Path to Blue – Stripe 3
Chokes:
1. Cross Lapel Choke
2. Back Choke
3. Front Choke
4. Lapel ½ Nelson Choke
Armlocks:
1. Top figure 4 Armlock
2. Lower Figure 4 Armlock
3. Figure 4 Armlock from Front Control
4. Figure 4 Armlock from Guard
Chokes
1 Cross Lapel From our closed Guard we insert our right hand into our partners right hand collar and reach right to the back. We then insert our left hand in their left lapel until our thumbs touch. From their we turn our thumbs towards their neck and pull their head towards our body.
2 Back Choke
Figure Fours
1. top figure four = Figure-Four from Mount
You are attacking from mount, with your opponent underneath, keeping their arms in tight
- Take an upright posture
- Take your torso slightly off-centre so you’re facing about 45 degrees toward the arm you’re about to attack
- Keeping your arms locked straight, grab your opponent’s wrist with both hands next to each other, palms down
- Use the weight of your body and your ‘big fat head’ to drive their arm to the mat
With the arm nearest their head:
- Keep the grip on their wrist
- Drop your elbow to the mat so your forearm is at 90 degrees to their body
With your other arm:
- Reach underneath their tricep to grab your own wrist
With your ‘figure-four’ grip, you can now:
- Slide their arm down toward their feet
- ‘Paintbrush’ the back of the hand along the mat as you…
- Raise their elbow toward the ceiling for the tap
Key point for all figure-4s:
Make sure you preserve a 90 degree angle between your opponent’s forearm and shoulder
2. Lower figure-four from Side Control
You have your opponent in side control – one arm controlling their far shoulder, the other the near hip
With the arm controlling their hip:
- Grab their far arm, palm down, at the wrist
- Reach under their tricep with your other arm to grab your own wrist
- Drop your hip to the mat and stretch your leg out behind you (leg closest to their legs)
- Take your other leg and use the inside of your knee to keep their head pinned to the floor
- Slide their arm toward their head
- Raise their elbow toward the ceiling for the tap
3. Figure-Four from Front Control/North South
Start in side control. For this example, let’s say you’re on their right side, knees in, controlling their far shoulder with both of your arms. Your opponent’s left arm is over your right shoulder clasping onto your back
- Start to walk your legs around to the left, keeping your hips low
- Shift your right hand to their right hip to stop them reguarding as you move
- Follow your legs with the rest of your body so you end up facing toward your opponent’s feet (front control/north south)
- Drive your left hand under your opponent’s armpit and toward their chin, as if you’re trying to uppercut them
- Your aim now is to apply as much of your weight as possible down through your left shoulder, wedging your forearm between their left bicep and ribs – if you’re doing it right their head will pop up and turn a lovely shade of red
For the figure-four
- Grab their right wrist with your right hand
- Bring your right knee in to the right of their head
- Grab your own wrist with your left hand
- Pull their arm up and away from their body so they’re forced onto their right side, exposing their back
- Step your left leg into to the small of their back
- Pull their elbow into your stomach, maintaining the figure four grip
- Turn your torso to the left, taking their arm in the same direction to get the tap
Finer points:
To maximise the weight down through your shoulder, come right up on your toes and lift your hips up
For the finish: If you’ve turned as far as you can go and they still won’t tap, step your left leg out to give you more space to turn into.
