Problems with American Kenpo knife techniques

One of the biggest problems, in my view, with the American kenpo knife techniques (i.e., Glancing Lance, Thrusting Lance, Entwined Lance, Raining Lance, Piercing Lance) is the length of the techniques. The reality is that the longer you "stay in the pocket" when someone has a knife, the greater the odds of being severely hurt. In other words, while it is highly likely you will be cut if you have to defend yourself against a knife regardless of how fast you are or how quickly you disengage, the longer the duration of your technique, the higher the probability that you will be cut more and severely hurt.

How to deal with the turtle position

Ideally, if we side mount our opponent, we maintain good position, such that our opponent is rendered helpless and eventually we submit them. However, if the person is strong and/or we don't maintain strong control from the side mount, they may try to get to the turtle position as a way to escape. If they try to get to their knees in an attempt to go to the turtle position, immediately we need to sprawl to prevent the opponent from grabbing and controlling one of our legs. Once we sprawl, we can quickly control the opponent, spin around and obtain the back mount.

Tips when applying the rear naked choke

- wrap deep around the opponent's neck
- be sure your elbow lines up under the opponent's chin in a V-shape
- pull straight in when you choke and expand your chest (don't push their head)
- ensure that your bicep plugs one carotid artery while your forearm plugs the other

Taking the Back from the Mount

One of the most important techniques to perfect in jiu jitsu is learning how to take the back from the mount. The reason for this is that most people who are mounted and are laying on their back will try to roll to their knees to try to get up because they are worried about getting punched to the face.