Mount-ober:Session one

October for me, in my BJJ life, is known as “Mount-ober”. Get it?

Anyway, Mount-ober is the month where I will be soley focused on obtaining mount, and finishing from there. So, my solo drills will revolve around escape paths to mount, mount transition movements, and balance while in mount. I’ll also have my normal strenth and flexibility training.

My visualisation training will mostly be around submissions from the mount position.

Rules are simple. In sparring I’m only allowed to finish from the mount position.

I just had my first training session with this focus. I’d like to share the lessons that I’ve already learned.

Mount-ober: Lesson #1- Patience

Mount is not a position you can force against any level of practitioner. Tonight I tried to force it. I obtained it twice. Once from a sweep from guard. The other time from a guard pass. Both were sloppy, forced, and took way too much strength (you know something takes too much strength when you either have to hold your breath and close your eyes, or grunt in a way that would embarass you in every convievable situation).

In the future I am going to deal with whatever is in front of me. If I’m in someone’s guard I will worry about passing the guard FIRST. If I’m in side control I will worry about that position before I try some wild transition into mount. I just can’t force mount.

I’m going to make a wild assumption that the next time I roll, with the attitude of using proper technique in order to patiently obtain mount I’m going to find it much easier to come by, and much more of a solid position once I get there.

My gameplan will be simple. I will plan all the best case scenarios, like using guard passes that can lead straight to mount, but if they don’t come, I won’t force. I will take what’s given to me, patiently waiting and working towards the mount position instead of acting like a two year old child that’s simply decided that he wants a blue hat and will do nothing else until that blue hat is resting securely on his head. I’ll earn my blue hat, thank you very much.

Which brings me to lesson #2

Mount-ober: Lesson #2- Establish

When I finally get that blue hat that I’ve worked so hard for, I’m going to ensure that it’s tight enough to not blow off before I start running around willy-nilly yelling about how amazing my wonderful blue hat is.

There was one time that I got to mount tonight only to get immediatly rolled off. Why? Because I jummped straight into a submission. I didn’t establish the position first.

Position over Submission

That doesn’t just apply to where you go for submissions. It also applies to when you go for submissions.

I’m light compared to most of the guys I roll with. Therefore, I’m not hard to bump off when I’m on top. That means, I have to have balance, and movement when I’m in mount. I can’t just lock myself into a guy.

For example: When I go for a cross lapel choke I have to post out the leg on the side of my attacking arm. That way, they can’t just grab the arm, trap the foot, and roll me over. In order to do that I first have to get to a place in the mount where I can comfortably post out that leg and reach in that hand. The position has to be well established if I’m to do this. If I go too early with the arm, I get rolled. If I go too early with the leg I give away double underhooks on the legs, which leads to a simple reversal, and complete loss of the position.

So, establishment of the position that I’ve so patiently earned comes before the submission attempt.

In the same way that the two year old kid really should tighten that treasured blue hat on his head before he runs across the bridge. Many a tears would be avoided.

 

A greater understanding

For me, I use things that I have learned about. If I have a question about something, I look for information on it. I try to understand it better. I dig into the mechanics of it, the history, the tradition, the current uses, the science, the experiences of others, and so on. That’s what lead me to BJJ in the first place. Research lead to understanding which lead to action.

In BJJ, when I am learning a new technique, I learn the mechanics of it. That way, I can understand how something works, why it works, and what ways to go about applying it.

For example: Side Control Escape to Guard

This technique is based on creating enough space to bring your knee through, under the opponent in order to recapture guard. The mechanics of it include a bridge, an arm brace, a hip escape, and a hip in with a leading knee.

The bridge creates space for space. It bumps the person up. This is actually, by itself, eliminating space. You’re getting closer to the opponent. But, in the entire scheme of the move, it creates space for the creation of space.

The arm brace fills space. If you’re escaping with your arms in a good defensive posture you are able to use them to brace the opponent. You created space for space with the bridge, then as you hip out you fill that created space with a bracing structure of your arms. Again, this in itself is not an escape. If you stop here you’ll likely get yourself into trouble.

The hip out creates space between you and your opponent. It’s extra space because you bridged. It’s filled space because you’re bracing. The further you hip away, the more space is created for you to fill with your leg as you bring it in to establish guard.

The hip in with the leading knee refills the created space with what you want instead of what they want.

When I understand all that, even in its most basic explanation, I can start to put the move into action. That understanding should drive me to action that reflects the information I have about it. This helps me to see what I’ve missed when the move doesn’t work. Sometimes I doing bridge, or hip-out, or bring my knee back in. Sometimes the opponent blocks a key element of the move. That doesn’t delegitimize the move, it simply presents a problem to be solved, which is why other moves are created.

The vast majority of my submissions lately have come in the form of the cross lapel choke. The reason is because I have developed an understanding of the mechanics of it. That understanding lead to action. That action lead to experience, which lead to problems, which lead to analytical thinking, which lead to new strategy based on the original understanding of the mechanics.

So, if you struggle with a technique, go away and do your homework. Learn why a move works, I bet (not that I’m a gambling man) you’ll see it in a whole new light.