Get Creative With Your Arm Triangle Entries with Neil Melanson

 

Jiu Jitsu is just as much of a strategic game as it is a physical one. Being strong will take you so far, but proper technique and understanding of the art is equally if not more important. Understanding how to get your partner's body in a position for you to attack is just as imperative as finishing mechanics.

Getting to a place in Jiu Jitsu where you are able to think steps ahead of your submission, setting it up exactly how you want it requires discipline and time in your training. So much of submission opportunities come from reading your partner, and predicting their reaction.

In this video, Neil Melanson demonstrates a pendulum to an arm triangle, basing his technique off of purposely causing his partner to react a certain way. Check it out below!

 

Neil begins this demonstration in closed guard. Neil makes a point about the importance of drilling techniques like this with real reactions. The goal for this technique is going to be using wrist control to prompt your partner to post when you go for a sweep. Neil says that he dislikes when someone just rolls onto their back when being swept because it's just not realistic. In live training or in a competition, if someone has the opportunity to make a post to avoid being swept, they are going to do it. When drilling a technique, a partner should use their instinctive reactions so both parties can get a real feel of what may happen when using this move in a competitive situation.

He states that the first goal for this technique is going to be to gain control of both of your partners wrists. From here you can work to start pulling your partner forward, and then open your guard and start hip escaping out a bit to create some space, and play an open guard with a foot on the hip, curling your other leg around the back. Once you have created some space, you are going to let go of one of your partners wrist, lift your hips and use your now free arm to begin to pummel under your partners leg.

From here you can probably tell a pendulum sweep is what’s coming. Once you have pummeled under the leg, you start bringing your partner forward. Here is where the reaction comes. The side where you have wrist control is where you are going to be pulling your partner. For him to avoid being swept, he is going to have to reach across your body with his free hand to post. This is where you get to begin to attack your arm triangle.

Once your partner has posted, you are going to let go of the wrist control you currently have, and use that arm to go under his arm and around his head. From here you free your other arm which you used to pummel and use it to push to get your hips out so you can lock your guard back up. To finish, get your figure four, lock it up, curl and squeeze.

Neil reiterates that the objective from this position is to make them post across, on their own. He shares that he has seen Gordon Ryan accomplish this using arm drags and other techniques which could also work very well. The pendulum sweep is a great option because it is highly likely they are going to post to avoid getting swept, however if they don’t you still land a clean sweep.

Grappling master Neil Melanson has over 20 years experience in grappling and MMA. He is a Hayastan blackbelt under Gokor Chivichyan, and is one of the most sought after coaches in the MMA world. Neil also specializes in catch wrestling, and has a dedicated commitment to coaching, as well as training law enforcement officers with their defense tactics.

Neil has over a dozen instructionals, and focuses primarily on mastering the arm triangle choke in this particular instructional. Additionally, you can expect to find techniques covering the one hand concept, mount and grapevine setup, shoulder lock from Kesa Gatame, north south chokes, Von Flue chokes, and so much more.

Don’t miss your opportunity to take your skill to the next level with one of the most sought after grappling coaches Neil Melanson, check out his instructional here!

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