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Countering Pressure with Tom DeBlass
Tom DeBlass is no stranger to the role of pressure in one's life. Tom DeBlass is curently a world-class jiu jitsu competitor, a former multi-title Ring of Combat champion, Bellator and UFC veteran, a successful business owner and a leader of a growing jiu jitsu affiliation. But Tom's life was not always filled with these successes. As a child, he witnessed his father battle drug addiction and has lost close friends to violence. From the crushing impact of these events and his years training combat sports under the likes of Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida, Tom has been able to forge a competitive fighting and grappling career that finds him currently preparing for the upcoming ADCC world championships in Finland in September of this year.
In the documentary video below, profiling Tom DeBlass you will hear directly from the man himself about his early days as a competitive athlete in high school and how set backs eventually led him to combat sports and jiu jitsu. It's clear that the pressure of setbacks only serves to motivate and almost like a metaphor to his favorite position, half guard he is able to withstand those challenges, countering them to his own advantage.
Recently during a routine shopping trip to a local WalMart in New Jersey, Tom came face to face with an out of control intoxicated man who initially confronted Tom and wanted to fight. This video which would eventually go viral and be featured nationally by networks like CNN, show that with over 15 years of competing in jiu jitsu at the highest level, it is ones ability to remain calm and diffuse a high pressure scenario that ultimately wins the day. The pressure of the moment is nothing for Tom as he empathizes with the man and ultimately helps him.
Half guard is one of the most dynamic positions in BJJ. Whether from the top position, controlling your opponent and crushing them with your downward and forward pressure, to pass, mount or submit your opponent, or using powerful framing techniques from the bottom to escape that same incredible pressure, the half guard is a position that is crucial for your development.
To learn more about how dynamic half guard can be as it helps to negate size and weight advantage, check out this article from BJJ Fanatics here.
Tom DeBlass has been developing his approach to half guard since he was a blue belt. That's nearly 15 years of experience perfecting a position that he has used effectively on highest stages of grappling competition, like the ADCC and IBJJF world championships.
In the video below, Tom DeBlass shares several ways to maximize your efforts in bottom half to take away all of the opponent's tools they need to smash you.
Half guard is a position that can either impose or deflect an incredible amount of pressure. It's no accident that this position has become a staple in both the top game and bottom game of Tom DeBlass. Like his own ability to overcome the challenges and injuries he faced as a young athlete, half guard makes it possible to overcome the most difficult of circumstances.
There are people who don't believe there are secrets in BJJ. Tom DeBlass for one, says there are and here in his 4 DVD "Half Domination" series, he is going to share the secrets which have made him a master of the half-guard from both the top position and bottom. It is available on sale today for $77!
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