Noon
Theme & Techniques: Upa Mount escape, Cross collar choke from mount
Bearded Josh joined us again, he has signed up and hopefully will stick around for a while. The most significant thing about practicing the escape was that Greg noticed I was taking a short pause at the top of my bridge. Changing that made a big difference.
I think I made some improvements on the cross collar. Instead of trying to bring my opponent down to me I would try to pull myself into them. This seemed to keep my elbows from flaring as much. This is a technique that I constantly struggle with and I'm always striving for any improvement.
Rolling: Mount Position (4 x 2 Min Rnd), Free Rolling
Worked with Greg and Josh and they couldn't have been more diametrically opposed experiences. Greg easily turned my mount into some type of guard several times and then didn't give me a chance to do the same. So naturally I did the same to Josh, but gave some pointers when he asked.
I rolled with Jordan after class with the objective of maintaining guard as long as possible and looking for sweeps. He was able to pass it once so I got to work on my side control escapes as well. He did a great job preventing north/south choke; I was looking for it but he kept his hands in the right places that I didn't make an attempt.
Evening
Theme & Techniques: Closed guard armbar and pendulum sweep
For some reason several toes on my right foot felt swollen. Not sure if it was my gout acting up or if I hurt them in the noon class. Thankfully, they're okay today. It affected me a few times but once we started rolling I was able to ignore it.
I am confident with the armbar we practiced, setting it up is something I need to work on. The pendulum sweep from being stacked was very informative. Previously I thought the sweep had to be at a 90 degree angle but from the armbar position we sent them at a different angle that wouldn't allow them to base out. Genius!
Rolling: Guard Gauntlet, King of the mat from closed guard
Didn't make the cut to be on the guard side of the gauntlet, but hopefully I gave the other guys a run for their money. Jerad gave me the worst time. His butterfly guard is difficult to deal with. I did go into it with the goal of standing up to pass which seemed to help.
During KOTM, I had some successes and a few times, not so much. One lesson to come out of today is that I need to work on my posture and grips more from inside the closed guard.
WHOYA: December 3rd 2012 - Gi
It looks like this was the introduction to up/down/out. Greg taught and went over some spider guard. I think during this period Greg started introducing a lot of new things that would be used in our new school (warm-up, up/down/out, etc). I also make mention of showing off some of the techniques from the Jeff Glover DVD, which I still need to return.
Showing posts with label WHOYA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WHOYA. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
November 2nd 2013 - Gi Competition/Open Mat
Competition Class was pretty similar to last week minus the explanation of tournament rules. So, it was horrible but in a good way. Everyone returned from the previous week, so we commenced with the same partners. Which meant Will had to lift me repeatedly once again. We duplicated the partner drills and Greg tracked our counts.
We did reps for time of the basic side control escape, our guard pass (over/under), our 3rd technique (Single Leg), and finally our guard technique (cross guard to omaplata sweep). I wish I had kept count because I did a lot of reps. Everything felt pretty smooth by the end but the over/under pass especially killed me.
We each had a match tournament style and I was put up against Will. It is definitely a different feeling than just regular rolling. Everything happens faster, more frantic, and supercharged. I felt a little gassed afterwards, but not during. Very early on he pulled guard and then setup a pretty tight armbar that I just barely got out of. I had passed his guard right before points took affect. I wasn't even thinking about this but I should have been. I did go for knee on belly points after that though got the points and setup a baseball bat choke. I didn't consider it a clean choke though as I wasn't deep enough.
Like last week most everyone cleared out after the competition class. I rolled with Mike a couple of times and did a little better than last week. I took some of his advice and made a point of sitting up and fighting for grips whenever he was standing up trying to pass. It turned out to be great advice and I was able to stave off his passing a little longer.
WHOYA: November 2nd 2013 - Open Mat (Setback)
One of a handful of times that I injured my knee last year. After this time I decided to take some substantial time off still hoping it would heal up on it's own. At the time I wished I hadn't attended that one class, but surgery was inevitable. As a result I also mention practicing Jiu-Jitsu for the long haul. This is something that has affected my rolling to this day. I've tapped several times when it was probably a little too early, especially when it comes to leg locks.
We did reps for time of the basic side control escape, our guard pass (over/under), our 3rd technique (Single Leg), and finally our guard technique (cross guard to omaplata sweep). I wish I had kept count because I did a lot of reps. Everything felt pretty smooth by the end but the over/under pass especially killed me.
We each had a match tournament style and I was put up against Will. It is definitely a different feeling than just regular rolling. Everything happens faster, more frantic, and supercharged. I felt a little gassed afterwards, but not during. Very early on he pulled guard and then setup a pretty tight armbar that I just barely got out of. I had passed his guard right before points took affect. I wasn't even thinking about this but I should have been. I did go for knee on belly points after that though got the points and setup a baseball bat choke. I didn't consider it a clean choke though as I wasn't deep enough.
Like last week most everyone cleared out after the competition class. I rolled with Mike a couple of times and did a little better than last week. I took some of his advice and made a point of sitting up and fighting for grips whenever he was standing up trying to pass. It turned out to be great advice and I was able to stave off his passing a little longer.
WHOYA: November 2nd 2013 - Open Mat (Setback)
One of a handful of times that I injured my knee last year. After this time I decided to take some substantial time off still hoping it would heal up on it's own. At the time I wished I hadn't attended that one class, but surgery was inevitable. As a result I also mention practicing Jiu-Jitsu for the long haul. This is something that has affected my rolling to this day. I've tapped several times when it was probably a little too early, especially when it comes to leg locks.
Friday, November 1, 2013
November 1st 2013 - Gi (Morning Crew)
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| I still have teeth, I'm just wearing a mouth piece in the pic |
One after the other people kept showing up to early Friday Jiu-Jitsu until there were 6 of us including Greg. Hopefully we can keep this up.
Matching up size wise I ended up working with Adam. I felt pretty good with both of the techniques we worked on. My tripod to single leg is still not as strong as I'd like it to be, so I may need to put more attention into that.
As Greg worked with the other group on some of the finer points of the butterfly sweep, Adam and I were challenging each other a bit. The person being swept would hunker down or make the sweeper switch sides or use the overhook instead of the underhook. It was very productive training remaining within the confines of what we were working on.
Rolling: Side Control Position, Butterfly position, Free Rolling
Side control defense has been frustrating me lately. I feel like I should be better at it than I am. I think I need to revisit the basics and work on refining the tried and true techniques. Adam bullied me from the top for quite a while but I was able to stave off a submission just barely. I was able to escape Brian a couple times but I felt like I was missing opportunities or telegraphing my moves too much.
Who better to drill butterfly with than the man himself. Even when he let me get position he would figure a way out of the sweep and pass my guard. When he was on bottom he took the opportunity to setup the two on one grip stuff that we've been working on. Of course, it worked great for him. It was very hard to deal with and made me want to include it in my own game more.
I free rolled with Alec to finish up the class. As usual it was enjoyable as we usually end up in unusual positions. A lot of butterfly hooking and attempted back takes, etc. That was until he was attempting to take my back and then he started to bleed all over the mat. I wasn't sure what I did, but it turned out to just be an existing scab that fell off from rubbing on my gi.
After class I rolled with Brian a few times. I worked some spider guard and even pulled off a sweep that I don't usually get. Taking the back was my main goal, which I somewhat accomplished in our last roll. He did a great job of defending my hooks, but I kept dragging him out so he couldn't escape and finally tricked him into letting me get a bow and arrow grip.
WHOYA: November 1st 2013 - Gi (Round 2)
I've been doing this section of the blog for quite a while now and one of the things that keep running through my head as I read it is "What a difference a year makes. I hardly knew anything then. Old me was really ignorant of BJJ." I'm hopeful that future me a year from now will look back and see how dumb I am and how much I've improved.
