More Pins and the Kimura (diary entry)

19.10.16   My second lesson of the night was also on submission fighting. This is my client’s third lesson in her course on Basic Submission Grappling (Groundwork) for Martial Arts Cross-Training. We revised the Americana, introduced the Kimura and spent a good portion of the lesson transitioning through pins.   The lesson’s warm-up consisted of simple muscle activation and mobility exercises for groundwork. We used bear crawls (backwards, forwards and sideways), spider-man crawls (forwards and backwards), seals (backwards and forwards), commandos (backwards and forwards), tables/crabs (forwards, backwards and sideways), sit-outs (forwards and backwards), gorilla crawls (backwards and forwards) and snaking/shrimping (forwards and backwards). This serves as the basis for an excellent conditioning routine and can be easily escalated to help create greater familiarisation with ground mobility. However, I am careful not over do the warm-up like I used to do, as my focus is on developing new skills. Too much cardiovascular work early on in a lesson can overload the nervous system and impair performance, especially when one is looking to learn new techniques. It is my client’s business to take the various exercises back home and include them in a regular conditioning routine.   We then revised the side-control and modified scarf-hold positions. From here we revised the Americana, working it in fluid repetitions. By introducing some transitioning we also drilled moving from side-control to scarf-hold, using a few possible scenarios. We briefly looked at the arm-triangle as a reaction to an opponent defending against scarf-hold. The adjusted scarf-hold (using an under-hook) allows the fighter to quickly trap an opponent’s defending arm and then, by transitioning back into side-control, complete an arm-triangle.   I then brought in the Kimura. This highly versatile arm-lock, named by the Gracie family after the Judo fighter who broke Helio Gracie’s arm with it, can be used in a wide range of positions and situations. We began with a standing execution, as we had done with the Americana, so my client could focus entirely on the hand positions. Whilst holding the lock we moved into side-control. Then we repeated the technique after side-control was in place.   Next I introduced the north-south pin. This was drilled as a transition from scarf-hold. Pressure is exerted on the upper part of the body during this pin. Here we executed the Kimura again. The lesson was finished with transitioning through pins around the body – side-control, scarf-hold, north-south, scarf-hold, side control, knee pin, side control, reverse scarf-hold, mount, knee pin and then back to the original side-control.   Photo by Phil Shirley circ. 2009 at Clubb Chimera Martial Arts old Coventry club