Critique my BJJ match (video)

[redaxe]

(you can select 720p to see it in HD)

This is from a GB in-house tournament we had last weekend. Blue belt match, six minutes, IBJJF rules and scoring. I'm in the white gi.

I had two blue belt matches, and I won both on points, and then I lost my third match to a purple belt via armbar. This is my second blue belt match.

We recently started doing these in-house tournaments, and I think they're great because they help you get used to the feeling of going 100% and trying to score points, and also getting over your competition nerves.

Feel free to critique my match. Constructive criticism preferred; if you're going to tell me I suck then please explain why.

Personally I was pretty happy with my back-take sweep from DLR guard but once I saw the opportunity for a choke I got greedy and tried to finish it too quickly. I should have focused on putting my hooks in and getting back mount first. He rolled to his knees and then escaped to half guard, there's no reason why I shouldn't have been able to get mount at that point instead if I were thinking straight.

I definitely bent over too far when I was trying to pass guard. I was trying to keep my hips far away to avoid the sweep but I need to work on keeping my head up more.

I think my shoulder/chest pressure from side control and half guard was pretty good but I got a little off-balanced a couple times when I tried to mount from side control and he ended up getting his half guard back.

I was trying to finish with a kimura from top half guard when the time ran out, it felt like it was tight but who knows if I would have gotten the finish.

Overall I'm realizing my jiu-jitsu is pretty ugly. It's hard to be graceful when you're going 100% in a match but there are a few moments where I look downright clumsy. Thanks in advance for any tips.

 

[TalkShowOnMute]

Bookmark. Gonna check this out after Strikeforce!

 

[Graciebarra 847]

I think you did a solid all around job! What GB do you train at?

Also when you had the kimura at the end I never seen someone dive like that towards the arm. Were you trying to roll him on on top of you to get more torque on it?

 

[Macungah]

That DLR back take was pretty sweet. I think in the beginning you were putting your non-hooking foot too high on his hip? It seemed like you instinctively tried to put your free foot on his hip, but I find you don't have to do that unless you are attempting a sweep. If your aim is to take the back immediately, you can use that foot on the ground to swivel your body around.

When you get in someone's half guard, try to cross your ankles and kill his leg that's in between your hips. Pinch tight, then get good head control. Pressure, and slowly climb up his leg (climb his leg like a monkey straddling a tree) towards his hip. This is really annoying against for people playing half guard.

 

[unhommefou]

<rage>

I'm sorry, but I am having a very hard time critiquing your video right now due to the person that was supposed to be refereeing your match making me RRRAAAAAGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! so hard right now.

Walking away, almost not awarding points for a sweep that you did, chatting with people not on the mat, completely turning around not looking at what is going on for long periods of time....


AARRRRGGGHHHHG!

I mean, I know that this is a in house mini tournament, but be fucking serious about what you are doing, especially if you expect your students to be serious about what they are doing!

</rage>

 

[ozyabbas]

Some nice stuff, I liked the back take from the DLR. The main problems that I saw were that you could of done the bow and arrow choke which would of finished this match much sooner.

I think your posture could of been better when he had you in closed guard. Seated guard breaks are good but I think as you go up the belts it seems standing guard breaks are preferable. But thats just my opinion, it worked for you in the match you posted.

You are right that when you were in his open guard you were facing forward too much, there was a few opportunities for him to sweep you from there.

When you pinned his hips from side control I would of gone directly to mount, you went to knee on belly which is also good. He started pushing your hips with his lead hand, you could of switched your hips to collapse that arm.

When you were in his half guard, you switched your hips to pass which is good. You had your arm around his head which is good but it would of been better to have put your arm underneath his arm and been further up his body. It gives him much less options.

Generally not too bad. Anyway, how do you find training in the US different from training with Hee Sung Lee (have I got his name right?).

 

[redaxe]

I think you did a solid all around job! What GB do you train at?