I had the 2nd match of the round robin tournament with David and while I lost I mention improvement as David smashed me the first several months of Jiu-Jitsu. Before that the theme of the class was tornado and other inverted guards.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
October 29th 2013 - Gi Noon & Evening
Noon
Theme and Techniques: O-Soto Gari, Side Control Escape knee in to recover guard, Far Side Armbar from Top Side Control
I worked with Fuji for this portion of the class. Who better to work on side control escapes with than the person that makes me feel helpless from this position. Regardless, after a few reps, I felt great about my pace and fluidity with the technique.
With the armbar Greg taught one thing differently than when I normally do it; he showed us to grab our own gi collar to secure the arm. I had a little trouble with Fuji trying to do this, but I can see how it would be useful.
Rolling: Side Control Position, Free Rolling
I rolled with Fuji first and he is still working his brabo grip. I don't have a any good answers from the bottom of Fuji's side mount except to survive. I emphasized movement and stay as north/south as I could when I was on top. I've been caught with my weight too far forward too many times to be wary of him rolling me over.
I rolled with Jordan for the next round. We had quite the battle of me trying to get to half guard that I had to pull out all of the stops for. After class ended Greg showed him the other side control escape and then Jordan and I rolled a few times. He's improving and getting more difficult to deal with.
Evening
Theme and Techniques: Double Leg Takedown, Scissor Sweep, Triangle for Blocked Scissor Sweep
I worked with a new guy, Andy, for this portion of the class. He seems pretty chill and was good to work with. We talked for a little bit and he's been involved with MMA for a while and has won some fights. He's a little new in the gi though, so his grips aren't there yet, but he's competent otherwise.
The double leg was pretty cool as I was just showing Mike before class a version of a single setup very similar. We did two on one to break the collar grip and then grabbed both sleeves and shot in while pulling them over us.
Scissor sweep was the same as I've done hundreds of times but the triangle set-up I haven't seen for a while. If the opponent is blocking the leg you want to do the scissor, with we would put our shin over their bicep and break the grip, then shoot our leg up and attack the triangle with a deep collar grip. It was pretty cool, but I often had trouble with cinching up the triangle.
Rolling: Guard Gauntlet, Free Rolling
Blue belts were each given a specific guard position to start in (Me: Half Guard, Will: Full Gaurd, Jerad: Spider Guard, Mike: Top Full Guard). Then we did 2 minute rounds with Pass/Sweep/Submit. I didn't get a count of how many white belts were there tonight but it was a lot. The cool thing was no one passed me, my goal was to sweep everyone, which I did not complete. I got smashed to my back a lot and felt a little like there were things that I should have been doing but couldn't think of what.
I rolled with Will for the free rolling and both of us wanted to start out sitting in guard, so I finally decided to start trying to pass. I eventually made it to side control and then started setting up a north/south kimura. I went for an armbar instead and we scrambled and I ended up in an inverted triangle position on the bottom that I couldn't finish and started to go for tke kimura again. Time ended up running out right after he got free. Not sure what I should have done differently but I think I should have completed that armbar.
WHOYA: October 29th 2012 - Gi (Punishment)
I don't recall how it started but David, Mike, and I decided to have a friendly round robin tournament. I ended up losing to Mike this night by advantages. Apparently I did a pretty good trip to get him down to the ground but did not put him all the way on this back so, it didn't count for any points. The rest of the match he attacked from his guard and I defended.
Theme and Techniques: O-Soto Gari, Side Control Escape knee in to recover guard, Far Side Armbar from Top Side Control
I worked with Fuji for this portion of the class. Who better to work on side control escapes with than the person that makes me feel helpless from this position. Regardless, after a few reps, I felt great about my pace and fluidity with the technique.
With the armbar Greg taught one thing differently than when I normally do it; he showed us to grab our own gi collar to secure the arm. I had a little trouble with Fuji trying to do this, but I can see how it would be useful.
Rolling: Side Control Position, Free Rolling
I rolled with Fuji first and he is still working his brabo grip. I don't have a any good answers from the bottom of Fuji's side mount except to survive. I emphasized movement and stay as north/south as I could when I was on top. I've been caught with my weight too far forward too many times to be wary of him rolling me over.
I rolled with Jordan for the next round. We had quite the battle of me trying to get to half guard that I had to pull out all of the stops for. After class ended Greg showed him the other side control escape and then Jordan and I rolled a few times. He's improving and getting more difficult to deal with.
Evening
Theme and Techniques: Double Leg Takedown, Scissor Sweep, Triangle for Blocked Scissor Sweep
I worked with a new guy, Andy, for this portion of the class. He seems pretty chill and was good to work with. We talked for a little bit and he's been involved with MMA for a while and has won some fights. He's a little new in the gi though, so his grips aren't there yet, but he's competent otherwise.
The double leg was pretty cool as I was just showing Mike before class a version of a single setup very similar. We did two on one to break the collar grip and then grabbed both sleeves and shot in while pulling them over us.
Scissor sweep was the same as I've done hundreds of times but the triangle set-up I haven't seen for a while. If the opponent is blocking the leg you want to do the scissor, with we would put our shin over their bicep and break the grip, then shoot our leg up and attack the triangle with a deep collar grip. It was pretty cool, but I often had trouble with cinching up the triangle.
Rolling: Guard Gauntlet, Free Rolling
Blue belts were each given a specific guard position to start in (Me: Half Guard, Will: Full Gaurd, Jerad: Spider Guard, Mike: Top Full Guard). Then we did 2 minute rounds with Pass/Sweep/Submit. I didn't get a count of how many white belts were there tonight but it was a lot. The cool thing was no one passed me, my goal was to sweep everyone, which I did not complete. I got smashed to my back a lot and felt a little like there were things that I should have been doing but couldn't think of what.
I rolled with Will for the free rolling and both of us wanted to start out sitting in guard, so I finally decided to start trying to pass. I eventually made it to side control and then started setting up a north/south kimura. I went for an armbar instead and we scrambled and I ended up in an inverted triangle position on the bottom that I couldn't finish and started to go for tke kimura again. Time ended up running out right after he got free. Not sure what I should have done differently but I think I should have completed that armbar.
WHOYA: October 29th 2012 - Gi (Punishment)
I don't recall how it started but David, Mike, and I decided to have a friendly round robin tournament. I ended up losing to Mike this night by advantages. Apparently I did a pretty good trip to get him down to the ground but did not put him all the way on this back so, it didn't count for any points. The rest of the match he attacked from his guard and I defended.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
October 26th 2013 - Competition Class & Open Mat
Competition Class:
Due to the upcoming tournament Greg scheduled a tournament class and met with each student planning to attend. We each picked a guard technique and a guard pass and then a miscellaneous technique. No surprise, my guard technique was cross guard to omaplata, my guard pass was the over/under, and my miscellaneous is the single leg takedown.
We spent quite a bit of time discussing rules for BJJ tournaments and rules for the upcoming tournament. One strange thing about this tournament is that there are no points in the first half of the match and then points do count at the end. I think it's one of those ideas to encourage people to go for submissions rather than play for points and stall.
We did many of the same partner body weight exercises from Tuesday. This time I was partnered with Will and he was a lot easier to lift than Adam. We drilled our guard techniques and guard passes which I felt pretty good about.
We finished the class with a couple of tournament style matches. I ended up going against Jerad. It was a lot more fast paced then I've been used to. I felt pretty good about my performance even though Jerad made me tap.
I feel pretty good about the class structure and my areas of focus. The single leg is the technique I need the most work on, so it will be good to focus on that for a while. I'm also looking forward to getting everyone else ready for the competition.
