Tag: David Avellan

The Under Hook Pin

September 27, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

This is one of my favorite ways of pinning someone from top half guard!

It is easy, and comes right off your passing game. When done right, it can also lead into a guard pass and an even stronger pin – the Crucifix.

This is just one of the pins that we cover from my brother’s instructional course, MMA Pins. If you want to see more awesome pins like this, make sure to check it out below:

MMA Pins DVD & Online Course: https://ffacoach.com/product/mma-pins-online

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Smash the Z-Guard and Pass

September 20, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

Often times when you go to Knee Cut, your opponent will put up the China Wall or Shin Shield to block you.

Other times, you are just fighting against a Z-Guard that can be really frustrating to work against.

My solution – the Sprawl Pass. The goal here is to detach and pin his shield to the ground, letting you score a pass around the back. I have a lot of success with this particular sequence and I’m sure you will too!

Everyone should be a top player

September 11, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

#TrueTalkTuesdays 5

Everyone should be a top player.

As sport BJJ has blown up, we have seen many athletes who have specialized in being “bottom players.” They specialize in closed guard, half guard, turtle guard, 50/50, etc. They will sit to guard and butt scoot their way around the mats. I have seen competitors race to the bottom by sitting immediately, where it is uncertain who is top and who is bottom.

Submission only tournaments, like EBI, have allowed these types of players to thrive, as they do not fear losing by points and embrace the bottom positions more. As someone who started martial arts for self defense purposes, this trend seems like BJJ jumped the shark.

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The Reaper Pass

September 6, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

Butterfly guard can be tricky to work against, so it pays off to be trickier. 🙂

I came up with this pass LONG time ago. I don’t know the exact moment at time, but I just know at some point I started doing this and teaching it.

I have never seen anyone else do this, and I have had a lot of success using it. Sometimes you can jump a quick arm bar, but at the very least you will have knee on belly. It’s great because you take advantage of everyone’s natural tendency to hold on to your head.

Note: Jitseasy calls this the “Steering Wheel Pass” because this pass is very similar to it though applied with the Gi

Always fighting to win can cost you long term

September 4, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

#TrueTalkTuesdays 4

Martial arts is a competitive sport, so winning and losing can become important – especially if you have a big ego.

Winning is nice. It is an affirmation that you are doing things well.

Losing is okay. It lets you know that you need to make adjustments in your game.

They both have their place, but when your ego gets involved, it puts the blinders on and focuses purely on winning. It can make you fearful of losing, and start playing conservatively. Or, your ego just sees you at a certain position on the totem pole that requires you to beat x, y, and z to maintain your “status” at your academy. Sometimes you just get hooked on “winning” and don’t care about anything else.

What’s the problem with this?
When you are focused on only winning, you will naturally play your “A-Game” – your best techniques and strategies. This is great for competition and self defense scenarios, but not for growth.

Why? When you play your A-Game, you will not learn as much when sparring – especially if you have a lot of experience playing it. It is a game of diminishing returns. So the more time you spend using your A-Game, the less you will learn from it.
As a martial artist, our goal is to be prepared for any situation in combat. But when we play only one type of strategy, we are not working on rounding out our game. As a result, opponents will start to figure out the holes in your game and exploit them over time. You can see it in the fight world, where people who are once unbeatable get a hole exposed and then suddenly take a big fall.

The greats of our sport are always working on new skills, and evolving. That is why being a champion is hard. Everyone is studying you and trying to figure out how to beat you. The longer you are champ, the more they have to study. This is why evolving is very important. It keeps your opponents chasing the “new you” as you evolve. So they are always a step behind, as they can’t know whats changed until after the fight (unless they have a spy in your gym, which happens lol).

TLDR; The goal of training martial arts is to improve your ability to defend yourself from as many scenarios as possible. The bigger the improvement, the better the training. So if you have been using the same strategy for awhile and making it work well, switch to a new strategy. You will probably lose a lot initially, but eventually you will develop proficiency and fill that hole in your game and in the process you will learn a lot more.

