October 14th 2015 - Gi All Levels

Theme & Techniques: O-Soto Gari, Basic Side Control Escape, Side Control Americana
Partner: Ben

Had a good session with Ben a couple things came up and Ben commented a few times "That makes so much sense."  So I'll take that as experience points on my teaching skill.  The main pointers were:

• Time your bus driver movement with your step in o-soto gari
• When trying to get the grip for the americana put squeeze your hand into position by sliding it across your own chest and then flipping your hand.  

Rolling: Side Control (4 x 2 min), Guard (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling (4 min)
Rolled With: Dave, Morgan, Ben, Austin, Tom

I had a really good day of rolling.  I pushed myself to do the techniques from class and I also wanted to hit the straight ankle when possible.  In side control top I had some success with the americana I found that going to north/south and then returning to the side gave me a little bit of time to get the grip I wanted. 

From the bottom my bridging felt very strong.  I'm feel like my breathing is syncing well with my bridge and I'm having to think less about it.  Morgan probably gave me the best compliment when he asked me what he could do to prevent himself from flying off of me when I bridged.  I think the biggest thing was he wasn't using the crossface effectively to turn my head. 

In the bottom of guard I focused on the cross guard in the hopes of hitting a funk roll that I've been looking into recently.  I came pretty close once but I need to experiment with it more.  Otherwise I was using omoplata and flower sweep when it presented itself.  I got caught in turtle a couple times and relied on the granby to get back.  I've been trusting it more lately and realize I just need to go for it to get it.  From the top I was all about going for the straight ankle lock but ran into the putting on the boot defense whenever I went for it.  Greg explained later that I need to get their leg bent again using my free hand behind their knee. 

During free rolling I spent some time in lasso and was looking for the turtle to omoplata setup but always seem to have my distance off.  I may need a outside opinion to watch me do this this because I think it could be a viable part of my game and I am just missing a minor detail. 

Office Hours Partner: Dave

Greg gave both Morgan and Dave some things to focus on for the upcoming tournament I think.  Dave was looking at the 2 on 1 to scissor sweep which I like myself.  I'm not sure how Greg chose that specific technique but Dave seemed to do well with it after a few reps.  It was pretty cool to witness the beginning of someone's personal game.

October 13th 2015 - Gi Beginner

Theme & Techniques: O-Soto Gari, Basic Side Control Escape, Side Control Americana
Partner: Bhuvana

I believe that this is week 1 of the beginner curriculum if anyone is interested.  Here are some things that came up today for these techniques:

• For O-Soto Gari step so you are hip to hip and time the hook movement with your step
• For Side Control Escape drive your knee all the way to their other hip.  When kicking in the end to free your foot don't try to lift their leg off the floor push their leg back across the floor.
• For the americana once I get the wrist to the floor I like to use my head to control their wrist until I can get my grips set.

Rolling: Side Control (4 x 2 min)
Rolled With: Robert, Ben

So I went through with attempting the techniques from class.  It was very difficult for my brain to adjust to not doing my usual responses to certain things.  I had a pretty tough time because both Robert and Ben aren't slouches.  Attempting the americana on Robert was difficult because if I let go of the crossface he was able to turn into me and start looking for the single or double leg.  I at least put the wrist to the floor but wasn't able to fully finish. 

From the bottom I was able to at least get my knee in and regain half guard and butterfly.  The thing that I'm focusing on most is not telegraphing with my breathing before I bridge and it's getting better. 

Office Hours Partner: Robert

Had 3 five minute rounds with Robert after class.  I tried to push myself to stay active throughout the time but did find myself stopping on the bottom of side control a few times.  I spent most of the time on the bottom and he was able to submit me near the end with a kimura.  I played some half guard and used some butterfly to regain.  He's so difficult to move and I often end up on the bottom during a scramble. 

I'm glad that he's around because he's different than the other guys that are better than me.  Actually everyone that's better than or challenges me has something unique in their rolling style.  Greg, Conan, Jerad, Mike, Adam, Alejandro, Fuji, Henry, Zac, Robert all give me trouble in different ways.  If I didn't include you it's because we don't roll enough or you need to step up your game ;)  

October 10th 2015 - Kids & Open Mat

Kids Class
Technique: Paint Brush, Double Leg Trip
Rolling/Game: Side Control, Stand up Sparring

Kids have been doing well lately. Jayden has been timid to count during warmups.  Greg has been trying to work with him on that. He also has not been doing well with front rolls which he was previously good at, but everything else is fine.

