Last night at Crossroads BJJ held another great class from the Crossroads Martial Arts Curriculium. From the standing position we drilled the main self defense strategy of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, close the distance and bring the fight to the ground where we can use leverage and technique to control a larger, stronger opponent. There are several situations where the fight starts before we realize we are in a fight, a headlock a bear hug and many others. However if somebody raises thier fists we know they are going to attempt to hurt us and we must manage the distance appropriately. In last nights class we discussed closing the distance and then performing a simple hip throw to bring the fight to the ground. By closing the distance we put ourselves in a position where the attackers punching power is significantly reduced and we do not have to worry about getting knocked out.
Once on the ground we drilled three different BJJ techniques, an elbow escape from the bottom of the mount position, a way to defend against the elbow escape and a position we call “the hug”. While working the elbow escape we paid very close attention to one of the most important skill for BJJ beginners to master, keeping your elbows close to your body. Keeping your elbows close or “chambered” is a theme common in several Martial Arts, here it helps prevent our arms from being attacked with arm and shoulder locks.
The third technique of the class was a transition to side control as a means to defend the elbow escape. If we attempt to hold the top position to long we can actually leave ourselves out of position to be swept or submittied once the bottom player finishes thier escape. In BJJ if we are losing a position we must change positions. By transitioning to side control we can keep a good top position and continue to work our attacks.
The last technique we covered is called “the hug”, a position that is much less comftorable for the person in the bottom position than it sounds. This position is applied when the person continues to elbow escape during the top players transition to side control and leaves thier arms out stretched to far. By using our body we can trap thier arms in a position that prevents most escapes and allows the person on top a large amount of control to either rest, or to set up thier next attack.
If you missed last nights class, make sure to get here for Thursday’s class where we how to prevent getting put in the mount and several other BJJ techniques you need to know!