Kids' Class
My oldest son seems to be going through a phase. It took some convincing to get him to Jiu-Jitsu and then get his gi on, plus he missed Wednesday's class. He seems to want to play by himself with lego more than anything else. However, once he was in class he had a good time and did everything that he was expected of him. Hope this passes, I'm doing my best not to pressure him into going.
The technique of the week was O-Soto Gari and I helped Jayden and Conor. They both did well, especially once they were "driving the bus" in the correct direction. Sumo was their first game. Both Jayden and Jace had some good matches. I like how they're trying new things and aren't easily getting taken down most of the time. But, size does make a huge difference at their age and they more often than not lose to bigger kids. Which I think is a good thing since I've seen Jace deal with losing better over time, even though he still has his moments. We finished the day with a fun game of blob tag.
Open Mat
Had a great session today. On the way I decided my focus was to be more aggressive with other blue belts and then deep half and 2 on 1 with white belts. I felt a little light headed at the end of class and needed to sit for a while before I could drive home. I think I should have ate more prior.
Tim: I made a few attempts to get to deep half guard on him but may have forced it way too much. When ever I'd make it there Tim was already on his butt, which was good in some ways because it made me go right for the sweep, but I really wanted to work on the waiter sweep and never got a chance. At one point I showed him the knee pry escape from triangle which is pretty much the same as the knee in guard break.
Conan: After class we talked about how I don't roll as well against him as I do with other people. It may be that our styles clash or that there's an intimidation factor there. For most of our roll I worked hard to try to pass his guard, though thwarted many of my attempts. I cycled between over/under to bull fighter to knee slide. The way that he is always positioning his hips, makes it very difficult to pin him down. Finally he swept me to side control. From there I defended the best I could until he finally isolated my arm for an americana.
Austin: Main goal was to attempt to get to deep half again but I ended up similar to rolling with Tim. I did work from Austin's back for quite a while and used it as an opportunity to perfect my RNC setup. I think I was being too nice as I couldn't get under his chin even with locking his arm up with my leg. I finally got there, but still don't feel confident in setting up RNCs. I talked to Greg about it afterwards and he gave me some good suggestions and said I had to be a little meaner.
Mike: I haven't done this well against him in a long time. I was able to pass his guard with double unders and slowly working my way around to side control. It really seems like a comfortable position for him so it doesn't have the same effect on him as a non-flexible person. My focus from there is to not allow any space, because if I do he'll put a knee in that space and then return to guard. I worked my way to mount and then automatically went for the mounted triangle. From there I looked for the armbar but decided to sit to the side and go for the triangle. I probably wouldn't have tried this with Mike, if I hadn't of done it the day before with Darijo. We rolled a couple more times after that where I setup a farside armbar and he finished the third roll with the brabo choke.
Tristan: I was so impressed with his skill today. He was all over me trying to pass my guard and he did a few times. A little bit of my disadvantage was our weight difference. I didn't want to crush him or use too much strength, but there were a few times when I really needed to. He didn't really threaten me with any submissions but he was always moving. I attempted a north/south choke at one point but his neck might have been too small and I couldn't finish it. We ended up quitting because I had a little nose bleed.
Henry: The first roll ended fairly quickly, where I was attempting to pass his guard standing. He sat up and I was able to slap on a guillotine that I followed forward to the ground. In our second roll, Henry brought it and after multiple attempts to pass my guard he reached side control and worked his way to the baseball bat choke. I really need to brush up on the defenses for this.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
May 16th 2014 - Gi
Theme & Techniques: Koshi Guruma, Kneeling Guard Break, Knee Slide Pass
I made a mistake once again being the example student for Greg. He was trying to show if he put his knee too far across for the guard break and I made my response too complicated. He just wanted me to roll him over.
Worked with Austin during this portion of class. Besides getting side tracked discussing giant robot anime for just a little bit we managed to get some good work in. I found that a lot of the advice I was giving him was the same that I gave to Ben the other day. It was mostly concerning hip pressure.
