Very often, white and new blue belts will ask questions along the lines of, “How do I escape from…?” While they have been taught a variety of techniques, they can’t seem to make them work in sparring. What’s the reason for this? They were not given an education in fundamentals. Imagine this:

Two boxers enter the ring to fight. When the bell rings, boxer “A” begins with a stance, feet shoulder-width apart, weight balanced, knees squeezed together, hands up, elbows in, and chin down. Boxer “B” has a narrow stance, his weight leaning forward, knees wide, hands down by his ribs, elbows flared outward, and chin up. Because his fundamentals are way off, and even though he is tough, the match barely lasts two rounds. Why? He had heart and he knew some boxing techniques, but his fundamentals were horrible and they cost him the fight.

Well, the same is true when it comes to escaping from the bottom positions (e.g. side mount/100 kilos, scarf hold, knee on belly, north/south, etc.). A student must learn, train and develop their fundamentals before they begin to focus on the basic techniques. And, they must reflexively employ their fundamentals alongside their basic techniques. If not, they will end up using more strength than is necessary and will be on the receiving end of unnecessary injuries more often than they should.

In addition to the guiding concepts, entanglements, and escapes I presented at this seminar, I also taught a handful of collar chokes for my instructors.

In this app, I add two informative articles to help you be able to turn this technical knowledge into usable, repeatable, and measurable skill sets. So please, read and study the articles! They will make a HUGE difference in your training!