Kids Class
Technique: Knee Over Pass
Rolling/Game: Guard, Free Rolling, Sharks & Octopuses
My boys had a good day today. Conan led the warm-up and did a few extra partner exercises with dragging your partner across the floor and wheel barrows.
By the end of training the technique everyone was doing the guard pass well. When my kids first started with it they were a little mean about putting their knee on the thigh. Not really on purpose, at least I hope not, but they just didn't understand the staple and where their weight should go. They worked with different partners which helped keep them in line.
Open Mat
Rolled With: Craig, Will, Robert, Derek W, Josh J, Jerad
Game Plan: Bottom Turtle
Craig: Between the kids' class and open mat we worked through the 2nd half of the blue belt curriculum. He was familiar with most of it and I just needed to give him a few small sometimes medium sized critiques. As an instructor now It'd give me a sense of accomplishment to see the people that I help out, get their blue belts. We had a few good rolls before I requested to work on bottom turtle. I mostly wanted to attempt sit outs and I did but still don't feel confident with the technique.
Will: He came out pretty strong in our roll with some spider guard and eventually swept me. I played some cross guard and eventually completed a sweep when he raised his leg. I'm glad to see Will back on the regular.
Robert: I finally completed a waiter sweep. I feel like I get to deep half so often with Robert but never complete any sweep especially this one, and this time it clicked. Otherwise I feel a little weak against him most of the time. He's definitely more aggressive and makes me work hard for everything I get.
Derek: He has done some improving since we last rolled. His defenses and his composure were a lot better and he was making a lot fewer mistakes. I did pass his guard a few times with over/under pass so I showed him how to do the pass and how to defend it. Derek seemed to take to it pretty well.
Josh: I called out Josh from across the room since we had talked about working on cross guard yesterday. I think I helped fix a couple things that I usually help people with in this position. Think of cross guard as another guard position, go 90 degrees twice, don't push them away so much and use the underhooked leg to help pull you into position. We had a few good rolls after that.
Jerad: At the end of the roll he told me that I made him work hard for the submission that he caught me with. So there's that. I had him on the ropes a bit in the beginning as I was able to pass guard and get to a north/south choke. But, he rolled me over with a trap that he showed me after we rolled which was some great information.
I feel like I'm in kind of a cycle with him. I try the things I'm good at and he shuts them down, so I learn something new and it works a few times but he eventually shuts it down again. So back to the drawing board.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Friday, April 8, 2016
April 8th 2016 - Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: O-Goshi, Closed Guard Cross Choke & Armbar
Partner: Craig
Another week of the same techniques taught by 3 different people, each with their own variations. At this point in my development I'm liking this, because I get some insight into the train of thought of my colleges and why they like to do things a certain way. I'm not sure if it would be frustrating if I were still learning the basics of the techniques.
Rolling: Takedown Sparring, Guard Position, Free Rolling
Rolled With: Craig, Josh J, Jesus
I was surprised when Conan announced that we were going to do some stand-up takedown sparring. I felt pretty good about some of my attempts and defenses. I tried to keep moving and attempt to off balance my partner. A lot of my takedowns were not pretty but I'm happy that I did more than stiff arm. I hit a few valley drops and some drop seio nage. What I'm most happy about is that I hit my best attempt at a double leg. I changed levels well and my penetration step was right on, however my partner pushed my head to the side as I was going for it which turned it more into a blast double with my forehead in the middle of his chest.
During rolling I attempted to do the cross choke and armbar from guard as often as I could. Otherwise I was resorting back to 2 on 1 and cross guard. It seemed like everyone was wore out from the stand-up sparring and I tried to match intensity with my partner. From the top I wanted the tozi pass really bad and attempted it when I could. Having a lot of failure with that technique but just needing to reset not being put into trouble. I'd really like to figure this out because I think it's a good option to have in my back pocket when I can't break the guard the conventional way.
Office Hours Partner: Josh
I passed Josh's guard a couple times using the over/under pass, so I showed him how to defend it. We rolled a couple more times and talked about some other specific things from the roll. He's becoming quite fun and challenging to roll with and I like to see his growth and feel somewhat liked I've helped with that.
Partner: Craig
Another week of the same techniques taught by 3 different people, each with their own variations. At this point in my development I'm liking this, because I get some insight into the train of thought of my colleges and why they like to do things a certain way. I'm not sure if it would be frustrating if I were still learning the basics of the techniques.
