Theme & Techniques: Koshi Guruma, Standing Guard Break, Toreando Pass, Over/Under Pass
Partner: Craig, Katie
Katie is a friend of Craig's and decided to try out class today. She did pretty well for it being her first martial arts class. Of course having to back up and realize that a new person has very little idea about the terminology that we use much less why someone would even want to pass the guard, makes me realize that there is quite a base learning curve. My piece of advice to her and what I say to most people I talk to on their first class is that the first thing to focus on is knowing what the positions are and learning when you are in trouble.
Rolling: Guard (4 x 4 min), Free Rolling (5 min)
Rolled With: Conan, Andy, Katie
Conan can really get in my head sometimes and it's not really his fault. He wasn't really warmed up when we started rolling so he went a little lighter than usual. I of course tried to pass as well and as fast as I could and I pass. As we rolled he got more difficult to pass and swept me a couple times. When he does this I'm not sure sometimes if I should go slower and down to his level or keep trying to do my thing.
Had a good positional roll with Andy and took all the precautions necessary to prevent a baseball bat choke of some type. I was pulling off the knee through the middle guard break and pass and showed him that he was making it easier by climbing his guard way up.
Office Hours Partner: Conan
Conan went over a mount escape that he was researching and it seemed pretty cool but still in development stages. We discussed my tournament matches a bit and talked about my new omoplata finish.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Thursday, December 10, 2015
December 10th 2015 - Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: Koshi Guruma, Standing Guard Break, Toreando Pass, Over/Under Pass
Partner: Casey, Chris C
One thing that I questioned about doing the toreando pass today was what roll do my elbows play. I thought I needed to control their calves with my elbows but I notice Greg doesn't do much of that. I'll have to talk to him about it later. Otherwise I worked on getting my grips and getting up as efficiently as possible.
Rolling: Guard KOTM, Free Rolling (5 min)
Rolled With: Casey, Chris, Brian G, Bhuvana, Byrav, Dave
Had some good rolls and did the standing guard break and toreando when I could. From the bottom I felt a little sluggish with some of my sweeps like they weren't clicking today. I also got stuck in the omoplata position with the arm tapped behind the back and couldn't finish it just like in my tournament match.
Office Hours Partner: Greg, Casey
Greg went over the 2 on 1 with Casey and then showed me how to finish that omoplata. My problem was that I was pushing down on their arm but coming up with them when I should have been pulling on their shoulder more. Also doing a couple hip escapes really tightened it up. This is going to be great [Wrings hands and laughs maniacally]
Partner: Casey, Chris C
One thing that I questioned about doing the toreando pass today was what roll do my elbows play. I thought I needed to control their calves with my elbows but I notice Greg doesn't do much of that. I'll have to talk to him about it later. Otherwise I worked on getting my grips and getting up as efficiently as possible.
Rolling: Guard KOTM, Free Rolling (5 min)
Rolled With: Casey, Chris, Brian G, Bhuvana, Byrav, Dave
Had some good rolls and did the standing guard break and toreando when I could. From the bottom I felt a little sluggish with some of my sweeps like they weren't clicking today. I also got stuck in the omoplata position with the arm tapped behind the back and couldn't finish it just like in my tournament match.
Office Hours Partner: Greg, Casey
Greg went over the 2 on 1 with Casey and then showed me how to finish that omoplata. My problem was that I was pushing down on their arm but coming up with them when I should have been pulling on their shoulder more. Also doing a couple hip escapes really tightened it up. This is going to be great [Wrings hands and laughs maniacally]
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
December 9th 2015 - Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: Koshi Guruma, Standing Guard Break, Toreando Pass, Over/Under Pass
Students: Alejandro, Jordan, Ben, Mike G, Mike A
Good group of guys today, good to see Mike G back. It was my day to teach and decided to follow what Mike does a bit sometimes and did some grip fighting and takedown fitins. It was a pretty good workout in and of itself.
The biggest advice I can give on the standing guard break is that posture is very important. I time my step up with putting their hand into their hip. Then when grabbing the other sleeve I stand way up. After that I start to bring it down. I don't grab the pants yet but catch the knee and take little steps back. During the toreando I try to not have my butt up in the air at all and bend at the knees more.
The guys there had all done the standing guard break and toreando pass many times so we had some extra time and I showed the Over/Under Pass. After some individual help everyone seemed to understand it pretty well.
