Fight Back: Rafael Lovato Jr.
Rafael Lovato Jr. gives a free training session for Black Belt Magazine and Combat Go's "Fight Back" virtual event, in support of COVID-19 frontline responders. To donate to the "Fight Back" campaign - where 100% of proceeds go to support front line responders with Personal Protection equipment, visit the Red Cross donation link here.
Video Transcript
[DRUMS]
- Hey, guys. Welcome to "Fight Back," the virtual training it today. You know, Friday, May 8 is jujitsu. Now, we come in with a guest of honor. Rafael Lovato, which is in my opinion, the most accomplished American BJJ player of all times. And to be honest with you, I know Rafael's story. I know a little bit of him. know the content of this person.
And on hope-- and a-- personally, you know, it's a pleasure and honor to be here right now just to introduce you, because you are a martial arts. You are one of the best representatives of jujitsu that ever existed. I'm not talking about just America, I mean, worldwide. And that's just your accomplishments, winning everything you have won. But mainly the person that you are.
And I think-- I think it's so important and for you to show and mentor people. They're watching us right now. And people get to know you a little bit more, because that's the content of the face much more important than actually, you know, the trophies and medals of your company. So Rafael Lovato, come world champion Gui world champion at no Gui.
European champions, Pan-American champions, Brazilian national champ is, which is something that you have to understand. For the guy to go to Brazil and beat the Brazilians in their homeland, it is equivalent to go to Korea and beat the taekwondo guys and go to Japan and beat the Judo guys and go to Thailand and beat the Thai guys, because the competition. And my opinions may be even worse than competing on the world championships. So Rafael, welcome.
RAFAEL LOVATO: Thank you so much, Master. That means so much to me. It's great to see you again. It's an honor and a pleasure to be here. I really appreciate the invitation. I had my black belt Dallas Niles with me. And, you know--
- Dallas.
RAFAEL LOVATO: --decided to share some jujitsu with everybody, share my passion, share my love. And let's have some fun.
- That's it. That's it. Thank you. Thank you very much. Guys, enjoying it.
RAFAEL LOVATO: So I'm going to jump in now. And guys, I'm able to see you here on the stream on Facebook. So as we're going periodically, I'll check in to see if anyone has a question and just make sure we're doing well. And everyone is following along. And everything's making sense. And we'll just have some fun and go from there. At the end, I'll open up for any random questions-- anything anyone wants to see.
But to kick things off with, I thought I would jump right into one of my most well-known finishes and positions that I've used so much in my career. And that is the Kimura. All right, so I'd like to share with you guys some of my Kimura details and a couple of like, secondary options and transitions that you can do. And we'll take it from there. All right, so let's jump in and get started.
So let's go for inside control. All right, so everyone knows that this is a bad place to put their arm, OK. All across the board, right off the bat, you learn that this is not the place you want to find yourself on bottom with your arm around their shoulder. There is a lot of options for you to isolate this arm and be able to attack, OK, in many different ways, all right.
However, many times, people feel comfortable with their arm being on the side, OK, and their hand being on shoulder and then being able to push you and try to form in their neck, especially bigger guys, they can get away with using a lot of strength and muscle to create a lot of space here and stiff arm your way. All right.
So first, inside of this conversation about the Kimura. We're going to look about-- look at how I like to transition my whole position in a way to where this doesn't affect me as much, all right, because once he starts to extend my arm, it's hard for me to hold his head strong. OK, once he extends his arm, I can't stay close with my head close to his head, OK.
So when this starts to happen, immediately, I want to change my position as a counter to this, all right. And when I change my position, I'm going to isolate this arm and be able to put it in a position where you're keeping where it was going to be right pull, all right? So what I'm going to do when he's pushing me away, the arm that's around his neck, I'm going to take it out. And I'm going to look to bring it over his shoulder.
And while I do that, I'm going to use this other hand here. And I'm just going to kind of block and cut underneath his elbow, all right. I want to do my best to make sure he doesn't get this elbow to the floor to hide his arm as I switch, OK. So I'm just going to kind of block his elbow, let go of his head, and bring my arm over his arm.
As my arm comes over, my hip is going to change. So right now, it's the right side of my hip connected to the right side of his hip. As I swing my left arm over, the left side of my hip is now going to drop right next to his right shoulder, all right, where his chest and his shoulder meets. As I bring this arm around, you see this handle's a part of his elbow. Make sure to get his elbow to the core so my arm can come inside and underneath his tricep, OK?
So here, you can see that I now isolated and trapped his arm, OK. As I do this, since I'm thinking submission and not just holding, I'm going to go ahead and grab my lapels. And it's around his arm. It's going to grab my lapel. So now I just adhere this arm, OK. And this hand can now come to the other side to block and sit, all right.
And it's super important that my elbow is around his shoulder and not next to his ear, OK. I don't want to be too high up here. Now, this arm has too much movement. And if you happen to look-- try to look for underhook, here it is. Underhook can be too strong, all right. So I want to make sure that I'm lower down his arm more by the-- than the tricep and the delt, OK.
