Pit Stop/Climbing Guard

Ok, here's a great position with lots of options. I've heard it called the pitstop and I've heard it called the climbing guard. I have seen Jean Jacques Machado demonstrate it before and if I remember right, my instructor had Rey Diogo work with him on this position. Good stuff, here we go:

Entry: I am showing a really generic entry. The main thing to focus on is he becoming off balanced. I'm walking my shoulders back and pulling his head forward, ahead of his hips. From there, I get to the side a little and climb my legs up his back. I cross them over his shoulder and squeeze them in tight. If he has his head over his hips, I lose a lot of my effectiveness.

Armbar: This is almost exactly like your basic armbar, except my leg is not over his face. His elbow is in line with my hip, so I can lift my hips and lock the arm.

Americana: If he begins to bend his arm, avoiding the straight armbar, you can catch the americana. Control the wrist (think of attaching it to your chest) and use your hips to press his elbow in one direction while you pull the wrist the other. This can happen quick, so be careful with your partner.

Reverse Armbar: If he is able to pull the first arm out, you can focus on the second. You still have a lot of control of his body. Pinch his wrist between your ear and shoulder and use your arm to rotate his elbow straight up. Pinch down for the finish. You can have your legs in the triangle position or throw one over so they are on the same side of his body.

Omoplata: If you push his head away and are able to get both legs on one side of his body, you can try the omoplata. This is becoming a bigger part of my game the more I train. As soon as I can get his arm bent, I check the elbow and press him down with my leg. I like to control his belt to either pull myself up or pull him sideways. You can control his leg as well. Sit up, turn your legs to the side and keep your hips low for the finish.

Triangle: I like to train the triangle any time I try and omoplata and vice versa. If he raises up, I let him carry my hips up so I can get a better bite with my leg across his neck. I can also grab his leg and transition into the armbar.

This is only a few of the options you have from this position. I will go into the omoplata and triangle later because the more I work on these, the more they are becoming their own position and not just a single attack. You have stuff to work on, so go roll.

Arm Trapped Series

Here is a basic series from guard. You begin by overhooking the arm you want to attack and moving to that side. That enforces a few of the principles for effective guard work: angles and isolation. By working an angle, you weaken his posture allowing for better attacks. Think of boxing: If I'm in front of you, you and I are equal. If I'm off to the side, I have limited your attacks. By isolating his arm, you are using your entire body to effect a single limb/joint. The video will show the techniques and I'll follow up with more details.




Entry: The entry is a little fancy. You can just wrap the arm but I like this entry because you really get a deep grip. My right hand grabs the sleeve near the wrist, my left goes under his arm and grabs by own. Use your legs and pull him forward, using your arms to break his grip. Roll slightly on your right shoulder and let your left elbow come through. Keep the grip on the sleeve and let your left arm wrap around. Feed the collar to your left hand. Check his bicep and hip out so you're on the side. I like to pinch him between my knees, keeping pressure on his shoulder and keeping his far arm away from me.

Lapel Choke: From this position, the side of his neck is exposed. I have a grip on his far collar already. I place my right forearm on his neck first. If I place first, and then grip, I know I'm in the right spot instead of gripping and trying to get my forearm in place. I grab a wrinkle in the gi (if you can get inside the lapel, you can do that too). I drop my right elbow towards his left armpit and I get the choke. I can keep pinching my knees or I can bring him back into my closed guard.

Straight Arm Bar: Usually, if the opponent isn't familiar with this position, he'll just try to yank his arm straight out. If this happens, he's giving you a straight arm bar. Its important to keep his arm pinched tight to your body for this to be effective. I place my right hand on his shoulder, and use my left knee to press down on his shoulder. By blocking his shoulder from coming forward, this will make sure that that as I lock the elbow, his shoulder won't compensate by moving forward. From there, my body is against his forearm and my arm is wrapped close to his elbow. I use my elbow and leg to press against his elbow to get the lock.

Americana: Sometimes, he'll try to hug my shoulder with his arm that is trapped and bend his arm up. Depending on how his arm is positioned you may have to adjust his elbow so its in front of your body. Keep your overhook but you can let go of the collar. Lock both hands and position your hooking arm so its about 90 degrees to his bicep. His hand should be right about where your shoulder is. Use your body and bend your shoulder back toward his hand and lift his elbow. This can be very tight, very quick. Be careful with your partner's shoulder. You can also lock your guard if you choose.

Omoplata: In this case, he bends his arm the opposite direction in an effort to "un-wind". When this happens, I will post on his neck with my right arm and let me left leg come up over his shoulder. This is why I like to have my right foot on his hip with my knee blocking his arm. I can push with my right foot to better position myself. Once my left leg is over, I can work to change grips. I make sure to keep his arm bent in this position as I reach for his belt. I don't want to finish here, I want to break him down. Once his arm is in place and I'm on his side, I'll figure 4 my legs and sit up so I'm about 90 degrees to him. I can be on both hands because his arm is still trapped by my body being bent. I'll butt scoot backwards which will drag him down. From here, I lean my body over his back, my left hand at his hip and my right grabbing my own shin. Slide my body forward for the lock. Don't let your hips come up because you'll actually take pressure off the shoulder.

Hope this gives you a few more options.