Rolling: Takedown Sparring, Guard Position, Free Rolling
Rolled With: Craig, Josh J, Jesus
I was surprised when Conan announced that we were going to do some stand-up takedown sparring. I felt pretty good about some of my attempts and defenses. I tried to keep moving and attempt to off balance my partner. A lot of my takedowns were not pretty but I'm happy that I did more than stiff arm. I hit a few valley drops and some drop seio nage. What I'm most happy about is that I hit my best attempt at a double leg. I changed levels well and my penetration step was right on, however my partner pushed my head to the side as I was going for it which turned it more into a blast double with my forehead in the middle of his chest.
During rolling I attempted to do the cross choke and armbar from guard as often as I could. Otherwise I was resorting back to 2 on 1 and cross guard. It seemed like everyone was wore out from the stand-up sparring and I tried to match intensity with my partner. From the top I wanted the tozi pass really bad and attempted it when I could. Having a lot of failure with that technique but just needing to reset not being put into trouble. I'd really like to figure this out because I think it's a good option to have in my back pocket when I can't break the guard the conventional way.
Office Hours Partner: Josh
I passed Josh's guard a couple times using the over/under pass, so I showed him how to defend it. We rolled a couple more times and talked about some other specific things from the roll. He's becoming quite fun and challenging to roll with and I like to see his growth and feel somewhat liked I've helped with that.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
April 7th 2016 - Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: O-Goshi, Closed Guard Cross Choke & Armbar
Partner: Bob
Worked with Bob today and got to experience his Judo. I can't articulate what he does differently than the average person but there were a couple things I noticed. My shoulder seemed to hit the ground sooner or the floor would come quicker. I'm not sure if that's a product of how he leans or how he's doing it, but it seemed like he was driving me downward instead of throwing me on my back. His hip movements were a lot more snappy, where he would kind of run into me and bump me quickly before the lift. I might ask him to critique some of my throws if we have some time before or after class in the future.
Rolling: Guard Position & Free Rolling
Rolled With: Bob, Sam, Brian G, Greg, Ben
Good day of rolling seemed to go by too quickly though. I was able to complete a few triangles today really working on avoiding getting stacked, shoulder walking, getting a hold of my shin, and pushing on the hip. I played some cross guard and 2 on 1 which seems to be my bread and butter lately. They're so comparable to each other.
I rolled in the guard with Greg and setup 2 on 1, went out to butterfly, attempted the back take, he tightened up so I went for butterfly sweep and got it! Yeah I swept Greg, only I didn't because as soon as he fell to his back he jumped right back up and I was in guard again. Oh well, I'll count it as a win for the day. He was attempting the tozi pass and I would defend it by pushing his head away, then he would try the pass again, eventually he got it. From the top I don't remember doing much good. I tried the tozi pass too but didn't come close. Later on Greg said I should keep my butt down a little more.
Partner: Bob
Worked with Bob today and got to experience his Judo. I can't articulate what he does differently than the average person but there were a couple things I noticed. My shoulder seemed to hit the ground sooner or the floor would come quicker. I'm not sure if that's a product of how he leans or how he's doing it, but it seemed like he was driving me downward instead of throwing me on my back. His hip movements were a lot more snappy, where he would kind of run into me and bump me quickly before the lift. I might ask him to critique some of my throws if we have some time before or after class in the future.
Rolling: Guard Position & Free Rolling
Rolled With: Bob, Sam, Brian G, Greg, Ben
Good day of rolling seemed to go by too quickly though. I was able to complete a few triangles today really working on avoiding getting stacked, shoulder walking, getting a hold of my shin, and pushing on the hip. I played some cross guard and 2 on 1 which seems to be my bread and butter lately. They're so comparable to each other.
I rolled in the guard with Greg and setup 2 on 1, went out to butterfly, attempted the back take, he tightened up so I went for butterfly sweep and got it! Yeah I swept Greg, only I didn't because as soon as he fell to his back he jumped right back up and I was in guard again. Oh well, I'll count it as a win for the day. He was attempting the tozi pass and I would defend it by pushing his head away, then he would try the pass again, eventually he got it. From the top I don't remember doing much good. I tried the tozi pass too but didn't come close. Later on Greg said I should keep my butt down a little more.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
April 6th 2016 - Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: O-Goshi, Closed Guard Cross Choke & Armbar
Partner: Tom
Mike had us do a pretty cool additional warm-up that combined sprinting and O-Goshi. 2 people stood on either side of the mat and you would throw 1 and then sprint to the other and throw them and back and forth. We did a similar exercise with wrestling takedowns in advanced no gi class a while ago.
