Tag Archives: gripping

Tai Otoshi Judo Throw in BJJ Competition (2013 Pans)

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To me one the main benefits of judo for a jiu jitsu competitor is as simple as providing confidence in basic movement on the feet, basic gripping, basic posture, etc. That’s how it helped me, but it’s especially cool to see the occasional judoka pull off a textbook throw at the higher level of competition. I’ve seen a few drop morote seoi nage’s and a lot of excellent foot sweeps, but I haven’t yet seen a tai otoshi pulled off quite as nice as it was done in the following clip of a brown belt match from the 2013 Pans:

Here’s Jimmy Pedro breaking down this exact technique. He describes a useful grip variation for a BJJ competitor, but the guy in the above clip didn’t need the variation. He did it the old school judo way.

Notes on the World Jiu Jitsu Expo Superfights

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The World Jiu Jitsu Expo brought together some exciting match-ups. There was Glover sporting a gi and goatee. There was the impossible-to-pass guard of Lovato Jr. And there was the confident-bordering-on-cocky top game of Kron. Anyway, here are my three favorite fights from that event along with some notes.

Kron Gracie vs Vitor Estima

Some interesting things from this match are:

  • Kron’s standing pass of Vitor’s closed guard at the beginning (maybe the 1 minute mark). It showed to me that confidence and good balance goes a long way.
  • The reverse body lock at 7:30. I’m pretty sure Kron has not seen this position too often, but he remained calm, keep good posture, and used grips to resume a dominant position.
  • Kron’s smash pass at 9:30 that went on forever. It was interesting to see the fact that Vitor was stopping it by simply holding on to Kron’s left ankle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHq5YjQBWNg

Lucas Leite vs Rafael Lovato Jr

Some interesting things from this match are:

  • Beautiful long step pass attemps at 1:30 by Lucas Leite.
  • The whole match is just guard passing by Lucas Leite. He almost passed a lot of times with the bull pass, but Lovato did not seem worried any of those times. The bull pass has that quality that it looks like you passed, but you really haven’t.
  • The break they get at 8:00 is awesome. I love those breaks. It gives both guys a breather for the final push in the match. It makes cardio a little less of a factor, and more about technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2GnQ5DCiSs

Jeff Glover vs Caio Terra

Some interesting things from this match are:

  • Glover is famously a goof ball. Some things he does I think are entertaining, but some (in my eyes) are disrespectful to the sport. In the beginning of the match he turned his back as he often does, and I was glad to see Caio immediate look to capitalize on it.
  • When Glover was on top in the match it was interesting to see him in a stance with his weight on his back foot, kind of like you are when on top of deep half guard. That created a lot of complicated footlock-type situations, but he seemed to be comfortable with it.
  • It was interesting to see left-sided de la riva guard from Caio (e.g. 7:40). Glover seemed to be comfortable with it, and Caio’s half guard, which is of course very impressive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7eixxm5CLI

Rhadi Ferguson on Throwing and Gripping

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Dr. Rhadi Ferguson is one of the best known representatives of judo in America. A highlight of his throws is below.

I just did an exercise of listing the first 10 American judoka that pop into my mind (outside my circle of judo friends / coaches). Here’s what I got:

  • rhadi-ferguson-pick-up-judoTravis Stevens
  • Jimmy Pedro
  • Rhadi Ferguson
  • Jason Morris
  • Rhonda Rousey
  • Ann Maria DeMars
  • Nick Delpopolo
  • Taraje Williams
  • Rick Hawn
  • Mike Swain

And I’m sure he would appear up at the top of that list for most people in U.S. and perhaps even world-wide who are interested in competitive judo.

Part of the reason for this is his extensive presence on the web with articles, videos, and general educational material. That’s just what I’m writing about today. In a cool opportunity, he offered to answer a few questions from “fans” on his facebook fan page. I asked the following questions:

Suppose your favorite throw is seoi nage, and your second favorite throw is uchi mata. In a perfect world, where the #1 priority of your life is judo, what is the approximate number of fit-ins and throws of these two would you look to do per week. I realize there is no magic number, but I believe in the importance of drilling, and am curious what amount of drilling you would suggest. Again, the assumption behind this question is that you’re free to train all day ;-)

He answered in this facebook video which you may need to like his fan page to have access to. Here are a few key points he made:

  • It is in fact possible that judo being the #1 priority is perhaps not the definition of a perfect world ;-)
  • Assuming you’re already proficient at your favorite throws, you don’t need to do too many throws a day. He suggests about 50.
  • You will not execute any kind of throw without first achieving a sufficiently dominant grip which sets up the off-balance and entry into the throw. Therefore, working on the gripping aspect of the game is the wisest area of time investment for improving chances of success in competition. (He is currently selling a video educational series with him and Jimmy Pedro on the subject of gripping.)
  • Work on the transition when you miss the throw. “Miss” here means a non-ippon throw but nevertheless a throw that takes the game into newaza. The goal is to be a step ahead of the opponent in the transition.

