Arm Triangle through the Arts (diary entry)

          21.08.1   We began my client’s second course on Personalised Martial Arts Cross Training looking at moving offline using the arm triangle structure. Having just covered rounded movement in the previous course we used the bobbing and weaving tactic from a collar and elbow clinch position. Here the fighter weaves under the necktie grip on the back of his head or neck and encircles the neck and shoulder with an arm triangle position. Muay Thai and Stand-up Grappling From this point the fighter can use the hold as strong Muay Thai clinching position. We went back over footwork patterns to take the opponent’s posture and feed in straight, diagonal and round knee strikes. The position is also excellent for executing a very straightforward takedown. The positioning is so strong it doesn’t even need to be coupled with a sweep or a major hip movement.

Submission Grappling Next we started to cover the arm-triangle proper in the form of submissions. This was first performed as a standing submission. Then we used it on the ground in scarf-hold, side control and mounted positions. Weapon Defence/Eskrima We then looked at how the principles of the arm-triangle can be carried over to a defence against a blunt weapon. In this instance the end of stick was passed back to the attacker across his neck, gripped by the other hand and used to take him down. This might be described as a stick-assisted arm-triangle. The technique was finished with a throat crush using one foot on the stick end. General Unarmed Combatives Following the principle of the takedown – rather than the arm-triangle – we covered the philtrum takedown. This technique uses a ridge hand up into the philtrum, placing pressure under the nose and then immediately pressed sharply to the ground. The movement takes advantage of the same balance point and is executed within the same rough target zone as the previous highline stick takedown. Mixed Martial Arts We finished the session by returning to combat sports, this time looking at the move totally from an MMA perspective. Here the opponent/coach fires off an uninterrupted stream of medium speed jabs whilst the fighter slips or bobs and weaves into the arm-triangle clinch position. This comes from a basic timing drill I learnt through TVP Boxing and it served as a great transitioning tool.