From here, though, I have a head on this side still. So I have it nice and track. But my elbow is there right next to his shoulder. And my hip is on the shoulder on the other side. So my elbow and your hip both are in alignment, OK, completely across his chest [INAUDIBLE], very important, all right. Just his style of control in itself is a great way to hold a person, because now, we get to have this arm to deal with their legs, OK.
And it's very hard for him to push me, because he has one arm inside, one arm outside, all right? I want to make sure that when I switch, I don't land under his arm, because now you can have two arms for pushing two arms on the outside, all right? So I always want to have on arm in, OK. And plus, not only for the control, but this gives me the option of attacking some [INAUDIBLE] as well, all right.
So just holding-wise, I love this position. I love to mount from here. I have a lot of control. And I feel like I can stay here for a very long time, OK? So now, let's talk about getting ourselves in position to attack this arm and then look at some of the details of a few more. All right. So I have this great holding position. The arm is right here.
There's really no good place for you to put this arm at this point. All right, it's in a lot of trouble. All I need to do now is make my way over his head, OK. We'll look at a couple of hidden variations. First, we're just going to start by a kind of a simple step over his head. I'm going to change my bass, all right? So my right knee is now going to turn and come underneath his elbow and his armpit, OK.
Let's turn a little bit, go. We see at head, [INAUDIBLE]. My right is now come under, OK. And it's very important, because I want to get this on set beside my legs. So I want to scoop that out a lot to what comes free side, right? As I step over now, take a big step. I'm going to leave my foot on the floor so I can use my toes on my foot to ride. I'm turning to the side. OK.
Make sure your turn into the forward, be able to lead out. [INAUDIBLE] around. It's hard to decline. And you can put these in a developing in a-- [INAUDIBLE] in the para-coordinate attack, OK. I'm going to keep my knee off the floor and use my foot to carry him. Right now, he's only got, OK. And you see how I managed to get this arm inside my legs, OK, far [INAUDIBLE] attack.
All right, that's very important, OK. Now, I'm ready to start to turn and struggle right shoulder so his hand comes right off my head. OK, and I'm ready to now set up my keyboard grip, OK. So, you know, it's very common for people to do the Kimura by grabbing the wrist, all right.
And many times, you can get away with that. But to kind of give you some of the secret details of my Kimura. And how I can break their grip and really kind of prevent him from getting a super strong grip to begin with is when I go to make my Kimura grip, I want to grab concise me. All right-- want to do my best to get as much of this hand as possible. So his palm, try to get my fingers inside his palm, all right.
This is going to be an amazing way to create leverage to break this quick. All right. So make sure you don't use your thumbs. And as soon as you can, start to get his hand. He already makes a little bit of a grip in his belt. Just dig your fingers inside as much as possible, OK, kind of slide them in there. And we make your Kimura grip no thumbs and rotate both of your wrists, OK.
So I'm rolling this one. And I'm rolling to one-- going to hold his hand, all right. Now, we're going to talk about how to position ourselves and create the momentum to break the grip, OK. So couple of things I'm thinking here, all right. Number one, everything is about going away from his grip. OK. So I'm turning to my right,
I don't want to go up, OK, because, you know, I need to get his fingers off his belt. So I need to pull out before I go up and over. If I just go straight up, he can hold this still strong, OK.
The next thing is I want to use my whole body together, all right. So I don't want to raise up and then try to pull out to go up, OK. I need to be connected. Everything needs to be one, all right. You know, really kind of rooting into the ground, and almost like kind of breathing, and prepping, OK, and waiting for your moment to explode, all right.
But everything goes away. And I want to make sure that my elbows stay close to my body and his elbows stay attached to my chest. So once again, I'm not going up, and then forward. I've lost the connection, OK. All right?
The next thing is, you see I keep my toes on the floor, OK. Because to help me as I kind of root in, screw everything in, my wrists, everything, I'll lean forward and take my knees slightly off the mat. And I'm using my toes, just so I get a little bit of momentum, all right?
And if you ever watch any of my matches, you'll see me kind of take, like, maybe a good five to 10 seconds or so and just kind of really screw everything in. I breathe, all right, I start to get my elbows in. Everything's tight. And I'll do about two rocks. OK, so, like, one, and then, on the second one, when my knees go down, boom, I pull everything out to the side. OK, you see his arms stayed attached. My elbows stayed in, all right. It's not my arms, it's my whole body. And everything is just about going away, all right? All I need to do is break the grip.
Once it's broken, now I can keep it tight, and start to bring it over his body, and then down and back to the far shoulder, OK? The more flexible he is, the more I'll rotate my hip, all right, and keep pushing him back until I get him tapped, all right?
So you know, there's two parts. There's getting to the floor position, and then the grip break, all right? Everything comes down to the grip break. Very similar to an arm bar. Create an arm bar position, and then make some sort of defensive grip. All right, we have to break that grip. So everything is just learning and understanding how to basically just make their fist open.
