6/29 - Downtown
Thanks for offering support on my down day last week. It is very much appreciated. :)
So one of the really amazing things about mono is that if you are in a stressful situation a month or two after the worst of the symptoms are over, you turn into a fainting goat. I was about to get changed for class yesterday when I was asked to help someone close to me with a somewhat traumatic event. It wasn't overly serious, but required a fair amount of calm and a lot logistical maneuvering for a good portion of the day. In any case, as soon as everything was handled, I was in desperate need of a nap. A long one. In the middle of the afternoon. Fainting goat. *sigh*
Today we did standing guard passes...one to side-control, one to combat an inverted guard attempt, and the toreando. The first two I hadn't done before and were kindof awkward, but the toreando I'd done a couple of other times. I realized mid-way through that when I supposed to crowd my opponent and really get in their grill as I crouched down that I wasn't. The amount of pressure that I was applying compared to James when he was showing us was noticeable. It never ceases to amaze me how conditioned we are (at least in the U.S.) to not get in someone else's space, and how this effects my approach to grappling.
For rolls, we did 4 people down, everyone else against the wall. Whoever gets a submission or top mount stays down, the other person against the wall. I started as one of the 4 people down and went against Ian and I think I got a choke. Then Daniel, who got mount. Had a roll against Antone...can't remember I think he got a choke. A longish roll against Jason who had me a bad spot (sitting on my head), but I eventually worked my way out and almost got a takedown and pass to mount. Muffed it though and he ended up getting mount. Another longish roll against Manny, I think he eventually threw in the towel and he let me have a choke. It was so humid that my gi was completely soaked through with sweat by the end of class. Blech.
After class I had another longish roll with Antone who was working on inverted guard and of course the bolo. I'm finding that it's fun to defend the berimbolo, even though I'm not having much success. I think I like it so much because I'm not getting crushed. Since he's still honing his technique, it usually unfolds slow enough that I can think my way through it.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Reservoirs and Rivers
6/27 - Valley
I'm over my little fit. Amazing what 24hrs and a decent roll can do to soothe the ego.
Went to class yesterday, and waited outside for a bit b/c we didn't have keys to get inside. Fortunately DT came (and had keys), so after a very brief warm-up we got right down to it.
Paper cutter from mount, mount to KOB to collar choke, mount to tech mount to chicken wing, mount escape to butterfly and mount escape to foot lock. The escape to foot lock is still super awkward for me, b/c it's a hip bump up but then immediately onto your side and a big shrimp out. I'm struggling in the transition to getting on my side.
Rolled with Gary and DT. Had a fun roll with Gary. He let me work open and closed guard and even some back-mount after I did an arm drag from closed guard. Sometimes it's not obvious to me as to whether he's letting me work or if I'm legitimately getting to good positions. Don't remember much about roll with DT other than he got me in a foot lock near the end.
So we're sitting around after the rolls chit-chatting (which we never, ever do) and talking about sharing techniques. DT tells us about people being reservoirs or rivers with their knowledge (collecting or sharing). I wasn't sure if it was a general statement or directed at me. I train at two schools, and the guys are naturally curious as to what I'm picking up at the other school. I'm happy to share with them, but the problem is that I don't feel comfortable sharing techniques unless I really understand them. Well, after the reservoir/river speech, I felt like I should ante up. I figured the guys would be impressed with a rolling back take from half guard, so I get into Scott's half guard and...........didn't have it. Was mixing the rolling back take with something else, and apparently even the modest pressure of three guys watching (all of whom have been my instructor, by the by) was too much for me to handle. I tried several times but couldn't get in the right position. So we line up, bow out and DT takes off. I was pretty humbled and frustrated with myself.
Time to go, so I open my bag to get my gear and see my notebook in which I had recorded in detail how to do the rolling back take. Scott and Gary were gracious enough to give me another chance, and sure enough, once I got going in the right direction I was able to pull it off. The guys were suitably impressed, and in fact loved it. They both did it over and over again, and if we all didn't have to go back to work probably would have drilled it for an hour straight.
I was relieved to have been able to contribute something that really made the guys light up.
I'm over my little fit. Amazing what 24hrs and a decent roll can do to soothe the ego.
Went to class yesterday, and waited outside for a bit b/c we didn't have keys to get inside. Fortunately DT came (and had keys), so after a very brief warm-up we got right down to it.
Paper cutter from mount, mount to KOB to collar choke, mount to tech mount to chicken wing, mount escape to butterfly and mount escape to foot lock. The escape to foot lock is still super awkward for me, b/c it's a hip bump up but then immediately onto your side and a big shrimp out. I'm struggling in the transition to getting on my side.
Rolled with Gary and DT. Had a fun roll with Gary. He let me work open and closed guard and even some back-mount after I did an arm drag from closed guard. Sometimes it's not obvious to me as to whether he's letting me work or if I'm legitimately getting to good positions. Don't remember much about roll with DT other than he got me in a foot lock near the end.
So we're sitting around after the rolls chit-chatting (which we never, ever do) and talking about sharing techniques. DT tells us about people being reservoirs or rivers with their knowledge (collecting or sharing). I wasn't sure if it was a general statement or directed at me. I train at two schools, and the guys are naturally curious as to what I'm picking up at the other school. I'm happy to share with them, but the problem is that I don't feel comfortable sharing techniques unless I really understand them. Well, after the reservoir/river speech, I felt like I should ante up. I figured the guys would be impressed with a rolling back take from half guard, so I get into Scott's half guard and...........didn't have it. Was mixing the rolling back take with something else, and apparently even the modest pressure of three guys watching (all of whom have been my instructor, by the by) was too much for me to handle. I tried several times but couldn't get in the right position. So we line up, bow out and DT takes off. I was pretty humbled and frustrated with myself.
Time to go, so I open my bag to get my gear and see my notebook in which I had recorded in detail how to do the rolling back take. Scott and Gary were gracious enough to give me another chance, and sure enough, once I got going in the right direction I was able to pull it off. The guys were suitably impressed, and in fact loved it. They both did it over and over again, and if we all didn't have to go back to work probably would have drilled it for an hour straight.
I was relieved to have been able to contribute something that really made the guys light up.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Smash
6/26 - Downtown
Technique portion of class was good, we did half guard passes. Had four rolls and with the exception of the first (with a white belt), I felt like I was getting crushed the entire time. I honestly didn't even feel competitive. It wasn't an issue of cardio or energy. Was more like my technique was utter crap. At one point I got pulled into a triangle, realized it was tight and tapped quickly but still saw shooting stars when it was released.
