I'm thinking about tapering off on the blog a bit. Maybe one or 2 posts a week. It's become a little monotonous and I'm not sure if it's helpful to others. I kind of just want to be free of it.
I'm thinking of doing a weekly recap and give pointers about the techniques of the coming week. I'm open to suggestions.
Open Mat
Rolled With: Andy, Patty, Derek, Jerad, Josh J, Conan, Justin
Had some tough rolls today and felt pretty worn down. The humidity was also killer. I was a little disconcerted because I didn't do as well as I thought I would.
I'm preparing for the master world's in Vegas which will be the most significant BJJ tournament or event I've participated in. I'm trying to come up with a game plan to get ready.
I need to up my aggression and cardio. I need to be focused during classes where I'm not as challenged. I can't have lazy rolls. I need to set aside my ego and just roll.
Derek and I drilled our respective techniques, didn't work on the foot sweep though. I had some trouble with the z-guard and will be watching the DVD again soon. He also helped me by giving a little resistance on the crucifix.
Showing posts with label Open Mat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Open Mat. Show all posts
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Sunday, April 2, 2017
April 1st 2017 - Open Mat & Mike's 2nd MMA Fight
Open Mat
Rolled With: Bob, Nick, Adam, John
Bob: He asked if I'd like to work on some throws but I wasn't sure since it was pretty crowded with visitors hitting pads and getting ready to fight tonight. I asked him about foot sweeps and he gave me a good lesson with the opening the door like kuzushi. I should ask him the name of the sweep we spent the most time on so I can watch some videos on it.
We also did some ground work and covered a lot with arm drag, escaping bow and arrow, and escaping/maintaining side control.
Nick: It's been a while since we rolled. I felt like I did pretty well. I was able to recover to deep half a few times and sweep. He had me in the truck and twister for a while and I miraculously defended a calf cutter and a twister. In the process of escaping my contact folded up in my eye and I tried to roll with my eyes closed and he Americana'd me soon after.
Adam: Had a good roll with Adam. I had some successes with escaping his side control to butterfly and then to full guard. I worked some collar and sleeve stuff but kept getting reset. Eventually there was a point where he went over/under pass and I went for a kimura grip at the same time. I got the grip but he had too much weight on me to do the spin and I didn't have any guard. Eventually he got free of it and submitted me with a kimura. Henry and Craig were trying to tell me that I was bleeding because there was blood across my face. It ended up being from my nose, most likely from an Adam cross face.
John: Rolled no gi with John. Went to deep half a few times and failed at taking the back from there. I don't think we had any leg entanglements. I did have his back at one point and switched to one leg over and one leg under with feet crossed. John thought I could do a twister from there so I gave it a shot. We worked on some DH entries after that.
Mike's 2nd Fight
My dad got some tickets for one of the suites from his work. I brought my wife, Craig, and his wife. It's definitely the way to go, more private, seats were more comfortable, there was food, and great seats.
The thing that I missed was being around my teammates and the unity created when watching one of us fight.
Kodi fought first to a decision. There were some exciting moments, mostly from the feet but he wasn't able to make something happen this time. He'll come back stronger next time.
Mike's fight was super fast. He came out in his gi with Greg and Nick in his corner. There was some feeling out between Mike and his opponent. From what I remember Mike's opponent attempted a strike, they separated and Mike's opponent came into him and Mike put on a guillotine and then walked his guard up his back. He readjusted his position once they hit the ground and the choke got tighter. We could read Mike's lips saying, "He's out, he's out." The ref checked to make sure and it was over.
Rolled With: Bob, Nick, Adam, John
Bob: He asked if I'd like to work on some throws but I wasn't sure since it was pretty crowded with visitors hitting pads and getting ready to fight tonight. I asked him about foot sweeps and he gave me a good lesson with the opening the door like kuzushi. I should ask him the name of the sweep we spent the most time on so I can watch some videos on it.
We also did some ground work and covered a lot with arm drag, escaping bow and arrow, and escaping/maintaining side control.
Nick: It's been a while since we rolled. I felt like I did pretty well. I was able to recover to deep half a few times and sweep. He had me in the truck and twister for a while and I miraculously defended a calf cutter and a twister. In the process of escaping my contact folded up in my eye and I tried to roll with my eyes closed and he Americana'd me soon after.
Adam: Had a good roll with Adam. I had some successes with escaping his side control to butterfly and then to full guard. I worked some collar and sleeve stuff but kept getting reset. Eventually there was a point where he went over/under pass and I went for a kimura grip at the same time. I got the grip but he had too much weight on me to do the spin and I didn't have any guard. Eventually he got free of it and submitted me with a kimura. Henry and Craig were trying to tell me that I was bleeding because there was blood across my face. It ended up being from my nose, most likely from an Adam cross face.
John: Rolled no gi with John. Went to deep half a few times and failed at taking the back from there. I don't think we had any leg entanglements. I did have his back at one point and switched to one leg over and one leg under with feet crossed. John thought I could do a twister from there so I gave it a shot. We worked on some DH entries after that.
Mike's 2nd Fight
My dad got some tickets for one of the suites from his work. I brought my wife, Craig, and his wife. It's definitely the way to go, more private, seats were more comfortable, there was food, and great seats.
The thing that I missed was being around my teammates and the unity created when watching one of us fight.
Kodi fought first to a decision. There were some exciting moments, mostly from the feet but he wasn't able to make something happen this time. He'll come back stronger next time.
Mike's fight was super fast. He came out in his gi with Greg and Nick in his corner. There was some feeling out between Mike and his opponent. From what I remember Mike's opponent attempted a strike, they separated and Mike's opponent came into him and Mike put on a guillotine and then walked his guard up his back. He readjusted his position once they hit the ground and the choke got tighter. We could read Mike's lips saying, "He's out, he's out." The ref checked to make sure and it was over.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
March 25th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Derek, Josh J, Ryan (Visitor), Justin
Game Plan: Crucifix
Derek: We did some drilling on our respective techniques. He said that my z-guard felt better than the last time I drilled with him.
When we rolled it started out well for me, I mostly kept control and was in good position to attack from turtle and side control. I couldn't get him to tap though and eventually I started to gas after several failed attacks and he eventually double legged me out of turtle and transitioned into side control and threw on an americana.
Josh: Had some great rolls with Josh. He's been working on smash pass and did everything right except get the underhook. At another point he had me in the bottom of side control but felt hesitant to attack. We talked about it afterward and I gave him the suggestion of switching sides to setup attacks. At one point I was able to setup crucifix but ended up with back mount and his arm trapped.
Ryan: He was in town visiting a friend and trains elsewhere. We rolled no gi and it can be exciting figuring out a new person and their game. He hasn't been training for as long as I have, so while he did present some challenges for the most part I controlled the rolls.
I went over north/south choke with him and my setup. Also some knee slide stuff.
Justin: He asked me to roll before calling it a day. We started standing since people were clearing out. He's so low to the ground though and I had a tough time making anything happen on the feet. He was able to get me down with double and single legs while I threatened guillotines went for guard.
On the ground I was being pretty flowy and playful until I was in a donkey guardish position and Justin accidentally heel kicked me in the jaw. I was fine and my mouth guard saved my teeth but it was a hard shot.
On our last roll I was attacking from turtle and was able to goad him into reaching between my legs for the crucifix. He kept a tight hold and put his hands together but I was able to weasel my hand around his neck. Crucifix is really becoming a go-to position for me.
Rolled With: Derek, Josh J, Ryan (Visitor), Justin
Game Plan: Crucifix
Derek: We did some drilling on our respective techniques. He said that my z-guard felt better than the last time I drilled with him.
When we rolled it started out well for me, I mostly kept control and was in good position to attack from turtle and side control. I couldn't get him to tap though and eventually I started to gas after several failed attacks and he eventually double legged me out of turtle and transitioned into side control and threw on an americana.
