Learning Jiujitsu is a challenging endeavour

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is not easy, nor is it meant to be. Sure you can learn and teach it in a variety of ways, some of which will make it easier, but it will never be easy. BJJ will always be a challenging endeavour. An example of this surfaced yesterday when two white belts asked if posting on the neck was a legitimate tactic, which I feel it is, or at least can be.

The Paper Cutter choke (espinha de peixe in Portuguese:
The Fish Bone) is an example of forearm pressure

Before you bite my head off, please hear me out. I feel pressure against the neck is a cautious subject, a bit like heel hooks. If done properly, it is simply another tool in the arsenal.


Let of set a couple of parameters first: by posting against the neck I don't mean squeezing the throat but rather creating a frame with you arm/hand the connects against the neck or near it.


The objective of this is, and herein lies the detail, to:

1. Govern the distance
2. Elicit a reaction.
3. A bit of both.

An example from side control top is threatening with a paper cutter choke-type pressure to clear the path for the knee on belly or enticing the opponent to open their closed guard and go for an armbar by posting against their neck with a straight arm, a risky albeit advanced tactic to facilitate the pass. The question is not whether it's legit or not, but rather "do you know why you are doing it?" But this post is about the challenges of BJJ/Grappling, not sneaky tactics. The reason I brought this up is because I feel such a tactic can freeze a jiu jitsu player up, at least the first time they are inflicted, and therefore it is important to learn how to handle it.


The villain behind this is usually the ego. Rather than deal with this obstacle, your ego starts whispering: "Boo! Dirty tactics! That's not allowed / legal / nice...etc." and you freeze. I'll tell you what it is. It's an opportunity to learn, nothing else. It causes no damage*, permanent or otherwise, and you should be able to deal with it technically and intelligently once you get over the voice of ego.



Hmmm...maybe a video to illustrate? I'll get back to you.


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ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

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