A couple things I took note of today during techniques:
Rolling: Closed Guard (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling (2 x 5)
Rolled With: Tom, Jerad, Frank
Jerad made me work a lot harder than I do on an average Wednesday. I didn't feel like I could accomplish anything against him today. He passed my guard a few times and swept me a few times. When we free rolled I tried to turn it up a bit and felt like I was doing a decent job trying to pass guard for a while but it eventually went down hill. It made me feel like I'm not prepared for purple, but Mike and Jerad both reminded me that he's been training 3 more years than me.
Office Hours Partner: Mike
We talked a little bit about loop choke and he said that he doesn't push down on the head but controls their posture and lifts his elbow until I can secure my hand. We also talked a little bit more about passing guard with the guillotine. Before leaving I showed off some of the silly belt techniques that I learned through Hapkido.
Partner: Tom
Mike had us do a pretty cool additional warm-up that combined sprinting and O-Goshi. 2 people stood on either side of the mat and you would throw 1 and then sprint to the other and throw them and back and forth. We did a similar exercise with wrestling takedowns in advanced no gi class a while ago.
A couple things I took note of today during techniques:
- Mike showed the cross choke with the second hand on the shoulder and he moved to the side instead of keeping them straight ahead. I'm used to doing it the other way with both palms up but this seemed a lot easier
- He also taught the armbar differently than I do it and I had a little trouble with my back trying to lift my hips high enough. He also had us do a flower sweep if they defended the armbar.
Rolling: Closed Guard (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling (2 x 5)
Rolled With: Tom, Jerad, Frank
Jerad made me work a lot harder than I do on an average Wednesday. I didn't feel like I could accomplish anything against him today. He passed my guard a few times and swept me a few times. When we free rolled I tried to turn it up a bit and felt like I was doing a decent job trying to pass guard for a while but it eventually went down hill. It made me feel like I'm not prepared for purple, but Mike and Jerad both reminded me that he's been training 3 more years than me.
Office Hours Partner: Mike
We talked a little bit about loop choke and he said that he doesn't push down on the head but controls their posture and lifts his elbow until I can secure my hand. We also talked a little bit more about passing guard with the guillotine. Before leaving I showed off some of the silly belt techniques that I learned through Hapkido.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
April 5th 2016 - No Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: Upa Escape from Mount, Americana from Mount
Partner: Bob, Ben, Justin
Got there a little late today due to work being crazy right now. Hopefully I'll be able to sneak away and train tomorrow.
Greg showed the upa escape 2 different ways as he usually does. The first with the arm around the neck so they kind of trap it for you and the second using a bridge to make them put their hand on the floor in order to suck their arm in to trap it.
I started off training with Bob and Ben until Justin showed up. I think he had only been to one class previously so Greg had me catch him up with the techniques. He was a little tight and muscly at first, but started to relax as we drilled the techniques.
One thing that he asked that stuck with me after I showed him the upa was, "does it work?" I responded with something like "yes but it takes some practice." The question took me off guard because I don't think about if things work anymore that Greg has us do in class. Maybe I'll consider if it should be a part of my game and if it will work well for me but never if something would work or not in general. Mostly because of the nature of Jiu-Jitsu that we prove stuff works through rolling.
Rolling: Mount (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling (5 min)
Rolled With: Justin, Bob, Mike
So naturally I had to prove that the upa escape works during positional sparring. He wasn't the easiest to bump over though as he has some wrestling experience, but I was able to roll him over a few times and regain guard the other times. When I was on top I eventually helped him complete the upa with some resistance.
Bob was interesting to roll with because of his Judo background he feels much more comfortable in side control so he tried to transition there a few times. When I was on top I went over some things that I look for when on top like getting a high mount and trying to isolate arms.
Office Hours Partner: Mike
Mike seemed to let me get away with more than usual today due to some nagging injuries. We went back and forth a few times and at one point he caught me with a heel hook and I heard Greg yell at me from across the room, "Josh, why aren't you doing anything?" He was right, I had stopped defending and was just waiting to tap. I think there is still some fear in me concerning ankle locks that I won't always fight them because I'm worried about getting hurt before I'm able to tap. However later on I was able to roll and kick out of one.
Mike also brought up jumping on a guillotine to pass the guard in no gi which I think is a pretty good concept that I haven't heard of, but pretty close to the diving kimura.
Partner: Bob, Ben, Justin
Got there a little late today due to work being crazy right now. Hopefully I'll be able to sneak away and train tomorrow.
Greg showed the upa escape 2 different ways as he usually does. The first with the arm around the neck so they kind of trap it for you and the second using a bridge to make them put their hand on the floor in order to suck their arm in to trap it.