Open Mat:
I didn't stay very long for open mat and Mike ended up being my only opponent. Things ended up the same as usual with him running around my guard and then would spend most of the time in side control. At one point I tried to be more aggressive than usual and it seemed to be working, I at least created some interesting scrambles. It's pretty frustrating to get continuously dominated by him.
WHOYA: October 26th 2012 - Open Mat (Foot Locked)
I rolled with Mike and Ray and according to the title, plenty of footlocks were delivered. I had also just started my journey into the deep half guard. This position especially has come a long way in a years time. I remember being very frustrated when I would get there and it would lead to my demise. Now my options are many and I know when to abandon something if it's going to put me in worse trouble.
Due to the upcoming tournament Greg scheduled a tournament class and met with each student planning to attend. We each picked a guard technique and a guard pass and then a miscellaneous technique. No surprise, my guard technique was cross guard to omaplata, my guard pass was the over/under, and my miscellaneous is the single leg takedown.
We spent quite a bit of time discussing rules for BJJ tournaments and rules for the upcoming tournament. One strange thing about this tournament is that there are no points in the first half of the match and then points do count at the end. I think it's one of those ideas to encourage people to go for submissions rather than play for points and stall.
We did many of the same partner body weight exercises from Tuesday. This time I was partnered with Will and he was a lot easier to lift than Adam. We drilled our guard techniques and guard passes which I felt pretty good about.
We finished the class with a couple of tournament style matches. I ended up going against Jerad. It was a lot more fast paced then I've been used to. I felt pretty good about my performance even though Jerad made me tap.
I feel pretty good about the class structure and my areas of focus. The single leg is the technique I need the most work on, so it will be good to focus on that for a while. I'm also looking forward to getting everyone else ready for the competition.
Open Mat:
I didn't stay very long for open mat and Mike ended up being my only opponent. Things ended up the same as usual with him running around my guard and then would spend most of the time in side control. At one point I tried to be more aggressive than usual and it seemed to be working, I at least created some interesting scrambles. It's pretty frustrating to get continuously dominated by him.
WHOYA: October 26th 2012 - Open Mat (Foot Locked)
I rolled with Mike and Ray and according to the title, plenty of footlocks were delivered. I had also just started my journey into the deep half guard. This position especially has come a long way in a years time. I remember being very frustrated when I would get there and it would lead to my demise. Now my options are many and I know when to abandon something if it's going to put me in worse trouble.
Friday, October 25, 2013
October 25th 2013 - Gi
Theme: Triangle Choke, Side Control Escape
I had a little trouble dragging myself out of bed this morning and thought I was going to be the only one until Air Force Brian showed up. Triangle is a really cool technique and probably one of the few techniques that a layperson would recognize. However, it is not something I pull off in practice very often. I have the basics of the technique down pretty well but body type and my past knee issues make it a little difficult to complete. We drilled it several times using a collar grab and punching their wrist to their body as the set-up.
We then worked on the basic side control escape bridging and then knee across the belly. For some reason the first time I tried it I had some trouble rolling to my other side but I figured it out as we drilled.
Rolling: Side Control Position, Free Rolling
Brian did a good job of preventing my escapes. It's starting to sink in that I need to spend more time figuring out defense from this position. I think I may have to bite the bullet and start from this position more often. With certain people it's inevitable that I get there but with the newer guys it might be beneficial for both of us to have them start out on top. If I get submitted, so be it.
I tried desperately to set-up the 2 on 1 from closed to butterfly guard and it wasn't happening. So I failed at accomplishing my main goal for the roll. Regardless we both did good things and he's doing very well for how long he's been doing this.
WHOYA: October 25th 2012 - Gi (Worth the Trip)
This was one of the classes where I wasn't able to make it on time to an early Thursday due to work getting in the way. Seriously, damn priorities! Conan and Mike handed me my ass with loop chokes and magic grips during the open mat portion of class. I also mention that I borrowed Conan's Deep Half Guard DVD and I still have it a year later. I better return it.
I had a little trouble dragging myself out of bed this morning and thought I was going to be the only one until Air Force Brian showed up. Triangle is a really cool technique and probably one of the few techniques that a layperson would recognize. However, it is not something I pull off in practice very often. I have the basics of the technique down pretty well but body type and my past knee issues make it a little difficult to complete. We drilled it several times using a collar grab and punching their wrist to their body as the set-up.
We then worked on the basic side control escape bridging and then knee across the belly. For some reason the first time I tried it I had some trouble rolling to my other side but I figured it out as we drilled.
Rolling: Side Control Position, Free Rolling
Brian did a good job of preventing my escapes. It's starting to sink in that I need to spend more time figuring out defense from this position. I think I may have to bite the bullet and start from this position more often. With certain people it's inevitable that I get there but with the newer guys it might be beneficial for both of us to have them start out on top. If I get submitted, so be it.
I tried desperately to set-up the 2 on 1 from closed to butterfly guard and it wasn't happening. So I failed at accomplishing my main goal for the roll. Regardless we both did good things and he's doing very well for how long he's been doing this.
WHOYA: October 25th 2012 - Gi (Worth the Trip)
This was one of the classes where I wasn't able to make it on time to an early Thursday due to work getting in the way. Seriously, damn priorities! Conan and Mike handed me my ass with loop chokes and magic grips during the open mat portion of class. I also mention that I borrowed Conan's Deep Half Guard DVD and I still have it a year later. I better return it.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
October 19th 2013 - Open Mat (Don't Settle)
Attendees: Fuji, Jerad, Greg, Bauer
I felt really good about my guard passing today and lately. I feel like I have a lot of options and can easily transition from one pass to another. I find I'm having to deal with the knee shield more and looping my arm around their top leg and grabbing the pants of their bottom leg is working well.
Greg showed Bauer and I an awesome butterfly guard setup that I had no idea about. It was simply awesome. From closed guard we would get an armdrag arm position and then work our way to butterfly guard. From there their arm is locked up for either a back take, a sweep, or a stiff arm. I'm going to be practicing this more.
Rolling Highlights:
Greg had warned me at one point not to let Fuji settle into side control after he had swept me. This is probably the most important takeaway for the day. While it may expend more energy up front, if I can avoid a sunk in bad position I won't have to work completely uphill.
Bauer and I had one of our epic battles. I played guard for quite a while and was able eventually sweep him with one of the recent techniques I got from a Cyborg video. I felt like I was pretty chill during the entire roll, but he made the comment that I felt tense when he was in my guard. So, I'm not sure which it is, I was monitoring myself as best I could to make sure I wasn't going to gas out. While I might have had the better of him today, we're evenly matched either one of us could submit the other on any given day.
I was able to pass Jerad's guard. But my top game didn't last long. He was very tricky from mount and setup an armbar with the potential for a lot of other subs.
Greg gave me another session on how easy it is for him to take my back. I'm so miserable from that position but he did compliment me on my defense.
WHOYA: October 19th 2013 - Open Mat
Back at the old dojo, I had to sneak out of work a little early on Fridays to try to get some open mat time in. I was still getting there late and people had taken off or already had gotten several rolls in before I got there. On this particular day I rolled with Jerad and make mention of him passing my half guard over and over again. Some things never change.
I felt really good about my guard passing today and lately. I feel like I have a lot of options and can easily transition from one pass to another. I find I'm having to deal with the knee shield more and looping my arm around their top leg and grabbing the pants of their bottom leg is working well.
Greg showed Bauer and I an awesome butterfly guard setup that I had no idea about. It was simply awesome. From closed guard we would get an armdrag arm position and then work our way to butterfly guard. From there their arm is locked up for either a back take, a sweep, or a stiff arm. I'm going to be practicing this more.
Rolling Highlights:
Greg had warned me at one point not to let Fuji settle into side control after he had swept me. This is probably the most important takeaway for the day. While it may expend more energy up front, if I can avoid a sunk in bad position I won't have to work completely uphill.
