My Technique From Top Stoner

[Ben Vazquez]

The Path resized.jpgThe Finish resized.jpg

Alright this is what I was talking about in my other thread yesturday...

I threw my grappling dummy on my mat & tried to get some pics that show it well enough.
My good cameras battery was dead so I had to rig my Cell Phone to take the shots.






1.) Starting in Top Stoner Control

2.) I put my left hand, palm facing away...Around the top leg and reach down inside the bottom LOCKDOWN LEG

3.) I hook the inside of the calf/knee area with my left hand to help secure the top leg.

4.) I lean forward a little, turn to my right and reach my right hand palm facing out over the top of the ankle on the top leg.

5.) I push my right hand down through and secure the ankle of the top leg in my right elbow joint.

6.) Completly release the left hand hook and place the left hand on the oppenent to help base.

I'm calling it the Transformer (2-5)...into Cybertron Lockdown (6)

7.) I place my left hand across their body onto the left shoulder/arm and crank the leg with my right arm by twisting my body to my left and pushing my left arm into theirs.

I'm calling it the Optimus (7)

8.) Instead of placing my hand on their shoulder/arm, I place it behind the head pulling the head forward and pushing it to my right, while twisting my body to the left.

I'm calling it Optimus Prime (8)

There's other stuff you can do from here (6) too but I haven't run through it all yet....Anyone ever seen anything like this before?

Try it out see if it works for you =)

[Paul McKeown]

Please get a video of it, really can't make out what you're doing lol

[Ben Vazquez]

I just wanted the stills to break it down with some disctription...

I'm trying to edit the video now to show the live action that should help show it better.

[Ben Vazquez]

Alright heres a video...You can't see the other leg that well but it's stoner control so you now how the legs are positioned pretty much =)

[Joachim Hoff]

Damn that looks sexy. Have you tested it in sparring or comps?
I have to try that in sparring sometime! Dude, if this works.. Dayum!

[Ben Vazquez]

I have not...I live so far from good schools I don't get to roll much that's why I got this giant dummy to run reps on.

I just came up with it sometime yesterday doing electric chair reps and was like o my that is vicious.

Felt like theres room for alot of variation I did it a few times and rolled to my chest and stretched out my legs while gable gripping the 'Optimus' and just twisted the you know what out of my poor dummy.

Figured trying to explaine it here best I could would let others play with it and do better testing then I can right now. =)

[David Rosado]

I can't lie bro, I don't like it. Not that it won't catch someone by surprise on occasion. Just that I don't think it would be long term reliable.

You compromise your base a couple times during the transition. A person can throw you off balance and crest a scramble. And when you posture like that, you give the opponent too much room to possibly get their leg back and recover half guard. Never underestimate how strong someone's legs are. To stop you from coming back down to secure my head I'd just heisman your armpit and use your downward weight to push you away from me.

I see more problems than solutions. But I hope you are able to develop it into something high percentage.

[Kevin Gibbs]

First reaction is you compromise your base and the position your arms are in compromise any strength and leverage against someones legs which are already stronger than your arms. I think it would be fairly easy to get a strong underhook and the near arm which at worst would stall the position and more likely facilitate a sweep. Then again who knows I might be missing something, without a resisting opponent you'll never know.

[Ben Vazquez]

Agreed it feels like more of a opportunity/timing thing, you can base with your right hand while working for the left grip then popup lean and switch off to the left handed base while holding the leg in the right.

Hard to demo on this dummy cause it's made to hold posture so the thigh won't flatten out when you extend the lockdown.

If I could flatten the lockdown out I wouldn't even go all the way to 'Top Stoner'.... I'd work on getting that leg into my right arm right off the electric chair after you clear the leg so basically bottom Stoner.

Anyway I wanted to just get the idea out there that you can attack that top leg so people won't just think of it as a stage prop LoL

But I'd say doing the Transformer or something similar right off the Electric Chair/Clearing The Leg is the best way to go to get that top leg into your arm then you have that left hand free before you even get to Top Stoner if you even bother and don't just Gable grip to the 'Optimus' or some other horrible leg lock of doom =)

[Ben Vazquez]

I named this thread wrong.... I should have called it "The Transformer Path" cause I have the destination but I need the directions to get their!

I'm freaking out right now though Haha =)

I was running this through my head all day at work and I figured out a beautiful much higher % way to get into 'Cybertron' from bottom 'Stoner' I came home from work and basically mangled my dummy to force the position I needed (Took some will power) and I'm freaking out cause I can't film it yet Haha

But this is the rough draft of what I did...

Hit the electric chair / clear the leg to Stoner control

Immediately grab the knee area of their leg with my left hand, and with my left elbow on the mat rotate to the left bringing my elbow closer into my back... This forces their leg into better position to grab for.

Then rotate right and hook your right hand around the foot basically same thing I did from the top there and bam you got the position.

Here your left hand is free to help hold their knee if they get an angle & try to pull out it won't be easy this way.

From there you can shrimp your lockdown leg up to your body, slide your back to the right so your closer to the foot/ankle your right arm is hooked on... Now you have space to rotate left base on your left elbow and crank.

You can also base up from the elbow to your left hand and crank from there or sweep to the top position that I was in on the video but now your hand is already free so as you come up with the sweep you can place it however you like I find jamming it into their stomach/hip then cranking the Optimus right there feels the best and your using your sweep momentum.

Hope that makes sense... And as a leg lock fanatic my God if someone ever gets a tap with this in comp or a fight it might be the greatest day of my life =)