Eddie Bravo is known as one of the biggest contributors in the field of BJJ. He has created the 10th Planet BJJ system that’s widely used nowadays among BJJ practitioners. That being said, this is not a system that you can master in a small period of time. You need to be dedicated to it in order to understand its intricacies. There are many different moves and positions that can make your head spin if you don’t actually invest the time in order to learn more about them. So, one of the basic moves of the 10th Planet BJJ arsenal is the notorious electric chair. You will find some more information about how to perform this move down below.
Doing the lockdown
Eddie Bravo’s school is known for a particular half-guard version where you intertwine your legs over your opponent’s leg. This creates a much safer position for the person doing the so-called lockdown – however, it also means that you will give up some of the attacking potential of the half-guard position. But it’s essential to get into the lockdown if you wish to perform the electric chair.
So, in order to do the lockdown, you need to intertwine your legs in a specific way around your opponent’s leg in half-guard. You first take your outside leg and put it between your opponent’s legs. Then you put your other leg into the crevice between the foot and the shin of your first leg. Finally, you put the shin-foot crevice of the second leg under your opponent’s shin. And then you have the lockdown – it will be very difficult for your opponent to get out of this position if he doesn’t have a specific set of techniques that he can utilize for this purpose. You can see a demonstration of the lockdown in the video below. Now you’re prepared to tackle the main challenge for the day – the electric chair.
Doing the electric chair
Once you get into the lockdown, you’re prepared to perform the electric chair. The first thing that you need to do is slide the “electric hook”, as Eddie Bravo calls it, around your opponent’s leg. You do this by putting your arms around it. Then you need to post on your elbow and use your strength to push and pull your opponent’s legs into opposite directions. This will serve to create enough pressure for an immediate tap out, in most cases. However, you should be aware that the more flexible your opponent, the harder it will be to execute this move and get a tap out. If your opponent is highly flexible, then you can use the electric chair in order to do a sweep and get on top position. For all other purposes – you can use this move to tap your opponent out.
There is one way in which this move can get sabotaged. If your opponent senses that you will go for the electric hooks, then he can do a sprawl on the ground. This will make it impossible for you to start doing the electric chair because you won’t be able to wrap your arm around your opponent’s hip. But this leaves a vulnerability. If your opponent sprawls out too soon – then you may initiate a “dogfight” by moving to the outer side and striving to get a better position. And you will be in a better position to win the dogfight. If your opponent doesn’t sprawl, then you’re free to continue doing the electric chair.
Now, practically all of Eddie Bravo’s patented BJJ moves have zany names. The electric chair is no exception. We can only speculate as to why Eddie Bravo decided to give this name to this move. A simple reason for the name might be the fact that doing this move will be very painful for your opponent – unless he’s extremely flexible. So, you need to be careful when doing this move. It’s not unusual at all for your opponent to begin screaming in agony while you do this move. Be prepared for an immediate verbal or physical tap out. You can see a demonstration of the electric chair by Eddie Bravo himself in the video below.
In conclusion
Many people would say that the 10th Planet BJJ system is a renegade creation and that it carries no merit in the world of BJJ. However, experience and common sense tell us otherwise. There are many unique moves and positions in the 10th Planet arsenal that you can use with very high effectiveness in order to dominate your opponents. The electric chair in combination with the lockdown is one such devastating combination that can win you a lot of matches in sparring and in competition alike. So, it’s up to you to begin drilling these 10th Planet moves. See if you can make them fit in your BJJ arsenal. We hope that you will win a lot of matches with them.
Check also:
- Twister – Application, and Defense
- Heel hook – Origin, Application, and Defense
- Darce Choke – Origin, Application, and Defense