Bauer and I had one of our epic battles. I played guard for quite a while and was able eventually sweep him with one of the recent techniques I got from a Cyborg video. I felt like I was pretty chill during the entire roll, but he made the comment that I felt tense when he was in my guard. So, I'm not sure which it is, I was monitoring myself as best I could to make sure I wasn't going to gas out. While I might have had the better of him today, we're evenly matched either one of us could submit the other on any given day.
I was able to pass Jerad's guard. But my top game didn't last long. He was very tricky from mount and setup an armbar with the potential for a lot of other subs.
Greg gave me another session on how easy it is for him to take my back. I'm so miserable from that position but he did compliment me on my defense.
WHOYA: October 19th 2013 - Open Mat
Back at the old dojo, I had to sneak out of work a little early on Fridays to try to get some open mat time in. I was still getting there late and people had taken off or already had gotten several rolls in before I got there. On this particular day I rolled with Jerad and make mention of him passing my half guard over and over again. Some things never change.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
October 15th 2013 - Gi Noon & Evening
Thanks to everyone that read and commented on my last post Who Am I Supposed To Be. Writing the post turned out to be very therapeutic. I also might have been a little over dramatic about the situation.
Noon
Theme and Techniques: Cross Guard Omaplata, Standing Guard Break to Knee Cut
Jeremy joined us for class today, which was the first time we got to train together. I've seen him plenty of times in passing but never in the same class. We also had a visitor from out of town show up a little late but jumped in a trained with us a bit. As usual, my Tuesday bromoplata brother in arms, Jordan was also there.
I worked with Andrew (the visitor) on the omaplata. He mentioned that he had some experience, but not much in the gi. He needed a little help with the specifics of the two techniques that we worked on but he picked them up fairly quickly with minor mistakes here and there. Which was understandable since we worked on the standing guard break which has several steps in it.
Rolling: Guard Pass/Sweep/Submit
Andrew and I were partnered for the first round. He had a good base and wasn't easy to sweep. I kept him from passing my guard, but it wasn't easy. I had a failed attempt at a cross choke when he had sprawled back. Greg said later that my grip wasn't deep enough. I think I may look deeper into this technique. Jordan was my next partner and we had a good battle. We both cancelled out each other omaplatas so we had to go to other things. I played some spider and tried some techniques that are always done to me.
My technique of the day turned out to be the scissor sweep though. This has emerged as a goto technique lately when other sweeps have failed. I had actually abandoned that technique as it had stopped working for me a while ago.
Evening
Theme and Techniques: Hip Throw, Standing Guard Break to Toreando Pass
I worked with John on both techniques. In the end of working on the standing guard break he made noticeable improvements. The piece of this technique I need to work on the most is maintaining the straight arm on their chest, but otherwise I feel very competent with the technique.
Rolling: Closed Guard Pass/Sweep/Submit, Guard Gauntlet, Free Rolling
We had a new visitor in class tonight with a wrestling background. He wasn't used to being in someone's guard but he had a great base and was athletic. He caused me a little bit of trouble but he made the mistake of trying to collar choke me from within my guard. My next partner was Mike and he made me feel like a beginner while passing my guard.
The next exercise I'll call the Guard Gauntlet, Greg had the four most advanced guys in class each take a spot on the mat and we were each assigned a different guard to play while everyone rotated through. I was designated closed guard, Mike: Spider, Adam: Half, and Roberts: butterfly. This was pretty fun and allowed everyone good training. The new guys got to experience a lot of different guards and we got to focus on the assigned guard. My partners came close a couple times, but I kept them from passing and paced myself well enough to not gas out.
Mike and I had a nice discussion after class. We talked about how everyone is progressing as a whole and the good things coming out of the changes since LBJJC started. I showed him a tornado guard technique that I saw in a Cyborg video and he seemed impressed with my tornado guard. Greg joined the conversation and the subject of Leandro Lo came up and how Mike had been modeling a lot of his game around his techniques. He made the observations that Lo's game was compatible to him since they have very similar body types. I mentioned that I should find a famous Jiu-Jitsu player with a similar body type to model my game after and they suggested that Cyborg may be him. So, I will start watching some of his competition videos and see if I can glean some new skills.
WHOYA: October 15th 2012 - Gi
Jerad taught with the theme of armbar from guard. Coincidentally I had tried to setup a few armbars today but came no where near completing them. I've been considering various techniques to focus on and this might be one of them.
I also talk a little bit about getting caught in deep half. This has gotten better lately as I've stopped hanging out in the position so much, hide my arm better and I feel like I have a better understanding of when to sweep and when to abandon it. It's been an interesting journey through the phases of learning this position and it's far from complete.
Noon
Theme and Techniques: Cross Guard Omaplata, Standing Guard Break to Knee Cut
Jeremy joined us for class today, which was the first time we got to train together. I've seen him plenty of times in passing but never in the same class. We also had a visitor from out of town show up a little late but jumped in a trained with us a bit. As usual, my Tuesday bromoplata brother in arms, Jordan was also there.
I worked with Andrew (the visitor) on the omaplata. He mentioned that he had some experience, but not much in the gi. He needed a little help with the specifics of the two techniques that we worked on but he picked them up fairly quickly with minor mistakes here and there. Which was understandable since we worked on the standing guard break which has several steps in it.
Rolling: Guard Pass/Sweep/Submit
Andrew and I were partnered for the first round. He had a good base and wasn't easy to sweep. I kept him from passing my guard, but it wasn't easy. I had a failed attempt at a cross choke when he had sprawled back. Greg said later that my grip wasn't deep enough. I think I may look deeper into this technique. Jordan was my next partner and we had a good battle. We both cancelled out each other omaplatas so we had to go to other things. I played some spider and tried some techniques that are always done to me.
My technique of the day turned out to be the scissor sweep though. This has emerged as a goto technique lately when other sweeps have failed. I had actually abandoned that technique as it had stopped working for me a while ago.
Evening
Theme and Techniques: Hip Throw, Standing Guard Break to Toreando Pass
I worked with John on both techniques. In the end of working on the standing guard break he made noticeable improvements. The piece of this technique I need to work on the most is maintaining the straight arm on their chest, but otherwise I feel very competent with the technique.
Rolling: Closed Guard Pass/Sweep/Submit, Guard Gauntlet, Free Rolling
We had a new visitor in class tonight with a wrestling background. He wasn't used to being in someone's guard but he had a great base and was athletic. He caused me a little bit of trouble but he made the mistake of trying to collar choke me from within my guard. My next partner was Mike and he made me feel like a beginner while passing my guard.
The next exercise I'll call the Guard Gauntlet, Greg had the four most advanced guys in class each take a spot on the mat and we were each assigned a different guard to play while everyone rotated through. I was designated closed guard, Mike: Spider, Adam: Half, and Roberts: butterfly. This was pretty fun and allowed everyone good training. The new guys got to experience a lot of different guards and we got to focus on the assigned guard. My partners came close a couple times, but I kept them from passing and paced myself well enough to not gas out.
Mike and I had a nice discussion after class. We talked about how everyone is progressing as a whole and the good things coming out of the changes since LBJJC started. I showed him a tornado guard technique that I saw in a Cyborg video and he seemed impressed with my tornado guard. Greg joined the conversation and the subject of Leandro Lo came up and how Mike had been modeling a lot of his game around his techniques. He made the observations that Lo's game was compatible to him since they have very similar body types. I mentioned that I should find a famous Jiu-Jitsu player with a similar body type to model my game after and they suggested that Cyborg may be him. So, I will start watching some of his competition videos and see if I can glean some new skills.
WHOYA: October 15th 2012 - Gi
Jerad taught with the theme of armbar from guard. Coincidentally I had tried to setup a few armbars today but came no where near completing them. I've been considering various techniques to focus on and this might be one of them.