Rolling: Guard Position (6 x 2 min), Free Rolling (4 min & post class)
Had a great time in the rolling portion of class. Austin and Dave both attempted the pass that we worked on in class and I exploited the opening that they left for my underhook which I felt a little guilty about. Debated whether I should let them pass and decided neigh. I limited myself to starting with the knee slide pass but had to deviate a few times. I felt like I had to try harder today to get grips on both Dave and Austin than I have recently.
Brian and I had a pretty good battle from double unders where I almost passed but his flexibility and stiff arming helped him recover and we started over, but I got him the second time. I had a couple of good omoplata sweeps from the bottom. One that lifted him up a little bit which we both thought was cool.
Greg made me work hard from both top and bottom. I feel pretty good about my performance, but there is no way of knowing how much he was really trying. I was able to escape his omoplata attempt but never came close to passing. From my guard I was able to keep him from passing but I was really saved by the clock as he had me in a gift wrap and I was just holding on to quarter guard for dear life.
I rolled with Darijo after class. Generally I'll start out pulling guard with people instead of any type of knee wrestling. Lately I think some of the new guys are trying to do the same thing, so we end up having a little dance. When I sit down then they sit down, then I decide to get up and pass the guard and they get up too. It might be time to start playing berimbolo when we both end up sitting. He did a good job of defending most of my attacks. I have been experimenting with triangle from mount a lot lately a la Jerad, usually I finish with the armbar but he hid his arm and I had to switch to the actual choke and went to the side, which worked well.
Just picked up a 93 Brand Grey Goose gi from BJJHQ. I haven't gotten a new gi in a while and am hoping this one fits well. It's my first A2H which if their sizing chart is right it should be perfect. Usually the sizes are more designed for tall and skinny rather than my short and stocky frame. The "H" I guess stands for heavy.
I made a mistake once again being the example student for Greg. He was trying to show if he put his knee too far across for the guard break and I made my response too complicated. He just wanted me to roll him over.
Worked with Austin during this portion of class. Besides getting side tracked discussing giant robot anime for just a little bit we managed to get some good work in. I found that a lot of the advice I was giving him was the same that I gave to Ben the other day. It was mostly concerning hip pressure.
Rolling: Guard Position (6 x 2 min), Free Rolling (4 min & post class)
Had a great time in the rolling portion of class. Austin and Dave both attempted the pass that we worked on in class and I exploited the opening that they left for my underhook which I felt a little guilty about. Debated whether I should let them pass and decided neigh. I limited myself to starting with the knee slide pass but had to deviate a few times. I felt like I had to try harder today to get grips on both Dave and Austin than I have recently.
Brian and I had a pretty good battle from double unders where I almost passed but his flexibility and stiff arming helped him recover and we started over, but I got him the second time. I had a couple of good omoplata sweeps from the bottom. One that lifted him up a little bit which we both thought was cool.
Greg made me work hard from both top and bottom. I feel pretty good about my performance, but there is no way of knowing how much he was really trying. I was able to escape his omoplata attempt but never came close to passing. From my guard I was able to keep him from passing but I was really saved by the clock as he had me in a gift wrap and I was just holding on to quarter guard for dear life.
I rolled with Darijo after class. Generally I'll start out pulling guard with people instead of any type of knee wrestling. Lately I think some of the new guys are trying to do the same thing, so we end up having a little dance. When I sit down then they sit down, then I decide to get up and pass the guard and they get up too. It might be time to start playing berimbolo when we both end up sitting. He did a good job of defending most of my attacks. I have been experimenting with triangle from mount a lot lately a la Jerad, usually I finish with the armbar but he hid his arm and I had to switch to the actual choke and went to the side, which worked well.