Josh: Had some great rolls with Josh. He's been working on smash pass and did everything right except get the underhook. At another point he had me in the bottom of side control but felt hesitant to attack. We talked about it afterward and I gave him the suggestion of switching sides to setup attacks. At one point I was able to setup crucifix but ended up with back mount and his arm trapped.
Ryan: He was in town visiting a friend and trains elsewhere. We rolled no gi and it can be exciting figuring out a new person and their game. He hasn't been training for as long as I have, so while he did present some challenges for the most part I controlled the rolls.
I went over north/south choke with him and my setup. Also some knee slide stuff.
Justin: He asked me to roll before calling it a day. We started standing since people were clearing out. He's so low to the ground though and I had a tough time making anything happen on the feet. He was able to get me down with double and single legs while I threatened guillotines went for guard.
On the ground I was being pretty flowy and playful until I was in a donkey guardish position and Justin accidentally heel kicked me in the jaw. I was fine and my mouth guard saved my teeth but it was a hard shot.
On our last roll I was attacking from turtle and was able to goad him into reaching between my legs for the crucifix. He kept a tight hold and put his hands together but I was able to weasel my hand around his neck. Crucifix is really becoming a go-to position for me.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
March 18th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Josh J, Ray, Bauer, Craig, Jerad
Game Plan: Conserve energy
Since I've been sick I tried to take it easy today although no one that I rolled with is an easy roll. I just have some bad congestion now so it can be difficult to breathe.
Josh: Both he and Bauer pulled out things while we were rolling that I taught them recently. Josh picked an opportune time while in my half guard to go to x-pass position, I wasn't expecting it and told him "good job!" but immediately saw an opportunity for a loop choke. Mike gave me shit for giving a compliment right before going into my own sub. We had a few other good rolls after that.
Ray: Had a few tough rolls with Ray. He gave me a lot of compliments afterward for my sleeve and collar gripping and my general ability to see moves ahead. He's still damn difficult to submit and can bring the pressure from the top. I was happy to prevent some of the ankle lock stuff that he looked for that he's caught me with in the past.
Bauer: We rolled no gi and I definitely had a tougher time controlling him without grips. The underhook from half guard became more important.
Craig: Craig showed me a couple of things that he saw off of videos concerning side control and asked for help on NS choke. I had him do the choke to me and noticed that his elbow was off the floor. Generally I plant my elbow and move away from it to make the choke tighter. I also tend to wiggle back and forth to get their neck and chin in the right place. Something that I didn't tell him that might have helped is that I don't squeeze until I'm in a very tight position.
Jerad: Did a no gi roll with Jerad although I was pretty well exhausted. Still did about my average. I got pretty far on top in half guard but my base wasn't solid at one point and he overwhelmed me with a sweep. The rest was trying to keep half guard but I don't remember what I tapped to.
Rolled With: Josh J, Ray, Bauer, Craig, Jerad
Game Plan: Conserve energy
Since I've been sick I tried to take it easy today although no one that I rolled with is an easy roll. I just have some bad congestion now so it can be difficult to breathe.
Josh: Both he and Bauer pulled out things while we were rolling that I taught them recently. Josh picked an opportune time while in my half guard to go to x-pass position, I wasn't expecting it and told him "good job!" but immediately saw an opportunity for a loop choke. Mike gave me shit for giving a compliment right before going into my own sub. We had a few other good rolls after that.
Ray: Had a few tough rolls with Ray. He gave me a lot of compliments afterward for my sleeve and collar gripping and my general ability to see moves ahead. He's still damn difficult to submit and can bring the pressure from the top. I was happy to prevent some of the ankle lock stuff that he looked for that he's caught me with in the past.
Bauer: We rolled no gi and I definitely had a tougher time controlling him without grips. The underhook from half guard became more important.
Craig: Craig showed me a couple of things that he saw off of videos concerning side control and asked for help on NS choke. I had him do the choke to me and noticed that his elbow was off the floor. Generally I plant my elbow and move away from it to make the choke tighter. I also tend to wiggle back and forth to get their neck and chin in the right place. Something that I didn't tell him that might have helped is that I don't squeeze until I'm in a very tight position.
Jerad: Did a no gi roll with Jerad although I was pretty well exhausted. Still did about my average. I got pretty far on top in half guard but my base wasn't solid at one point and he overwhelmed me with a sweep. The rest was trying to keep half guard but I don't remember what I tapped to.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
March 11th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Josh J, Craig, Justin, Clint
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Crucifix
Josh: Did some drilling for a warm-up. Worked on my usual techniques lately. Playing around with switching the grip to my other hand in z when I can't get the pant grip, might be time to run through the DVD again. Crucifix is feeling good the combination of being able to attack the armbar and the choke at the same time is awesome. Josh drilled X and smash pass with some of my help.
We rolled a few times. I worked especially for Z and got it a few times. He actually took an opportunity to do the smash pass at one point and I couldn't be happier.
Craig: The mat was pretty crowded and I had to do some catch and release a few times. He commented that he liked my knee shield grip stripper (patent pending) and I gave him a little instructional on it.
Justin: My goal was to get him to turtle and crucifix. From side control I've been trying things like cross facing excessively or giving enough space encourage my partner to turtle. I haven't found the magic formula yet but I did get Justin to reach out for an underhook that I pushed between my legs and rolled for the crucifix, it was awesome.
I showed Justin the back take from North/south using the lapels under the armpits. He seemed to like that.
Clint: I think I was too worn out for this roll because I got gassed pretty quickly. He does a good job of applying constant pressure from the top, not sure what his guard is like though. As I got tired I had trouble maintaining my half guard and eventually he was able to pass to side control.
As I was contemplating whether to quit from exhaustion or see it through, I developed a plan to get back to close guard and go right into cross guard and omoplata sweep. That was my best option to sweep. I turtled, he went to head lock position, I sat and pulled him into closed guard and right into the cross guard barrel roll sweep. I was so relieved that worked.
One thing that Bernardo Faria says a lot in his DVDs is to find ways to get to your sweeping position from anywhere. Generally I sweep from 2 places deep half or cross guard.
Rolled With: Josh J, Craig, Justin, Clint
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Crucifix
Josh: Did some drilling for a warm-up. Worked on my usual techniques lately. Playing around with switching the grip to my other hand in z when I can't get the pant grip, might be time to run through the DVD again. Crucifix is feeling good the combination of being able to attack the armbar and the choke at the same time is awesome. Josh drilled X and smash pass with some of my help.
We rolled a few times. I worked especially for Z and got it a few times. He actually took an opportunity to do the smash pass at one point and I couldn't be happier.
Craig: The mat was pretty crowded and I had to do some catch and release a few times. He commented that he liked my knee shield grip stripper (patent pending) and I gave him a little instructional on it.
Justin: My goal was to get him to turtle and crucifix. From side control I've been trying things like cross facing excessively or giving enough space encourage my partner to turtle. I haven't found the magic formula yet but I did get Justin to reach out for an underhook that I pushed between my legs and rolled for the crucifix, it was awesome.
I showed Justin the back take from North/south using the lapels under the armpits. He seemed to like that.
Clint: I think I was too worn out for this roll because I got gassed pretty quickly. He does a good job of applying constant pressure from the top, not sure what his guard is like though. As I got tired I had trouble maintaining my half guard and eventually he was able to pass to side control.
As I was contemplating whether to quit from exhaustion or see it through, I developed a plan to get back to close guard and go right into cross guard and omoplata sweep. That was my best option to sweep. I turtled, he went to head lock position, I sat and pulled him into closed guard and right into the cross guard barrel roll sweep. I was so relieved that worked.
One thing that Bernardo Faria says a lot in his DVDs is to find ways to get to your sweeping position from anywhere. Generally I sweep from 2 places deep half or cross guard.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
March 4th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Patty, Derek M, Justin, Josh J
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Crucifix
Patty: I think we're pretty close in skill level but each with different skills. He had me defending from bottom I'd get to turtle and he went to my back. This was tough trying to fight off his constant neck attacks. I eventually made it to deep half and swept to double unders. Then somehow we repeated that sequence.
