July 19th 2015 - No Gi Beginner

Theme & Techniques: Knee On Belly: Position, Farside Armbar, Escape, North/South Choke
Students: Henry, Craig, Bhuvana, Ross, Berly, John, Kyle, Shane, Moe

This was my first no-gi class to teach at LBJJC and also my largest class.  I wracked my brain for a few days trying to figure out something to teach that was no-gi specific and something that I feel like I'm good at.  I finally decided knee on belly was a good position with enough techniques to build a class around. 

I meant to teach knee on belly to mount first but for some reason it skipped my mind.  Other than that the class went pretty well.  I taught how to pop up, where to put your knee to be mean and where to put your knee to be a very mean.  Then switching sides and popping up as a bit of a warm-up exercise. 

I showed Farside Armbar as a response to them pushing with the wrong arm on the knee.  I figured the knee on belly escape was a logical next step.  As expected everyone had a little trouble regaining guard using the knee and leg over the head technique. 

Finally I saved my favorite technique for last.  I hoped it wouldn't be too difficult as I know it took me a while to figure out how to finish the choke with regularity.  I also didn't want to give to overload everyone with details.  I think I hit a good balance. 

Rolling: Knee On Belly Position (2 x 2 min), Side Control Up/Down/Out
Rolled With: Everyone

This was pretty fun.  I tried to encourage everyone to attempt knee on belly and the techniques that we did today.  I tried my best to do the same and hit a few NS chokes or transitioned to mount.  I did my best to throw out pointers or coach people through bad positions. 

Office Hours Partner: Kyle, Shane, Moe

I showed some defenses for the NS choke which basically boils down to turning your head into their ribs and/or getting your hands in the way of the choke.  I also showed the guillotine follow ups that I like to do when people attempt the escapes.

Moe and I rolled a few times and then worked some more on the NS choke.  I was pleasantly surprised with his skill level since we last rolled together.