Rolling: Guard KOTM
Rolled With: Alejandro, Jordan, Ben, Mike G, Mike A
Sure Alejandro and Mike were able to sweep me, but my roll with Jordan probably stood out the most. He was on top and relentless with trying to pass. He prevented a lot of my sweep attempts and from me getting the position that I wanted. We went back and forth a couple times but in the end he was able to pass my guard. Great job Jordan but know that I'll work to make it more difficult next time.
Mike and I talked about deep half a bit after class and said that I need to off balance more and not to expect to have a black belt level deep half now and make it look a little dirty for now. I think he's right because I'm currently expecting to do the techniques perfectly that I've been practicing.
Students: Alejandro, Jordan, Ben, Mike G, Mike A
Good group of guys today, good to see Mike G back. It was my day to teach and decided to follow what Mike does a bit sometimes and did some grip fighting and takedown fitins. It was a pretty good workout in and of itself.
The biggest advice I can give on the standing guard break is that posture is very important. I time my step up with putting their hand into their hip. Then when grabbing the other sleeve I stand way up. After that I start to bring it down. I don't grab the pants yet but catch the knee and take little steps back. During the toreando I try to not have my butt up in the air at all and bend at the knees more.
The guys there had all done the standing guard break and toreando pass many times so we had some extra time and I showed the Over/Under Pass. After some individual help everyone seemed to understand it pretty well.
Rolling: Guard KOTM
Rolled With: Alejandro, Jordan, Ben, Mike G, Mike A
Sure Alejandro and Mike were able to sweep me, but my roll with Jordan probably stood out the most. He was on top and relentless with trying to pass. He prevented a lot of my sweep attempts and from me getting the position that I wanted. We went back and forth a couple times but in the end he was able to pass my guard. Great job Jordan but know that I'll work to make it more difficult next time.
Mike and I talked about deep half a bit after class and said that I need to off balance more and not to expect to have a black belt level deep half now and make it look a little dirty for now. I think he's right because I'm currently expecting to do the techniques perfectly that I've been practicing.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
December 8th 2015 - No Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: Butterfly Guard: Armdrag, Hook Sweep, Knee Tap
Partner: Ben
Felt pretty excited about coming into class today and starting fresh. Coming off of this tournament I don't really have anything pressing that I want to work on right away. I need to think about it more, but one thing that I learned is I need to tighten up my game plan and stick to it. Even though the toe hold was there I was probably better off not attempting a submission that I didn't have much practice finishing. Greg said he was happy with my performance which goes a long way and gave me a few specific things to think about like a toe hold from the omoplata position.
We actually went through these techniques recently, but it was a good refresh. I did a little better today on the knee tap. I focused on hanging off the side and getting a deeper underhook during the hook sweep like I have been.
Rolling: Butterfly Guard KOTM, Free Rolling
Rolled With: Mike A, Robert, Bhuvana, Tom, Brian G, Ben, Chris (New)
Nice to do some king of the mat. I tried my best to set up a hook sweep but had a difficult time finishing it. I was able to go to x-guard once and attempt some arm drags that turned into sweeps. I don't feel as confident in my passing or at least I don't feel like I've nailed down my specific go to passes like I have with gi pants involved. I had some pretty tough but interesting rolls with both Mike and Robert.
We switched to a 5 minute free roll and I went with Tom. Apparently he had some help from Conan and learned some defenses to some of the submissions that I have caught him with in the past. It really made a difference as he foiled several of my attempts.
Partner: Ben
Felt pretty excited about coming into class today and starting fresh. Coming off of this tournament I don't really have anything pressing that I want to work on right away. I need to think about it more, but one thing that I learned is I need to tighten up my game plan and stick to it. Even though the toe hold was there I was probably better off not attempting a submission that I didn't have much practice finishing. Greg said he was happy with my performance which goes a long way and gave me a few specific things to think about like a toe hold from the omoplata position.
We actually went through these techniques recently, but it was a good refresh. I did a little better today on the knee tap. I focused on hanging off the side and getting a deeper underhook during the hook sweep like I have been.
Rolling: Butterfly Guard KOTM, Free Rolling
Rolled With: Mike A, Robert, Bhuvana, Tom, Brian G, Ben, Chris (New)
Nice to do some king of the mat. I tried my best to set up a hook sweep but had a difficult time finishing it. I was able to go to x-guard once and attempt some arm drags that turned into sweeps. I don't feel as confident in my passing or at least I don't feel like I've nailed down my specific go to passes like I have with gi pants involved. I had some pretty tough but interesting rolls with both Mike and Robert.