Just picked up a 93 Brand Grey Goose gi from BJJHQ. I haven't gotten a new gi in a while and am hoping this one fits well. It's my first A2H which if their sizing chart is right it should be perfect. Usually the sizes are more designed for tall and skinny rather than my short and stocky frame. The "H" I guess stands for heavy.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
May 13th 2014 - Gi
Theme & Techniques: Koshi Guruma, Kneeling Guard Break, Knee Slide Pass
Worked with Ben today during this portion of class. My main focus on the guard pass was improving shin movement and hip pressure and I would say Ben improved on these aspects as well. We got a lot of good reps in.
Rolling: Up/Down/Out Guard, Free Rolling Post Class
It's been a while since I've participated in an up/down/out and it was great. Usually during the Tuesday noon class we only have enough people to switch partners for position sparring. So it's a great sign that we had enough people to do this exercise. I did pretty well. From the bottom I had success with the scissor sweep, hip bump sweep, and 2 on 1 when they attempted to do the guard break. From the top, I attempted the pass that we worked on mostly, I also did some standing guard breaks. Robert and I had a well fought round, I had to work really hard to keep him pinned down. I did a standing guard break against Greg but was eventually foiled by him setting up a 2 on 1 way in advance. I also saw Sam playing some 2 on 1 and was impressed that she was developing it.
I rolled with Tim after class and he did well defending against my cross guard. I was attempting to specifically setup the armbar from there but couldn't figure out how to get his far arm where I needed it. We discussed a few things like preventing armbar from mount and defending the 2 on 1.
Worked with Ben today during this portion of class. My main focus on the guard pass was improving shin movement and hip pressure and I would say Ben improved on these aspects as well. We got a lot of good reps in.
Rolling: Up/Down/Out Guard, Free Rolling Post Class
It's been a while since I've participated in an up/down/out and it was great. Usually during the Tuesday noon class we only have enough people to switch partners for position sparring. So it's a great sign that we had enough people to do this exercise. I did pretty well. From the bottom I had success with the scissor sweep, hip bump sweep, and 2 on 1 when they attempted to do the guard break. From the top, I attempted the pass that we worked on mostly, I also did some standing guard breaks. Robert and I had a well fought round, I had to work really hard to keep him pinned down. I did a standing guard break against Greg but was eventually foiled by him setting up a 2 on 1 way in advance. I also saw Sam playing some 2 on 1 and was impressed that she was developing it.
I rolled with Tim after class and he did well defending against my cross guard. I was attempting to specifically setup the armbar from there but couldn't figure out how to get his far arm where I needed it. We discussed a few things like preventing armbar from mount and defending the 2 on 1.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
May 10th 2014 - Open Mat
Felt pretty good today. It also served as a good reminder that I still have a lot to learn. Almost everyone I rolled with kicked my ass today although, I did have my moments.
Jerad: I spent way too much time in quarter guard with him. I seem to go through this cycle with a lot of people, especially Jerad, he'll be in my open guard and he'll go for a low knee cut pass and I'll catch his foot in quarter guard. From here I fight for the underhook but all is lost if I can't get it. Otherwise I go for turtle. Jerad shuts it down usually so I think I need to find a new plan. He submitted me twice (Bow and Arrow, Armbar) although I did put him in trouble with a mounted guillotine but I couldn't connect my hands to finish it.
Chris: I felt pretty good about my performance with him although he caught me. One thing that I learned was that I usually lose the turtle position is due to my shoulder getting pinned to the ground. I really need to focus on preventing that. I did have a couple of other good escapes from kesa getame.
Henry: I felt better than previously with Henry as well. I got him stuck in an inverted no arm triangle for a little while and was attempting a kimura but he eventually got out of it. He did say that he was very uncomfortable and considered tapping. I was pretty impressed with how much he can move his hips when his upper body is pinned. It makes it very difficult to control him cause he can almost always make it to his knees. He caught me with a baseball bat choke again. I'm pretty impressed with his progress on that.
Mike: Had a few good rolls together. He has an interesting knee on belly that I have a difficult time with. I got to play some deep half and was a little quicker to start affecting balance rather than settle into position. I was able to escape his guard once after escaping a triangle attempt that I probably shouldn't of. There was a point in deep half that I got focused on attempting the waiter sweep when we both decided I should have gone for x-guard because of his leg position but I had tunnel vision for that one sweep.
Pedro: Since I am so much bigger than him, I did my best to stay light and keep it playful. He did well considering.
Greg: Stayed a little later to get some time with Greg. I feel like I did a pretty good job and there were a couple of good almosts. Almost passing his guard but putting him into turtle instead. A couple times I ended up in reverse half guard as well, which feels like I have some control but I usually cannot make anything out of it. On our second roll he gave me some advice on hook sweep as I was letting my knee cross to the other side too often. He submitted me with a couple of armbars. The second one being because I had too deep of an underhook and I should have known better.
After class Greg through out the suggestion that we should send a group to PanAms next year. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that but would like to look into it more. Really, how good I'm going to get while getting ready for it is a lot more exciting to me than the actual competition.
Jerad: I spent way too much time in quarter guard with him. I seem to go through this cycle with a lot of people, especially Jerad, he'll be in my open guard and he'll go for a low knee cut pass and I'll catch his foot in quarter guard. From here I fight for the underhook but all is lost if I can't get it. Otherwise I go for turtle. Jerad shuts it down usually so I think I need to find a new plan. He submitted me twice (Bow and Arrow, Armbar) although I did put him in trouble with a mounted guillotine but I couldn't connect my hands to finish it.
Chris: I felt pretty good about my performance with him although he caught me. One thing that I learned was that I usually lose the turtle position is due to my shoulder getting pinned to the ground. I really need to focus on preventing that. I did have a couple of other good escapes from kesa getame.
Henry: I felt better than previously with Henry as well. I got him stuck in an inverted no arm triangle for a little while and was attempting a kimura but he eventually got out of it. He did say that he was very uncomfortable and considered tapping. I was pretty impressed with how much he can move his hips when his upper body is pinned. It makes it very difficult to control him cause he can almost always make it to his knees. He caught me with a baseball bat choke again. I'm pretty impressed with his progress on that.
Mike: Had a few good rolls together. He has an interesting knee on belly that I have a difficult time with. I got to play some deep half and was a little quicker to start affecting balance rather than settle into position. I was able to escape his guard once after escaping a triangle attempt that I probably shouldn't of. There was a point in deep half that I got focused on attempting the waiter sweep when we both decided I should have gone for x-guard because of his leg position but I had tunnel vision for that one sweep.
Pedro: Since I am so much bigger than him, I did my best to stay light and keep it playful. He did well considering.
Greg: Stayed a little later to get some time with Greg. I feel like I did a pretty good job and there were a couple of good almosts. Almost passing his guard but putting him into turtle instead. A couple times I ended up in reverse half guard as well, which feels like I have some control but I usually cannot make anything out of it. On our second roll he gave me some advice on hook sweep as I was letting my knee cross to the other side too often. He submitted me with a couple of armbars. The second one being because I had too deep of an underhook and I should have known better.
After class Greg through out the suggestion that we should send a group to PanAms next year. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that but would like to look into it more. Really, how good I'm going to get while getting ready for it is a lot more exciting to me than the actual competition.
Friday, May 9, 2014
May 9th 2014 - Gi
Theme & Techniques: Seoi Nage, Double Ankle Grab Sweep, Butterfly Hook Sweep
Felt great this morning to be in class. We had a class of 6 this week. I partnered up with Brian (Sweeney Todd) for the technique portion of the class. Without thinking about it I gave a little bit of resistance while working on the sweeps. Brian made mention of it once when Greg had corrected him a little. I apologized, but he said it was good as it was just the right amount of resistance.
I remember back to drilling techniques with Mike (tumbleweed) the first few times at SRSBK. It felt so much more dynamic than I was used to, in that although we were working on a particular technique, he was actively resisting and making me do it correctly. Of course, it would get out of hand every now and again and turn into almost rolling. Ever since then I've tried to drill that way depending on my partners skill level and comfort with the technique.
Rolling: Closed Guard (4 x 2 min rnds), Butterfly Guard (2 x 2 min rnds), Free Rolling
I had a lot of fun rolling, as usual. I didn't feel too inhibited and feel fortunate to be injury free. I really wanted to work on deep half today but didn't feel like I had any good avenues to half guard. Instead I mostly worked 2 on 1 from the closed guard and then the hook sweep from butterfly. From the top I broke the guard from standing mostly either using the armpit grip or the normal way then it was either double under pass, knee slide, or bull fighter. I rolled with Ross after class and had a good time. I should have probably picked something to focus on, but I mostly went with the flow.
Felt great this morning to be in class. We had a class of 6 this week. I partnered up with Brian (Sweeney Todd) for the technique portion of the class. Without thinking about it I gave a little bit of resistance while working on the sweeps. Brian made mention of it once when Greg had corrected him a little. I apologized, but he said it was good as it was just the right amount of resistance.
I remember back to drilling techniques with Mike (tumbleweed) the first few times at SRSBK. It felt so much more dynamic than I was used to, in that although we were working on a particular technique, he was actively resisting and making me do it correctly. Of course, it would get out of hand every now and again and turn into almost rolling. Ever since then I've tried to drill that way depending on my partners skill level and comfort with the technique.
Rolling: Closed Guard (4 x 2 min rnds), Butterfly Guard (2 x 2 min rnds), Free Rolling
I had a lot of fun rolling, as usual. I didn't feel too inhibited and feel fortunate to be injury free. I really wanted to work on deep half today but didn't feel like I had any good avenues to half guard. Instead I mostly worked 2 on 1 from the closed guard and then the hook sweep from butterfly. From the top I broke the guard from standing mostly either using the armpit grip or the normal way then it was either double under pass, knee slide, or bull fighter. I rolled with Ross after class and had a good time. I should have probably picked something to focus on, but I mostly went with the flow.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
May 6th 2014 - Gi
Theme & Techniques: Seoi Nage, Double Ankle Grab Sweep, Butterfly Hook Sweep
Great to be back. I was very motivated during the warm-up and felt like I had a lot of energy. However the warm-up did turn out to be more strenuous than I recall. I worked with Greg on the throw and then partnered up with Robert and Tim for the other techniques. Sam made a rare appearance on a Tuesday afternoon and worked with Bhuvana.
The double ankle grab sweep was the same technique the kids worked on last week and they really enjoyed it. The first time they did it they came home and showed me right away. With the hook sweep being one of Greg's favorite techniques, I've worked on it countless times. However, I enjoy watching other students learn it for the first time. Observing the common beginner obstacles while learning any technique help solidify or act as a reminder of what I already know.
Rolling: Closed Guard (3 x 2 min rnds), Butterfly Guard (3 x 2 min rnds), Free Rolling
My guard felt pretty good today, but I had some trouble passing Robert's guard. 2 times I thought I was home free, but he was able to get to his knees each time. Robert, like Henry, have some skills that I am missing in my game. I'm not sure if it's athleticism, wrestling technique, aggression, relentlessness or probably some combination of them but it is something that seems unique to MMA fighters that I've rolled with.
I rolled with Tim after class. I had him start with side control and mount so I could work my way out of a poor position back to guard. From there my main objective was to setup the 2 on 1 grip and use it for a hook sweep or arm drag. Tim is getting better at defending, he's making me have to use more tricks to setup my techniques. From mount I gave him advice to attack more and put me on the defensive and keep me there.
I've started some diet changes in my quest to shed some weight. Soda is forbidden, which has always been the toughest thing to give up. I'm drinking more water and trying to limit my portions at dinner. I've started tracking my calories through myfitnesspal.com. Plus I'm doing more swimming and will get back to lifting once my ankle is ready. Yesterday I weighed 214 and my current goal is 195. I had some success with this strategy before the 2012 state games but my diet went to shit after injuring my knee.
