Key Takeaways
- A very detailed, 8-part No-Gi instructional that completely deconstructs the front headlock for No-Gi grappling.
- Features standing, transitioning, top and bottom attacks, including catch wrestling-inspired submissions.
- Covers counters, re-counters and transitions, as well as a host of different entries and grips configurations.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
NO-GI FRONT HEADLOCK JOEL BANE DVD GET HERE
If you want to learn a wrestling move, go to wrestlers. If you want to submit people using wrestling moves, go to catch wrestlers. if you want to learn everything about the front headlock from a BJJ black belt, who is also a catch wrestler and Luta Livre expert, then pick up the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD.
Simple, right? Go straight to the source when you want to figure things out but keep in mind that you’re trying to learn how to do stuff for BJJ, not for their original sports or martial arts. Not many coaches can transcend this border when they teach, but luckily, Joel is not one of them.
Grapplers Guide To Front Headlock
I use the front headlock in both Gi and No-Gi and find it to work incredibly well. Honestly, in No-Gi it is more of a must-use than a choice, given the lack of attachment points in the neck and shoulders area.
For the most part, people tend to find the front headlock intuitive, at least when it comes to controlling. This is open reason why I like to teach it to everyone in my gym, including in kids’ classes.
The problems people tend to have with it are when they try to get some attack going for the position. It may be a takedown, a direct submission (usually a choke), or a transition to the back or top-side control. What I’ve identified as the number one issue is that people forget what makes the front headlock work as they attempt to get to something else, effectively letting go of their controlling position.
Luckily, the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD addresses this concern and not just in one or two chapters. Control is the focus throughout it, and all three transitions are done with the headlock either having served its purpose completely or with a fallback option to get back into it.
‘Kru’ Joel Bane
The tile of Khru is not usually associated with grapplers, but you’d be surprised at how many great grappling minds actually despise the classic BJJ lineage and terms like ‘professor’. It is safe to say that Joel Bane is one of those brilliant people with a fight intelligence that can solve any puzzle.
In this particular instance, the puzzle is the front headlock, and the solutions come in the super-comprehensive No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD. The man of the moment, Joel, is a 3rd-degree black belt in BJJ under Rigan Machado, 5-th degree black belt in Luta Livre under Hugo Duarte, catch wrestling coach certified by Billy Robinson, boxing coach, and 13th Khan/Senior Kru ranked in Muay Thai.
Joel has also spent time training with CSW founder Erik Paulson and is currently the man at the helm of one of the best no-nonsense grappling and MMA gyms in the world – Snake Pit USA. Bane is also no stranger to putting together meaningful instructionals, as he is a full-time coach who is constantly innovating.
No-Gi Grapplers Guide To Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD Review
The No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD is a long one, consisting of 10 volumes, each lasting a considerable amount of time. All the instructions are delivered in No-Gi, amounting to a total of just over 8 hours of material.
Part 1 – Concepts
The headlock is as old as grappling and has so many options, that you could dedicate a whole year to studying nothing but it, and you’ll still have lots left to figure out. Luckily, you can cut through most of the needless stuff with the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD.
He starts off with essential concepts, talking about the highest percentage of positions that allow you to get to a front headlock with a high degree of certainty. Russian ties, inside ties, collar ties, and forcing sprawls all feature here, rounded off by an in-depth underhook and overhook overview.
Part 2 – Standing Submissions
Not something seen in BJJ often, especially in No-Gi. Hwoever, after seeing Jon Jones pull it off, many people went on trying to choke folks from standing, and several of the moves covered in this part of the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD might actually work in that regard.
Bane’s take on standing headlock submissions includes guillotine variations featuring the S-grip and power-punch guillotine. A few crank-choke options also follow, which I guess fall under the sanding submissions umbrella as long as you get a tap. The Tie Bar strangle, demonstrated toward the end, is a legit one I am itching to try out.
Part 3 – Front Headlock Takedowns
Venturing back into more familiar territory, Joel focuses on taking the fight to the ground in the third portion of the Joel Bane Front Headlock DVD. While refers to his Snake Pit drag-down system as the Front Headlock Salto, it is not at all athletically demanding, nor dangerous to your opponent.
Direct, rapid-fire, and submission chain FHL Salto options provide you with a different approach to taking people down with a front headlock. A few more neck cranks, and a neat cowcatcher, which is one of my favorite FHL moves, conclude this part of the DVD.