We switched to a 5 minute free roll and I went with Tom. Apparently he had some help from Conan and learned some defenses to some of the submissions that I have caught him with in the past. It really made a difference as he foiled several of my attempts.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
December 5th 2015 - Submission Challenge
The day finally came and it was a long day. All of the anticipation and nervousness and it felt like it was over fairly quickly once I started rolling. I weighed in right at 205 with all of my clothes on so I made it into the weight class that I hoped for. However, I ended up being the only one in my division so I was bumped up to 206 and up anyway. This isn't the first time this has happened after I've attempted to drop weight for a tournament but it's still discouraging every time. Another downside was that I got put in a division with 2 of my teammates (Fuji and Bauer). I can roll with them any given Saturday.
After we weighed in and attended the rules meeting a group of us went out for breakfast at Village Inn, where we discussed creating a Jiu-Jitsu system based around car terms. We hurried back to catch Tyler and Chris's matches.
Tyler was bumped up to the adult division and he did great. Won his first match with a cross collar choke but lost his second to an ezekiel choke. Chris did well in his first tournament. He was in a dominant position for the majority of both of his matches but eventually got put on the bottom and submitted. I didn't see much of David's matches I think he might have lost 2 matches. Bauer did no gi against Patrick (I think that was his name). It was a fairly quick match that ended with Bauer getting caught with a toe hold. Then our division finally started Fuji and Bauer faced each other but I didn't pay much attention. I think Fuji caught him with something from side control.
My first match was against Patrick. I looked for him to grab my right sleeve and then went for my cross guard pull into omoplata. I could have probably swept but I decided to go for the submission instead. I was close with it but let his elbow get out of it too much. I ended up on the back of turtle and then back mount and attempted some collar chokes and finally an armbar as he attempted to escape the position. A toe hold presented itself so I went for that and we rolled around as he also went for a leg lock. He ended up cinching up a straight footlock and turned over too his belly and got me to tap. I'm happy with my performance I just wish I could have finished one of those sub attempts.
Fuji went up against Patrick next and worked his way into side control and finished with the brabo. I faced Bauer for 3rd and we went the distance. It seemed pretty even, I had some good positions and some submission attempts but I don't think I ever put him in real danger. We went to the overtime round and he was able to escape my armbar and then armbar me on his turn. Mike had a really fast paced technical no gi match with his purple belt opponent. Mike ended up losing but they put on a good show.
So no hardware to bring home this time. My ankle is a little sore as I wasn't able to tap as quickly as I wanted to, but it's nothing serious. I'm still trying to figure out what I need to focus on next. I'll consult with Greg and see what he thinks, but here are a few thoughts:
Second Match part 1
Second Match Part 2
After we weighed in and attended the rules meeting a group of us went out for breakfast at Village Inn, where we discussed creating a Jiu-Jitsu system based around car terms. We hurried back to catch Tyler and Chris's matches.
Tyler was bumped up to the adult division and he did great. Won his first match with a cross collar choke but lost his second to an ezekiel choke. Chris did well in his first tournament. He was in a dominant position for the majority of both of his matches but eventually got put on the bottom and submitted. I didn't see much of David's matches I think he might have lost 2 matches. Bauer did no gi against Patrick (I think that was his name). It was a fairly quick match that ended with Bauer getting caught with a toe hold. Then our division finally started Fuji and Bauer faced each other but I didn't pay much attention. I think Fuji caught him with something from side control.
My first match was against Patrick. I looked for him to grab my right sleeve and then went for my cross guard pull into omoplata. I could have probably swept but I decided to go for the submission instead. I was close with it but let his elbow get out of it too much. I ended up on the back of turtle and then back mount and attempted some collar chokes and finally an armbar as he attempted to escape the position. A toe hold presented itself so I went for that and we rolled around as he also went for a leg lock. He ended up cinching up a straight footlock and turned over too his belly and got me to tap. I'm happy with my performance I just wish I could have finished one of those sub attempts.
Fuji went up against Patrick next and worked his way into side control and finished with the brabo. I faced Bauer for 3rd and we went the distance. It seemed pretty even, I had some good positions and some submission attempts but I don't think I ever put him in real danger. We went to the overtime round and he was able to escape my armbar and then armbar me on his turn. Mike had a really fast paced technical no gi match with his purple belt opponent. Mike ended up losing but they put on a good show.
