Karo's single leg counter with a standing kimura?

Sakuraba's biggest problem was that he never learned to pass the guard. If he had he'd have even more finishes.
Yeah I guess cartwheels, trying to grab the ankle, and straight up jumping onto the opponent with both feet is not a viable strategy ; )
 
How many fights did he lose because he was unable to pass the guard?

The Arona fight, the first Schembri fight, Big Nog, the second Royce fight, all those fights had times when he had taken his opponent down but because of his inability to pass he ends up letting them get back to their feet and then goes on to lose. What not being able to pass meant was that if he didn't establish a solid riding position or snatch a sub in transition, his opponent was going to be safe playing guard and would be able to stand back up. And since his standup wasn't that good, being unable to really keep a guy down if he could get to guard meant that he didn't spend as much time as he should have in his area of strength on the mat. His takedowns were sometimes wasted as a result.
 
It gets used plenty. I think you mean that it's not used often. I don't know why more people don't use it. Probably fear of ending up on bottom if you get it wrong.
 
The Arona fight, the first Schembri fight, Big Nog, the second Royce fight, all those fights had times when he had taken his opponent down but because of his inability to pass he ends up letting them get back to their feet and then goes on to lose. What not being able to pass meant was that if he didn't establish a solid riding position or snatch a sub in transition, his opponent was going to be safe playing guard and would be able to stand back up. And since his standup wasn't that good, being unable to really keep a guy down if he could get to guard meant that he didn't spend as much time as he should have in his area of strength on the mat. His takedowns were sometimes wasted as a result.

Alot of kayro and sexyama throws were the same way. Looked good, but couldnt control once hit the ground.
 
Main problem with using the kimura to counter a single leg is that it exposes your back.
See Rory vs Nate Diaz.
 
Alot of kayro and sexyama throws were the same way. Looked good, but couldnt control once hit the ground.

It's a problem for most people who haven't trained BJJ or folkstyle wrestling. Most grappling styles around the world are almost solely about the takedown with ground skills being very limited/specialized.
 
His grappling was also formed largely by Gene LeBell. His game has a strong catch influence, and the double wrist lock is a huge point of emphasis in catch from pretty much any position. If you want to see someone else who uses the Kimura/DWL in transitions all the time, especially to defend sweeps and takedowns, go watch some Sakuraba fights. That's about the purest catch wrestling you can get.

I use the kimura counter to the single leg all the time in both mma and bjj. I only compete in bjj, and I've used it to score many times, including in my last tournament a few months ago.

I use the kimura really just from everywhere, in no small part due to watching Sakuraba. Sometimes you get suplexed, but if you keep the grip, you can just keep threatening. Watch Sakuraba taught me that. lol. Man, I've held on to dwl control, been tossed, stood up, been tossed, stood up, hit my takedown. That control is powerful if you use it well.
 
It's a problem for most people who haven't trained BJJ or folkstyle wrestling. Most grappling styles around the world are almost solely about the takedown with ground skills being very limited/specialized.
Personally i think ot had more to do with the lack of sleeve grip in mma. Most judo throws require a sleeve grip for control after the throw.
 
Personally i think ot had more to do with the lack of sleeve grip in mma. Most judo throws require a sleeve grip for control after the throw.

The no-gi issue is definitely part of it, but I think more of it is the structure of Judo rules. If you watch or train Judo, you probably know that guys attach very little importance to ground control post-throw vs. going for the ippon. That makes sense, if you can win instantly with a big throw and there's very little risk to failing and ending up in a slightly worse but defensible position on the ground. As such, Judo training (especially at the elite level) has moved towards going all out for the throw and not paying a ton of attention to control post throw. That's the opposite of BJJ or folk wrestling where control after the TD is as important as the throw itself. Judo guys just don't spend a lot of time practicing the transition from takedown to a dominant top position, other than a few specific sequences like going for arm bars from turtle.
 
I use the kimura counter to the single leg all the time in both mma and bjj. I only compete in bjj, and I've used it to score many times, including in my last tournament a few months ago.

I use the kimura really just from everywhere, in no small part due to watching Sakuraba. Sometimes you get suplexed, but if you keep the grip, you can just keep threatening. Watch Sakuraba taught me that. lol. Man, I've held on to dwl control, been tossed, stood up, been tossed, stood up, hit my takedown. That control is powerful if you use it well.

Kimura control is like 80% of my no-gi top game (and I use it a lot in the gi too). You can get it from everywhere, and once you get it if you're persistent and tight you can almost always create threats.
 
Sakuraba's biggest problem was that he never learned to pass the guard. If he had he'd have even more finishes.
lol what on earth are you talking about? Look at his entire career. Please list one fight you think he would have finished if he was a better guard passer?
 
The Arona fight, the first Schembri fight, Big Nog, the second Royce fight, all those fights had times when he had taken his opponent down but because of his inability to pass he ends up letting them get back to their feet and then goes on to lose. What not being able to pass meant was that if he didn't establish a solid riding position or snatch a sub in transition, his opponent was going to be safe playing guard and would be able to stand back up. And since his standup wasn't that good, being unable to really keep a guy down if he could get to guard meant that he didn't spend as much time as he should have in his area of strength on the mat. His takedowns were sometimes wasted as a result.


I think the more significant factor there was the fact that they stood up, at all in the first place. Whether or not he passes is more or less incidental compared to this.
 
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lol what on earth are you talking about? Look at his entire career. Please list one fight you think he would have finished if he was a better guard passer?

The Arona fight, the first Schembri fight, Big Nog, the second Royce fight, all those fights had times when he had taken his opponent down but because of his inability to pass he ends up letting them get back to their feet and then goes on to lose. What not being able to pass meant was that if he didn't establish a solid riding position or snatch a sub in transition, his opponent was going to be safe playing guard and would be able to stand back up. And since his standup wasn't that good, being unable to really keep a guy down if he could get to guard meant that he didn't spend as much time as he should have in his area of strength on the mat. His takedowns were sometimes wasted as a result.
 
I use the kimura counter to the single leg all the time in both mma and bjj. I only compete in bjj, and I've used it to score many times, including in my last tournament a few months ago.

I use the kimura really just from everywhere, in no small part due to watching Sakuraba. Sometimes you get suplexed, but if you keep the grip, you can just keep threatening. Watch Sakuraba taught me that. lol. Man, I've held on to dwl control, been tossed, stood up, been tossed, stood up, hit my takedown. That control is powerful if you use it well.

If it's good enough for Fedor, it's good enough for me.
 
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