They had a little trouble with the double leg trip. They would shoot fine but then fall backwards when trying to step up.

Sparring was good, they are picking up the importance of position. It's been a while since they've done some standup.  The main thing that they need to focus on is grip fighting.

Open Mat
Rolled With: Josh M, Austin, Henry, Chris, Ben, Moe, Jerad
Game Plan: Attempt Ankle Locks

Had a great day at open mat after missing it for 2 weeks.

Josh and I drilled the twist sweep for a little while. I still don't feel comfortable with it but got something out of the training.  We rolled later on and I could see some improvement from our previous rolls and wasn't able to freely push him around.

Austin's skills have also increased. I attempted the ankle lock a few times but he foiled me with the defenses that we worked on.  I may have reaped the knee a couple times on accident.

Henry and I had an epic battle. I had to dig deep a couple times to talk myself out of giving up and taking the easy way out.  A couple of common things came up. He's one of a few that can stand up in my half guard. Also there were a couple times when I came up into the dog fight position but didn't feel adequate to out wrestle him from there. The main thing I did well was to prevent his collar choke attacks as soon as possible to not allow them to get too far.

With Chris I was pretty laid back.  He walked right into my closed guard and did a decent job of keeping forward pressure. Eventually I swept with a flower sweep he gassed out soon after that.  We discussed what he wanted to do in the guard and how he was wasting energy.

Moe gave me a hard time while attempting to pass my open guard. It made for quite a technical battle with grips and shins.  Once I swept and got on top I worked for a guillotine.

Ben and I did no gi and apparently he hasn't had much experience with it. After rolling a few times we went over some passing possibilities without using the gi pants.

Saved the best roll for last with Jerad. We had some back and forth where both of us controlled the fight for a while. Once he got to mount though I wasn't able to escape and he finished me with an armbar. He gave me a few compliments saying that he's noticed improvement lately. The extra work I've been doing has been paying off!

October 9th 2015 - Gi All Levels

Theme & Techniques: Straight Footlock and Defense
Students: Craig, Dave, Robert, Josh

Had the opportunity to teach today and was excited to do it as always.  Did a couple extra things with the warmup with some standup grip fighting and some throw fit-ins.

I felt like I taught the ankle lock well but I don't feel as confident with it as other technics. I thought about it after class and figured out the reason is that I haven't finished any straight ankle locks in sparring. I don't even try to set them up. So I don't have any good tidbits of advice to help people finish it like I do with other techniques. So my new mission is to improve this and other techniques from the beginner curriculum until I have practical knowledge of them.

I added the single leg x entry from butterfly for fun as another way to get to the ankle lock position. Although it was a little difficult to get to the ankle lock.

Rolling: Full Guard (2 x 2 min), Free Rolling (3 x 5 min)

I sat out for a lot of the rolling due to even number of partners. I did help with some coaching but nothing to really write about.

Had some good rolls with Dave and helped him through some stuff.

October 7th 2015 - Gi All Levels

Theme & Techniques: Head Lock Escape Over Head Roll, Straight Footlock and Defense
Partner: Casey

I'm not sure if I'm feeling better about the straight ankle lock or not.  Yesterday I felt good about it but today I had some trouble with getting the toes right in my armpit.  Then the angle felt off with my forearm and their ankle.  Hopefully I can get this sorted out on Friday.  For the headlock escape Greg commented that I needed to push into them more and then not pause before rolling them over.

Rolling: Closed Guard (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling (2 x 4 min)
Rolled With: Casey, Morgan, Ben, Dave

I've been a little concerned about resting on my larals lately.  Not that I do everything perfectly or that I'm not getting a good workout but more like I'm resorting to the same things that work for me instead of trying some new stuff.  So the question is what should I introduce or what should I limit.  I think I'm going to really focus on trying to complete the technique of the week first and foremost.  Yeah it's going to be difficult because it's on everyone's mind and I'll probably fail, but I should get a lot out of it too.

So while rolling today I attempted a couple of straight ankle locks but failed miserably.  Mostly with maneuvering around their other leg to get my leg positions.  I don't think anyone went for an ankle lock against me in guard.  From a training session with Mike A. recently we discussed how not having to defend ankle locks can make you be a little sloppy with your leg positions.  Like knee shield or the basic side control escape. 

