Is Your Grip Game Missing These Details From Travis Stevens!
Posted by Fanatics Authors on
Cross Collar Grip by Travis Stevens
Who is Travis Stevens? He made history by being the third male judoka from the USA to win a silver medal at the Olympic Games. Travis also holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the legendary John Danaher and Renzo Gracie. It is an understatement to say that he is accomplished in both Judo and Jiu Jitsu.
Travis was born February 28, 1986 and is a lifelong grappler. He began training Judo at the age of 6. He competed in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics in the men's half-middleweight (-81 kg) division. On August 9, 2016, Stevens made history by being the third American male judoka to win a silver medal in the Olympics. His other grappling accomplishments include the following: 2nd place at the 2016: Grand Prix Havana. 3rd place at the 2015: Pan American Senior Championships , 1st place at the 2015: Pan American Games Toronto, 3rd place at the 2015: Pan American Senior Championships, 7th place at the 2015: Grand Prix Dusseldorf, 2nd place at the 2014: Grand Prix Zagreb, 1rst place at the Pan American Open Miami, 5th place at the Grand Slam Tyumen, 2nd place at the Grand Prix Havana, 3rd place at the Pan American Championships Guayaquil, 2nd place at the Grand Prix Tbilisi, 1rst place at the Grand Prix Dusseldorf, 5th place at the 2013: Grand Slam Tokyo, 7th place at the Grand Prix Abu Dhabi, 1rst place at the Grand Prix Tashkent, 3rd place at the Pan American Championships San Jose , 1rst place at the Pan American Open Montevideo, 2nd place in Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro ,3rd place in Grand Prix Abu Dhabi, 1rst place in World Cup Tashkent, 2nd place in Grand Slam Moscow , 2nd place in Pan American Championships Guadalajara, 1rst place Grand Prix Dusseldorf,5th place in World Cup Budapest and 5th place in Masters Baku.
Travis Stevens has simple concepts that he applies to his throws, take downs and guard passing. His approach is simple, and makes him one of the best grapplers ever.
Stevens is an excellent teacher. On January 12, 2013 he opened FUJI Gym in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He spends the majority of his time teaching there. He also teaches at Renzo Gracie Fort Lee in New Jersey. When he is not teaching, he regularly trains at Renzo Gracie Academy in New York City. Another testament to his ability as an instructor is the fact that his instructional videos for BJJ Fanatics are hugely successful.
In this video, Travis Stevens explores two different types of cross collar grips. While both grips may look the same to the untrained eye, they have radically different purposes and have different details. The first cross collar grip is an aggressive grip. Stevens states that our opponents should feel the motion. The top part of our wrist where a watch would be should touch our opponent’s shoulder and our elbow is framed against their chest with the elbow curled in. Travis notes this framing is done for defense and it prevents our opponents from taking our back. This is a great set up for ankle picks, double legs, firemen carries and other take downs. The second cross collar grip is done to off balance our opponent. Stevens likens it to stealing our training partner’s gi. A crucial measure of the success of version two is our training partner’s head movement. One important detail that Travis notes is that our elbow should be high and blocking our opponent’s view. If we keep the elbow low then we are easily countered. Well done Travis. These details will surely fine tune our take down arsenal.
This video is a wonderful example of Travis’s ability to communicate technique to even novice grapplers. Like all of Stevens’ instructional videos, there is a lot of detail. I know that I often gain new insights every time I re-watch one of his videos. Travis Stevens’ instructional videos have a powerful impact on anyone who makes a careful study of them. Certainly, the Jiu Jitsu community is lucky to have him.
If you enjoyed this video by Travis Stevens, check out his new series Magic Guard Passing. You can get it here at BJJ Fanatics!
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