I put him into crucifix for a while but had a hard time controlling his upper body and making the submission happen and he eventually escaped.
I ended up passing and attacking NS choke but not able to finish and came up on a guillotine. We fought from half guard for a while neither of us able to do much. He escaped and my pants were coming off and we ended up quitting the roll.
Derek: We just drilled our homework. I worked on z-guard and turtle stuff. I'm feeling good about both. Derek seemed to appreciate the z-guard sweep and said it doesn't feel like it's inhibiting him until I'm sweeping. The ankle pick is just awesome. The feeling for the armbar from the top is not there yet, but I do feel good about combining the choke and armbar from the bottom.
Justin: Haven't rolled with him in a while since he's been too busy for day classes. We rolled a few times and I was able to setup the z-guard and use the ankle pick to sweep. I setup an armbar from mount that he almost defended.
We went over some armbar defenses (RNC and Push the leg into half). I also showed him the z-guard which he seemed to like.
Josh: I was dog tired by this roll and decided to try to control the pace. He came really close to passing my guard at one point but I worked my way back to half and then full and went for cross guard omoplata for the sweep. I went to kimura and used the kimura trap to transition to the bread cutter.
We discussed why it seems like I take his back a lot during rolling. It had mostly to do with him bringing his arm inside my knee shield from half. I showed him some passes that I like to use from the top as alternatives to the knee slide.
Rolled With: Patty, Derek M, Justin, Josh J
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Crucifix
Patty: I think we're pretty close in skill level but each with different skills. He had me defending from bottom I'd get to turtle and he went to my back. This was tough trying to fight off his constant neck attacks. I eventually made it to deep half and swept to double unders. Then somehow we repeated that sequence.
I put him into crucifix for a while but had a hard time controlling his upper body and making the submission happen and he eventually escaped.
I ended up passing and attacking NS choke but not able to finish and came up on a guillotine. We fought from half guard for a while neither of us able to do much. He escaped and my pants were coming off and we ended up quitting the roll.
Derek: We just drilled our homework. I worked on z-guard and turtle stuff. I'm feeling good about both. Derek seemed to appreciate the z-guard sweep and said it doesn't feel like it's inhibiting him until I'm sweeping. The ankle pick is just awesome. The feeling for the armbar from the top is not there yet, but I do feel good about combining the choke and armbar from the bottom.
Justin: Haven't rolled with him in a while since he's been too busy for day classes. We rolled a few times and I was able to setup the z-guard and use the ankle pick to sweep. I setup an armbar from mount that he almost defended.
We went over some armbar defenses (RNC and Push the leg into half). I also showed him the z-guard which he seemed to like.
Josh: I was dog tired by this roll and decided to try to control the pace. He came really close to passing my guard at one point but I worked my way back to half and then full and went for cross guard omoplata for the sweep. I went to kimura and used the kimura trap to transition to the bread cutter.
We discussed why it seems like I take his back a lot during rolling. It had mostly to do with him bringing his arm inside my knee shield from half. I showed him some passes that I like to use from the top as alternatives to the knee slide.
Saturday, February 25, 2017
February 25th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Derek M, Morgan, Jerad, Josh J
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Crucifix Armbar
Got in some good drilling today. Started with Jess and worked on crucifix armbar. Bob came over and I showed some details for the over/under pass. I think it will serve them both well.
Derek and I both drilled the things we've been working on. I did z-guard and felt really good about the ankle pick variation when I can't reach their knee and they stand. I also drilled more crucifix to armbar and feel ike I'm getting a feel for doing the armbar from the top. Spreading my knees after crossing the feet is the key. Im going to incorporate more drilling into open mat
We rolled once with me starting on top and entering into his half guard. I went to the hip switch but wanted to avoid the reversal that he's been working on so kept my foot in tight and attacked the kimura to help pass. I used the kimura trap and was able to step over his head and fight from there. We drilled a few more times after rolling.
Had quite a few rolls with Morgan next. I was unable to get him to crucifix position although I tried. I was able to setup the z-guard during a knee slide pass. He had a good attempt at a rolling back take and played some de la riva, after we rolled we worked on DLR a bit.
Jerad and I had an epic roll. I was actually able to mount some offense a few times which doesn't always happen. At one point I attempted a kimura from half guard which transitioned to head and arm choke from the bottom that I didn't feel like I could finish. I also had a few escapes from knee on belly and mount. I'm getting more comfortable in the modified deep half that I'm ending up in with him. In the end he got me with kimura.
Josh was a little negative about our roll before it started. It's definitely something I struggle with thinking I'm going to lose before a roll even starts. Honestly though he is among the few white belts that give me a hard time. He's difficult to submit and his fundamentals are solid. Regardless, I mostly controlled the roll from back mount. I wasn't able to get a choke though as he did a great job of escaping. I got to use the kimura trap again to attack some collar stuff, but he was able to get free. We discussed back mount escapes afterward and why going to the correct side is important.
Rolled With: Derek M, Morgan, Jerad, Josh J
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Crucifix Armbar
Got in some good drilling today. Started with Jess and worked on crucifix armbar. Bob came over and I showed some details for the over/under pass. I think it will serve them both well.
Derek and I both drilled the things we've been working on. I did z-guard and felt really good about the ankle pick variation when I can't reach their knee and they stand. I also drilled more crucifix to armbar and feel ike I'm getting a feel for doing the armbar from the top. Spreading my knees after crossing the feet is the key. Im going to incorporate more drilling into open mat
We rolled once with me starting on top and entering into his half guard. I went to the hip switch but wanted to avoid the reversal that he's been working on so kept my foot in tight and attacked the kimura to help pass. I used the kimura trap and was able to step over his head and fight from there. We drilled a few more times after rolling.
Had quite a few rolls with Morgan next. I was unable to get him to crucifix position although I tried. I was able to setup the z-guard during a knee slide pass. He had a good attempt at a rolling back take and played some de la riva, after we rolled we worked on DLR a bit.
Jerad and I had an epic roll. I was actually able to mount some offense a few times which doesn't always happen. At one point I attempted a kimura from half guard which transitioned to head and arm choke from the bottom that I didn't feel like I could finish. I also had a few escapes from knee on belly and mount. I'm getting more comfortable in the modified deep half that I'm ending up in with him. In the end he got me with kimura.
Josh was a little negative about our roll before it started. It's definitely something I struggle with thinking I'm going to lose before a roll even starts. Honestly though he is among the few white belts that give me a hard time. He's difficult to submit and his fundamentals are solid. Regardless, I mostly controlled the roll from back mount. I wasn't able to get a choke though as he did a great job of escaping. I got to use the kimura trap again to attack some collar stuff, but he was able to get free. We discussed back mount escapes afterward and why going to the correct side is important.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
February 18th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Tyler, Tom, Jerad, Nate (new), Will, Josh J, Derek M
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Finishing from Back Mount
Tyler: He does such a good job with his legs. I've got to be on the top of my game with him. I was able to sweep him with z-guard and attack some things but ultimately he had a good omoplata attempt and finally caught me with a triangle. I'll have to rethink how I roll with him next time.
Tom: We had quite a few rolls, where I played a lot of half and z-guard. He was working hard to pass with the leg weave that I've worked with him on but he wasn't quite getting over my knee to smash it down. So we worked on that pass and windshield wiping to complete it.
Jerad: I did some good things, but I was primarily defending the whole time. I did use some Z-Guard, but he was able to sprawl through it. I must need more reps with it. I don't recall how he submitted me, must have been from mount or back mount.
Nate: He is pretty new to Jiu-Jitsu but said he was serious about wrestling in highschool. It showed, he knew how to make pressure and avoid some submissions. We talked about BJJ and MMA. He said we had a good training environment and everyone had been friendly and helpful.
