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.