Takedowns for BJJ: Arm drag to Inside Trip/Kouchimakikomi

Starts off with me hitting it last night at the Grappling Idiots event in Brooklyn, NY, then a clip of me hitting it back at purple belt. Then there's a breakdown of one of my set-ups and entries then high level examples (JT Torres, Marcelo Garcia, and Renato Canuto) and ends with a couple from training recently.

Post Competition Thoughts on Gameplanning/Flow Charts + Aesopian BJJ Podcast

Competed yesterday in the Takemori Open in Maryland. I took 2nd in the 66kg (under 145 lbs) black belt division (advanced/elite/whateveryoucallit). I didn't place in the 73kg and every single guy I fought yesterday was tough.
In good news, I did hit exactly what I drilled in training and taught the last time I covered Judo class: kouchigari to half-guard to pass to sleeve choke from the back when the opponent turns out to avoid the pin. I had to use 3 different guard passes to pass quickly: over/under to underhook/knee through to terrere-leg weave. It's not pretty or overly technical b/c I know the referee is ready at any moment to call "matte" and stand us back up.
See below at 1:19 for the takedown that begins the sequence which ends the match with a submission:



I used to go out and compete and see just react to what the other guy did (in Jiu-Jitsu).

Interestingly enough, in Judo I had a very, very specific gameplan from which I virtually never deviated unless the other guy just did something which was irresistible to pass up/not take advantage of.

In Judo, we call your specialty, or your favorite techniques, "Tokuiwaza".
Tokui - denoting favorite or pet
Waza - translating roughly as technique

Drilling and training these is a cornerstone of how I coach moderate to advanced players (if I'm running practice).

For example, in right handed play I attack with Ouchigari, Tai Otoshi, and Kouchigari.
Of course, I can do and attack with other tools from my tool box, but that is my game plan as a right handed player.

In Jiu-Jitsu, coming back from knee surgery, my gameplan was to pull half-guard/sit-up guard, DLR open guard sweep, over/under pass then knee mount then lapel/brabo choke.


I did two tournaments this way with this gameplan.
I won my weight class at adult and 30+ at each tournament utilizing the virtually exact same gameplan each and every single match.




I remember an interview where Justin Rader (I believe) said, "my goal is to get to where I want to be first. If I can do that, I have a much higher chance of winning". Again, I'm broadly paraphrasing here but at the highest level, I think the best guys know where they want to get to and what they will do once they get there.

Aesopian Podcast on gameplans and flow charts.

 

Super Secret Deadly Technique of the Week Vol. 2 - Takedown to rolling back take

The name of the takedown in Judo is Kouchimakikomi.
Kouchi meaning inner reaping, makikomi meaning roughly rolling through.
This is not my invention, but something my buddy Joseph Lee (the brown belt in the video) showed me. Joseph, myself and a bunch of other training partners went up to visit Sandhills BJJ in Southern Pines, North Carolina and I was asked to show a takedown. I taught a kouchigake style takedown related to this one picture here that does not expose the back.
Joseph then took the kouchi part of the takedown and added a rolling back take/berimbolo-ish flavor to it using the moment of the takedown.

Again, I did not come up with this, rather, Joseph Lee showed this to me.