How to Improve Your Success Rate in Applying Submissions

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Muscle Memory & Confusion for Building Technique & Strength

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Body Shifting from the Underside of a Ground Attack

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Fundamentals of Can-Ryu Ground Defense

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Moving Away from Set Defenses from Specific Ground Attacks

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Addressing Size Issues in Ground Defense

As many of you know, I've been asked to review the ground defense curriculum of my style, Can-ryu Jiu-jitsu, and to propose updates that will put our curriculum more in line with the 4 key tenets of our style.

In doing so, I've come to accept that we can't always have a single "basic" technique against a particular ground attack that is taught to all students. The problem is that what works for a person who is small and/or short, doesn't necessarily work well for someone who is big and/or tall and vice versa. In stand-up defenses, it's easier to establish basic techniques that will work for the greater majority of people because there is more room to move and the situations tend to be less confining. But size differences matter a lot more when it comes to the ground. We would be doing a disservice to our students to force them all to use the same techniques in cases where the size difference matters.

As such, I'm reviewing each ground hold defense in terms of how it works for both shorter and taller, smaller and bigger people. Where possible, I'll work out basics that will work best for greatest number of people, but I'll establish back-up techniques to be taught for the exception cases, for whom these techniques aren't as practical.

On a separate note, I'd like to congratulate Chris Olson for achieving his Shodan (1st degree black belt) in Shorinji Kan Jiu-jitsu over the weekend. Next stop: brown belt in Can-ryu. :)

The 4 Key Tenets of Can-Ryu Jiu-jitsu

In re-evaluating the ground defense portion of the Can-ryu curriculum, it is important to think long and hard about the key tenets of our style to ensure that the core curriculum I propose fits with those tenets. I will review them here.

1. Simplicity. Our core curriculum is meant to be easy to learn. A student should be able to be able to learn a defensive technique in a way that is usable in less than 3 minutes. If it doesn't work for the student for whatever reason, the student should be shown something different. But ideally, our core curriculum should comprise of techniques that will work for the greatest variety of body types and attack situations.

2. Commonality of Technique. We strive to use similar types of techniques in similar defensive situations. The purpose of this is to prevent brain stalls which can occur in the pressure of an attack as a person tries to "think" of what to do. If the defense that is taught is the same within all the different minor variations of the same attack, it reduces the chances of this.

3. Usage of Gross Motor Skills. In the interest of making our core curriculum easier to learn and apply, we emphasize the use of gross motor skills over fine motor skills. Gross motor skills include manoeuvres like knee strikes, shin kicks, open hand strikes, and simpler takedowns like centre heel lock or the jugular notch takedown.

4. Awareness of Multiple Attackers. In all the defensive techniques we use in our core curriculum, we emphasize a constant awareness for the potential for multiple attackers. This means that we teach students to look around and be aware as though someone may attack, even while you are defending against one person. This is true whether you're taking someone to the ground, striking, or doing after throw techniques. We also don't emphasize techniques that leave us prone on the ground. This means there are no sacrifice throws and we teach students to get up off the ground after every ground hold technique that is successfully escaped.

Our primary purpose for teaching Can-ryu is to teach usable self-defense. These 4 tenets are the focal point of all our "core" curriculum that is to be uniform across all Can-ryu dojos to keep us in line with that purpose.

That being said, we still have the liberty to teach outside the core curriculum at the discretion of the instructor. Manoeuvres like hip throws, joint locks and other moves that take longer to learn and apply have a place in each dojo's "variation" curriculum. Students are to understand that their first line of defense is Can-ryu's core curriculum. The variation curriculum, on the other hand, which receives increased emphasis from green belt onward, provides an avenue for skill enhancement over the long term. It also keeps things interesting.

How Good Are Your Perceptions Skills?

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Mifune Sensei & the True Spirit of Judo

First off, I apologize for my recent absence in the blogosphere. I started a new full-time job that has been keeping me very busy.

In following with my last post about the new Judo rule that was conceived to prevent cross-fertilization with other styles, I want to show you a video that, to me, gives you a little sample of the ultimate goal of the Judo that Jigoro Kano (founder of Judo) had intended when he created the style. For those of you who don't know, Judo was conceived of using a subsection of Jiu-jitsu techniques.



