Wednesday 14 August 2013

DV8 Bjj 8/8/13

I had to miss a Thursday session last week due to being on call but I was still getting some good lunchtime drilling and sparring sessions in during the week with the rapidly improving Chris Cook and Luke Brown.

Fortunately I was back for this Thursday though as I was asked by Ian to teach the class. Once again what an honour it is to be given the opportunity to teach a class.

Venue: Sweat FA, Weston Super Mare, Uk.
Instructor: Me :0)   - Martin Eyre (Blue Belt, Checkmat).



This time around I decided to focus on Butterfly Guard. I started by explaining the basic idea behind butterfly guard , how you want your body to be ideally positioned, how you can control your opponent etc..

I then took it quickly on to a Butterfly Guard Collar and Elbow Sweep. Start by sitting in front of your opponent with your knees opened out and your feet close together, your opponent opposite you on his knees gearing up for a pass of some sort. You pull in close to your opponent to get your feet hooked outwards inbetween his legs and take a collar and elbow grip on him. That is grabbing his left collar with your right hand and grabbing his right arm sleeve at the elbow with your left hand. You then lean backward pulling him with you, breaking down his posture and stretching him out long. While doing so you alter the positioning of your left foot from inbetween his legs to foot on hip. This helps to stretch the guy out. It also frees your foot up so when the guy is leaning right over you off balanced, you can use that left leg to push his right leg away, totally destroying his balance and pulling on his elbow while pushing on his collar easily flips him over to his back with you coming over in to mount. Amazingly easy and effective butterfly sweep that I use regularly and so do a lot of the other guys with out even realising it.



The next sweep I went for was an Ankle Pick, Collar Push sweep. You're in your basic seated butterfly position once again. This time the guy is coming at you in a combat stance with right knee on floor and left leg up on foot. With you left hand you quickly grab his right collar while your left hand grabs the ankle of his upright left leg. The grip of his collar you take is a fingers in, thumb pointing down grip at about the neck line. You then simultaneously pull on his foot and push across/into his neck to tip him over onto his back. Ensure as you come up to press one of your knees down upon the pulled leg so as to initiate a pass. It doesn't matter which knee you use to clamp his leg to the floor, it usually just depends on how you land from the scramble and how you prefer to pass. I favour shutting the leg down with my right knee and then kicking my left leg over the top and pulling over in to side control like that.



The third sweep was from Double Underhook control. You're right in close with your opponent and have double underhooks (both your arms under his arms and reaching around his back) with your feet inside and your knees spread out (butterfly). You lay backward onto your shoulders pulling your opponent with you to collapse his posture. You then quickly kick out with your legs and rock back forward, coming up onto your knees as you do. You alter your arm position behind his back to grip hands at the small of his back then use this grip to pull right in tight causing a lot of discomfort to the opponent and enabling you to push him right back to back with you easily coming over into side control. A really good and surprisingly easy technique to hit.



To vary up the Butterfly Guard game a bit I moved on to a couple of subs. Beginning with a Straight armbar. Starting from the double underhook position you need adjust you arm position to fight for an overhook on his left side using you right arm. Doing this successfully will end with you having your right arm over the top over his left bicep/triceps and wrapped back through underneath, with his arm passing your side. You now lock his arm to your side using that arm levered by your other arm using a gable grip of just by pulling the forearm. Then you push away using your legs to stretch him out, letting his arm go no further than the lower triceps, whilst pushing out with your hips to apply the Straight Armbar pressure. A really painful arm lock when applied correctly and if it is the tap comes really quick.



The second sub and the last technique of the session was a Guillotine from Butterfly Guard. Starting with your legs butterflied out and sunk inside between his leg but without the upper body engaged yet. Using your left hand you grab the opponent at the back of the head/neck and pull him in hard toward you. With your right arm (palm facing up) you bring it up so the blade edge of your wrist meets up with his neck under the chin. You use this hold to pull him further in so you can lean your right shoulder on the back of his head, keeping it down in position, giving you time to take the left hand from the back of his head and gable gripping up your hands. You then only need to extend your legs a bit to stretch him out whilst arching your back and pulling up on the guillotine arm for the tight finish. This is a real eye waterer when landed and a great addition to the Butterfly Guard arsenal.



It was a great session all round and I was really pleased with how easily the guys picked up all the techniques. Being able to pass knowledge on is one of the best parts about the art of Bjj. Love it.

¬m/




No comments: