Need to finish an armbar during camping but lacking proper technique? Need to know what Gilbert Yvel’s professional fight record is while you’re on a bus? Yep, there’s an app for that. Here are some iPhone apps for MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fans and practitioners.
MMA News
MMA Underground – $1.99
Probably the most polished MMA app out there. Features MMA news, fighter database, upcoming events (MMA and grappling), and you can read the underground forums (no posting).
MMA Fan – Free
MMA news, videos, photos (MMA models), podcasts, and aggregated MMA-related twitter content.
Ultimate Fighting Championship – $0.99
The official UFC app. Highlights, video content (in-app pay-per-view), slated to offer PPV events, Octagon Girls, UFC fighter database. Great app if you only watch Zuffa-promoted fights.
Sensei Leo White demonstrates the finer points of Osoto Gari – the large outer (outside) reap. Osoto means “outside” and gari is “to reap”. Osoto Gari is one of the first throws taught in Judo and is often used to move into other throwing techniques. Leo White is a 2-time Olympian and 18-time US National Champ.
The Osoto Gari is an excellent takedown to add to any BJJ player’s arsenal. The principle is to force your opponent’s weight onto one leg, then sweep it out from beneath them. There are a myriad of variations on throw execution, but this instructional shows important basic technique and the reasons for them.
The Ezekiel choke is one of the most dangerous chokes in all of BJJ-land. Much like the Kimura, its name comes from an old-time BJJ competitor who basically cleaned out his competition in a tournament with this choke back when nobody knew about it. If there was ever a choke to stay diligent to prevent, it’s the Ezekiel. Here’s why:
It’s one of the few subs that can be executed from inside your opponent’s guard
Once it’s slapped on (more so with gi), it’s very difficult to defend against and almost impossible to get rid of
You can hit it from guard, mount, side control
Getting your trachea smashed really sucks
It’s so easy, even a caveman can do it
Here’s Erik Paulson with the particulars of how to execute this choke no gi:
Here’s what it looks like with gi:
To defend it, you need to stay alert. With the gi, as soon as your opponent gets his fingers in the attacking sleeve, it’s too late. Usually the attacker begins with an arm deep behind your neck with his head about level with yours. If the attacker is in your guard, they abandon any attempts to pass and lean deep into your guard. As with a lot of stuff in BJJ, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound.
Check out this NYT article about champion ultra-endurance athlete Jure Robic. Robic isn’t gifted physically, he’s gifted mentally. He is crazy… and I don’t mean he’s got crazy cardio or crazy strength. Something is wrong with his brain. His craziness suppresses his brain’s ability to tell his body to stop.
In a 2004 race, he turned to see himself pursued by a howling band of black-bearded men on horseback.
‘‘Mujahedeen, shooting at me,’’ he explains. ‘‘So I ride faster.’’
A spate of recent studies has contributed to growing support for the notion that the origins and controls of fatigue lie partly, if not mostly, within the brain and the central nervous system.
The half guard is a position that I’ve been trying to get better at for many years. A lot of people shy away from it because it may seem like the half guard is an inferior position to the full guard – like it’s halfway to getting passed. I like to look at it the other way around. The half guard is one step closer to getting side or back control. Either way, it’s a position that every grappler should be proficient in because it’s a very common situation to be in.
The key to success from this position is understanding that there is no single “magic bullet” sweep. It’s the ability to combine several options run in succession based on your opponent’s reactions that makes a good half guard player. So, knowing a series of sweeps and the proper times to use them is where you should begin.
A few points for half guard success:
Underhooks: at a minimum, you’ll need the underhook on the same side as the half guard.
Don’t let your opponent control your head: tuck your head close to his chest so he can’t crossface you. Alternatively, use your non-underhooking arm to keep his chest and arm from controlling your head.
Don’t be flat on your back. Always be a little on your side so you’re not directly under your oppoent.
Get good at switching your half guard legs so that as you attempt sweeps, your opponent can’t pop his leg out and into side control.
Old School
This sweep is demonstrated here with the “lockdown” but the sweep can be accomplished without it.
Other half guard sweeps can be built off of how your opponent reacts to the Old School sweep. If he pushes his weight into you to stop Old School, go with it and sweep to the other side.
Timing the execution of these two sweeps as your opponent adjusts his weight is tricky, but is much more effective than trying for one sweep over and over.
Here’s a fantastic video that includes lots of other (more advanced) options based on what your opponent might try to do. Focus on the techniques and try not to be distracted by the fact that the instructor looks a lot like Bobby Hill.