I'm really, really not a fan when my chosen hobby makes me feel small. Like I'm nothing more than a speed-bump or grappling dummy for my teammates. It's so hard to see progress when I predominantly roll with upper belts b/c they are progressing at the same (if not faster) pace. I would like to be more competitive instead of defend, defend, defend all the damn time. I'm almost never on the offensive unless it's against a white belt, and even then I find myself in bottom side if it's a wrestler or athletic/big guy. Being in bad positions is a necessary part of learning and improving, but this s*** gets old when you're spending 95% of your time there. There isn't a single blue belt guy that spends as much time in s****y positions as I do. Is my technique that bad, or am I screwed b/c I'm female? Either way, there's nothing I can do about it except keep going to class and keep getting smashed. Fun.
I can't hang out in this rabbit trail too long b/c it's downright depressing. I see a future where I keep going to class 5-6 days a week, and my good days consist of not getting smashed as much. Sure I can spend a s*** ton of money competing against people who are my weight and gender. Maybe I have success. That is 1% of the time that I spend on the mat.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. It's hard to justify this sport today.
Probably just a down day and might be a carry-over from yesterday.
Technique portion of class was good, we did half guard passes. Had four rolls and with the exception of the first (with a white belt), I felt like I was getting crushed the entire time. I honestly didn't even feel competitive. It wasn't an issue of cardio or energy. Was more like my technique was utter crap. At one point I got pulled into a triangle, realized it was tight and tapped quickly but still saw shooting stars when it was released.
I'm really, really not a fan when my chosen hobby makes me feel small. Like I'm nothing more than a speed-bump or grappling dummy for my teammates. It's so hard to see progress when I predominantly roll with upper belts b/c they are progressing at the same (if not faster) pace. I would like to be more competitive instead of defend, defend, defend all the damn time. I'm almost never on the offensive unless it's against a white belt, and even then I find myself in bottom side if it's a wrestler or athletic/big guy. Being in bad positions is a necessary part of learning and improving, but this s*** gets old when you're spending 95% of your time there. There isn't a single blue belt guy that spends as much time in s****y positions as I do. Is my technique that bad, or am I screwed b/c I'm female? Either way, there's nothing I can do about it except keep going to class and keep getting smashed. Fun.
I can't hang out in this rabbit trail too long b/c it's downright depressing. I see a future where I keep going to class 5-6 days a week, and my good days consist of not getting smashed as much. Sure I can spend a s*** ton of money competing against people who are my weight and gender. Maybe I have success. That is 1% of the time that I spend on the mat.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. It's hard to justify this sport today.
Probably just a down day and might be a carry-over from yesterday.
Mount Escapes
6/25 - Valley
My energy level is on a yo-yo. One day I'm fine, on the next it feels like a superhuman effort to perform an upa escape. Yesterday was a lot of upa, and I was low on mojo. Sad for me.
We drilled two mount escapes and a transition from mount to KOB to collar choke. One of the escapes involved moving into a foot lock (or heel hook). I am so godawful at leg locks. They feel awkward every time. I assume it's just a matter of practice, as they very rarely come up at either school.
Had (what felt like) a longish roll with DT. Got foot locked a couple of times, but felt happy with my open guard and frames to prevent side control. Not quite as long of a roll with Scott. He worked me over pretty good, and again I was crushed in bottom side. Felt a little discouraged, but I know it's just a low ebb. My energy level was completely in the toilet after class, I felt like I was damn near going to fall asleep driving back to work.
I've come up with a new method for organizing my notes from class, so I'm not going to post technique details on my blog anymore. Hopefully that will encourage me to write more about class as an experience on here, which will be interesting. Maybe. :)
My energy level is on a yo-yo. One day I'm fine, on the next it feels like a superhuman effort to perform an upa escape. Yesterday was a lot of upa, and I was low on mojo. Sad for me.
We drilled two mount escapes and a transition from mount to KOB to collar choke. One of the escapes involved moving into a foot lock (or heel hook). I am so godawful at leg locks. They feel awkward every time. I assume it's just a matter of practice, as they very rarely come up at either school.
Had (what felt like) a longish roll with DT. Got foot locked a couple of times, but felt happy with my open guard and frames to prevent side control. Not quite as long of a roll with Scott. He worked me over pretty good, and again I was crushed in bottom side. Felt a little discouraged, but I know it's just a low ebb. My energy level was completely in the toilet after class, I felt like I was damn near going to fall asleep driving back to work.
I've come up with a new method for organizing my notes from class, so I'm not going to post technique details on my blog anymore. Hopefully that will encourage me to write more about class as an experience on here, which will be interesting. Maybe. :)
Monday, June 24, 2013
Mount Chokes
6/24 - Downtown
It was one of those days. I had two different guys say that they wanted to take it easy. One of them proceeded to choke the s*** out of me repeatedly during the entire 6min roll, and the other was huffing and puffing and throwing arms and legs everywhere. I wasn't upset that they guys wanted to go for it, but I was a little ticked that I went into the rolls super mellow at their request and got my ass handed to me. Some people just don't understand that they can't NOT be competitive. Own it.
Anyway.
I skipped Saturday's class b/c I felt like crap. I wrestled all morning with whether or not I was going to go to class. Was all geared up and about to walk out the door when I decided that my body would be better off without it. Ended up taking a nap, which I never do. Chilled out Sunday too, and went to class more or less refreshed today. I think the mono is still kicking my ass a little bit.
Today we worked on mount chokes, and then defenses to those chokes. Fairly basic collar choke, ezekiel and bow and arrow. Felt like I had a pretty good handle on them. The ezekiel defense is dicey b/c you're waiting for them to extend their arms in the final part of the choke when you shoot your arm through. So right when the choke is at its worst is when you try to bust out. I can see having some success with this, but it's going to be a close call. And if they use their fist in the side of your neck instead of their sleeve? Forget about it.
Rolled with Julio, Kevin, James, Dennis and Nate. Not sure exactly what happened with Julio, but at one point my neck got rolled funny and I had to shake it out. It's a little sore tonight, but not too bad. I did fairly well with Julio today, I think I defended pretty well. Kevin crushed me. Had a good roll with Dennis, a fair amount of back and forth. The roll with James was weird...I realized that I was timid and trying to think of the right thing to do instead of just going with the flow. The roll with Nate was ok, don't really remember any details.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Double Dip Thursday
6/20 - Valley (Morning) & Downtown (Evening)
Hadn't planned on two sessions today, but shortly after I got home my coach texted me that there was going to be a woman visiting our gym that wanted to roll. I assumed it was someone new to BJJ, but when I got there I saw that she was a three stripe blue. We had one 6min roll and it was fairly. She was smaller and faster, but I was able to use my length and grips to control and defend effectively.
