grappling

Back at Judo after a four month break (traveling, etc).

Surprisingly fun! Stretched a calf muscle from a low driving ouchigari, and am now aching the day after, but all in a good way.

Also taught a green belter who’s prepping for competition the 4 Rules of Gripping.

Writes http://commoncog.com. Books, protocols, and the art of business, from the perspective of an operator. Yes cats.

In Judo, the Four Rules of Gripping are:

1. Don’t let your opponent get a usable grip
2. If they get one, break it
3. If you can’t break it, attack
4. If you can’t attack, prepare to defend or counter. 

The 4 rules are profound because they give you a syllabus.

For eg, (3) tells you to build fake attacks.

Fake attacks are defined as legal attacks that can’t easily be countered and that allow you to reset an exchange (or bring you into a newaza position).

This, for instance, is known as the seoi overshoot:

And here’s the drill that you need to train for it:

These rules definitely translate to BJJ. 

I get onto the guys in class about grip fighting all the time. If you let your opponent set his grips, you are giving him step 1 in his game. Break the grip and attack to keep him playing your game. 

Great content!