I looked at my list of lesson plans last night and thought I was out of planned lessons. The good news is there was one lonely item left before I have to sit down and make the next batch of lessons on how to be a killer blue belt.

It’s time for the wrist lock class. They are considered low percentage, but they are legal in NAGA no-gi adult all levels, as well as adult gi blue belt and above. I am a firm believer in teaching and learning techniques before you are at the belt level that’s allowed to use them in competition, so everyone should be learning the mechanics of a wrist lock, even if for no other reason that to learn how to avoid them during sparringIt’s going to be a fast paced class because I am going to show quite a few positions where the wrist lock is more than just a low percentage move. I have tapped all levels up through brown belt with wrist locks, and I have no doubt that the opportunity to finish a black belt will arise at some point. Black belts are incredibly slippery and seemingly always in the wrong spot for me to attack and finish most submissions, however I have used wrist locks to form a minimally credible threat that loosens them up enough for me to escape. Low percentage moves can’t be ignored, and I tend to use them in a way that if they are ignored, they become high percentage, otherwise they induce the motion I need to transition to something else.

I’m also going to show you how to safely train wristlocks so that you don’t hurt your training partners. Anybody can slam a wristlock and go for the instant submit, but you are risking hurting someone. Using proper technique and leverage, you can incorporate wristlocks into your ground game and be confident that you aren’t going to cause anything more than a little soreness that will quickly dissipate.

Let’s make great blue belts!