The “amassa pão” (or “amassa pao” or “punch choke”) is a choke executed from inside someone’s guard, usually to subdue or ward off attacks from the person holding the position. It is simple and effective enough to force the person holding guard to adjust and momentarily stop attacking. As one of the few attacks from inside the guard, it is usually a “last ditch” maneuver to stop a submission.
I love the guard and I hate getting “amassa pao’d” so I was happy to find a series on how to defend against the move. These videos are short and sweet, and were produced by Arashi-Do martial arts in Alberta, Canada.
Technique #1: Breaking the Posture
Breaking the attacker’s posture is probably the most obvious counter move to the the amassa pao. This video features some important details for executing this defense, details I would surely not notice if the instructor did not specifically mention them.
Technique #2: Arm Bar Setup
After seeing this video it seems so intuitive to “climb” the back in order to set up a position to attack your opponent with arm bars. After you get your leg over the shoulder the arm bar is right there.
Technique #3: Helicopter Arm Bar
This is the technique I was originally looking for when I started looking for ways to defend against the amassa pao. The helicopter arm bar is flashy and looks great, but seems like it would take a lot practice to master.
I believe the “Unified Rules” of MMA generally favor the stand-up fighter. I also believe the UFC prefers the stand-up fighter. This makes it ironic that Rorion Gracie (along with some others) started the UFC in 1993 to showcase the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which Royce Gracie did wonderfully.
In this video Stephan Kesting seems to agree and makes some clever observations about the UFC, many of its fans, and some of its fighters.
The saddest part for fans of grappling is the observation that most MMA fans (and casual observers) like stand up more than ground fighting. The UFC is still an entertainment company first and a sports company second, so it comes as no surprise to see the UFC promote the stand-up game and fighters.
I have had the amazing opportunity to learn from Relson Gracie two out of the last four days as he has been in Colorado for a couple of seminars.
Last Saturday he was in Boulder at Boulder Grappling Academy, and on Sunday he had a seminar at Relson Gracie Academy in Littleton. Relson returned to Boulder yesterday to teach the school’s regular classes for the day.
Relson is a cool guy with great (and often funny) stories about his family, growing up in Brazil, and his Jiu Jitsu. In addition to the knowledge and credibility anyone would expect from the leader of their school’s organization, Relson is low key, friendly, and welcoming. I suspect this affords intangible benefits to the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu schools in his association.
In addition to the learning techniques and self defense, I was also promoted with a new notch on my belt!
It is no surprise that Everlast – a company with strong mind-share in the boxing world – would eventually expand into Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
I was first aware of Everlast’s expansion into MMA some time ago by noticing their rash guards and sponsorships of MMA athletes. Everlast is a well known brand, so I was naturally happy when the folks at MMA Opinion asked me to review the new Everlast Omnistrike Fight shorts.
Luckily for me, the Omnistrike Fight Shorts have turned out to be exceptional shorts for no-gi Jiu Jitsu, submission grappling, and stand-up training.
This is my detailed review of Everlast’s new Omnistrike Fight shorts / trunks.
Description
The shorts have a clear, modern look with strong lines and stitches. There are almost no printed designs on the short; most logos and design elements are embroidered, including a large Everlast logo on the rear left leg. There is also a small pocket for mouth guards in the front left interior. The shorts have side slits allowing for a wide range of leg movement.
I wear a 32 or 34 waist depending on the brand of the garment I am wearing. The 34″ Omnistrike shorts fit me perfectly. Sitting on the waist, they comfortably fall just above the knees and are comfortably roomy.
Pros
The shorts have a high quality feel to them. From the stitching to the feel of the material, the garment makes the impression that it will hold up with time.
The cord string has plenty of traction so it stays tied, keeping the shorts in place.
They feel lighter than many other brands of fight shorts with which I am familiar. Sweat and grime only minimally effects the feel the shorts. They still feel light after two hours of grappling.
The shorts dry fast. The rate at which they dry is more than adequate for shorts worn for grappling and take downs.
I always hesitate to comment on the design of the product I am reviewing in the “pros” or “cons” section of a review, but these shorts have a fresh, sharp appearance. Feedback on the look of the shorts, solicited or not, has been positive.
