50/50 strategies

[Mikey Triangles]

Belcher spun out of the heel hook, which Palhares overcommitted on. But to the other poster's point, 50/50 is controlled by the direction and position of the knee line. Doing ground and pound from 50/50 requires an opponent who is not focusing on keeping your knee controlled, because otherwise you would only be able to base away from him and throw hammerfists. I can say with 100% certainty that if you just try to get your base and stand while in 50/50 then I will turn your knee out, shoot my hips up and knock you back down. Spinning out has more potential, but it's a dangerous strategy if you try to force it when the position is still neutral. I don't do MMA, though I've trained a little in the past, but I feel like there'd be some interesting possibilities with using heel strikes to set up the kinds of positions you and the other poster suggest.

It was a 50 50 heel hook attemp and Alan had cleared his heal in transition so it was really just a 50/50 escape, the over aggression came from the threats of ground and pound. I put that training camp together with some of the best in the world, and we were able to establish strong ground and pound positions from the 50/50, of course by changing the position, but initiating in 50/50 none the less. All positional improvements require you to change the position, so that goes without saying. if you manipulate the outside leg into certain positions it can neutralize the guy on bottom, and while I agree that the outside leg is more difficult to manipulate while standing in the 50/50, getting on top to base doesn't always mean standing.

Of course if the other guy meant just stand and square up with you and mindlessly start throwing ground and pound punches, then your counter would shut him down easily and likely expose a heel hook finish as he resisted. I'm just pointing out that there actually are ways to finish people with 50/50 in MMA that most BJJ players probably aren't aware of, and it's not wise to simply blow something off without exploring it first.

Again I prefer to just force them to escape by clearing their kneeline. That's the easiest way to get out if they're well versed in the position.

 

[DVD review guy]

I'll do my best to articulate.

While in the 50/50, right leg over right leg (pick your side.) I tuck my right foot as close to their back side / butt. I'll cup their knee with my right hand, posting my left hand on the mat. From here I will circle around towards their back, moving continuously.

At some point my opponent will grab my head to stop the motion and control. Once they've grab my head the opportunities are endless.

Armbar
Elbow crush
Kimura
wrist locks
drace chokes

I think once when playing around with the position we counted 14 submissions?

If your opponent does not grab your head, look for the armdrag. The angle will at least give you an option to take the back.

You can find some of the techniques on youtube,

 

[DVD review guy]

I'll do my best to articulate.

While in the 50/50, right leg over right leg (pick your side.) I tuck my right foot as close to their back side / butt. I'll cup their knee with my right hand, posting my left hand on the mat. From here I will circle around towards their back, moving continuously.

At some point my opponent will grab my head to stop the motion and control. Once they've grab my head the opportunities are endless.

Armbar
Elbow crush
Kimura
wrist locks
drace chokes

I think once when playing around with the position we counted 14 submissions?

If your opponent does not grab your head, look for the armdrag. The angle will at least give you an option to take the back.

You can find some of the techniques on youtube,

 

[JustTheTip]

@Uchi Mata and You do not want to accept an actual 50/50; you want your body turned inside, with your inside knee below uke's inside knee and thigh. You want to be more perpendicular to their leg than parallel. From there, a good clamp with your knees keeps their legs and hips 'above' yours, and gives you a structural advantage to attack.

Are there any instructionals that explain this?

 

[ijustwannasurf]

Are there any instructionals that explain this?

Not really. We just spent anywhere from 10 to 30min every session playing from 50/50 for about two months.

 

[Uchi Mata]

Are there any instructionals that explain this?

Hayden's DVD talks about the position quite a bit, but you have to play with it a lot to get the feel for when you're safe and when you're not. And he doesn't address chaining attacks at all, or far leg attacks.