March 8th 2015 - Weekly Review

Theme & Techniques
Beginner/All Levels: Double Leg Takedown, Americana from Mount, Paper Cutter from Side Mount
Partnered and Rolled With: Anthony, Dave, Greg, Jordan, Zack, Bhuvana

Training seemed to go by too fast this week.  Not too much to say.  I did the double leg on my left side because my toe was swollen and bothering me a bit.  I focused mostly on trying to wrap my hands around the calves and my penetration step.

I'm getting better with the bread cutter.  I was previously having trouble with trusting the footwork.  When Greg demonstrates it he moves his shoulder down the body to give a little extra stability.  I asked Greg about trying to walk out and switch hips with good timing to defend the bread cutter.  He seemed to think it was possible to defend it that way and we checked to see if the choke could be finished from the bottom.  Might be a possible escape for this technique but the choke is still possible.

Rolling was great.  Mount escaping is much stronger than my top game.  I had some especially tough rolls with Zack and Greg.

Open Mat
Focus of the Week: Ankle Locks Offense and Defense, Deep Half
Rolled With: Aquila, Ray, Henry, Adam, Austin, Bhuvana

Not too many easy rolls this week.

Mike ran into a wristlock from backmount and wondered if it worked.  We tried it a few times but it wasn't really affecting me that much so it was a little bit of a bust.  When I tried it on him it felt like I had to contort myself too much to finish it.  I attempted a deep half to bow and arrow that I saw a video for this week.  I think I missed a few details but it gave me hope for something that I could try.  I put the video down below. 

I spent quite a bit of time with Ray in both gi and no gi.  I did some ankle lock work with both he and Mike.  I think I may be focusing on them soon.  While I feel more confident with Ray than ever, it still feels like my options are limited.  Many of the chokes that I attempt on him are easily shrugged away.  At least I'm able to move and play a little guard on him.

Henry and I had a pretty tough battle.  I started out in a great position and attempted several submissions.  He turned the tables eventually though and I wasn't able to handle his explosiveness.  It made me think about what I would need to do differently.  More cardio?  

Probably the best bit of information I got from the class was learning how to correctly execute the spiral armbar.  I've been getting to the starting position but I was never sure how to finish it, I thought you had to step over their head like a regular armbar.  Greg showed me that I had to turn the hips and sit tucking my foot under their head and keeping their wrist in the armpit and squeezing the knees tight.  I think this is going to instantly be an addition to my game.