I also talk a little bit about getting caught in deep half. This has gotten better lately as I've stopped hanging out in the position so much, hide my arm better and I feel like I have a better understanding of when to sweep and when to abandon it. It's been an interesting journey through the phases of learning this position and it's far from complete.
Friday, October 11, 2013
October 11th 2013 - Gi (You Shall Not Pass!)
Due to the conversation that Mike and I were having less than 9 hours prior about my guard retention. Conan decided to go over some concepts and techniques that are useful when your opponent is standing and trying pass your guard. I really appreciate him focusing a class around something I need to work on!
Luckily Bauer was the only other soul to make it in for the Jiu-Jitsu class during the wee hours of Friday morning. We went through several concepts of grabbing sleeves and stiff arming to reclaim guard, or directing their head as they attempted to pass, or using de la riva to take the back or keep them at bay and finally using the butterfly hook to get a shin sweep or stretch them out. We also went over some passes using a combination of sleeve grab and knee grab to get around them and passing the de la riva by getting free of their hooks.
Rolling: One Standing One sitting trying to pass/sweep/submit
We did four minute rounds of one person up and the other down. I felt pretty good about my passing until my cardio caught up with me. It was hard work trying to be mobile and get grips and attempt to pass while avoid Bauer's legs. It seemed like both of us did much better at passing the guard than retaining it. I tried a lot of the concepts Conan showed us and was able to put some of them into play. I kept reminding myself to keep getting up and not lay back.
It was a very productive class that helped solidify that this part of my game needs to be refined. Which is good because I've been looking for the next thing to focus on.
WHOYA: October 12th 2012 - Gi
Greg taught and the focus of the class was regaining guard from turtle. Not my favorite, but I have had some success in preventing guard passes by going to turtle recently. We did the three basic techniques that I know: Sit-out, granby roll, and sit-out using the shin to regain guard.
I rolled with Mike, Greg, Fuji, and wrestler Jordan and things haven't changed much since then. The one true, funny line in reference to Greg from the post was: "I can't tell if I'm doing good against him or if he is just taking it easy on me."
I can't tell if I'm doing good against him or if he is just taking it
easy on me. - See more at:
http://joshjiujitsujournal.blogspot.com/2012/10/october-12th-gi.html#sthash.ny0Wl5jq.dpuf
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
October 1st 2013 - Gi Noon & Evening ()
Noon Beginner
Theme: Cross Guard to Omaplata sweep, Over/Under Pass
Jordan and I were the only attendants. The class couldn't have been more perfect for both of us. I can see Jordan picking up on a lot of the things that I have been naturally drawn to. We did quite a few reps of the omaplata sweep. I payed special attention to the far side leg to put pressure on the hip and their arm or body, something that I haven't paid enough attention to.
The over/under pass was new for Jordan but it didn't take too long for him to figure out. To improve this technique I worked on keeping my butt down and also Greg suggested that I put the person's leg higher onto my shoulder. This felt a lot better.
Rolling: Closed Guard Pass/Sweep/Submit
Jordan had also been sick recently and felt a little queasy. We only trained together a couple rounds before he had to sit out. I was able to hit a few omaplata sweeps and he almost hit one on me. I was happy with my guard passing attempts against Greg, although he hit the spider guard sweep on me multiple times. I had one string of 4 guard passing attempts in a row that ended with him retaining his guard, but I had the illusion that I got somewhere.
Evening All Levels
Theme: Hip Throw with Neck, Armbar from Guard, Stack defense for the armbar
I worked with Adam during the technique portion of class. We got quite a few reps in with both techniques. The major takeaway was the defense using the rear naked choke arm position to prevent the armbar before stacking.
Rolling: Closed Guard Up/Down/Out, King of the Mat, Free Rolling
Had a lot of success here. Swept or passed the people I should have and got swept or passed by the people I should have. Except for one. I was able to pass Adam's guard which is a very rare event for me. I was in half guard and did the hip switch and then used the brabo grip to assist with the crossface until I could get my leg free.
I rolled with both Will and Moe. I played around with the triangle from side control setup with both of them with a little success. Will took it to me after that from top half guard and I was impressed with the amount of shoulder pressure he put on me. I had Moe work on the bull fighter sweep a little bit and tried to stress when passing guard standing that controlling the pants was crucial.
WHOYA: October 1st 2012 - Gi
In the beginning of the post I mention that Will and I rolled, which is something that also happened today. Greg taught that night with a focus on completing the sweep from butterfly guard after being pushed flat on our backs using the overhook. It sounds like Mike and I had quite the battle.
Theme: Cross Guard to Omaplata sweep, Over/Under Pass
Jordan and I were the only attendants. The class couldn't have been more perfect for both of us. I can see Jordan picking up on a lot of the things that I have been naturally drawn to. We did quite a few reps of the omaplata sweep. I payed special attention to the far side leg to put pressure on the hip and their arm or body, something that I haven't paid enough attention to.
The over/under pass was new for Jordan but it didn't take too long for him to figure out. To improve this technique I worked on keeping my butt down and also Greg suggested that I put the person's leg higher onto my shoulder. This felt a lot better.
Rolling: Closed Guard Pass/Sweep/Submit
Jordan had also been sick recently and felt a little queasy. We only trained together a couple rounds before he had to sit out. I was able to hit a few omaplata sweeps and he almost hit one on me. I was happy with my guard passing attempts against Greg, although he hit the spider guard sweep on me multiple times. I had one string of 4 guard passing attempts in a row that ended with him retaining his guard, but I had the illusion that I got somewhere.
Evening All Levels
Theme: Hip Throw with Neck, Armbar from Guard, Stack defense for the armbar
I worked with Adam during the technique portion of class. We got quite a few reps in with both techniques. The major takeaway was the defense using the rear naked choke arm position to prevent the armbar before stacking.
Rolling: Closed Guard Up/Down/Out, King of the Mat, Free Rolling
Had a lot of success here. Swept or passed the people I should have and got swept or passed by the people I should have. Except for one. I was able to pass Adam's guard which is a very rare event for me. I was in half guard and did the hip switch and then used the brabo grip to assist with the crossface until I could get my leg free.
I rolled with both Will and Moe. I played around with the triangle from side control setup with both of them with a little success. Will took it to me after that from top half guard and I was impressed with the amount of shoulder pressure he put on me. I had Moe work on the bull fighter sweep a little bit and tried to stress when passing guard standing that controlling the pants was crucial.
WHOYA: October 1st 2012 - Gi
In the beginning of the post I mention that Will and I rolled, which is something that also happened today. Greg taught that night with a focus on completing the sweep from butterfly guard after being pushed flat on our backs using the overhook. It sounds like Mike and I had quite the battle.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
September 26th 2013 - No Gi (In a Haze)
Theme: Takedowns, Drilling, Conditioning
Tonight was not one of my finest moments. I woke up this morning with a head cold and a little bit of a sore throat. I felt better throughout the day and thought that I might be okay to attend class.
We did 10 fit-ins for double legs, single legs, and then our choice from a collar tie. After that we did fought for the takedown. My wrestling is poor compared to everyone else in attendance and not to mention my feeling of weakness from my head cold. It was pretty frustrating, but it's all the more reason to keep working on it.
Greg had us pick what we wanted to drill and had us go to it for 7 minutes. Adam chose the half guard sweep we did the other day and I chose the leg drag again. I was having a little more success on my right side than the other but finally figured out that I was putting the incorrect knee down.
Rolling:
During free rolling I tried my best not to over exert myself. I was able to do that with everyone except Henry. I gassed out after dominating for a little while, but my body decided I was done once he mounted me. I should have just defended like I had done with everyone else but maybe this was a little ego coming out. I felt pretty good just defending with everyone else. I kept my arms in tight and threatened half guard when I could. I spent most of the time in side control. Greg had everyone start out in side control so I did play a little offense, but it never lasted very long. Man, I need to learn how to do that.