Valley
We did basic frames from bottom side-control and escaping reverse kesa gatame. A quick roll with Scott and Gary. Was happy with how I did...definitely held my own.
Downtown
Guest instructor went over arm-drags from closed guard. Taking the back, bailing on the arm-drag and transitioning to an arm-bar, bailing and doing a pendulum sweep, and turning the arm-drag into a shoulder lock.
Rolled with Ian, Jenny, Fernando (W), Jay, Clayton and then with Antone after class. A couple of times when I was getting berimbolo'd I would immediately invert with them, and that had varying degrees of success depending on how good the person was at the bolo. At one point I left my arm dangling out when I was in bottom side and got arm-barred for my troubles. I tried like hell to keep Clayton from getting side-control but to no avail. Had a fun roll with Antone. Really tried to move with his momentum and not be where he thought I was going to be.
Feeling pretty good after the unexpected two-a-day. Going to sleep like a baby tonight.
Hadn't planned on two sessions today, but shortly after I got home my coach texted me that there was going to be a woman visiting our gym that wanted to roll. I assumed it was someone new to BJJ, but when I got there I saw that she was a three stripe blue. We had one 6min roll and it was fairly. She was smaller and faster, but I was able to use my length and grips to control and defend effectively.
Valley
We did basic frames from bottom side-control and escaping reverse kesa gatame. A quick roll with Scott and Gary. Was happy with how I did...definitely held my own.
Downtown
Guest instructor went over arm-drags from closed guard. Taking the back, bailing on the arm-drag and transitioning to an arm-bar, bailing and doing a pendulum sweep, and turning the arm-drag into a shoulder lock.
Rolled with Ian, Jenny, Fernando (W), Jay, Clayton and then with Antone after class. A couple of times when I was getting berimbolo'd I would immediately invert with them, and that had varying degrees of success depending on how good the person was at the bolo. At one point I left my arm dangling out when I was in bottom side and got arm-barred for my troubles. I tried like hell to keep Clayton from getting side-control but to no avail. Had a fun roll with Antone. Really tried to move with his momentum and not be where he thought I was going to be.
Feeling pretty good after the unexpected two-a-day. Going to sleep like a baby tonight.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
6/19 - Downtown
I felt great today. Still a bit congested, but energy levels feel as good as they have in months. I hope it keeps up and I don't crash again next week. That would be very sad.
Today's class was submissions from side-control, which included a d'arce variation, collar choke, straight arm-bar then rolling into another straight arm-bar or crucifix. I lucked out and had a partner that does the first couple all the time.
Only had three rolls, but my technique was decent and my cardio was excellent. I'm almost back to lifting on a consistent schedule too. Very, very happy about this.
Set-up: Assume you have cross-face side-control on opponent's R side.
1. Cross-face to Trapped Arm: From cross-face, move R arm to under their L arm and sit on your R hip. L foot should be crossed over R leg and toes dug in on both feet. Push their L arm down just enough to slide your R knee over bicep to trap it to the mat. Step on their wrist with your L foot, then switch your knee from being above their arm to below their arm. Regain cross-face. Now your R shin is trapping their L foot to the mat, and you have cross-face side-control with your torso next to their head instead of next to their torso.
2. Gi choke (d'arce, collar): From #1, keep your low and use your R hand to loosen the bottom of their gi jacket on the L side. Shake it out and pull it under their L arm, feeding it to your L hand (palm down). Slide your R arm across their torso and behind their neck. Feed the gi from your L hand back to your R (palm up).
I felt great today. Still a bit congested, but energy levels feel as good as they have in months. I hope it keeps up and I don't crash again next week. That would be very sad.
Today's class was submissions from side-control, which included a d'arce variation, collar choke, straight arm-bar then rolling into another straight arm-bar or crucifix. I lucked out and had a partner that does the first couple all the time.
Only had three rolls, but my technique was decent and my cardio was excellent. I'm almost back to lifting on a consistent schedule too. Very, very happy about this.
Set-up: Assume you have cross-face side-control on opponent's R side.
1. Cross-face to Trapped Arm: From cross-face, move R arm to under their L arm and sit on your R hip. L foot should be crossed over R leg and toes dug in on both feet. Push their L arm down just enough to slide your R knee over bicep to trap it to the mat. Step on their wrist with your L foot, then switch your knee from being above their arm to below their arm. Regain cross-face. Now your R shin is trapping their L foot to the mat, and you have cross-face side-control with your torso next to their head instead of next to their torso.
2. Gi choke (d'arce, collar): From #1, keep your low and use your R hand to loosen the bottom of their gi jacket on the L side. Shake it out and pull it under their L arm, feeding it to your L hand (palm down). Slide your R arm across their torso and behind their neck. Feed the gi from your L hand back to your R (palm up).
- Complete the d'arce choke by pulling on their L sleeve or by pulling their L tricep into you as you step back with your L foot to create room. Cast your R hand and drop your shoulder onto their L arm.
- Complete the collar choke by using your L hand to get a grip on their gi fabric on the L side of their neck. I found this tricky to do b/c their gi was all twitterpated from being pulled behind their neck. It was too loose where I initially grabbed it, so I had to reach for a deeper grip (almost behind their shoulder).
3. Straight arm-bar: From #1, get their L hand between the R side of your neck and your shoulder. Hold it in place by doing the telephone thing with your R hand. Slide forward a bit and put your forehand on the mat. Slide L knee forward and then back, trapping their head between your hamstring and calf. If necessary, use your L hand to help pick up their head. Once the L leg is in place, use the shin to replace the trap that you have on their R arm so that you move your L leg without their R arm being free. Slide your R knee over their belly until your knee touches the mat and your foot is hooked on their side. From here, rotate their arm and straight-arm bar.
4. From #3 above, if you can't get the arm-bar, roll to your R hip and maintain your foot control. You should be able to attempt another straight arm-bar. If that doesn't work, tuck their arm into your hip pocket and go for the omoplata. When you roll to your hip, straighten both of your legs to keep tension on them.
