Key Takeaways
- A No-Gi BJJ DVD instructional deconstructing the straight arm bar submission.
- Contains setups, mechanics, configuration variations, and follow-ups.
- In-depth information on how to create a full game centered around the Ude Gatame.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 10 out of 10.
GET MASTER THE MOVE STRAIGHT ARM BAR JOHN DANAHER DVD HERE:
John Danaher is switching gears again in terms of the subject of his instructionals. I started to get a bit bored with his latest releases, but he definitely brought something fresh to the table in his latest release, titled Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD.
As the name suggests, it is all about just one move, and a somewhat peculiar one at that. Most people seem to shy away from using the straight arm bar in BJJ, most likely due to the fact it is different than the “basic” arm bar they learn in their first few classes and don’t want to spend time understanding it. Well, that is about to change…
Are you Underusing BJJ Armlocks?
Just for fun, I often ask people who have been either fans of combat sports, or training in them for a longer period of time, what is the statistically most used submission in the history of the sport.
Most people say rear naked chokes (not far from the truth, as they come in second), some think leg locks have won that crown in their short time on top, but the true answer is the straight arm bar. Yeah, the good old arm bar tops all charts in terms of submission efficacy in BJJ, and it is either top or near the top in MMA, I’m not really sure about that stat.
When we take a look at a usual training session or competition, there are going to be lots of arm bars on the mats. most of them are of the same variety, the Juji Gatame, or the arm bar which first pops into your head when you think about the name.
However, bent arm locks, such as Kimuras, Americanas, and Omoplatas are also arm bars, as the much less frequently utilized, but equally as powerful straight arm bars, which the latest Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD covers in extreme detail.
The John Danaher Effect
If you haven’t seen John Danaher’s work yet and you’re involved in grappling I have no idea where you are training and what you are doing. Are you sure you’re training BJJ?
For everyone else, Danaher is the one staple name in the BJJ world that everyone whispers in admiration when it comes to coaches. The man truly dedicated his life to Jiu-Jitsu, in my opinion far more than the Gracies. John is actually crazy about BJJ, developing the sport, and helping athletes grow, whereas the Gracies might’ve started similarly but quickly got their attention turned on by monetary gains.
From the moment GSP kind of introduced Danaher in the Ultimate Fighter, through his leg lock explosion with Eddie Cummings, and the culmination with Gordon Ryan’s success, the New Zealander single-handedly pushed Jiu-Jitsu to develop on a world scale.
So far, Danaher has released both No-Gi and Gi instructional, some aimed at competitors, others at recreational grapplers. He also covered standing exchanges and strategies and has now launched into exploring specific moves, breaking them down to their tiniest functional aspects.
Before we take a look at the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD though, let me finish by explaining that the Danher effect is the encouragement to innovate and think outside the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu box. That is what truly changed BJJ forever.
Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD Review
The Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD is an interesting new type of insturctional by the BJJ mastermind. While he named instructionals after moves before, they delivered his competition-focused submission systems.
This instructional offers something else – it unravels the thread of straight arm bar submissions, moves that are not often used in Jiu-Jitsu even though they are just as powerful as your ‘regular’ arm bar.
Master The Move Straight Arm Bar contains six different volumes, carefully organized to follow a progressive pattern, and delivers just under 4 hours of material:
Part 1 – Setups
The Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD kicks off with the mandatory introduction and DVD format outline that is the trademark of any Danaher instructional. As expected, the opening volume barely gets into position, focusing on the conditions for setting up the move more.
Namely, John explains what exactly is the main precursor to set the straight arm bar (a.k.a. Ude Gateme) up. He tops that off covering the two major methods of securing it – the underhook and overhook from guarded situations.
Some essential tips on the mechanics of the straight arm bar follow, with Danaher addressing the thing most people miss – elbow position. He also covers how to use the head to trap the wrist and offers a great entry drill to help you master everything laid out so far.
Part 2 – Lower Body Mechanics
The most important part of finishing any arm bar in BJJ is the positioning of your hips, which naturally pulls your entire lower body into the mix. The second part of the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD clears up everything on the subject by categorizing how you control the opponent’s shoulder using your legs.
Around the midway point of this part, John goes over the seated and supine setups and finishes of the Ude Gatame, also offering his favorite version. Throughout these setups, the focus remains on the legs, with lots of talk about hooking.
What I consider to be an unstoppable triangle setup when you’ve secured the Ude Gatame brings this part of the instructional to an end.
Part 3 – Finishing Variations
part three of the Danaher Arm Bar DVD is where things start to get really interesting. John starts explaining how to strategize when hunting for the position, offering a blueprint for using the opponent’s reactions against them, particularly their highly predictable defensive movement patterns.
This is also where he is behind introducing follow-ups, which in this part are defined by sweeps and headlock transitions. Sweep-wise, the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team’s favorite Sumi Gaeshi variations from the bottom are the main stars. The headlock transition leads to a pinch ehadlock which has its own Danaher instructional.
Part 4 – Combining Arm Bars
Already on the subject of follow-ups, Danaher expands our options in the fourth part of the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD by explaining the relationships between the straight arm bar and other arm bars we usually use more often.
The straight arm bar you usually associate with arm bars, a.k.a. the Juji Gatame appears, as well as the Kimura lock. There are several variations of both, that tie in with the Ude Gatame during different scenarios, offering a cycle of non-stop arm lock attacks.
Part 5 – Leg Configurations
Remember all the talk about legs that Danaher offered in the second part of the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD? Well, in this portion, he circles back, this time exploring how you can improve the finish and/or follow-ups using different leg configurations.
There are five versions that he covers: two feet to hips, shin to armpit, quasi triangle, crossface, and reverse crossface, all explained to include their strong suites and drawbacks. A few Te Gatame variations, or as it was taught to me back in the day after I tapped quickly to it over and over again, the short armbar from guard.
Part 6 – Ude Gatami From Top
The final portion of the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD brings the instructional to a conclusion, by exploring how to set up the straight arm bar from the top, and of course, tying in leg locks to the mix. It is a John Danaher DVD after all.
Becoming a Submission Specialist
I’ve said it before and I stick by my experience that training someone to be a submission specialist is a great way to produce a top competitor, but not at all efficient in making people understand and truly learn BJJ.
Even if you want to make someone a top competitor, you need to pair a couple, or preferably more submissions in a system, effectively making people specialists in a system rather than just one move. Of course, the one move can drive it all, but you need to have other options and follow-ups, just like in the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD.
The bottom line is that if you want to compete more than anything, you should study systems and practice them over and over again. That will give you lots of results quickly, as it takes considerably less time to master a system than to understand how Jiu-Jitsu works as a whole.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is learning the entire art or sport or whatever, which comes down to time on the mats measured in years. The best possible outcome for progress on the training and competition mats would be a careful balance of these two aspects, but that requires a world-class coach.
FULL DOWNLOAD: STRAIGHT ARM BAR JOHN DANAHER DVD
Arm Bar Hunting Season!
If you haven’t picked up on straight arm bar attacks until now, which is probably, the Master The Move Straight Arm Bar John Danaher DVD is the perfect resource to start learning them. After all, who better to teach you everything about a move than John Danaher himself? I strongly suggest you give these a try, especially if you are a guard player. Happy hunting!
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