The Triangle Setup

Fundamentals cycle — one arm in, one arm out: the trap your legs have been rehearsing since week 1

Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Week 9 · White belt
60 min
Any class size, worked in pairs
1 coach
Effort 3/5
One mat space per pair
curriculum
white belt
guard
submissions

The MatPlans curriculum teamBJJ black belts & coaches · 12+ yrs on the mat

Kit: Mats. Gi or no-gi both work — the setup is described by body parts, not grips.

Warm-up10 min

Mat Movements + Week 8 Review

Setup: Staggered lines, arm's-width apart, one direction. Pairs form for the review half.

How it works: Lengths, twice each: shrimps, bridges, technical stand-up, hip lifts with the scissor. Then the new solo shape: triangle lifts — on your back, hips high, swing one leg across an imaginary neck and tuck that ankle behind the other knee, hold one second, melt down. Ten each side. Review week 8 in pairs, one minute each way: armbar from closed guard on a giving partner, first stretch, instant release, guard closed again.

What to say

“Triangle lifts: the ankle hides behind the knee, never under the toes.”
“Hips high is the whole warm-up and the whole lesson — off the floor, every rep.”
“Review armbars slow — tonight borrows their angle.”

Easier

Half-lengths; triangle lifts without the leg-cross, just hips high and hold.

Harder

Triangle lifts with a two-second lock at the top, eyes closed for feel.

Drill16 min

Technique of the Day — One In, One Out

Setup: Pairs, one sitting into closed guard, top player kneeling with hands on the chest. Demo twice — once at speed, once slow with the steps numbered aloud, and demo the release even slower: necks stand up gently, always.

How it works: Teach the rule before the technique and make the room say it back: one arm in, one arm out means triangle. Tonight the locked position is the whole prize — nobody is crushing a finish at week 9. Walk the room watching two things: the pinned wrist staying pinned, and hips leaving the floor on the shoot. A triangle attempted flat on the back is just aggressive lying down.

The technique, step by step

From closed guard, grip both of their wrists — calm, cupped, thumbless.
Feed one in, keep one out: drive their right wrist to their own belt line and pin it there; your left hand pulls their left arm forward above the elbow.
Shoot: hips off the mat — the warm-up lift — as your right leg swings over their right shoulder, calf landing across the back of their neck.
Close the diamond: cross your ankles high behind their shoulders, squeeze your knees, keep your hips tall — they are locked in the room now.
Let go of the pinned wrist only now, and grab your own right shin to hold the height.
Lock it: your left knee-pit clamps over your right ankle, foot hidden behind the knee, and squeeze the knees together.
Hold, do not crush: the locked position is tonight's win. If they tap to the squeeze, open everything slowly and let their neck come up gently.

Key details

The pinned arm is the door — if it leaves the belt line before your leg is over, stop and start again.
Height beats strength: the lock closes up at their shoulder line, so the hips stay lifted until the diamond is closed.
The ankle hides behind the knee-pit, never under the toes — toes bend, knee-pits lock.

Common mistakes

Locking square-on with no angle in the hips — their posture stands straight up through the middle of it.
Hauling the head down with both hands before anything is locked — necks are not handles, at week 9 or ever.

What to say

“One in, one out — say it before you shoot, every time.”
“Bring your hips to their shoulders, never their shoulders to your hips.”
“Lock, squeeze, hold — the position is the prize tonight, not the tap.”

Easier

Partner kneels tall and places their own arms one-in-one-out; attacker rehearses shoot and lock with zero defence.

Harder

Partner postures at quarter effort and slowly pulls the pinned wrist free — attacker must re-pin mid-flight or bail safely back to closed guard.

Drill12 min

Drilling

Setup: Same pairs, spread so no pair can roll into another. Coach calls every round change for the whole room.

How it works: Three rounds of two minutes each way, resistance building. Round one: mannequin partner, full sequence on repeat — pin, shoot, diamond, lock, slow release. Round two, quarter resistance: partner slowly swims the pinned arm back out; attacker re-pins before shooting or resets without sulking. Round three, half resistance: partner postures and hides the elbow; attacker earns the shoot off a real reaction, and bails to closed guard the moment the shape is wrong. Count locked diamonds, not taps.

Rounds: 3 × 2 min each way · resistance 0% → 25% → 50%

What to say

“A bailed triangle that lands back in closed guard is a good rep — say it every round.”
“Watch the pin: the technique dies quietly at the wrist, ten seconds before it dies loudly at the legs.”
“Partners under the lock: tap to the squeeze early — necks get no bravery points.”

Easier

Stay at mannequin resistance all three rounds; the coach counts the four beats aloud for the room — pin, shoot, diamond, lock.

Harder

Round three at three-quarters for experienced pairs; attacker may switch to the week 8 armbar when the out-arm is handed to them.

The rest of this lesson is free — along with 3 more this week.

MatPlans curriculum team

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