Also when you had the kimura at the end I never seen someone dive like that towards the arm. Were you trying to roll him on on top of you to get more torque on it?

Thanks. I think the worst part was when I almost got swept and turtled, then my opponent went for a standing guillotine, I went for a single leg, he pulled guard, and then he almost triangled me. That was just sloppy on my part. I was lucky he let me posture up, a better opponent would have gotten that triangle. Thanks for the compliment though.

I find it difficult to finish the kimura from top half guard position because you're pushing the arm down into the mat and you'd have to lift him up on his side to get any torque--this is easy for him to defend, he just has to lay flat. If you set up the kimura from top half guard then roll to the bottom and push the arm through and up to finish, you have more leverage to crank the hold. Sometimes the guy will keep rolling to relieve the pressure, and you can just keep rolling with him until you get the tap.

Oh, and I train at GB Seattle.

 

[ozyabbas]

<rage>

I'm sorry, but I am having a very hard time critiquing your video right now due to the person that was supposed to be refereeing your match making me RRRAAAAAGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! so hard right now.

Walking away, almost not awarding points for a sweep that you did, chatting with people not on the mat, completely turning around not looking at what is going on for long periods of time....


AARRRRGGGHHHHG!

I mean, I know that this is a in house mini tournament, but be fucking serious about what you are doing, especially if you expect your students to be serious about what they are doing!

</rage>

It was only an in house tournament to get them ready for real tournaments but you are right in that he (the ref) was negligent. I think there was 2 points he should of award red axe for a sort of take down, I might not of seen it. Perhaps he didn't give it to him because the other guy was attempting a guillotine and was waiting till the submission attempt was over before awarding points.

 

[Balto]

Hey bro nice match. Here are my comments:

It looks like this guy is nervous at the start with how he just sits there while you attempt the back take. You completed it very nicely, but I was kind of surprised that he didn't do more to counter it. Still a nice technique. I am trying to work on that one myself.

For the bow and arrow choke, you could have probably finished that had you fallen back and thrown your leg over right away. The nice thing about that choke is you don't need that great of a grip to finish it. It looked like the grip you got was choking him initially, so it was probably more than enough to finish.

You are too bent over when passing the open guard. Your opponent can flip you over his head here or catch you in a triangle or something. Try to hip in a little more.

You deserved takedown points for the single leg once you escaped the submissions.

You're ahead on points here so don't go for knee on belly if it's not a good position for you. You got unbalanced pretty easily from there. He gets a chance to throw up some desperate submission attempts if he gets his guard back for the last thirty seconds; just smash him in side control and go for a bread cutter choke or something.

I'd say something about rolling over in half guard like that, but I'm sure you knew there were like ten seconds left so you could go for the attempt without it mattering. That counts for 2 points against you otherwise if he escapes the kimura, but given the time constraints it's fine here to take a shot.

Overall it was a good match, and I think you were dominant. My best technical advice would be to posture up a little more when passing the guard. Throw your hips into him. My best strategy advice would be to stick with your dominant positions more. You know how I feel about it from all the escape thread talk. Really crush the guy with your weight and make it miserable for him. When he has nothing left, then finish him off with whatever you want.

Thanks for posting the video. Good job.

 

[Balto]

It was only an in house tournament to get them ready for real tournaments but you are right in that he (the ref) was negligent. I think there was 2 points he should of award red axe for a sort of take down, I might not of seen it. Perhaps he didn't give it to him because the other guy was attempting a guillotine and was waiting till the submission attempt was over before awarding points.

He did deserve 2 points for the takedown.

 

[Balto]

I find it difficult to finish the kimura from top half guard position because you're pushing the arm down into the mat and you'd have to lift him up on his side to get any torque--this is easy for him to defend, he just has to lay flat. If you set up the kimura from top half guard then roll to the bottom and push the arm through and up to finish, you have more leverage to crank the hold. Sometimes the guy will keep rolling to relieve the pressure, and you can just keep rolling with him until you get the tap.