That's all you have to do. If you make their fist open, you're going to get the Kimura. A lot of times people overthink this. And they think, because, you know, they're so strong, and you know-- or they're not strong enough, that they're not going to be able to break the person's grip. But let me tell you, it's your whole body. And Kimura has been my best move-- or one of my best finishes since I was a teenager, and I was already competing against grown men. And getting inside the hand, and just having the vision of how to keep everything screwed in will give you a lot of power with Kimura, all right?
So once again, no thumbs. Rotate your wrist. When you rotate your wrist-- let go for a second. When you rotate your wrist, you're almost going to put them in a little bit of a wrist lock, OK? And this will help them not have such a strong grip, all right. It gives you more leverage, all right?
So I'm really rotating everything, keeping my toes on the mat. For those of you that maybe sit back on your laces, now he can rotate over to his knees. OK, if you ever lose your balance, OK, if this happens, and then you kind of fall off, and look to do some, like, you know, step-over arm bar or whatever, like, a very low-percentage attack there, if that happens to you, I guarantee it's because your toes weren't on the mat, and you weren't driving forward. When I'm here, I'm keeping my body connected [INAUDIBLE]-- if I'm like this, he's going to be able to rotate, OK.
So I'm driving forward, keeping a lot of weight. Now try to [INAUDIBLE] up to your knees. See, he can't do it, all right. I can maintain this position. And then look at my knee. Turn just a little bit this way. Look at my-- my right knee here all right. As I go, I lift it just, like, a little inch. Scoop back here just a bit.
OK, you're going to see, when I go forward, it comes up just like half an inch. And that moment when my knee goes back to the ground is when I explode, turn as hard as I can, OK. So screw everything in, breathe. OK, he's not going anywhere, all right. Get yourself a couple rocks. 1, 2, OK, then I'm going to go on 3-- boom.
Now, I have to finish, OK. If it's super tight-- super, super tight, all right, this is a big guy, a very strong guy, OK-- I'm going to do two quick pops, all right. This is another variation that, you know, if you've studies some of my matches, you've definitely may see me do this. This is how I used it in the Metamoris-- OK, the very first Metamoris, all right. Two quick pops to break the grip. All right, so again, I'm rocking, I'm breathing, I'm prepping, all right. And then when I decide to go, 1, 2, OK. Get it on the second. And then you got the finish, all right?
So let's do the whole thing one more time, other arm. OK, so we were in, like, more of a traditional [INAUDIBLE] try to hold the head. But he's starting to push us away. Just hear my voice. Almost choking myself to try to keep hugging him here, OK.
So I'm going to let go. Start to block his elbow. Change my position, OK. Come down to the-- to the arm, not the ear, OK. Come below. Twist your hip. And now I'm getting my lapel grip with my arm under his elbow, OK.
Even if his elbow happened to stay down, you're still going to have options to look for the Kimura. When he starts to maneuver this arm, and kind of look for a good place to put it, we're still going to be able to find a Kimura, all right? We'll talk about that in a minute.
But the goal would be to not let him get himself off the floor, all right? So I'm going to get my arm under, hold this tight, lock his head. Or you can hold the pants, whatever you like, all right?
Now I'm going to twist and put my knee under his elbow and his armpit, OK, just twist my body. See how my hip switches. So I can take a nice big step-- boom. Drive off my foot and my toes. Bring them over the side. Look, I'm already shrugging forward, OK, starting to make his hand pop up. All right, so the goal would be, as soon as he comes there, I'm already gripping inside his hand, OK. Now of course, the second or two that it takes me to make my lock, he might go ahead and grab something. That's fine. But the point is, I already got [INAUDIBLE], OK?
Stay on your toes. Keep that forward pressure. Start rocking. Breathe, all right? All you have to do is make his fist-- you know, make his fingers go straight. That's it, all right. So don't-- don't overthink about how big and strong they are. This is your whole body versus their fingers.
From here, 1, 2, and on 3, boom, pull it out. And now I can go. If I did it, and he was able to re-grip or something like that, then I know, next time I'm gonna do two. Or maybe you just do two right off the bat just to be safe, OK, two quick pulls, all right? Here, 2, boom, boom. All right, the first one did it, but I did two just to be-- just to be sure, all right, for good measure, OK?
So we're really getting the body mechanics here. We have a nice setup, a nice trap, all right. So many times, when you pass the bar, that arm is already going to be there.
For me, the knee slice or the knee cut pass is one of my best and favorite passes, all right. And so it's so common for me that as soon as I pass, they're pushing my neck, and I go right to this position, OK?
You know, so-- illustrate that a little bit. You guys can see, like, right as I do, like, my knee slice pass, and I'm coming through, this is so common. You end up right here, OK? Maybe he's even blocking my arm a little bit, so I can't even-- can't even get to his head, OK? So look, all I do is I circle this one through and over.
