High Guard Sequence

Good to get back on the mats after taking 3 days off.  Worked with Dave again today on a sequence involving the high guard, and using it to set up an attack with the pendulum sweep to mount, armbar or triangle.

1. Start with my partner in my closed guard
2. Use my left hand to establish a cross collar grip on this left collar to threaten the choke and to break his posture.  The part I always forget and that it was good to review, is that when threatening this grip, to exaggerate the supination of my hand so that the blade of my radius is against his carotid…. a very uncomfortable feeling.
3. My right hand should grip is right sleeve and pull it towards my right side, trying to get his elbow past my umbilicus, while my left hand is continuing to threaten the choke and break his posture.
4. Then open my guard so that I can establish a high guard.
5. From this position I can attack his right arm with an armbar by using my right hand (after it lets go of his sleeve) to underhook his left leg to further make my trunk perpendicular to him.  My left hand lets go of the choke (unless I can get a complete choke), and grabs his right wrist for the armbar.
6. Unlock my legs and swing my left leg out.  Here I can go for the arm bar by throwing it over his head.
7. But if he heavily defends, I can switch to a pendulum sweep by shifting my hips 45 degrees to my right to get in off base and then scissoring my legs and using my right arm  to push (with underhook of his left leg) to go into mount.
8. Now if I want to set up for a triangle instead, before I threaten the pendulum sweep, I first let go of my left hand grip of his right arm.  Then when I attack with the pendulum sweep his right arm is free to post.  Once he posts, I can attack with a triangle, throwing my left leg across his right carotid and locking the triangle (I need to always remember to extend my hips after my legs are locked to help shift his left arm across my umbilicus, and if I need help to get my body perpendicular to him, I can use my left arm to underhook his right leg to help pull my trunk).

We also went over how to attack with an arm triangle from the half guard on top.  He does it a little differently than I’ve seen, and I end up on the same side of his arm that is trapped, and then try to lay my body completely prone, with belly on the ground.  The key to get the lock is to get his right carotid exactly and as deeply into my left antecubital fossa (nook of elbow) as possible.