The Flog!

In a previous article I talked about How To Do Kata Gatame – Shoulder Lock or Hold/Arm Triangle. This article will cover the first Escape from Kata Gatame, a seemingly easy manoeuvre which very few people attempt. 

Assume someone has you in Kata Gatame:

1) Grasp your own trapped arm, with your free hand, at or above the elbow. (Note: you may have to suffer a few seconds with the hold/choke.)

2) Still grasping your arm, push against your opponent’s body with your trapped arm. Simultaneously, bend your knees and “walk” yourself away from your opponent. You will not be moving him if his hold on you is strong, but you will be able to move yourself a bit. This will enable you to generate some space between your trapped arm, your neck, and his shoulder, giving you the opportunity to breathe a little easier and work toward the next part of the escape. In addition, your walking away from him will cause his body to flatten out making it even more difficult for him to continue the ground hold.

3) Now that you have created the small gap between your arm and his trapezoid and shoulder, while continuing to push against your opponent with your previously trapped arm, use your free arm to grab your opponent’s elbow (the elbow of the arm which is under your neck). Vigorously and quickly pull it over your own head to escape. 

4) After you have removed his arm from around your neck, roll into your own ground hold or arm bar (our video shows waki gatame – armpit arm lock).

Click here to see the video of How to Escape from Kata Gatame – Shoulder Lock or Hold/Arm Triangle – Escape #1.

Click here to see the video of Escape #2 from Kata Gatame

ayjay

December 11, 2009

Kata Gatame is commonly called shoulder lock or hold or, in recent years, arm triangle. When applied, it can be painful, can choke and smother, and can result in a tap out.

The basic ground hold is straightforward:

To do a right-sided kata gatame,

1) Place your right arm under uke’s head at the same time as you take his right arm and move it across his face.

2) Put your head down beside uke’s, as close to the floor as possible, holding his right arm in place.

3) Grasp your left hand with your right. Do not interlace your fingers. Place your left hand palm up and put your right hand into it. (You can also do the hand clasp which involves the right thumb between the first and second fingers of the left hand – a very strong grip.)

4) Bring your right knee up to his waist.

5) Post your left leg out straight (on your toes) about 90 degrees from uke’s body. The higher up toward his head you can get your leg, the less likely he is to be able to escape. Make sure that your butt is low to the ground. If you need to flatten your right leg, do so, but without moving the knee from the waist of your opponent. The objective is to hold your opponent securely and still have as much of your own body weight away from him to ensure that he cannot topple you.

6) Take your right arm and torque it such that the side of your wrist bone is jutting into his spine under his neck. This is where the pain comes in.

7) Maintaining a strong grip with your hands and arms, move your arms together toward the left just a few degrees and move your body forward into uke to tighten the hold.

Uke’s own right arm aids in blocking the carotid artery on the right side of his head. Your right bicep will block the left carotid. On occasion, you might find that uke cannot breathe because his arm is covering his mouth and nose.

If uke manages to move a bit to attempt an escape, move your body, changing leg positions if need be, but once you have control again, go back to the correct position.

Kata Gatame is one of the first ground holds we learn in judo and one of the most powerful.

Click here to go to our Traditional Kata Gatame video

Click here to go to our video showing a transition from Kesa Gatame to Kata Gatame

ayjay

December 2, 2009

Last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 TUF10 followed the antics of Zak Jensen, the problems of Matt Mitrione continuing from last week, and the two fighters who were picked by Evans for the elimination bout.

Jensen succeeded in alienating at least one other person in the house and having all the others laugh at him. In addition, he seemed to lack the ability to interact socially with the other men. Evans said the only things that Jensen had going for him were his size and that he’s a wrestler. He was terrible at training practice and, during one session while doing groundwork, was choked out by a teammate.

Amazingly, Jensen was kept on his back and someone slapped his chest in an attempt bring him to. If you know there is no spinal cord injury, basic first aid would have him turned onto his side with the bottom arm extended and the upper leg over the bottom.

Mitrione complained at great length about his shoulder, wanting to ice it after a training session. Evans kept after him about whether it was injured or was just sore.  Mitrione also wanted a cortisone injection in the shoulder. We saw him throw a football and then promptly complain about his shoulder during training. Some of the teammates suggested that Mitrione wanted to wait as long as possible before his elimination fight and the constant complaining about his shoulder would delay his being named to fight.