Now [INAUDIBLE]. You know, I didn't move much out. I didn't let him escape. And now [INAUDIBLE] OK? A lot of my Kimura finishes in competition were that exact thing-- knee slice straight to the switch to set up the Kimura, OK. My Brasilero Absolute title, the finals, was exactly that-- exactly that, right up in the knee slice, boom, isolated the arm, and got the Kimura, all right. And that was a guy that was a good 40, 50 pounds bigger than me, all right? Same thing-- it's all in how you create that leverage and, you know, the mechanics and the structure of your body to give you the most power possible and help you open their hand, all right?
So now we've kind of gone-- gone over the, you know, meat and potatoes of the Kimura. I'm going to check in, see if there's any questions thus far. And then I'm just going to touch on a couple, you know, little variations and what-ifs. And then, from there, I'll take an open Q&A for anyone that has a question.
All right, so let me just take a look at my phone and see what we got. It's good to see everybody in here. Got a lot of comments, a lot of people watching.
Right now we're going to just focus on the Kimura. So try to keep your questions about that for right now. And-- and we'll see what happens.
Thank you, Adi Sandhu, for your comment. I'm glad that the Kimura has been-- you know, my details there have helped you a lot.
Yes, grab the weakest part of the hand, exactly. And guys, make sure you keep your eyes on the-- the link that "Black Belt Magazine" posted for the donation, all right? That's why I'm here. It's for the cause, to help our first responders and support the American Red Cross. So if you're able-- you know, if you're learning from me today and you're enjoying this class, anything that you can send their way would be greatly appreciated.
Oh, Carlos Machado showed a similar detail earlier. That's-- that's not surprising. Carlos was my-- my first instructor when I was a kid. And a lot of my inspiration and the roots of these details came from what I learned from him. So not a surprise.
Yes, exactly, Mike Belcher, exactly-- grab the hand, not the wrist. Definitely a big game-changer.
[CHUCKLES]
Only issue you've ever had is getting kneed in the head by a spazzy person. Yeah, that can happen. That's another good reason, though, to really lead down forward, all right? The only time I raise up is when I'm going to break the grip. Otherwise all my weight is going down into their arm, into their hip, OK? So they're really locked and trapped there, you know. And you can stay very tight and not lose your balance.
All right, that's one of the things I get asked about the most, is, you know, they're able to turn over to their knees, and you kind of fall off. If that happens, it's probably because you weren't leaning forward and you weren't on your toes, all right. So do your best to stay on your toes. And that'll help a lot.
I'm glad everyone likes-- likes the details here. So we have a question. Aaron Campbell-- do you like to use the Kimura when-- when I'm on [INAUDIBLE] more control when I move back, OK. So if I'm on their back, yes. If I'm on my back, in the gi, I don't do so much Kimura from the bottom, like a half-guard Kimura. You know, that is something, no-gi, I will do freely. It's one of my best moves in no-gi, in all positions.
But in the gi, the-- the friction, and their ability to, like, hold their belt, or their pants, and that kind of stuff, and the risk that it is for reaching over isn't worth it in my opinion. I'd rather keep-- keep more distance, all right. I think it's much more low-percentage.
But in no-gi, because there's nothing for them to hold on to, it's definitely something that I use a lot. And it's a great-- a great control and a great way to create, like, a multiple-threat position when you're on their back as well. So 100%, all right.
Let me give you guys a few-- a few more details on the side-control Kimura, and-- and then we'll kind of open things up and just look at a couple other fun things, all right.
So let's look at-- let's look at a couple different things. Number one, let's say that they tried to stop me from stepping over their head, all right? So that's one of the best things you can do and think about, in the moment where I get his arm trapped over here, is to do his best with this other arm to keep me from making my way over his head, all right. If I can't get over his head, it's going to be very difficult for me to create the leverage to finish the Kimura, all right. He can stay flat. And so then I can't push his arm behind his-- his back, OK?
So I've got everything set up in traps, all right? And we'll talk about a couple different things. Sometimes they just use their forearm, OK? And they kind of just follow your leg really well, and keep you from stepping over, all right? If that happens-- [INAUDIBLE] if that happens, [INAUDIBLE]. Lean toward his body, OK? Slide off his arm and then [INAUDIBLE]. --my legs but I keep this knee flat. And then towards my butt, and use that to drive over. And then everything's the same, all right?
So that's [INAUDIBLE] all right. A lot of times, [INAUDIBLE]. So [INAUDIBLE] back here, back [INAUDIBLE]. And they are, the more [INAUDIBLE]. Another--
- Rafi-- Rafael.
RAFAEL LOVATO: But you can't.
- I'm so sorry to interrupt you guys. Do you think you can't show disposition turning this way so we can actually hear it? Because it really can't hear anything. Is that possible?
RAFAEL LOVATO: I'm just trying to show the details of what I'm doing with my legs.
- Because this sound-- it's-- the only problem is the sound. We can't hear.
RAFAEL LOVATO: OK, no problem. Can you guys hear me now?
- Yes.
RAFAEL LOVATO: OK. So I'm just going over some details on how to track this arm, because sometimes they're going to stop you from stepping over the head. So I'm sorry you can't hear me as well whenever I'm looking this way, but I want you guys to see what I've doing with my legs, all right?