Rolled with Sol, Daniel, Ben and Grant. Had a good back and forth with Sol. Daniel is a new purple to our gym. He manhandled me pretty well. I tried to work open guard with Ben without much luck. Grant and I had a nice flow roll. I let him work, which was fun as he was trying X guard, spider guard. Overall very pleased.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Half Guard Pass
Not a 100% healthy, but close enough.
6/14 - Seminar - Valley
Had a 2 1/2hr seminar over half guard sweeps. Three techniques, none of which was overly complicated. I had a fair amount of individual instruction in the first one b/c I kept repping it wrong. I finally started to get it though and was hitting it on the regular. Rolled with people I haven't seen in quite awhile. Fun (and free!).
Interestingly, I've tried to use that sweep several times and it's not working. I don't think I'm picking the right time (i.e. my opponent is too far up on my torso) for it to be effective. Very sad, b/c I thought all of my bottom half woes were solved.
6/15 - Downtown
Went to class against my better judgment. I should follow my instincts more. It was a couple of white belts and the rest were upper blues. We started off rolling, and I was getting my ass kicked by everyone. This isn't so unusual, but I didn't have the mental fortitude for it today and almost walked out b/c I was so frustrated with myself. Bah.
6/17 - Downtown
Half guard passes today. I needed to get the bad taste of the 6/15 out of my mouth. Lucky for me, I did.
Assumption: You are in opponent's half guard, where they have a knee shield (their L knee is across your hip).
1. Combat stance to knee slide: Come up to combat stance with your R leg. As soon as you do, post out to your L with your L hand and slide your L knee across their belly. Bounce your hand to the R (best way I can think of to describe it) until your L hand is now on the L side of their head. The idea is to get your torso turned to the L to turned to the R. From here you can grab their L knee pant with your R arm and try to free your R leg. Or you can sit off to their R side on your R hip if you have them cross-faced and free your leg from there.
2. Combat stance to knee slide to kimura grip: Same as #1, but assume when you put your knee through that they try to push it off with their hand. Get a kimura grip, put your head on the mat to their L side and forward roll, attempting to free your R leg as you go. Keep working it until it's free while you maintain the kimura grip with straightened arms. If you bend your arms, they can come right back into you. Keep them straight, and once you free your leg you can come up into a kimura (squat over their head), slide your legs in and over for an arm-bar or if they sit up slide your legs in for back hooks.
3. Thwart underhook by back-stepping: Assume they sit up and get an underhook on your R side in an attempt to take your back. Reach across their back with your R hand and grip their L lat while you post your L hand, duck your head close to theirs and back-step with your L leg so that you end up on their L side. It doesn't not need to be a giant back step, and you don't want to create a ton of space between you and them. Should be very tight. To prevent their escape from here, get your L knee under their L thigh and dig your toes in to the L. Break a grip if they have it on your R gi pant at the knee and use your L elbow to shove their L knee to the R as you kick your R leg out.
Rolled with Sol, Dennis and Julio. Sol said that he was having a tough time maintaining top side control b/c I kept regaining guard, but I think he's just being nice. Had a back and forth roll with Dennis and ended up on his back at one point. I had sat out the round before while he rolled with Sam, so I don't give it much credence. Rolled with Julio who tried to jump into my guard and pass. Good times.
6/14 - Seminar - Valley
Had a 2 1/2hr seminar over half guard sweeps. Three techniques, none of which was overly complicated. I had a fair amount of individual instruction in the first one b/c I kept repping it wrong. I finally started to get it though and was hitting it on the regular. Rolled with people I haven't seen in quite awhile. Fun (and free!).
Interestingly, I've tried to use that sweep several times and it's not working. I don't think I'm picking the right time (i.e. my opponent is too far up on my torso) for it to be effective. Very sad, b/c I thought all of my bottom half woes were solved.
6/15 - Downtown
Went to class against my better judgment. I should follow my instincts more. It was a couple of white belts and the rest were upper blues. We started off rolling, and I was getting my ass kicked by everyone. This isn't so unusual, but I didn't have the mental fortitude for it today and almost walked out b/c I was so frustrated with myself. Bah.
6/17 - Downtown
Half guard passes today. I needed to get the bad taste of the 6/15 out of my mouth. Lucky for me, I did.
Assumption: You are in opponent's half guard, where they have a knee shield (their L knee is across your hip).
1. Combat stance to knee slide: Come up to combat stance with your R leg. As soon as you do, post out to your L with your L hand and slide your L knee across their belly. Bounce your hand to the R (best way I can think of to describe it) until your L hand is now on the L side of their head. The idea is to get your torso turned to the L to turned to the R. From here you can grab their L knee pant with your R arm and try to free your R leg. Or you can sit off to their R side on your R hip if you have them cross-faced and free your leg from there.
2. Combat stance to knee slide to kimura grip: Same as #1, but assume when you put your knee through that they try to push it off with their hand. Get a kimura grip, put your head on the mat to their L side and forward roll, attempting to free your R leg as you go. Keep working it until it's free while you maintain the kimura grip with straightened arms. If you bend your arms, they can come right back into you. Keep them straight, and once you free your leg you can come up into a kimura (squat over their head), slide your legs in and over for an arm-bar or if they sit up slide your legs in for back hooks.
3. Thwart underhook by back-stepping: Assume they sit up and get an underhook on your R side in an attempt to take your back. Reach across their back with your R hand and grip their L lat while you post your L hand, duck your head close to theirs and back-step with your L leg so that you end up on their L side. It doesn't not need to be a giant back step, and you don't want to create a ton of space between you and them. Should be very tight. To prevent their escape from here, get your L knee under their L thigh and dig your toes in to the L. Break a grip if they have it on your R gi pant at the knee and use your L elbow to shove their L knee to the R as you kick your R leg out.
- The escape for the person on the bottom is to change where their feet are hooked and to get their L foot on the mat and their R foot underhooking the outside of your R leg. They grip your R pant leg and push off the mat with their L foot and kick up with their R foot as they roll you over to your L. By having the knee in the back of their L thigh, it prevents their L leg from hitting the mat, which is essential to them pulling off this move.
Rolled with Sol, Dennis and Julio. Sol said that he was having a tough time maintaining top side control b/c I kept regaining guard, but I think he's just being nice. Had a back and forth roll with Dennis and ended up on his back at one point. I had sat out the round before while he rolled with Sam, so I don't give it much credence. Rolled with Julio who tried to jump into my guard and pass. Good times.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Sick. Again.
