I love how much detail you provide. My one and only question to everything is "why". Not because I doubt, but because I wanna understand everything as wholly as possible and I need details. Thank you for the video!
0:00 - Intro with Paulie, who will come after your phalanges if you don’t like, share, and subscribe to the Happy Pill Project 0:30 - A fundamental premise of Professor Mike’s BJJ is that YOUR PARTNER’S REACTIONS DICTATE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE ROLL. To expect him to remain still and unresponsive as you move around him is unrealistic. High-level BJJ players understand everything that their partner might do and are able to anticipate those options with their own movements & adjustments, which allows them to maintain dominance. 1:10 - KNEE-DROP PASSING: Our story begins with you trying to pass his seated butterfly guard (note: Paulie is lying down only to allow people in the class to see what Prof. Mike is doing; in real life, he would be sitting up). Your initial goals for the pass are to 1) use your forearm to frame on the inside of his knee; 2) bring your kneecap over his shin that your forearm is blocking and drop it into the center close to his body. You want your knee pointed to the side that you’ll pass on, as it will position your body to pivot on your other knee so that you end up 2-behind-1 (i.e. with both of your shins behind one of his shins, which is a fundamental passing position; check out this short breakdown ua-cam.com/video/nguNbOlgLsk/v-deo.html) (2:18). 2:24 - SEQUENCE 1A: BACKSTEP TO THE WEAK SIDE. As you attempt your knee-drop pass, he gets in his top shin for Z Guard. You CANNOT advance north (towards his head) until you’ve dealt with his shin. Pivot on your outside knee as you lift your inside knee to disconnect your hip from his shin. Move your south hand to his ankle and collapse his top leg toward the mat (3:08). Once his ankle is on the mat, cut your leg over his shin towards his back, pinning his leg so you can backstep towards his weak side. 3:31 - SEQUENCE 1A DEMO: PASSING IN NO-GI IS DIFFERENT FROM GI. In no-gi, you have to approach Z Guard differently from gi strategies because you don’t have the fabric to grip. Because you’re unable to make significant grips on the lapel to compress his body in no-gi, you have to stay down by his legs. Another fundamental premise of Prof. Mike’s BJJ is that you must assume that you are the smaller/weaker player and therefore you can’t rely on moves that require you to be much bigger or stronger than your partner, which is often the scenario that you see when there are successful Z Guard passes using grips on the head. 4:25 - SEQUENCE 1B: BACKSTEP TO THE STRONG SIDE. You must STAY LOW! Your torso cannot be vertical in this pass: 1) you need to be bent over so that you can eventually use your head as a tool; 2) you can’t give him room to get a better position with his top leg. If you cut a big angle on your initial knee pivot and your south leg is far away from his top leg after you’ve collapsed his leg, you can pass to his front. Drive off of your south foot to backstep on your north knee, pivoting so that you end up with your feet up by his head; this will get you past his hips and you can establish side control by blocking his hip with your south hand. 5:39 - DETAILS ON BACKSTEPPING TO THE WEAK SIDE: It’s not enough to pin his leg with your hand and step over his leg because he will reguard as soon as you move your hand. You must use your shin to STAPLE his leg to control him. You also don’t want to take a big step because you will give him too much space to move his hips and he can reguard. You want to STAY TIGHT to him so that your HIPS ARE MIRRORED to his (i.e. so that your hips have the same orientation as his behind him). This will allow you to take his back as he comes up to turtle, which he’s more likely to do than turn into you as he will just be turning into side control (6:51). For a variation on the back-take as he turtles, check out ua-cam.com/users/shortsDlw5X0FlFPI. 7:26 - HAND-PLACEMENT DETAILS ON THE BACKSTEP: You should not use your hand to keep his leg down as you backstep for several reasons. Doing so violates a general principles that 1) your hand shouldn’t cross your center line and 2) your hands should not be behind you in BJJ; your hands are almost always more effective when they’re up around your torso. Additionally, if he goes up on his shoulder and your hand is connected to his ankle, he will be able to recover before you can progress (for one way for him to recover check out ua-cam.com/users/shortsxV64WTP83yU). 8:29 - SEQUENCE 2A: SIT ON YOUR FREE HIP AND USE YOUR HAND TO FREE YOUR KNEE. Another way to disconnect his shin from your hip is to flip your hips and sit on your free hip. First, scoop under his thigh so you’re cupping his quad and pull it to disengage his shin from your hip. Step your free leg up on the mat and then drop your knee to pivot on it as you sit on that hip; your hand will release from his quad as you drop to your hip so you have a free hand. KEY DETAIL 1: you want to land with his top shoulder under your armpit so that he’s not able to push against your body with that arm. Your goal is to FREE YOUR TRAPPED KNEE; you can use your free hand to push against his leg so that your knee is above his thigh. You can then drive that knee to the mat, turning his hips to the other side. KEY DETAIL 2: Flatten his upper body to the mat as you’re turning his hips, creating spinal misalignment; bring your free hand so it wedges under his top elbow to help drive his shoulder to the mat and then wedge his head with your head so he can’t rotate it (11:23 to see Prof. Mike do this). Then butterfly your free foot so that your laces connect with his groin/inner thigh on that side and drive yourself north to open his legs & free your trapped shin so you can go into mount. 