Horsetooth Hybrid Grappling Club

Following up from last week’s inaugural #legwrestlingwednesday post, I wanted to share this video mash-up of how to escape the leg ride + power half.

Let me first say that I’ve been watching with deep interest as several prominent BJJ competitors have been promulgating the idea of ‘just stand up!’, versus staying pinned to the ground (whether supine or prostrate) and trying to recover guard. This ‘get up’ exhortation has been greatly informed by the responsibility of coaching MMA fighters.

I’m glad that jiu jitsu is coming around to escaping and recovering to the neutral position–I feel that the seductive nature of the guard has diluted a significant chunk of the ‘martial’ aspect of BJJ. The nascent ‘just stand up’ movement also reflects my own personal journey and redirection toward catch-as-catch-can and folkstyle wrestling.

Speaking of the latter two disciplines, consider that many of the puzzles BJJ competitors and coaches are now trying to solve–particularly on how to get back to your feet–have long been been addressed by wrestling. In fact, imposing rides and trying to escape them are foundational skills of both catch and folkstyle!

Case in point, watch the concluding vignette of the attached clip wherein the legendary John Smith teaches a variation of the escape Craig Jones is demonstrating. From my eyes (which I’ll admit are biased 🙂), the technique Coach Smith is advocating is much more ‘scientific’ and informed from a lifetime of escaping leg rides.

So, my unsolicited advice–if you’d like to learn both how to leg ride and escape from this position, check out what folkstyle has to offer. A wealth of information exists on these exchanges because they are elemental to wrestling and will carry over to jiu jitsu with little adaptation.