6/12
I am not pleased. Well-meaning friends say that I rushed into too much activity too soon and I'm having a relapse of mono. I contend that I just happened to catch a cold. More lethargy than I'd expect from a cold though. I thought once you got your energy back you were good to go?
Boo hiss.
I am not pleased. Well-meaning friends say that I rushed into too much activity too soon and I'm having a relapse of mono. I contend that I just happened to catch a cold. More lethargy than I'd expect from a cold though. I thought once you got your energy back you were good to go?
Boo hiss.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Berimbolo
6/10 - Downtown
Berimbolo! Tee hee.
Antone was teaching today, and he asked us what we wanted to go over. I figured since he was the berimbolo expert that I would finally get a chance to learn what all of the fuss was about with the bolo. I've watched vids online and Antone does it to people all the time, but I wasn't sure what portion of it was the berimbolo. I didn't make many friends today, because the class was otherwise comprised of stocky guys that are not fans of going inverted. Sad for them. We did compromise and do a half guard sweep for a portion of class.
1. Double-Guard Pull: Get your R leg between their legs and L leg DLR on their R leg. L hand through your L leg and gripping their R ankle. R hand reaches over and grabs the back of your belt as you invert. If you want to maintain the position for a bit, let go of the grip with your L hand and feed over the top of the back of their near leg and grip their far side pants.
2. Opponent has Combat Stance: With your R hand, grip their R collar and pull them down to your L (their R) as you get the DLR hook and proceed as above.
3. Standing step-in to knee slide: You're in seated guard and opponent is stepping in to pass by gripping the back of your head with their R hand and holding down your knee with their L hand. As they go to sit on their hip on your L side, get the DLR hook and back of belt grip.
4. Half guard sweep (reverse kesa gatame): If opponent has reverse kesa gatame on your L side, grip their L sleeve at the tricep and the back of their L leg with your R hand. Straight-arm both hands and scoot to the L to dump them onto their L shoulder. As soon as their shoulder touches the ground, back roll and you'll end up on top. Maintain grip with your L hand on their L shoulder to keep them from coming up.
Three rolls starting from in someone's guard: Corey, Antone, Julio. Two rolls starting in my guard: Antone and Julio. I might have gotten close to passing Antone's and Julio's guard once. And by close, I mean it took them longer than 30seconds to sweep. :p
One "flow roll" with Dennis. I want to flow roll but unless I'm with a much higher belt it's hard to keep it flowing.
Berimbolo! Tee hee.
Antone was teaching today, and he asked us what we wanted to go over. I figured since he was the berimbolo expert that I would finally get a chance to learn what all of the fuss was about with the bolo. I've watched vids online and Antone does it to people all the time, but I wasn't sure what portion of it was the berimbolo. I didn't make many friends today, because the class was otherwise comprised of stocky guys that are not fans of going inverted. Sad for them. We did compromise and do a half guard sweep for a portion of class.
1. Double-Guard Pull: Get your R leg between their legs and L leg DLR on their R leg. L hand through your L leg and gripping their R ankle. R hand reaches over and grabs the back of your belt as you invert. If you want to maintain the position for a bit, let go of the grip with your L hand and feed over the top of the back of their near leg and grip their far side pants.
- Roll your head toward their feet to take the back
- Roll your head toward their head to get to mount or at least top half guard
2. Opponent has Combat Stance: With your R hand, grip their R collar and pull them down to your L (their R) as you get the DLR hook and proceed as above.
3. Standing step-in to knee slide: You're in seated guard and opponent is stepping in to pass by gripping the back of your head with their R hand and holding down your knee with their L hand. As they go to sit on their hip on your L side, get the DLR hook and back of belt grip.
4. Half guard sweep (reverse kesa gatame): If opponent has reverse kesa gatame on your L side, grip their L sleeve at the tricep and the back of their L leg with your R hand. Straight-arm both hands and scoot to the L to dump them onto their L shoulder. As soon as their shoulder touches the ground, back roll and you'll end up on top. Maintain grip with your L hand on their L shoulder to keep them from coming up.
Three rolls starting from in someone's guard: Corey, Antone, Julio. Two rolls starting in my guard: Antone and Julio. I might have gotten close to passing Antone's and Julio's guard once. And by close, I mean it took them longer than 30seconds to sweep. :p
One "flow roll" with Dennis. I want to flow roll but unless I'm with a much higher belt it's hard to keep it flowing.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Spiderguard
6/8 - Downtown
We had a relatively inexperienced class, so it was some basic spiderguard work on a kneeling opponent. I was working with a newish white belt, and it was great experience for me trying to explain a couple nuances of the move while we were drilling it. It becomes clear in a hurry if you really understand a move when you're trying to explain it to someone else. I'd like to practice the basic sweep during rolls, b/c I've found myself in the position several times but not able to do anything with it.
Rolling cardio is close to 100%. Had four rolls, felt pretty relaxed through all of them. Was tired at the end, but probably could have done one more.
Technique
1. Spiderguard sweep (kneeling opponent): R foot in their L elbowpit and extend their elbow above their head. Sit up, as you probably won't get the tension that you want/need if you're flat on your back or even on one side. As you are extending your R foot, your L grip on their sleeve pulls their R arm between your legs. This will set you up for a number of transitions. For sweeps, this prevents them from posting. Extend your R leg and swing it a bit over to your L as you pull their R arm into and arch your back away from them. Once you've swept them, you can transition to KOB or slide your L knee under their R arm, hook the L side of their head with your foot and pull them toward you to finish the arm-bar.
2. Spiderguard to Omoplata: Same set-up as #1, but punch their R arm into your hip pocket.
3. Omoplata Maintenance: If opponent rises back up as you are applying the omoplata, back roll. This will end with you sitting on their arm and them on their back. Keep their elbow off the mat and look to turn into side control or back step for a mount.
Rolls
Easy roll with Opal where I let her work. Her instincts are good in side-control...she is not afraid to apply shoulder pressure at all. Rolled with Jay...dude is very controlled and deliberate. I think he was going easy on me, but it was a little hard to tell. He does not spaz at ALL. A roll with Gage where we had a pretty good back and forth. Don't remember the details. Interesting roll with Sol where he got top control and moved to N/S. I was pretty stuck and could tell he was fishing out the gi for some offensive dirty gi choke. I finally had the presence of mind to create a frame against his hips and create some space. I still wasn't getting much lateral movement, so decided to try to backroll and get my hooks in. Shockingly enough, it worked! He was just as surprised as I was. Very cool feeling to get a reversal every now and again.