So the first one, he was just using his forearm trying to block my leg. And then I bring my shin over to create a staple on top of his bicep, all right? And then you do the windshield wiper to-- to be able to free that leg up to step over their head, OK?
Another thing that they'll do if they're not using their forearm is sometimes they'll grab your pants, OK? And once again, we need to break that grip and track that arm before we can step over, all right? So I'm going to show what we're doing here. And hopefully you can hear me at least a little bit, OK.
So I get to the position. [INAUDIBLE]. So now, once again, [INAUDIBLE]. So what I'm going to do when they grab my hands, kind of lift my leg up, [INAUDIBLE] for my other foot [INAUDIBLE]. Now [INAUDIBLE] both of my legs [INAUDIBLE] each other to break [INAUDIBLE] and be able to turn, boom, and now we're on Kimura business OK?
So two-- two different ways to trap this arm and free our leg to step over the head, all right? The one where I used the shin on the bicep is-- is probably one of my favorites, all right, where they grab my pants. It's very common. All right, and so I-- I kind of thread the other leg through to get that arm trapped and break the grip at the same time, all right?
That is the variation I used it Metamoris 1, OK? So one more time, just watch here again. He grabs my pants. I open up [INAUDIBLE]. Then I take this foot, and I come inside. Now I can [INAUDIBLE]. Boom, turn, and we have the Kimura all right?
So a couple different variations in breaking the grip. And then I love where we land, OK? Because we're going to land with his arm trapped under my shin, OK, here. And so this really is, you know-- like, this or this is perfect. We can be here all day and get this [INAUDIBLE], all right?
These are the two ways that I would finish the Kimura, right? I'm never going to try to do the Kimura with this arm out free. Now he can grab this arm. He can push my leg, and get his head out, OK. He has a lot more ability to move and escape with two arms, OK?
So getting that trapped behind your leg or under your leg is a must, all right? And this one, it's probably the way that I use it the most. All right, it's with my shin on top of the arm. And now we're here all day, ready to work on breaking the grip, OK?
So some nice details there, all right? A little more, I would say, like, you know, functionality, OK? Because in the midst of, you know, a high-level training, or a match, or something like that, you know, they're going to feel that you need to step over their head. They're going to feel it coming. They're going to do their best to block it, all right. So this gives you, like I said, that functionality to be able to make this happen at the highest level, all right?
Let's go over one more situation, and then I'm going to check in on some questions, all right? So the next one, we're going to do everything the same, all right? We achieve the isolation. But now what happens-- OK, so we're here. I switch. I have the arm isolated. Everything is good.
But he starts to move this hand past my head early. So before I step over his head, he's already looking to move this arm, OK? And I don't want to let it just roam free. The second that I see-- or that I feel that his hand is coming over, I'm going to look to make my Kimura grip now, OK?
Once again, getting in the hand, all right. And it's-- it's possible we might need to kind of come a little more forward or on top of him so you can reach your wrist with a Kimura grip, OK?
Now we have the opportunity to do a bit of a different variation, all right, where I don't have to go to a full North-South, OK? What I want to do is, first, get his arm on the mat, on the floor, all right? I need to get rid of his grip and take it away from his body.
OK, so think about the same way you pulled the arm away when you're in that north-south position. Do it from here, all right? So once again, I'm not going to go up. I'm not going to go towards the floor, all right? I'm going to pull it out and away first, all right?
And it won't take as much, because this isn't as strong of a position for him, OK? So just kind of slide yourself a little further over. And now, same thing, keep everything tight. Visualize it. It's your whole body versus their fingers. I'm just going to pull up, and then put his arm onto the floor, all right. So I'm going to turn, and I'm going to just pull this up, OK, just like this. And now I'm going to start to take his arm down to the floor, keeping a strong roll of your wrist. This will already start to put some good pressure on his shoulder, OK. And it's very hard for him to straighten his arm. It's locked.
Now, from here, I'm going to switch my base again, and I'm going to step. But I'm not going to bring him to his side-- or completely to his side. All I want to do is just pull him a little bit, OK? And then from here I can take it down in a half-pinch. It won't take much, all right?
So this is another very common variation that I'll use. And sometimes I bait them by just placing my knee on their belly. So it makes them want to come down to block my knee. As soon as I see that hand coming, boom, I grip it, start to lean forward, and adjust my grip, OK?
And then right away, I'm just going to go. And his grip won't be as strong here as what it would be in that north-south position, all right? So I'm just pulling it out and up, OK, away from his grip. And then I'm bringing it over and I'm really locking this strong, all right?
It's very common to-- you know, you can get almost like-- because I'm holding his hand, I can get almost, like, a wrist lock and an arm bar with this. You know, it's just-- it's a game-over position, all right? You can kind of feel what they're giving you the most, OK?
But normally I'm looking for the Kimura. Just want to keep his arm as low as possible, switch my hip, step over, and bring him up enough that I have just that little bit of room, take it down, and get the finish right there, OK?
