Matched pairs: A very important notion to advance your game is to understand that all good Jiu Jitsu is based around the idea of dilemma. Whenever possible, work with two moves linked together so that as one runs into resistance, the over takes over. Note immediately that your CHOICE of linked moves is very important – CERTAIN MOVES LINK TOGETHER WITH OTHERS MUCH BETTER THAN OTHERS. What makes a superior link is often dependent on how you want to attack and what the scenario is. One of the very best linked attacks is the pairing of arm bar (juji gatame) and triangle (sankaku). Whenever you have one, you almost always have the other. Here, I start in a commonly seen arm bar from top rear mount, but as my partner begins to go into a standing escape sequence, I hook into the posted arm in a way that immediately leads into one of my favorite triangles – the rear triangle (ushiro Sankaku). The leg hook under the arm and over the neck creates an extremely strong breakdown to return the opponent to the mat. All it takes on your part is some simple leg pommelling – made easy by the fact the leg positioning in arm bars and triangles is very similar – and now you have two easily linked attacks in one scenario that double your chance of success!
