Scott Ewen’s dad, Shawn Philips, was our guest instructor in the last class. Shawn was the founder of Coast Martial Arts; he taught Scott and Cosme Hlatky before they were instructors.
Our lesson of the night was the rear takedown; Shawn broke it down into stages. We started off just by holding our opponents – the “bad guy” – in a front clinch then letting them escape enough to turn around so we could get them in a clinch from behind – the rear clinch.
In a rear clinch you’re holding onto the bad guy a little lower – just above the hips instead of the lower ribs, like in a front clinch – then you drop your weight and let the bad guy carry you around while they struggle.
When you’ve had enough, you put the arch of your foot against the back of your opponent’s heel then just fall over backwards, bringing them down with you.
Shawn advised anyone new to this to stick with one side – so always using your left foot – while you get used to the movement. More advanced students, he said, should be alternating to get used to the movement on both sides.
Once the bad guy is on the ground, you go for a mount and keep them down until they’re worn out.
The next part of the lesson was how to get out from under a mount. Shawn demonstrated how to trap your opponent’s arm and knee – on the same side – then leverage them off you. With the right leverage, it takes very little effort.
There’s something I meant to include in the last Green Grappler, which I’ll mention right now. When I was writing the Green Golfer column, I was brand new to golfing, but that’s not exactly the case with martial arts. I had never practised Gracie Jiu-Jitsu before this, but when I was in my second year of university I trained in the Israeli combat system Krav Maga, and from that I moved to study Russian Systema (translates to system, as in Russian Fighting System) infused with Kempo Jiu-Jitsu.
So while some things in Gracie seem familiar and natural, some things are completely new.
Scott complemented my footwork in the back clinch, for instance. He described them as “hot feet,” meaning that my feet were constantly moving and I was never standing still while I was holding onto my opponent.
Cosme had to correct my takedown, though. Instead of falling straight back and pulling the bad guy down, I was twisting to off-balance them before I pulled them down – classic Systema, but an unnecessary extra move in Gracie.
For more information, see www.coastmartialarts.com and stay tuned for more of the Green Grappler.
