Finishing mechanics: A distinctive feature of my coaching style is an unusually heavy emphasis on FINISHING MECHANICS for all the major submission holds my athletes use. So often I see talented athletes do a fine job of entering into a submission and controlling their opponent, but then exhibit weak finishing mechanics at the crucial moment when submission victory was within their grasp. You must have a very clear understanding of the mechanical details that make a given submission work against determined resistance. Perhaps more than any other aspect of jiu jitsu – the submissions game is the one where the smallest errors of placement of lever and fulcrum and application of directions of force will have the most detrimental effects. Study your favorite submissions with an eye for detail that surpasses all other aspects of the game and you will soon find that opponents who used to easily slip away from you are now trapped and helpless when you get to your finishing positions. MAKE YOUR PRIMARY FOCUS TIGHTNESS, RESTRICTION OF MOVEMENT AND PRECISION IN PLACEMENT OF FULCRUM AND LEVER RATHER THAN APPLICATION OF POWER. Observe the impressive tightness of the rear strangle used by Garry Tonon to win his second MMA fight – it looks as though a tourniquet has been wrapped around his opponent's neck, such is the precise placement of hands, Head and elbows, along with the rotational direction of force that we favor. Take pride in your finishing mechanics – once you master them you will have a set of weapons that opponents will fear and upon which you can attach great faith.
