First Day of Training At Marcelo Garcia's Gym: Analysis

So first things first i suppose. MMA grappling and pure Bjj are so very very different. I tried jumping right into a Fundementals level 2 class and felt like i was wasting the instructors time. However the instructors there are EXTREMELY helpful and willing to teach. It also happens to be that the guy i was rolling with happened to be someone who was on the same level as me. So being the two novices we were separated and we were taught how to properly apply an armbar from mount and an americana as well. For more details see after the jump but overall, the experience was amazing and am looking forward to somehow scraping enough money to get a monthly membership.

Well ill jump right into the analysis then. First I'll start with the Armbar- the position was that I was in mount on my sparring partner and he was pushing both hands into my chest to as if to push away. In this example, I will be using the Armbar on his right arm. So while he pushes on my chest, I create almost a circle around his left arm with my arms and body. I placed both of my hands over the center of his chest (almost a CPR position) with my left arm over his and my right arm under. I posted my right foot to the side of his head while simultaneously shifting my left knee next to his ear. in this position my hips were perpendicular to his body as well. I then leaned forward over his body for balance in order to place my left leg over his face/neck area while holding his wrist with my thumbs pointed up at the ceiling. At this point, I fall back on my butt and apply pressure to get the tap.

The other submission I learned was an Americana shoulder-lock from mount. The position begins with me in mount on my sparring partner and he is protecting his arms by locking them up to his face (or in MMA terms, blocking as best as one could when you have a shitty ground game). I was pointed out what not to do first which would be to pull the arm towards me because the natural reaction of the opponent would be to pull back. Instead, I was taught to grab hold of the wrist, in this example the left one, with my right hand and with my left hand, I gripped his arm up towards his left elbow. Then I straightened up my arms and leaned with all my weight down on the arm forcing it to the mat. I then dropped my right elbow next to his ear while still gripping his arm with both hands. After I have this control I snake my left hand under his arm to lock up the submission. However instead of lifting off the ground, I was told its easier and smarter to just move it downward and that would be more then enough to elicit a tap from most opponents.

After this the instructor told us to go talk to the woman at the desk who turned out to be incredibly helpful (as well as a black belt with 11 years of experience). I also had the privilege to once again meet Marcelo as he came over to introduce himself to me which surprised me, to be honest, that he took the time to do that. I'm really looking forward to going back tomorrow to continue training and hopefully somehow scrape enough money together to pay for it. Everyone there is friendly and helpful and I would love to be a part of it. The thought of training every week in that school really is awesome and I recommend that school to everyone and anyone. Until tomorrow then, enjoy the article.

P.S. I hope I did a good job describing the techniques I learned.