Workshop Review 2

March 15th 2010

Technique

Triangle

Today we did a further review of the workshop held by Henrique Santana with a focus on the Triangle submission.  We warmed up with some flow-rolling and again drilled the arm bar and scissor sweep.  As we had more time than in the workshop we were able to break down the technique into its component parts.  There are many way to teach the triangle, with the closed guard opportunity either arising from an attempted guard break or something you initiate yourself.  We trained it from both perspectives but used a series of 'steps' to execute the technique:

1. Catch

After you have isolated an arm the hips explode to allow the legs to catch above and behind your opponent's neck.

2.  Close

The isolated arm is brought across your opponent's body and the legs are closed to secure the position.

3. Angle

The optimum position for the submission is perpendicular to your opponent, not head on.  By grabbing your shin which is across the back of the head of your opponent with you hand you can maintain the position.  The other leg can then be used to help push you round to create the angle. You can also use your other arm to underhook your opponent's leg to help gain this angle.

4. Submission

Two options here.

A. Once you have the angle you replace the leg, maintain the underhook and pull your own shin.  The hips are then brought up to create pressure on the outside and back of the neck which cuts of the blood supply to the brain.

B. You can also opt to pull the head down whilst raising your hips to create the same pressure.

5. Variables

There is often much debate about the correct application of the Triangle.  Some advocate pulling the head, and others stressing the angle is the 'correct' way to apply the submission. Ryan Hall favours the above approach and he popularised the above 'steps'.  Through experience we have even seen that the angle can result in a submission without the need to pull anything. 

Our view is that if you can secure the angle then this allows for an easier submission, but if the opportunity to submit by pulling the head arises, even without the angle, then take it.

We finished the six three minute rounds of positional sparring, from the closed guard.  The idea here was for the person in the closed guard to execute the scissor sweep, arm bar or triangle.  Whilst the person on top attempted to open the closed guard and pass.