October 30th - No Gi (No Key)

I arrived at the dojo yesterday, excited to get in a good no-gi class, only to find Fuji and Mike standing outside in the street.  Adam showed up soon after.  After several text messages and a phone call from Conan it was determined that no one with a key was coming.  So, once again I invited everyone to train at the school that I train Hapkido at.  

We didn't have anyone really lead the class but had some good discussions and training.  We started out with partners and taking turns escaping/maintaining side control. We didn't feel like there was enough room for two groups to roll so we did the 8 minute drill instead changing partners with each position.  We discussed some leg locks and worked on a few.

One of the cool things about our little group was that we all had different body types.  It was good to work the different positions and have to use different tactics with each person.

Earlier in the weekend I attended my first live MMA show.  I've only trained with one of the guys that fought and he (Rob Bieber) did an awesome job.  It was quite an experience, but I think I'm spoiled by watching UFC where the guys are more experienced.  I applaud all of the guys that had the courage to jump in there and do it.  Every once in a while I get the desire to get in there and try it.  Then I think about all of the time training, the time away from my kids, and the chance of losing in public.  Still I don't want to have any regrets, ARG!

October 27th - Gi

Jerad taught class yesterday and there were only a few of us.  The main theme was side control escapes.  I ended up switching between Fuji and Gina because the lower belt always rotates, so I didn't get to work with the new guy Darrin, who I knew from working at the jail/detox a long time ago.  I didn't feel like I was really into the class I don't know if it was because I got there late and missed the warm-up

During open mat I only rolled with David because I had a trick or treat thing to get to with my kids.  It seemed to go the same as usual lately.  He passed my guard and almost took my back.  We changed positions a lot and ended up rolling for quite a while.  We eventually got an audience and Mike and Fuji kept trying to tell me what to do.  I got demoralized a couple of times because I would regain guard only to have it passed again.  I guess Darrin and Fuji had a pretty good bout that I missed.

October 26th - Morning Roll

David, Bauer, AJ, and Ken all had a good time rolling this morning.  We pretty much just did open mat and would work on little things here and there. 

I went with David first.  I started in guard and tried to prevent him from passing.  I did better than usual against David but he eventually got me in a triangle I think.  I thought I had him in a pretty good arm triangle but just couldn't seem to get the right pressure.  I kept readjusting and he eventually weaseled out of it.  Then he showed me what I was doing wrong.

I got Bauer in a guilitine fairly quickly from guard.  Then we went again and while I felt like I was doing well with my movement and reversals he caught me in a kimura that he turned into a straight armlock from half guard.

AJ and I went and I think we ended up stopping in the middle and working on half guard stuff.

We broke for a while and worked on the X-guard sweep.  I'm still having trouble figuring out how to come up from there.  I think I'll ask Greg about it next time I see him or look for a good youtube video.


David and Bauer took off and Ken showed up.  We did some guard passing drills and then rolled.  We had a pretty good roll with a lot of position changes.  Of course with his crazy legs I always think I'm about to get into a good position only to be denied or for him to regain guard soon after.  I also saw in both me and AJ that when we were getting passed that there was an obvious breaking point where we knew that Ken got side control so we just laid down into the position and giving up.  I've got to work on never settling for a bad position, but it is difficult.

We plan on continuing these Wednesday workouts and anyone is welcome.

October 24th - Gi

Jerad taught last night.  Our warmup consisted of partner drills with takedowns and judo throws.  We worked on a progression that started with pulling guard.  I made a mistake my first time trying it with David and his knee pretty much crushed my cup into my groin.  After getting over that I figured out that it was easier to sit on his thigh and ride it down to one side.  We then worked on the scissor sweep and a hip heist if that failed.  We then worked on a kimura and a different version of the hip heist.

During open mat I rolled with Adam first.  It went about the same as our previous 3 or 4 matches.  We took a while to get any type of position.  He was able to pass my guard fairly easily two times, I've got to figure out what I'm doing wrong.  There was a point where he had me in an armbar but I was able to twist out of it.  I eventually got to x-guard and did the sweep but I wasn't able to follow through again.  He eventually got me in an inverted armbar.

I rolled with David next.  I think we had a pretty good roll.  He had me in side control like usual but there was a point when I thought his weight was a little high, instead of immediately going the way that I felt his weight was, I decided to push the other way and then bridge as smoothly as I could.  It worked and I ended up in a north/south almost choke.  I couldn't finish it though.  He eventually got me in guard and got me with a weird armbar that was more pressure on my shoulder.

Ken and I rolled last.  I didn't have much energy at this time as Monday is usually a long day for me.  I was on top for a while but made a pretty crucial mistake that put me into his mount.  I was pretty gassed by then and I think he just kimuraed me.