I've decided not to make the trek into class tomorrow morning and get some rest.
WHOYA: September 26th 2012 - Morning Open
Sounds like it was a pretty good session for me. I was able to pull off some decent techniques and transitions against Ken and James who have more experience than me. I make mention of not being able to wait until I was completely healed. If only I had known that I would require surgery. But it goes to show that I was still improving at least a little bit at a time while injured.
Tonight was not one of my finest moments. I woke up this morning with a head cold and a little bit of a sore throat. I felt better throughout the day and thought that I might be okay to attend class.
We did 10 fit-ins for double legs, single legs, and then our choice from a collar tie. After that we did fought for the takedown. My wrestling is poor compared to everyone else in attendance and not to mention my feeling of weakness from my head cold. It was pretty frustrating, but it's all the more reason to keep working on it.
Greg had us pick what we wanted to drill and had us go to it for 7 minutes. Adam chose the half guard sweep we did the other day and I chose the leg drag again. I was having a little more success on my right side than the other but finally figured out that I was putting the incorrect knee down.
Rolling:
During free rolling I tried my best not to over exert myself. I was able to do that with everyone except Henry. I gassed out after dominating for a little while, but my body decided I was done once he mounted me. I should have just defended like I had done with everyone else but maybe this was a little ego coming out. I felt pretty good just defending with everyone else. I kept my arms in tight and threatened half guard when I could. I spent most of the time in side control. Greg had everyone start out in side control so I did play a little offense, but it never lasted very long. Man, I need to learn how to do that.
I've decided not to make the trek into class tomorrow morning and get some rest.
WHOYA: September 26th 2012 - Morning Open
Sounds like it was a pretty good session for me. I was able to pull off some decent techniques and transitions against Ken and James who have more experience than me. I make mention of not being able to wait until I was completely healed. If only I had known that I would require surgery. But it goes to show that I was still improving at least a little bit at a time while injured.
Friday, September 20, 2013
September 20th 2013 - Gi (Start the morning off right with half guard)
Theme: Half Guard
As usual I feel like I got a good number of reps in with each technique that we worked on. We did taking the back, recapturing guard, and what Greg referred to as Gordo sweep #1. The last one was the reaching deep under their shin, then exchange hands grabbing around their leg and sweeping to side control. I have always had a little trouble with the last part of this technique. I have a problem figuring out the angle that allows my hand to reach their foot. This used to be one of my go to moves but it hasn't worked well for me in quite a while.
Greg joined us for training in the half guard after that. Bryan hasn't had much experience with this position, but I think now that he's gotten a feel for it that may start playing with it. Of course this is just going off of my own personal experience since I fell in love with the position for a while. The hardest part of Greg's half guard was dealing with his knee shield. I don't have a good answer for that yet.
All in all, the class was worth getting up for. The only bad thing about it was, having to sit in a meeting room the rest of the work day.
WHOYA: September 20th 2012 - Gi
Apparently this was the first and one of a very few times that I worked on berimbolo. I've dabbled with it a little, but I've never been able to encorporate it into a real roll.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
September 17th - Gi (Got My Reps In)
The first Tuesday noon class was today and it was a pleasure to attend. The only downside to the noon class is that I don't have enough time or the means to shower afterwards. However, it's an awesome break from the workday.
My boys also participated in their first kids class. They ended up being the only kids there but they had a good time. Greg got them interested by playing a foot tag game that tricked kids into learning the basics of how to shoot. They also worked on some shrimping, rolling, and mount escapes. They are excited about the next class on Wednesday, so we'll see where this goes.
Noon Theme: Sweeps against an opponent standing in guard
Greg was finishing up a private class with a perspective student when I arrived. Fuji was already there and we worked on some spider guard stuff until class started. Fuji and I ended up being the only ones who attended. We did some stand-up fit-ins with hip throw and Osoto Gari. I'm glad we only did fit-ins because Fuji's Osoto Gari is brutal.
We did two sweeps from someone standing in guard. First a double ankle grab and putting our knees together and bridging into them. From there we pin their leg, grab the lapel and work our way around one side in a circle to mount. The second technique was the sickle sweep. We drilled both techniques for several minutes each.
Rolling:
We did two 3 minute rounds attempting to pass the guard with a stand-up pass. I didn't fair too well especially from the bottom. He was pretty much killing my guard. I did get one omaplata sweep.
Evening Theme: Sweeps against an opponent standing in guard
We ended up working on the same techniques from the noon class with one addition. Adam was my partner. We did a simpler version of the sickle sweep by just blocking the back of the knee and pushing on the hip with the other leg. My usual difficulty with these types of sweeps is pulling my legs back at the right time to get the momentum to come up, but I think I did pretty well today.
Rolling:
We did up/down/out with guard passing from open guard standing. I felt pretty good about my performance here as I was even able to hit a modified sickle sweep with some help from my spider guard. There were quite a few new people in attendance, so I tried my best to work the techniques that we worked on during class as usual.
WHOYA: September 17th 2012 - Gi
It was one of the few classes where Will was the teacher. He had us work on Shawn William's guard which is something I don't explore too often. We also did a king of the mat and I rolled with Will. I complain about my knee a bit which was pretty common.
At the end of the post, there's a little bit about the desire to get my blue belt. I talk about how things would change and not change. All in all, I think the attaining of the blue belt has been a good experience for me. I'm right where I should be. I feel like I represent the school well when new people or visitors come in and I'm feeling confident in taking my game to the next level. There is a little bit of an overwhelmed feeling of how much I could be working on, but I know the best way to focus on little chunks.
My boys also participated in their first kids class. They ended up being the only kids there but they had a good time. Greg got them interested by playing a foot tag game that tricked kids into learning the basics of how to shoot. They also worked on some shrimping, rolling, and mount escapes. They are excited about the next class on Wednesday, so we'll see where this goes.
Noon Theme: Sweeps against an opponent standing in guard
Greg was finishing up a private class with a perspective student when I arrived. Fuji was already there and we worked on some spider guard stuff until class started. Fuji and I ended up being the only ones who attended. We did some stand-up fit-ins with hip throw and Osoto Gari. I'm glad we only did fit-ins because Fuji's Osoto Gari is brutal.
We did two sweeps from someone standing in guard. First a double ankle grab and putting our knees together and bridging into them. From there we pin their leg, grab the lapel and work our way around one side in a circle to mount. The second technique was the sickle sweep. We drilled both techniques for several minutes each.
Rolling:
We did two 3 minute rounds attempting to pass the guard with a stand-up pass. I didn't fair too well especially from the bottom. He was pretty much killing my guard. I did get one omaplata sweep.
Evening Theme: Sweeps against an opponent standing in guard
We ended up working on the same techniques from the noon class with one addition. Adam was my partner. We did a simpler version of the sickle sweep by just blocking the back of the knee and pushing on the hip with the other leg. My usual difficulty with these types of sweeps is pulling my legs back at the right time to get the momentum to come up, but I think I did pretty well today.
Rolling:
We did up/down/out with guard passing from open guard standing. I felt pretty good about my performance here as I was even able to hit a modified sickle sweep with some help from my spider guard. There were quite a few new people in attendance, so I tried my best to work the techniques that we worked on during class as usual.
WHOYA: September 17th 2012 - Gi
It was one of the few classes where Will was the teacher. He had us work on Shawn William's guard which is something I don't explore too often. We also did a king of the mat and I rolled with Will. I complain about my knee a bit which was pretty common.
