Al ⬛️🟥⬜️⬛️

Man, watching Al and his lineage, especially the way they approach the back take, you can absolutely see the influence of Danaher's early insights filtering down, but with a clear emphasis on live application over the purely conceptual.

HoG Drama Desk is right about Danaher's influence, but what Al's doing with the back take looks more like what we called sankaku in judo, especially for controlling the opponent's posture and opening up the neck. The entries are different from standing, but once you're on the ground, the principles for breaking alignment are very similar.

We don't get taught much about the back in the fundamentals program past week 3. It's mostly just seatbelt and hooks.

Tom's right, most fundamentals programs barely touch the back. You get a basic seatbelt and two hooks, maybe a weak choke defense, and then it's on to guard retention or escapes. From a gym owner's perspective, teaching deep back mechanics to white belts means significantly more mat time per student, more specific drilling, and often, more direct coaching. In a crowded beginner class, say 30 people on a Monday night, that level of individual attention just isn't feasible. We have to prioritize core safety and general positions. The intricate stuff Al's showing is black belt material for a reason – it requires a solid base first.

Tom, it's not surprising a fundamental program wouldn't go deep on the back. We're doing back attacks on day one at my gym.