Vegas lumps 2

I went back to Master Cavalcanti's class last night for the gi class. He wasn't there, but we were in the hands of a black belt student of his with over a decade of experience, and as per the norm in BJJ I never once felt like a black belt was unsure of anything. The standards of belt promotion in this style are rigourous and based on an instructor's intimate personal knowledge of his student's capabilities. There is no system to game.

I also realized last night right before I tapped out in my third match that I was facing a brutal opponent. The elevation in Las Vegas is about 2030 feet, whereas little old West Hollywood is about 230 feet. Even during the warmup I could tell something was off. I was winded where I'm usually not even breathing through my mouth. I learned quickly that performance is often dictated by how much gas you have in the tank and I've since maintained a pretty high level of cardio, but this was a great reminder of the ramifications of getting lazy. I could tell what my opponents were doing, even anticipate their moves, but I couldn't do anything about it. If I ever travel to compete I'll take elevation into account.

At any rate the instructor asked me if I had any requests since I was the guest. I had watched UFC 108 that afternoon while doing some dum-dum work at a coffee shop and seen a reverse triangle, so I asked for that (I anticipated the question :) ). It turns out I already knew how to toss a triangle that's very similar.

Starting out underneath in side control (assume your opponent is on your right side), you want to place your left arm across his throat. The other recognized "safe" place to have your left arm would be underneath his right armpit, keeping it away from armbars, kimuras, etcetera, while threatening a different escape. But for this move you want to push his head up a little and create space so it has to be across his neck. Pushing your forearm that's across his neck upward will force his head up and be pretty uncomfortable; if he's positioned correctly (looking away from your face) this will cut off one of his carotid arteries, which won't really do anything but annoy him. If he messed up though your forearm might well end up up across his windpipe, which helps force his head up.

After pushing up and getting a little space, you need to bend a rule of BJJ and turn away from the attack a little to free your right arm, at which point you flatten back out. Once you have the ability, you need to use both hands to push his head southward toward your feet, then loop your left leg over his head. At this point you need to keep him from pulling his right arm free. Grab it and keep it. Now you have an arm and a neck, and your right leg is sitting underneath his torso looking bored. Use it by flinging it over your left foot and locking the triangle.

This isn't a simple move. The guy I watched use it in UFC 108 didn't finish with the triangle, but he locked it tight enough to incapacitate his opponent, at which point he took the arm and hyperextended it for the win.