Will: Difficult roll as usual. There were a couple times where I felt like an armbar was there for the taking but as I set myself up to go for it, he raised his torso to prevent it. Not sure what the contingency is for this.
Josh: Had a very tough roll with Josh. He did such a good job of defending and my strength felt like it was giving out. I spent a lot of time in back mount trying to setup a collar choke but he stripped my grips.
After we rolled I showed him that he needed to try to get his back to the floor and his hips above mine to escape more effectively. Stupid, I know. Then I showed him my new answer for people standing in my cross guard.
Derek: I was just about ready to go when Derek asked me about cross collar from mount. I showed him the way Jerad and I do it with thumb in and palms down. I've had way more success that way than the traditional. Once I told him to do it with straight arms, he got it super tight right away, so we may have another convert.
Rolled With: Tyler, Tom, Jerad, Nate (new), Will, Josh J, Derek M
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Finishing from Back Mount
Tyler: He does such a good job with his legs. I've got to be on the top of my game with him. I was able to sweep him with z-guard and attack some things but ultimately he had a good omoplata attempt and finally caught me with a triangle. I'll have to rethink how I roll with him next time.
Tom: We had quite a few rolls, where I played a lot of half and z-guard. He was working hard to pass with the leg weave that I've worked with him on but he wasn't quite getting over my knee to smash it down. So we worked on that pass and windshield wiping to complete it.
Jerad: I did some good things, but I was primarily defending the whole time. I did use some Z-Guard, but he was able to sprawl through it. I must need more reps with it. I don't recall how he submitted me, must have been from mount or back mount.
Nate: He is pretty new to Jiu-Jitsu but said he was serious about wrestling in highschool. It showed, he knew how to make pressure and avoid some submissions. We talked about BJJ and MMA. He said we had a good training environment and everyone had been friendly and helpful.
Will: Difficult roll as usual. There were a couple times where I felt like an armbar was there for the taking but as I set myself up to go for it, he raised his torso to prevent it. Not sure what the contingency is for this.
Josh: Had a very tough roll with Josh. He did such a good job of defending and my strength felt like it was giving out. I spent a lot of time in back mount trying to setup a collar choke but he stripped my grips.
After we rolled I showed him that he needed to try to get his back to the floor and his hips above mine to escape more effectively. Stupid, I know. Then I showed him my new answer for people standing in my cross guard.
Derek: I was just about ready to go when Derek asked me about cross collar from mount. I showed him the way Jerad and I do it with thumb in and palms down. I've had way more success that way than the traditional. Once I told him to do it with straight arms, he got it super tight right away, so we may have another convert.
Saturday, February 11, 2017
February 11th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Dave, Daniel, Telly (sp?), Josh J
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Crucifix
Dave called to me from across the room and asked if I would show him the over/under to which I said "no, stay over there." We worked on the pass from standing and then from butterfly guard. The big point being to control one leg between yours and the other with your head and shoulder. We rolled several times after. I tried to be very slow and deliberate with my movements and helped him with a few things on the way and helped him setup the pass a few times.
Worked on a mount escape to deep half with Daniel. He's looking for more escape options from mount and he said something about not liking being in mine. I don't remember too much about our roll except his leg weave pass is coming along pretty well.
Had quite a roll with Telly. He's fairly aggressive on top with probably a wrestling background. I was on the bottom of side control for a good portion of the roll but was able to prevent submissions and get an underhook or attack the elbow push. I eventually recovered guard and got on top. Using a lasso sweep, I tried to setup an armbar/kimura but didn't get the right angle and got pushed off. We had some scrambles and I felt confident in going to crucifix position from there.
Josh asked to work on brabo grip from side control and we also went over my gotos from top as well as cross choke from mount. I played some Z-Guard and was persistent in getting the double leg even though he gave me a lot of resistance. This is what I need to work through and figure out because someone pushing down on my head slows my progress.
Rolled With: Dave, Daniel, Telly (sp?), Josh J
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Top - Crucifix
Dave called to me from across the room and asked if I would show him the over/under to which I said "no, stay over there." We worked on the pass from standing and then from butterfly guard. The big point being to control one leg between yours and the other with your head and shoulder. We rolled several times after. I tried to be very slow and deliberate with my movements and helped him with a few things on the way and helped him setup the pass a few times.
Worked on a mount escape to deep half with Daniel. He's looking for more escape options from mount and he said something about not liking being in mine. I don't remember too much about our roll except his leg weave pass is coming along pretty well.
Had quite a roll with Telly. He's fairly aggressive on top with probably a wrestling background. I was on the bottom of side control for a good portion of the roll but was able to prevent submissions and get an underhook or attack the elbow push. I eventually recovered guard and got on top. Using a lasso sweep, I tried to setup an armbar/kimura but didn't get the right angle and got pushed off. We had some scrambles and I felt confident in going to crucifix position from there.
Josh asked to work on brabo grip from side control and we also went over my gotos from top as well as cross choke from mount. I played some Z-Guard and was persistent in getting the double leg even though he gave me a lot of resistance. This is what I need to work through and figure out because someone pushing down on my head slows my progress.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
January 28th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Josh J, Ben, Daniel, Mike A, Will
Game Plan: Bottom - Half Guard Sweeps, Top - NS Choke
Had a good day of rolling that kicked my butt. The roll with Will especially took its toll as I had to dig deep a couple times to keep going. Mike also gave me a tough roll but I took advantage of him getting over being sick.
I found several opportunities to attempt the NS choke mostly because I wanted to try the way Marcelo teaches it. The main difference being that he keeps his head on his opponent's chest where I usually put my head behind their shoulder on the floor. I can't seem to make his work as well for me and I'm not sure if I should keep trying it or just accept that my way is better for me.
I gave out a few pointers to Josh. Shared some of my bridging "secrets" which seemed to trigger a light bulb moment. I enjoy seeing that happen as an instructor. We also worked on some cross guard when someone stands up in it.
Rolled With: Josh J, Ben, Daniel, Mike A, Will
Game Plan: Bottom - Half Guard Sweeps, Top - NS Choke
Had a good day of rolling that kicked my butt. The roll with Will especially took its toll as I had to dig deep a couple times to keep going. Mike also gave me a tough roll but I took advantage of him getting over being sick.
I found several opportunities to attempt the NS choke mostly because I wanted to try the way Marcelo teaches it. The main difference being that he keeps his head on his opponent's chest where I usually put my head behind their shoulder on the floor. I can't seem to make his work as well for me and I'm not sure if I should keep trying it or just accept that my way is better for me.
I gave out a few pointers to Josh. Shared some of my bridging "secrets" which seemed to trigger a light bulb moment. I enjoy seeing that happen as an instructor. We also worked on some cross guard when someone stands up in it.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
January 21st 2017 - Open Mat & Sparring
Open Mat
Rolled With: Jerad, Romero, Henry, Justin, Mo, David
Had some tough rolls today and felt exhausted after the first roll with Jerad. We had some good back and forth and I was happy with my performance even though he eventually got me.
Romero was one of a few guys visiting that I hadn't met before. He's a very good wrestler and I had trouble dealing with him. I had some sweeps from deep half but never felt like I had a good position. He had me in back mount for a while and I eventually escaped but it took it's toll. I eventually gassed and had to call it good.
Henry was a step ahead of me with guillotines and kimuras. I'll have to get him to show me how he maintains his guillotines and sinks them in. I want to be able to do that.
Haven't rolled with Justin in a long time. He did a good job of attacking me in turtle. After we rolled I showed him some attacks I liked from knee on belly.
Made a mistake of trying to do the rolling back take on Mo and he turned it into back mount for himself. I eventually got out of it but I don't think I'll try that on him anymore.
David and I both had our moments and only quit because he had to go. I was a little gassed too.
MMA Sparring
Trained with: Richard, Mike
Knocked some rust off today and did some standup punchy kicky sparring. It's been at least 5 years since I sparred like this and I've been wanting to jump in since they started to prepare for Mike's fight. Henry gave me a quick tutorial on putting on hand wraps and he and Will were nice enough to lone me some gear.
