Aesopian

Your dream has been realized: I’ve got a video camera.

And after fighting with cables and software, I now have the means and knowhow to edit and share movies.

One of the subscribers to my journal had emailed me some questions and I’d been offering advice. He asked if I could film any of it and I said I don’t have a camera. So he sent me one. Big thanks to Dale.

While I’ll get to shooting techniques soon, I wanted to shoot test footage first. I’d already been planning on keeping a video training log, filming myself sparring so I could review it later.

I like to put in a lot of isolation training of escapes and bad positions, working out of worst case scenarios. I figured that’d make a good test video.

Me and two training partners got together to run these drills on Sunday. We ran it with rotating partners like this:

Person A starts under rear mount. Person B starts on top. They go for 3 minutes. Then Person C switches in on top for another 3 minutes. Now Person B lays down and Person A starts on his back… And so on. This way, we each spent 6 minutes in the inferior position and the other two training partners spent 3 minutes in the superior position.

We ran through mount and rear mount this way. We filmed each round, for a total of 36 minutes of footage below. I wrote notes for what I did in each video, since I’m watching to see myself spar, which I’ve never done until now.

Round 1

John was the first person to spend a round in rear mount while Ray and I each got a chance on his back.

– I get a figure-four grip on his arm (like a kimura from the back) then spin out to an armbar. He keeps ducking his head under my leg and trying to come up to his knees (which would put him in my guard) but I have control of his near knee so he can’t get up. I rock around and try to break his defensive grip. I end up coming into mount and getting an americana. – I grab his leg and spin out, shoving his head so I can pass my leg over and get an armbar. – I’m riding around as he spins around. I get the figure-four grip again and get to an armbar position. I end up with some strange grip on his far arm (not the one that looks like it’s being armbarred) and he finds space to pull his arm out as he comes to his knees. – I work on a RNC for a bit, getting a palm-to-palm grip and “palm striking” his

Round 2

Ray’s in the hole this time.

– I lose the first armbar because I don’t have a good grip on the arm when I spin so he’s able to turn into my guard. I should have kept the arm holding his leg so he couldn’t get to his knees. – I accidentally tap him with a jaw crush while setting up the RNC. – I get a better grip on his arm this time, using one-on-one grip to control his wrist at first. He keeps bridging and spinning and I follow him, trying to get the armbar. Spend a moment in technical mount, about to go to spider web, but he spins and put my hooks in again. When he turns to his knees, I climb my leg over his arm and into a triangle. He has his hands joined so the choke isn’t clean, but I keep the position and wrist lock him. – I roll him belly down and flatten him out. I’m going for the RNC but he keeps turning until he’s under mount (which resets this drill). – Almost have a RNC but I don’t feel like it’s tight and he spins under mount. – Spin to an armbar as the timer rings.

It’s now my turn to be in the hole: 6 minutes of me escaping rear mount.

I don’t think I have a lot of tricks for escaping bad spots. Early on in BJJ, I accepted that escaping inferior positions is hard—that’s the whole point of the positional hierarchy. You’ll have to work and suffer and get out by the skin of your teeth. It takes just putting yourself there over and over again, getting tapped a lot, until you gain enough experience to survive and escape. It may not be easy or pleasant but it’s reality.

Round 3

First half (3 minutes):

– Throughout the drill, I’m bridging and trying to drive my head and shoulders to the mat and turn towards them. I know he can’t choke me if my shoulders are on the mat. – I start with my hands by my face. I fight his hands and control his wrists to defend the choke. – I get the first escape by grabbing his choking hand with both of mine and putting his arm on the other side of my head, then spinning into his guard. – I keep stripping the arm off my neck and getting wrist control. I’ll swim his arm back under my armpit so I can trap it where he can’t close the RNC. – I see his feet looking vulnerable so I try a crossed-foot lock. – He almost closes a RNC but I shove his arm up and away from my neck. – Pay attention to when I turn to my knees. I feel his weight to the right side, so I mule kick my left leg, removing his left hook and crossing his right one. I pull his right arm down so he’ll slide off as I walk sideways on my knees to bring him square to me, putting me in his guard. This is a great escape that I don’t see a lot of people do. – You’ll see that once I get my shoulders on the mat, I’m not very worried about my neck. I’ll reach down and push on the legs to remove the hooks as I scoot out. My arms come back to defending my neck when he turns me so my back isn’t touch the ground any more. – Double wrist control on the choking arm and crossing it to the wrong side of my head (for him). Shoving his leg between mine and turning my hips hard to escape to half guard as he tries to take mount. – Keep putting one of his arms under my armpit so I can determine which arm he tries to choke me with. That way I also determine which side I’m escaping to. – Try for another footlock when I think his body triangle looks like it’s exposing his feet. – Keep kicking my legs until his hooks pop out and I come out to some odd position. – Drive my shoulders to the ground, pop his bottom hook out and catch his top leg in half guard. Immediately assume good long distance half guard posture.

