On September 28th, 2024, I competed in the ADCC Chicago Open Advanced Division.
The event recommends athletes with 4+ years of experience enter the division.
I'm a blue belt with 2+ years of jiujitsu experience. But I make up for it with 11 years of high level wrestling competition.
So why not see how I stack up against game opponents?
A few hours and four matches later, I end up with a 2-2 record, a fourth place finish, and 5 lessons learned.
Lesson 1: Wrist snaps are the easiest way to snap people down
Especially against opponents who love to hang on collar ties. And boy oh boy do jiujitsu athletes love to do that.
A wrist snap is what it sounds like. You take your hand(s) and snap your opponent's wrist(s) down to the mat.
It works well when they extend their arms and lean into you. That's when they're at their weakest. Not when they're bent...at their strongest.
Wrist snaps are an easy way to clear collar ties, make your opponents look silly, and get to your offense.
Lesson 2: The blast double is low risk, high percentage
If you do it right.
There are two ways I like to shoot blast doubles
- By stepping in from a standing position
- From a level change with a penetration step
For both methods, you need to keep your head up, back straight, and hips in.
The goal is to hit your opponent's sternum or chest with your forehead. This keeps you away from any guillotines and makes it hard for you opponent to sprawl.
The blast double ages well because you can step in and do it instead of going down to a knee.
It's the most powerful takedown in my arsenal. That's why I hit it countless times with ease at this tourney.
It can be your best takedown too.
Lesson 3: Use takedowns to get to side control
Takedowns are nice, but using them to get to side control is nicer. Especially against high level opponents.
You may only get one chance in a match to pass their guard.
Passing during a takedown is one of your best bets. It's effort based.
Use that controlled chaos to pass, get points, and work for subs.
I NEED to do this. All tourney I take people down, wait too long, and they get their knees in. I end up with zero control or stuck in half guard.
Half guard is a good start but why not land in side control?
Don't be lazy
Lesson 4: Rumble passing is an effective way to pass guard without putting your legs at risk
I'm not well-versed in leg locks. Especially when it comes to defending them.
I sign up for the advanced divsion and find myself nervous. A good leg locker is going to scoot to my legs and tear my knees apart.
A few weeks before the tourney, I stumble upon Dima Murovanni's Rumble Passing Instructional.
He describes rumble passing as
"Passing the way a wrestler wrestles"
That's music to my ears.
I've been looking for a passing system that mimics my wrestling. Because it'll be easy to add to my skill set.
So what does it look like?
Rumble passing consists of leading with your head, keeping your legs away, and working for wrist control.
You're basically handfighting with someone sitting on their butt, rather than someone standing.
From the handfight you can pass on the outside with wrist control, knee cut past their legs, and more that I have yet to learn.
The goal is to pass your opponent's guard or get them supine.
I end up watching half of the instructional and use what I learn to keep my legs safe. I also manage to do the knee cut on my opponents.
It works well! But my opponents flee to turtle almost every time. That's alright though.
I'm glad rumble passing kept me out of harms way. But, I still lost two matches via heel hook.
Speaking of turtle...let's find out why I got heel hooked twice.
Lesson 5: Do not leave your legs behind a standing or turtled opponent
They will roll into your legs and try to heel hook you! I'm not speaking from experience or anything.
Anyways...in my first match, I'm standing behind my opponent with a body lock. Rather than mat return him right away, I take my time and bam...he rolls into my leg.
My leg lock defense is not something I practice much. So I tap to a heel hook immediately.
Looking back, I recommend circling to the front and switching to a double to avoid any leg lock entries. It will make it easier to land in side control as well.
In my match for bronze, I'm in the same position as my first match. Except my leg is behind my opponent on the ground in the turtle position.
He rolls, grabs my leg, and heel hooks me. And that's all she wrote.
Future Jordan will keep his legs to the side of turtled opponents. He'll look for wrist rides, claws, and hip pulls to take the back and get hooks in.
HE WILL NOT LEAVE HIS LEGS BEHIND STANDING OR GROUNDED OPPONENTS.
If you plan on entering the advanced division, take these lessons to heart.
If you're a wrestler transitioning to jiujitsu
- Make sure you focus on leg lock defense
- Learn how to attack the turtle position
- And learn more wrestling from my courses
P.S. To see the good, the bad, and the lessons I learned from ADCC Chicago Open 2024, watch my matches here.
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