I’ll finish up with a quote from Dr. Rhadi that sums it up:

“The key, Lex, honestly is to study gripping like it’s going out of style.”

This is a basic truth that most competitors know, but do little about. My new resolve is to force gripping into my regular training regimen. And I’m not just talking about random ad-hoc gripping but the strategic sequences of grips that Taraje Williams showed when I went to his clinic, and the kind that Rhadi Ferguson shows in his DVD.

The Dangers of Seoi Nage in BJJ Competition

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nomura-seoi-nage-bjj-competitionI’m both a judo and bjj competitor, so naturally the subject of utilizing the techniques of one sport as part of the other has been of great interest to me.

First, I should say that in my mind neither sport can (or should) really lay claim to any of the techniques I’m talking about in this post (despite hundreds of forum posts to the contrary). Judo and jiu jitsu are very similar martial arts, but their respective sports have evolved in such a way that the rules of the sport make the two martial arts appear quite different. Judo emphasizes big throws, while BJJ emphasizes “dominant” position.

My favorite judo technique is standing ippon seoi nage. Here’s a video of Travis Stevens, a top level U.S. judo player whose gripping and technique I draw a lot of inspiration from in my own judo:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1syAolnJHQ

Not all seoi nage variations are created equal. Here are some characteristics which define distinct versions of seoi nage which are important in the context of BJJ. I’ll explain why below:

  • Lower body
    • Standing
    • Drop on one knee
    • Drop on both knees
    • Koga’s (and my favorite): step back through the opponent’s legs
  • Grips
    • Ippon
      • Lapel
      • Armpit
      • Sleeve
    • Morote
      • Sleeve + Lapel
      • One handed (Koga liked this version also)

I do many of these variations, both on the right and left side, which is very important given the unpredictable nature of the gripping game.

What’s important in the context of BJJ is that these throws will end up in different positions, both if they succeed or fail. The danger, in general, is that I turn my back to my opponent, allowing him to potentially take my back and score 4 points, both if the throw succeeds and fails. This doesn’t matter for judo, but it does matter for BJJ. A two-handed morote seoi nage version, for example, keeps space between you and the opponent, and thus the resulting throw is much less likely to wrap your opponent tightly onto your back. The drop version of morote seoi nage, in fact, is the most common seoi nage variation thrown at high level gi jiu jitsu competition (from my observation).

The most common unpleasant circumstance for me is that I do successfully throw my opponent but he chases my back and ends up on top of me in the turtle position. No hooks, so no points scored, but still, I just did a huge throw and the result is that I’m the one on the run. It shouldn’t be that way.

This post is already way too long, so I’ll leave all the things I want to say for later.

Bottom line is that, as Ray suggested after our judo training session at Osagame today, I’ll make a good bjj throw the project for the summer. My goal is to work on variations of seoi nage that land me in side control and also to work on other forward throws that may work well in BJJ competition. More on that later…

Double Guard Pull

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A double guard pull is when both competitors sit guard, and play a gripping game, a 50/50 game, or maybe looking for footlocks, etc. I saw a lot of double guard pulls in the recent Pan Ams at the lighter weights across the ranks.

According to IBJJF rules, if both competitors sit guard, and then one comes on top, then that fighter gets an advantage. I think it’s a nice rule that discourages excessive guard pulling, but doesn’t excessively punish the fighters if they both want to play that game.

I used to echo the opinion of many casual spectators of sport jiu jitsu, and criticize anyone that pulled guard, but now that I appreciate the complexity and the chess-like aspects of the ground game, I don’t criticize fighters that specialize in that strategy (at least not as much). Of course, for me, I still love the stand-up fight for the takedown, and I’ll look for it every time, unless I’m injured, or in rare cases where I feel like I might be significantly more effective off my back.

To me, how you see the idea of pulling guard boils down to how you see the sport of jiu jitsu. From the perspective of the spectator, a takedown is one of the most exciting aspects of a grappling sports, but from the perspective of a competitor, it’s just another position, just as challenging and full of possibilities as many others (closed guard, butterfly guard, spider guard, turle, etc).