So that's another nice variation that, once again, I use a lot. And you know, especially like for no-gi, when everyone looks for underhooks, or MMA, you know, everyone likes to put that arm over to the other side, and kind of bridge with an underhook escape. You can find the Kimura grip much sooner in those scenarios, all right, like I said, especially no-gi.
And-- and in no-gi, they don't have a belt. They don't have, you know, cloth to grab. So once you lock that Kimura grip, all you need to do is step over their head, and it's right there, all right. And then we pull them in and go into a complete north-south position, all right?
And just generally speaking, kind of like what I've always said, in no-gi, it is much, much easier to finish the Kimura because they don't have that grip, all right? So you know, that's kind of the beauty of the Kimura. It's one of those moves that's so versatile in the ability to use it on top, bottom, transitions, you know, all over the place. And it can transition from gi, to no-gi, to MMA so well.
So I'm a huge advocate of everyone, you know, kind of developing and bringing a bit of a Kimura game into their overall game, all right. Because you're not going to have those things that are so powerful-- there's only a few moves like that, that give you that much power and ability to apply in so many different scenarios, all right?
So there is my Kimura presentation. Let me check and see if anyone has any questions about the Kimura, and we'll take it from there.
So just kind of scrolling through here, I might touch on the back Kimura in a second. Let me just see--
What-- when they're tight, can you cover that arm [INAUDIBLE]? I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that, Adi Sandhu. Maybe you can try to write that question out a little more to help me understand. Just give me a little more detail exactly what you mean, when they're tight and you can cover the arm-- their arm again. I'm not sure what you mean.
Is there a good way to set this up from mount? Yes, 100%. If you can get the-- like, the hand control or the wrist, you can always dismount to, like, a knee in the belly, and start to create the Kimura in correct position, all right?
So I'll show that, because that's quick and easy. And something that I'll do especially like MMA-- in my MMA training. I never did it in a fight, which kind of-- kind of got me a little bit. Like, I never-- I didn't get a Kimura in an MMA fight. But you know, it's-- it's so easy, all right? Like, there are times where, you know, maybe he's-- he's covering it up, or he's-- he's looking to-- to frame and block, OK. And I can get a good grip and start to pin his arm to the mat, OK?
Or maybe I pinned it this way. And then as he's kind of looking to change, I can rotate my grip and get the hand placement while I'm mounted, all right? And then I can just start-- just start to kind of come off and look to make my Kimura grip as I lean forward and I dismount, bring my leg over between me and the belly, start to make a Kimura grip position. And now I'm ready, you know, to finish in one of these variations, either on the side or by pulling him all the way over [INAUDIBLE], OK.
So really all you need is that-- that kind of mix of wrist and hand grip, and then you're good to go, OK. It's a good-- it's a good option, like, especially in no-gi. MMA, of course, you can just hit him, right? But in no-gi, for the ones that just kind of stay like this in mount, you know, getting that arm separation and isolation opens up a lot more opportunities, all right, because in the mount, we don't have lapels to be able to choke them, OK?
So I always recommend starting to open their arm and get their arm away from their body to open up some other-- other attacks. So a Kimura from the mount in no-gi is freaking awesome.
So, OK, Adi, I think I understand your question more. If they're not pushing you, and they just have their elbows in, then you just got to open the game up a little bit, you know? You got to give them a threat, all right? So if he-- if we're in side control, and he's doing what he should-- should do, and keep everything nice and tight, and he's not really giving me too much, OK, then I need to open up the game a little bit, all right? I need to get a reaction. So this would be a great time to go for knee in the belly, all right? He's hiding his arms and doing, you know, like I said, everything right. He's doing everything right at this point, right, then I want to-- I want to go into a knee in the belly, start to raise up, bring my knee in the belly.
And now I'm going to get reactions, OK? He's going to want to push my leg. He's going to move. He's going to bridge. And now, you know, I can start to shun that wrist and go straight to a Kimura grip. Or at the very least, I can get an underhook, and maybe, like, start to pull him over and-- and create new options, all right? From here, I could go directly to an arm bar. Or I could step over and create the Kimura position. The only thing is I'm going to switch my arms, all right? So once I step over, I can't make the Kimura grip right now, OK, because I have the wrong arm through his arm. So it takes a raise up and switch. Now I can make the Kimura grip, OK?
So take the knee in the belly-- we got to just open up the game, give them a threat to get a reaction. And I guarantee something's going to happen when you go knee in the belly, all right? They're going to push. Their arms are going to start to come out. And we're going to have something to work with, all right?
Yes, OK, so I see Master Laporia [CHUCKLES] is asking a question, which is just a crazy moment for me, all right, to have master asking me a question in regards to jiu-jitsu.
But you know, it's so cool-- just a quick side story. 20 years ago, in 2000, when I was in Brazil, I took private lessons from Master Laporia when I was 16, 17 years old, all right? He had a little academy inside the hotel apartment that we were staying in. And me and some of the other American guys that I was with, we did basically a private lesson-- like, a semi-private lesson, every day, with Master for at least a week. It might have been even longer than a week.
