ONE Championship Star Grappler Mikey Musumeci Almost Broke My Arm

MIKEY MUSUMECI DOESN’T gape admire one among the most feared opponents within the world originally peek. He’s a minute younger guy with glasses, fundamentally smiling and offering up his signature hand gesture (you perceive the emoji, now not lower than: 🤌) to reference his Italian heritage and deep luxuriate in of pizza and pasta.

Catch him on the mat at your native martial arts gym, despite the incontrovertible reality that, and in addition you’ll be in a position to secure your self at the mercy of a terrifyingly efficient submission technician. The 28-yr-primitive “Darth Rigatoni” is one among the most completed Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners on this planet. He’s obtained 5 IBJJF World Championships and he is currently the ONE Championship Submission Grappling Flyweight title-holder. Unfortunately for me, when Musumeci visited the MH Neatly being Hub before ONE 168 in Denver, I used to be meeting him on a mat—and I’d be subjected to one among his dapper-effective submission strikes, the closed-guard arm bar.

This finisher assign me in a tricky situation, and one at some stage in which I’m now not completely acquainted. Most of my martial arts abilities is with striking in boxing and Muay Thai. I’ve been coached somewhat on grappling, but that was aloof from an MMA standpoint the put punching and kicking is aloof an chance. Since Musumeci competes in ONE’s submission grappling division, which strategy he is simplest the narrate of his jiu-jitsu to most effective his opponent—and I in level of reality haven’t any recourse as adverse to to evaluation out to wriggle out of his diagram discontinuance. As any of his seven opponents at ONE can attest (he is got a 7-0 file with 5 submissions), that is plan more uncomplicated said than carried out.

Thankfully, I wasn’t rolling against Musumeci to compete. He would narrate me design the arm bar, and I’d (confidently) pass despite the incontrovertible reality that the demo with a brand original skill.

Mikey Musumeci’s Closed Guard Arm Bar

The Ability

First, Musumeci demonstrated exactly what it technique to be in closed guard on bottom situation. “Closed guard on bottom’s a immense situation, you’ll be in a position to it even in MMA, attributable to I can provide protection to myself from getting strikes,” he said. “You might per chance’t elegant get up and punch me.”

What that appears admire in apply is the particular particular person that shall be at final deploying the arm bar on their support on the mat, the narrate of their legs wrapped around their opponent to lock them into their guard. The grappler in bottom situation is then ready to “frame” their opponents biceps, battling them from punching or elbowing them and controlling the match.

In apply, this supposed that Musumeci might per chance perhaps completely control my actions when I entered his guard. I outweigh him by around 70 kilos (his strive against weight, that is), but I couldn’t trudge from the put he wanted me to be.

Thankfully, he was with me in teacher mode, now not as the ruthless Darth Rigatoni. He walked me by the steps for the arm bar, which had been easy to learn, but annoying to be aware.

First, shake your opponent’s hand. In apply, you might per chance perhaps be grabbing their arm, now not in actuality greedy palms—however the introductory facet helps to be aware the first step. Next, diagram discontinuance their elbow with your other hand and space it on your lap. Align their hand, elbow, and shoulder. Then, steal your leg up over your opponent’s shoulder and lock your heels around their support. From there, shift your weight to the facet, throw your leg over your opponent’s head, pinch your knees, and clamp your toes down. The final step: Press down with your hands and steal up with your hips. Assign striking the stress on your opponent except they tap out or their arm breaks.

I got uncomfortably discontinuance to that fate at some stage within the fundamental demo of the arm bar. I used to be somewhat slower on the tap than I likely must bear been, but fortunately there was no lasting damage—to my arm, now not lower than. My pride was a a runt bit assorted topic.

The Drill

After discovering out the steps to throw the arm bar, I desired to pork up the physique situation I’d must to find my opponent in closed guard—and address them there. To design that, Musumeci assign me by a deceptively annoying drill that pushed my hips and adductor muscles to their limits.

Musumeci had a aesthetic reference to improve this maneuver: the Adam Sandler classic Chuffed Gilmore. Grand admire Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers, RIP) teaches Sandler’s Gilmore that golf is “all within the hips,” Musumeci taught me the identical is legal in throwing an arm bar, attributable to the hips are distinguished for locking the legs to address up control of the opponent. “In jiu-jitsu, you might per chance perhaps be the narrate of your entire physique genuine now,” he says. “It be a entire-physique narrate.”

In apply, this damage up with me intelligent a treatment ball between my legs as I scooted around the mat. This was a shockingly tricky; the main is, but again, to lock the toes at the ankles, then squeeze the ball with the thighs at some stage within the full duration of the drill. The adductors are likely to be now not the finest muscles which will most certainly be assign to the test; my core was on fire by the pause of the duration. Today striking my arm bar to the test afterword was a tricky job—however the valid effort was elegant about to originate.

The Scenario

This all led up to the final stage: Musumeci challenged me to plug by the drill for 30 seconds, then nail two out of three makes an try at an arm bar. “Narrate of it admire a cookbook,” he informed. Now, elegant to be aware the steps of the recipe.

He started the timer, and my adductors and core had been at as soon as on fire. I used to be concentrated on design—after which at as soon as needed to rack my mind for the elegant steps. The first try was a fail. Musumeci desired to “introduce himself” to me as soon as extra to spin my memory. After that (and with some extra support), I remembered wisely ample to to find into situation to design him tap out. I had learned the arm bar from Mikey Musumeci, giving me one other deadly strive against skill. A minimum of that’s what I stagger to recount myself.

I know that if we damage up on the mat with out my coaching wheels and tons of pleasant support, Darth Rigatoni would be an now impossible adversary for somebody admire me. Musumeci is one among among the finest on this planet, finally—and his next ONE Championship opponent shall be confronted with a steep effort to final to the final bell before tapping.