^ Again, that clip is more what to do if your opponent is so big that his bridge can effect you.
I only post that foot out in specific situations. A teammate filmed & edited that and some important info is missing, so that clip annoys me a little. Most people, most situations, hips flat on the floor, (left) knee past the head.
If jiu jitsu ever exists again, I will re-shoot that video more comprehensively.
I really enjoy Shenâs videos!
Shen- do you still like doing the Americana set up (where you pop his grip off of your collar) like you showed? It looks good!
shen -Sober - haha...the upshot of this is I did start watching a bunch of your self defense videos. I figure if I'm going to learn self defense...it's going to be from the guy that maliciously injures his uke. osssI have injured COUNTLESS ukes --especially children.
Like I say to the kidâs class when they misbehave, âWhat makes you think I wonât pop your sh!tâŚ?â
TAKE MY MONEY
serious question, do you hit the americana often on upper level belts? Iâm a black belt and I honestly canât remember the last time someone hit this on me. there is a bit of a bias obviously b/c most people think it isnât as viable against skilled opponents. but Iâd imagine people that are really good at it can surprise a lot of people.
anecdotal data on joint attackedâŚthe first time I ever had my elbow popped was from an americana.
kying418 - I really enjoy Shen's videos!Shen- do you still like doing the Americana set up (where you pop his grip off of your collar) like you showed? It looks good!
Absolutely. Itâs very powerful and puts the arm into an isolated/vulnerable position right away, so the transition to the Americana is easy.
When is Shen going to release his Americana Trap system?
pcuzz - When is Shen going to release his Americana Trap system?
Can Shen pull a Danaher and release an 8 part, 10 hour filled instructional on the Americana?
Enter the Shenicana
Sober - serious question, do you hit the americana often on upper level belts? I'm a black belt and I honestly can't remember the last time someone hit this on me. there is a bit of a bias obviously b/c most people think it isn't as viable against skilled opponents. but I'd imagine people that are really good at it can surprise a lot of people.anecdotal data on joint attackedâŚthe first time I ever had my elbow popped was from an americana.
For a long time The Americana was my #1 or #2 Submission, against all belts.
If I was rolling with someone I didnât know and Americanaed them, theyâd often say, âI havenât been submitted with an America since____â.
Upper belts donât like to tap to an Americana and I think thatâs one of the things that made me stubborn about trying to âmasterâ it.
Everyone learns the Americana and stops using it around Blue belt because it stops working for them. This is because: 1) Their rolling partners learn basic counters and 2) they donât have good set-up/transitions into the submission.
The way I do it, the basic counters, (e.g. grabbing your hands together, turning onto your side) wonât stop it.
I will say this, as much as I like the unsung Americana, the Kimura is âbetterâ move. Itâs more reliable and it takes less skill to be functional with. Because of the way the shoulder works and where your opponentâs hands are in relation to your hands, the America is generally trickier. There isjust more to learn in terms of pulling off off. You have to spend a long time with the Americana. Thereâs a reason you see a lot more Kimuras in tournaments.
However, the âsecretâ upside of the Americana specialist is that people just arenât as good or practiced at defending it, as they are at defending other submissions. People donât get a lot of mat time fighting of really solid Americanas, so they are often taken by surprise. A lot of people --who maybe should know better-- are kinda⌠I donât want to say âdefenselessâ but it really is a weak point for a lot of people.
Paradoxically, for such a common BJJ technique, the Americana not very common.
pcuzz - When is Shen going to release his Americana Trap system?
SOONâŚ
I just need 10 more subscribers to the Shenicana Gold Elite Plus Membership Package.
Once that happens, then the gates to the âPLATINUM Shenacana Vault of Secretsâ will finally open --but only for a short time!
Last time I made this offer the Gracies got PISSED and my phone was blowing up with calls from Brazil, 24/7!
So STAY tuned for the Platinum Vault opening, because if you miss it this time, it will remain sealed in the vault, FOREVER!
ahâŚI was wondering. I like the idea of being good at things that arenât as common. I use it a decent amount but I donât finish it on good opponents. I mostly use it in conjunction with the kimura/straight arm bar if they are rolling their arms around (ie I havenât gotten the elbow sucked in far enough). Iâll have to play with it some more.
shen -kying418 - I really enjoy Shen's videos!Shen- do you still like doing the Americana set up (where you pop his grip off of your collar) like you showed? It looks good!
Absolutely. Itâs very powerful and puts the arm into an isolated/vulnerable position right away, so the transition to the Americana is easy.
Sorry to bring this up from so long ago- do you have any details to doing this?
On this video- you mentioned, a cutting motion (to squeeze the elbow towards you), and then pushing your shoulder to the mat- anything else to it? Should you always prop up your left leg? Do you base your left hand on the ground all the time?
I would love to use this set up. Thanks!
