Creating Angles in a Street Fight with Chad Lyman

One of the top reasons people give for starting their BJJ journey is for self-defense. 

As a martial art, Jiu Jitsu is really only useful if it can be applied to neutralize a threat in real life.

Of course, that focus on real life situations sometimes gets blurred as we progress through our training and we spend more and more time rolling with training partners who are also experienced in Jiu Jitsu.

Rolling with teammates will definitely sharpen our BJJ skills, but it's not the situation that we would face in a street fight, where an opponent would likely be more interested in throwing punches.

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Chad Lyman's upcoming video series with BJJ Fanatics attempts to fill that gap by applying grappling techniques to real-life situations.  In the video below, Lyman discusses the importance of creating angles in a street fight and teaches us how to do it.

Most of us know, from rolling, that creating advantageous angles is important.  But we might not know how to do that against a standing opponent.  

Lyman begins by closing the space between himself and his attacker.  As his opponent throws a punch, Lyman blocks the punch and moves into the space that has opened up as his attacker extended his arm (2:02).

As soon as Lyman makes contact with his attacker, he begins to think about creating an angle.  By establishing an underhook and reaching around and behind his opponent's arm, he can begin to control his attacker's body and work him into a position perpendicular to him.

Lyman also uses his other hand or arm to push or frame against his opponent's head.  By limiting the movement of his opponent's head, Lyman has limited the movement of his body.

Another option would be to use your head to control your opponent's head while you control his far arm with your free hand.

All of these are advantageous positions for Lyman where he has his hips facing his attacker while his attacker's hips are facing away.  

Mobility is key to creating these angles and closing the distance.  A defender cannot simply stay in one place.  Instead, he must take steps (literally) to close the distance and create the angle he needs.

While Lyman's short stature makes his preferred approach an underhook, he also shows us how a taller defender might use an overhook to create an advantageous angle (3:45).  In this case, though, nothing else changes.  Lyman still has the same options for controlling his opponent's head and/or free arm.

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Next, Lyman demonstrates these techniques in a sparring situation where his attacker continues to press forward.  At one point, Lyman uses the angle he's created to slip behind his opponent and take his back (6:11).

Overall, many of the principles Lyman uses in his defense are the same as we use on the ground during rolling.  However, it's a good idea to practice them on our feet, as well.

Watch Lyman’s demonstration below:

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