Escaping from the Bottom

I apologize for missing another entry. I'm finding it a bit difficult to schedule time to sit down and write while I'm here in the Philippines. There are too many things I have to do and too many distractions! (I'll have more to write on this in the next few days and connect it with people who train in the Philippines.)

I taught a private seminar for a number of students from New Breed Philippines, and we covered the topic of escapes. (For some photos of the seminar, please click here.) Most of the time, people train offensive techniques and neglect their defense, so I thought it would be good idea to teach escapes from a "new" angle. If a person can't pin you down for long, then you never really have to worry about the person passing your guard, mounting, switching from one top position to the other, etc. If you spend as much time on training your escapes as you do other areas, you can reach a point where you can escape at will.

I covered a specific system that is not openly taught (or maybe I should say, not known) by many grapplers. It's a simple and effective method that addresses 3 main areas: 1) how to prevent a pin when someone has passed your guard so you can get to your knees or recompose, 2) how to prevent a person from passing your guard (but not using your guard), and 3) what to do when someone has pinned you.

The moves were efficient and did not require the students to use a lot of speed or strength. The students commented that the techniques permitted them to use less effort and rely on their partners movement to escape. Also, the positions allowed them to know/predict what their partners would do next (i.e. what their next move(s) would be). I was happy to see that the students' eyes were "wide open" with interest and glad to hear "uwws" and "ahhs" in reaction to certain realizations.

When someone pins you down, do you find it difficult to escape? Do you think you use way too much energy to get out of an inferior positions? When someone "great" at pins and/or much heavier than you is on top, does this make escaping more difficult? If you answered any of these three questions with a "yes," then it's probably a good idea to take some time to focus on your escapes. Not only is learning to escape a matter of know key techniques, but escapes also require effective positioning and great timing. To develop these two areas, people need to put in enough hours on the mat with different training partners. Furthermore, if you decide to works your escapes, think about the different situations. It will benefit you to work the 3 areas outline above. Learn what to do when someone has pinned you, when someone has passed your guard and is about to pin you, and what to do to prevent the passing of your guard.

We all know how it feels to have someone huge pin us down. We feel "smashed" and sometimes find ourselves losing energy trying to push our opponent off of us. There are more effective ways to deal with pins and pin prevention. So, I encourage all of you to spend some time thinking about your escapes. Just like any specific area in training, escapes take a lot of time to really "master." But if you do put the time into it, I think you'll be surprised with the positive results.

Tags: brazilian jiu jitsu, bjj, philippines, new breed, seminar, escapes, pin, prevention