Sunday, October 26, 2014

October 26th 2014 - Weekly Review

Theme & Techniques
Beginner/All Levels: Koshi Guruma, Triangle with punch setup

Working on the triangle this week gave me a lot to think about.  I would consider it probably the technique that I have the least success with although it's one of the most popular BJJ techniques.  In the recent previous weeks, I've felt like I could usually do the techniques that we worked on during the rolling portion of class.  Try as I might this week I could not complete a triangle during rolling, I don't even feel like I came close.  It probably shouldn't be a big deal, but I do want to be good at everything, but I'm not sure if this is meant to be.

I had some good teaching and rolling moments with Bhuvana, Harvey, Tim, Dave during the office hours portion after class.  I really enjoy helping fellow students figure their game out or solve a recurring problem.

Advanced: Half Guard Clothesline & Twisting Sweep

Wednesday was the first time in a long time that I attended class with Fuji and OG Jordan who had both been out with injuries for a while.  It's good to have them back!

I was familiar with the clothesline sweep but haven't completed the full sweep during rolling yet, I have used it to regain an arm position so I do find it useful.  Ken and I covered a lot of mat practicing both moves as once you rolled the person over you essentially switched places and the other person could now do the technique.  You just kept rolling until you reach the edge of the mat and then you switch sides and roll the other way. 

I really felt like the other technique was too easy to complete during drilling.  The technique itself wasn't the important part though, it was timing it.  We started it presuming that the person on top was moving forward into getting the underhook and then we would do the twisting sweep.

Had a tough evening of rolling with Ken, Matt, Adam, and Jerad.  I felt like I held my own except with Jerad because I was exhausted from the other guys.  I was definitely feeling the effects of fatigue after this class and it was totally worth it.

Open Mat

This open mat was quite an ego boost for me.  Everything seemed to work out and I felt that I flowed quite well.  I didn't go into the session with too much of a game plan or things to try for like I should of.  There were a couple of people that I asked to roll but told me they needed to catch their breath, probably shouldn't think too much of that, but I would have liked to have a few more partners on open mat day.  I did a little teaching with various people this session as well and answered as many questions that I could.  I got to roll with Jordan and it was great to see him back on the mat.  He commented that his knee didn't cause him any issues so that's great!

Although Jerad whooped up on me, I felt like I've improved and had more answers to problems that he presents.  The biggest thing was being more active in half guard or when he was standing in my guard.  I had a real chance at submitting him with a kimura turned armbar but he was able to defend it. 

Esteemed Colleagues and Honorable Mentions

Tim: I haven't trained with him as long as some of the other people that I've mentioned in this section, but I have attended quite a few Tuesday classes and open mats since he started last Februaryish.  We found out early on that we were kind-a-sort-a-not-really related in that he is the uncle of my cousin's wife.  He's an interesting guy that performs in a band and a father of 2.

I feel like he's taking a good approach to learning Jiu-Jitsu.  He stays after most Tuesdays and rolls with me and asks questions about what he can improve on.  I enjoy his attitude and the fact that he's putting forth the mental effort to try to figure this Jiu-Jitsu stuff out.  I've seen him improve and figure things out and if I may be so bold, partly because of my help. 

Sunday, October 19, 2014

October 19th 2014 - Weekly Review

Theme & Techniques
Beginner/All Levels: Kesa Getami Escape to Backmount, Kneeling Guard Break, Knee Slide Pass

I was still a little congested this week but felt decent otherwise.  My major focus during the beginner class drilling sessions was to improve my left side knee slide as I'm still having some coordination issues when it comes to using my hips and timing the slide down the thigh. 

I also noted that jerking the bottom shoulder during the kesa getami escape is very important.  I can really feel Greg use it when he demonstrates but I think I've been focusing too much on the leg swing.

Friday ended up being a great rolling session for me.  We did King of the Mat from closed guard and I had a lot of chances to work on my 2 on 1.  I rolled with Austin, Dave, Anthony, and Darijo.

Advanced: Kesa Getami Escapes Conan Style

I wasn't excited to work on kesa getami more.  I understand that it's something I need to know how to escape, but it is not in any of my game plans to go to this position on purpose offensively.  Ken was my partner for the class and it was good to work with him.  We finished class with some positional sparring from Kesa.

Mike shared a darce setup that he saw in a Kit Dale video that I've tried to implement a few times.  I liked the setup so hopefully I can get it to work.

Open Mat

I didn't have any easy fights yesterday with Brian AF, Henry, Conan, Jerad, and Bauer.  As I was driving to open mat I came up with a couple things I wanted to work on or attempt. Deep half guard will be on my list for a while to come and I was able to get there several times and sweep.  I also shared a little bit of deep half technique with Brian as he was in the position with me at one point.

The baseball bat choke from side control was also another thing I wanted to attempt and work on.  I thought I had Henry at one point with it but he told me later after armbarring me that it was on his jaw.  I attempted it on Jerad and Bauer as well with little success but I think I might be figuring some things out.

The last technique that I wanted to attempt was a triangle as that is not in my basic game plan at all.  I didn't see any opportunities to set one up but I think that had to do with the skill level of my partners.
Conan gave me some tips on using my leg to assist my underhook when he's smashing it in side control.   It seemed so obvious after he pointed it out but a lot of the best techniques are.  There was a point when he had me pretty pinned down in side mount and I took an opportunity as he was transitioning to get a single leg, he said something to the effect of "Now that's surviving!"

