In Lesson 6 of the Crossroads Martial Arts Curriculum we continue our study of the headlock and the different different variations you may find yourself in if you are even actually put in a headlock. Of course we always hope that we will never need to use our jiu-jitsu for self defense but better safe than sorry. When you are put in a headlock the person will either be attempting to control you, or to punch you. If their hands are gripped together, we don’t have to worry about punches, but what we do have to worry about is them bringing us to the ground and in the process landing on top of us. One of the great things about Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is that it teaches us to use our training partners movements as momentum for our own techniques. In lesson 6 of the Crossroads Martial Arts Curriculum our training partner is attempting to bring us to the ground using a headlock, and this downward movement creates a enough momentum for us to spin underneath them and generate enough force for us to throw them and land in the top position. This is one of the fundamental techniques that very clearly demonstrates using somebodies own strength against them.
Once we are on the ground Lesson 6 of the Crossroads Martial Arts Curriculums changes gears and we begin from the half guard in the bottom position. In Modern Jiu-jitsu the Half guard is a very dynamic position complete with sweeps and submissions. In order to understand what the bottom player will experience we begin by discussing a very common pass from the half guard position, the undertook pass. In half guard having the undertook gives you a huge advantage and is the most common battle to experience. Once the top player has the under hook he can flatten the bottom player and then begin untangling his legs to pass.
If we want to stop a majority of passes from half guard, we must prevent the top player from achieving the undertook, and how to get the undertook back if we lose the position. Once we have achieved the undertook we use the half guard as a transitionary position regain full guard, or to get to our training partners back. Which position we go to depends on where our training partner positions their body, and once we become comfortable with the two techniques we can use one to set up the other. This idea of using one technique to set up the technique we actually want is the essence of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the martial arts, the triumph of intellect over strength.