It's a little bit risky to do that roll if you aren't 100% sure you can finish it from the bottom. If the guy gets out, he just swept you for 2 points.

I finish my half guard kimuras from the top for that reason. You make a good point about it being difficult to push the arm through. The style of kimura you described attacks the shoulder primarily, and I think that's the easiest way to do it from the bottom.

However, when you're on top, the arm runs into the ground as you mentioned. So I switch to a style of kimura that attacks the elbow. If you grab lower on the arm closer to the wrist (get very little tricep in your grip), you can attack the elbow much easier. From this type of attack, you can easily finish on top without having to roll over and risk it. This is my preferred method for half guard especially, but it also works well in side control.

 

[redaxe]

<rage>

I'm sorry, but I am having a very hard time critiquing your video right now due to the person that was supposed to be refereeing your match making me RRRAAAAAGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! so hard right now.

Walking away, almost not awarding points for a sweep that you did, chatting with people not on the mat, completely turning around not looking at what is going on for long periods of time....


AARRRRGGGHHHHG!

I mean, I know that this is a in house mini tournament, but be fucking serious about what you are doing, especially if you expect your students to be serious about what they are doing!

</rage>

Haha, that's Carlos, he's our new assistant instructor who just moved up here from Brazil a few months ago. He's a hell of a nice guy, and has killer BJJ but and he goofs off and tells jokes a lot when he's teaching. I think he might have a little ADD or something. He doesn't know much English yet but he's learning it really fast because he's so outgoing and friendly. I do wish he had paid more attention to my match but at the same time I appreciate the lighthearted atmosphere he brings to our club.

 

[ItsArun]

Good job. You seemed 2-3 steps ahead of your opponent the whole time; he just seemed too preoccupied with "staying in the game" (vs imposing his game on you). As for the choke, to be completely honest it did not look you secured the position at all (which you already stated). I think had you had a hook in and gone for a more conventional bow-&-arrow, he would have tap'd (i.e. @ :55 there was just too much space between you 2).

Also, when you were in his half-guard your cross-face could be improved. Had your elbow been on the floor (vs pointing to the ceiling) you would have significantly increased the pressure in your cross-face (by being able to pull his lat and drive your shoulder into his face, driving it sideways). This would greatly immobilize him, preventing him from recovering guard like he did.

Also, (just my preference here), but you should try standing up to break/pass. I couldn't imagine breaking guard without standing. Just thinking aloud!

And like Balto said, posture posture posture...drive your hips through, keep your back straight and upright... etc etc.

In any case, you looked good but at the same time your opponent was not doing a good job at really turning the pressure on and imposing his game on you. You had opportunities to end the match, but so did he. Also in my honest opinion his guard looked weak (maybe he was tired), so you should have knee-sliced much much sooner. I would suggest doubling up on your passes (combo them up together). I saw a bunch of opportunities for x-pass, knee slice, bullfighter, and stack.

So to reiterate: well done, just work on your posture (at all times really), your passing (threaten multiple passes), and your control (immobilizing your opponent completely).

-Arun

 

[Graciebarra 847]

He did deserve 2 points for the takedown.

I disagree Redaxe's opponent jumped guard before you could get the takedown.

Redaxe post your other videos. I am actually going to try diving for the kimura next time I lock one up. Very rarely do I muscle it the conventional way when going for it.

 

[redaxe]

Hey bro nice match. Here are my comments:

It looks like this guy is nervous at the start with how he just sits there while you attempt the back take. You completed it very nicely, but I was kind of surprised that he didn't do more to counter it. Still a nice technique. I am trying to work on that one myself.

For the bow and arrow choke, you could have probably finished that had you fallen back and thrown your leg over right away. The nice thing about that choke is you don't need that great of a grip to finish it. It looked like the grip you got was choking him initially, so it was probably more than enough to finish.

