August 11th 2015 - Gi Beginner

Theme & Techniques: Double Leg, Americana from Mount, Bread Cutter from Side Mount
Partner: Tom, Mike

Making my double leg smooth is what I'm going to focus on the most this week.  Shortening the time between shooting to turning the corner mostly.  One thing that I saw from others on this one is the penetration step.  Don't drop your knee straight to the floor you have to move your hips forward to penetrate the space between their feet.

For Americana from mount position your shoulders above their shoulders, push straight down into their shoulders you won't be as powerful if you attempt to push their arm up. For the bread cutter I'm getting better at turning on my side to get all the way to the collar.  I used to just settle for the back of the gi, but the collar cinches this technique up so much better.  So take the time to get this grip.

Rolling: Mount (2 x 2 min), Side Mount (2 x 2 min), Free Rolling (5 min)
Rolled With: Tyler, Bhuvana, Shane

I'm very impressed with Tyler's mount and think if we were the same size I would have a lot more difficult time with him.  Bhuvana was pushing forward a little bit too much on top and we went over sinking the hips more instead.  When I was on top she did a good job of attempting to escape, I had to switch sides several times but eventually ended up in north/south.

Shane was very fast and strong right off the bat.  I used it as an opportunity to work on controlling the pace.  Instead of trying to match his intensity I found my position and then didn't let him move as much.  It's a work in progress.  There was a point when I was in top side control and ran into his hair a little bit when going for a cross face.  It was a little frustrating as I don't want to hurt my partner but his hair is also in my way for something that I'll usually get no problem.  Sometimes I'm nice and I'll do my best to navigate their hair to get what I want, but I was thinking that I'm giving that person time to escape where a person with short hair would not have that luxury.  I've come to the conclusion that it's the person's job with long hair to keep it out of my way.  If I put my knee on it or if it get's caught in my fingers, you'll have to deal with it.  Rant over. 

Hopefully this doesn't come across as a dig against Shane or long haired people in general because I enjoyed our roll regardless and think he's getting better.  What do you guys think about rolling with long haired people or if you have long hair what is your opinion?

Office Hours Partner: Sam

Had a good couple rolls after class.  We talked about starting in butterfly and how I like to start with a cross collar grip and use it for a loop choke or to get my underhook.