Last week, Ed Perdomo and Johnny Rodriguez moved from the head and arm position into a Straight Armbar. It is a fairly basic maneuver but it also needs to be done quickly in order to be effective. That leaves the question of what to do if something goes wrong halfway through the technique. This week, Ed and Johnny will answer that. When Johnny gets his arm loose from Ed’s underhook control during the transition, Ed must act quickly and make two simple adjustments to turn his Armbar into a vicious Kimura.
As Ed begins moving for the Armbar from last week’s technique, Johnny bucks and rolls then pushes his arm out in order to free it from Ed’s control. To counter, Ed must work quickly and regain control of Johnny’s arm. To do this, Ed uses his inside hand to control Johnny’s wrist, then he feeds his outside hand under Johnny’s armpit to clasp his own wrist, framing a Kimura (LEFT). Ed will then hug Johnny’s elbow tight to his chest.
Ed then turns his body in place as he pushes against Johnny’s wrist. This forces Johnny’s wrist behind his back. Ed keeps Johnny’s elbow pulled tight to his chest, forcing the harm into a 90-degree bend and putting pressure on Johnny’s shoulder (RIGHT). Ed keeps Johnny’s head trapped between his foot and his thigh, and continues to rotate his arm behind his back as if trying to make Johnny put his palm against the back of his head. If he doesn’t tap, Johnny’s shoulder will be completely destroyed.
Recap:
- When your opponent pushes their arm through to free it, take wrist control with your inside hand.
- Feed your outside hand under your opponent’s armpit to grab your own wrist, trapping their elbow to your chest and framing a Kimura.
- Trap your opponent’s head between your legs and rotate your upper body to force the opponent’s arm into a 90-degree bend behind their back.
- Torque the arm backwards until the shoulder pops out of place or you get the tap.
This concludes the four-move holiday arc of MMA Gospel’s Technique of the Week. As always, exercise caution under the supervision of an experienced grappling instructor when practicing these techniques as they are very dangerous and can cause severe injury to both the practitioner and the opponent when done incorrectly or without care.
*Ed Perdomo is a 4th degree black belt in the Korean grappling art of Hapkido and is head instructor of the Hapkido Institute in Morris, Illinois.
