Articles in the Gi Category
Here are 3 variations of hitting an armbar from the mount. They all hinge on getting a good cross collar grip, transitioning to the S mount, and finally finishing based on what your opponent is doing with their arms. One critical detail to remember through all of these is that it’s not all about the arm you are attacking. What you are doing with your other hand (preventing an escape) is equally important.
(Starting Position)
Start Mounted with a cross collar grip with your left hand.
(Set-up)
1. Lean over to your right (over your opponents left shoulder). Use your chest and head to to fold your opponents left arm over their face. As you do this slide your right knee forward behind your opponents head.
2. Continue applying pressure with your chest on top of your opponents arms and face as you kick your left heel up under their armpit and establish the S mount.
(Basic Finish)
3. Reach through your opponents arms with your right arm, trapping their near arm, the left arm, and grab your own collar.
4.With your left hand, grab their near leg knee (gi) as your rock down towards their knees and then finally arch your back to finish. Remember to keep your pant-leg grip throughout.
**if they are locking their arms, put your bottom leg heel inside their far elbow and push out. this will brake the grip.
(Alternate Finish – they are keeping their elbows very tight)
4. Reach behind their far elbow and pull it up towards you as you rock forward towards their head as your arch your back to finish. (This is kind of like an Americana arm crank).
(Alternate Finish – they are grabbing their own elbows and your can’t get your arm laced in between theirs and trap their right arm. so, attack the other arm from the other side)
4. With your right arm, reach under their right forearm and grab the top of their right tricep.
5. Lean across their body and post on your left arm as you switch sides, placing your hips under their right arm. Lean back fast for a quick submission.
Arm Bar, Gi, Mount, s mount, Submission »
In general in BJJ, if is very good to be aware of they direction your hips are pointing in relationship to you opponent. These half guard passes are no different. We’ll go over 4 variations.
But first one critical point: As Saulo Ribeiro says “The problem is not the pass, it’s how you start the pass.” It’s easy to think of half guard as a transitional position that you’re in while you’re on your way into a better one. However you think of half guard, you have to remember that even though you may be excited about geting closer to a dominant position, you still have to be smart and cannot afford to rush things. Back to Saulo’s wisdom…You have to remember to start you pass properly. This means flattening your opponent. Your opponent should be flat on their back before you start your pass.
Start in Half Guard. You are on top trying to pass. Your right leg is in their half guard.
1. – Flatten your opponent. Under hook them with your top (left) arm and grab their collar behind their neck as you circle your hips towards them. (you’re stepping into them on your knees)
2 – Once they are flat, “back turn”. Flop onto your outside hip and face their legs with your chest. Move your left arm grip down to their belt or the waist of their pants. With your other arm, apply pressure with your forearm to their top knee. From here, there are 3 options:
#1 – BACKTURN to MOUNT
IF they do not have an under hook with their top arm THEN
3 – Scoot your butt up towards their armpit on your near side and creep your elbow up on the far side as you try to elevate their arm and fold it over their face. As you go, grab their gi with your hand so that they cannot push your elbow down. When your armpit is just below their chin, reach around with that arm and grab the back of their collar, trapping their arm against their face. This is very uncomfortable for your opponent.
4. drop your trapped leg knee on the other side of their hips as you sit up to mount.
5. With your free ankle, press down on the top of their thighs to free your trapped ankle.
6. you now have the mount. Why not finish with a head and arm?
#2 – BACKTURN to SIDE CONTROL
IF they get and under hook THEN (You were going for #3 above but somehow their arm escaped and they got an under hook with their top arm)
4. Quickly under hook their under hook with your top arm and reach behind their neck and grab their collar.
5. Over hook their bottom arm with your other arm, judo side control style. as you post out with your free leg and turn your hips to face their head.
6. slide your trapped knee forward towards you posting foot. * If you need to free it, use your free foot to apply pressure to their legs where they are crossed. This will open up their half guard and free your legs.
7. End up in side control.
#3 – BACKTURN to NORTH SOUTH
IF they have an under hook way back at step 2, when you have reached back to grab their belt THEN (Remain back turned for the entire pass)
3. Try to keep their under hook trapped against their body as you scoot your butt up towards their armpit.
4. free your knee of the trapped leg by walking your foot up towards their butt. And pressing down on their bottom knee.
5. When your knee is free, pop the knee of your free leg in between your trapped leg and their hips.
6. pop the trapped leg out and circle to north south or establish side control.
