Complexity Rating ★★★
Cardiovascular Rating ★★★
Purpose
Develop strong lateral hip movement from the Closed Guard position for the application of armbars.
Description
Training Partner Starting Position. A good training partner will sit in the Triangle (Seiza) with their knees and ankles on the floor and their feet in the Laces Down position. The hands should be lifted to allow easy access to the closed guard. For the drill itself, the practicing student will slightly lean forward compromising their posture while also trying to apply very little weight on their training partner.
Practicing Student. The practicing student will start in the Closed Guard position by wrapping their legs around the waist of the assisting student and crossing the ankles behind their back.
To start the drill the assisting student will place both hands on one of the practicing student’s shoulders. The practicing student will take note of the shoulder that the assisting student has the hands on and use their other arm and reach across their body and place their hand on the assisting student’s shoulder. The practicing student will then take their other hand and reach under the assisting student’s knee. The hand under the knee will be used to pull the practicing student’s ear close to the knee, changing the orientation of the bodies from parallel to perpendicular. As the bodies come into the perpendicular alignment, the legs should be positioned in the Armbar position by swinging the outside leg around the assisting student’s head and pinching the head between the hamstring and the calf. The inside leg should transition into the back of the assisting student’s armpit and create a downward pressure on the assisting student’s back with the calf. After positioning the legs, the practicing student should pinch their knees.
Once the knees are pinched the hand under the knee should be removed. The hands will play a very limited role in the rest of this drill. They may touch the arms, but the isolation of the armbar with the hands is only in the finishing steps and not the focus of this drill.
To switch sides, the practicing student will start to remove the pressure of the leg on the assisting student's head/neck. As the leg is being removed, the practicing student will drop the inside leg towards the hip of the assisting student and start to push off of the inside of their thigh, by making contact with the lower ribs or hip of the assisting student. As the practicing student pushes off, they should whip the leg that was over the head around the assisting student’s body and use the momentum to carry their shoulders to the other side. Once on the other side, the leg that whipped will control across the assisting student’s back while the other leg traps the head between the calf and hamstring. Once the legs are in position the knees should be pinched. This should leave the practicing student in the same position on the other side and allow the movement to be put into a drill practicing both sides equally.
Common Mistakes
Building momentum with the legs will be very important, however the practicing student needs to be careful not to kick the assisting student in the head.
A modified, partially broken posture will aid in the practice of this movement. It should be noted that while it makes the movement easier, it also makes it easier to kick your partner in the head. Use extra caution.
There is no point in the armbar that the practicing student should cross their ankles.
The practicing student should keep their head and upper back off the floor during the rotation. This will eliminate a lot of the friction during the transition and make it much easier. This can be accomplished by giving a slight crunch of the body.
Testing Threshold
Time 30 Seconds
Requirement 15 Repetitions