And I learned some stuff that I still use today, from that. So but now I get to return the favor. So other options, right, if you're in a situation where maybe you are 150 pounds, and you got a 200-plus-pound guy, OK, you know, not to say it's not possible, but for sure things can be a little more difficult, all right? It's one thing if you're 200 versus 250 and then 150 versus 200, all right. When you're 150, you're just-- you're a lot smaller.
So we're going to open up some new transitions, all right? And I always just like to preach the oldest combination in the book, all right? Arm-neck, OK? If you're attacking the arm, and it's not there, there's a way to attack the neck. If you're attacking the neck and they're defending well, and you can't get the neck, there's a way to get [INAUDIBLE], all right. That runs true across the board. No matter what position you're in, that's always the case, OK?
So we're attacking the arm. So when you start thinking neck, if it's not there, how can we attack the neck, all right? The easiest way would be to just transition to the back, all right? And we can look to kind of position ourselves in a way where we have some quick-- quick threats that we can use right off the bat, all right.
So-- no, you're good. Stay here. Just go to your side. If I'm struggling to-- to finish this-- this Kimura, break his grip, or anything like that, OK, but like I said, I'm much smaller than my opponent, all right, this is still a great position for me to work to go to. Because now it exposes his back. His back is going to be exposed. It's no longer on the floor. You know, he's on his side. So that means I can get behind him, all right?
So all I need to do is let my-- my arm that's through his arm, I'm going to let that come through a little deeper so my elbow is now in front of his belly, OK? And now I'm going to turn, and I'm going to back-step, all right? So I'm going to back-step. I'm going to fall to my butt. I want to come down, OK, so now I can get my chest behind him. I can be that human backpack already, OK.
And then I can bring my legs back, OK, and start to create a seat belt position, where, you know, I'm ready to start immediately feeding for collar chokes, OK, or at the very least, just prep myself to take his back.
He might turn away, in which case I can hop on and insert my hooks, OK? Or maybe he kind of stays here, and we need to bring him, all right? So I'm going to sit-- I'm going to slide my right leg behind his back, I'm going to sit, and I'm going to lean so I can bring my other foot over and start to a backpack drill-- picking him up, putting him all the way over to the side.
Now, [INAUDIBLE] back to that Kimura grip, OK? Look for arm bars, triangles. All those things can become available right away, all right? So, you know, just use it to transition to the back. All right, and one thing that I'll do is, with this arm that comes through, as soon as I step out, a lot of times I like to bring this hand and come down under their ear, all right.
So now I can get my sleeve on the other side and already be in position to do an arm-in ezequiel, OK? From here, I can just sit, lean back and extend, and I have that ezequiel choke, all right? So just think about, OK, the arm's not there, let's go for the neck, let's go for the back, all right?
Let's turn this other way, just to [INAUDIBLE]. Yeah, roll over. I want you guys to see my back step, all right? Whenever he uses his hand, [INAUDIBLE]. Come around like this, because I need to get behind him. He can put his back back to the mat, and allow him to regain solid defensive position, OK?
So whenever I back-step, I want this leg to come all the way down and my butt to come down. And I start to lower myself. OK, so now I'm getting behind him, OK? And when I switch my legs, I'm going to stay low. I'm going to bring this leg through. And now I have this pressure here, OK?
And you can see how my hand already can come through. I'm ready to attack ezequiel, or just make my seat belt and put myself in a position where, if he turns, I'm ready, put my hooks in, I'm on the back, you know, looking to look for the neck, and maybe even recreate the Kimura position.
I mean, now we're getting into the back world, where there's so many options and ways to attack. But 10o%, if you're in the Kimura position, the back available. So if you feel like they're too strong-- maybe it's early in the match where they have a lot of energy still. You haven't broken them down too much yet. Then just, you know, come out, back-step, and look to open up those doors, to get behind them and attack [INAUDIBLE].
Perfect, perfect.
[CHUCKLES]
I'm getting-- I'm getting questions to go off of questions, to go off of questions. Good stuff, good stuff. Let's see, someone asks, how should Professor Dallas defend the knee/block the knee slice pass so he does not end up in, you know, the Kimura trap position, all right.
So don't push the neck, all right? The only place I feel I can say to extend the arm is against their arm, not the neck, all right? Because I can still switch my shoulders and-- and create that crotch-level position when his arm is in trouble, all right?
So I'll just kind of talk-- talk through it as-- as Dallas is the one that does it, OK? So [INAUDIBLE] come this way a little more.
Of course, as I'm doing my knee cut pass, it would be ideal for him to get his knee in and create a knee shield position, all right? This is going to be the best preventative measure for him to be able to space, lean back, get on his elbow, and get some good framing positioning going on, OK?