So do not be afraid of losing, especially in training. In competition or self defense, use your A-game. But in training, allow yourself to use different strategies, techniques, and positions. It will make you a more well rounded martial artist.

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Butterfly Guard Hook Switch to Knee Cut

August 30, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

Butterfly guard can be a very dangerous guard to work against. There are a lot of submissions, sweeps, and stand up opportunities for the bottom player.

That is why you want to cut the wings of that butterfly as quickly as possible.

The best way of doing that is by using the Hook Switch. This is when you remove one hook and pass their other hook to your outside hip. This puts them in a really bad spot that you can then pass with ease.

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The Kimura Pass from Half Guard

August 23, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

I am very well known for my Kimura game, so it should not surprise you that I have a Kimura Pass from half guard. 🙂

This is one of my go to passing sequences. I can setup this Kimura Pass on just about any one – especially if they are trying to be aggressive bottom player.

What I love about this pass is that:

1. It distracts your opponent
2. Pins your opponent
3. Gives you a submission option after the pass

The Kimura Pass from Half Guard

August 23, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

I am very well known for my Kimura game, so it should not surprise you that I have a Kimura Pass from half guard. 🙂

This is one of my go to passing sequences. I can setup this Kimura Pass on just about any one – especially if they are trying to be aggressive bottom player.

What I love about this pass is that:

1. It distracts your opponent
2. Pins your opponent
3. Gives you a submission option after the pass

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Chop that stiff arm from blocking your Stack Pass

August 16, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

The stack pass series is a powerful way of passing with pressure. It doesn’t require speed – just solid technique and massive amounts of pressure to melt your opponent.

When stacking (either double or single), a common defense is to post their arm on your hip. This makes it difficult go generate the amount of pressure needed to finish. That is when this technique comes in handy – the post chop.

Watch the posture my legs adopt (I call the flamingo pose), as it is vital to get the best results.

Lost the Half Guard Under Hook Battle from Top? Good!

August 9, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

Winning the Under Hook battle from half guard is an important part of controlling the position.

As the bottom player, your sweep game opens up, submissions, and escapes are all possible with that under hook.

As the top player, it always you to easily flatten your opponent and passing becomes much easier.

BUT, it is not everything. In fact, sometimes I like it when they get the under hook, because I can use this sneaky pass we call the Fantasma Pass – the Ghost Pass in Spanish.

Inside Trip from Russian 2 on 1

August 2, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

The Inside Trip is a great take down that when hit right will floor your opponent and remove any possibility of scrambling out.

Why?

Because you will land inside their guard, so it is very difficult for the bottom person to scramble when you are between their hips. While it might be the highest scoring position, if you are dealing with a feisty person that is hard to keep down, landing in the guard is ideal to secure top position.

The Russian 2 on 1 is a great position to hit it from, as you will be able to remove their arm completely out of the way – giving you a clear path to hit your inside trip.

How To Escape From The Kimura Trap – BJJ Escapes

August 1, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

Kimura Trap From Top Half-Guard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXiePSwNGSA

Professor Gustavo Gasperin teaches how to escape from the Kimura Trap.

Throw by from the Russian 2 on 1

July 26, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

Most clinches in wrestling come naturally. Head and arm, Over Under, and Under Hooks are pretty easy to get by accident.

The Russian 2 on 1, however, is not something you stumble upon by accident. Untrained people generally have no idea what it is and how to deal with it, so it gives you that south paw edge if you learn it well.

One of the first techniques every wrestler learns from the 2 on 1 is the throw by. It is simple, effective, and easy to setup – my favorite type of move. 🙂

Cross Knee Block from Over Under

July 19, 2018 by Gary Berger Leave a Comment

I remember when I first learned this back in high school I thought it was a bull crap move. It looked like it wouldn’t work.

That is until I actually drilled it and quickly learned it works quite well!

The key to the Cross Knee Block is to get the opponent to move towards the knee you will block. This doesn’t work statically – you have to create momentum by turning your opponent.

As a bonus, you can easily land right in an arm bar after the take down. 🙂

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