Say No to Americana!

[Waxwingslain]

Alright, in homage (sounds better than blatant plagiarism) to Flyingknee 16's thread about saying no to guard for a month (which I think is a good idea) I am going to ban myself from using Americana from side control.

It's my best and most effective submission by far. There's little risk of losing position even if you screw it up. I've caught my brown belt instructor with it several times. I love this move.

However, I have the sneaking suspiscion that my success is due to the weight advantage I have over most at my club rather than my superbly honed submission skills.

I find myself thinking, what about competitions where I have to fight people the same weight as me? What about people who are just much stronger than me and can muscle out? What if we're invaded by Martian wrestlers with retractable arms?

I shall be working on my chokes and arm-bars.

Anyone else signing up for Wax's "Say no to Americana" program?

(Individual results may vary.)

 

[johil d'o]

No. How do you tap everyone by Americana from side control? Do you outweigh them all by 100's of pounds?

Most guys I train with keep their elbows and arms pretty well tight and tucked in while on bottom. Try it, and tell the guys you train with to try it. It's a great defense!

 

[Waxwingslain]

Thanks for the advice there buddy but we don't all roll with our arms sticking straight out.

I don't have THAT much of a weight advantage. I do have a good reach advantage though which might help with getting the grips and levering the submission.

I usually switch between going for a collar choke grip and grabbing the arm.

I sometimes use my head to put weight on the arm I want to force down to the ground and into position.

It's important to try to keep their hands apart - if they clasp their hands you're better off forgetting it. I try to use my body weight to pin the near arm.

Once it's on the ground, all I have to get my other hand under and grab my wrist. This is probably the easiest part. Flatten out your opponent as much as possible and you should be there.

Any more advice welcome!

(Maybe I'll just work solely on my Americana until I become t3H ult1mat3 Am3r1canA Ma5t3r...)

 

[kneecompression]

you can always use it to set up other stuff, like moving to knee on stomach or north/south or even barring the opposite arm...guys will get used to you going for it after awhile anyway so you'll sort of need to start using it as a set up for other stuff

 

[JABobo3]

I stopped using the Americana recently too but I did have like 100lbs on most of the guys i rolled with (all but 3). I started using to set things up and threaten with to open up other possibilities.

 

[Waxwingslain]

It does seem like an easy one for the heavy, strong guys to use. There are a couple of guys I roll with, I KNOW they're going to try and get it but I can't stop them.

Of course you're right about using it as a setup, Kneecompression. The same probably goes for most jiu-jitsu techniques. Any tips on your Americana to arm bar?

I think I'm going to make it a rule never to use the same submission twice on an opponent in one roll.

 

[Bmonk**]

If I find myself catching the same person with the same move time and time again, I stop using it and try to sub him with something else.

 

[I-Shoji]

Is your name Ron Waterman, or more commonly used the nickname H20?