Hardest Techniques to Teach

[scottross]

The arm crush, one of my favorite submissions, is one of the hardest to teach. Every time I attempt to break it down for people, it seems I eventually say, "Eh. You'll just have to keep at it until you can feel it." I can't find that magic detail that makes it happen for people.

So A) Do you have any advice on teaching the arm crush?

B) What move do you find the hardest to teach?

[Chris Herzog]

I find the most important detail is making sure the attackers leg/calf is perpendicular to the opponents forearm, and not in the "knee pit". Also making sure the deep hooking forearm is in the crook of the opponents elbow, not elbow pit to elbow pit.

Then there are a number of subtle details that can improve finishes , like rotating the radius bone and forarm to the wide part of the wrist for a larger nut in the nutcraker. And changing the angle of attack more to the headside for those that have flexibility issues.

It's something I use all the time so addressing problem areas with this sub is something I'm familiar with, techniques that are hardest to teach for me are usually ones I use the least, or those that my bad hip/knee make it difficult to demonstrate properly.

[nathan orchard]

If someone is having a hard time finding the right position or angle, doing the move on them so they feel the pressure seems to help.

[scottross]

Thanks for those tips. Strangely, the arm crush is a move that I've always been able to do. I just have a knack for it and I think that's why I have a hard time isolating the details that make it work.

[sean applegate]

Its my favorite move and one of my best. Teaching it can be difficult, but I find adjusting their angles seems to be the biggest part of teaching it effectively. The proper posture and angle will help them understand it really well, really quick.

[FRANK BARCA]

The Twister pass can be a long demonstration as you have to break down top half grips, deal with unlocking the Lock down, making the switch to face the legs and defeating his grips on you or else you cant turn to face the legs, all the detailson maintaining balance to avoid being swept, covering undercooking the knee and freeing the knee, thats a hand fight in itself, now the next lot of hand fighting to free the leg, so for me, its not that its hard to teach, but it is most challenging as it has so many fires the student needs to go thru to even technically grasp the entire pass. Not to mention that you can set it up as a flowing pass from standing from open guard or from 1/4 clinch as well.

Did that make any sense? You see even writing it down can be technical lol

[nathan cybul]

swim move from prison guard

[Drew Ash]

zog nailed it in first post..

[Eddie Bravo]

The arm crush is one of those moves that takes longer to master than most moves, like a straight ankle lock & marcelotine. Lots of little tiny synchronized details. But luckily and obviously, the more reps you do the more your body starts to realize what to do on it's own. #repscreatemagic

[David Rosado]

Thanks for those tips. Strangely, the arm crush is a move that I've always been able to do. I just have a knack for it and I think that's why I have a hard time isolating the details that make it work.

Back when I was a teacher's aide while I was in college, I noticed this with the match teacher's most. It's like, for them, math just comes easy so they don't know how to exactly communicate the details that help it click for a lot of the students. That's why some BJJ guys are amazing competitors, not great teachers. For them it just comes natural. Then other guys are amazing teachers because they had to work hard to figure it out.

A cool trick I observed with one math teacher was he would find a kid that struggled who eventually figured it out and then learn from the the kid how the kid finally understood it, and then include that in the lesson. I hope that makes sense.