The I2D2 is simply an inside 2-on-1.  In Chapter 1, I said that you want to get to the Outside Gate as soon as possible but that isn’t always an option.  You need to understand fighting from the Inside Gate too.

The way I2D2 would work in the real world is that someone attacks you with a weapon and you somehow grab his weapon-arm and somehow wind up in the Inside Gate.  You might grab his forearm with 2 hands or his wrist with 1 hand and his bicep with the other.  You might hug his arm to your chest or you might try to do a Russian Tie in reverse, the Inside Russian.  They’re all I2D2’s and you need to know their variants and transitions.


Crossing Gates

No matter what type of I2D2 you wind up in, if you want to get the Outside Gate the best transition is I2D2 to Baseball Grip to Cop’s Russian.  It’s simply taking whatever I2D2 grips you have and sliding down the Badguy’s weapon-arm to the wrist, one hand at a time.  From there you would transition from Baseball Grip to Cop’s Russian as you learned in the Baseball Grip section.  If you feel the need to add a “put in the hits” to keep your Badguy from countering, headbutting is an option. 

The “trick” is to understand that the Badguy might have his arm tight and might not let you move it down to get around his knife.  However, if he resists your attempt to drive his arm down, it should be easy to drive his body back.  When he resists your attempt to drive his body back, it should be easy to drive his arm down and take the Outside Gate.  Even if he’s bigger than you, he can’t be strong in two places at once. 

12D2 to Baseball Grip is by far the most important transition from I2D2.  It’s simply sliding down the arm with each grip one at a time.  From Baseball Grip there are many transitions but the most common are to Cop’s Russian or Gooseneck.

When it comes to getting a quick and “clean” disarm, the Gooseneck may be a better option than the Cop’s Russian.  This is because the wrist is a smaller and less stable joint than the elbow.  Therefore, if you’re good with wrist locks and you think your Badguy is not strong enough to stop your Gooseneck, Gooseneck away.  No matter where your Gooseneck is, you should definitely do some reps of that transition.

For me, however, if I’m fighting a strong Badguy, I would prefer Cop’s Russian to Gooseneck.  The arm is a bigger lever than the hand and taking the Badguy to the wall is a better tactic against a stronger Badguy than trying to wristlock him in open space.    Both transitions are important and should be part of your Narrow Focus.


Finishing from the Inside Gate

Most of these I2D2’s, bicep grabs and forearm grabs, are not very secure.  That’s fine as long as you can quickly transition to other positions like Cop’s Russian.  However, sometimes you can’t transition to the  Outside Gate and you need to win from the Inside Gate.  For such situations, there are some I2D2’s, like the Inside Russian, that are relatively secure.  



Get Connnected!

Recommend this page on:

Print Print | Sitemap
© David Blanc