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Twist
My Arm
The
Offical Blog of Submissions 101
Nov 30: The
Best Forum on the Net!
These last 2 months have been so crazy
for me I don't really know what to say. The new DVD
deal is all I keep thinking about and I'll be filming
next week for the new one (Earth Bound) due out in
Jan 2008. I also have 100 DVDs left of Lights Out..correction,
60 DVDs left, so if ya want one, I suggest you get
your hands on one soon.
I also have about a dozen videos I
need to film for the site this weekend. I've had a
few requests that I've let 'slide' for a while now
and I thought I better get on board and do them.
The BJG forum that Tom runs is starting
to really expand. They guys on there are great and
there is no bullshit or egos. Any trolls or spam are
deleted asap. As the slogan goes: No BS, No Egos..just
Jiu Jitsu...period. I've seen lots of forums and this
one's got the potential to be really big in the JJ
scene. If you haven't checked in out, come on over
and say hello (visit the link at the top).
My kids classes are going off the
hook and I couldn't be happier. Dylan is doing a fantastic
job teaching them. There is one kid in the class that
has so much raw talent that he's is going to be a
force in the jiu jitsu or mma scene if he wishes to
go that root. He remind's me of a cross between Matt
Hughes, GSP and BJ Penn! I was off the mat doing some
paper work when one of the kids asked " Can I
do the Bolt Lock if the triangle doesn't work?"
I looked up and laughed because my
kids tune into Submissions 101 and bring the stuff
back to the dojo (and we haven't even showed them
yet!) I also had one of the kids say today "
Can I use the rubber guard?"
Teens/Kids are amazing little sponges.
The soak up everything. At the end of the class, I
rolled with the little JJ monster JM and he was whizzing
around like a side winder missile. He tried a triangle,
2 arm bars and a choke in less than a minute. Holy
shit I thought..this kids got talent!
Then I slapped a twister on him (evil
grin). I think that is the first time in jiu jitsu
history that a 15 year old has gotten a twister by
an instructor.
Madness I say...madness. But my kids
classes are just teaching me so much and its a pleasure
to have them there!
Nov
26 2007: OUR DVDs are going GLOBAL!
I am
happy to announce that Submissions 101 has teamed
up with Cranes Production (www.cranesproction.com)
to produce several DVDs in 2008. I am very excited
at the partnership I have developed with the people
at Cranes Production and they have been nothing but
supportive in my DVD pursuits.
Teaming
up with Cranes Production will allow me to focus more
on developing quality projects now. Cranes will take
care of all production, duplication, distribution
and advertising of the new titles. Also, these will
be REAL DVDs, each with its own full case and cover.
So what
kind of things can you expect from us in 2008?
Our first
DVD release from Cranes Production will be tentatively
called Earth Bound: Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Ground
Fighting. This DVD will be great for martial artists
who want to get familiar with 'ground fighting' or
those who want the fine details behind the basics
of POSITIONAL DOMINANCE and take downs.
After
this introductory DVD, I'll tackle other topics like:
self defense, takedowns and throws, Leg attacks, Arm
Attacks and so on.
These
DVDs will be done in the same easy-to-understand manner
of all our videos.
Nov
19 2007: The Pentagram Choke
The History
behind the Pentagram Choke by Ari Bolden
I’ve decided to write this article on the Pentagram
Choke to answer some questions that I have received
and read online.
The Origins
As long as I have been doing jiu jitsu, I’ve always
found myself in strange positions. I have a ton of
respect for ‘bread and butter’ moves like armbars,
triangles and rear naked chokes. But the problem I
was having is that so many people know the counters
to these moves or are expecting them once you gain
positional dominance. I watched thousands of matches
and have rolled thousands of times and I kept seeing
the same thing over and over.
Mount. Hips shifting. Grabbing the arm. Person on
bottom starts to move to counter. The typical jiu
jitsu chess match which we all love and get a rush
out of. The problem is, I suck at chess. I wanted
to throw something in the mix that was different.
I wanted the person thinking one thing and I pull
off something TOTALLY whacked.
Getting back control, my opponents always went into
what I call “standard RNC defence mode.” I knew what
was coming, they knew what was coming and we battled
back and forth until I got the choke or my opponent
wiggled free.
If you are a grappler reading this, I want you to
know that I am not taking away from the importance
of the Rear Choke. It’s one of the best fight enders
on the PLANET and if I see it, I’ll take it. But,
I also know the importance of having ‘tools in the
tool box.” The more tools I have, the more things
I can fix.
I finally thought what would happen if I got a triangle
from back but that was stuffed and I only had a weak
triangle. Could I somehow use my arms to make it tighter?
Enter the Twister, Eddie Bravo.
Eddie Bravo opened my eyes to the possibility that
unorthodox jiu jitsu was not only possible but successful.
I found it ironic that a modern and progressive art
like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu had so much animosity towards
Eddie when he started to share his half guard and
rubber guard game with the rest of the world. Eddie
told me once that (paraphrased) “When I came out with
my stuff, many Brazilian’s chastised my jiu jitsu
and said it would never work. Then, in the back rooms
of their gyms and studios, away from the prying eyes
of the public, they were trying my shit out.”
Jiu Jitsu is an art that keeps on evolving. My background
in Japanese Jujutsu, Aikido and other arts have certainly
allowed me to see things that I normally wouldn’t
have seen. As one person said in the lockflow forum
“And the evolution of MMA continues ... 'm thinking
the guy who thought about it was wondering what would
happen if he applied a variant to the rubber guard
from an opponent's back or something.”