In my last roll with Dave I think I surprised him because I walked him through passing my guard, attacking from side control, going to mount, going to high mount, then finishing an americana.  I did some small resistance with each movement and then told him what to do next.  He seemed to appreciate it.

Office Hours Partner: Tom

We rolled a couple times, not sure if it was humidity or what but I was already feeling pretty hot.  I found myself attacking the kimura but not to finish with the technique but more to move to back mount.  It didn't workout that I got a submission from there but it was an interesting exercise.  Close to the end I went for an ankle lock but he defended it well and somehow pulled sleeve, putting my arm into a type of armbar.  I was able to recover, but I don't really know what happened.

October 6th 2015 - Gi Beginner

Theme & Techniques: Head Lock Escape Over Head Roll, Straight Footlock and Defense
Partner: Ben

I was actually happy to see the straight footlock come up this week.  I recently trained with Mike A. on some no gi footlocks and decided that I want to spend some time improving them.  This week couldn't have come at a better time.

The things that I took note of today:

• After opening the guard, grab the heel and push their foot forward until their toes are in your armpit. 
• Your elbow will kind of stick out with some space because you want the skinnier part of your arm against their achilles.
• After you fall to your side you will then collapse your elbow underneath you, look to the floor, open your shoulder, and finally bridge.

I think the biggest improvement that I felt today was doing the kick to place the foot into the hip and then falling to the side.  I'm also focusing on keeping my thighs tight. 

Rolling: Guard (4 x 2 min)
Rolled With: Robert, Brian G.

It was good to roll with Robert again, as it's been a while.  The thing that he's able to do to me more often than anyone else is find a way to stand up while I'm attempting to pass his guard.  It was even on my mind today and I tried to take the precautions to prevent it but he still did it.  From the bottom I held him at bay but wasn't able to sweep.  At one point I felt like I had him in a loop choke that was locked in, but he weathered the storm and eventually got free of it. 


Office Hours Partner: Brian G, John

Rolling with Brian at the end of class and after was good.  He put me on my butt at one point with a scissor sweep but gave me enough space to come up and regain the top.  When he was attempting to pass there were a couple times when I felt like he was almost locking my legs down but I could just scrape by a little bit and get my knee free and regain guard.

John did a couple of good things that I didn't expect.  2 times when I was attempting to pass his half guard he was able to regain the underhook and turn the position around on me.  I'll have to think about if I'm leaving an opening there or if he's doing something extra to get that underhook.  I caught him a couple times with my modified butterfly sweep, that he was kind of surprised by.  I showed it to him after we finished rolling.

October 2nd 2015 - Gi All Levels

Theme & Techniques: Basic Open Guard, Tripod Sweep
Partner: Craig

I was surprised to see such a small class.  Not sure if it's the weather change or what, but Fridays haven't been as big lately.  I know that Friday is early for some of you out there, but if you are looking for some personal attention, it's a great class to attend.  Especially if you are willing to stay after class I will gladly roll or drill with anyone and Conan always has good advice.  This goes for any class that I attend.  Please come roll with me.  Hopefully that comes off as pathetic as I meant it to.

There was a little confusion with the curriculum sheet this morning, but we got it sorted and I helped a little bit since Conan hadn't attended a beginner class this week. 

Rolling: Open Guard (6 x 4 min)
Rolled With: Craig, Morgan, Conan

Rolling felt good.  I actually setup a triangle which really excites me.  It would be great to finally figure out the triangle choke. I've got to get over this thought that my legs are too short and focus more on getting the technique and angles as perfect as possible.  I think my biggest problem is still controlling the posture.

When rolling with Conan he set me up to see if I would notice where he was off balance.  I saw it and attempted to sweep him but I knew that his hand was free to base.  We discussed it a bit.  He said it was good to go for it, because if I didn't he would take advantage of it.  I've been contemplating whether going for something that I know isn't perfect is a waste of energy or if I just need to think about it as a possible opening for something else.  I think that is how people have dominated me in the past, I wait for a perfect opportunity of a sure thing and the time never comes and I get run over.  Interesting to think about.


Office Hours Partner: Morgan

We did a few more open guard rounds after class.  I helped Morgan out with the omoplata after he ended up in a good position to do one, but didn't know.  It's difficult to think that with all of my experience with the omoplata that many of the beginners have little knowledge of it.  I guess it's because it's not a part of the beginner curriculum.