Learn how to counter the berimbolo at the last second and take your opponent’s back in the process with the king of backtakes himself, Tommy Langaker.
Most of the counters to the berimbolo, out there in the aether of the internet, focus on early-stage defenses.
And so they should. Because the earlier you can counter the berimbolo the easier life on the mat will be for you.
But, what happens when you fail with one of those early-stage defenses?
It happens.
And it happens a lot.
One second you’re shutting down your opponent’s de la riva guard on your way to 3 points and the pass.
The next you’re upside down, on your back and about to be embarrassed in front of your coach when you inevitably get your back taken by a 14-year-old.
But, not after today you won’t.
In this article, the guard playing, backtaking, berimbolo killing son of a gun that is Tommy Langaker is here to show you exactly what you need to do to counter the berimbolo in the late stages of a 50/50 twister hook.
Even better, he’s going to show you how to regain the upper hand with a backtake of your own.
The first and crucially important point when countering the berimbolo from the 50/50 twister hook position is to avoid lifting your hips.
By lifting your hips, you’re only helping your opponent gain a clear path to your back.
Keeping your hips and back flush to the floor will make it harder for your opponent to lift you and occupy the space between your back and the mat.
Now that you’ve ensured your back is secure, take a grip on your opponent’s pants at their knee serving as the twister hook with your same side hand.
Make this grip a pocket grip on the outside of your opponent’s knee so that you’re able to use this grip as a push when the time comes.
With your other hand, grip your opponent’s waist cupping their hips/glutes with your arms.
When you find yourself on the defending end of a 50/50 twister hook situation, generally your leg that is caught in the hook will be partially straightened and difficult to move.
In order to counter the berimbolo, we need to first create a bend in your leg so that you can use it to turn your opponent and lift their hips.
But in order to that, we need to first get into the perfect position.
First use the grip you have on your opponent’s knee to push it forward. Doing this will aid you in raising their hips slightly while providing you with the ability to control their movement.
Next, plant your free foot on the mat and use it to escape your hips to the side.
It is important here that you continue to push on their knee as this will stop them from pushing back into you with their leg AND significantly reduce the pressure placed on your knee when bending it at this angle.
To turn your opponent efficiently, ensuring you end the turn and start your backtake with your first hook in an ideal position, you’ll knee to open your knee: snaking it to the mat next to your opponent’s ribs.
Doing this will place your leg in a position where straightening it will turn your opponent, rather than simply extend their lower leg, and provide you a flush connection of your instep to their shin for the hook.
Without these key details in place, your kick will not be effective in turning your opponent to expose their back.
To pull your opponent toward you and finish countering the berimbolo with a backtake, you’ll want to use your opponent’s gi to your advantage.
First, use your outside arm to reach across your opponent’s body, below their armpit, and grip at their far lapel roughly at chest height.
Next, use your near hand to take a grip on the back of your opponent’s collar with your four fingers inside.
These two grips will allow you to lift and pull your opponent toward you so that their back lands flush with your chest.
Once, here you can apply the seatbelt grip and choose how this nightmare ends for your opponent.
Looking for more counters to modern guard techniques or you just wanna build a killer guard of your own?
Check out the ENTER THE MATRIX – THE RED PILL GUARD METHOD. A guide to dominating from the bottom by a man known for having one of most feared and unsolvable guard games in all of jiu jitsu: the viking that is Tommy Langaker.
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