October 23rd - No Gi (No Class?)

I was excited that I got to go to a Sunday No-Gi class.  It's always difficult with family stuff to be able to make it to this class.  Unfortunately no one with a key showed up and it ended up being me and Justin waiting around.  As Justin was about to take off I suggested that we go to the school where I teach Hapkido occasionally.  While it's a little bit of a drive from downtown it is better than not working out at all.

We ended up working for a good solid hour, first on guard escapes/retention, then we both went through  the 2x8 minute drill, and finally we rolled.  He was more experienced than me and seemed to be a step ahead most of the time.  Hopefully I was still a challenge for him.

We also spent some time talking about his MMA fights, martial arts in general, and how we both liked the atmosphere at Roseberry's. 

October 20th - Gi (I suck at Judo)

Ray started us out with a warmup and then we did some stretching.  Hopefully we'll start doing this more often.  Conan taught the rest of the class and we worked on some different Side control escapes/reversals than usual.  The first one was in response to a knee on belly to mount by turning and then gaining half guard.  I kind of liked it and I'll see if I can use this next time it happens.  The next one was going off of an armlock attempt with the shoulder.  When they bend their elbow going north/south and rolling them over.  The last one we worked on was kind of a Judo throw from the ground where you hold their shoulder and turn away from them keeping their weight high and rolling them.

During the Judo portion the theme was Randori or sparring.  We did a progression from just fitting in to taking turns throwing to actually competing with each other.  Going against Fuji was pretty tough.  His size is something to deal with in itself but he also has experience with Judo and is pretty good at setting up throws in my opinion.  I didn't feel like I was doing a good job at all.  He threw me really well a couple of times and the last time my foot kind of got stuck on the floor and it twisted my hip a little bit.  It was okay but I had a little hitch in my get along after that.  One of these days I'll figure out kazushi with throws.

For open mat I went against Ray.  He seemed hard to move and really solid like usual.  I did feel a little more comfortable with him than I have in the past.  He did a good job of keeping me from passing his guard one thing I took note of was he grabbed my sleeves and kind of pulled me into his knee that was on my chest; this was difficult to deal with.  I can't quite remember how he submitted me.  He got me in an armbar one time and almost a triangle but I kept myself wide enough for a while.  There was a point when I went for my deep half guard sweep but he was able to counter it.  Later he told me that I needed to control the leg more if that was going to work.  I realized that I wasn't thinking about my legs as much as I should have.

Conan went to Shihan with me and got us permission to workout at the dojo on Wednesday mornings.  So if anyone is interested, let me or David know.  I think what we will do is communicate through text messages on Tuesday nights to make sure someone with a key will be there as well as enough students to make it worth while.  The time will probably be from 6:30-7:30ish.

October 17th - Gi (Feelin Good)

Conan was there last night in a pretty cool different looking Shoyoroll gi.  The theme was chest pressure movement drills from being on top.  We did a far side armbar first then worked on switching sides in side control and turtle position.  Then we took back from turtle.  I'm getting pretty tired of not being able to see during class.  Hopefully I can wear my contacts to class again in 2 weeks.

During Open mat I rolled with Jerad first.  I worked my way into top position early on and was able to keep it for a while.  Although I was controlling him and keeping him in side control and mount I found myself at a loss for what submission to try and go for.  I just felt like everything I tried he knew what I was going to do before I did it.  My downfall was when I went for an arm triangle choke and was going to step over to the other side which gave him a window to reverse me and roll me over.  He eventually worked me into a very nice bow and arrow choke.

We rolled again and I was able to get him into x-guard which I thought was awesome until I executed the sweep.  I didn't follow through and use the momentum to get up and he was able to reverse it.  He didn't submit me this time only because we were stopped to bow out.

I rolled with Adam next and I felt surprisingly good.  I could still feel his strength and he did grab my sleeves and bully me around a bit.  We spent a lot of time kind of pass fighting where neither of us had position and we kept trying to pass the others guards.  I eventually was in guard and tried some of the omaplata stuff that we did last week.  It didn't workout too well but at least it was some attacks and didn't put me in a bad position.  After a tough battle for me he passed my guard and eventually took a north/south sitting on my head and submitted me with a kimura.

Ken and I had a war as usual.  We were all over the place and I eventually had him in side control and then the gift wrap.  Instead of trying to take the back I slid my arm further around his neck and went for the arm triangle.  I was pretty confident with it, but Ken became a flopping fish and eventually worked his way out of it.  I was able to get my current favorite deep half guard sweep but I got stuck in a triangle that turned into a teepee.

While I didn't win any matches last night I felt good about the techniques I pulled off and how much more comfortable I was.  However, I'm pretty sore this morning.