11:56 - SEQUENCE 2B: SIT ON YOUR FREE HIP AND USE YOUR BOTTOM LEG TO FREE YOUR KNEE. If he’s so strong that your hand will be unable to free your leg, you can use the power of your lower body to do so. Disconnect his shin from your hip and turn to sit on your inner hip. Post your free hand against his knee and scoot your hips away from him so that there is space for your free shin to come in to wedge against his bottom quad. Getting the bottom leg in this configuration allows you to generate more power to free your knee. KEY DETAIL: The instep of your bottom foot needs to be its own wedge against his bottom hip. This will allow you to maintain your dominant position if he tries to bridge into you by either posting your top leg far on the mat to prevent him from coming up or using it as a hook on his top leg to reverse him via a sumi gaeshi (12:40). 14:01 - REVIEW OF SEQUENCE 2A. Remember that as soon as you’ve gotten to mount, immediately shoot yourself down and lace your legs (i.e. get “double-grapevines”) to kill his ability to bridge you off (14:54). 15:14 - REVIEW OF SEQUENCE 2B. KEY DETAIL: Having your top arm under his elbow allows you to get into shoulder crunch for a sumi gaeshi (15:51). 16:24 - COVER HIS SHOULDER WITH YOUR ARMPIT IN 2A & 2B: If you don’t cover his shoulder with your armpit, he is able to use both arms to push against you, possibly so that you’re unable to free your knee. If you find yourself in that position, turn so your knees are on the mat again and pop up to your feet, likely to start passing via knee-cuts. Another reason to cover his shoulder with your armpit is so that you can see where his top arm is, allowing you to maintain dominance as you respond to what he’s doing (e.g. going into the Clamp if his arm is low as he comes up; 17:50). You can also lock up his arm with a single-arm kimura if he has left that arm dangling.
I love how much detail you provide. My one and only question to everything is "why". Not because I doubt, but because I wanna understand everything as wholly as possible and I need details. Thank you for the video!
Excellent!
Eddie Cummings in the background folding his knees like it’s nothing? Behind him a Proton Pack from Ghostbusters.
Love it
@@jitsu30 that’s the speaker
Eddie Cummings !
Awesome. I needed this review. Thank you!
Why am I hooked on the happy pill ? Lol ! my game is getting tighter by the roll.i highly appreciate the high level techniques, ty so much
0:00 - Intro with Paulie, who will come after your phalanges if you don’t like, share, and subscribe to the Happy Pill Project
0:30 - A fundamental premise of Professor Mike’s BJJ is that YOUR PARTNER’S REACTIONS DICTATE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE ROLL. To expect him to remain still and unresponsive as you move around him is unrealistic. High-level BJJ players understand everything that their partner might do and are able to anticipate those options with their own movements & adjustments, which allows them to maintain dominance.
1:10 - KNEE-DROP PASSING: Our story begins with you trying to pass his seated butterfly guard (note: Paulie is lying down only to allow people in the class to see what Prof. Mike is doing; in real life, he would be sitting up). Your initial goals for the pass are to 1) use your forearm to frame on the inside of his knee; 2) bring your kneecap over his shin that your forearm is blocking and drop it into the center close to his body. You want your knee pointed to the side that you’ll pass on, as it will position your body to pivot on your other knee so that you end up 2-behind-1 (i.e. with both of your shins behind one of his shins, which is a fundamental passing position; check out this short breakdown ua-cam.com/video/nguNbOlgLsk/v-deo.html) (2:18).
2:24 - SEQUENCE 1A: BACKSTEP TO THE WEAK SIDE. As you attempt your knee-drop pass, he gets in his top shin for Z Guard. You CANNOT advance north (towards his head) until you’ve dealt with his shin. Pivot on your outside knee as you lift your inside knee to disconnect your hip from his shin. Move your south hand to his ankle and collapse his top leg toward the mat (3:08). Once his ankle is on the mat, cut your leg over his shin towards his back, pinning his leg so you can backstep towards his weak side.
3:31 - SEQUENCE 1A DEMO: PASSING IN NO-GI IS DIFFERENT FROM GI. In no-gi, you have to approach Z Guard differently from gi strategies because you don’t have the fabric to grip. Because you’re unable to make significant grips on the lapel to compress his body in no-gi, you have to stay down by his legs. Another fundamental premise of Prof. Mike’s BJJ is that you must assume that you are the smaller/weaker player and therefore you can’t rely on moves that require you to be much bigger or stronger than your partner, which is often the scenario that you see when there are successful Z Guard passes using grips on the head.
