August 8th 2014 - Gi (Plateaus, Fugetaboutit)

First off I wanted to wish my teammates well in this weekend's IBJJF tournament in Chicago.  I've trained with everyone competing and respect them all greatly.  I know if I was competing, I would be beyond nervous at this point with stomach pains and acting all jittery.  I know they will represent our school well and do their best!  Go get 'em Greg, Conan, Mike, Sara, and Henry!

Theme & Techniques: Koshi Guruma, Standing Guard Break & Toreando Pass
Partner: Bhuvana

I might have been a little too hard on Bhuvana today while trying to help her with the guard break.  From the bottom it looked like she was putting too much weight forward and not getting down low enough with her knees.  I think Greg was trying to tell me to ease up by saying she has a different body type than me so it will look a little different.  She did well regardless and I saw some improvement since Tuesday.  Towards the end I practiced a few x-passes and it felt pretty good. 

Rolling: Positional Rolling Feet on Hips Guard various grip restrictions, Free Rolling
Rolled With: Ross

This turned out to be some tough training for a beginners class.  We went 6 x 2 min rounds starting with top person with pant grips but bottom person could not use any grips.  We weren't expected to prevent passes but give the top person a hard time with out legs.  I felt pretty good about my weaving and foot pressure using the hips, shoulder, and bicep but it was inevitable that Ross passed many times.  From the top I was able to get quite a bit of work done using toreando and x-pass as needed

The next round we were only aloud to have one grip and the other hand in our belt.  I started with the cross grip thinking it was going to be the be all end all.  It really didn't work out that way.  Without being able to underhook and control their other leg the cross grip actually caused me problems.  Moving the same side grip made a huge difference and allowed me to stiff arm a bit to keep Ross off of me.  As the exercise went on Ross seemed to tighten up his technique quite a bit and was using more elbow control and good posture. 

The final part we were allowed both grips and by this time I was getting winded but dug deep to push myself through it.  We ended in half guard a few times, but probably the most frustrating for him was when he was able to pass but I used his sleeve to stiff arm and regain guard.  I worked more on the x-pass from the top and it felt great.

With my new affinity for the x-pass I feel like the thoughts of being on a plateau have passed me.  I think the feeling was more about not knowing what to focus on next, but it seems like smash and x pass are going to fit into my game quite nicely.  I can also see the 2 on 1 becoming a big part of my game.  Thanks competition class!

Below is a video of Rener Gracie rolling without the use of his hands that I figured was appropriate to share.