Gordo Seminar

Americana from Side Control:

• I'm in side mount.
• I need to clear the near elbow first. 

• I bring the leg closest to B's head to his hip and with my knee, follow his body to clear the arm. 
• My right hand gets a palm up grip on B's lapel.
• I bring my chest down to B's body and drive my right shoulder into B's forearm/elbow.
• I bring my shoulder down towards the mat, forcing B's arm to open.
• My left had grabs B's wrist and does an Americana.

Double Armlock

This starts off from the move above when you drive their arm to the mat.

• B swims their arm out to avoid being Americana'd
• I bring my right hand to my neck and pull B's other arm up in a kesa gatame position
• I bring my right leg underneath B's right shoulder to keep them elevated
• I step my left leg over. Driving B's right arm over their body, trapping it.
• My right hand transfers to B's tricep and I dig my right elbow into B's solar plexus. I use my head and shoulder to keep B's left arm trapped.
• Depending on how B reacts will determine which arm I attack.

Kimura

• Both my arms are over B's body. I use my right hand to push B's left elbow to my left. 
• My left ear comes next to the elbow and push it into my left bicep.
• I grab my lapel with my left hand.
• My right elbow and right knee block B's hip
• I step my left leg over to north south. Both my knees are pinching B's shoulders.
• My  right hand block's B's right hip
• My left forearm drives into B's armpit.
• I drive my body forward forcing B's arm to straighten out and clear past my head.
• I grab a kimura grip
• I grab B's belt to secure the kimura grip.
• I switch my base. Applying force with my left bicep and forcing B onto his right side.
• I place my right hand behind B's head and force his head forward. Creating space.
• My right leg comes up to lay against B's back. 
• I take the back.

• Once I have the kimura grip with the belt. I step my right foot into B's right armpit and bring my foot back
• I trap B's right arm in between my calf and thigh.
• I pull B's right arm.
• I fall onto my left side. Extending my left leg straight.
• I triangle my legs.
• I push B's right arm in a shoulder lock.

Guard Pass: Long Step

From the step over position where one leg is trapped. My right leg is in between B's legs. To do the longstep I switch my grips so that my left hand has a same side collar grip near the chest and my right hand goes to the inside of the same side knee. My left leg comes in close and almost pinches B's leg in between both of mine. My left elbow touches the mat first and once it touches I switch my hips so my left hip hits the mat as I kick my right leg up and out hard. My right hand pushes against the inside of the knee to stop B from coming back into me.

Guard Passing: Reacting after the Pass and Clock Choke Attack

We drilled a reaction off passing guard. A common reaction done by the bottom person is to shrimp out and face the top passer. We simulated this position by doing an X pass off the Reverse De La Riva hook. Pretend I am passing to my left side. Once I get around the legs, B shrimps out and is facing me. My right hand goes to B's top shoulder (their left) as my left foot steps toward the head. This creates an angle where my hips are facing B's head. From this position I take a big backstep with my right leg and drop my left elbow into the space under B's left armpit. My left hand grabs the cross lapel and my right hand grabs the back of the lapel with 4 fingers in. My left knee is bent with my foot flat on the floor and my right leg is extended.

I want to transition so that my right shin come across B's back with my left leg out or in. From here I can attack the back.

A transition we worked on is after backstepping, B would turn away to their knees. We are looking for this reaction as it opens a clear path to shoot my right leg in and take the back.

An attack off this position is to attack kimura on B's top (left) arm. A reaction for them is to grab their own lapel or belt. From here I release the kimura grip and grab my own lapel with my left arm to trap B's arm. My right hand untucks B's lapel and once I have the lapel loose I pass the lapel from my right hand to the left keeping B's arm trapped. I then switch back to my position behind their back and use my right hand to get a collar grip and attack the clock choke.

Clock choke variation: Instead of going with my head down on the mat I can bring my hip in behind B's head in a movement similar to kesa gatame. From here I just walk towards the head like a traditional clock choke. This idea behind this variation is to address the possibility of being rolled which is something that sometimes happens when doing the traditional clock choke.

I assume that the back can still be taken with these grips.

Half Guard Submission: Loop Choke from the Top

This submission was taught from top of half guard, but I assume that it can be done from side control as well. When on top I make sure I have good shoulder pressure. My hand that would underhook passes the lapel closest to the head to my head control hand. From here I pass. A key detail is isolating B's near side arm. From this position I bring my head to the mat where my knees were as I walk towards B's head. If I I having trouble finishing the choke I can do a forward roll.

I think a detail of the choke is not having it too loose. I felt that if my hand came behind the head the choke would be lost.

Escape: Side Control Concept

Sometimes when stuck in side control, shrimping and turning into the person are very difficult. One of the better options is to use my hip bump or bridge to create space. When I hip bump I bring my knee to my elbow and use that connection to create a barrier. My free leg can go over the back to help me face the top person. I then use my free leg and bring it across the top person as a knee shield to create space. From this position I extend my body out, bringing my upper body away from the top person. The arm that would block the cross face can post on the ground and I can elevate my body off the ground and close the guard.