Cons
From a strict Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or submission grappling point of view, some may find the side slits annoying. Wearers may “show more leg” than they are used to if these shorts are not worn in combination with compression shorts. But for strict stand-up fighting this may actually be a plus because it provides greater mobility for kicks.
While comfortable, the shorts could benefit from extra room in the groin area for cup wearers.
Other Thoughts
The design and material of these shorts are two of the more exceptional features that sets them apart from other fight shorts. I would feel comfortable wearing these shorts doing other activities such as basketball, volleyball, and working out at the gym.
The high quality feel and style of these shorts makes me hope that Everlast will produce a gi or kimono at some point in the future, or even a grappling headgear.
Conclusion
I like these shorts; the high quality feel combined and clean look makes for serious win-win. I highly reccomend them.
It is also neat to see Everlast expand their range of products for MMA athletes and the submission grappling/no-gi Brazilian Jiu Jitsu market.
Pictures
Click for a larger view.
Thanks to Matt Haltom for letting me use his camera for the pictures in this review.
Although I have owned the “E58″ Cliff Keen Signature headgear for about 10 months or longer, I have been consistently wearing it for about the last four months after symptoms of cauliflower ear started to sneak up on my once perfect ears.
Now I wear it every time I spar – and depending on what I’m learning – usually when I drill, too.
Despite some minor setbacks the headgear has turned out to be a solid choice for Jiu Jitsu. This is my review of the “E58″ Cliff Keen Signature headgear.
Description
The headgear features two black cups to protect the ears and five straps to surround your head and keep the headgear in place: two in front/top, two in back, and one across the chin. The cups are angled in way that after you properly adjust and fit the headgear it stays in place even when the chin strap is not fastened. Sometimes I unfasten the chin strap during lighter activities like drilling.
Interior, hard plastic shells give the ear cups their form and stability. These shells are surrounded by a soft, foam-padded, glossy plastic making the cups virtually devoid of hard plastic edges and surfaces often seen in headgears. There are four holes in each cup for hearing and ventilation.
Pros
The headgear stays nicely put despite my very short hair, which ensures my head has less friction than someone with longer hair. It rarely becomes dislodged when rolling.
Adequately comfortable.
Hearing is impacted to acceptable levels.
With some exceptions – explained below – it is also a cinch to take on or off.
Cons
After heavy rolling or drilling (and in consequence, sweat), the chin pad can slide down its strap and cover the button that attaches it to the other ear cup, which makes the process of putting the headgear back on a chore. This takes some time and fidgeting to fix. The third picture below is a close up of the chin pad an the button.
It is not the most stylish looking thing out there – but let’s be honest, headgears are never designed to win fashion awards. They are designed to protect your ears, which is something this headgear does nicely.
Personally, I feel the interior of the ear cups could be a little more comfortable, but your mileage may vary.
Other Thoughts
One of the motivations I had in purchasing this headgear was the soft, padded exterior – a priority I mentioned when I previously wrote about headgears.
Grappling with an opponent and dealing with his or her headgear is part of the game in Jiu Jitsu and wrestling. Still, I was wanted to make this less of an issue for my classroom opponents. The soft exterior helps ensure my opponents are not dealing with a hard, uncomfortable headgear surface during sparring, even when I’m controlling my opponent with my head across their head or face.
Conclusion
Despite the issue of the chin strap the “E58″ Cliff Keen Signature headgear has turned out to be an exceptional choice for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I recommend it for anyone and I would likely purchase it again.
Special thanks to Matt Haltom for letting me use his camera for this post.
Steve Hordinski owns Relson Gracie Academy in Littleton, Colorado and is a black belt under Relson Gracie himself. Steve has recently been featured in Performance MMA‘s “Tip of the Week” series, which I present here.
Steve’s tips keep getting better; his “WTF” series is particularly interesting, and I’m also a fan of his inverted triangle from guard tip (“PMMA Tip #15″, second below). But then again, the triangle is probably my favorite submission.
WTF Series
The techniques in the “WTF” series in this video generally start in side control. The last technique in the series is particularly slick.
