The head and arm choke (aka the 'arm triangle' and/or 'kata gatame') is one of the staple submissions of BJJ. It works with the gi, in MMA and in submission grappling. A lot of people can get to this position, but then have problems actually finishing the choke, especially if their opponent has a strong neck and upper body. Here is my favourite way to finish the head and arm choke. You … [Read more...]
The 10 Second Choke Fix (or How to Tap Out More People)
How many times has a sparring partner told you "Man, I was SO close to tapping" after you'd been squeezing their neck like crazy in a desperate attempt to choke them, but then decided that it wasn't working and gave up on the submission? Frustrating, isn't it? Or have you ever held a choke for so long that you completely burn out your grips and have to fight the rest of the match with jello … [Read more...]
How to Make Your Chokes Tighter
Psst, wanna tap out more people with chokes, including that super-tough guy with the giant neck? Success in choking is all about the details and getting the underlying mechanics correct. Yes, you can get chokes to work with bad technique - people do it all the time. But it's difficult, wastes a lot of energy, and isn't very high percentage. But on the other hand as soon as you get the … [Read more...]
How to Do the Head and Arm Choke (aka ‘Kata Gatame’)
The Head and Arm choke is a super-powerful submission that works with and without the gi, with and without strikes, in BJJ, Judo, Submission Grappling and Judo. It's ended a lot of matches and even put a few people to sleep. The Head and Arm choke comes from Judo (where it's known as Kata Gatame) and if you grapple then it's a technique that you need to know! This choke cuts off the blood … [Read more...]
Tap Out Less Often! The ‘Submission Defense’ App for Android…
After a ton of planning and working with video editors and Android app programers, I'm thrilled to announce that Submission Defense - the latest Grapplearts app for the Android platform - is finally ready!! This app was designed with one single-minded purpose: to help you tap out much less often. This app takes you through my very favorite escapes for many of the most common and most … [Read more...]
How to set up and apply the head and arm choke
Here's a clip of Emily Kwok teaching something really cool - how to set up the head and arm choke (also known as 'kata gatame') from mount, and then how to ratchet it on so tightly that your opponent has no choice but to tap out, no matter how big he is. I've played around with the adjustments she shows, and it allowed me to REALLY tighten up this position WITHOUT using a ton of upper body … [Read more...]
How to Attack Super-Defensive Opponents
It's a fact: big guys don't like losing to smaller guys. That's why sometimes, when a bigger guy realizes he's not going to be able to actually win a match, he changes gears and uses all his strength and size for only one thing... ... to stall, stall, stall and hope for a draw! It can be super-frustrating when an opponent absolutely refuses to engage with you. Especially when the damn guy … [Read more...]
2 Good Reasons to Bail Out of the Mount
What? Abandon the Mount? The position you've worked so hard to achieve?!? Let me explain... BJJ is a position-based art. The positional system of BJJ is the central organizing theme of my 'Roadmap for BJJ' book (click here to be emailed instructions on how to download this free book). On page 5 of the book we talk about how the positions in BJJ definitely fall into a hierarchy. Some … [Read more...]