Almost. After training with Eddie, I began to see
things differently and realized than the legs could
be used in unorthodox ways. The Pentagram was born
out of a necessity to have more options from back,
to confuse my opponent by throwing something they’d
never seen and getting a submission from and unorthodox
position.
The Name: Why Pentagram?
I had developed the move but didn’t have a name for
it yet. I was just about to film the technique for
the website when we realized we didn’t know what to
call in. My senior student (Dan) and I chatted about
it for a bit. I concluded that it was ‘kinda a triangle’
but adding the 2 other sides didn’t make it a triangle
anymore. We were almost going to call it the Pentagon
Choke, but the name just sounded dumb. I thought “every
time someone pulls this off in a match, they’ll be
people saying ‘it’s the pentagon, it’s the pentagon!”
The image of the US Military hub kept popping into
my head. I just didn’t like that.
So I said ‘what about the Pentagram! Sounds kind of
evil and shit. And a Pentagram has five sides and
when you look at the arms and legs when locked in,
it kind of looks like a pentagram star.”
“It does?” Dan replied.
“Okay, maybe you have to be really stoned or something,
but it sounds cool.”
“Ok, let’s go with that.” Dan said.
Does it work?
Sure does. But it doesn’t work on everyone. In jiu
jitsu, we often refer to moves as “high or low” percentage
moves. That means how many times out of 10 will you
get something to work. If you can have a move that
will catch 30% of you opponents, that is a high percentage
move. But, it doesn’t mean that low percentage moves
are worthless. As I said before, the more tools in
you tool box the better you are.
If someone has never seen the Pentagram, you’ll catch
them because they won’t expect it. If someone has
seen it or has played around with it, they now have
to worry about defending yet another attack from the
back position.
If you’re good at the Pentagram, you’ll catch people
in it. Like any move, it has to be practiced.
In the Forums and Chats
Today was the first time in several months that I
typed in Pentagram into Google to see what its status
was (it’s like a child that goes off to college; you
want to know if they are passing or failing...or partying
too hard). I was surprised to see that it is alive
and healthy in a number of forums, including:
http://www.brazilianjiujitsugear.com...ead.php?t=1252
(this is the forum which I help run)
http://www.lockflow.com/viewtopic.php?t=9473
http://www.budoseek.net/vbulletin/sh...ad.php?t=22581
After reading the comments, I can see that many people
get it. They understand the reason and concept behind
the move. There are a lot of really talented and dedicated
grapplers out there and it was nice to read some constructive
and unsolicited opinions on the Pentagram. I can see
that people are even starting to test out some variations
of talk about small tweaks to make it better. THIS
IS WHAT THE EVOLUTION OF THE ART IS ABOUT. It’s the
grunt on the mat that comes up with ways to improve
the game. We listen and learn from each other.
The Future of the Pentagram
There are several variations that I have come up with
since the initial release of the move 6 months ago.
I have found a great way to get the move when your
partner in turtled. I’ve also come up with a BRAND
new variation called the DEATH STAR, which might be
better than the original (or at least a way to counter
a counter of the pentagram). My students are always
trying to stuff my techniques which in turn causes
me to make counters to counters (that is how the Death
Star was invented)
Pentagram Version 1: http://www.submissions101.com/chokes15.htm
Pentagram Version 2: http://www.submissions101.com/chokes24.htm
Death Star: http://www.submissions101.com/chokes25.htm
Well, that’s it. I hope I’ve answered some of your
questions. If you have any more, please feel free
to pop over to our forum or send me an email via my
site: www.submissions101.com
All the best and keep on rollin!
Ari ”Pentagram” Bolden
__________________
Nov
16 2007: Being creative
We've got over 150 videos up online
and that means there is a whole lot to take in and
also a whole lot to pick apart. Some of the moves
are high percentage others are not. Some people complain
about the 'more complex' moves too.
No one person would be able to pull
off all the moves with the same degree of success.
Granted that some moves are easier to pull off than
others but that doesn't make more complex moves worthless.
Sometimes, when 2 equally skilled guys go at it, the
person with more tools in the tool box will win.
Put it this way: You are rolling with
someone and they try for an armbar from mount. You
see it coming and say to yourself "armbar..counter."
Then your partner gets your back. You think "
Rear choke." Then you end up in guard and your
partner feeds your arm through and you think "triangle."
Then all of a sudden, your partner
pulls off something totally different! You tap and
wonder what the hell went on? It seems that your opponent
switched sides on the triangle and then cranked your
neck and shoulder. What was that? It was kind of like
a triangle..maybe a reverse triangle?
You ask your partner and they say
"Oh, that was the BOLT lock from a failed triangle
attempt."
What the hell is a BOLT lock?
Well, sometimes basics aren't enough.
Get inventive with your jiu jitsu. Don't think that
Gracies are the only ones that can come up with new
stuff. Every person has it in them to do things that
work from them.
PS: I'll be putting up the BOLT lock
in a few days (wink)
Nov
11 2007: The Launch of our new site: 2.0!
It is
finally here. Our new site is up. I've spent about
8 hours a day over the last week just getting everything
in its right place. I even put the techniques in alphabetical
order. Boy was that time consuming. But, the hard
work paid off and I hope the site is much easier to
navigate.
I
really want to thank everyone who supported us for
the last 6 months. Dave at extremewebgraphix.com did
an amazing job at building the template. All the guys
over at the BJG forum have been awesome as well (
did you know our forum has some amazing people and
topics on it? Check it out!) All the You Tube viewers.
And of course my students for helping me out.
Thanks
again and I look forward to adding more videos for
everyone.
If you
have any questions, just drop me an email at choke
@ submissions101.com
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