The tiny, frail old featured in this video, is Kyozo Mifune Sensei, 10th degree black belt, who is considered by many to be the greatest judo technician ever, after Kano.

I've seen a more complete version of the part where Mifune Sensei goes through 5-6 high ranking Dans (5th-8th), taking each one on individually and finishing each with a clean 'ippon' (in Judo terms, a solid throw that finishes the match). Every time any one of his younger, stronger opponents tries to throw him it's like he's not even there. It's like trying to throw a wispy feather. His body goes up then sails around them, landing perfectly on his feet, even after throws like ippon seoi nage (shoulder throw) and tomoe nage (stomach throw).

Judo was never intended to have weight classes, which is why the open category is still widely considered to be the only place where true Judo can occur. That being said, these days it is largely populated by the heavier weight categories. The idea was that if you had truly grasped the concept of Judo, you don't have to use any energy or strength. It all comes from your opponent, as Mifune Sensei so skillfully demonstrates.

To me, this is the highest form of martial arts, effortless, beautiful and you better believe it's got practical applications. Sigh. Where are masters like these nowadays?

New Judo Rule Introduced to Prevent Cross-fertilization

Recently, the International Judo Federation announced that they were testing a number of new rules at the upcoming World Junior Championships. One rule in particular gave me pause. All techniques below the belt line are banned. Only techniques using leg against leg will be allowed, or if the hand grip in the leg is the continuation of another technique tried (ex. o-uchi gari which can develop into kata guruma). The purpose of this new rule is discourage Judo from being combined with other martial arts like wrestling, Sambo, or BJJ. I think this is a sad development for Judo for a couple of reasons.

First of all, this ban removes a number of techniques native to Judo. Morote gari (double knee pick-up), for example, is a traditional Judo technique. Sure, it also used in wrestling and MMA, but what of it? The argument is that they're trying to keep their art pure, and to do so, they're comprising the integrity of their art. How does that make sense?

Secondly, so what if a few wrestlers or Sambo fighters come in and do well in their tournaments? This is just an opportunity for Judo to evolve and learn to effectively counter different types of attacks. Unfortunately, there is a lot of pride/ego when it comes to the martial arts, and I believe these new rules are a way of ensuring that Judo students aren't tempted to add to their knowledge by cross-training.

That is the problem with competition though. If you look at the Kodokan, the original bible of Judo, there are a number of techniques featured that are no longer allowed in Judo competition, like shoulder locks, leg locks, etc. Because of this, and the emphasis on competitive applications inherent in Judo training, there is little incentive to show to teach these techniques in dojos, causing these native techniques to be lost to the art. I think it's all rather sad.

Defending Against the Shoot: Sprawl or Sacrifice Throw

In my last blog post, Gi Grappling vs. No Gi Grappling, I received many questions/comments about defending against BJJ/MMA takedowns. I promised to do a detailed post on this topic, particularly about defending against the shoot in a self-defense context. So here goes.

The first way I recommend to defend against the shoot is through the use of the sprawl. When done properly, this is the best way to defend as it keeps you on your feet (or close to it) and in a dominant position. It is very important to stay off the ground in a street defense context because of the risk of environmental dangers and of the possibility that there could be multiple attackers who could kick you while the first guy keeps you occupied on the ground. More on why you should stay off the ground in a self-defense context.

Here is an intro to the sprawl care of the the TV series, The Human Weapon:



It's important to note that the sprawl is not just a matter leaning into the attacker and throwing your feet back. Done this way, an experienced attacker won't have much trouble getting under you and forcing you off your feet. To do the sprawl properly you must redirect his energy downward by dropping your hip into them, using your shoulder, chest and arms secondarily for support as well as control.

It's also important to get a good sense of timing when using the sprawl. If you do it to early, an experienced attacker could fake you out and put you in a vulnerable position. If you do it too late, they'll likely get under your weight and take you down.

Here is a video by Tito Ortiz showing some good practice methods for the sprawl:



Note that if you're using the sprawl in a submission grappling or MMA context, you have the option to grapple your opponent from the resulting dominant position you get. Or if your opponent doesn't protect his neck properly a guillotine can be applied for the submission. But in a street defense context, you want to get up from the ground as quickly as possible, so once you've sprawled, strike your attacker to create the opportunity to get free and to your feet as quickly as possible.

