Finishing arm triangle from kesa gatame OK?

The thread on Ryan Hall's arm triangle DVD got me thinking ab how I've been finishing my own arm triangles lately. It wasn't a move that I had a ton of success with until I recently saw a video clip where Erik Paulson finished from kesa gatame instead of the standard flat on your stomach finish I usually see. So I figured I'd check in w/the forum for reasons why it's not generally taught from kesa. Any big disadvantages? I'm not a big guy and I've found that I've haven't had to make as many adjustments to get the tap as I did from the standard position. Thoughts?

ryan halls method is down to a T. his arm triangle method i would say is the best. because he describes in great detail how weight distribution is more important than squeezing your ass off. Its about putting pressure on both sides of the neck via the arm and pushing the shoulder into the neck. as far as kesa gatame is concerned i think (and probably Ryan thinks too) is that it would work if you can eliminate space and cut off both arteries. i haven't tried this yet though.

Knee on the belly, figure foured arms is the best, trust me :-)

I wonder the same myself. Can't remember where I saw it first but I finish in kesa gatame 90% of the time now. I can play around flat, knee on belly etc & sometimes get the tap, but when switching through to kesa the tap comes instantly.

There must be some negative to it cause as you said I rarely see it taught that way and obviously I'm doing something a little off in the other positions to finish but if its comp time I'm going straight to the kesa finish.

Would love to hear from the more knowledgable the negatives to it.

I've switched to the Ryan Hall method and I already had a good arm triangle. It really works amazing. Worth trying if you haven't before, takes way less energy and you can execute it on any sized guy no matter how roided up or pencil necked they are.

I've been all around the world on this tech as well and it probably has the biggest variant on preferences to finish. So many ways to finish and many are effective.

Eddie made a point last seminar that is impossible to argue with. What's the only way to finish an arm tri from the bottom? Figure four. Why? Because its the tightest and the strongest. You sure as hell ain't gonna finish one handed. Anyway, the same principles apply to top as well. Except now you got your boy gravity backin you up as well. He's right. Just makes sense.

Rafael Mendes does a figure 4 grip, puts the hand on the forehead, than sits up to the side and cranks down on the forehead to add a crank while squeezing and twisting

Eddie's cranks the shit out of ya too. The knee on belly is turning your lower body one way while he's squeezing the other. It sux.

So for what I'm reading, esp those who advocate going knee on belly for the finish, I'm assuming that finishing in kesa is fine so long as the basic principle of closing off both arteries is still in play. From checking online, it looks like judo players finish the choke in kesa because they also use the position to apply downward compression on the opponent's chest to double the effectiveness... in of in the same way knee on belly obstructs breathing while the blood choke is kicking in. I agree w/the figure 4 arm position. It's way tighter/more secure

Originally Posted by Eddie Bravo

Knee on the belly, figure foured arms is the best, trust me :-)

I do it this way and I put dudes to sleep all the time (a lot of people at my gym are stubborn, haha) I think this Eddie guy might be on to something!