body react. Or it might react in a manner that is less than ideal. So, while the goal is to make sure that you take in all this in an awareness phase one can't overlook it. We as martial artist often rely too much on build muscle memory without considering the decision making process against the stress of real work. Consider this example. As a cop, I rep handgun presentation, target acquisition, sight alinement and tripper press to the point of not thinking. I can do it without thought. However, plenty of time I have to present for a potential deadly force threat that DOES NOT need shot. In this case, I must process thru decision making. I have to understand the situation as well as what I can do. Just because my skill set lets me press the trigger, and even my preference might be to do so, the situation doesn't call for it. It's the same with hand to hand skill. Just because I have repped a skill to automation does not mean that it's the best tool at a given time. So, while I agree wholeheartedly that skills must be repped to an automated process, we cannot look at that in isolation for actual real word problem solving.

That is crazy! A weekend! Now I'm tempted to go and watch it again. I think I remember, even with nostalgia glasses on, a final fight which was essentially a yell-off between JCVD and the bad guy. Well, that does it, I'm pouring a drink and tracking this down.

12/20 Ran a review of the weeks material. 40 min free roll

Well done!

Nice job!

The good news is that jiu jitsu will be a great choice for a background going into LE. It's an art that deals with control to a great degree. Physically putting a resisting human being into a negative position and holding them there while you are safe. This is a critical skill for LE. We can talk about this or that combat art, but when you look at the expectations of LE in America grappling arts really come to the forefront of what's acceptable and even what needs to be done from an operational level. A large portion of my work hands on is my jiu jitsu while my other arts take a bit of a background based on what I can and can't (and even what I need) to do. If he's serious about LE then jiu jitsu is going to provide an excellent building platform for the hands on aspect of his training.

In an effort to continue to share our efforts here in the Chicago-land area with the group here at KF I give you our latest week's work: This week we worked on escaping the back mount. We did a pretty large series from here, but this movement really captures most of the movements and concerns that need to be addressed. I know lots of people use a "stacking" method to escape, and I think those are fine. This is my preference based on keeping my hips in connection with the mat. By getting hips over him, you do create pressure but lose some stability. How about everyone else? Driving the hips down, or pressing up?

12/18 Drilled Quatro Cantos PTK form, the 6 count. 12/19 am: Review of hip scoop escape series. 40 min free roll. pm: Drilled turtle position structure. Moved into escaping rear mount from turtle. Recovery to half then full guard. 35 min free roll.

