What is The Shoulder Crunch Sumi Gaeshi Sweep?
Popularized by Gordon Ryan.
Common pre-moves: Butterfly Guard, Open guard.
Common post-move: Mount, Top-Passing Position
Technique Breakdown
Just like last week's technique, the Shoulder Crunch is one of those techniques where the setup is probably the most important and most complicated part to execute.
Since there are many ways to set it up, I'm going to show you one and then give you the prerequisites that are needed to get the sweep. You can set it up in any way you feel works for you as long as you fulfill the prerequisites.
The Prerequisites are:
Your opponent's arm needs to be extended and above your head. Hand on the mat is preferred.
Your head needs to be on the side of your opponent's head and not directly under it.
Now that you know what you need to get in order to be able to do the technique, I'm going to break down one of the most common setups:
Part One - Setup: Failed/Fake armdrag
From butterfly guard, you're going to set up an armdrag, and instead of dragging the arm towards your opposite side (Red arrow) like you'd do in a regular armdrag. You're going to drag their arm towards the same side (Green arrow)
As I said. The goal is to get their arm extended and above our head.
Your opponent will try to posture and retrieve their arm, so it's not extended.
In order to put their hand on the floor and above your head, pull your knee to your chest
That's it. Prerequisites are met now!
Part Two - Shoulder Crunch:
With their hand extended. Lace your arm through and make sure you're elbow deep, and don't leave any empty space between your elbow and your head.
The key is ensuring their head is next to yours and not over yours.
Lock your hands together.
Part Three - Sumi Gaeshi:
Generate a push-back reaction by lifting to the opposite side of where you want to sweep them
When they push back, use your inside arm and your butterfly hooks to lift their head and body to the side you want to sweep them.
It is important to keep your elbow high so they cannot post the trapped arm on the mat as they roll over and get swept.
That's it!
Shoulder Crunch - Related Resources
Watch it in action
Gordon vs. Buchecha
Gordon vs. Joao Rocha, Felipe Pena & Marcello Bergo
Watch LIMI video"GORDON RYAN VS NICKY ROD BJJ ANALYSIS PART 2" - Shoulder Crunch Analysis starts a 4:32:
Gordon explains the technique:
Training Plan for the Week
I train 3-4 days per week (I drill at home with a dummy almost daily). In order to make it easier for you and everyone else to adapt this plan to their training schedule, I'll divide the week into two parts and an extra for the lucky ones who can train more than 3-4 times per week.
First Half of the Week (Training sessions 1 & 2 of 4 for me):
This technique is all about learning different ways to set it up, from butterfly/open guard and even half guard.
The actual execution is fairly easy, but I would spend the initial part of the week drilling the actual sweeping technique before focusing on getting the shoulder crunch position from the butterfly guard. You don't want to get the shoulder and be unable to finish, which is the easy part because you didn't drill it.
Next, focus on rolling playfully with smaller opponents that are way below your skill level. Pull guard and get into butterfly guard, testing the baits and trying to do a good replicable setup. Don't just try to get to a shoulder from a scrambly position. Be deliberate and try to create setups that are repeatable.
Remember, the first half of the week is meant to get reps and some feedback on the things that you are doing wrong and how to fix them.
Second Half of the Week (Training sessions 3 & 4 of 4 for me):
Gradually start picking better and better opponents until you cannot perform the move anymore. Once this happens, start going down and picking less skilled opponents until you get to a sweet spot where you are performing the move more than 50% of the time you try it.
Try to finish your week performing the move as flawlessly as possible with someone, no matter how low their skill level is: You want to make the last rep as perfect as possible. That's the repetition we internalize the most when we leave the training room.
That’s it!
PS. I'd love to hear your feedback on this newsletter. Please reply and let me know what you want to cover next week. I'm thinking: Back control 101: 80/20 of the Straight Jacket System. Do you like that idea?
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