It was as tough as I thought it would be. 3 minute rounds are exhausting after 2 hours of open mat. I felt like a lot of my timing and distance control were still right on but my flexibility was not as good as it used to be.
I took a solid shot to the face and some leg kicks from Richard who just recently came to us with some MMA experience. Mike kept his distance out of kicking range. He would move in and out and I felt like had to chase him every time.
I had some good leg kicks and some decent side and front kicks to the body. The gloves felt unnatural and heavy and everyone kept reminding me to keep my hands up. I think some pad work would help me out.
Rolled With: Jerad, Romero, Henry, Justin, Mo, David
Had some tough rolls today and felt exhausted after the first roll with Jerad. We had some good back and forth and I was happy with my performance even though he eventually got me.
Romero was one of a few guys visiting that I hadn't met before. He's a very good wrestler and I had trouble dealing with him. I had some sweeps from deep half but never felt like I had a good position. He had me in back mount for a while and I eventually escaped but it took it's toll. I eventually gassed and had to call it good.
Henry was a step ahead of me with guillotines and kimuras. I'll have to get him to show me how he maintains his guillotines and sinks them in. I want to be able to do that.
Haven't rolled with Justin in a long time. He did a good job of attacking me in turtle. After we rolled I showed him some attacks I liked from knee on belly.
Made a mistake of trying to do the rolling back take on Mo and he turned it into back mount for himself. I eventually got out of it but I don't think I'll try that on him anymore.
David and I both had our moments and only quit because he had to go. I was a little gassed too.
MMA Sparring
Trained with: Richard, Mike
Knocked some rust off today and did some standup punchy kicky sparring. It's been at least 5 years since I sparred like this and I've been wanting to jump in since they started to prepare for Mike's fight. Henry gave me a quick tutorial on putting on hand wraps and he and Will were nice enough to lone me some gear.
It was as tough as I thought it would be. 3 minute rounds are exhausting after 2 hours of open mat. I felt like a lot of my timing and distance control were still right on but my flexibility was not as good as it used to be.
I took a solid shot to the face and some leg kicks from Richard who just recently came to us with some MMA experience. Mike kept his distance out of kicking range. He would move in and out and I felt like had to chase him every time.
I had some good leg kicks and some decent side and front kicks to the body. The gloves felt unnatural and heavy and everyone kept reminding me to keep my hands up. I think some pad work would help me out.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
January 14th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Clint, Daniel, Jerad, Craig, Mo, John
Game Plan: Z-Guard, Crucifix
Clint: Showed Clint some of the Z-Guard stuff I've been working on before we rolled. Then pulled it off a few times during our roll. Afterward I gave him some pointers from side control on converting their underhook into a kimura.
Daniel: After we rolled he gave me some compliments on my off balancing in half guard. Personally I feel like his defense is getting a lot better recently.
Jerad: Toughest roll of the day. Wasn't able to put much of an offense together against him today. I was able to escape his mount once though.
Craig: His guard is getting more difficult to pass. Something that we talked about after was when he's about to be passed he tries to hang on too long when he should hip escape or turtle.
Mo: He complimented me before we rolled on being a good partner for lighter people. There were a couple of times when he was on top and was doing an interesting setup to get my arm in kimura position.
John: We went no gi and there were some good leg lock and back take exchanges. Probably the highlight of my day was when I went to x-guard from a failed butterfly sweep. From there I stepped over to his hip to situp the heel hook.
Rolled With: Clint, Daniel, Jerad, Craig, Mo, John
Game Plan: Z-Guard, Crucifix
Clint: Showed Clint some of the Z-Guard stuff I've been working on before we rolled. Then pulled it off a few times during our roll. Afterward I gave him some pointers from side control on converting their underhook into a kimura.
Daniel: After we rolled he gave me some compliments on my off balancing in half guard. Personally I feel like his defense is getting a lot better recently.
Jerad: Toughest roll of the day. Wasn't able to put much of an offense together against him today. I was able to escape his mount once though.
Craig: His guard is getting more difficult to pass. Something that we talked about after was when he's about to be passed he tries to hang on too long when he should hip escape or turtle.
Mo: He complimented me before we rolled on being a good partner for lighter people. There were a couple of times when he was on top and was doing an interesting setup to get my arm in kimura position.
John: We went no gi and there were some good leg lock and back take exchanges. Probably the highlight of my day was when I went to x-guard from a failed butterfly sweep. From there I stepped over to his hip to situp the heel hook.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
January 7th 2017 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Frank, Daniel, Chris, Nick, Bhuvana, Greg, Brian
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Crucifix; Top - Spiral Armbar
Frank: We ended up in quite a few different positions. I worked to setup the spiral armbar position, crucifix, and a rolling back take from quarter guard.
Daniel: Got to use my up and coming crucifix skills again. To add insult to injury Daniel had just helped me troubleshoot the position the other day. I'm enjoying doing the cross feet armbar from this position and I'm feeling more comfortable about rolling to my back. I showed him some of the z-guard stuff that I've been working on and he seemed to like it.
Chris: Had a pretty light roll and helped him with butterfly sweep. Then Nick came and grabbed me.
Nick: Got my cardio in with Nick and felt good about keeping up with the pace. I had some success with deep half and over/under pass. It seems like whenever I start to make something happen though, I'm allowing too much space and he's getting his guard back or recovering in some way. He paid me a compliment after open mat that he's impressed that I attack a lot in half guard and it's inspired him to do the same.
Bhuvana: Great training, she only wanted to work on guard retention and a quick deep half tutorial. We had a different type of roll where I would put her into positions and then coach her out of them, which she said was very helpful.
Greg: It's fantastic that I can roll with 2 black belts in one day. I was discussing with a few people the other day, how I don't think I've ever passed Greg's guard. I've come close and failed, I've swept him and regained guard from bad positions, but I've yet to submit him or pass his guard. That didn't change today but I did feel more relaxed and confident in my rolling with him. I'm going to keep chasing that dream of passing his guard though. One thing that we discussed after was that there were moments when I did good things but had to pause to think when I would get to a position that I'm not as versed in, de la riva in this case.
Brian: Had a fun couple of rolls and then caught up with Brian. During one of the exchanges I had passed his guard but he was able to put my head in a leg scissor. It was tight like a vise. Afterward I told him his legs had Karate strength.
Rolled With: Frank, Daniel, Chris, Nick, Bhuvana, Greg, Brian
Game Plan: Bottom - Z-Guard, Crucifix; Top - Spiral Armbar
Frank: We ended up in quite a few different positions. I worked to setup the spiral armbar position, crucifix, and a rolling back take from quarter guard.
Daniel: Got to use my up and coming crucifix skills again. To add insult to injury Daniel had just helped me troubleshoot the position the other day. I'm enjoying doing the cross feet armbar from this position and I'm feeling more comfortable about rolling to my back. I showed him some of the z-guard stuff that I've been working on and he seemed to like it.
Chris: Had a pretty light roll and helped him with butterfly sweep. Then Nick came and grabbed me.
Nick: Got my cardio in with Nick and felt good about keeping up with the pace. I had some success with deep half and over/under pass. It seems like whenever I start to make something happen though, I'm allowing too much space and he's getting his guard back or recovering in some way. He paid me a compliment after open mat that he's impressed that I attack a lot in half guard and it's inspired him to do the same.
Bhuvana: Great training, she only wanted to work on guard retention and a quick deep half tutorial. We had a different type of roll where I would put her into positions and then coach her out of them, which she said was very helpful.
Greg: It's fantastic that I can roll with 2 black belts in one day. I was discussing with a few people the other day, how I don't think I've ever passed Greg's guard. I've come close and failed, I've swept him and regained guard from bad positions, but I've yet to submit him or pass his guard. That didn't change today but I did feel more relaxed and confident in my rolling with him. I'm going to keep chasing that dream of passing his guard though. One thing that we discussed after was that there were moments when I did good things but had to pause to think when I would get to a position that I'm not as versed in, de la riva in this case.
