The Triangle Part One - The Rest are Just Details

Master the triangle. That's what I tell everyone who comes into the gym. Master the triangle first and only then worry about the other stuff. That might sound overly simplistic, but I've used that advice for myself and others and it works. I would never be arrogant enough to believe I have mastered anything, but the effort to do so is there. So when I say "master" it, I'm simply saying get really damn good at it.

Master the triangle. In your effort to get a kickass triangle, everything else will be child's play. Forget about the arm bars, kimuras, key locks, ankle hooks, rear chokes and guillotines. That might sound blasphemous, but it works. I'm not saying don't use one of those techniques if it's staring you right in the face. And I'm not suggesting that you should never learn the other stuff. I'm simply saying that if you work on getting your triangle down, to just plain sick ability, all else falls into place.

One of my newer students was taught this. I had him focus on the triangle to the exclusion of all other techniques. Of course he had to know how to replace guard so he could actually be in position to pull the triangle off, but it was the only submission we worked. A student came in from another gym to roll with us. He had two years of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training. My guy, with only three months of training, all of it focused on the triangle, and weighing only 135 pounds, caught the guy four times in three minutes. At the end of it, the guy stammered in frustration "Is the triangle all he knows!?!" I told him yes, it was. (Many of you at the gym witnessed it. But those who didn't it, it was Geanne who did that. Good job young man).

Also, a student named Christian, after only two months of training, caught another jiu jitsu trained guy (one year of consistent training) with two triangles in a row. None of this is to boast. By no means. We are always improving and always have things to work on. And I'm not suggesting we are some kind of badasses compaired to other gyms. We're not. But the facts are the facts. I'm simply using them to illustrate my point.

And to re-emphasize my point: master the triangle. Don't worry about arm bars and all that other stuff until you can pull your triangle off from all positions against all kinds of fighters. Pull it off from the guard, the mount, back control, and even when caught in his side control, north-south, and others. Practice the standard set ups, and then the not-so-standard set ups. I guarantee you that your game will jump up considerably.

In the Spartan Gym the very first submission you will learn is the triangle. You will learn it until you're deliriously bored with it. But then you will start catching those people you thought were un-catchable. Then it won't seem so boring. Master the triangle. The rest are just details.