You are too bent over when passing the open guard. Your opponent can flip you over his head here or catch you in a triangle or something. Try to hip in a little more.

You deserved takedown points for the single leg once you escaped the submissions.

You're ahead on points here so don't go for knee on belly if it's not a good position for you. You got unbalanced pretty easily from there. He gets a chance to throw up some desperate submission attempts if he gets his guard back for the last thirty seconds; just smash him in side control and go for a bread cutter choke or something.

I'd say something about rolling over in half guard like that, but I'm sure you knew there were like ten seconds left so you could go for the attempt without it mattering. That counts for 2 points against you otherwise if he escapes the kimura, but given the time constraints it's fine here to take a shot.

Overall it was a good match, and I think you were dominant. My best technical advice would be to posture up a little more when passing the guard. Throw your hips into him. My best strategy advice would be to stick with your dominant positions more. You know how I feel about it from all the escape thread talk. Really crush the guy with your weight and make it miserable for him. When he has nothing left, then finish him off with whatever you want.

Thanks for posting the video. Good job.

Thanks for the tips Balto.

I did go for DLR guard right away because that is my best guard. And I agree that I should have thrown the leg over first and finished the bow-and-arrow choke from mount or back mount instead of trying to get it from side mount. He said he was seeing stars afterward but he was able to relieve the pressure just enough with his hands that he could escape.

Like you said, I should to work on mounting directly from side control more. I usually go knee on belly first and while that works on guys who I outrank or outweigh, with better guys it tends to lead to them getting their half guard back.

It was crazy seeing this video because at certain points I'm literally bent 90 degrees at the waist when I'm trying to pass spider guard. I knew I was bending over a little but I didn't know it was that bad until I saw this. Definitely gonna be working on that.

And yeah, good point about the kimura, I try not to roll until I'm sure I can finish it. I'll try the other way that you described though. Thanks again.

 

[Balto]

I disagree Redaxe's opponent jumped guard before you could get the takedown.

Redaxe post your other videos. I am actually going to try diving for the kimura next time I lock one up. Very rarely do I muscle it the conventional way when going for it.

It doesn't matter if he pulls guard once his leg is grabbed. If you go down to the bottom while your leg is grabbed, it's 2 points. Those are the IBJJF rules.

 

[Mike Wilson Jr.]

it doesn't matter if he pulls guard once his leg is grabbed. If you go down to the bottom while your leg is grabbed, it's 2 points. Those are the ibjjf rules.

qft!

 

[jarra22]

That wasnt bad at all although i think that you could have finished him when u had back control. Also, you got pretty lucky in that guillotine triangle choke scramble but that sweep was so sick. Overall good match and win.

 

[redaxe]

I disagree Redaxe's opponent jumped guard before you could get the takedown.

Redaxe post your other videos. I am actually going to try diving for the kimura next time I lock one up. Very rarely do I muscle it the conventional way when going for it.

If you have a single leg and he jumps guard you still get points for a takedown. But if he's attempting a submission then you don't get the points until you escape. That's my understanding anyway. Maybe the ref didn't give me points because I was in danger of being triangled after I escaped the guillotine, but I think he should have given me the points after I escaped the triangle at least.

And yeah as Balto pointed out diving under for the kimura is a gamble because if you don't finish it you just gave up a sweep. But I've found it to be a pretty high percentage finish as long as you get it locked in tight before you roll. One guy actually tapped me with it at a tournament in Korea, and I've tapped a couple of purple belts with it in training, so it does work.

 

[platfox]

e.

You deserved takedown points for the single leg once you escaped the submissions.

I've seen it called both ways. One ref explained it to me like this. He was in top position, there was a submission attempt, then he was still on top after the submission attempt. So there was no position change.

The gray area is, was there a moment that Redaxe was not considered to be in top position.

I argued the same point as you, on behalf of a teammate but it did no good.