Brian: Had a fun couple of rolls and then caught up with Brian. During one of the exchanges I had passed his guard but he was able to put my head in a leg scissor. It was tight like a vise. Afterward I told him his legs had Karate strength.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
December 31st 2016 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Henry, Patty, Conan, Jerad, Mike, Frank, Cat
Game Plan: Overcome Gassing Out
Had many tough rolls today. It was awesome to get to roll with 7 different people on the last day of 2016. Since I had some gas tank problems on Wednesday, I wanted to find that point and work past it. A lot of it is mental and I need to train myself to not just give up when the going gets tough.
Henry: It's always difficult to do a warm-up roll with someone so close in skill. It was a battle of kimuras and guillotines with a lot of position changes and back and forth. I was definitely warmed up by the end.
Patty: Our skill levels are also very close. I find these to be the toughest rolls for me as getting one small edge first can make a huge impact on the roll, while someone of greater skill can beat me without much effort on either of our parts and visa versa for someone of lesser skill. I spend a lot of time in deep half with him and he does a good job of defending it. He also seems to have a good wrestling base and is difficult to hold down.
Conan: I was worn out from my previous rolls but rolled anyway. I was put on the defensive and tried to defend with minimal use of strength, which didn't work. He was working on a modified Mir lock the whole day and caught me with it.
Jerad: Rolled with him in both gi and then at the end of open mat no gi. Had some really good moments and was able to sweep from a deep half scramble. I used the gi grips between the legs quite a bit. We talked a bit about a variation on butterfly sweep where he didn't have a high underhook but as he went or the sweep he moved to the side and turned the corner a bit to make the underhook better before sweeping.
Mike: I had to let go a little bit and try to just act and not think so much. He moves too fast and if I wait for my moments I will be too far behind when they come. We had some really good interactions where I defended a lot of his attacks. He was killing me with back mount though. He said that my posture in butterfly was lacking and I was falling to my back too much. I was surprised by this because I had just given others this advice in the past week.
Frank: We went over defending the north/south choke, which may be a mile stone for several people that roll with me. I've gladly given away secrets to defeat my good stuff to anyone that asks like NS choke, deep half, over/under pass, and cross guard.
Cat: She started off with some good hand fighting, I found it difficult to get my initial control. Which comes back to Mike's comment about my butterfly guard posture and laying back. I think I'm pretty used getting grips and getting my legs involved in gi. Hard to do without grips.
Rolled With: Henry, Patty, Conan, Jerad, Mike, Frank, Cat
Game Plan: Overcome Gassing Out
Had many tough rolls today. It was awesome to get to roll with 7 different people on the last day of 2016. Since I had some gas tank problems on Wednesday, I wanted to find that point and work past it. A lot of it is mental and I need to train myself to not just give up when the going gets tough.
Henry: It's always difficult to do a warm-up roll with someone so close in skill. It was a battle of kimuras and guillotines with a lot of position changes and back and forth. I was definitely warmed up by the end.
Patty: Our skill levels are also very close. I find these to be the toughest rolls for me as getting one small edge first can make a huge impact on the roll, while someone of greater skill can beat me without much effort on either of our parts and visa versa for someone of lesser skill. I spend a lot of time in deep half with him and he does a good job of defending it. He also seems to have a good wrestling base and is difficult to hold down.
Conan: I was worn out from my previous rolls but rolled anyway. I was put on the defensive and tried to defend with minimal use of strength, which didn't work. He was working on a modified Mir lock the whole day and caught me with it.
Jerad: Rolled with him in both gi and then at the end of open mat no gi. Had some really good moments and was able to sweep from a deep half scramble. I used the gi grips between the legs quite a bit. We talked a bit about a variation on butterfly sweep where he didn't have a high underhook but as he went or the sweep he moved to the side and turned the corner a bit to make the underhook better before sweeping.
Mike: I had to let go a little bit and try to just act and not think so much. He moves too fast and if I wait for my moments I will be too far behind when they come. We had some really good interactions where I defended a lot of his attacks. He was killing me with back mount though. He said that my posture in butterfly was lacking and I was falling to my back too much. I was surprised by this because I had just given others this advice in the past week.
Frank: We went over defending the north/south choke, which may be a mile stone for several people that roll with me. I've gladly given away secrets to defeat my good stuff to anyone that asks like NS choke, deep half, over/under pass, and cross guard.
Cat: She started off with some good hand fighting, I found it difficult to get my initial control. Which comes back to Mike's comment about my butterfly guard posture and laying back. I think I'm pretty used getting grips and getting my legs involved in gi. Hard to do without grips.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
December 17th 2016 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Henry, Mike, Patty, Craig, Nick, Mo
Game Plan: Deep Half and Z-Guard
It's been blizarding the last couple of days, but we still had a good group for open mat. Mostly because the tournament was cancelled that a few were planning to attend.
Henry: Great challenging roll like usual. We both had our moments of telling the other no when we went for one of our signature moves, like when he sees me setting up deep half or when he tried to guillotine me. I made a terrible mistake when I was in side control and he made a kimura grip. I thought I could take his back from there but I was wrong and ignored Mike telling me to step over his head.
Mike: We went over the kimura defense and I realized I should have known better. I had a really good moment where I felt like things came together. I escaped to deep half, waiter swept, passed and moved right to NS choke, but his neck always seems too small for me to finish here. He was able to catch me with a wrist lock.
Patty: He seems to be becoming a regular open mat partner. There is a lot of back and forth between us and he's competent at defending my deep half. We ended up stalemated and quit rolling out of exhaustion.
Craig: We talked a bit about dealing with low posture in the guard. We had a good roll, I've been trying to work on escaping side control as quickly as I can when I get there and was able to attempt a couple times here. One thing that he's good at that most aren't is stiff arming to avoid be passed.
Nick: Started out getting caught in his rubber guard with my arm locked in but I kept his foot between my legs. I got out somehow, I was able to get to a top position for a while and attack a bit. He eventually choked me from side control using his gi.
Mo: I played some Z guard with him and used it to help sweep. He had a few tricks up his sleeve too as he almost took my back. We discussed some of the lapel stuff after and Mike gave some advice with dealing with the crossface.
Thoughts:
I left open mat not feeling great about my progress. I don't know why though, I rolled relatively well. I wonder if the feeling will ever go away that I'm not as good as I should be? Probably not.
Rolled With: Henry, Mike, Patty, Craig, Nick, Mo
Game Plan: Deep Half and Z-Guard
It's been blizarding the last couple of days, but we still had a good group for open mat. Mostly because the tournament was cancelled that a few were planning to attend.
Henry: Great challenging roll like usual. We both had our moments of telling the other no when we went for one of our signature moves, like when he sees me setting up deep half or when he tried to guillotine me. I made a terrible mistake when I was in side control and he made a kimura grip. I thought I could take his back from there but I was wrong and ignored Mike telling me to step over his head.
Mike: We went over the kimura defense and I realized I should have known better. I had a really good moment where I felt like things came together. I escaped to deep half, waiter swept, passed and moved right to NS choke, but his neck always seems too small for me to finish here. He was able to catch me with a wrist lock.
Patty: He seems to be becoming a regular open mat partner. There is a lot of back and forth between us and he's competent at defending my deep half. We ended up stalemated and quit rolling out of exhaustion.
Craig: We talked a bit about dealing with low posture in the guard. We had a good roll, I've been trying to work on escaping side control as quickly as I can when I get there and was able to attempt a couple times here. One thing that he's good at that most aren't is stiff arming to avoid be passed.
Nick: Started out getting caught in his rubber guard with my arm locked in but I kept his foot between my legs. I got out somehow, I was able to get to a top position for a while and attack a bit. He eventually choked me from side control using his gi.
