The rear mount is arguably the most dominant position in grappling. When you have rear mount you can apply some very powerful chokes and locks. In MMA or self defense you can administer severe punishment without your opponent having the ability to strike you back. … [Read more...]
Positions
Static Bridging – a Common Mistake in Sparring
There are two fundamental ways to escape from most pinning positions: escapes based on ‘shrimping’ style hip movement, and escapes based on bridging. One common mistake I see among beginners is that they hold the bridge position for far too long. … [Read more...]
Double Ankle Control Position for Footlocks
Today’s topic is a slightly unusual control position for footlocks. Control positions are methods of positioning your legs while you are attempting a leglock. The purpose of a control position is to control your opponent’s legs and body while you set up and execute your leglock. First check out the below (taken at Grapplemania Seattle. January 29th 2005, by Jermiah Armstrong). In this … [Read more...]
Competitive 2 Person Drilling
We've talked about solo drills and partner drills. There is a final category of drills I'd like to talk about: competitive 2 person drills. When you do this type of drilling you are training a specific aspect of your game against a resisting opponent. … [Read more...]
Two-Person Drills
Two-person drills are important training methods to develop skills on the mat. They can be used to warm up at the beginning of your training session, as part of your conditioning program, or as a finishing exercise. … [Read more...]
One Simple Tip for Surviving the Smother
There's nothing worse than tapping out to a smother. It is one thing to get caught in a nice technical choke and having to tap out, but it really sucks to get slowly smothered as someone covers your nose and mouth with some part of their body. … [Read more...]
Targeted Sparring Concluded: Bad Positions
In this last installment on fine-tuning your sparring time I would like to talk about starting your sparring sessions from bad positions. Starting out in a bad position is a good way to rapidly improve your pin escapes and submission counters. It is also a great way to challenge yourself, particularly when sparring lighter or less experienced people. … [Read more...]
Targeted Sparring: Position
A 'position game' is usually characterized by tight transitions between positions, an emphasis on maintaining a position while attacking, and lots of pressure while in a top position. How does one become better at this game? … [Read more...]
Mobility and Position
There are two basic games in grappling: the 'mobility game' and the 'position game'. The mobility game is based on speed and movement - transitions between positions, attacks and reversals are accomplished with speed. … [Read more...]
A Roadmap for Grappling
When an uninitiated person sees grappling in action for the first time it seems very chaotic and confusing. There are limbs and bodies all over the place and then, all of a sudden and for ‘no reason’ someone taps out. This can be a very intimidating activity for beginners to launch themselves into. … [Read more...]