I would love to see an in-depth video on the Americana. I use it all the time, but never submit anyone with it. I just use it to get the armbar, an easy transition I learned from the Big Nog / Dan Henderson rematch. I would like to actually submit someone with it.
deepu -Link from Shen:
https://youtu.be/0MP9U8xGrD8
That's really cool. My far side arm attacks look like this and I think Shen's Americana tips would pair nicely with it because the entry is so similar:
kying418,
All you are doing is:
A âcuttingâ motion with your radial bone to help bend your opponentâs arm more and bring his elbow to his ribs.
Pushing your shoulder to the mat, to âpinâ your opponentâs arm, in an akward, bent position
AND 3) Twisting your upper body/shoulders the opposite direction of the cutting motion (your chest facing your opponentâs head). So, if your opponenent is griping your gi --anywhere-- when you go for the Americana, this will break the grip.
Posting out with the (L) leg like that is mostly for if your opponent is a lot bigger than you, especially through their chest and/or if they have a really high bridge, such as a wrestler doing a neck bridge.
Again, FWIW, I think the #1 detail is positioning your (L) knee PAST your opponentâs head so you are beyond perpendicular and BOTH completely filling-up the near armpit space AND pinning the NEAR shoulder. That positioning is critical. If someone doesnât have that position, I donât think they should even go for the submission, unless (alternate version here) they are kneeling in the opponentâs near upper arm. The #1 "mistake"I see with people doing Americanas is not pinning the NEAR shoulder to the groundâŚObviously, this is just MY personal experience with it, just the way I do it.
^ Thank you so much- this is exactly what I needed. If I could do nothing else in BJJ except lie on side control and submit everyone with an Americana, I would be a happy camper! 
kying418 - ^ Thank you so much- this is exactly what I needed. If I could do nothing else in BJJ except lie on side control and submit everyone with an Americana, I would be a happy camper! :)
When you get right down to it, what else is there?
shen -Sober - serious question, do you hit the americana often on upper level belts? I'm a black belt and I honestly can't remember the last time someone hit this on me. there is a bit of a bias obviously b/c most people think it isn't as viable against skilled opponents. but I'd imagine people that are really good at it can surprise a lot of people.anecdotal data on joint attackedâŚthe first time I ever had my elbow popped was from an americana.
For a long time The Americana was my #1 or #2 Submission, against all belts.
If I was rolling with someone I didnât know and Americanaed them, theyâd often say, âI havenât been submitted with an America since____â.
Upper belts donât like to tap to an Americana and I think thatâs one of the things that made me stubborn about trying to âmasterâ it.
Everyone learns the Americana and stops using it around Blue belt because it stops working for them. This is because: 1) Their rolling partners learn basic counters and 2) they donât have good set-up/transitions into the submission.
The way I do it, the basic counters, (e.g. grabbing your hands together, turning onto your side) wonât stop it.
I will say this, as much as I like the unsung Americana, the Kimura is âbetterâ move. Itâs more reliable and it takes less skill to be functional with. Because of the way the shoulder works and where your opponentâs hands are in relation to your hands, the America is generally trickier. There isjust more to learn in terms of pulling off off. You have to spend a long time with the Americana. Thereâs a reason you see a lot more Kimuras in tournaments.
However, the âsecretâ upside of the Americana specialist is that people just arenât as good or practiced at defending it, as they are at defending other submissions. People donât get a lot of mat time fighting of really solid Americanas, so they are often taken by surprise. A lot of people --who maybe should know better-- are kinda⌠I donât want to say âdefenselessâ but it really is a weak point for a lot of people.
Paradoxically, for such a common BJJ technique, the Americana not very common.
Interesting perspective and great explanation. I believe that Marcelo Garcia said that the Kimura is a muscle move. Do you feel the same way?
^
Iâm sure he means something very specific when he says that.
Obviously, all submissions require muscle, but itâs a continuum. â like a footsweep takes less âphysicalityâ than a shouder throw does, but both techniques are still well within the parameters of âproperâ technique. Neither is a pure strength move.
Similarly, the Kimura --or say a move like a kneebar-- requires a little more physicality than some submissions, but I still think itâs something that has a deep technical aspect to it.
Sub.
There are several interesting styles. The I think that if the elbow is at less than 90 degrees it is almost all of a shoulder lock. Iâm not so much fan of that.
Slightly greater than 90 degrees itâs still more of a shoulder than elbow but itâs definitely putting pressure on the elbow.
Iâm a fan these days of brining the elbows towards the hip and keeping the elbow at 90. So your elbow is coming away from your ear. They have absolutely 0 mobility to turn towards that arm to push the elbow.
The problem with âpaintingâ the arm and keep your elbow against their ear is that the angle of their elbow becomes more acute and they gain a LOT of shoulder flexibility which your âmotorcycleâ movement attempts to compensate for.
BTW - I grab the bottom edge of their hand with the edge of my hand. Theyâll never be able to over power you and straighten their arm.
I decided to change my style this way because I was doing a lot of capturing their hand with their lapel âlittle handsâ style so to speak. Problem is that you really canât finish an americana with their hand so close to their head and the reason is the elbow is at such an acute angle.
Braulio has another interesting technique of really getting your arm under their shoulder to keep their shoulder off the mat. Def interesting style, but I really like what Iâm doing right these days.
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