I subbed a dude for the first time in class last night. Nothing particularly spectacular about it, I used one arm to secure an Americana (? is it an Americana if you only use one arm?) from side mount. The guy tapped, said good work. Only thing notable was before class he asked me if I had been to any other classes because he'd never seen me before (at the time I felt the implication was that he'd been a white belt for ages, I was a n00b).

I rolled with a white belt who had a few stripes. Thanks to a thread in Bullshido with the advice that there is a difference between discomfort and pain, I was able to ignore the discomfort he gave me from digging his elbows and knees into my sides and inner thighs. I nearly got his back, I even got my hooks in but he shook me round so that I was on my back with him in guard.

This allowed me to throw up a hearty attempt at an armbar, which caught him off guard because I am still asking the remedial questions (where should my knees be in north south? what is the optimal position for dominance in side control? etc). He obviously rolled out of it, as my hips were not in the right position to execute it perfectly and soon he had me mounted. I bucked and bucked but could not shake him off. After the roll he said I did well, but that I was doing the mount escape "the hard way".

Not knowing what the "easy way" to escape the mount was, as soon as I got home I opened a couple of books to find out where I was going wrong. Fucking dumbass me was underhooking (both arms) from guard, without any foot positioning and bridging, which allowed him to post either side without any resistance.

Would this be what he meant from "the hard way" or is there an "easy way"?

And, as asked at top, is it still called an Americana if you only do it with one arm, from side mount?

is it even possible to do an americana with one arm?

i think you might have chicken wing'ed the kid, but he probably shouldn't have tapped unless you're stupid strong in comparison.

you need to describe your mount escape better than you're doing. i have no idea what you're talking about currently.

I subbed a dude for the first time in class last night. Nothing particularly spectacular about it, I used one arm to secure an Americana (? is it an Americana if you only use one arm?) from side mount. The guy tapped, said good work. Only thing notable was before class he asked me if I had been to any other classes because he'd never seen me before (at the time I felt the implication was that he'd been a white belt for ages, I was a n00b).

I rolled with a white belt who had a few stripes. Thanks to a thread in Bullshido with the advice that there is a difference between discomfort and pain, I was able to ignore the discomfort he gave me from digging his elbows and knees into my sides and inner thighs. I nearly got his back, I even got my hooks in but he shook me round so that I was on my back with him in guard.

This allowed me to throw up a hearty attempt at an armbar, which caught him off guard because I am still asking the remedial questions (where should my knees be in north south? what is the optimal position for dominance in side control? etc). He obviously rolled out of it, as my hips were not in the right position to execute it perfectly and soon he had me mounted. I bucked and bucked but could not shake him off. After the roll he said I did well, but that I was doing the mount escape "the hard way".

Not knowing what the "easy way" to escape the mount was, as soon as I got home I opened a couple of books to find out where I was going wrong. Fucking dumbass me was underhooking (both arms) from guard, without any foot positioning and bridging, which allowed him to post either side without any resistance.

Would this be what he meant from "the hard way" or is there an "easy way"?

And, as asked at top, is it still called an Americana if you only do it with one arm, from side mount?
You are a mat spaz. Calm down, try to worry less about submitting people and more about getting better.

The "easy" way refers to escaping using technique rather than strength, so you don't have to buck like a pissed of bull to recover guard.

Also a one armed Americana is a crappy move. Any decent opponent will require the use of both of your hands.

Regarding your last question, if your opponent is on his back and his forearm/hand is up his head so that his palm is up when you figure four your hands, then it's an Americana. If his forearm/hand is oriented toward his feet, then it's a Kimura.

Next time you are under mount, instead of bouncing around like you're trying to get your moneys worth out of a 20$ hooker try using using this escape instead: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-do-a-jiu-jitsu-knee-to-elbow-mount-escape-109792/

It takes way less effort, and you look less like a retard doing it.

His forearm was up, which was why I thought it was an Americana, but it was cranked with one of my arms, not both arms, my left hand on his right wrist but nmy forearm was threaded under his right tricep to be able to crank it. I know that this wouldn't work against an experienced player but it did against this guy.

It was the first submission attempt I have EVER made, so telling me to calm down and worry about getting better is a bit confusing. I have been getting better and that is how I had a dominant position, I tried to go to mount, couldn't but saw an opening for a submission, so I took it (at the time he was attempting a submission on me so I reversed it).

Kintanon, work filter stops me from playing that video, I'll try it at home, thanks for the link.

I'll try to explain the attempted mount escape better. I got underhooks on the guy, then bridged. Seeing as though both his arms were free to go wherever they pleased to make a base, this was my first mistake. My second mistake was not trapping either of his legs, it allowed him to put one out on the side I was trying to roll to. These mistakes will not happen again. I was just wondering what the guy meant by "hard way" but it seems as though it is readily apparent.

I haven't spazzed since my first lesson months ago, thank you very much, due to the inordinate amount of Bullshido lurking I do. I take my time and do things slow, going as far as telling myself that if I'm using strength I'm doing it wrong and I stop straining usually immediately after this realisation.

I made those couple of mistakes because I haven't yet been taught mount escapes, the only knowledge I have of them is books and I don't take them to class and ask my partner to stop while I consult the reading material.

So basically the answer is that an Americana can be done from side control, but doing it one handed against an experienced player or someone stronger than me is ill advised. Thanks.

And technique when escaping the mount is better than bucking. Umm, yeah, ahh... thanks?

Conclusion: there is no "easy way", just the right way. Gotcha.