Francis Abramson's Shoulder Crunch From Closed Guard

Francis Abramson (@francis.abramson), professor at Rilion Gracie Doral with 30+ years teaching, on a closed guard shoulder crunch: bait and wait, force the finish, take the back, or go higher to hug the head. From the video: https://youtu.be/bH5ApVR2jRo

Flow outline

  1. Closed Guard Setup

    • From closed guard, reach over and set up the shoulder crunch position.
    • From Francis Abramson (@francis.abramson), professor at Rilion Gracie Doral with 30+ years teaching, in the video "Shoulder crunch from closed guard".

  2. Bait And Wait

    • Stay low or bait the opponent to come forward, then relieve pressure when they do.
    • Timing: if low or baiting, wait for them to come
    • Reaction: relieve the pressure and wait for them to come in

  3. Shoulder Crunch Finish

    • Apply the shoulder crunch and if they don't tap, force it by opening your guard and pinching and kicking.
    • Finish: if no tap, force it: open your guard
    • Pressure: pinch and kick to finish

  4. Back Take Transition

    • From the same setup, relieve the pressure, grab the sleeve and push away, then grab the belt or body, push the legs and step back to drag them to the back.
    • Grip: grab the belt or his body
    • Leg Path: push his legs from the base and step back
    • Finish: drag him to take the back
    • Grip: grab the sleeve and push away

  5. Back Control Chokes

    • Once on the back, go for chokes and fix the position.
    • Finish: go for chokes and fix the position

  6. Head Hug Arm Hook

    • If you don't want the back, stay on the finish: go higher, hug the head and hook the arm, then squeeze.
    • Position: needs to go higher here
    • Grip: hug the head and hook the arm
    • Finish: squeeze right here

  7. Relax And Extend

    • If it doesn't tap, relax and relieve pressure, then use your hamstrings to extend and lock him over.
    • Reaction: if no tap, relax and relieve here
    • Leg Path: hamstrings work and extend him
    • Finish: extend and lock them over

Branch conditions