We had a relatively inexperienced class, so it was some basic spiderguard work on a kneeling opponent. I was working with a newish white belt, and it was great experience for me trying to explain a couple nuances of the move while we were drilling it. It becomes clear in a hurry if you really understand a move when you're trying to explain it to someone else. I'd like to practice the basic sweep during rolls, b/c I've found myself in the position several times but not able to do anything with it.
Rolling cardio is close to 100%. Had four rolls, felt pretty relaxed through all of them. Was tired at the end, but probably could have done one more.
Technique
1. Spiderguard sweep (kneeling opponent): R foot in their L elbowpit and extend their elbow above their head. Sit up, as you probably won't get the tension that you want/need if you're flat on your back or even on one side. As you are extending your R foot, your L grip on their sleeve pulls their R arm between your legs. This will set you up for a number of transitions. For sweeps, this prevents them from posting. Extend your R leg and swing it a bit over to your L as you pull their R arm into and arch your back away from them. Once you've swept them, you can transition to KOB or slide your L knee under their R arm, hook the L side of their head with your foot and pull them toward you to finish the arm-bar.
- A variation of this is to let go of your R grip and fend off their L arm with your foot by curling your toes and keeping the arm at bay. Use your R hand to get a cross collar grip and pull them toward you as you extend your leg and arch your back.
2. Spiderguard to Omoplata: Same set-up as #1, but punch their R arm into your hip pocket.
3. Omoplata Maintenance: If opponent rises back up as you are applying the omoplata, back roll. This will end with you sitting on their arm and them on their back. Keep their elbow off the mat and look to turn into side control or back step for a mount.
Rolls
Easy roll with Opal where I let her work. Her instincts are good in side-control...she is not afraid to apply shoulder pressure at all. Rolled with Jay...dude is very controlled and deliberate. I think he was going easy on me, but it was a little hard to tell. He does not spaz at ALL. A roll with Gage where we had a pretty good back and forth. Don't remember the details. Interesting roll with Sol where he got top control and moved to N/S. I was pretty stuck and could tell he was fishing out the gi for some offensive dirty gi choke. I finally had the presence of mind to create a frame against his hips and create some space. I still wasn't getting much lateral movement, so decided to try to backroll and get my hooks in. Shockingly enough, it worked! He was just as surprised as I was. Very cool feeling to get a reversal every now and again.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Spiderguard Pass
6/7 - Downtown
I got to pick the area of technique today, and I chose passing spiderguard. Relatively simple passes, or at least relatively easy to remember. We also did a pass from X guard and stepping into an opponent's seated guard.
Rolls were good. I got pretty much demolished, but my energy levels are almost all the way back. I don't mind getting demolished. It's better than feeling like you need to nap all day. I tried the baseball bat choke several times and met with a truckload of failure.
Technique
1. Spiderguard Pass - Knee slide: From standing, get a grip around the outside of their knees, bring your forearms together and step back. This should ease the push/pull tension they have. Step into them, raising their legs and getting your hips forward. If you want to pass to your L, get your R knee between their legs.
2. Spiderguard Pass - Side control: From standing, get a grip on the inside of their shins, bring your forearms together and step back. Pop elbows out and simultaneously drive their feet to the mat. Maintain grips as to you start to walk to one side. If passing to the R, dive your R shoulder into their L shoulder and keep their feet off of the mat so they can't reguard.
3. Spiderguard to X Guard: Put L foot in their R elbowpit. Drop R foot to floor and kick L foot toward the ceiling. This should drive them to step toward you. Release grip with R hand and grab the backside of their L ankle. Keep L foot and sleeve control while you bring your R foot to the top inside of their R thigh. Once that's established, drop your L foot under your R.
4. X Guard Pass: Assuming your L ankle is by their head, sit back on your L leg and try to drive your knee across their chest and toward their hip. You aren't sliding it as much as you are sitting it down on their chest. You're keeping them flat so that you can grab the leg that's hooking you (their R?) and hold it down while you move your R leg forward to free it and then step back. R knee goes to their belly and L leg steps back for KOB.
6. Seated Guard Pass - R hand goes on their L hip, L hand on their R knee. James had everything pinched in tight instead of trying to kill the knee. Start walking to one side. If they don't frame and try to regain guard, take side-control from there. If they do frame, walk back toward their feet (maintaining hand position) to flatten them out and get your hip to their hip. Keep their feet off of the floor so they can't reguard. If you are trying to pass to your R, get your L hip to their R hip and step your R leg over your L and get your R leg against their butt, pinning their legs up. You're pinning everything in place and making sure you break their sleeve grips if they still have them. You can dive your L hand under their L leg to break that one if they are being stubborn.
Rolls
Oh baseball bat. Tried numerous times from side-control but I was way too slow getting my second hand in, and I paid for it. Almost got arm-barred and usually ended up in worse positions than where I started. Was fun to try though, and I'm going to stick with it. May not be high percentage, but becoming somewhat proficient at it since I'm in bottom side all the time would be good for my game. Other than that, rolls were good. Several times I moved my leg in such a way that made it very easy for my partner to pass my guard, and I immediately I was like wtf am I doing? We had an odd number of people today, so roll with Antone, rest, Dennis and Jason and then another roll with Dennis after class.
I'm so, so happy that I'm pretty much over the mono. What a drag.
I got to pick the area of technique today, and I chose passing spiderguard. Relatively simple passes, or at least relatively easy to remember. We also did a pass from X guard and stepping into an opponent's seated guard.
Rolls were good. I got pretty much demolished, but my energy levels are almost all the way back. I don't mind getting demolished. It's better than feeling like you need to nap all day. I tried the baseball bat choke several times and met with a truckload of failure.
Technique
1. Spiderguard Pass - Knee slide: From standing, get a grip around the outside of their knees, bring your forearms together and step back. This should ease the push/pull tension they have. Step into them, raising their legs and getting your hips forward. If you want to pass to your L, get your R knee between their legs.
2. Spiderguard Pass - Side control: From standing, get a grip on the inside of their shins, bring your forearms together and step back. Pop elbows out and simultaneously drive their feet to the mat. Maintain grips as to you start to walk to one side. If passing to the R, dive your R shoulder into their L shoulder and keep their feet off of the mat so they can't reguard.
3. Spiderguard to X Guard: Put L foot in their R elbowpit. Drop R foot to floor and kick L foot toward the ceiling. This should drive them to step toward you. Release grip with R hand and grab the backside of their L ankle. Keep L foot and sleeve control while you bring your R foot to the top inside of their R thigh. Once that's established, drop your L foot under your R.