4:25 - SEQUENCE 1B: BACKSTEP TO THE STRONG SIDE. You must STAY LOW! Your torso cannot be vertical in this pass: 1) you need to be bent over so that you can eventually use your head as a tool; 2) you can’t give him room to get a better position with his top leg. If you cut a big angle on your initial knee pivot and your south leg is far away from his top leg after you’ve collapsed his leg, you can pass to his front. Drive off of your south foot to backstep on your north knee, pivoting so that you end up with your feet up by his head; this will get you past his hips and you can establish side control by blocking his hip with your south hand.
5:39 - DETAILS ON BACKSTEPPING TO THE WEAK SIDE: It’s not enough to pin his leg with your hand and step over his leg because he will reguard as soon as you move your hand. You must use your shin to STAPLE his leg to control him. You also don’t want to take a big step because you will give him too much space to move his hips and he can reguard. You want to STAY TIGHT to him so that your HIPS ARE MIRRORED to his (i.e. so that your hips have the same orientation as his behind him). This will allow you to take his back as he comes up to turtle, which he’s more likely to do than turn into you as he will just be turning into side control (6:51). For a variation on the back-take as he turtles, check out ua-cam.com/users/shortsDlw5X0FlFPI.
7:26 - HAND-PLACEMENT DETAILS ON THE BACKSTEP: You should not use your hand to keep his leg down as you backstep for several reasons. Doing so violates a general principles that 1) your hand shouldn’t cross your center line and 2) your hands should not be behind you in BJJ; your hands are almost always more effective when they’re up around your torso. Additionally, if he goes up on his shoulder and your hand is connected to his ankle, he will be able to recover before you can progress (for one way for him to recover check out ua-cam.com/users/shortsxV64WTP83yU).
8:29 - SEQUENCE 2A: SIT ON YOUR FREE HIP AND USE YOUR HAND TO FREE YOUR KNEE. Another way to disconnect his shin from your hip is to flip your hips and sit on your free hip. First, scoop under his thigh so you’re cupping his quad and pull it to disengage his shin from your hip. Step your free leg up on the mat and then drop your knee to pivot on it as you sit on that hip; your hand will release from his quad as you drop to your hip so you have a free hand. KEY DETAIL 1: you want to land with his top shoulder under your armpit so that he’s not able to push against your body with that arm. Your goal is to FREE YOUR TRAPPED KNEE; you can use your free hand to push against his leg so that your knee is above his thigh. You can then drive that knee to the mat, turning his hips to the other side. KEY DETAIL 2: Flatten his upper body to the mat as you’re turning his hips, creating spinal misalignment; bring your free hand so it wedges under his top elbow to help drive his shoulder to the mat and then wedge his head with your head so he can’t rotate it (11:23 to see Prof. Mike do this). Then butterfly your free foot so that your laces connect with his groin/inner thigh on that side and drive yourself north to open his legs & free your trapped shin so you can go into mount.
11:56 - SEQUENCE 2B: SIT ON YOUR FREE HIP AND USE YOUR BOTTOM LEG TO FREE YOUR KNEE. If he’s so strong that your hand will be unable to free your leg, you can use the power of your lower body to do so. Disconnect his shin from your hip and turn to sit on your inner hip. Post your free hand against his knee and scoot your hips away from him so that there is space for your free shin to come in to wedge against his bottom quad. Getting the bottom leg in this configuration allows you to generate more power to free your knee. KEY DETAIL: The instep of your bottom foot needs to be its own wedge against his bottom hip. This will allow you to maintain your dominant position if he tries to bridge into you by either posting your top leg far on the mat to prevent him from coming up or using it as a hook on his top leg to reverse him via a sumi gaeshi (12:40).
14:01 - REVIEW OF SEQUENCE 2A. Remember that as soon as you’ve gotten to mount, immediately shoot yourself down and lace your legs (i.e. get “double-grapevines”) to kill his ability to bridge you off (14:54).
15:14 - REVIEW OF SEQUENCE 2B. KEY DETAIL: Having your top arm under his elbow allows you to get into shoulder crunch for a sumi gaeshi (15:51).
16:24 - COVER HIS SHOULDER WITH YOUR ARMPIT IN 2A & 2B: If you don’t cover his shoulder with your armpit, he is able to use both arms to push against you, possibly so that you’re unable to free your knee. If you find yourself in that position, turn so your knees are on the mat again and pop up to your feet, likely to start passing via knee-cuts. Another reason to cover his shoulder with your armpit is so that you can see where his top arm is, allowing you to maintain dominance as you respond to what he’s doing (e.g. going into the Clamp if his arm is low as he comes up; 17:50). You can also lock up his arm with a single-arm kimura if he has left that arm dangling.
Thanks for posting this
Thank you Cynthia!!!
excellent instruction!
I'd be curious to know how Professor Mike deals with the "locked-in" (Craig Jones) Z-guard configuration???
🔥🔥🔥