I watched some old-ish footage of a Joe Moreira and Roy Harris seminar on open-guard passing during this Easter break just gone.
Joe Moreira wasn't really showing any particular techniques that I wasn't familiar with which was a bit odd, mainly because I have this image in my head of him showing 12 ways to drink a glass of pineapple juice! (After all, the man released a book with over 100 techniques just from Side Control!
) What he did instead was something much, much more valuable.
He gave his take on the 3P model. He never called it that but hey...pineapple juice is pineapple juice no matter what else you call it. What he did was:
1. Got rid of and constantly fought against any meaningful contact or pressure exerted by the guard-player on him and instead established his own meaningful grips (posture) and
2. He fully turned on the pressure. Pressure pressure pressure! Now for those of you who haven't seen what Mr Moreira looks like, he's not a big man by any measures, but once he had the postures and grips he wanted, he was in the zone. The pit-bull zone! Pressure pressure pressure! I swear at one point it looked like he was going to fall out of the TV screen! That would've been awkward. "Hey Joe. How's it hangin'? Pineapple juice?"
3. The third P- the possibilities- kind of took care of themselves. I mean you can either pass over, under or around the leg(s). Which one ends up depending on what the poor guard player “gives” you.
Yesterday, I taught a private session on passing. I showed 2 techniques (the double under and the bull pass) and entry to a good pit stop (See my drawing above) and we spent a lot of time working on the necessary awareness to clear any obstacles (hands, hooks, knees...etc.) and Pressure pressure pressure! It was emotional.
Now despite all that, why did I still show two techniques? Not because these specific two are the be-all-end-all of passing and not because they are my favourites, but simply because they served as good demonstrations of the principles.
And the pit stop? Well, it’s all in the pit stop baby!
Joe Moreira wasn't really showing any particular techniques that I wasn't familiar with which was a bit odd, mainly because I have this image in my head of him showing 12 ways to drink a glass of pineapple juice! (After all, the man released a book with over 100 techniques just from Side Control!
) What he did instead was something much, much more valuable.He gave his take on the 3P model. He never called it that but hey...pineapple juice is pineapple juice no matter what else you call it. What he did was:
1. Got rid of and constantly fought against any meaningful contact or pressure exerted by the guard-player on him and instead established his own meaningful grips (posture) and
2. He fully turned on the pressure. Pressure pressure pressure! Now for those of you who haven't seen what Mr Moreira looks like, he's not a big man by any measures, but once he had the postures and grips he wanted, he was in the zone. The pit-bull zone! Pressure pressure pressure! I swear at one point it looked like he was going to fall out of the TV screen! That would've been awkward. "Hey Joe. How's it hangin'? Pineapple juice?"
3. The third P- the possibilities- kind of took care of themselves. I mean you can either pass over, under or around the leg(s). Which one ends up depending on what the poor guard player “gives” you.
Yesterday, I taught a private session on passing. I showed 2 techniques (the double under and the bull pass) and entry to a good pit stop (See my drawing above) and we spent a lot of time working on the necessary awareness to clear any obstacles (hands, hooks, knees...etc.) and Pressure pressure pressure! It was emotional.
Now despite all that, why did I still show two techniques? Not because these specific two are the be-all-end-all of passing and not because they are my favourites, but simply because they served as good demonstrations of the principles.
And the pit stop? Well, it’s all in the pit stop baby!
Oh by the way, Cane did an excellent piece on Guard passing. Highly recommended reading!
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4 comments:
How do you find teaching BJJ? It's very rewarding isn't it? But also presents difficulties in communicating ideas, concepts etc at a level that the audience will understand. Sometimes less is more I guess. I find that in seminars where the instructor shows 8,9,10 techniques, I've really forgotten all but the most basic. But in sessions where around 3,4 are shown in detail, those tend to be the best.
I find it very rewarding in many ways:
1. Preparing for a session. I follow the same lesson plans for group sessions that we were taught at TESOL. They help a lot, and the planning helps me strip it all down to what's the least I need to teach for them to get it (reduce Teacher Talk Time TTT and increase Student Talk Time STT..etc.)
2. Conducting the lesson. Seeing how a fantastic idea can go completely up the wall :) both a jits idea or a teaching method and understanding why it may have gone wrong.
3. Rolling afterwards. I always make a point of using the specific techniques or concepts I taught in the same session. Not only do I verify if it works, but also how much the students picked up and what other obstacles or pressures or postures or grips am I facing that I hadn't thought about before when planning?
Speaking of seminars, however, I noticed that teaching seminars was an art completely different to teaching classes or privates. The best-structured seminar I've been too was Eddie Bravo's in Birmingham. He taught what would have been an AWEFUL group session or 1-2-1 session, but it was a perfectly structured seminar.
It's how they tell it :)
I think showing two passes that really display concept is more beneficial than showing several. well, so long as the student can learn to adapt those same principles to different situations. I'm still having trouble with my guard passing. Lately, the thing I've been focusing on is not so much specific step-by-step moves but points of control: limiting their hip movement, flattening them out, tying up their legs. It's helping some, but my guard passing is still highly suspect!! :)
Thank you Allie. Guard passing is something that will always be a challenge because we are just never satisfied as a species :) You're passing is probably way better than you think but because the peeps you roll with are getting better at playing guard, you don't feel that you're getting better. I think: If it's not getting worse, it's most likely getting better! :)
Why don't you try experimenting with the minimum I wrote about in my minimums post
Inside Open Guard:
Keep your elbow(s) connected to your thigh(s) to block their hooks
Combine that with always letting them carry your weight and let me know how that goes :)
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