At the end of the post, there's a little bit about the desire to get my blue belt. I talk about how things would change and not change. All in all, I think the attaining of the blue belt has been a good experience for me. I'm right where I should be. I feel like I represent the school well when new people or visitors come in and I'm feeling confident in taking my game to the next level. There is a little bit of an overwhelmed feeling of how much I could be working on, but I know the best way to focus on little chunks.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
September 14th 2013 - Open Mat
My goal was to work on deep half guard today and I was able to get some practice in with it. I also have been working on a way to bridge that I heard about on a podcast from a Rickson Gracie black belt. Basically you bridge straight up and then turn you head. It seemed to really help today.
Free Rolling:
Brian: I felt like I had really good control of Brian today. However, I wasn't ever in a position to go to deep half, I was on top most of the time and prevented his escapes. Watching him improve though inspires me to keep on the ball and progress.
Adam: I need to come up with a new strategy when facing Adam. For now he starts off our rolls in butterfly guard until he can do some type of sweep and end up on top and then grind me out in side control until he can set something up. My only real hope is to pass his guard before any of that happens. Today he submitted me with what seemed like a combination of the Rickson choke and a brabo grip. It was pretty surprising to both of us, how well it worked.
Henry: I stayed as relaxed as I could against him. I payed for it a couple times as he was able to pass my guard and put me into side control. I made a few attempts at deep half, but ended up having to defend a kimura from foolishly leaving my arm dangling. We went back and forth several times with my new bridge method helping regain guard.
Greg: It's getting more and more fun rolling with Greg. While I most definitely lose every time, I am allowed to move and try things and he plays off of my mistakes more than trying to force me into something. He submitted me with an americana, which Fuji made fun of me for, and an armbar that he set up with an underhook that I gave him.
Jerad: Today, I felt completely owned by him. My guard retention is what really bothers me. It doesn't seem like I have any good answers for his guard passing. He set me up with a funky armbar after I made a miscalculation with my deep half guard
Drilling:
Greg asked me if I would drill with him and of course my answer was yes. He and I did several reps with a spider guard pass. Greg ran a timer on his phone to determine when we would switch. The technique was to bring your elbows close together and pull them so they can sit up. Then circle one hand around and get a controlling grip on the pants, then A couple of things occurred. I got really sore in my back and neck. This technique required a lot of bent knee squatting movements. Then being in the spider guard, even though I tried my best not to, I was probably pulling too hard because my fingers were screaming.
Greg also did some reps with a single x-guard setup. This hurt my shins a little bit, but was very cool. Instead of doing some reps with this I asked for some pointers on my deep half and did some reps with that sweep. More drilling needs to be done.
WHOYA: September 13th 2012 - Gi
My knee was bothering me during this class and working on butterfly guard didn't help. It's great to be healthy now. Mike taught the cross choke from mount which I have used a little bit, but I think it's something I can revisit as I usually go for armlock submissions from mount but when that isn't available the back-up should be some type of choke. It's funny because I remember this class well as I had just bought a new gi.
Free Rolling:
Brian: I felt like I had really good control of Brian today. However, I wasn't ever in a position to go to deep half, I was on top most of the time and prevented his escapes. Watching him improve though inspires me to keep on the ball and progress.
Adam: I need to come up with a new strategy when facing Adam. For now he starts off our rolls in butterfly guard until he can do some type of sweep and end up on top and then grind me out in side control until he can set something up. My only real hope is to pass his guard before any of that happens. Today he submitted me with what seemed like a combination of the Rickson choke and a brabo grip. It was pretty surprising to both of us, how well it worked.
Henry: I stayed as relaxed as I could against him. I payed for it a couple times as he was able to pass my guard and put me into side control. I made a few attempts at deep half, but ended up having to defend a kimura from foolishly leaving my arm dangling. We went back and forth several times with my new bridge method helping regain guard.
Greg: It's getting more and more fun rolling with Greg. While I most definitely lose every time, I am allowed to move and try things and he plays off of my mistakes more than trying to force me into something. He submitted me with an americana, which Fuji made fun of me for, and an armbar that he set up with an underhook that I gave him.
Jerad: Today, I felt completely owned by him. My guard retention is what really bothers me. It doesn't seem like I have any good answers for his guard passing. He set me up with a funky armbar after I made a miscalculation with my deep half guard
Drilling:
Greg asked me if I would drill with him and of course my answer was yes. He and I did several reps with a spider guard pass. Greg ran a timer on his phone to determine when we would switch. The technique was to bring your elbows close together and pull them so they can sit up. Then circle one hand around and get a controlling grip on the pants, then A couple of things occurred. I got really sore in my back and neck. This technique required a lot of bent knee squatting movements. Then being in the spider guard, even though I tried my best not to, I was probably pulling too hard because my fingers were screaming.
Greg also did some reps with a single x-guard setup. This hurt my shins a little bit, but was very cool. Instead of doing some reps with this I asked for some pointers on my deep half and did some reps with that sweep. More drilling needs to be done.
WHOYA: September 13th 2012 - Gi
My knee was bothering me during this class and working on butterfly guard didn't help. It's great to be healthy now. Mike taught the cross choke from mount which I have used a little bit, but I think it's something I can revisit as I usually go for armlock submissions from mount but when that isn't available the back-up should be some type of choke. It's funny because I remember this class well as I had just bought a new gi.
Friday, September 13, 2013
September 12th 2013 - No Gi (Conditioning)
Theme: Conditioning and Takedowns
It was a unique class tonight. There was no instruction time followed by drilling, just a lot of movement and drilling. We started with a shuttle run type of exercises where we sprinted across the mat and then do a takedowns on people waiting on the other side. We did double legs, hip throw, single leg, and knee tap. We then did double leg to fire carry across the mat and collar tie to back take and carry across the mat.
Next we did standing grappling with everyone as a partner. I felt like I had a little paralysis from analysis. I was so worried about defending that I didn't attack or press the action like I should have. Next time we do this, I'm going to forget about not wanting to lose and try to overwhelm my opponent with attacks. I will probably get taken down more times than not, but it's going to be the best way to get better. The other problem I had was that I gassed out. Probably a combination of the previous exercise and my lack of confidence in my stand-up. Mike stressed that I need to keep my front hand down more in no-gi, which I wasn't aware of but makes perfect sense. The one technique that did work for me was the sacrifice throw that I've been working on.
After that we drilled knee slide pass, leg drag, and leg drag to side control. All things I enjoy drilling and need improvement in.
We finished the class with 2 rounds of 4 minute free rolling. Greg was my first partner. Today he put me into ankle lock position twice but didn't actually attack the lock. He did end up submitting my from mount with the monoplata to armbar thing he's been working on lately. Next I survived the wrath of Adam. He seemed to be setting up the arm-triangle but I was able to slip out of it a couple times.
WHOYA: September 12th 2012 - Morning Open
Ah, the days of early morning Jiu-Jitsu. Ken and I spent a lot of rolling time on those early butt crack of dawn Wednesday mornings. I'm looking forward to the early Friday classes starting next week, but dreading getting up at 5:20 AM.
I mention ending up in deep half guard a lot but not being able to do much of anything from there. I have improved on this position over the past year but I haven't been focusing on it as much as butterfly or cross guard. Unfortunately I haven't trained with Ken in quite some time. He used to be very frustrating to deal with, but I hope he's doing well.
It was a unique class tonight. There was no instruction time followed by drilling, just a lot of movement and drilling. We started with a shuttle run type of exercises where we sprinted across the mat and then do a takedowns on people waiting on the other side. We did double legs, hip throw, single leg, and knee tap. We then did double leg to fire carry across the mat and collar tie to back take and carry across the mat.
Next we did standing grappling with everyone as a partner. I felt like I had a little paralysis from analysis. I was so worried about defending that I didn't attack or press the action like I should have. Next time we do this, I'm going to forget about not wanting to lose and try to overwhelm my opponent with attacks. I will probably get taken down more times than not, but it's going to be the best way to get better. The other problem I had was that I gassed out. Probably a combination of the previous exercise and my lack of confidence in my stand-up. Mike stressed that I need to keep my front hand down more in no-gi, which I wasn't aware of but makes perfect sense. The one technique that did work for me was the sacrifice throw that I've been working on.
