Long before I ever met Pedro Sauer I had the opportunity to take a seminar taught by one of the great masters of jiu-jitsu. During the seminar this teacher showed a defense to a very powerful chokehold. The defense included a roll through, at the end of which the opponent still had the grips of the choke, but the submission was no longer effective. The instructor than stated that sometimes you must just defend, and wait for your opponent to move on.
While this advice still holds true, years later I met 8th degree Red/Black Belt Pedro Sauer, and was introduced to another level of the defensive game. What Pedro Sauer exposed me to is the concept of interception, or as he calls it the “mouse trap”. Many practitioners simply defend a submission, and muscle out to neutral, or wait for the opponent to give up. Using the concept of interception you find that in each position there is a moment in which you can intercept the technique, and through leverage, and balance reverse the odds to give yourself superior position, or the submission.
Pedro Sauer is known for always telling his student that the “mouse trap doesn’t chase the mouse”. By strategically exposing one’s self to an attack you can intercept the attack before its completion, and use this moment to your advantage. This requires a technical knowledge of submissions, and a thorough knowledge of leverage, and balance. None are better at teaching this facet of jiu-jitsu than Pedro Sauer. Check out this video below which shows the concept of interception, or the “mouse trap” as Sauer calls it.