Part 4 – Snapdowns and Rolling Attacks
Those enjoying gator-roll style moves will really enjoy this volume of the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD. The focus is on a wrestling classic that’s very underutilized in BJJ – the cement mixer. It works, it scares the stuffing out of your opponents, and it’s fairly easy to master in a short amount of time.
Snapdowns also feature here, and I consider them to be the hardest straightforward thing you can do from a front headlock position. Bane’s mixed grappling background provides him with a great perspective on it, and he makes it simple, showing you how to directly go into a bunch of ground attacks, ranging from cement mixers to leg scissor chokes.
Part 5 – Leg Locks
No way a No-Gi, catch-wrestling-inspired instructional with a Luta Livre coach is not going to include leg locks. While they are not as plentiful as I expected, there is more than enough to provide versatility to your arsenal.
For the most part, this volume of the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD involves single leg transitions from an initial front headlock, that later leads to leg locks. Snake Pit’s signature W.A.R. system featuring throws and submissions makes its first appearance in this volume as well.
DIRECT ACCESS: FRONT HEADLOCK JOEL BANE DVD
Part 6 – Head and Arm System (W.A.R.)
Speaking of W.A.R., part six of the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD is all about it. In over an hour, Joel covers plenty of different finishes that feature in the system, such as armbars, Kimuras (called by their old-school name ‘double wristlock’), and chokes.
The head and arm control provides the headlock element to the W.A.R. making it easy to apply stuff such as the Scythe armbar, Half Alch, Cowcatcher, and the Cement Mixer. it’s all coming together now.
Part 7 – Nelsons & Cow Catchers
Moving to bottom control, and essentially pinning by using the front headlock, Joel offers a few more cowcatcher options in this part of the instructional. He reinforces them with some strong and not-too-legal Nelson options as well, but you already know that this is not an IBJJF-friendly DVD.
I enjoyed the gut-wrench mat return, but I also have a strong affinity towards all the gator rolls, nelsons, and cowcatcher variations on display in this volume. Toward the end, Joel also covers how to finish the ten-finger guillotine and how to combine it with the bulldog choke.
Part 8 – Guillotine Options
Guillotine galore is the name of the game in the eighth part of the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD. Building on the ten-finger guillotine finish from the previous volume, Joel launches into other guillotine variations such as the slide-in, the crazy 3/4 hamstring guillotine, and the Chancery neck crank.
This portion also contains guillotine escape counters, helping you figure out how to still keep attacking with the front headlock even when people manage to stove off, or even fully escape your guillotine threat.
Part 9 – FHL Counters
After spending the better part of this instructional covering how to torture people from the front headlock position, just before he wraps things up, Joel explores some of the most effective counters you can execute against it. As expected, most of the moves in this part are rooted in wrestling and catch wrestling rather than traditional BJJ.
Sit outs, hip switches, knee taps, tilts and bridging all feature in this part of the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD. The best part is that each counter ends with you in a position already covered, such as the bulldog choke or some of the many cranks.
Part 10 – Transitions
As we get to the end of what was the longest instructional I’ve seen so far 9at least in terms of volumes), the focus is on moving in and out of the front headlock. The final set of instructions in the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD covers transitions to and from the back, and North-South featuring crazy moves such as the Dragon Sleeper and Corkscrew Headlock.
The Best Non-Scoring Position in Grappling?
The dice is between Ashi Garami and the Front Headlock here. As a leglocker, I still find the front headlock position to be a lot more useful for controlling people, especially in No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu.
Rolling people from the front headlock, gator-style, and ending on top again actually gets you points in wrestling. Even though there are absolutely no rewards in terms of points in BJJ for playing the front headlock, the amount of control and a number of attacking options available from it makes it much more worthy than aiming for volatile point-scoring positions such as knee-on-belly.
No matter what your game is, a position that works from the top, bottom, and standing has to feature in your gameplan, even if it is by necessity rather than by choice. The No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD is definitely a long instructional, but it is the only one you’ll ever need on the subject.
FULL DOWNLOAD: NO-GI FRONT HEADLOCK JOEL BANE DVD
Grab A Headlock!
No point in trying to figure out how to shoot across the mats or Judo throw people when you can grab a headlock from standing, get them on the mats, get a pin, and get a submission. If you play your cards right and use the blueprints provided in the No-Gi Front Headlock Joel Bane DVD, you might even execute this without changing your initial engagement grip. Tell me again that grappling is hard.
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