Mo: I played some Z guard with him and used it to help sweep. He had a few tricks up his sleeve too as he almost took my back. We discussed some of the lapel stuff after and Mike gave some advice with dealing with the crossface.
Thoughts:
I left open mat not feeling great about my progress. I don't know why though, I rolled relatively well. I wonder if the feeling will ever go away that I'm not as good as I should be? Probably not.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
December 10th 2016 - Open Mat & Mike's MMA Fight
Open Mat
Rolled With: Bruce, Nick, Ben L, Dave, Greg, Patty, Bhuvana
Game Plan: Bottom - Deep Half Waiter, Top - Over/Under Pass, NS Choke
Bruce: I watched him whoop up on Henry before we rolled so I knew this visitor had some skills. Apparently he is an instructor from from Sioux Falls who was here to support one of his fighters. I've also seen him on Reddit and he was part of the Fight works podcast and he told me about training with some notable people.
Had a short feel out period and ended up in half guard trying to pass. He swept me and I spent the majority of the roll on the bottom of half. He was able to apply an enormous amount of pressure with his head on my chest and made it difficult to move. The best thing I did was a waiter sweep from deep half but was unable to hold him down after that. He eventually took my back and caught me with an RNC.
Nick: There were a few moments of hope that I was going to catch Nick in the beginning of the roll. I was able to pass his guard for a second and attempt a few attacks. He came back though and eventually setup the truck and worked his way into the twister. He gave me some tips on getting out of the truck position with trying to turn away and get the underhook in the process.
Ben: I felt like he did a lot better than the last time we rolled, his guard retention especially. I gave him some pointers on defending against the NS choke.
Dave: He says that he's going to start training on Wednesday mornings in the near future. We rolled a few times and then I gave him a crash course in over/under pass.
Greg: Both a physically and mentally exhausting couple of rolls. There are more things I need to worry about as he can attack me from anywhere and he's doing things that no one else is doing. He is catching me a lot with a half guard back step to leg lock position.
Patty: We had a good roll and he did a few movements that I'm not used to. It's always great to have a skilled visitor come in and we can assimilate a bit of their style. Unfortunately in our second roll he was in the process of taking my back when I bridged and I heard a bone crunching sound. The back of my head was under his jaw and made him chip his teeth a bit. He seemed to be okay and not in any pain.
Bhuvana: I gave her some pointers on Over/Under Pass along with Derek M. We also covered loop choke and I think something else that I forgot.
Mike's MMA Debut:
Some great fights last night. We had a whole section of tables for LBJJC. At one point I looked back to see our large group wearing our school shirts and had the strange thought that I was a member of a cult. I mean if anything it's a good cult.
The first fight was with Lucas, a guy that came and trained with us a few months ago. He had lost his previous fights and wanted to improve his Jiu-Jitsu. He ended up taking his opponent's back and finishing with an RNC!
Mike walked out to Bruno Mars which my wife appreciated, especially when his opponent came out to the unoriginal "Let the bodies hit the floor" Greg and Nick were in his corner.
I was on the edge of my seat. It's so different watching a fight that involves someone that you know and helped prepare for the fight. My heart was up in my throat as I watched unable to help in any way.
This is all from memory so I may have some of the details off. Mike came out with a vicious leg kick and his opponent kept his distance. Mike threw a few more kicks until they closed the distance. Mike took his back on top and punching. He was losing the back a little and transitioned into a triangle. He took a few shots while locking it up but kept from getting picked up or slammed. Close to the end if the round he turned it into an armbar that was super tight and got the tap. Our section exploded and I could relax again. Mike had won his first fight!
There were some pretty good fights the rest of the night most of them finishing. Mike got submission of the night. It was great meeting some wives and training partners that I don't see as often. There was some backseat fight analysis going on but at least we're more educated about the fight game then the people yelling "rip his head off!"
Link to fight
Rolled With: Bruce, Nick, Ben L, Dave, Greg, Patty, Bhuvana
Game Plan: Bottom - Deep Half Waiter, Top - Over/Under Pass, NS Choke
Bruce: I watched him whoop up on Henry before we rolled so I knew this visitor had some skills. Apparently he is an instructor from from Sioux Falls who was here to support one of his fighters. I've also seen him on Reddit and he was part of the Fight works podcast and he told me about training with some notable people.
Had a short feel out period and ended up in half guard trying to pass. He swept me and I spent the majority of the roll on the bottom of half. He was able to apply an enormous amount of pressure with his head on my chest and made it difficult to move. The best thing I did was a waiter sweep from deep half but was unable to hold him down after that. He eventually took my back and caught me with an RNC.
Nick: There were a few moments of hope that I was going to catch Nick in the beginning of the roll. I was able to pass his guard for a second and attempt a few attacks. He came back though and eventually setup the truck and worked his way into the twister. He gave me some tips on getting out of the truck position with trying to turn away and get the underhook in the process.
Ben: I felt like he did a lot better than the last time we rolled, his guard retention especially. I gave him some pointers on defending against the NS choke.
Dave: He says that he's going to start training on Wednesday mornings in the near future. We rolled a few times and then I gave him a crash course in over/under pass.
Greg: Both a physically and mentally exhausting couple of rolls. There are more things I need to worry about as he can attack me from anywhere and he's doing things that no one else is doing. He is catching me a lot with a half guard back step to leg lock position.
Patty: We had a good roll and he did a few movements that I'm not used to. It's always great to have a skilled visitor come in and we can assimilate a bit of their style. Unfortunately in our second roll he was in the process of taking my back when I bridged and I heard a bone crunching sound. The back of my head was under his jaw and made him chip his teeth a bit. He seemed to be okay and not in any pain.
Bhuvana: I gave her some pointers on Over/Under Pass along with Derek M. We also covered loop choke and I think something else that I forgot.
Mike's MMA Debut:
Some great fights last night. We had a whole section of tables for LBJJC. At one point I looked back to see our large group wearing our school shirts and had the strange thought that I was a member of a cult. I mean if anything it's a good cult.
The first fight was with Lucas, a guy that came and trained with us a few months ago. He had lost his previous fights and wanted to improve his Jiu-Jitsu. He ended up taking his opponent's back and finishing with an RNC!
Mike walked out to Bruno Mars which my wife appreciated, especially when his opponent came out to the unoriginal "Let the bodies hit the floor" Greg and Nick were in his corner.
I was on the edge of my seat. It's so different watching a fight that involves someone that you know and helped prepare for the fight. My heart was up in my throat as I watched unable to help in any way.
This is all from memory so I may have some of the details off. Mike came out with a vicious leg kick and his opponent kept his distance. Mike threw a few more kicks until they closed the distance. Mike took his back on top and punching. He was losing the back a little and transitioned into a triangle. He took a few shots while locking it up but kept from getting picked up or slammed. Close to the end if the round he turned it into an armbar that was super tight and got the tap. Our section exploded and I could relax again. Mike had won his first fight!
There were some pretty good fights the rest of the night most of them finishing. Mike got submission of the night. It was great meeting some wives and training partners that I don't see as often. There was some backseat fight analysis going on but at least we're more educated about the fight game then the people yelling "rip his head off!"
Link to fight
Saturday, December 3, 2016
December 3rd 2016 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Daniel, Greg, Will, Craig, Frank
Game Plan: Bottom - Loop Choke, Top - Spiral Armbar, Armbar with Shin across neck
Daniel: I suggested he drill Japanese necktie as an alternative to arm in guillotine from top half guard that he was having trouble with. I drilled going to armbar from mount as they bridge to shin on neck. I'm finding myself in this situation a lot lately and would like to defend it better. We rolled a few times that.
Greg: We worked on a side control escape sequence that he got off of a video. It's similar to escaping a kesa getami by swinging your legs, you then push on their armpit and eventually recover to a dog collar like grip and finally, butterfly.
Will: During our first roll, I ended up catching him in an inverted triangle that took a long time to finish. Afterward, we looked at my calf which had his ear imprinted on it. We had another tough roll after that.
