Questions without preamble this time: what should be the attitude when holding a pin? Should I just try to keep my opp. flat on the floor, i.e. just keeping weight on him? Should I be looking to "flow" with his force into another position (e.g. when opp. tries an elbow escape from side control, you go directly into a modified scarf hold)? Or should I be avoiding this judo mentality and go looking for submissions all the time?

(BTW, can anyone recommend good videos on holding pins? I know some basic transitions, like side to scarf and side to north/south, but I don't do them particularly elegantly... I have a vague and probably misguided notion that good ground positioning should be as satisfying as good rou shou. No struggle.)

Kris,
You are on the right track, good ground positioning, with practice will flow like good rou shou.

In general, in side control, north/south or the scarf hold, you always want your opponent flat on his back. One of the keys to keeping him down without struggling is to move your mass over the point he tries to raise from the mat. For example, if you are in side control and the opponent attempts to sit up and push you off, immediately roll your weight up onto his upper chest and adjust your weight. Your opponent should feel as if you are always extremely heavy at the point at which he attempts to use force.

Secondly, it is important to remove your opponent's potential fulcrums as early as possible (no fulcrum, no leverage). For example, in the same position (side control) your opponent succeeds in pushing your chest up bench press style and you begin to roll off toward his legs, that is the time to switch your base to the modified scarf hold while twisting your top shoulder up to remove the force of his push. He loses his leverage.

Finally, when changing positions it is important to keep as much of your weight on the opponent as possible, and your hips low. Your opponent will feel as if he is grappling with a heavy bag of water.

Any opportunity for submission should be taken advantage of (if you are submissions wrestling especially, since you can't win with a pin anyway), and even in a match with Judo rules; why not finish instead of using the time and energy required pin if possible? Besides, if your opponent is constantly defending submission attempts, he will by necessity have less energy to expend on escaping the position.

Tim, as always your answers are enlightening!

Kris, your questions are well thought out, and thought provoking! I gleaned quite a bit from both your questions and Tim's answers.

Thank You Both
Regards
Bob Shores

As usual, Tim is very accurate. Changing your posture and weight distribution to counter the opponent’s attempts at escape is the only way to have a good pin. Feel free to change from one position to another as long as it means maintaining control. A key thing to remember with your pins is to work to achieve control over your opponent. Maintain a position that assures the opponent will use much more energy than you. Also, should you try to submit your opponent, you could be wasting your time and energy if you do not achieve control first. I recommend any Katame Waza, or Osaekomi Waza books and videos from Kodokan Judo. In my own bias opinion, Judoka are the leaders in pinning techniques. After all, we do have to hold our opponents down for a full 30 seconds to achieve the win. That is a big difference from the few seconds required of wrestling.

And, out of necessity, Judoka are also very good at escaping pins.

Tim,
Once again, many thanks for the response. This one is ringing many bells in my head. I am afraid I am a bit too much of an academic though and can't resist asking more questions. (^_^)

On moving mass on your opp.- does this mean something like- let's say in side control, if your opp. tries to bridge, you move your chest more towards his hips? tries to sit up, towards his chest? And if he tries to roll, you shift weight towards the checking knee, hips or elbow?

An additional question: should I be looking to trap his arms? like putting a knee on his arm in side mount?

A very specific question: I had my opp. in scarf hold the other day and he hooked his leg around my head. I didn't even feel it coming. Is there a counter to this?

On keeping weight while changing positions- I've read a bit about the basketball drill- would you recommend it?

I wonder if there is a resource out there that lays out all the pinning transitions on a flow-chart. Like: when you have side control and your opp. hooks your hip-checking leg, you can switch to reverse scarf hold to clear the leg and switch back into side control. I find techniques like this satisfying. I want more! (^_^)

Larry,
I am inclined to agree with you. There seems to be many more Judo resources on pinning than BJJ ones (although Roy Harris' BJJ 101 vol. 2 has been a big help). Being a bit of a bibliophile, I have the Osaekomi book by Kashiwasaki and, surprisingly, a book I've found quite useful is Otaki & Draeger's Judo Formal Techniques. Videos have been disappointing though. The newaza vids I've seen have all been on entries into jujigatame and sangokujime. (All good, but not what I'm looking for.) I am even contemplating ordering a set by Kashiwasaki (in Japanese) from Japan!

http://stickgrappler.tripod.com/bjj/flow1.html

Kris,
Right, you keep your mass over the opponent's point of force when in side control.

Trapping the opponents' arms is usually a good idea, as long as it doesn't compromise your base.

In order for your opponent to hook his leg over your head in the scarf hold, he usually has to move his hips away from yours to make space. Keep your hips close to his (scoot close if he moves his hips away) and lower your head if you feel his leg come up.