After that we drilled knee slide pass, leg drag, and leg drag to side control. All things I enjoy drilling and need improvement in.
We finished the class with 2 rounds of 4 minute free rolling. Greg was my first partner. Today he put me into ankle lock position twice but didn't actually attack the lock. He did end up submitting my from mount with the monoplata to armbar thing he's been working on lately. Next I survived the wrath of Adam. He seemed to be setting up the arm-triangle but I was able to slip out of it a couple times.
WHOYA: September 12th 2012 - Morning Open
Ah, the days of early morning Jiu-Jitsu. Ken and I spent a lot of rolling time on those early butt crack of dawn Wednesday mornings. I'm looking forward to the early Friday classes starting next week, but dreading getting up at 5:20 AM.
I mention ending up in deep half guard a lot but not being able to do much of anything from there. I have improved on this position over the past year but I haven't been focusing on it as much as butterfly or cross guard. Unfortunately I haven't trained with Ken in quite some time. He used to be very frustrating to deal with, but I hope he's doing well.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
September 10th 2013 - Gi
Theme and Techniques:Triangle Choke and armbars from the triangle position.
Before class we were all talking about and playing around with an omaplata to collar choke that we saw in a Clark Gracie YouTube video. Moments like these have been repeated time and time again where someone finds a video of someone doing something cool in competition and we all try to figure it out. I'm really inspired by the video below, mostly because it's showed me some more things that I can do from the omaplata position.
I worked with Moe during the technique portion of the class. Although triangle is one of the fundamental techniques, I'm still always trying to improve it by focusing on the little things. My focus last night was to use the foot on the hip and squeeze with the knee more effectively and then shoot my hips up to hook up the choke. From there we worked on a couple of different arm bars by pulling their arm across and crossing our feet or bridging into them (which I liked a lot).
We did king of the mat from closed guard. While I had some good attempts at passing some guards, it was not my day to be a king. It seemed like it went by faster than normal and we broke for some free rolling.
I rolled with Chris first and thought I was doing great at the beginning because I swept him with an omaplata sweep and took top position for a little while, then he was able to roll to his side and wrestle me down and I spent the rest of the time on the bottom defending. I rolled with Moe next and decided to work on spider guard and completed a couple of sweeps which was cool.
WHOYA (What Happened One Year Ago):
The post titled September 10th - Gi (The Bees Knees) stated that I went to the orthopedist and had my left knee looked at. Unfortunately the Dr. didn't think it was a torn meniscus like it turned out to be. So I kept training and reinjuring myself.
Greg taught knee on belly with farside armbar and kimura. Farside armbar is one of my main submissions, but I've had a little trouble finishing kimuras but I've tried to figure it out a couple times recently. Apparently I wasn't able to train much knee on belly a year ago due to my knee injury. I also rolled with Mike who took it to me pretty well. This has not changed in the past year.
Before class we were all talking about and playing around with an omaplata to collar choke that we saw in a Clark Gracie YouTube video. Moments like these have been repeated time and time again where someone finds a video of someone doing something cool in competition and we all try to figure it out. I'm really inspired by the video below, mostly because it's showed me some more things that I can do from the omaplata position.
I worked with Moe during the technique portion of the class. Although triangle is one of the fundamental techniques, I'm still always trying to improve it by focusing on the little things. My focus last night was to use the foot on the hip and squeeze with the knee more effectively and then shoot my hips up to hook up the choke. From there we worked on a couple of different arm bars by pulling their arm across and crossing our feet or bridging into them (which I liked a lot).
We did king of the mat from closed guard. While I had some good attempts at passing some guards, it was not my day to be a king. It seemed like it went by faster than normal and we broke for some free rolling.
I rolled with Chris first and thought I was doing great at the beginning because I swept him with an omaplata sweep and took top position for a little while, then he was able to roll to his side and wrestle me down and I spent the rest of the time on the bottom defending. I rolled with Moe next and decided to work on spider guard and completed a couple of sweeps which was cool.
WHOYA (What Happened One Year Ago):
The post titled September 10th - Gi (The Bees Knees) stated that I went to the orthopedist and had my left knee looked at. Unfortunately the Dr. didn't think it was a torn meniscus like it turned out to be. So I kept training and reinjuring myself.
Greg taught knee on belly with farside armbar and kimura. Farside armbar is one of my main submissions, but I've had a little trouble finishing kimuras but I've tried to figure it out a couple times recently. Apparently I wasn't able to train much knee on belly a year ago due to my knee injury. I also rolled with Mike who took it to me pretty well. This has not changed in the past year.
Gi (The Bees Knees)
Gi (The Bees Knees)
Sunday, September 8, 2013
September 7th 2013 - Open Mat
I talked Craig into coming to open mat yesterday morning, however we didn't get the chance to roll together. It's okay, we made up for it this morning.
I rolled with Ray, Greg, and Jerad and felt quite inadequate against them as per usual. Ray appeared to be missing leg locks because he put me in 3 of them with little difficulty on his part. Greg and I had our average bout of him tricking me into x-guard and having to deal with that. The only thing different is that he's been working on some mount submissions lately and has stated that mount isn't his strongest position. I attempted to pass Jerad's guard several times to no avail. He eventually swept me and worked from top setting up far side arm bars and bow and arrow chokes. I guess I'll just have to keep getting better.
Air Force Brian is becoming quite the beast. He was already athletic coming into BJJ and now that he has some techniques under his belt, he's becoming more difficult to fool. Which means I have to be more creative and versatile.I was able to pull off a Shaolin sweep which took a couple of attempts to get him loaded up, but it was cool to get a technique to work that I've been attempting for so long.
I had a new idea for a section of the blog. I'll call it WHOYA for "What Happened One Year Ago" and it will be a look back to my blog post from a year ago and see if I've improved or if I forgot about the lessons of the past. Hopefully this will be a productive learning exercise for me.
September 7th 2012 - It was a no-gi class taught by Jerad with a focus on the arm drag. Now the arm drag is an essential part of my game and something that I don't think about that much, but it is something that everyone uses. I also make mention of my knee injury and how I was trying to baby it and keep it from getting hurt again. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had gotten the surgery done back then.
I rolled with Ray, Greg, and Jerad and felt quite inadequate against them as per usual. Ray appeared to be missing leg locks because he put me in 3 of them with little difficulty on his part. Greg and I had our average bout of him tricking me into x-guard and having to deal with that. The only thing different is that he's been working on some mount submissions lately and has stated that mount isn't his strongest position. I attempted to pass Jerad's guard several times to no avail. He eventually swept me and worked from top setting up far side arm bars and bow and arrow chokes. I guess I'll just have to keep getting better.
Air Force Brian is becoming quite the beast. He was already athletic coming into BJJ and now that he has some techniques under his belt, he's becoming more difficult to fool. Which means I have to be more creative and versatile.I was able to pull off a Shaolin sweep which took a couple of attempts to get him loaded up, but it was cool to get a technique to work that I've been attempting for so long.
I had a new idea for a section of the blog. I'll call it WHOYA for "What Happened One Year Ago" and it will be a look back to my blog post from a year ago and see if I've improved or if I forgot about the lessons of the past. Hopefully this will be a productive learning exercise for me.
September 7th 2012 - It was a no-gi class taught by Jerad with a focus on the arm drag. Now the arm drag is an essential part of my game and something that I don't think about that much, but it is something that everyone uses. I also make mention of my knee injury and how I was trying to baby it and keep it from getting hurt again. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had gotten the surgery done back then.
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