Student Objectives:
The student will technically, with tight space, transition from Side Control to the Mount Position.
The student will explore the value of the Crossface and the Underhook while making the transition into Mount.
Teaching Cues:
Good Alligator
Knee Up
Elbow
Spider into the ear
Lesson: Spider into the Ear
The assisting student will start by lying flat on their back with their hands in the home alone position. Their legs should be gently bent with their feet flat on the floor. The practicing student will get into a Good Alligator position with one hand under the head in the Crossface and the second hand chocking the hip, with the palm flat on the floor.
The practicing student will then place their knee that is closest to the assisting student’s hip on top of the belt. This will be difficult while keeping the body close to the floor but can be accomplished by putting weight into the crossface. Once the student has placed the knee upon the belt, the hand that was chocking the hip should be lifted to allow the knee to progress across the belly.
After elevating the knee onto the belt, the practicing student should slowly progress the knee across the belt line until the assisting student prevents the mount position by placing a hand on the knee. At this point the practicing student will take the free hand (the hand that was chocking the hip) and place it inside the crook of the elbow. The hand will then make contact with the floor and the student will slowly peel the hand off of their knee by progressing their arm into a powerful underhook by crawling their hand across the floor via the crook of the elbow. The hand should make progress towards the ear of the assisting student.
This will leave the transition to mount open. As the practicing student continues to progress their hand across the mat in an attempt to remove the hand from their knee, they should also keep their knee very close to the back of the elbow. As the arm is stretched up above their head it should leave a very clean transition into mount.
Possible Extensions:
Pair this mounting technique with the Bull Fighter Pass as it will combine a big space pass with a tight space transition. Practicing the transition from being loose to being tight quickly is important.
Once the assisting student blocks the knee with the hand, the practicing student can trap the wrist (rather than put the hand in the crook of the elbow). This trapping of the wrist can lead to an effective Kimura grip in the North/South position.
Possible Refinements:
Putting the knee on the belt can be difficult while maintaining the chock near the hip. Tell the practicing students to start the movement by slightly shifting their body weight, and feet, towards the crossface shoulder. This should help the movement greatly. Despite good body angle, sometimes body styles can make this part exceptionally difficult, in those instances, have the student start by grabbing the pants on the near knee.
When walking the “spider into the ear”, it is not important that the practicing student’s hand makes contact with the ear. Rather the goal is to get the assisting student’s elbow to touch their own ear. This requires a circular pathway as the shoulder is generally fixed as you move the humerus. If the practicing student’s hand slips close to the armpit of the assisting student, not only will they be able to block the knee by regaining control of their hand, but it will also trap the arm of the practicing student and they will be susceptible to being rolled.
Some students will have trouble with the pathway and placement of the knee. Teaching the student to hook the hip with the foot as the knee progresses across the beltline can help provide some stability in the position, but it also hides the ankle from some of the more common Knee on Belly Escapes.
Reference materials:
Teaching Reflections:
How did I do teaching?
What could I do better next time?
Did the student gain proficiency in lesson material?