I had my last match with Bauer and it was great.  We had a long tough roll with a little bit of back and forth.  The 2 on 1 really served me well and I'm getting more confident in opening my guard and moving to butterfly after I get it.  After we finished we had a good discussion about what we were working on and goals and some compliments.

Esteemed Colleagues and Honorable Mentions

Bauer: A good way to get in this section of the blog is to compliment me and Bauer surprised me when he said that he's working toward making his Jiu-Jitsu game like mine.  He was one of the first people I competed against and we've had a fake rivalry ever since then.  His work schedule hasn't allowed him to make it to Jiu-Jitsu as often as he would like so I'm always happy to see him make it to class.

He's also helped me with a couple non-Jiu-Jitsu related workouts.  He came in to the Y early one morning several years ago and gave me a whole bunch of pointers on my swimming.  Before the last tournament he also helped me out with a weight lifting routine that I did several times.  Unfortunately I didn't keep up with that, but I still swim every week. 

Sunday, October 12, 2014

October 12th 2014 - Weekly Review

Theme & Techniques
Beginner/All Levels: Seoi Nage, Double Ankle Grab Sweep, Butterfly Hook Sweep

I only made it to 2 classes this week; we had some sickness going around our house.  Hopefully this week will be a normal training week despite having to work some overtime.  Also Tinguinha will be visiting our school some time next month.

I worked with a new guy named Andrew on Tuesday that had some pretty good instincts.  He surprised me a couple times while we were doing guard position sparring.  I rolled with Tim after class and then helped Harvey with a triangle question of all things, I diverted it into an omoplata lesson as a contingency for when a triangle isn't happening.

Bhuvana ended up kicking me in the face Friday morning while I was trying to pass her open guard.  It actually wasn't that bad but she was so worried that I was hurt that she stuck her hand in my face and repeated "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" over and over. It took a while for me to get across to her that I was okay and that we should keep going.

I got some great rolling in for a Friday morning with Greg, Bhuvana, Darijo, Austin, Justin, and Jordan.  I felt like my butterfly hook sweep improved as I attempted it every chance I got.  Greg completely shut my game down at every turn, which was good for me.  He was especially catching me with arm drags this week.  I had some success with the 2 on 1 grips and was able to take some backs and pendulum sweep.  I only made it to deep half guard once with Jordan and was attempting the waiter sweep, I did complete a sweep but not the waiter and to his credit he recognized the technique from only working on it with me that one time.


Sunday, October 5, 2014

October 5th 2014 - Weekly Review

It was a good week of Jiu-Jitsu but crappy at work.  After I get done writing this I'm planning on working a few hours before hitting the rack for the third night in a row.  So apologies if this seems rushed.

Theme & Techniques
Beginner/All Levels: Guillotine defense against wall, Basic guard break,  Double Under Pass

Just did my thing in beginner class.  I feel pretty confident in my guard break at this point and while double unders isn't one of my main passes I am able to finish it more often than not if it comes up.  Mostly I coached my partners on how to get the opponent up on their hips and make sure they keep their elbows tight during the pass.

I had an enlightening discussion with Greg about grip fighting.  Mostly centered around when to abandon your grip attempts and try to break your opponents.  One thing that I've been dealing with lately from Mike and Jerad is a collar grip from open guard.  They're trying to get a collar drag and back take and I'm unsure if I should be fighting the grip or working my pass.  It's a work in progress but I have a better understanding than previously.

Advanced: Bottom Turtle Seat Belt Escape

The technique was when you are on bottom turtle and your opponent has a seat belt grip.  We would step behind their near ankle and collect it up while getting the basic grip to defend the choke.  Then we would roll over and end up in a weird half guard.  From their break the grips and work into side control.  It was a good technique, but I'm actually on the hunt for top turtle techniques as I'm continually getting beaten there by certain people...that will remain nameless...um...Henry.

After a brief drilling session, we did a lot of rolling.  Starting from King of the Mat turtle.  I didn't like the sound of that at first, but it turned out to be pretty fun and move a long fairly quickly as you're either regaining guard or you're put into side control or back mount.  I had a pretty good night during this part, however Henry trounced me pretty good in the competition style rolls to follow.  Partly from me gassing and him out wrestling me. 

Open Mat

I did some teaching at open mat yesterday.  Just gave some pointers on what I saw others needed to work on or if they asked about anything specific.  I went into the session wanting to work on Deep Half guard and I got there a few times and also drilled the waiter sweep with the help of Greg and Jordan.

I was also reminded of how much I need to improve by Jerad and Adam.  I felt crushed both spiritually and physically after a 10 minute roll with Adam.  I defended so many submission attempts and suffered many a crossface while trying to at least regain guard.  I think Jerad sensed I was tired and took it easy on me, but still kicked my butt.  Jerad and I also discussed grip fighting a bit after rolling.

Esteemed Colleagues and Honorable Mentions

Adam: He is a huge asset to our school, in that he brings a high level of wrestling and strength that we have to deal with.  I can say that I'm a lot tougher after rolling with him over the years, especially mentally.  I remember wanting to tap to pressure and almost begging him to submit me just to finish the roll.  Now I use him as a resource for anything wrestling, most recently he's been showing me the butcher from side control over and over again and it's pissing me off.