Second half, partner change:

– I try to bridge and turn into guard but he gets a tight body triangle as I spin. We’re both fighting to come on top. He almost gets mount when I fall back on my butt. I keep posting and pushing him and lifting my hips until I get on top. Afterwards it felt like he’d crushed my intestines with the body triangle. – For a chance of tactics, I try the Saulo escape, where I slide down, trying to scoot low and kick my legs so his hooks pop out. His legs are too long so it doesn’t work because he’s grape vining behind my knee. I’ve seen guys get their knees blown out from this and I don’t want to hurt him so I go back to the bridging escape. He takes mount before I escape and the drill restarts. – I’m trying to control the choking arm but he gets it pretty good and starts closing the RNC. I switch arms and grab his other wrist so he can’t close the lock and put his hand behind my head. I swim my arm through and put his arm back under my armpit and hold it there for a second with a figure-four grip, then keep one hand on it while the other goes back to protecting my neck. – I just started doing this recently: To get his arm off my neck, instead of pulling down, I tuck my chin and shove his elbow up. I duck under it as I drive my shoulders to the mat. – He feels me escaping and takes mount, but I twist and elbow escape into half guard before he can settle into position. – Hand fighting, defending my neck, trying to kick hooks out. He turns me to the other side and I shove his leg between mine and escape to half guard.

Round 4

John under mount. I’m on top in the second half.

– From mount, I hug the head with one arm and turn their face with my shoulder. I lean to the opposite side and post my hand out. I hook my feet under their butt. By turning their head, I prevent them from bridging in that direction (you have to be able to look the direction you’re bridging to get any power) which is important since I’ve given up my base (my arm) on that side. Even if they do bridge that way, I’m leaning the other way to compensate. Plus my feet under the butt makes me cling to them. – I scoot my knees up under their armpits until I can put my feet on their hips. This pushes their elbows up and exposes them. – My free hand grabs their elbow and pulls it up (so it’s not pressing inside my knee) to prevent the elbow escape. – I step up to go to s-mount and he bumps me so I drop down again, changing which shoulder is crossfacing him. – I reach around his exposed elbow and join my hands then pressure his arm up towards his head. – He overhooks my arm and tries to upa me. I ride it out and stay on top, keeping the underhook. – It looks like I get in an armbar position (which I am) but I’m actually trying to setup a reverse armbar. He turns to his knees while I work on the arm. – I keep pulling on his arm until I have room to switch to a kimura grip. I keep control of him with my leg on the back of his head. He tries to roll out but I stop him with my leg across his back. – I get high mount the same way. He’s worried about his exposed elbows and hugs around my waist. I take a big step up with one leg, pinching my knee in to trap his arm. I shove his head down with both hands then pass my foot over his face. I sit out to the side, scooting my hips towards his head and stretching my leg on his face. This is the Marceloplata AKA monoplata, a shoulder and/or arm lock. – I turn his head away with the crossface then slide my knee up behind his shoulder. My other leg steps up to technical mount and I grab his thigh. I work on his arms and get a figure-four grip on the top one. I climb into a triangle. He’s defending the choke so I look to go to the armbar but the timer rings.

Round 5

My turn under mount.