So no hardware to bring home this time. My ankle is a little sore as I wasn't able to tap as quickly as I wanted to, but it's nothing serious. I'm still trying to figure out what I need to focus on next. I'll consult with Greg and see what he thinks, but here are a few thoughts:
- Work on finishing submissions
- Omoplata sweep and rolling to another omoplata
- Mount attacks
- Ankle Locks
Second Match part 1
Thursday, December 3, 2015
December 3rd 2015 - Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: Technical Stand-up, Hip Bump Sweep, Kimura
Partner: Dave
Good to work with Dave today, he looks a little more rugged after not shaving for a while. He seemed to figure a few things out with the sweep as we went and was appreciative for the help. I worked on the cross guard to hip bump setup after drilling the regular way a few times and it felt like a good transition when my omoplata doesn't work. Here are some tips for this weeks techniques:
Rolled With: Dave, Ben
Greg wanted me to limit my rolling so I sat out of the free rolling but did some positional sparring. Not much to say about rolling, things are going pretty well for me right now and the focus on training is really showing. I feel ready for the tournament and I'm glad that I decided to do it. However it turns out I feel like I've jumped in skill and improved on things that I've been needing to focus on.
Partner: Dave
Good to work with Dave today, he looks a little more rugged after not shaving for a while. He seemed to figure a few things out with the sweep as we went and was appreciative for the help. I worked on the cross guard to hip bump setup after drilling the regular way a few times and it felt like a good transition when my omoplata doesn't work. Here are some tips for this weeks techniques:
- Technical Standup: Be ready to fall back down to your side if they start to rush you as you are getting up. Learn to figure out what is the optimal space needed to allow you to get up with the stand-up.
- Hip Bump Sweep: On your own you can work on getting from your back up to your hand and scooting your butt back as efficiently as possible. The smoother you can make this the more you can focus on the timing of "when" to attempt the sweep.
- Kimura: A detail that Greg has been saying recently is either new or I wasn't paying attention before. After getting the kimura grip while falling back you want to throw your shoulder and kind of jump off at an angle. I think this does a couple things by keeping their weight off of you and probably preventing them from grabbing clothing to prevent the kimura.
Rolled With: Dave, Ben
Greg wanted me to limit my rolling so I sat out of the free rolling but did some positional sparring. Not much to say about rolling, things are going pretty well for me right now and the focus on training is really showing. I feel ready for the tournament and I'm glad that I decided to do it. However it turns out I feel like I've jumped in skill and improved on things that I've been needing to focus on.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
December 1st 2015 - No Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: Standing in guard: Sweeping, Knee Bar
Partner: Mike A, Robert
Not my favorite technique choices today, I was a little bit worried about hurting myself as I have felt some weird knee pressure from the sweep in the past. It turned out to be okay and I never really felt any discomfort. I did have some issues with finding the angle to use my hips to sweep with. Also Greg emphasized that we needed to keep our guard closed throughout the whole sweep. It is something that I've seen Xande use so it is worth looking into.
Robert and I had some trouble with the knee bar but we were getting it close to the end. I needed to focus on dropping my knee first and then kicking the leg way over and getting on my head and shoulder to roll them over. We kept landing on our outside leg.
Rolling: Guard (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling
Rolled With: Greg, Tom, Mike
Greg had the top person stand up to pass guard to give the bottom person more chances to do what we worked on. I did a few good things against Greg but ultimately was foiled by single leg-x.
Mike caught me several times with leg locks. I feel like my defenses are getting better but he still eventually gets ahead of me. He also hit a really cool reverse kimura that I may have to research. We talked about some deep half stuff after trying to figure out how he could step over my head every time I go to deep half.
Partner: Mike A, Robert
Not my favorite technique choices today, I was a little bit worried about hurting myself as I have felt some weird knee pressure from the sweep in the past. It turned out to be okay and I never really felt any discomfort. I did have some issues with finding the angle to use my hips to sweep with. Also Greg emphasized that we needed to keep our guard closed throughout the whole sweep. It is something that I've seen Xande use so it is worth looking into.
Robert and I had some trouble with the knee bar but we were getting it close to the end. I needed to focus on dropping my knee first and then kicking the leg way over and getting on my head and shoulder to roll them over. We kept landing on our outside leg.
Rolling: Guard (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling
Rolled With: Greg, Tom, Mike
Greg had the top person stand up to pass guard to give the bottom person more chances to do what we worked on. I did a few good things against Greg but ultimately was foiled by single leg-x.
Mike caught me several times with leg locks. I feel like my defenses are getting better but he still eventually gets ahead of me. He also hit a really cool reverse kimura that I may have to research. We talked about some deep half stuff after trying to figure out how he could step over my head every time I go to deep half.
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