I started off training with Bob and Ben until Justin showed up. I think he had only been to one class previously so Greg had me catch him up with the techniques. He was a little tight and muscly at first, but started to relax as we drilled the techniques.
One thing that he asked that stuck with me after I showed him the upa was, "does it work?" I responded with something like "yes but it takes some practice." The question took me off guard because I don't think about if things work anymore that Greg has us do in class. Maybe I'll consider if it should be a part of my game and if it will work well for me but never if something would work or not in general. Mostly because of the nature of Jiu-Jitsu that we prove stuff works through rolling.
Rolling: Mount (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling (5 min)
Rolled With: Justin, Bob, Mike
So naturally I had to prove that the upa escape works during positional sparring. He wasn't the easiest to bump over though as he has some wrestling experience, but I was able to roll him over a few times and regain guard the other times. When I was on top I eventually helped him complete the upa with some resistance.
Bob was interesting to roll with because of his Judo background he feels much more comfortable in side control so he tried to transition there a few times. When I was on top I went over some things that I look for when on top like getting a high mount and trying to isolate arms.
Office Hours Partner: Mike
Mike seemed to let me get away with more than usual today due to some nagging injuries. We went back and forth a few times and at one point he caught me with a heel hook and I heard Greg yell at me from across the room, "Josh, why aren't you doing anything?" He was right, I had stopped defending and was just waiting to tap. I think there is still some fear in me concerning ankle locks that I won't always fight them because I'm worried about getting hurt before I'm able to tap. However later on I was able to roll and kick out of one.
Mike also brought up jumping on a guillotine to pass the guard in no gi which I think is a pretty good concept that I haven't heard of, but pretty close to the diving kimura.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
April 2nd 2016 - Kids & Open Mat
Kids Class
Technique: Standing Guard Break to knee over pass
Rolling/Game: Guard Position, Free Rolling
I led the warm-ups which some of the kids enjoyed. My boys had a bit of a tough time, not sure if they were tired, but they haven't been attending classes enough lately. They weren't on their best behavior for the remainder of the class. Being brothers, sometimes they just can't work together. They did get some good reps in with the pass though.
Jace was doing a pretty good job during rolling and getting the top position or passing the guard most of the time. Jayden just didn't have the drive today to get after it. He did try a few times at least but for the most part acted a little sheepish.
Open Mat
Rolled With: Fuji, Craig, Tyler, Mike A, Greg
Game Plan: 50/50 Research
Fuji: I didn't actually roll with Fuji, but I asked him if he would hook me up with a massage to help my back out. Holy shit was it painful but worth it. He showed me a couple of stretches that he does as he has a similar problem.
Craig: We drilled the long step pass out of half guard with some help from Conan. I was a little lost at first but once we figured out that the knee on their hip was very important we both got better at it. We rolled a few times and I saw some opportunities to go for the pass but decided not to try it and do my normal thing.
Tyler: We rolled a few times and I kept passing his guard with the over/under pass. Eventually I decided to show him how to defend it by sticking his arm between my head and his leg to keep me from turning the corner. I asked if he wanted to work some 50/50 since I've seen him and Mike fight from there a few times. Eventually we got Mike to come over and give us some pointers. I definitely feel like a fish out of water when it comes to leg attacks. I'm getting better but I need so much more work just to understand the possibilities.
Mike: We did some more 50/50 work in no gi and he handed me my ass several times, but I got some good training in and tips on the position. One major point was finishing the heel hook by extending my legs near his knee to stabilize the joint. Another good tip was to get my knee free by controlling their hand and then turning away so my knee would point down and keep spinning to escape.
Greg: I feel kind of bad because right before I rolled with Greg, I told Jerad that I wasn't going to avoid rolling with the big dogs because I didn't want to hurt my back further. I didn't want to pass up a roll with Greg though. Before I rolled with Greg I told him I'd probably not be rolling up to my full potential because of my back issue. Low and behold I jump on a guillotine in his butterfly guard almost immediately. Then a lot of things started going through my head. "Am I really going to get Greg to tap for the first time?", "Did I just pull a 'let's roll light' and then go HAM?", "How am I going to feel about this later?", "Can I celebrate?" by that time he was escaping. I'm not sure if he escaped because of my wandering mind or if he just escaped. He did tell me it was a good choke, so I got that going for me, which is nice. We rolled several more times and I think he got his quota of heel hooks for the day. I remember also defending from the bottom of mount and getting RNC'd from back mount a few times. Oh well, I will catch him another day.