4. X Guard Pass: Assuming your L ankle is by their head, sit back on your L leg and try to drive your knee across their chest and toward their hip. You aren't sliding it as much as you are sitting it down on their chest. You're keeping them flat so that you can grab the leg that's hooking you (their R?) and hold it down while you move your R leg forward to free it and then step back. R knee goes to their belly and L leg steps back for KOB.
- When you have X guard, you prevent this from happening by pinioning their knee to your head/neck and turning their kneecap outward.
6. Seated Guard Pass - R hand goes on their L hip, L hand on their R knee. James had everything pinched in tight instead of trying to kill the knee. Start walking to one side. If they don't frame and try to regain guard, take side-control from there. If they do frame, walk back toward their feet (maintaining hand position) to flatten them out and get your hip to their hip. Keep their feet off of the floor so they can't reguard. If you are trying to pass to your R, get your L hip to their R hip and step your R leg over your L and get your R leg against their butt, pinning their legs up. You're pinning everything in place and making sure you break their sleeve grips if they still have them. You can dive your L hand under their L leg to break that one if they are being stubborn.
Rolls
Oh baseball bat. Tried numerous times from side-control but I was way too slow getting my second hand in, and I paid for it. Almost got arm-barred and usually ended up in worse positions than where I started. Was fun to try though, and I'm going to stick with it. May not be high percentage, but becoming somewhat proficient at it since I'm in bottom side all the time would be good for my game. Other than that, rolls were good. Several times I moved my leg in such a way that made it very easy for my partner to pass my guard, and I immediately I was like wtf am I doing? We had an odd number of people today, so roll with Antone, rest, Dennis and Jason and then another roll with Dennis after class.
I'm so, so happy that I'm pretty much over the mono. What a drag.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Baseball Bat
6/6 - Valley
I've been wanting to learn this ever since my matches at Revolution where my coach was screaming at me to do the baseball bat choke and I had NO idea what he was talking about. Not knowing a pretty basic choke made me feel like such a n00b. Plus, I lost.
Anyway, we did it from bottom side, in guard, and in top guard. Also went over the defense, which was simple and effective. My favorite. I will probably never, ever, ever go for this when I'm in someone's guard, but it was interesting to learn.
1. Bottom side: Must prevent opponent from cross-facing you. Assuming opponent is on your R side, your L hand goes deep in their collar on their R side (back of the neck), thumb in. R hand goes on the L side of their collar, palm up and as close to your L hand as you can get it. Turn hips slightly to the L so that you can step your R leg over your L and "run" to a N/S position. This is more effective and faster than trying to scoot your hips out. Keep elbows in and bring them into your body to finish the choke.
2. Inside Guard: You can go for a standard cross collar grip (R hand palm up on their R lapel), and if opponent ducks their head under, keep the position you're left with (R hand palm up on the L lapel), feed your L hand thumb in on their R lapel. Open your guard and "run" to N/S.
3. Your Guard - Sweep: R hand palm up grip on their L lapel, R hand has grip on their L sleeve. Open guard and move into scissor sweep position. Bait them to pass to your R, NOT your L. If they start passing to your R (i.e. toward your back), get the thumb in grip with L hand on their R lapel, "run" to N/S and choke.
4. Their Guard: Get the necessary grips on their lapel, and then turn to one side and sit on your hip instead of kneeling. This works, but it's very dangerous to leave your arms extended in an experienced player's collar. Also, if you don't hit it, you end up exposing your back. Bad juju.
A couple of quick rolls. Was happy with how I did. Got a sweep from DLR but have no idea what really happened. Probably not so much good technique on my part but more lack of balance on their part.
I've been wanting to learn this ever since my matches at Revolution where my coach was screaming at me to do the baseball bat choke and I had NO idea what he was talking about. Not knowing a pretty basic choke made me feel like such a n00b. Plus, I lost.
Anyway, we did it from bottom side, in guard, and in top guard. Also went over the defense, which was simple and effective. My favorite. I will probably never, ever, ever go for this when I'm in someone's guard, but it was interesting to learn.
1. Bottom side: Must prevent opponent from cross-facing you. Assuming opponent is on your R side, your L hand goes deep in their collar on their R side (back of the neck), thumb in. R hand goes on the L side of their collar, palm up and as close to your L hand as you can get it. Turn hips slightly to the L so that you can step your R leg over your L and "run" to a N/S position. This is more effective and faster than trying to scoot your hips out. Keep elbows in and bring them into your body to finish the choke.
- If they try to step over you into mount, they're cooked. Keep the choke and follow their momentum, they'll be sorry.
2. Inside Guard: You can go for a standard cross collar grip (R hand palm up on their R lapel), and if opponent ducks their head under, keep the position you're left with (R hand palm up on the L lapel), feed your L hand thumb in on their R lapel. Open your guard and "run" to N/S.
3. Your Guard - Sweep: R hand palm up grip on their L lapel, R hand has grip on their L sleeve. Open guard and move into scissor sweep position. Bait them to pass to your R, NOT your L. If they start passing to your R (i.e. toward your back), get the thumb in grip with L hand on their R lapel, "run" to N/S and choke.
4. Their Guard: Get the necessary grips on their lapel, and then turn to one side and sit on your hip instead of kneeling. This works, but it's very dangerous to leave your arms extended in an experienced player's collar. Also, if you don't hit it, you end up exposing your back. Bad juju.
A couple of quick rolls. Was happy with how I did. Got a sweep from DLR but have no idea what really happened. Probably not so much good technique on my part but more lack of balance on their part.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Omoplata
6/5 - Downtown
Omoplatas and spider guard work today. I tried to take notes on the spider guard techniques after class but my mind was mush and I was confusing everything together. Was short on time so couldn't stick around and query James about it.
.... And it turns out I don't remember any worthwhile details from today's instruction. I took some sparse notes after class but not enough. The spider guard techniques were really interesting and I wish I could remember enough detail to record it. We were working on the premise that you have one foot on the bicep extended out and one foot on the hip. Worked several sweeps from there.
Had three 6min rolls and felt ok. Tired mid-way through the 3rd roll, but it seems like the cardio is slowly getting better. Was happy with how I moved and reacted in the rolls. I think I'm getting a tiny bit better at building frames when opponents are passing my guard. I'd be very happy to make improvements in that area.
