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TFS#59: A Sub For Every Blue Belt
Your Jiu-Jitsu journey is like an hour glass. At the bottom, there’s so much to learn. At the middle, you feel like you're stuck at a certain point. Once you pass the middle, the skills you’ve developed will open up the world to you.
Wayne Terran
June 25, 2023
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At some point in your Jiu-Jitsu journey, you’ll start to see yourself getting into better positions.
But the issue you’re now facing is that you can’t finish your attacks.
And this can be due to multiple reasons:
You’re not staying tight enough, there are still a lot of gaps in your movement.
You’re afraid of attempting the submission in fear that you’ll lose the position.
So there’s two ways to go about this:
Continue to drill the same move until your movement gets tighter.
Explore other attacks and transitions.
If you’re only a few years into Jiu-Jitsu, it’s highly recommended that you take option 2.
At this point in your journey, you want to continue to expand your game and this allows your brain to make more connections to more positions.
The more your mind expands, the more you’ll start understand where you can tighten your movement and thus covering option 1.
Let’s look at one example you can implement…
Getting to top control
I’m someone who doesn’t have the athleticism of a 20 year old and lacks the strength of a strongman.
I understand I have to do what’s best to stay on top and maintain control.
So when I get to a favorable position like top side control or knee on belly, I know a great control point is the underhook, like shown below.
Rolling them over, facing towards you creates many opportunities of attack.
In this particular example: the Kimura is a great place to start.
Keep it tight
Make sure to tuck your elbow down, keeping your underhook secure.
As you step over the head, you can attack the Kimura. But if you’re up against someone who grips onto the attacking arm and has a strong grip, you can actually take advantage of their own grip.
So instead, of the traditional Kimura attack from the top, you'll transition into the Tarikoplata.
The finish
Throw your leg over and start to turn your body towards their head to create the joint pressure.
Another note
A common transition from the Kimura is to drop into a standard Armbar.
But if your transition to Armbar isn’t secure, you’re giving your partner a chance to come up and put you in a stacked position.
You started on top but because of a failed Armbar, you’re now playing from bottom.
That’s where the Tarikoplata is a nice option. If it fails, you’re still on top.
Closing Remarks
To see the full video of the Tarikoplata you can watch it here. Tarik himself breaks it down with more details so you won’t fail!
When building your game, think about the consequences of failing and where you’re putting yourself.
Great grapplers are comfortable transitioning into another position if their attempt fails.
Your Jiu-Jitsu journey is like an hour glass.
At the bottom, there’s so much to learn.
At the middle, you feel like you're stuck at a certain point.
Once you pass the middle, the skills you’ve developed will open up the world to you.
For The Dedicated
→ 3 easy movements to improve your passing footwork.
→ An overlooked essential grip exercise for BJJ health.
→ Watch these side control escapes with commentary to improve your overall bottom game.
→ Finding yourself on bottom side control isn’t fun but this attempt can get you the submission.