Arm Triangle seminar by Brian Johnson

13. Aug, 2010 0 Comments

Thanks to all my students and friends who supported the latest seminar w/ Brian Johnson on 7/28/10. He covered a single BJJ finishing move (the head/arm triangle) but showed us approximately 10 different entries into this submission. In other words…we all left that seminar being 100% more effective at actually catching guys in it. As expected Brian gave us some fine tuning on the details of the finishing hold and we side tracked into back control, rear choke, and Darce choke. But the brunt of the 3 hours was a bunch of ways to get the head/arm triangle. I for one loved it and find that I cam now seeing the entries all the time when rolling. It’s funny that they were always there but now that I’m more aware the openings are just all over the place.

Here is a quick recap of the topics covered. Brian opened by defining the head/arm triangle finish…how to “rachet” out all free space between your arm and his neck…S grip vs. figure 4 grip…how to position your head…how to position your body w/ hip to hip alignment. Then he started in on how we catch the submission from…

- cross body control

- scarf position

- back control when opponent defends and rolls into you

- triple attack position w/ opponent’s arm wrapped

- north/south going for kimura and spin to finish when he fights kimura

- rolling over the turtle position

- falling back and rolling under the turtle position

Another key area covered was how to deal w/ an opponent who fights off the arm triangle. We enjoyed using our heads…literally! And going for a key lock attack on their stalling arm…and looping it around out head for those guys w/ crazy flexibility in their shoulders. The night concluded w/ a quick Q&A session and then we all rolled for 30 mins or so. Brian got out there with all of us and it was a blast.

I can say that it is a real pleasure having Brian out to CT. He is an outstanding Machado BJJ black belt. He NEVER has failed to impress and inspire me. I always take a private lesson when he is in town and I find those sessions to be incredibly on target for me. I can think (yep…don’t even need to check my notes) of each private lesson and the 2 or 3 things that I have used in my game since. I highly recommend to all my students to do the same next time he comes through our dojo.

Where do we train? Giroux BJJ is located in Glastonbury, CT at 160 Oak Street, Unit 210. We are a Connecticut Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy teaching and promoting students in Machado style of BJJ. Are you looking for an interesting way to get in great shape? Don’t waste hours in a boring gym. Come on down and learn some BJJ…it will change your life. Physical fitness, self defense, and good friends.