The question came up in class last night, "Which technique do I choose?" after looking at a couple of variations on escaping back mount. This led to the following short article that I wrote about the question: In jiu jitsu, classes are often constructed around a core concept or position. This can lead to a couple of techniques shown that fit in roughly the same category. This is a great training strategy in that it lets you rep the fundamentals of a position while dealing with a couple of different variants on the theme. You’re getting deep in your knowledge of one aspect of jiu jitsu while expanding your overall technical options. When confronted with multiple techniques that are similar, this can lead to the question: “Which technique should I choose?” It’s a legitimate question for a newer student to ask. White and Blue belt learning is most often associated with technical details of movements and rough strategical grouping of techniques. It makes sense that they often (and should be) asking which is preferred. After all, jiu jitsu is big and the new student is overwhelmed with information. From technical aspects to concept there is just so much to remember, and then make a functional part of what one does under stress at speed that it makes sense for people to want to really get which options are best for them to try to focus on. However, the answer is bigger and more conceptual that they might expect. It’s really not a question of “If his hand is here you do this.” It’s a much bigger response. It can be summed up by, “It depends.” This isn’t a great, or informative answer by itself, but its a starting point. Which technique you select really does depend. But on what? This is where things start to get big on the concept learning. There’s really three things that drive this question of which technique to use: 1) The Situation 2) The Energy 3) Your Preference and Comfort Level It’s the intersection of these three items that drive your decision making. First, let’s talk about the Situation element. Jiu Jitsu is big, I mean huge. People are in it to defend themselves, fight MMA, to compete in pure BJJ, for the love of the art, and probably a whole host of other reasons. Each of these is a different situation, with different concerns and appropriate goals and therefore tactics selection. A cop looking to apprehend a fleeing felon will have a different goal than someone trying to get an opponent to the ground in the last two minutes of a match. Because of that, there are elements of jiu jitsu that are better or worse choices for either situation simply because they fill the goals of each individual better. This requires some awareness and an understanding of what elements of jiu jitsu work for what settings better. So before selecting a technique to use at a given juncture, one has to understand the situation they are in AND what tactics and goals are and are not appropriate. Next we’ll deal with energy. This isn’t as esoteric as it sounds. It’s simply a question of what an opponent is trying to give me. Jiu jitsu works best when the other guy is doing the work for me. If he (or she) is fighting so hard to prevent one technique then chances are they are handing me another to complete. I will only burn myself out trying to fight attribute to attribute for a technique they are actively fighting. Conversely, when I find the path of least resistance I can more efficiently win the fight. This requires some sensitivity to body mechanics and the ability to read the flow of the fight at pace. So, prior to selecting at technique, we have to be able to feel the energy that the other person is putting against us AND how to capitalize on it. Lastly, we look at our preference. This is what we like to do, what we’re confident in, and what our “game” looks like. This is really about self understanding more than external understanding. When placed in any position, a BJJ player will have his or her “game” that set of techniques they like, those movements that work for them, the things they seen play out favorably in open mat over an over again. This breeds a high level of confidence in certain things and it’s one of the strengths of BJJ (but that’s another article.) Because of that confidence, the practitioner is more likely to make choices that put him or her in those positions. This requires that the practitioner has logged some serious mat hours and developed their own brand of jiu jitsu. This comes down to experience on the mats. Thanks to the learning format of jiu jitsu, this happens quickly and should be well on the way to development by blue belt. Well, that doesn’t sound to bad does it? Good theory, makes sense. Now consider that each decision must be made under stress in a moment that’s fleeting against a person whose goal it is to NOT let you do what you want. Things just got a bit harder. However, it’s the intersection of these three elements that guide us to, “Which technique should I choose?” By understanding these three elements, you start to get ahead of the game and how to get your head around each of them is an area of study into itself. But that’s the framework for the answer. Usually not what the questioner had hoped for in terms of a simple answer, but a much more informative one. Will this immediatly change a white belts thinking and decision making pattern? Of course not, but it will give them a frame work within which to really start to dissect what they are doing and start to work on the “Why” of jiu jitsu, and that’s the mark of an advancing practitioner. So there's the not so short answer. Comments from the KF crew are always welcome.

12/16 Drilled blade and strike mechanics. Specifically high line work. 12/17 Drilled escaping the back mount. Hip scoop to open side. Move to inside mount, counter to grabbing the leg. 35 min free roll. PTK- form warm up. Focus on the backhand side of the multiple strike format. Forward triangle. Move into bridging drills. Flow

Happy Holidays to all!

12/15 Drilled escapes from back mount. Scooping low and driving to leg. 40 min free roll. PTK work after. Drilled both sides of the multiple strike form. Drilled its application into flow. Finished with flow.

Let's remember as this goes forward, we're all (myself included) going "I hope it's good!" But let's all remember as well, we're looking thru the first movie with the lens of nostalgia. I caught it on cable a while back and couldn't believe how awful it was. It really is. Don't go check, it will ruin how you view your teen years. I choose to look at this as, "Man, I hope it's better than the first!" Now, I am on a mission to NEVER watch Cyborg again. I love this movie, I really do. I want to go on loving the memory of it.

12/12 am: Drilled passing half guard. Heel/ toe walk method to knee slide. 40 min free roll. pm: PTK flow night at my coaches place. Striking mechanics and into some flow! 12/13 Reviewed week's material. 45 min free roll. Went over multiple strike form and dakup forms. Drilled bridging with aspect of them. Put them into flow.

