May 18th 2016 - Gi All Levels

Theme & Techniques: Koshi Guruma, Standing Guard Break, Toreando Pass, Knee Over Pass
Students: Mike A, Morgan, Byrav, Jordan

Did a couple of different exercises during warm-ups to mix it up.  I had them do the gorilla and spider animal walks but I don't think they were appreciated.  When we started working on the standing guard break I took an exercise from our competition class and had each person do a minute and a half of just getting grips and standing up and then going back down and repeat.  I felt like doing that previously made me a lot more confident in standing to break the guard.  I noticed that Byrav has improved greatly in being able to stand-up from when he started several months ago, awesome.

Some tips on the techniques of the week:

• Koshi Guruma: Emphasized the use of the arm around the neck today.  Don't settle for a grip on the shoulder or grab any part of the collar. 
• Standing Guard Break: Once I get my grips I like to emphasize looking up to help keep my posture as I stand.  It helps me keep my body aligned and shoulders back and keeps me from getting pulled down.
• Toreando Pass: The main thing I noticed today was finishing in knee on belly was a little sloppy for some.  It's okay to take an extra step to make the kob more stable and keep your back knee off of the mat.

Rolling: Guard Position, Free Rolling
Rolled With: Jordan, Byrav

I have been working on being more aggressive and having a sense of urgency during rolling and Jordan is a good partner for that as he'll give quite a bit of resistance.  Mostly I kept reminding myself to keep trying things rather than wait and react like I normally do, so I tried to control the pace and be the one to act first. 

I pushed Byrav a little today and tried to talk him through some options when I felt like he was a little overwhelmed.  I didn't just let him do it, he had to work through what I was telling him.  Goal is still to make him a killer.

Office Hours Partner: Mike

Had a couple awesome rolls with Mike.  We both caught each other a couple times.  During the last roll I ended up on top and attacked from side control for maybe 5 minutes.  He really displayed a fighters mentality and kept attempting to escape even though I could tell he was out of gas.  I kept going from kimura to north/south choke to guillotine to attempting a collar grip and not being able to complete anything while worrying about him regaining guard and trying to stay tight.  Finally I went to mount and got an americana grip and turned it into an armbar.