Kesa Gatame is the name for a DEADLY position also known as the Scarf Hold or the Head and Arm pin. It's a staple pin in Judo, Sambo and Freestyle Wrestling. All these arts have honed kesa gatame as a pinning position. The only problem is that they don't use or teach very many submissions from here. In those particular sports the submission is redundant - if you pin your opponent for 3 … [Read more...]
Sambo
3 Easy Throws for BJJ
People often ask me what the easiest throws or takedowns are for BJJ competition. My usual advice is that takedowns are great. They bring the fight to your opponent, score 2 points, set you up to pass the guard, and allow you to fight from the top. All of which are good things. Now I love wrestling and judo, and think that takedowns are essential skills, but training them to a high level … [Read more...]
5 Leglock Entries From Standup
Let's take a look at 5 leglock entries from a standing position. By combining your takedowns with these submissions you'll greatly magnify the power of both! It's always easier to apply a technique when your opponent doesn't expect it. And nothing is more surprising than thinking you're in a takedown battle but suddenly find yourself on the defensive, frantically defending a leglock … [Read more...]
How Martial Artists Can Break Into Movie and TV Stuntwork
Steve Koepfer is a Master of Sport in Russian Sambo, and has translated his skills on the mat into a busy career as a stuntman appearing in the John Wick movies, Ray Donovan, The Blacklist, The Punisher and more. In episode of 329 of The Strenuous Life Podcast we go into depth about what doing stuntwork is really like, how fight scenes get choreographed, and Steve's best advice for people … [Read more...]
Combat Sambo and Russian MMA
Steve Koepfer is a Master of Sport of Russia in Combat Sambo and the head coach of New York Combat Sambo. In episode of 328 of The Strenuous Life Podcast we talk about the impending wave of combat sambo specialists coming to the UFC and other MMA events, the differences between training in Russia and North America, the prevalence of leglocks, and much more. I hope you enjoy this conversation … [Read more...]
Top 10 Throws and Takedowns for BJJ
I'll go ahead and say it: every practitioner should have at least a couple of throws and takedowns for BJJ. Yes, it's true that pulling guard is an option in sport BJJ competition, but ultimately this is a martial art, which means we have to at least occasionally consider the self defense aspects of what we're doing. Are you going to pull guard in a streetfight? Not bloody likely. In this … [Read more...]
Oleg Taktarov Interview: Sambo in MMA and the UFC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s94y2uII3Oo I was absolutely thrilled to welcome Oleg Taktarov to my podcast. Oleg used his Sambo skills to win UFC 6, beat Dolph Lungren in a widely publicised boxing match, and fought at the infamous Pentagon Combat event which ended in a riot and got MMA banned in Rio de Janeiro. Oleg is also a great teacher - I personally use techniques and concepts I … [Read more...]
A Throw and Leglock Combination
In the video above my friend and training partner Ritchie Yip shows a really cool throw that goes directly into a match-ending submission. Specifically it's a combination of a throw called Yoko Sumi Gaeshi and the kneebar submission. Yoko Sumi Gaeshi is one of my very favourite throws, and I learned the details of it from UFC champion and Sambo practitioner Oleg Taktarov. This throw … [Read more...]
Seph Smith on Sambo, BJJ, and Performing Under Pressure
In this episode of The Strenuous Life Podcast I was thrilled to talk with the articulate and knowledgable Seph Smith. Seph is a prolific competitor, was awarded his BJJ black belt by UFC fighter Ryan Hall, and has a black belt in Combat Sambo. He has competed with and without the gi and in MMA as well. We covered many topics including How to train leglocks safely, Competing in … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 125: Reilly Bodycomb on Sambo, Leglocks, MMA, Jiu-Jitsu and No Gi Grappling
I loved doing this interview with Reilly Bodycomb. Reilly is a Russian sambo and leglock expert who has competed in a TON of different rulesets including BJJ, no gi submission grappling, MMA, Russian Sambo, and Chinese San Shou. He is the Pan-American Sport SAMBO Champion (2016), USA Sport SAMBO Champion (2016), Dutch Combat SAMBO Champion (2016), recently competed in Japan and is a BJJ black … [Read more...]
How to Throw Defensive, Stiff-Arming, Bent-Over Opponents
A reader writes... Question: Hi Stephan, I'm looking for a way to incorporate some of judo take-downs into my BJJ game, but I'm having a lot of difficulty finding throws that work with the low center of gravity that is so central to the jiu-jitsu defence against throws. The defensive bent-over posture makes it nearly impossible to get good access to their hips, or even their legs while … [Read more...]
European Grappling Styles
by Jeff Meszaros So, we’ve finished the first leg of your around-the-world grappling tour and it’s been a blast (click here to read Asian Grappling Styles, the previous article). In the previous part of the journey we started in Japan, where you got thrown flat on your back by judo champions and slapped around by sumo wrestlers. Then, in Korea, you did ssireum, which was kind of like sumo but … [Read more...]
The 3 Fanciest Leglocks That Actually Work
Some leglocks are simple, straight-ahead, super-effective submissions that should be in every grappler's arsenal. Other leglock attacks, by contrast, are super-complicated multi-step techniques. And once you actually manoeuvre everybody into place you're left with something that resembles an octopus orgy: arms, legs, and other body parts tangled together in a giant Gordian knot. The more … [Read more...]
An Advanced Submission used at the Highest Level
I thought that this was just too cool not to share... A few years ago my friend Matt Kirtley sent me a breakdown of the rolling reverse omoplata. This advanced technique looks pretty fancy but I can vouch for it because I've used it on some very saavy training partners. But be warned: it's a VERY powerful submission. It comes on pretty quickly and I've seen several people hurt by it, so … [Read more...]
Sambo Leglocks
A reader writes: Q: " I have a question about the relevance of Sambo in helping improve a fighter's leglocks. Does it really help that much to practice Sambo if you want to become very skilled at leglocks?" A: I've learned a lot about leglocks from Sambo practitioners (Oleg Taktarov, for example). Sambo has a lot of leglocks in its submission arsenal, most of which are directly relevant to … [Read more...]