You are incorrect. Trust me- you are taught to defend single hand push, double hand push, lapel grab, double lapel grab, wrist grabs, double wrist grabs, all types of punches and kicks- bear hugs, hair grabs,,,, etc. this is a common misconception I have heard a lot coincidentally from people who take bjj. Usually it's part of an arguement that suggests that it's a prehistoric form of what the Gracie's perfected. In my experience this system can get pretty nasty, you try putting your hand on the collar to get your grip, you will not be a happy camper. Aiki jitsu will be helpful, show you how to find and be aware of joints and things of that nature. You have to keep in mind, it's not a competition. IMHO bjj has more in common with Judo. Just my 2 cents. I'm going to agree, in principle at least, with TJ. I don't see it having a place in modern MMA competitions. Notice, I'm not making any determination on it's effectiveness in other settings. The question was in regard to MMA. Coming out of an art initially that included standing joint locking I have a touch of perspective on this. Look first at the list you included to the self defense aspect you're talking about, samurai. How many of those attacks are you seeing in MMA? Punches and kicks, yes. Everything else? Not the street, not a bar fight, not an ambush assault, in MMA? Now, consider that if you pit standing joint manipulation vs. striking you're essentially setting up a defensive mindset. The other guy HAS to do one of these for you to effect a manipulation. That by definition is defensive. Offense wins fights. It's built into the ruleset of MMA. Next, the reason why you see joint manipulation work on the ground vs. standing in MMA (BJJ vs. JJJ or AJJ) is the isolation that the ground provides. This was an eye opener when I made the jump. A sweaty, conditioned, just as skilled as you fighter who has been training twice a day for 6-8 weeks is going to present problems in acquisition of joint control and fine manipulation while moving and fighting tooth and nail. This is is contrast to BJJ where the ground helps hold the same individual in place for you while you wrap your core (not arms) around a joint and use your whole body (not a portion of it or reliance on momentum as in JJJ) to constrict the range of motion in a joint to submission. This is two different animals. Let's look at a hypothetical fight. You and your mirror image (because MMA is controlled for weight and hopefully skill) both come out of your corner. You want to joint manip him since he's a striker and you're a tuite guy. You wait. He wades in with a bomb or two. You manage (which is a hard sell but I'm willing to bend here) to isolate an extended arm. He's slippery already from his warm up, and starts fighting hard. While you're working for control, he's bombing with the other hand to anything that presents. You've got two hands tied up on his one. He's hitting you and you're "health meter" so to speak is going down. You're losing points. If this goes on the whole round who wins based on the rule set? The guy doing damage. Not the guy who might have broken his wrist if he had been able to. Again, I'm not bashing. I did standing manipulations for a long time. I'm just pointing out that the ruleset alone for MMA makes this sort of thing less than adequate. It's not my summary judgment on the art as a whole, just an evaluation of it for THIS particular purpose.

This week we focused on the half guard, and in particular focused solely on passing it from the top position. In our recap, we talk about the postural concerns of both top and bottom half, discuss some quick drilling options to make your position more secure, and look at a technique we use to pass that addresses both the front and back of the half guard structure. For me, the go to pass from here is the knee slide. If you scroll down, we talk about it from the last time we took a global look at half guard, top and bottom. Today, we look at attacking the opposite direction as well as using that to bring to bear a lot of the same mechanics as the knee slide. Enjoy, and debate. So, what do you use half guard for? Is it a stop gap to prevent the pass or an attacking option? Or a bit of both?

12/10 Drilled half guard passing. Knee slide and then kimura escape after working pummelling from position. 40 min free roll 20 min PTK flow. Single stick.

Here's a brief video that a JKD friend of mine did a couple weeks ago in regard to why JKD practitioners should learn to do formal BJJ. It's an interesting perspective from a combatives guy about learning the art of BJJ:

That's really cool that both of them are in it now! That's going to be lots of fun for you to be part of! Keep us posted as the season progresses..

Lol! thanks! As always, if you ever find yourself in the Chicago land area let me know. We'll make you welcome. I like to pummel (or a varient of) from just about everywhere to train positional control. The underhook is just so important in most cases. The transition I demo here is mainly a drill for reps and learning position. That said, you're taking a lot of intangables away as well. Finidng foot position, moving your hips, core, ect. around his. Working the balance point from on your back, heck, FINDING the balance point. Feeling the control you can exert with a single hook. All of this gets work kind of under the radar during the drill. I have actually transition side to side, but it really is more of a drill. Once you start moving, you really start looking at sweeps and such. The movement leads pretty immediatly to a back take tactic though.

Awesome! Let me know how the expeirment goes. The out of control feeling is common. Learning to flow within the position is key. As is the structure of the actual guard before progressing into tactics from there.

Thanks, and thanks Bob as well. Yes, they seem advanced, but the sequence is not difficult to get the hang of and it will pay out dividends for all open guard. If you give it a shot let me know how it goes.