Wednesday, November 28, 2012

There's more to an arm bar than an arm bar

Photo courtesy of Hans Gutknecht

Every time I read someone on an internet forum call Ronda a "one trick pony", I silently say a prayer of thanks that you can't catch stupidity through the internet.

Jim and I just finished writing an article on an arm bar as counter and combination. Here are three points we made.

First is that you should always practice both sides, so we showed the same move from two different angles and done on both the right side and the left.

The second is that an arm bar is not just an offensive move but a move in defense as well. The arm bar Ronda is doing here is in the MIDDLE of the sequence. It is a counter to a move Manny attempted.

The third is that an arm bar isn't necessarily the end. It can also be part of a combination. The photo below is a pin that is done after your partner escapes the arm bar by doing a forward roll.


There is another pin after this, too.

The point we make in the article is that an arm bar is not an isolated move. If you really are an expert, you can do it from both sides, multiple positions and multiple points in a sequence, at the beginning, at the end or, as shown here, in the middle. It is not just a finishing move. That is particularly so in judo where you can win by a pin just as easily as an arm bar. In fact, more easily. (Remind me to explain that some time.)

Jim says this same move works in wrestling as well, that even though arm bars are not legal you are allowed to put pressure on the arm and when the person rolls over you can pin him and win the match. I don't know as much about wrestling as he does but he sounded very believable when he said it, so I am going  to believe it.

6 comments:

jcp said...

If Ronda is a one trick pony.. I wish I had a mastery of her "trick".. seems to be working for her ;) Not an expert, but I've heard that the best Judo players have a broad competency in most areas of Judo and a few techniques that they specialize in. It's kind of amusing to hear a sophisticated technique that she clearly knows hundreds of ways into being described as a "trick".

Dr. AnnMaria said...

I wish I had her "trick". Thanks for making me laugh today!

Sylver said...

What I find funny (I am easily amused) is that in some horrendous Japanese translations for some judo books like that of the "Canon of Judo", all judo techniques are refered to as "tricks", the armbarms being found in the "Inverse tricks" section as "joint tricks", whereas chokes are in the "wringing" section.

If she chokes someone off, maybe people will start calling her a "one wringing pony".

(There's a better pun, but being half a world away is still a bit too close for that one ;)

Dr. AnnMaria said...

One wringing pony would be the wimpiest fight name ever - well, after cupcake

Sylver said...

No, no. I am pretty sure it beats cupcake for wimpiness. It's almost a shoe in for a My Little Pony character.

Anonymous said...

Where is this article that you wrote with Jim? I would like to read it.