Omoplatas and spider guard work today. I tried to take notes on the spider guard techniques after class but my mind was mush and I was confusing everything together. Was short on time so couldn't stick around and query James about it.
.... And it turns out I don't remember any worthwhile details from today's instruction. I took some sparse notes after class but not enough. The spider guard techniques were really interesting and I wish I could remember enough detail to record it. We were working on the premise that you have one foot on the bicep extended out and one foot on the hip. Worked several sweeps from there.
Had three 6min rolls and felt ok. Tired mid-way through the 3rd roll, but it seems like the cardio is slowly getting better. Was happy with how I moved and reacted in the rolls. I think I'm getting a tiny bit better at building frames when opponents are passing my guard. I'd be very happy to make improvements in that area.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Thumb War
6/4 - Valley
Scott & Gary went on a BJJ vacation just before I had to take time off for mono. I think they did 7 or 8 classes during the week and ended up with 3 pages of typed notes. Today they went over the back mount control and submissions that they learned.
Light warm-up, body felt good. Legs were a little sore from squats last night (first lifting session in almost a month). I was fine once we got going and had no problem with a couple of 2min rolls at the end.
1. Over/Under Hooks: Previously, we've been a shown a "lazy" over/under hook with the hands gripping each other around opponent's mid-chest. You can get better control by gripping your hands together closer to their armpit (underhook side), with your hands pressuring one shoulder and the elbow of the overhook pressuring the other shoulder. We played around with this a bit and it significantly reduces their ability to turn their upper body.
2. Kick Kneepit to Regain Hook: Assume opponent is starting to turn to their L side. To prevent them from getting their back on the mat, put your R foot in their R kneepit and kick it over so their hips are turned perpendicular to the mat. Ideally, their R leg will be pushed across their L. You can now put your R foot on the mat and use it to bridge you up and over as your momentum pushes them into a turtle position. Regain hook.
3. Suitcase Choke: Similar to above, but instead of regaining your hook, keep your over/under hooks and move into a seated mount. Feed collar to L hand and either put your L knee between your L arm and their head and cast with your L hand or pull their R pant leg toward you and cast with your L.
4. Arm-bar: Assuming over/under hooks and opponent is falling to underhook side, push their face away, scoot out and swing leg out and over their head.
5. Thumb War: This was an interesting defensive tactic for the person who is in back-mount. Instead of protecting your collar with palms facing an incoming hand, try to hook the space in between their thumb and forefinger with the same space on your hand. It's a pretty effective block if you can time it correctly. It's also pretty effective if they already have a grip on your lapel but haven't fed it high yet.
Quick rolls starting from back-mount. I eventually escaped but did much better when it was my turn to maintain. It wasn't a super intensive class, but I'm very happy with how my body feels.
Scott & Gary went on a BJJ vacation just before I had to take time off for mono. I think they did 7 or 8 classes during the week and ended up with 3 pages of typed notes. Today they went over the back mount control and submissions that they learned.
Light warm-up, body felt good. Legs were a little sore from squats last night (first lifting session in almost a month). I was fine once we got going and had no problem with a couple of 2min rolls at the end.
1. Over/Under Hooks: Previously, we've been a shown a "lazy" over/under hook with the hands gripping each other around opponent's mid-chest. You can get better control by gripping your hands together closer to their armpit (underhook side), with your hands pressuring one shoulder and the elbow of the overhook pressuring the other shoulder. We played around with this a bit and it significantly reduces their ability to turn their upper body.
2. Kick Kneepit to Regain Hook: Assume opponent is starting to turn to their L side. To prevent them from getting their back on the mat, put your R foot in their R kneepit and kick it over so their hips are turned perpendicular to the mat. Ideally, their R leg will be pushed across their L. You can now put your R foot on the mat and use it to bridge you up and over as your momentum pushes them into a turtle position. Regain hook.
3. Suitcase Choke: Similar to above, but instead of regaining your hook, keep your over/under hooks and move into a seated mount. Feed collar to L hand and either put your L knee between your L arm and their head and cast with your L hand or pull their R pant leg toward you and cast with your L.
4. Arm-bar: Assuming over/under hooks and opponent is falling to underhook side, push their face away, scoot out and swing leg out and over their head.
5. Thumb War: This was an interesting defensive tactic for the person who is in back-mount. Instead of protecting your collar with palms facing an incoming hand, try to hook the space in between their thumb and forefinger with the same space on your hand. It's a pretty effective block if you can time it correctly. It's also pretty effective if they already have a grip on your lapel but haven't fed it high yet.
Quick rolls starting from back-mount. I eventually escaped but did much better when it was my turn to maintain. It wasn't a super intensive class, but I'm very happy with how my body feels.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Positional Drilling
6/1 - Downtown
Finally back on the mats. Two and half weeks seems like an eternity.
We didn't do a technique portion, just positional drills of whatever you happened to know of sweeps, passes and submissions from guard. I was rusty and slow as I expected. Sucked wind a bit, but was able to get through it.
King of the hill drills with three guys down. Submission or mount gets to stay, loser back on the wall. I rolled with Antone, Russ and Nando. Antone got me with a wrist lock when he was in the middle of transitioning from one top position to another and he put his body weight on my wrist. I squawked out a tap b/c I was in imminent danger of getting hurt. I had just started with a white belt (don't know his name) when I felt like I couldn't get my breath. Couldn't tell if it was due to residual sickness or not having rolled for close to three weeks. It wasn't a crisis, but it was enough to have me beg off the remainder of the roll. I rested for a bit and felt better.
Three hours later and I still feel ok. I'm not 100%, but am going to do as much activity as my body can handle until my body demands a nap.
Finally back on the mats. Two and half weeks seems like an eternity.
We didn't do a technique portion, just positional drills of whatever you happened to know of sweeps, passes and submissions from guard. I was rusty and slow as I expected. Sucked wind a bit, but was able to get through it.
King of the hill drills with three guys down. Submission or mount gets to stay, loser back on the wall. I rolled with Antone, Russ and Nando. Antone got me with a wrist lock when he was in the middle of transitioning from one top position to another and he put his body weight on my wrist. I squawked out a tap b/c I was in imminent danger of getting hurt. I had just started with a white belt (don't know his name) when I felt like I couldn't get my breath. Couldn't tell if it was due to residual sickness or not having rolled for close to three weeks. It wasn't a crisis, but it was enough to have me beg off the remainder of the roll. I rested for a bit and felt better.
Three hours later and I still feel ok. I'm not 100%, but am going to do as much activity as my body can handle until my body demands a nap.
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