Mike Kanarek: Defense Against Side Choke With A Push
- March 23rd, 2010
- Posted in HaganaH NUCLEUS
- By Mike Lee Kanarek
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tonight in the FIGHT class we covered side choke with a push.
Some of the students were experiencing a challenge with the technique because they would move their hand before moving their feet…with this technique you have to regain your balance by going with the push fisrt into a solid base and only then ignite your hand to un-plug the choke. If you move your feet first everything else will fall into place…
Side Choke Static and Side Choke Push are two of my favorite scenarios to work… once we get students rolling with the correct technique I like to stand them up against the wall and have the attacker go at them… having limited space to perform changes the deployment and actually fast-tracks the students ability to translated/read the attack, also… with the push momentum puts the bad-guy into the wall (partner preservation here is always good;)try it see what you all think next class;)
BTW… awesome blog site!!!
Good night training at the HaganaH H.Q. Alot of new faces, I enjoy working with the new guys and showing them how to break the technique. If its your first rotation break it down step by step. Do it slower until you have the technique correct then build it up from there.
The “choke” defenses are a great example of the power of the POR (Point of Reference). Front Choke, Side Choke and Rear Choke all end up in an outside POR. In fact, they were the H2H tactics I learned in my first 2 weeks in Haganah, in March of 2002. That was when I realized how simple the system Mike had designed was – and it is those several destination points (and the subsequent objectives) that allow for such rpaid muscle memory development.
If one looks carefully at standard Krav Maga (at least as it was taught then and even advanced military KM), one can see that the outside position is not a POR – it is in general a “loose” hook to the neck or back (not a grab of the shirt), typically with the elbow flailing, not locked down below the head. This is more of an MMA based position, anticipating knee strikes to the face. It is more easily slipped by an experienced fighter than a POR.
The POR concept is derived from Mike’s BJJ background (among other things), where one battles for position. In BJJ, Guard, Mount, etc are part of the vocabulary. In Haganah POR is (before it was called a POR BTW Mike used to jokingly refer to it as ‘home’ – as in ‘Honey, I’m Home’. And that is what it is – a place of comfort. The POR term was coined by a participant in a FIGHT class in 2002.
Honey I’m hoooooooome lol
I always say: “that until you capture the POR , you should think you are losing the fight and battle yourself to it!”
I started my BJJ training in 1996, under Crolin Gracie. Crolin lived in south Florida for six months during that year and I took private classes daily under him for about 5 months. When Crolin returned to Brazil he directed me to the Machado Brothers and I have been training under them since then , and under Marcos Santos one of their Black Belts.
As I was progressing in BJJ I realy liked the concept of “Position First, Subbmission Second” concept oppose to Krav’s concept of “Continue with counter-attacks” …credit goes where credit is due, the concept of the POR indeed came from BJJ.
The POR was the first thing I realized was different from Krav Maga. I trained in K/M for 2 years before I attended my first class with Haganah. During my first session I started to see he POR being enforced and explain by Mike. “The fight is not done until you finish your objective and your objective is to reach POR”..”honey I’m home” (Mike). I was sold and used this concept with my training and when I train other students. The muscle memory and POR go hand in hand with H2H combat.
Jamaica…
ha ha , i remember your first class, you showed up with all your ATA Krav gear
you have come a LONG way since then!!!!!
Great Posts!, and I love these blogs. Keeps us thinking and developing as a family.
Last night we had an incredible class in which we drilled the side choke over and over again until the students really felt the muscle memory came into play. Then we rotated partners, and then repeated to learn even more.
Great posts guys, and I’m still learning after all these years. In regards to the POR, because of HaganaH, that’s the way it helped me understand my BJJ training and how I teach our BJJ classes to the beginners. I tell them they have to get to a POR. Guard, Side Control, Mount, etc…before they can do anything else. Wow! I’ve come full circle.
BTW, I posted a portion of last nights class on youtube.
“Honey… I’m Home!” That phrase rings in my ears alomst everytime I reach the POR, esp with a knife involved. It’s there that you know… whew, I might live through this. You have sucessfully locked the weapon bearing limb into a place that cannot effectively damage you! Time to unleash hell on that MOfu567r! It makes sense, and it works!!!!
When we train the side choke pushing, we know what is coming, and we prepare for the counter to the push. When I show it to someone who does not know what to expect, like sir says, they literally walk right into the elbow! I have to pull back to keep them from eating it and loosing a few teeth!
I have studied various SD methods, and Haganah’s is by far the easiest to learn, and most effective to apply! IT WORKS!!!
Make sure you take you time, learning each step with good habits. Bad ones are hard to break and they can get you killed!