3.2.08 #30

Trained with Ferret

Last night was the first time I have trained with Ferret in awhile. Lloyd came by and spent some time working with us as well (even though he couldn't roll because he didn't tap last week and hurt his shoulder). The focus of last night was submissions from side.

We worked on passing to half guard, then moving from half to side. To gain control on the side, the key was to put your arm under your opponents head to control his head. Once we maintained the side position, our opponents arm position would determine our next move. If the opponents arm is pinned underneath our body, we would go to baseball choke. If the opponents arm is inside to defend his neck, we can transition to karate-chop grip in the arm pit and force the opponent to his side. The key to this move is having your south knee (away from the opponent's head) in their back, to prevent them from rolling out of the move. Place your north leg over the opponent's head, take his arm with a figure-four grip (like you are taking Kimura). The figure-four grip prevents your opponenet from hitch-hiking out. Pull your knees together and take the armbar.

All in all, it was a good transition. You can work the karate-chop grip in several different ways, from knee on belly, from transitioning around your opponent. I will try to run it tonight at class.