#3 – SWITCH SIDES to SIDE CONTROL
IF they have a deep under hook way back at step 2 THEN
3. Over hook their top arm and grab the back of their jacket in the middle of their back.
4.Rotate your trapped leg so that it is parallel top their spine.
5.Post out with your free leg as you pop-up and sit onto of their top leg just above the knee.
6. Kick your free leg over, while you keep your head close to their chest pinning them down on their back as you switch sides.
7. Once you have cleared to their other side, grab their top knee with your free hand and scoot your butt up and frre your leg.
8. End in side control on their opposite side.
Key points:
Must flatten opponent before you start your half-guard pass.
Separating your opponents elbow from their side greatly weakens their ability to defend. (In the above examples, you do this by scooting your butt up towards their armpit and by creeping your own elbow up underneath theirs)
Sometimes it helps to start a pass with your end position in mind as your goal. “Okay I am starting this pass (#1) and I am going to end up mounted. Oh crap. They just got an under hook. Now I am going to change my plan and end up in side control. #2.”
deep half guard, Gi, half guard, passing »
Great mismatch here. Leo Viera dominates his Japanese opponent. He hits the Kouchi Gari to start the match and then does a great job of finishing with the X choke from the mount. Also notice how he pins the guys left arm with his knee to prevent any defense.
Sorry this video doesn’t have a lame sound track. I’ll try harder next time.
Choke, Gi, Mount, takedown »
This is a great match between Fernando “Margarida” Pontes and Flavio Almedia. Most Jiu Jitsu tape watchers consider this to be one of the best BJJ matches ever. Notice how aggressively Margarida attacks for submissions as Almedia tries to pass. There are also a number of great transitions where Margarida goes from Kimura to Armbar to Oma Plata. Almedia also does a great job of countering Margarida’s second Kimura attempt with an Armbar of his own. The match finishes with a Baseball Bat Choke from Knee on the Belly.
Arm Bar, Gi, kimura, knee on belly, Submission, videos »
Turtle is a weak position and often a precursor to getting your back
taken. Here are two defenses from turtle.How close your opponent is and how much pressure they are leaning into you will determine which to use.
Start in Turtle wth your opponent to your side in wrestling “top position” their back arm is wrapped around your waist and the are gripping your lapel.
1. reach back with your near arm and grab their near knee
IF your opponent is not too close and you have some space:
2. post with your far arm, pushing yourself up, as you kick your near leg back and post on it. (your are still facing forward at this point).
(steps 3 -6 are fast)
3. kick your far leg under you as you rotate into them. As you face them, hook this leg in between their legs to establish half guard.
4. Let go of the knee and move this arm up to an underhook.
5. Move your posting arm to and underhook under their far leg (the one you don’t have the half guard on).
6. From here you can roll them either way and sweep them.
*It is a good idea to try to get an underhook, under their other leg, the trapped leg, with your far arm, since this arm is vunerable to attack in this position.
IF your opponent is leaning hard on you and you don’t have much space:
2. Roll into them, forward at a diagonal, on the near shoulder, the one your grabbing their knee with.
3. As you roll, keep pressure against them with your near calf. You want to be pulling them towards you. windmill your legs around so that you spin around to face them and your other leg lands around them on the other side, putting them in your guard.
* If you are leggy or they are leaning into you hard, you may also come to rest with them in a loose triangle, which you can finish.
deep half guard, Gi, turtle »
Start out:
They’re in turtle
You’re on top on thier left side
Your chest is against their back.
You’re on your toes.
1. Wrap your back arm around their stomach, like the top starting position in wrestling
2. grab the lower lapel of their gi, this will limit their mobility and prevent them from rolling away from you quickly.
3. with your front arm, push thier tricep forward, moving their arm up away from their chest (giving your some room to slide your knee in.)
IF they do nothing:
4. slide your front knee in the space you’re created as you flop onto that hip and pull with your gi grip rolling them into your lap.
5. kick your left foot through and get the left hook first. You must get this hook first in order to avoid being put into half guard.
6. hook the back of their other leg with your other leg and elevate their right leg.
7. This will make them uncomfortable. release the hook. They will try to lower their leg, and when they do, take the other hook.
8. Now with reach over their shoulder with your left arm and clasp your left wrist with your right hand.
You now have the back.
IF they roll away from you:
Hop over them and drop your right knee beneath them.
Take the left hook first. (Do this with your left leg which will be top leg.)
then roll them to the left and pick up from step 6 above.