Craig: He's getting better at both maintaining and passing guard. I realized this because I got a little frustration trying to pass his guard and maintain mine at other times.
Frank: We rolled no gi for a while and then discussed avoiding guard passes and some tips to maintain butterfly guard.
Rolled With: Daniel, Greg, Will, Craig, Frank
Game Plan: Bottom - Loop Choke, Top - Spiral Armbar, Armbar with Shin across neck
Daniel: I suggested he drill Japanese necktie as an alternative to arm in guillotine from top half guard that he was having trouble with. I drilled going to armbar from mount as they bridge to shin on neck. I'm finding myself in this situation a lot lately and would like to defend it better. We rolled a few times that.
Greg: We worked on a side control escape sequence that he got off of a video. It's similar to escaping a kesa getami by swinging your legs, you then push on their armpit and eventually recover to a dog collar like grip and finally, butterfly.
Will: During our first roll, I ended up catching him in an inverted triangle that took a long time to finish. Afterward, we looked at my calf which had his ear imprinted on it. We had another tough roll after that.
Craig: He's getting better at both maintaining and passing guard. I realized this because I got a little frustration trying to pass his guard and maintain mine at other times.
Frank: We rolled no gi for a while and then discussed avoiding guard passes and some tips to maintain butterfly guard.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
November 19th 2016 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Tyler, Bob, Conan
Tyler: Another complex roll with Tyler. More than a few times I feel like I'm past his guard and he's able to wedge a knee in, then I have to start over or deal with his DLR to berimbolo. I'm looking at that as a new challenge to learn how to defend it.
Bob: Spent the majority of open mat with Bob. We went over clock choke from turtle and took it from there with different contingencies from turtle to side control usually asking what I'd do or if he did something well.
We then worked on fit ins and throwing with tia toshi. I'm working on my posture, looking at the watch, stepping into the top of the triangle. I may try to drill this at home.
Conan: It was a standard roll between the 2 of us. I spent some time on the bottom of side control where he pinned my wrist and crossfaced me with his body.
We discussed this a bit after how I can take my time to defend side control against people that I'm not as worried about submitting me. But with someone as good or better than me I'll get into trouble waiting for my moment. I determined that I should start escaping side control earlier and use some energy up front to prevent it.
Rolled With: Tyler, Bob, Conan
Tyler: Another complex roll with Tyler. More than a few times I feel like I'm past his guard and he's able to wedge a knee in, then I have to start over or deal with his DLR to berimbolo. I'm looking at that as a new challenge to learn how to defend it.
Bob: Spent the majority of open mat with Bob. We went over clock choke from turtle and took it from there with different contingencies from turtle to side control usually asking what I'd do or if he did something well.
We then worked on fit ins and throwing with tia toshi. I'm working on my posture, looking at the watch, stepping into the top of the triangle. I may try to drill this at home.
Conan: It was a standard roll between the 2 of us. I spent some time on the bottom of side control where he pinned my wrist and crossfaced me with his body.
We discussed this a bit after how I can take my time to defend side control against people that I'm not as worried about submitting me. But with someone as good or better than me I'll get into trouble waiting for my moment. I determined that I should start escaping side control earlier and use some energy up front to prevent it.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
November 12th 2016 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Josh J, Marlie, Austin, Dave, Jess, Tyler, Nick, Bhuvana
Lots of good rolls today and I'm already feeling sore in my fingers and legs.
Josh: I practiced a few crucifix setups that I've been working on. I helped him with some cross guard specifics. During our roll I made it to crucifix position but couldn't make anything happen from there.
Marlie: She is the wife of our new black belt, Nick and this was her first time training at our school. She did a great job for only training a year. She did her best to prevent me getting grips and moved around very quickly.
Austin: I'm not sure what changed but he has improved greatly since I rolled with him several months ago. I think he's being more persistent and direct with his guard passing.
Dave: When I saw Dave on the mat I tackle hugged him since it's maybe been months since I trained with him. After rolling we worked on a spider guard pass that he asked about.
Jess: He's starting to become a regular at our school and doing pretty decent for a new guy. Hopefully it keeps his interest going forward.
Tyler: He was on point today and was frustrating to roll with. Everytime I felt like I was past his guard he was able to get a leg in the way and make space. He's getting good at DLR to berimbolo and I don't have a good answer for it now besides trying to be heavy and smash. I may have to take him more seriously.
Nick: Great tough rolls as usual. I felt like I was doing well with my over/under pass. He caught me with a nasty collar choke, I had to leave the mat while I avoided puking. In the following roll he caught me in a spiral armbar position as I was going for deep half. I think my underhook was too deep as I needed it under his leg instead of his armpit.
Bhuvana: Had a good discussion on grip breaks and loop choke. She's going through the stages of learning a technique, almost getting it during rolling and then troubleshooting and correcting mistakes.
Rolled With: Josh J, Marlie, Austin, Dave, Jess, Tyler, Nick, Bhuvana
Lots of good rolls today and I'm already feeling sore in my fingers and legs.
Josh: I practiced a few crucifix setups that I've been working on. I helped him with some cross guard specifics. During our roll I made it to crucifix position but couldn't make anything happen from there.
Marlie: She is the wife of our new black belt, Nick and this was her first time training at our school. She did a great job for only training a year. She did her best to prevent me getting grips and moved around very quickly.
Austin: I'm not sure what changed but he has improved greatly since I rolled with him several months ago. I think he's being more persistent and direct with his guard passing.
Dave: When I saw Dave on the mat I tackle hugged him since it's maybe been months since I trained with him. After rolling we worked on a spider guard pass that he asked about.
Jess: He's starting to become a regular at our school and doing pretty decent for a new guy. Hopefully it keeps his interest going forward.
Tyler: He was on point today and was frustrating to roll with. Everytime I felt like I was past his guard he was able to get a leg in the way and make space. He's getting good at DLR to berimbolo and I don't have a good answer for it now besides trying to be heavy and smash. I may have to take him more seriously.
Nick: Great tough rolls as usual. I felt like I was doing well with my over/under pass. He caught me with a nasty collar choke, I had to leave the mat while I avoided puking. In the following roll he caught me in a spiral armbar position as I was going for deep half. I think my underhook was too deep as I needed it under his leg instead of his armpit.
Bhuvana: Had a good discussion on grip breaks and loop choke. She's going through the stages of learning a technique, almost getting it during rolling and then troubleshooting and correcting mistakes.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
November 5th 2016 - Open Mat
Open Mat
Rolled With: Andy, Derek, Brian G, Craig, Austin, Henry
Almost forgot to write this. I had a good day of rolling but didn't feel very strong or aggressive.
I had my very tough rolls with Henry and Derek. I was a little more relaxed with both of them than usual. I think it helped and I need to find a happy medium of how much energy I use during different parts of the roll.
I did a lot of coaching through the other rolls and gave a few peaks into things that I do or techniques that other people catch me with. Brian said that he appreciated it which is nice to hear as I also want to avoid being patronizing.
All in all it was kind of a blah day. I'm questioning if I should continue using waiter sweep as it seems to be putting me into leg lock positions with people known to do those techniques. The shin sweep may be the more valid attack for me.
Rolled With: Andy, Derek, Brian G, Craig, Austin, Henry
Almost forgot to write this. I had a good day of rolling but didn't feel very strong or aggressive.
I had my very tough rolls with Henry and Derek. I was a little more relaxed with both of them than usual. I think it helped and I need to find a happy medium of how much energy I use during different parts of the roll.
I did a lot of coaching through the other rolls and gave a few peaks into things that I do or techniques that other people catch me with. Brian said that he appreciated it which is nice to hear as I also want to avoid being patronizing.
All in all it was kind of a blah day. I'm questioning if I should continue using waiter sweep as it seems to be putting me into leg lock positions with people known to do those techniques. The shin sweep may be the more valid attack for me.
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