One of the things I’ve been working on, while the quarantine in effect, is additional methods of teaching through video.

For example, recently, I’ve started making screen capture analysis videos of matches, and today, I worked on the Houston Open match between Roberto Jimenez and Vinicius Carvalho.

You know…

There are three areas of interest for me in that match.

The first is the initial engagement, where both attempted to pull, but Roberto made a split decision that led to him landing in a strong kneecut position on top.

The second is the series of micro battles that occurred after Roberto hit the backstep while in Vinicius’ half guard.

And the last is the specific moment when the grip was set that would lead to ultimate conclusion of the match.

It’s that last element that I wish to delve into a bit amidst this fine (if I do so say so myself) collection of letters and words.

Why?

It’s because the grip was set long before it became an actual threat.

It happened before the guard was passed. Before the back was exposed. Before the back was taken. And no doubt, before Vinicius perceived the threat, and that, my friend, is one of the very best ways to set a trap.

If you want until your position for the attack, your opponent now has to time to assess the situation and perceive the most likely attacks that are possible. They then adjust their defense accordingly, and now you have a fight on your hands.

Psh.

Who wants to deal with that.

In fact, I would suggest that it would be in our best interests to avoid such situations like the plague.

Some of my best finishes come when opponents fails to perceive the true threat in a situation. I call it making them react to the threat, and I have a few setups that fail under that umbrella.

Like:

• My most successful loop choke set up from half guard magnifies the threat of the sweep and then pulls opponents into the web of a neck entanglement.
• In a tournament, I once caught someone in a shockingly tight armbar as they desperately tried to prevent my from taking their back.
• In the mount, I sometimes control the inside space and purposely smother people just so that they will be tempted to hug my waist and pull me to a side just so that they can get breathing room, only so I can unleash a ruthless monoplata on their poor soul.

And that’s not all either.

In fact, relatively recently, I added a whole series of lessons on the single leg x, and within it is a method of concealing an ankle leak in a sweep threat.