If he's too late for that and I'm coming through, all right, he has one of two options, OK? He can keep fighting this. But you know, if I-- if I get him flat, it's time for him to hide his arms and prep for, you know, me passing and making sure he doesn't end up [INAUDIBLE]. If he's pushing me, things can happen, OK? If he starts to-- to bring his elbows in and just protect his head, all right, I can essentially pass his legs, but still have a lot of trouble in-- you know, getting the complete control and making him go flat. I might get some points right here, all right, but you can see he's still in a very solid position. I don't have any immediate threats at this point. And he's protecting his neck, all right?
And if he protects his head well, he can use his right hand to push my arm away enough to give it to my left-- his left hand. Now this is a solid way to push, all right? It's not against my neck, it's against my arm. And now I can have a hard time switching my arm for any other position. And if he gets away enough, he's going to be able to get on his elbow. And now I'm definitely feeling like I'm vulnerable. And I can't keep my hip on him anymore. So I'm going to kind of put my knee down. And that gives him space to recover his legs, all right?
So when he realizes that I'm just too late, it's time to just get your arms in and protect your head, all right? You know, you might expect the guard pass if I get my leg out and I'm here long enough. But like I said, he's safe, all right? I don't have too much of an immediate threat, all right? I might feel like I even need to kind of go for a knee in the belly or something, and maybe let him get his knees in. He can hug this leg with its rear leg, maybe catch me in a half-guard look. Because his elbow was in, he was able to slide it in for an underhook. His arm was here.
When you go up here, now there is no underhook. My shoulder's blocking. I can really smother him, you know? I can get really great position, all right?
So it's just bringing everything in, and trying to focus your energy on protecting your face, all right? And if there's one thing that you can push, it's the arm, not the body, all right?
So you know, that's not even just how to defend the kneed slice. That's just great, you know, defensive skills and concepts that you can apply across the board any time you're on bottom, you know, side control, or as they're passing. In any number of situations, you know, one thing that [INAUDIBLE] and [INAUDIBLE] one thing they always yelled, and just preached at me, and just, you know, drilled into my head is to protect my head, all right?
You know, always protect your head. Always protect your face. Nothing else matters, you know, but-- but this, this world right here, all right? If you can keep everything in, and protect like that, there's always going to be some-- some room and inches for you to, you know, use your elbows, and create space, and eventually recover your guard back.
But at the very least, you know, you're not ending up flat, with your arms far away from each other. Because the more you push, the more that can-- you can fall in a position where that happens. And then, you know, you're not even thinking about escaping because you're already in trouble. And you're worried about your arm, or a sort of choke like an arm triangle or something coming on. And so when things are going bad, bring everything back to home base and just protect your head, all right?
Let's see, how we doing on time here? I think we're-- we're running out of time. Yes. Yeah, just a couple of minutes left. So let me reiterate one more time, please, everyone, donate for the cause. OK, the link is right there, you know, for the donation. If you've learned anything from me today, you know, let's give back to our first responders, even if it's just $5.00, $10, whatever, whatever you can manage. Just do a donation and-- and help out for a great cause. That's what this is all about.
And I also would like to say that if any of you enjoyed these details, love learning from me, and want more access to me, I have my own Facebook group where I post a lot of videos, I take questions, I'm always interacting and sharing things, and you know, just trying to give back. And I'm very happy to have-- have you there in my Facebook group. You can find it at a link. Just go into lovatojuniorfans.com, all right, so L-O-V-A-T-O J-R fans.com. And that'll take you right there to the Facebook group. Of course you can search for it on Facebook. It's basically BJJ Success with Lovato is-- is the name of the group, all right?
But I really appreciate all the-- the great feedback, those who say you enjoyed the techniques and the details. It means a lot to me. I think I covered just about everything in here.
Master Laporia, what do you think?
- [CHUCKLES] Rafael, we-- we can't thank you enough. You know, everybody has to understand that, at this time, it's-- it's a time for unity and-- and sharing especially.
I wish that we had more time and you could share things that I know about you, things that you're actually planning in the future, your past as a high-level competitor in jiu-jitsu, transition to MMA. But the most important thing is your-- your resilience, man and your-- your background in martial arts.
"Black Belt Magazine" is coming up with this beautiful campaign to try to help all the first responders. But beyond anything else for us jiu-jitsu guys, it is a tremendous opportunity to show the world that we are martial arts. And people like you represent us so deeply, you know, so well, through all over the world, with so much content. And what are we going to say, man? This is-- this is-- it's an unbelievable opportunity for all of us.
Rafael, thank you so much. Thank you so much for helping being part of this. And definitely we're going to see each other again. "Black Belt Magazine" is not going to stop right there. I think it's-- and you, whatever we do it, you're going to be involved in it.
RAFAEL LOVATO: Thank you so much. It was an honor, Master. I really appreciate all the kind words once again. It was great to see you again. And [INAUDIBLE] guys all for being here. Please support the cause. And I look forward to seeing you all, hopefully, sometime soon back in seminars, online, wherever.
Just sending my love and positive energy out there. Thanks to my black belt Dallas for the help. You guys take care.
- Thank you so much. Guys, be safe.
RAFAEL LOVATO: Take care, man.
- Thank you.