I’ve found myself going up against guys who’ve dropped into “combat base”, the position I’ve been calling “Jayhawk.” Both Tommy and Cindy dropped into this position at the beginning of our recent sparring sessions, as did George, the new purple belt that’s been training with us over the past few weeks.
I remembered a way to attack this position, a counter that Rodrigo showed us many months ago that I don’t remember having worked on in some time. I remembered the first part of the counter, which was to sit up (if you were on your back) and hook the guy’s up leg with your leg in the “hip split” position. If he puts his right leg up, then you hook with your right leg.
But I couldn’t remember the rest of the move. What did you do with your hands? Where were your grips? Which direction did you take the guy and how?
While looking for some help on finishing the arm drag—particularly help on dealing with people who stand and “run around” trying to pass your sitting/Lotus/Cobra guard, I actually found the key to solving the SWAT Team riddle. The key was in the form of an Ultimate Grappling magazine article from December 2006 featuring Marcelo Garcia. Garcia uses a form of SWAT Team as a way of dealing with somebody who is standing and pulls away to avoid the arm drag.
In order to complete SWAT Team, you want to completely control that up leg. So in addition to hooking it with your leg, you want to hook it with the opposite arm also.
With the hook side arm (the leg hook side), you want to post behind you in the same way that you would for an arm drag. This post is important because it will help you maintain your balance as you move—making it easier to move faster.
Turn in the direction of the leg hook, turning so that the shoulder of your arm hook is driving in to the back of the guy’s leg.
Marcelo stands up from here, wrapping both arms around the leg, moving his head to the inside of the trapped leg, and driving the guy to the mat on his back. I suspect there are other moves you can do to finish it off, like going to the back. It probably depends on what the guy gives you.
