The devil is in the details

In preparation for my next belt test (Orange 2 stripe) we’ve been going over some of the finer points of certain techniques. One that I’ve been struggling with is part of the low sleeve grab series, more specifically low sleeve grab number 2 Z-LOCK.

We had the pleasure of working with Master Yates last night which is typical on Wednesday nights and when he is there he is a wealth of information on all the finer points of the art. The issue I was struggling with is when I had a larger opponent I had a tendency to reach my elbow up real high to snake around my opponents arm. During the technique you are supposed to grab your opponents arm and take the sleeve grabbed arm and position your elbow around his arm. My problem, with a larger opponent, was that I had a tendency to raise my body up to try and snake my elbow around his arm which is improper execution of the move.

Thankfully the source was there last night to explain what I was doing wrong. Master Yates demonstrated by having me stand on top of a chair which for obvious reasons would make me quite larger than him. He then proceeded to ball up his fist as he was snaking his arm around and applying a great deal of pressure to the joint which inadvertently caused my arm to buckle making it quite easy then to wrap the elbow and execute the z-lock.
Thank you for your knowledge Master Yates. The devil is in the details.