BJJ App review: Escapes and submission defence by Stephan Kesting

Watching Stephan Kesting's fantastic iPhone grappling / BJJ app: Submission Defence: How to Tap Out Less Often, I thought I'd do an experiment and watch all the 36 submission defences but not in the usual fashion - trying to learn the jiujitsu material provided. Instead, I watched them with the intention to find the common denominator between all the submission prevention strategies and filter them to a submission prevention posture or postures. Basically I wanted to answer this question:

Where should my arms, head, hips, feet...etc. when grappling be to avoid getting submitted with a choke, armbar, shoulder lock or leg / foot lock?

Put differently, what is the safest Submission Prevention Posture or Postures?

I love doing things like that, simply because I'm no expert and I don't usually have the opportunity to train often enough to learn all the possible techniques that full timers do so what do I do? I focus on learning the most important common denominators between all the important postures and pressures in Brazilian jiujitsu.

The 12 submissions Stephan covers in the £2.49* app  are:

1. Armbar from guard
2. Armbar from top position (mount or side control)
3. Triangle choke from guard
4. Omoplata shoulder lock
5. Guillotine choke from guard - Kesting guillotine choke defence YouTube
6. Arm triangle choke
7. Rear naked choke
8. Americana / V-armlock
9. Kimura from guard
10. Kimura from top
11. Kneebar
12. Straight footlock

Here's a nice clip: Defence and escape from the Rear Naked Choke:




For each submission listed above, Stephan and his partner demonstrate three solutions**: One centred around early prevention, one centred around early defence and escape and finally one centred around late reaction. As I explained, while I did watch every option on this grappling app, I only focused on the first segment: Submission Prevention. 4 results struck me:***

A. Keep your hands close and your elbow closer
B. Keep your knees close to your chest
C. Retract your neck and shrug your shoulders
D. Strive to keep your opponent out of your blind spot and to get into his

Here are a few pictures that demonstrate these postures and the relation between your body and the opponent's.

Note how both Saulo Ribiero and Chris Hauter keep their

elbows close to their hips and hands at the ready

to defend the collar - aka Combat Base

Both arms in or both out: Caio Terra

Marcelo Garcia might be in one of the most dangerous
closed guards in the business - Pablo Popovitch,
but his arms and neck are safe.

Saulo again demonstrates the perfect back survival posture
and escape: elbows tight to ribs, hands near face, neck retracted.

Relson Gracie breaks the rule about both in both out. Why?
Because he's retracted his left elbow out of the guard,
moved towards his opponent's blind spot and
raised his head so it's near the ankle,
and also because he's a red belt grandmaster so shut up!

Submission Defence: How to Tap Out Less Often by Stephan Kesting and Grapple Arts is a very good app and I highly recommend it. At £2.49, it's a steal!

PS. I've borrowed the above photos from everywhere. None of them are mine. Peace.

*That works out to $3.99
**Plus several bonus vids to show extra details of the grips, positions and transitions
***This is what I found, but I'm sure you will find a million other nuggets of information.


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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters