Greg drilled a reverse de la rivas sweep with me from the opponent in combat base. You push their sleeve in between their legs and then do kind of a backwards roll into side control. It was a pretty cool move.
There were 5 of us today so we used a timer to switch out and have one person on break. I rolled with Erik, Robert, Ken, and Greg. We only did 4 minute rounds so there weren't too many submissions. I felt really slow and low on energy this morning.
Erik seemed to jump in skill recently which is good to see. He was able to hold me in side control a lot better and I ended up being on the bottom for most of the time with him. It's tough to play half guard with him because he's big and long and now that he's figuring out how to put pressure on me and I'm having a hard time getting low. I played some guard and tried a few guillotines but neither of us were able to submit the other.
With Ken it seemed like he was a little too quick for me this morning. Maybe the combination of my back and low energy I just couldn't keep up with him. He got me with an Americana even though I've been specifically trying to prevent that technique.
I was able to dominate Robert pretty well our first match. Mostly because I was able to get top first and I have been getting better at keeping side control when I get it. I had him in the north-south choke but it was really hard to tell in the gi if I had his neck in the right place. I kept trying to get it tighter but he eventually was able to escape.
While rolling with Greg I was doing my best to pass his guard and not allow him to get any kind of spider. I worked my way into the over-under pass position but I soon realized that this is exactly where he wanted me to do the technique that we drilled earlier. I may need to watch the over-under pass video again to see what I'm doing wrong or if this is a potential flaw in the pass. He eventually got me with a bow and arrow.
Greg and I drilled a back take from side control when they turn away from you. You take the seatbelt grip and move your knee close to their shoulder and bring the opposite knee up. Then step over their body and fall back to your other side. Then put the hooks in. There were some important details like putting the hand that's under their arm over your other hand and putting your foot across both legs to prevent them from pushing it between their legs.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
February 27th - Gi
Greg taught last night's class with focus of escaping side control. We worked a lot on bridging and getting the knee in or bridging and moving to the tripod position. I could have done without the sore back last night as all of that bridging definitely caused some discomfort. I worked with Erik for the majority of the class. I had a couple of problems with the tripod and my head running into his knee. I think I got this straightened out at the end of class.
We drilled side control with partners and I went with Greg, Adam, Erik and a new guy Devon. It is so tough to get out of Adam's side control, it's like trying to get a moving side of beef off of me. Greg has a completely different game and the way that he moves his hips allows him to keep my knee from getting in between us. I helped Devon out quite a bit, if he sticks around it will be cool to see him improve and learn how to keep a position, he has a great attitude but he doesn't really understand positions yet.
Due to my back I only went with Ken for open mat. I was all over him and came close with several submissions but Ken wouldn't tap. I got him in a baseball bat choke, I felt like I had it but he just squirmed his way out of it. I worked my way to a bow and arrow choke from side mount, I thought it was tight but he squirmed his way out of it. I took his back and almost had a rear naked choke, I couldn't sink it in though. At this point I was kind of gassed and as he was pushing into me it was bothering my back a bit. Eventually I ended up in guard and automatically went for a cross sleeve grip and underhooked his leg and got him in an omma plata. I wasn't able to hold onto his legs though and he stepped over my head. Eventually he was sitting on me and the pain was too much and I kind of gave up. In the end I had him in half guard and he tricked me with a paper cutter choke. I wasn't concerned because I thought with half guard I could always get out of it. I found out later that he was just holding on barely and I probably didn't need to tap.
I think Ken has replaced David as my main rival, at least for the time being.
We drilled side control with partners and I went with Greg, Adam, Erik and a new guy Devon. It is so tough to get out of Adam's side control, it's like trying to get a moving side of beef off of me. Greg has a completely different game and the way that he moves his hips allows him to keep my knee from getting in between us. I helped Devon out quite a bit, if he sticks around it will be cool to see him improve and learn how to keep a position, he has a great attitude but he doesn't really understand positions yet.
Due to my back I only went with Ken for open mat. I was all over him and came close with several submissions but Ken wouldn't tap. I got him in a baseball bat choke, I felt like I had it but he just squirmed his way out of it. I worked my way to a bow and arrow choke from side mount, I thought it was tight but he squirmed his way out of it. I took his back and almost had a rear naked choke, I couldn't sink it in though. At this point I was kind of gassed and as he was pushing into me it was bothering my back a bit. Eventually I ended up in guard and automatically went for a cross sleeve grip and underhooked his leg and got him in an omma plata. I wasn't able to hold onto his legs though and he stepped over my head. Eventually he was sitting on me and the pain was too much and I kind of gave up. In the end I had him in half guard and he tricked me with a paper cutter choke. I wasn't concerned because I thought with half guard I could always get out of it. I found out later that he was just holding on barely and I probably didn't need to tap.
I think Ken has replaced David as my main rival, at least for the time being.
Monday, February 27, 2012
February 27th - No Gi
Had to skip last Wednesday and Thursday due to a combination of lower back pains and having a cold. I'm not sure but I think those arm drags from last Monday might have tweaked my back. The pulling and then twisting to the back maybe, not sure, but anytime I sat for a while and needed to get up it was a painful process. This also meant that I missed the free in-house tournament on Saturday. Apparently there would have been some competition for me there so I'm a little bummed about that.
Sunday class was taught by Ray and it was centered mostly around half guard mistakes that he saw at the tournament. During some warmup shrimping Ray noticed that I was wincing or at least not enjoying my jaunt down the floor. He had us do some yoga like stretches that made my back feel a ton better and helped me continue through class.
We worked on what to do from top half guard mostly trying to keep the other guy flat on his back or going for a kimura. It was very informative and it also helped me realize some of the things that I need from the bottom position.
To end class we had a quasi-king of the mat having three people rotate through the rest of the group trying to pass guard or sweep or submit. While I feel I'm improving in this area I have some fundamental weaknesses there. Like I've been told several times already, I open my guard too easily and without a purpose and I give up on some things too easily as well. With 9 of us rotating through this ended up taking the rest of the class time.
Sunday class was taught by Ray and it was centered mostly around half guard mistakes that he saw at the tournament. During some warmup shrimping Ray noticed that I was wincing or at least not enjoying my jaunt down the floor. He had us do some yoga like stretches that made my back feel a ton better and helped me continue through class.
We worked on what to do from top half guard mostly trying to keep the other guy flat on his back or going for a kimura. It was very informative and it also helped me realize some of the things that I need from the bottom position.
To end class we had a quasi-king of the mat having three people rotate through the rest of the group trying to pass guard or sweep or submit. While I feel I'm improving in this area I have some fundamental weaknesses there. Like I've been told several times already, I open my guard too easily and without a purpose and I give up on some things too easily as well. With 9 of us rotating through this ended up taking the rest of the class time.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
February 20th - Gi
Wore my new gi for the first time yesterday. I'm very happy with the top it feels like it fits my chest just right. However, the pants don't fit me so well. I might have to lose some of my butt cause it's really tight in that area. I didn't have any problem when we were rolling so maybe I just need to get used to them, but I also don't want to split them.
Had a pretty good class yesterday with Jerad as the instructor. Our main focus was off of an arm-drag and then working for the back from there. I think the arm-drag is the next thing I want to drill until it's incorporated into my game. I just need to work on the timing of when to go for it, because when I've tried it in the past it's failed just from the other person pulling their weight back. We did some techniques to help get the hooks in, some chokes, and what to do if they avoid both hooks. We then drilled from the back with several different partners for 3 rounds.
During open mat I went with Jerad first. He kept me on my back the whole time I was able to get to turtle a couple of times but then just regained half guard or he went back to side control. He submitted me 2 or 3 times, once with a bow and arrow that he set up nicely by faking that he was going for gift wrap and then with a darce choke I think.
I rolled with Ken last and I asked him if we could start with me in bottom turtle position. We had a good scramble in the beginning for his back and I ended up in half guard and it was pretty much the same as usual from there. I was starting to feel drained and frustrated and I wanted to be off my back more than anything. He did a good job of setting up the armbar but then changed it at the last second into a gooseneck.
My focus and goals for improvement for the next couple of weeks is going to be improvement in Arm-Drags and bottom turtle.
Had a pretty good class yesterday with Jerad as the instructor. Our main focus was off of an arm-drag and then working for the back from there. I think the arm-drag is the next thing I want to drill until it's incorporated into my game. I just need to work on the timing of when to go for it, because when I've tried it in the past it's failed just from the other person pulling their weight back. We did some techniques to help get the hooks in, some chokes, and what to do if they avoid both hooks. We then drilled from the back with several different partners for 3 rounds.
During open mat I went with Jerad first. He kept me on my back the whole time I was able to get to turtle a couple of times but then just regained half guard or he went back to side control. He submitted me 2 or 3 times, once with a bow and arrow that he set up nicely by faking that he was going for gift wrap and then with a darce choke I think.
I rolled with Ken last and I asked him if we could start with me in bottom turtle position. We had a good scramble in the beginning for his back and I ended up in half guard and it was pretty much the same as usual from there. I was starting to feel drained and frustrated and I wanted to be off my back more than anything. He did a good job of setting up the armbar but then changed it at the last second into a gooseneck.
My focus and goals for improvement for the next couple of weeks is going to be improvement in Arm-Drags and bottom turtle.
Monday, February 20, 2012
February 17th Open Mat & 19th No-Gi
Went to no-gi open mat right after work Friday. I was a little concerned that everyone would leave and I'd have no one to roll with but I had a full dance card once I was there. I rolled with Adam, Ray (several times), Mike, and David. I didn't do too well against anyone. I spent a lot of time in the bottom in half guard like I'm used to. It was still good training and I'm glad I showed up. Just got to keep putting in the mat time. Ray gave me some pointers. Mostly about me giving up on things too easily. I need to cause more scrambles and fight for positions instead of accepting that I've lost one. In my head I'm thinking that I want to use more technique over strength.
Saturday I worked out with Craig and Mike at the Taekwondo school. The focus of what I taught them was the butterfly guard sweep and then eventually x-guard techniques. It was good to get some extra reps in. My progress really shows when I roll with them. While Mike is very strong and agressive I am more relaxed with him and know that I will eventually get in a good position and submit him. Craig is the more technical but we outweigh him by a bit. I know our ground fighting sessions have gotten a lot more organized and productive since I've started taking Jiu-Jitsu. So hopefully they're gaining from my experience as well as me getting some extra reps.
Sunday, Conan came in and opened the door for us cause he was sick. As we were warming up we noticed several blood spots on the floor and soon reallized they were spread across the entire mat. After we cleaned that up Mike took on the teaching role with some guard passes. Then we worked from turtle and finally a de la rivas sweep.
For open mat I took on Adam first. We had quite a roll but ultimately I was on the bottom the whole time. He finished me with a north-south choke. He gave me pointers on how to make my half guard better by putting my head lower into his chest and getting lower in general. I rolled with Ken next and he put it to me. I had some good positions and sort of took his back for a while but he eventually worked me into a triangle. So he got me with something different than the usual americana.
Saturday I worked out with Craig and Mike at the Taekwondo school. The focus of what I taught them was the butterfly guard sweep and then eventually x-guard techniques. It was good to get some extra reps in. My progress really shows when I roll with them. While Mike is very strong and agressive I am more relaxed with him and know that I will eventually get in a good position and submit him. Craig is the more technical but we outweigh him by a bit. I know our ground fighting sessions have gotten a lot more organized and productive since I've started taking Jiu-Jitsu. So hopefully they're gaining from my experience as well as me getting some extra reps.
Sunday, Conan came in and opened the door for us cause he was sick. As we were warming up we noticed several blood spots on the floor and soon reallized they were spread across the entire mat. After we cleaned that up Mike took on the teaching role with some guard passes. Then we worked from turtle and finally a de la rivas sweep.
For open mat I took on Adam first. We had quite a roll but ultimately I was on the bottom the whole time. He finished me with a north-south choke. He gave me pointers on how to make my half guard better by putting my head lower into his chest and getting lower in general. I rolled with Ken next and he put it to me. I had some good positions and sort of took his back for a while but he eventually worked me into a triangle. So he got me with something different than the usual americana.
Friday, February 17, 2012
UFC Omaha and February 16th - Gi
Went to the UFC event in Omaha Wednesday and had a great time. I was accompanied by several fellow Jiu-Jitsu fighters from our dojo. My only regret for the night was that I didn't bring binoculars like a few other people that I saw. We had decent seats none the less as we could see over the cage and there were also jumbo screens in the four corners of the arena. While people may have had a better view at home there is no way they could have felt the energy from the crowd, especially during the Ellenberger vs Diego main event. All in all there were some pretty good fights that night. I sat next to David for majority of the event and him and Conan would try to pick the winners while Ray always went with a Brazilian fighter.
I'm not going to post blow by blow of every fight or anything like that. I enjoyed watching Stefan Struve, he started slow but it just seemed like he built momentum throughout the fight and then finally came alive. Although the finish was a little lackluster. The Ellenberger fight was awesome. Jake dominated the first 2 rounds. Every time something happened in the fight the crowd went crazy. Jake ended up winning by decision after a quick burst where Diego had his back in the end of the 3rd round. I was a little disappointed at the constant booing of Diego. He's a great fighter and has been a part of the sport for a long time. However, he did make a mistake using an injury as an excuse for losing.
Yesterday's class ended up being pleasantly different from usual. Conan and I had discussed at the fights what we should work on and I suggested stuff to do from the back. Conan started off teaching a few things like controlling and going with the flow. He then taught an armbar from the back. After that we went from lowest to highest rank each teaching a single technique from back mount. I went third and chose the twister to teach. From there everyone was worried that someone else was going to take the technique that they were going to teach. There was some pretty good stuff a lot of variations on the gi/bow and arrow type choke. Probably wouldn't have been a successful class without the gi.
So no open mat yesterday and many were sad :(
I'm not going to post blow by blow of every fight or anything like that. I enjoyed watching Stefan Struve, he started slow but it just seemed like he built momentum throughout the fight and then finally came alive. Although the finish was a little lackluster. The Ellenberger fight was awesome. Jake dominated the first 2 rounds. Every time something happened in the fight the crowd went crazy. Jake ended up winning by decision after a quick burst where Diego had his back in the end of the 3rd round. I was a little disappointed at the constant booing of Diego. He's a great fighter and has been a part of the sport for a long time. However, he did make a mistake using an injury as an excuse for losing.
Yesterday's class ended up being pleasantly different from usual. Conan and I had discussed at the fights what we should work on and I suggested stuff to do from the back. Conan started off teaching a few things like controlling and going with the flow. He then taught an armbar from the back. After that we went from lowest to highest rank each teaching a single technique from back mount. I went third and chose the twister to teach. From there everyone was worried that someone else was going to take the technique that they were going to teach. There was some pretty good stuff a lot of variations on the gi/bow and arrow type choke. Probably wouldn't have been a successful class without the gi.
So no open mat yesterday and many were sad :(
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
February 15th - Morning Open
Even numbers are always good on Wednesday mornings. That way no one is sitting around while everyone else is rolling. Unfortunately no Greg today.
I rolled with Robert first, he was breaking in his new gi this morning for the first time. He was strong as usual. My half guard seemed to be failing me this morning as his new pants just kind of slipped out from in between my legs again and again. We went for quite a while I was able to turtle a couple of times and prevent him from taking my back. Luckily he doesn't know that many gi chokes yet. I think he eventually got me with an americana but I don't remember for sure. The second time we went no-gi and I spent most of the time on the bottom with him except for a time when I had his back. I couldn't make anything happen though which was frustrating. I'll have to ask someone about some options from back with no-gi.
When I rolled with Ken I felt pretty sluggish. I don't remember doing that much offensive this time. He's probably making up for that triangle I almost got him in Monday. He got me in a very strange paper cutter choke with me in bottom half guard. Thinking about it afterwards I should have been able to get out of it but I was so surprised by it that I tapped.
Again with Erik I spent most of the time on the bottom but felt more confident with him. The first time we rolled I attacked a lot from guard and tried trapping his arm. Somehow I worked myself into a triangle position but it wasn't meant to be and he passed into side mount. Later on I was working the cross sleeve grip and underhook that Greg showed us. This worked really well to off balance him and work the omma plata. I tried for a triangle first and when that was defended put my leg around his head. We were stuck for a while but I started straightening his arm and he tapped. I'm really like the cross sleeve grip and I think I'll play with it some more. The second time we rolled I was able to get side mount on him. While working for an armbar I bent his wrist in a gooseneck and he tapped. Probably surprised him with it because it really didn't feel that strong.
Can't wait for tonight, in 5 hours or so I'll be in Omaha finding my seat to watch my first live UFC event.
I rolled with Robert first, he was breaking in his new gi this morning for the first time. He was strong as usual. My half guard seemed to be failing me this morning as his new pants just kind of slipped out from in between my legs again and again. We went for quite a while I was able to turtle a couple of times and prevent him from taking my back. Luckily he doesn't know that many gi chokes yet. I think he eventually got me with an americana but I don't remember for sure. The second time we went no-gi and I spent most of the time on the bottom with him except for a time when I had his back. I couldn't make anything happen though which was frustrating. I'll have to ask someone about some options from back with no-gi.
When I rolled with Ken I felt pretty sluggish. I don't remember doing that much offensive this time. He's probably making up for that triangle I almost got him in Monday. He got me in a very strange paper cutter choke with me in bottom half guard. Thinking about it afterwards I should have been able to get out of it but I was so surprised by it that I tapped.
Again with Erik I spent most of the time on the bottom but felt more confident with him. The first time we rolled I attacked a lot from guard and tried trapping his arm. Somehow I worked myself into a triangle position but it wasn't meant to be and he passed into side mount. Later on I was working the cross sleeve grip and underhook that Greg showed us. This worked really well to off balance him and work the omma plata. I tried for a triangle first and when that was defended put my leg around his head. We were stuck for a while but I started straightening his arm and he tapped. I'm really like the cross sleeve grip and I think I'll play with it some more. The second time we rolled I was able to get side mount on him. While working for an armbar I bent his wrist in a gooseneck and he tapped. Probably surprised him with it because it really didn't feel that strong.
Can't wait for tonight, in 5 hours or so I'll be in Omaha finding my seat to watch my first live UFC event.
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