Technique: Standing Guard Break to knee over pass
Rolling/Game: Guard Position, Free Rolling
I led the warm-ups which some of the kids enjoyed. My boys had a bit of a tough time, not sure if they were tired, but they haven't been attending classes enough lately. They weren't on their best behavior for the remainder of the class. Being brothers, sometimes they just can't work together. They did get some good reps in with the pass though.
Jace was doing a pretty good job during rolling and getting the top position or passing the guard most of the time. Jayden just didn't have the drive today to get after it. He did try a few times at least but for the most part acted a little sheepish.
Open Mat
Rolled With: Fuji, Craig, Tyler, Mike A, Greg
Game Plan: 50/50 Research
Fuji: I didn't actually roll with Fuji, but I asked him if he would hook me up with a massage to help my back out. Holy shit was it painful but worth it. He showed me a couple of stretches that he does as he has a similar problem.
Craig: We drilled the long step pass out of half guard with some help from Conan. I was a little lost at first but once we figured out that the knee on their hip was very important we both got better at it. We rolled a few times and I saw some opportunities to go for the pass but decided not to try it and do my normal thing.
Tyler: We rolled a few times and I kept passing his guard with the over/under pass. Eventually I decided to show him how to defend it by sticking his arm between my head and his leg to keep me from turning the corner. I asked if he wanted to work some 50/50 since I've seen him and Mike fight from there a few times. Eventually we got Mike to come over and give us some pointers. I definitely feel like a fish out of water when it comes to leg attacks. I'm getting better but I need so much more work just to understand the possibilities.
Mike: We did some more 50/50 work in no gi and he handed me my ass several times, but I got some good training in and tips on the position. One major point was finishing the heel hook by extending my legs near his knee to stabilize the joint. Another good tip was to get my knee free by controlling their hand and then turning away so my knee would point down and keep spinning to escape.
Greg: I feel kind of bad because right before I rolled with Greg, I told Jerad that I wasn't going to avoid rolling with the big dogs because I didn't want to hurt my back further. I didn't want to pass up a roll with Greg though. Before I rolled with Greg I told him I'd probably not be rolling up to my full potential because of my back issue. Low and behold I jump on a guillotine in his butterfly guard almost immediately. Then a lot of things started going through my head. "Am I really going to get Greg to tap for the first time?", "Did I just pull a 'let's roll light' and then go HAM?", "How am I going to feel about this later?", "Can I celebrate?" by that time he was escaping. I'm not sure if he escaped because of my wandering mind or if he just escaped. He did tell me it was a good choke, so I got that going for me, which is nice. We rolled several more times and I think he got his quota of heel hooks for the day. I remember also defending from the bottom of mount and getting RNC'd from back mount a few times. Oh well, I will catch him another day.
Friday, April 1, 2016
April 1st 2016 - Gi All Levels
Theme & Techniques: Standing RNC defense using Seoi nage, Farside Armbar from Side Control
Students: Craig, Morgan, Jesus
Small class today and I felt a little guilty not being able to participate in all of the warm-ups. I feel better today but getting up and down still causes some discomfort. I think it bothers me the most because I like to participate in the classes that I teach and don't always feel like I'm a part of the class if I just hang back and tell everyone what to do.
Techniques went well today. I also fit in some time to cover breaking the hands for the armbar with a couple variations. I always say that Greg can make a full class out of this topic. The main thing I wanted to get across was how important it is to use leverage and angles here and shouldn't take that much strength.
Rolling: Side Control (2 x 2 min), Guard (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling (2 x 5 min)
Rolled With: Everyone
Rolling went well as I did the same as yesterday with nursing my injury. Morgan and I rolled after class and then discussed a few things about knee on belly, transitioning to mount, and taking the back.
Students: Craig, Morgan, Jesus
Small class today and I felt a little guilty not being able to participate in all of the warm-ups. I feel better today but getting up and down still causes some discomfort. I think it bothers me the most because I like to participate in the classes that I teach and don't always feel like I'm a part of the class if I just hang back and tell everyone what to do.
Techniques went well today. I also fit in some time to cover breaking the hands for the armbar with a couple variations. I always say that Greg can make a full class out of this topic. The main thing I wanted to get across was how important it is to use leverage and angles here and shouldn't take that much strength.
Rolling: Side Control (2 x 2 min), Guard (4 x 2 min), Free Rolling (2 x 5 min)
Rolled With: Everyone
Rolling went well as I did the same as yesterday with nursing my injury. Morgan and I rolled after class and then discussed a few things about knee on belly, transitioning to mount, and taking the back.
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