Jackson appeared depressed and self-involved about the losses his team had experienced. Going into this episode, his team had yet to win a fight, having lost four in a row.

Rashad Evans picked Justin Wren from his team to fight against Wes Sims from Jackson’s. Wren is a young guy, one of the shortest at 6’3″, with a very strong background in wrestling at the high school and university levels. During a year off to recuperate after an injury, he moved on to MMA. He currently trains with Travis Lutter, but plans to move to Las Vegas to work with Frank Mir. Evans thought that Wren was superior to Sims in all areas.

Sims is much taller (6’10″) and has a six inch reach advantage over Wren. He had planned on professional wrestling until Mark Coleman introduced him to MMA. In 2003 while in the UFC, he lost two matches to Frank Mir. He is far more experienced than Wren with over thirty professional matches, winning twenty-two. Kimbo Slice said that Sims wouldn’t tap out – he’d have to be knocked out or hurt.

Sims’s plan was to “stay long and fight tall”. He told the camera that he was going to crush Wren.

Dana White said he knew very little about Wren, but based on size, thought Sims had the advantage.

Although they are close in weight, with about a ten pound difference, Sims towered over Wren. At the sound of the bell, though, Wren was the aggressor, rushing Sims to push him against the fence. Sims stomped on Wren’s feet and applied a knee. In response, Wren took Sims down. Sims seemed to crumple. Wren immediately had full mount, then moved to the side and placed Sims in a ground hold – kata gatame , shoulder lock or hold or arm triangle. (The following video shows the transition from kesa gatame to kata gatame and might be of interest – kesa to kata.) Sims did not fight the hold at all. Herb Dean went over to him and moved Sims’ left arm to determine whether he was conscious. After a few seconds the arm dropped slowly to his side and he was out.

Once again Jackson did not go to his team member in the octagon. In fact, he left the ring area and went to the locker room to discuss the issues of losing all the matches.

Evans caught up with him and told Jackson that he was being himself – selfish.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 TUF10 is on Spike at 10 p.m. Wednesdays.

Click here to go to TUF10 Episode 1

Click here to go to TUF10 Episode 2

Click here to go to TUF10 Episode 3

Click here to go to TUF10 Episode 4

Click here to go to TUF10 Episode 6

Click here to go to TUF10 Episode 7

Click here to go to TUF10 Episode 8

Click here to go to TUF10 Episode 9

ayjay

October 15, 2009

The Ultimate Fighting Challenge 103 UFC 103 – Franklin versus Belfort was last Saturday night. In order to generate revenue, or interest people in more PPV, some of the preliminary fights were broadcast on Spike from 9 to 10 p.m. The first thirty seconds or so of the first fight consisted of some of the funniest television we’ve watched in a while (excluding The Big Bang Theory). The fight was between Drew McFedries and Tomasz Drwal, middleweights. As they began the match, the beginning few seconds of audio and video looped for the next 30 or so seconds. Granted, we missed the actual fighting, but it was funny nonetheless.

What we did see were low leg kicks by Drwal and a take down by Drwal with his landing on top. McFedries stood up with Drwal on his back. Drwal applied knees to McFedries hamstrings and head. Both fighters were striking heavily and McFedries looked exhausted afterward.

Just before the buzzer, Drwal achieved another take down and had one hook in, while on McFedries’ back.

Round 2 had Drwal’s strikes connecting. He then took McFedries down again, moving from side mount, to the back. He then applied a rear naked choke (hadaka jime) for tapout.

Efrain Escudero, winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 8, was up next against Cole Miller. The announcers talked about Escudero’s problems making weight and that his health might be a concern. Also Escudero has been seriously injured and has not been fighting since last December.

Although Miller is four inches taller than Escudero and has a two inch reach advantage and tried to use both to his advantage, Escudero was in control from the beginning. Escudero caught Miller’s leg after an attempted kick, threw a couple of punches and let Miller up.

Escudero then took Miller down with a big slam and let him up again. He threw a series of punches, all of which hit their target, left, right, another big right and Miller went down. Two other strikes while Miller was on the ground and the referee stopped the match.

