We began this class by recapping the triangle from DLR that we did last week. I won’t spend a lot of time here on this again, but see last weeks post for more detail. That said, here is what it looked like.
The triangle set up works well but does require decent hip mobility which some students found difficult. If this is the case for you, you should invest some effort in working on it. Hip mobility is not really optional for good grappling. That said, while you are working on it, we also covered two more upper body focused options. Our check down for deciding which to attempt is where our opponent posts their hand. When we off balance them from the collar grip, they can either post over our arm or under our arm. Either way we have a response.
In the first circumstance, when our opponent posts over our arm we looked to hit the arm triangle. Pull hard down on the collar grip to both help you sit up and to keep their hand posted on the mat. Next look to trap the tricep with your head, pushing your ear into their arm. Last let go of the collar and wrap your bicep around the far side of their neck and take a ‘RNC’ grip. Many people think arm triangles from the bottom do not work, but they do if you have enough of an angle. Luckily for this entry we have already won the flank side and the choke should come on quickly.
That said, if you find this difficult or prefer to finish from the top, we can use the arm triangle as a sweep. The key to making this roll easy is to keep the sleeve grip on the far arm trapped between their legs, then roll. Try to extract your legs mid roll so that you pass while you are sweeping. Once on top, get low and squeeze for your finish.
In the second circumstance, when we off balance our opponent they post under our arm. This kills the arm triangle but opens up the loop choke. This time we keep the collar grip and reach with our off hand to grab the back of our opponents head. Flaring the elbow to make space, we guide their head into the armpit of the collar gripping arm and slide assisting hand beneath the wrist, tilting the whole thing back in our direction. If you are not already familiar with this choke I suggest learning it first from Butterfly guard where is it s a little easier and more conventional.
