Grip Breaks
Defense · Standing
Takes you from under their dominant collar-and-sleeve grip to holding your own grips first. Act at once when their collar grip breaks your posture, before they add the sleeve. Grab the gripping wrist with both hands, two against one, and drive it explosively toward their thumb at about 45 degrees while you turn your body the other way and posture up. The fingers open at the gap between thumb and fingers, the weakest side of the grip; strip it and take your own grip in the same motion. A break without a regrip only resets the fight. On a sleeve grip, drive your elbow toward their fingers and up. If they pull you forward, their weight comes onto the lead foot for an ankle pick.
How to do it
- Feel the dominant grip: collar high, your posture broken. Deal with it at once, before they add a sleeve grip.
- Grab their gripping wrist with both hands, so two hands work against one.
- Drive the wrist towards their thumb, explosively and at about 45 degrees, while you turn your body to the side and posture up: the body moves the opposite way to the hand.
- Strip the grip off your gi: the fingers open at the gap between thumb and fingers, the weakest side of the grip.
- Take your own grip before they grip again, in the same motion as the break.
Key details
- Two hands against one: both your hands on one wrist are stronger than their single grip.
- Break against the thumb: it is the weakest side, the thumb alone holds against your pull.
- Step and posture together with the break: push the hand off at about 45 degrees, explosively, body moving the opposite way.
- Deal with the collar grip early, before they add the sleeve.
- On a sleeve grip line your forearm up with theirs, drive your elbow toward their fingers, curl and lift the elbow high with the hips: the grip peels off at the fingers.
- Block the freed hand at once: put your hand on their hip or keep hold of their wrist, so they cannot grip again while you take yours. When their push suddenly loses its grip they stumble forward: attack right then.
Common mistakes
- Breaking with one hand. — One hand against one grip is an even fight, and the gripping hand usually wins. — Use both hands on one wrist.
- Breaking but not gripping. — Your hands are empty after the break: they take the same grip again. — Break and take your grip in one motion.
- Pulling against the fingers. — Four fingers hold together against your pull: the grip does not open. — Pull towards the thumb.
If they defend
- They re-grip right away. → Hold their sleeve so the hand cannot come back.
How to drill it
Grip rounds: 30 seconds, one partner grips, the other breaks and takes a grip, switch. 5 rounds.
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