If you fail to do the sprawl, you're going down so your best bet is to go with the energy and reverse it to your advantage with a sacrifice throw. The one I like to use best is the tawara gaeshi (rice bale throw). Here is a video showing its application:



In this video, the instructor uses both legs, but if you first attempted a sprawl, you're likely going to have one leg forward. This isn't a problem though, as the throw can be done with a single leg. If my right leg is forward, I plant the ball of my right foot into my attacker's right hip. Alternatively, you can hook your foot under the hip at the top of the thigh.

In practice, I always try to roll up and end on top of my uke and take the mounted position, but in the context of an attack, you might not get enough control to do this. In this case, you can just loosen the grip you have on the head with your arm and try to drive the attacker's weight over you as aggressively as possible to throw the attacker as far from you as you can.

If you have any further questions, please don't hestitate to ask in the comments. Have fun trying it out!

Gi Grappling vs. No Gi: It's All in the Grip

One other thing to come out of my training in Spartanburg was a short grappling match I had against a 220 lb. British shodan named Oliver who, in addition to his training in Shorinji Kan, has spent some time studying BJJ gi grappling. After some chatting at the bar, we agreed to have a go at it after one of the training sessions. I've always maintained that gi grappling favoured larger, stronger people when the face off. Never was this more apparent than when I grappled Oliver. But then it wasn't just the size and strength difference. There was technique on top of that.

When I had grappled world-class BJJ competitor Jennifer Weintz in the past, she was very skilled at using my gi to manipulate me from her back like a puppet master using strings. With Oliver, it was the other way around. Being much bigger it was a simple task for him to hold me down from on top, but the gi added something more. Without a gi on, I'm usually able to use my speed, flexibility and agility to keep myself out of tight spots, even against much bigger guys. Oliver easily got around this by taking grips on my gi that effectively pinned my shoulders to the ground in ways that made it impossible to move the way I usually do. Yes, his size made it easier to hold me there, but the grips he used are technical and could be used effectively even without the physical mismatch. After he tapped me out, I was quick to ask him to show me the gi control he had used.

Upon reflection on this experience, I've decided that I want to devote some time to developing my gi grappling. I've always liked no-gi for its speed and the way you're required to use your body to control the person through weight shifting and body positioning. Gi, on the other hand, uses the same principles but adds in another layer, a fabric layer that can be used for added control.

I've found that generally when people lack skill in grappling, they tend to take a death grip on the gi and forget all about body mechanics, which is why I encourage my students to grapple without a gi first. But now that I've gotten a decent base in no-gi, I want to turn my focus to gi so I can learn more about grips, grip breaks and gi controls. This type of training can have practical applications in street defense too, particularly if you live in a climate in which people need to wear jackets. I'm going to study from some of the books I have at home when I get back to Vancouver, but in the meantime, I started checking out some vids on YouTube. Here is one video I found on YouTube showing a simple grip break from guard:

Knee on Belly: A Solid Top Position Against Larger Grappling Opponents

In the last couple of months, I've been playing more with the knee on belly position when I grapple. It's not for everyone. To make the best use of it, you need to be fairly flexible in the groin. You also need to have great balance and quick reflexes. But I've found that as a smaller person grappling with larger people, it works really well for me as a top position.

Here are a couple of knee on belly videos I found on YouTube, showing how to apply an arm bar to either arm of your opponent:




The reason why knee on belly can be better than side control or scarf hold against bigger opponents is that it allows me to use my speed and agility to counter their efforts and getting me off the top. Even if I have a very solid side control or scarf hold, it requires that I put more of my body closer to my opponent where it can be used, attacked, entangled, etc.

With knee on belly, on the other hand, I can keep my body away from my opponent. And if he tries to shrimp away or push me off, I simply lift my weight off to keep control then re-establish the control point. Plus, there is the added benefit that I can drive all of my weight into the muscles that control breathing, causing my opponent to tense those muscles so that he doesn't lose his or her breath. This is great for tiring out a larger opponent, while conserving your own energy for a decisive attack. On top of that, if you're doing MMA, this position can be a great place from which to strike your opponent.

Anyway, it's been working out pretty well for me. Give it a try!

How to Grapple When There is a Major Size Difference

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Experimenting with My Stand-up Grappling Game

Yesterday, I met up with Shelene, my new grappling buddy, to do some rolling. The thing I found most interesting was how different our stand-up grappling styles are.

