Anatomy of Jiu Jitsu

Please forgive me for getting highly technical. In completing a cadaver course on Spine & extremities anatomy whilst training jiu jitsu every night, I'm beginning to see the correlation that an understanding of how we're built can develop greater understandings for hacking our bodies from a jiu jitsu standpoint. Below I have jotted down some ideas I've been playing with that may be a basis for a book I hope to write one day, tentatively titled Anatomy of Jiu Jitsu. These are details I've noticed high level guys perform and teach, though I've never seen it broken down anatomically. Consider this the baby stages, without pictures and diagrams. Everything can be found on google. Basic textbook human anatomy. Again, apologies for being highly technical, the reason I am sharing this is because I am seeing my game explode from the incorporation of these principles. I can only imagine what would happen if the entire 10p system had the human body hacked down to the very molecule. I feel I've only begun to scratch the surface. In the long run I hope I can make some form of tangible contribution to the system, and I feel this could be the basis of it. Feel free to add to the discussion if you feel inclined. (for the third and final time, forgive me for being extremely technical. I had to write this down somewhere.)

When handfighting, focus on gripping and gauging where in space the insertion of the opponent's brachioradialis (styloid process of radius). This is important because in addition to forearm flexion, the brachioradialis supinates and pronates to neutral. This...... is...... HUGE. If I have a grip there and I feel a guy turn his wrist either direction, I have a one step advantage knowing where he is going in addition to where he is in space. My attacks from top and bottom have gone through the roof since playing with this principle. Arm drags, armlocks, kimuras, triangle shots, overhooks, underhooks, posture breaking, they're all there. It's almost like a glitch. A physician I train with made the point that the biceps brachii is the main supinator and though that's correct, I'm finding the brachioradialis's dual nature as a pronator and supinator to be of considerable interest. We only need to mind one muscle insertion to determine if they're pronating or supinating, then make them pay based off their decision. In addition, the insertion is adjacent to the pronator quadratus, which I am finding too to be of interest as a point to grip, especially on certain triangle shots. The pronator quadratus is precisely where Eddie gripped to achieve the triangle in his first match vs. Royler.

When playing open guard and looking to enter de la Riva control, focus on gripping the calcaneal tendon via the calcaneus, as it's the insertion of the gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris. It's a very precise full palm monkey grip of the circumference of their posterior foot. The plantaris component is important given its role in proprioception. The more conviction I have in my grip and the more focused I am on wrapping my palm around the entire calcaneus, the more I notice they lose balance simply from moving.

For us gi lovers that love cross chokes, I make a light grip in his neck looking to cover as much surface area of his splenius capitis as possible. I look to get my 1st distal phalange, precisely the insertion of my extensor pollicis longus as far back as his rectus capitis posterior minor with my snuff box flush. This severely limits his head extension and lateral flexion ability, and shooting the second hand in is becoming easier as he wastes more and more energy. It's a loose grip and I can control the direction I want to take it. Playing with it is bringing more and more confidence and openings.

Eddie Cummings showed at his seminar that he favors this variation of the heel hook where he reaps the knee and inverts the leg. Ultimately, it's an inside heel hook...but there's a reason he calls it his most devastating weapon in his arsenal, this 'particular one.' The inverted heel hook that's the most damaging induces lateral pressure on the knee, checking the MCL/medial meniscus. I've tested it and there's definitely less give than if we were attacking the LCL/lateral meniscus (given the lateral meniscus sorta flaps open). Google 'Terrible Triad of O'Donoghue' on this one. It makes perfect sense.

Of the three triceps on the arm, the medial head is the work horse. The lateral head is the strongest but is only active against resistance, and the long head doesn't do much. Do you ever notice how judo guys grip the arm? They grab the cloth maybe only slightly proximal to the anconeus. In putting my focus in achieving this grip, particularly in closed or open guard, gi or no gi, I notice if I try to control it and induce them to adduct their arm, their lateral head kicks in and I usually fail. In the 10th planet rubber guard system, this 'adduction' attempt is sometimes referred to as 'The Pump.' The way The Pump works is you have to close your legs over his shoulder before he has a chance to get his arm out. You are pushing in on his lateral tricep and if he has even a split second to react, you'll feel resistance. If however I loosely maintain the grip, I know that they only have one strong muscle belly. My ability to manipulate the upper limb has exploded since my attempts to hack the tricep.



More to come! issu

This is awesome man! I really enjoyed it. Keep up the good work!

HUGE development from training today, even though it was gi.

In playing lasso guard, focus on connecting your middle third of your anterior tibia onto their bicipital aponeurosis and radial tuberosity, aka the insertion of their biceps brachii muscle on their proximal forearm aka their main supinator. I was catching higher belts left and right with sweeps and omoplatas off it, the security of that connection truly made it feel like taking candy from a baby. People are so focused on shooting a deep, deep lasso and dominating that grip, whereas if you simply connect to the radial tuberosity and bicipital aponeurosis and used the sleeve grip to mind your opponents styloid process on his radius, it's cake. It's not that deep of a lasso and the dude feels like he can move around a little, but he can't get his angle if you maintain your point of contact. Let him pass your guard, invite it even, Hell let'em get a crossface. As long as you have the connection, which Ralph Gracie showed me a couple years back but now I truly understand, it's beautiful.

:eek: :eek: :confused:

I appreciate the sentiment gentlemen. I haven't seen someone break it down like this before. The mental edge of knowing what precisely you're looking to control takes all the guesswork out. Just like Eddie chose to focus on no-gi at a point in time, I'm thinking about making this my thing, like my contribution. If Geo and everyone are 10th planet soldiers on the front lines, we gotta have people behind the scenes in 10p labs brewing stuff up and passing it on. Every army has intelligence. Recon. In the business of developing weaponry of unimaginable destructive capability. Make Danaher pee his pants-level of innovation. I wanna play in that role.

Super badass brotha!!

Check out this muscle and its insertion point on the wrist. The last couple days my grip fighting's been exploding since minding that specific insertion point on the styloid process of the radius.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachioradialis

If I could describe the feeling of that control in one sentence:

'There is no spoon.'

Arman going deep!