Triangle Variation (Inverted Triangle From Guard)
I’ve never been formally taught the inverted triangle although I’ve hit it before in class and competition. Even so, after watching this video, I keep trying to get to a place where I can intentionally set it up. I really like this variation and attack.
Darce Choke From Side Control
I find myself attempting to set up the darce choke fairly often, normally when I’m trying to attack someone in turtle. Here Steve demonstrates how to set up a darce choke from a solid side control position.
Blogging is hard in general, and blogging about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is especially challenging. The abbreviated reason for this is that the core of the sport is primarily experiential in nature.
The majority of readers of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) blogs are already training or involved in the sport; they are “doers” and probably train regularly. Readers who are not “doers”, who are merely curious about BJJ make up a much smaller demographic of BJJ blog readers.
This provides an interesting point of consideration for mindful BJJ bloggers: their readership is likely very interested to the sport and have a fair amount of enthusiasm for it. Therefore, how do you provide compelling content to this audience? Things surrounding the sport present a set of valuable content options: things like product reviews, school updates, and other “periphery” type articles.
But it is much more difficult to write the sport itself. Writing compelling content about BJJ is challenging because people who train in the sport will have likely experienced (or will experience) the same insights and observations. In addition, I am not nearly qualified enough to write my own instructionals, and video is a much better medium for BJJ instructionals anyway. The key to blogging well about BJJ is to find unique insights that people who train are less likely to experience themselves, yet are helpful. The bloggers who do this regularly are the better bloggers on the topic of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
With this in mind, when I look at the writing I’ve done for JiuJitsu.RyanPeterson.me I realize I am not a tremendously good blogger about BJJ – but I am okay with that. I have a couple of useful posts, although I’m not Georgette Odin or Can Sönmez. I am going to keep at it, however, because it is fun.
The value of this insight is that I have a new, mature, and realistic outlook on the content I produce.
It’s obvious that flexibility is important in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. While flexibility is primarily a muscular attribute, tendons and cartilage also play supportive roles in flexibility. In Jiu Jitsu, athletes oftem find themselves in straining positions. This is why BJJ atheletes, more so than atheletes of many other sports, strongly benefit in having healthy, flexible joints.
For the same reason, Jiu Jitsu also requires healthy bones. Bone health is something most people (even athletes) don’t need to worry about until later in life, but because of the physical nature of the sport, having strong bones seems like a noble goal for any Jiu Jitsu athlete. Ensuring adequate calcium consumption is one of the best ways that I am aware of to promote bone health.
A couple of weeks ago I suffered a rib fracture while rolling in class. The timing was horrible because it was was my first class back since taking a break from the sport. It’s also my first injury from Jiu Jitsu. In the past I have taken calcium and glucosamine supplements, and while I can’t prove it, they did seem to increase the amount of stress my joints and body can take during work-outs and class. I also felt like I recovered faster between classes. In general, I felt less sore after work-outs.
I hate being injured and out of the game, so I have started taking calcuim and glucosamine once again with hope that it will help me heal a little faster. My bigger, long-term hope is that I’ll feel the way I originally did when I first took calcium glucosamine and so that day-to-day I’ll generally feel better between workouts.
Do you – or have you – taken a joint or calcium supplement? What was your experience?
Inside BJJ has posted a great article on Relson Gracie and his frustration with the current Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament system.
Relson is starting the Gracie Pro-Am, a new tournament series that is “focused on the original rules Grandmaster Helio Gracie put together for the first tournament in 1962.”
“The Gracie Pro-Am Circuit is looking to preserve Helio’s heritage and approach to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu through competition. We hope that by changing some key rules, this tournament will promote a more transitional, safe, submission-based game”
- Relson Gracie
I am a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) enthusiast and blogger. A blue belt under Relson Gracie, this is where I share insights, stories and reviews related to BJJ. I train in Colorado at Boulder Grappling Academy. Contact me at ryanpeterson DOT me **AT** gmail DOT com. Legal info.
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I am a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) enthusiast and blogger. A blue belt under Relson Gracie, this is where I share insights, stories and reviews related to BJJ. I train in Colorado at