As I’m transitioning to full time BJJ to a little bit of MMA, I’m realizing that my instinct to flop onto my back is now a liability especially when going against wrestlers. When striking is in the picture, the guard game is risky. Good wrestlers can make you feel like this:
A mental note has been made to aggressively try to maintain top control and try and reprogram myself not to pull guard. This realization has also made me think about what I would do in a street situation. Would I automatically play guard if someone tried to go for a takedown? I’d rather not find out.
“Expose yourself to various conditions and learn.”
“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
“To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one’s potential.”
“The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment.”
“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”
Stephan Kesting over at Grapplearts.com has released a submission app for the iPhone or iPod touch. The app works in conjunction with the YouTube app to play instructional videos for each move. The videos are very good quality even over-the-air (iPhone) and it’s all shot in HD.
Grapplearts Submissions Interface
Grapplearts Submission App Video
The video without the controls
The launch of the app includes a library of 31 no-gi submissions from the most common positions. 10 of the submissions have supplementary videos explaining the finer points of executing the move properly.
It doesn’t appear that the app’s library is remotely extensible, so there would need to be an application update to get more submissions. The app is $3.99 on the iTunes store.
Here’s a nifty triangle setup from the half guard. Looks like he threatens the kimura, hooks the far elbow with his foot to stop the defense, and then throws the other leg over for the triangle. Most guys probably won’t leave their elbow out while you attempt the kimura, but the good news is you could go for the omoplata as an alternate course of action. Slick. And Andy Wang endorsed.
Go forth and tap your friends…cause I can’t do shit until my knee gets better.
Reason number 451 why the internet was invented: slow motion violence. It seems so much less brutal when you watch it unfold slowly. Fast motion makes things funny, slow motion makes things intriguing. Weird. These aren’t all fight-related (especially the last two), but fun to watch nonetheless.