Great to be back. I was very motivated during the warm-up and felt like I had a lot of energy. However the warm-up did turn out to be more strenuous than I recall. I worked with Greg on the throw and then partnered up with Robert and Tim for the other techniques. Sam made a rare appearance on a Tuesday afternoon and worked with Bhuvana.
The double ankle grab sweep was the same technique the kids worked on last week and they really enjoyed it. The first time they did it they came home and showed me right away. With the hook sweep being one of Greg's favorite techniques, I've worked on it countless times. However, I enjoy watching other students learn it for the first time. Observing the common beginner obstacles while learning any technique help solidify or act as a reminder of what I already know.
Rolling: Closed Guard (3 x 2 min rnds), Butterfly Guard (3 x 2 min rnds), Free Rolling
My guard felt pretty good today, but I had some trouble passing Robert's guard. 2 times I thought I was home free, but he was able to get to his knees each time. Robert, like Henry, have some skills that I am missing in my game. I'm not sure if it's athleticism, wrestling technique, aggression, relentlessness or probably some combination of them but it is something that seems unique to MMA fighters that I've rolled with.
I rolled with Tim after class. I had him start with side control and mount so I could work my way out of a poor position back to guard. From there my main objective was to setup the 2 on 1 grip and use it for a hook sweep or arm drag. Tim is getting better at defending, he's making me have to use more tricks to setup my techniques. From mount I gave him advice to attack more and put me on the defensive and keep me there.
I've started some diet changes in my quest to shed some weight. Soda is forbidden, which has always been the toughest thing to give up. I'm drinking more water and trying to limit my portions at dinner. I've started tracking my calories through myfitnesspal.com. Plus I'm doing more swimming and will get back to lifting once my ankle is ready. Yesterday I weighed 214 and my current goal is 195. I had some success with this strategy before the 2012 state games but my diet went to shit after injuring my knee.
Friday, May 2, 2014
May 2nd 2014 - Gi
Theme & Techniques: Guillotine defense against wall, Basic guard break, Double Under Pass
Circle of Iron tournament is tomorrow so it was a small class this morning of just me and Dave. I wish my Jiu-Jitsu brethren good sweeping and submitting. I got to practice the techniques I witnessed on Tuesday which was cool, I hadn't worked on this particular guillotine defense before. Dave seemed pretty happy with everything that he was learning and not too overwhelmed although both I and Greg were giving him as much instruction as possible. Sometimes I worry that I may be instructing too much and I don't want to step on Greg's toes While drilling the guard break, I kept wanting to grab the sleeve instead of the pants to begin. I must have the standing guard break on my mind.
Rolling: Guard Position (4 x 2 min rnds)
During rolling, I did my best to work on the techniques that we practiced tonight. He did a good job with getting grips. There isn't much more to say, It felt good to be back on the mats again. I look forward to being 100% and able to go to classes.
Edit: Sorry for the abrupt ending. I actually fell asleep while writing this post. Not sure if it's the Ibuprofen PM or what but I've been sleeping a lot better lately.
Circle of Iron tournament is tomorrow so it was a small class this morning of just me and Dave. I wish my Jiu-Jitsu brethren good sweeping and submitting. I got to practice the techniques I witnessed on Tuesday which was cool, I hadn't worked on this particular guillotine defense before. Dave seemed pretty happy with everything that he was learning and not too overwhelmed although both I and Greg were giving him as much instruction as possible. Sometimes I worry that I may be instructing too much and I don't want to step on Greg's toes While drilling the guard break, I kept wanting to grab the sleeve instead of the pants to begin. I must have the standing guard break on my mind.
Rolling: Guard Position (4 x 2 min rnds)
During rolling, I did my best to work on the techniques that we practiced tonight. He did a good job with getting grips. There isn't much more to say, It felt good to be back on the mats again. I look forward to being 100% and able to go to classes.
Edit: Sorry for the abrupt ending. I actually fell asleep while writing this post. Not sure if it's the Ibuprofen PM or what but I've been sleeping a lot better lately.
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