3.

Escapes to be addressed

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Hold down ;  Both hands on the far side of the body

Escapes

This particular hold down is more of a transitional pin

and is not used as a primary control position The struc
ture of it is not as strong as the other hold downs
Therefore* an opponent can escape from this position
rather easily
Notice how the right elbow (red arrow) and right knee
(yellow arrow) are jammed together underneath my
opponents head!

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However* this is a great position to set up for arm locks* leg locks and triangles! In the
beginning of my Jiu Jitsu experience* I used this position a lot In the middle of my
experience (blue and purple belt) I rarely used this position because I could no longer
hold people down with it Then* at the brown belt level* I started experimenting with
it and found a bunch of new uses for it I now use it to set up for arm locks* chokes* leg
locks and triangles!

Hold down ;  One hand on each side of the body

Escapes

This is used primarily to hold a person on their

back to pin their shoulders to the ground It is
much more difficult to escape from than hold
down ; because of its structure
The structure of the technique allows the op
ponent to bury his arms (yellow arrow) un
derneath your back* as well as drive his knee
into your hip (red arrow) These two components give him a tremendous amount of
control over your upper torso This also gives him an incredible amount of leverage to
apply weight onto your chest However* you can escape this position quite easily
with good technique* timing and posture!

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When I need to hold someone down for a period of time* I generally use this hold
down However* if I want to transition to various submission holds* I will not use this
position! (Escaping from this position will be a breeze when I show it to you!)

Hold down ;  One hand on each side of the body

Escapes

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This particular hold down is one of the

hardest to escape The structure of it
allows the opponent to anchor his
weight on your upper torso by placing
his forearms under your body (yellow
arrow) It also allows him the freedom
to move his legs wherever he likes and
whenever (red arrow) Additionally*
the opponent is able to place all of his
weight on your upper torso
This hold down is used extensively by grapplers of all different disciplines and is very
hard to escape when employed by an adept grappler who knows how to use it in
combination with other hold downs! Escaping from this hold down will take some
time to develop However* once you get it* you will be amazed at how easy it will be
to escape from other hold downs!

Hold down ;#  Both hands on the near side of the body

Escapes

This hold down is not used very much

However* I have encountered a number of
Judo stylists who have used it quite fre
quently and quite well!
This hold down is best used as a transitional
one rather than a primary Difficulty in es
caping this hold depends largely on the per
son who is employing it The more adept
the grappler* the harder it will be to escape

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I will use this position primarily as I am in the process of passing an opponents guard
and he attempts to turn into me and go to his knees What will make it difficult for
him to turn into me is the fact that my right arm is under his neck and chin* and the
fact that my left arm will control his left knee Like I said before* the difficulty in
escaping this position will depend on who is applying it

Scarf hold  One hand controls the head* one hand controls the near arm

Escapes

The scarf hold* better known as kesa gatame

gatame* is
widely used amongst grapplers from all different
disciplines It is a great position to control an op
ponent* as well as transition to any number of
submissions As a result* this hold down is ex
tremely difficult to escape* especially against
someone who has been using it for several years
Being able to escape from this position* at will* is
definitely a skill you want to have (I spent two
years training my escapes from this position)

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Escapes

Modified scarf hold  One hand controls the far shoulder* one hand controls the near
arm
The modified scarf hold is another position that
gives the opponent a great amount of control
over your body Because his forearms are under
your shoulders* this anchors his weight on your
upper torso* making it is very difficult to escape
this position
I use this position a lot to control my opponent
and force him to use his arms When he uses his
arms to push against me* I flow into an arm lock*
choke or triangle
The difficulty in escaping from this position depends on who is using it!

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Escapes

Reverse scarf hold  One hand controls the far ribs and hip* one hand controls the near
arm
The reverse scarf hold is a rather complex con
trol position It can be used to hold an oppo
nent down as well as transition to another po
sition However* many students have problems
keeping their weight on their opponents
The main differences between the normal scarf
hold and the modified scarf hold are the posi
tions of your body (one faces the head while
the other faces the feet) and the point on the
body that you use to control your opponent
I will address this position extensively in an upcoming issue!

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Knee on the stomach  One hand controls the head* one hand controls the near arm

Escapes

Knee on the stomach position is one of

the harder positions to escape* especially
when someone has a lot of experience
using it
Usually* the opponent places his knee (or
shin) on your stomach* grabs your belt*
sleeve or knee pants with one hand*
while simultaneously grabbing your
other sleeve or collar with the opposite
hand
This is another position I will spend a lot of time discussing in future issues!

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4. Posture

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Number one  both forearms

Posture

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Posture gives you the ability to

push with power It places your
arms in a position that makes it
easier to push an opponents
weight off of you Plus* it makes it
difficult for your opponent to tran
sition to another position or a sub
mission hold
For this particular method* you place one forearm underneath an opponents neck
(yellow arrow) and the other forearm underneath the opponents hip (red arrow)
The forearm that is underneath the neck is placed directly on the throat This helps to
elevate the opponents upper torso off of your chest* taking much of the weight off
of you The opponents hip is used as a wall You place your forearm on the opponents
hip to push your body away from him

Posture

Sometimes an opponents upper torso is so long that your forearm can not reach his
hip When this happens* it is OK to use the heel of your hand to push off of his hip
Lastly* you must raise your right knee to
make it harder for your opponent to transi
tion to the mount position When you raise
your right knee* place the sole of your right
foot against the inside of your knee
This posture is the one I use most of the time
It really helps me to get the opponents
weight off of my upper torso* which makes
it easier for me to move my hips

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Some people have argued with me regarding the use of this position They say* I
expose my arm (the one under the neck) when I do this Well* as long as my other
arm monitors my opponents legs* Im OK (Keep in mind that each and every position
of posture exposes an arm to some extent!)

Number two  one forearm at the hip* one bicep under the arm

Posture

For this particular method* you place one forearm at

the opponents hip (yellow arrow) and one arm un
derneath his far armpit (red arrow)
You use the forearm on the opponents hip to push
your hips away from his hips You can also use it to
keep his hips from coming closer to yours
The arm underneath the opponents far armpit is used
to elevate the opponents weight off of your chest To
do this* you push with the antecubital fossa (the bot
tom of the bicep and top of forearm) What also helps
with the pushing movement is to drive upwards with
your hips and then push with your bicep

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Number three  both biceps underneath the body

Posture

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This particular method is not used that often

However* there are instances where placing
your arms in this posture can be very benefi
cial For this posture* both arms are placed un
derneath the opponents body One arm is
placed underneath the arm pit (red arrow)
while the other is placed underneath the float
ing ribs (yellow arrow)
When you apply pressure with this posture*
both arms reach for the ceiling as you bridge
up and over the top of your head In addition
to the pushing motion with the arm* the hips drive up into the air* just as though you
were doing the upa technique The hips start the pushing motion and the arms con
tinue the pushing motion

Posture

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One comment* this posture is only used when the opponents weight is riding high on
top of your chest If you were to use this posture when an opponents weight was
resting on your stomach or abdomen* you would trap your own arms