Wednesday 1 May 2013

Class 63…

Into a beginners class and after the usual warm-up we worked on three escapes from side control.

A key point that was emphasised before we began, though, was to never clasp your hands behind the opponent’s back as this means the arms are isolated and ripe for attack. Instead one hand should be on the hip with the elbow glued to the floor (ensuring he cannot pass to North-South) and one hand should be grabbing the opponent’s belt on the other side with your right knee over your left (ensuring he cannot pass to mount).

The first was a simple unbalancing sweep that went something like this:
i) You are under your opponent in side control with his body sprawled over your left side; drop your right elbow to the floor with your hand pushing his hip and squeezing his arm in so it is trapped; swim your left hand under the neck of the opponent and grab the collar of the opponent.
ii) Bridge up onto your right hip to move the opponent; as his weight comes back to rebalance himself, bridge onto the other hip and drive him over so you end up in side control.

The second was a variation of this:
i) You are under your opponent in side control with his body sprawled over your left side; drop your right elbow to the floor with your hand pushing his hip and squeezing his arm in so it is trapped; swim your left hand under the neck of the opponent and grab the collar of the opponent.
ii) Your opponent switches his base so you bridge up to get nearer to the opponent then bridge up again while pushing against his neck; once you have sufficiently closed the distance, scissor kick your legs so your right leg comes under your left leg and you move onto your knees and drive the opponent backwards until you finish in side control.

The third was a variation of this:
i) You are under your opponent in side control with his body sprawled over your left side; drop your right elbow to the floor with your hand pushing his hip and squeezing his arm in so it is trapped; swim your left hand under the neck of the opponent and grab the collar of the opponent.
ii) Bridge up and keep bridging until your right leg is under the hips of your opponent; then pull your opponent onto you like he is sitting in a rocking chair and sweep him onto his other side.

LESSON FROM TODAY: The elbow to the floor and the squeeze of the biceps helps pin the opponent's arm and remove one of his posts; the hip escape is the tool that unbalances and moves the opponent.

No comments:

Post a Comment