I've followed 10nth planet stuff for a while. However, since starting at Vandry's I find myself using the Rubber Guard less and less. It takes a whole mess of work to break down someone's posture like that, and if they have a clue whats going on (pretty much everyone at Vandry's does), they're not gunna let you get your hips high enough anyway. BJJ isn't about outworking your opponent, it's about out smarting him. This post is about stuff I like, not stuff I don't so I'll shut up about Rubber Guard for now.
There are quite a few things that really DO work for me from the 10nth planet system, and I've found myself using quite a bit lately.
In his first book (BJJ Unleashed) Eddie introduced what he called the "Monkey Mount",later in his book "Mastering the Twister", he modified it to a position he called "Gangsta Lean". I actually find myself using both.
Monkey Mount
Quite often in traditional mount, your opponent will T-Rex his arms, and you guys just sit there and look really gay. You don't wanna lose mount so you're really careful going trying to get a hook in on an arm, and you push and push on an elbow trying to get break open that T-Rex. It's not really that fun. You both sit there until someone does something stupid.
Instead of screwing around with all that, throw all your weight right on his head, underhook his elbows and put both feet right on his hips and push. You definitely will break open that T-Rex. Clearly this position isn't as stable as traditional mount, but the point isn't really to stay there, it's to open up that T-Rex to get to work, not to sit around like a goofy lookin' putz. Honestly, I usually don't get swept from this position, because
- it's pretty close to impossible for your opponent to get a good over hook on your arm to prevent you from posting if he wants to buck and roll
- it's tough for them to really buck their hips since you're pushing down on them with your feet.
I never sit around in Monkey Mount anyway though, I use it to break open up the T-Rex so I can get to the neck or isolate an arm or shoulder, or move to the next position.
Gangsta Lean
The other position that I really like is what EB calls the "Gangsta Lean", EB says he modified Monkey because of the instability I just mentioned. For me, the Gangsta Lean is very stable, and I find myself using it a whole lot when I get mount - not just for the stability, but also because it opens up some interesting submissions that aren't as readily available from traditional mount.
So the transition from traditional mount to Gangsta lean is pretty simple. First you'll pull one knee all the way under your opponents shoulder and cross face him (under the head) with the arm on the same side, so that his arm is trapped between your Lat and your thigh. The way EB teaches it, you throw your other foot all the way down by his hip, but I find myself posting my foot out a little farther and sitting toward the side of his trapped arm. I feel even more stable this way. At this point the majority of your weight should not be centered directly on your opponent, it should actually be more (maybe like 70%) on the side where your knee is tucked under his arm. When I'm here, I feel like there's really no where my opponent can go. I'm totally controlling one arm and shoulder, so he can't roll that way. My weight is mostly on the side that he can't roll to, so for him to try to roll the other way he'd have to be Jeff Monson or something. As weird as Austin is (Keep it that way!), Jeff Monson does not live here, so we don't have to worry about that.
Once you've done this, you have a free hand, and he does too... Just get wrist control and pin his hand to the mat. You'll always win this battle since you've got gravity on your side and he can't put anything into it since his shoulders are glued to the mat.
Triangles there for the taking if you want it (pull your leg over the pinned down arm), or I'll go for a keylock on that arm sometimes by releasing my the cross face, but keeping my chest pinned to his face so he can't bring an arm through to protect or roll over.
I also have started to toy with some nice lapel chokes from here, haven't had a whole lot of luck with 'em yet, but it seems like they are there. I'll keep everyone posted.
Happy Rolling,
The Geek in a Gi
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