Welterweights Rick Story and Brian Foster were up next. This match had lots of action from both men, with strong, fast striking, and action on the ground. Story took Foster down early on, picking him up and throwing him. While on the ground, Story used his elbows for ground and pound. He moved from side control to half guard while Foster never ceased moving on the bottom, even throwing elbows from below.

When standing again, Story took Foster down again. As Foster rose to his feet, Story landed some punches. Foster threw an upper cut. Story’s nose seemed to have been broken at some point in this exchange.

Round 2 had Foster attempting a head kick. Story took Foster down and was in guard and then half guard. While Foster had Story’s leg trapped, Story accomplished a solid kata gatame (arm triangle), even without having his legs free, which turned into a choke, causing Foster to tap out. Really amazing technique. Fight of the Night.  Submission of the Night.

Southpaws Jim Miller and Steve Lopez, both lightweights, were next to fight. Round one went to Miller: he connected with strikes and leg kicks, attempted a take down, which Lopez avoided by sprawling, and then tried a front hadaka jime.  Miller tried various other techniques when in Lopez’s guard, including wrapping Lopez’s own arm around Lopez’s neck, not a technique you see often, but very effective at trapping your opponent’s arm and aiding in a choke if you’ve got it right.

Round 2 had Lopez fighting far better, looking more confident and relaxed until he threw out his left shoulder, a horrible sight. Referee stoppage by verbal submission.

As for the main card, the fights were varied, but mostly standing. Josh Koscheck demolished Frank Trigg in the first round by a looping right, a shot to the chin and multiple strikes when he was on the floor. TKO referee stoppage in round 1. 

Tyson Griffin threw many leg kicks and strikes in his match against Hermes Franca. As the match went on, Griffin would come in for a quick strike and/or kick and then go out again such that Franca could not tag him. A couple of times Franca tried to grab Griffin’s leg in order to have him close enough to strike.

Round 2 had Franca coming in strongly and both men were trading strikes and leg kicks. Franca then grabbed Griffin’s leg and held on, trying to strike. Griffin approached Franca at angles and threw jabs, leg kicks and upper cuts.  One strike to Franca’s chin caused him to hit the ground. Griffin followed up with multiples strikes. TKO in Griffin’s favour.

Martin Kampmann fought Paul Daley in a short match that had Daley in control most of the time. Daley used lots of combinations, with the most deadly being his left hooks, which were solid and heavy. Kampmann managed to grab Daley and push him to the fence at one point. He then applied knees until Daley escaped.

Daley then rocked Kampmann with another left hook, which he immediately followed up with multiple strikes. TKO referee stoppage.

The match between Mirko Cro Cop versus Junior Dos Santos was a co-main event. Cro Cop is a kickboxer with devastating kicks, but his record in the octagon is mediocre. During  this bout, he threw very few kicks, probably no more than five, and threw few punches. Although the men injured one another with cuts above the eyes and Dos Santos with a mouse below the left eye, Dos Santos seemed to be picking Cro Cop apart, connecting with fast strikes. Cro Cop would grab Dos Santos around the neck and push him away, probably to set him up for kicks, but they didn’t come. A take down attempt early in the match by Cro Cop failed with his landing on the bottom and both men getting up right away.

Round three had Cro Cop as the aggressor, but Dos Santos in control. Dos Santos toppled Cro Cop with huge knees to the body and head (eleven in all). One shot went to Cro Cop’s left eye and Cro Cop tapped verbally.

Mike Goldberg made a comment during this bout concerning Dos Santos which I have to reiterate: “The young, hungry competitor, eight and one overall…” Our reaction was: “The young, hungry competitor ate and won overall…”

The remaining co-main event was between Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort. Franklin was in the center of the octagon and Belfort circled.  Franklin tried a leg kick, but Belfort caught it. He then attempted a left hook and leg kick. His straight rights were not connecting. Belfort kept watching and following Franklin, waiting for the right moment. Belfort eventually threw a big looping left punch and dropped Franklin. He immediately followed up with several shots to the head of Franklin.  Knock Out of the Night.

ayjay

September 21, 2009

p.s. As an aside, I’m grateful that Franklin’s sleazy commercial is no longer being shown (the one in which his “student” rolls her eyes at him).