Review: Lucas Lepri, Knee on Belly

Summary
Lucas Lepri explains his knee on belly techniques. It is a position, he states, that he arrives at often after passing his opponent's guard. From knee on belly, Lepri showcases the large array of attacking options available, especially once you have succeeded in making the opponent extremely uncomfortable with your position.

Available: Digitsu website and app store.



Introduction
I have seen knee on belly techniques in many instructional sets but there are usually only 3 or 4 at most. Here World Champion Lepri gives us an entire two-disc DVD set of knee on belly goodies to gorge on. Clearly, he values this position as a great system for controlling and then finishing off his opponent.

The last gi-instructional Lepri produced was his guard passing set so this knee on belly set follows on nicely. Viewers will also note a marked improvement in the production and filming, there is far less of the video gimmickry that plagued the guard passing set. The knee on belly set is cleanly shot, with zooms and alternative viewpoints added only when needed.

You can see Lepri move swiftly to knee on belly (10:28) following the guard pass over JT Torres in this video below:



Disc One
Contents:
KOB Concepts
Triangle
Mounted Triangle w/ Armbar
Forcing The Triangle
Step Over Choke
North South Collar Choke
Baseball Bat Choke
Step Over Choke 2
Cross Choke w/ Lapel
North South Choke w/ Lapel
Lapel Choke vs North-South Escape
Backtake
Backtake Vs Turtling

The set begins with a great chapter where Lepri breaks down in detail the placement of every part of his body when playing knee on belly. Of particular interest is the way he uses the grip around the ribcage which, when coupled with the knee placed angled towards the opponent's shoulder and his own hip weight placed above the opponent's hip, makes for an aggressive stance that can react to movements and attack quickly with submissions. This opening chapter alone is worth the money in my opinion – Lepri’s guidance on grip placement and body posture led me to immediately improve my own knee on belly stability and effectiveness while sparring against a variety of different sized training partners.

The next chapters deal with submission attacks once you have established a stable (and frankly uncomfortable) knee on belly position. Many of these attacks (such as the baseball bat choke, step over choke etc) will be familiar go-to attacks to knee on belly enthusiasts but it is the very large amount of attention to detail that Lepri provides that ensure the success rate of these attacks.

One interesting aside - I notice Lepri does not show the farside armbar from knee on belly. It is the one that almost all students first learn when being taught knee on belly. My assumption is that Lepri is offering in this DVD a set of techniques that have been honed against high level black belt opponents...and high level black belt opponents simply do not put their opposite hand and try to push the knee away.


Disc Two

KOB Strategies: Step Over Triangle/Armbar 
KOB Strategies: Back Take 
KOB Strategies: Step Over Armlock 
KOB Strategies: Wrist Lock 
KOB Strategies: Wrist Lock / Ezekiel Choke 
KOB Strategies: Wrist Lock / Flavio Canto Choke Lapel Control 
KOB: Triangle Lapel Control 
KOB: Cross Choke Lapel Control 
KOB: Double Lapel Choke Lapel Control 
KOB: Reverse Arm Bar Lapel Control 
KOB: Kimura/Arm Bar Lapel Control 
KOB: Cross Choke 2 Lapel Control 
KOB: Arm Triangle Lapel Control 
KOB: Arm Triangle 2 Lapel Control 
KOB: One Handed Choke Lapel Control 
KOB: Ezekiel Choke Lapel Control 
KOB: Arm Bar

Disc two is divided roughly into half, the first half titled knee on belly strategies and the second half focusing on using the lapel and collar as part of the controlling tools. The KOB strategies focus on using the knee on belly as a bait that elicits a reaction from your opponent, which then allows you to segue into a secondary attack. The three techniques involving wrist locks are particularly nasty!

Of the lapel control techniques, Lepri uses the opponent's own gi jacket to smother and disable the defending arm, then proceeds to submission.

Overall, disc two includes techniques that are a little more involved and perhaps less suitable to raw beginners, but they are worth viewing since the scenarios presented are much more realistic against a resisting opponent.

Conclusions

Lepri has excellent command of English and explains every detail thoroughly, often repeating concepts and key points he already explained in previous techniques. Viewers who are used to the high speed delivery of a Gianni Grippo or Ryan Hall tape however might take a little getting used to Lepri’s slower delivery. Regardless, it is the content that is what matters most and here, with a World Champion at the helm, rarely has the knee on belly been explored to such intricate depth. I thoroughly recommend it to top game players looking for a high percentage controlling position after they pass the guard.

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