Because of her heavy wrestling background, Shelene favours a stance in which her upper body is bent over and her hips are far back. It's an aggressive stance that lends itself well to leg takedowns, crotch takedowns, etc. My stand-up grappling game is more similar to Judo, favouring a more upright stance, bending low at the knees.

What I found was that while my style worked well defending against and countering Shelene's wrestling takedowns, I didn't find it very easy to engage her and initiate my own throws and takedowns because her hips were so far back I found it difficult to take her balance.

Since Shelene and I had such a great time rolling together, we definitely intend to do it again. It's rare to have the opportunity to roll with skilled female grappler. So for our next session, I intend to be more aggressive with my takedowns to see what opportunities I can create. With Shelene's skill, I'm sure that this experimentation will lead to her taking me down in new and unexpected ways, but it's the only way to learn new things.

Shelene currently does her submission grappling training at 10th Planet Jiu-jitsu Vancouver, a school that teaches Eddie Bravo's signature style of BJJ.

Introducing My Newest Grappling Buddy

Ok. I'm officially out of shape. I hiked the Chief (4.5 hours straight up and down a local mountain) last Saturday. Result: My legs hurt for several days after. Yesterday, I did my first upper body resistance training session with my coach since I started my movie work a month ago. Result: My upper body ached all over today. Tonight, I did some of the first sparring I've done since before I started the movie work. Result: One of my students owned me because I had become all flinchy.

Conclusion: It sucks getting back into the old training regime after having taken too long a break.

What I'm Gonna Do About It: Keep on pushing till I get back what I lost.

Fortunately, I did manage to keep doing some grappling here and there over the past month, so I'm still feeling on my game with that. Gotta focus on the positive too! So going with that theory, this Saturday, I'm meeting up with my new friend, Shelene Yung, whom I met on the movie set. She did competitive wrestling for 7 years and has now moved into submission grappling. Check out this video of her tapping out a guy at a recent tournament:



I like that she made the guy fight on her terms, like any skilled fighter should. Because of her experience, she's more skilled on her feet than on the ground compared to a student in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. So she kept the fight on her feet. Every time she took him down, she'd wait until he got back up, until she eventually choked him out with a slick rear naked choke (from standing, no less!).

Anyway, even though the movie work kept me from my training, it's nice that I was able to meet a number of skilled martial artists, particularly a few skilled women, which is a treat for me. And the way I see it, you can't have too many skilled training buddies. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Out of Print Judo Ground Work Book

Hello everyone. Sorry I've been slow to post this week. I do intend to do the follow up article on open hand strikes, but I haven't had time to do the video for it in the past few days. In the meantime, I was passed along this link to a pdf of a great book that's currently out of print. It's about Judo ground work and it covers a lot of material that seems to not get as much attention in the martial art these days. I think you'll find it interesting.

Higher Judo: Ground Work

The whole book is there in pdf form. Enjoy!

An Introduction to the X-guard

Last weekend, some of my students and I attended a Jiu-jitsu BC Society seminar. One of the concepts that was covered was the X-guard in Randy Martin Shihan's lesson. This is a handy position to be familiar with. It flows quite naturally from the butterfly guard among other positions.

Here is a video that shows some of the basics that were covered during the seminar:



The X-guard can be very useful for dealing with an attacker or opponent who is standing over you while you're on your back. It lends itself to a variety of sweeps and knee submissions. It is well worth exploring.

Tightening the Triangle

One of my students, a fairly strong grappler, has a narrow neck (we sometimes call him 'Pencil Neck' as a nickname) and high tolerance for neck discomfort. As a result, many of my students have difficulty tapping him out from chokes, myself included. I often just transition to the arm bar because it's generally an easier way to submit him, but last night I got in a nicely tightened triangle that tapped him out.

There are a number of tips on how to tighten the triangle. Here is a good video demonstrating them from Submissions101.com:



By combining all the tips in this video, including the head pull, I successfully tapped Pencil Neck out. Though even with it tightened to its max, he still lasted longer than you would imagine is humanly possible. He did, however, say that he needed a moment afterward as all the blood was rushing back into his head.

Have fun tightening those triangles!

JJJ vs. BJJ: Can't We All Just Get Along?

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