Part 1

– Basic posture: elbows in (try to get them against their inner thigh), hands by face. I’ll trap the one of their arms to my chest for the upa, or I’ll push on their knee for the elbow escape. – Bridge and twist to create space, shrimp and bring my knee through, escape to half butterfly guard with an underhook. – He’s going to s-mount. I bridge and twist to create space, elbow escape to half guard. – He goes to s-mount again. I bridge and twist, he tries to step into a triangle, I defend by joining my hands and framing under his knee, creating space to go to a heelhook. – I try to do a heel drag escape but he pulls his leg forward. But this let’s me push his knee up and elbow escape to butterfly guard. – I wait until he’s really high and going for an armbar with my arm gift wrapped. I get my arm back by grabbing my trapped wrist and pulling my arm over my head. – He grabs my wrist again. But as he tries to step into technical mount, I shove his knee down and get a butterfly hook. I grab his ankle and put my other hook in for a sorta x-guard. He’s still got my arm wrapped so I stretch and rock him until I manage to toss his over my head. – I let him get really high mount, then do the backdoor escape, throwing my legs up and trying to hook his armpits as I scoot out through his legs. I wiggle out and spin to side control.

Part 2

– I start by going for the heel drag escape. He hides his foot by stepping up into technical mount, hoping to land in a triangle. I shove his knee away with both hands then join them and frame with my forearm under his knee. He falls and I switch to a leglock on the other side. – He starts holding my wrists so I’m anticipating a triangle, so I join my hands. He can’t get a triangle if he can’t separate my arms. When he steps up for the triangle, I frame under his knee and go to a leglock on the other leg (just like before). – I push on his knee with my elbow and his thigh with my opposite hand as I scoot up. I catch his foot with my heel and pull his leg between mine. I shrimp HARD to get on the correct side for half guard. – He gets into technical mount and almost has an armbar. I defend by figure-fouring my arms and waiting for him to pass his leg over my face. When he does, I grab his ankle with my free hand and keep his leg off. I turn to my knees as he falls back and I drive into his guard. – He tries to step over, I join my hands and frame his knee again. I let go and he almost triangles me but I pull my head out and hug his leg. – He goes for the armbar but I pull my elbow out. He goes for a triangle, but I manage to twist and throw my leg across his waist. I get my head out and hug his leg so he can’t triangle me again.

Round 6

Last round. Ray, the heavy-breathing old man, on the bottom.

– Crossfacing, turning his head, then switching sides. Hooking my feet under his butt. Sliding my knees up. Throughout the round, you’ll see me constantly plucking his elbows, pulling them up to kill his elbow escape. – Going to technical mount for a second to avoid the heel drag escape. – Swiveling my hips to technical mount when he tries to bridge me over. Sitting back and holding his leg to prevent him from rolling my over, landing in s-mount. – I worry he’s going to trap my foot between his legs so I pull him into rear mount. – He does a good job of escaping by bridging and turning into me and coming to his knees, so rock my legs to throw him back and I spin to mount again. He almost comes on top but I’m able to bring my hips around come on top. I get the crossface again immediately to kill his bridge and my free arm posts so I don’t get rolled. – It’s quick, but you’ll see me cross my feet under his butt for a second when I feel him pushing my hip/knees for the elbow escape. Then I slide my knees high again. – Grape vining behind his knees when I feel his elbow escape getting good. Switch sides and crossface him the other way out of his elbow escape. – Rather than work his elbow up (I know he’s good at keeping them tight), bring my left elbow to the opposite side of his head and block it. I shove my right fist through the crook of his elbow and dig for an underhook. I join my hands and trap his arm by hugging it. – There’s a reverse armbar I want to get. I swivel my right leg so my shin is across his chest, kinda like I’m moving to knee-on-belly (but I’m not). You’ll see me kneeling on his chest, sitting on his head. – The position didn’t feel right for the reverse armbar so I switch my grip to a kimura. – He’s trying to pull his head out and turn his knees so I keep following him and trying to keep his head trapped while I work on the arm. He tries to turn to his knees and I knock him down again with the kimura grip. He keeps getting his head out so I’m trying to step over it and trap it again. – I keep my hips closer, with my belly behind his head and shoulder, while he’s laying there with his head out. – I step over his head and trap it again but he turns hard to his knees again. I fall over, but swing my leg over and thread it through his armpit as I do. I spin around his arm and chop my calf into his face, knocking him over. I land in an armbar/triangle. With a few quick adjustments, I’ve got the choke and tap him with the armbar. – I trap his head to the side and dig for the underhook the same way. He’s keeping his arm tight and starts to bridging and shrimping. I see his head sticking up and wrap it for a guillotine. I’m twisting into his head and arching my back and leaning to the side, trying to finish it, when the timer rings.
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Next week I want to do side control (including north-south and knee-on-belly) and turtle (front headlock and side ride). Then it’ll be half guard and closed guard.