7/31 - Downtown
Worked the Moura inverted guard that I've seen before and I tried to implement in my game but could never quite remember which foot and hand went where. If you can get into the guard it seems pretty effective. The trouble I had getting into it is that I didn't have enough control of my opponent during the transition. Our starting point was closed guard, so I'm going to give it try over the next couple of weeks.
Rolls with Dennis, Ben, Camille, Jayson and Nate. Had a pretty awkward roll with Dennis...we were both passive and waiting for the other person to initiate. He's really focusing technique and thinking through his next move instead of just reacting. It's funny to me that if my opponent slows down then I usually slow down too instead of doing my thing. Ben had superior positions, but I waited him out and escaped when the time right. Jayson demolished me, as per usual. I was chillin in bottom mount (he has a crushing mount), waiting for him to move so I could escape. He moved into a choke that I somehow didn't identify until it was too late. I let Camille work some from top positions. Nate got me with a kimura...he was persistent and once he had the grips from top mount he didn't let it go until he got the sub. Kudos to him for sticking with it.
I think I'm still seeing improvement in preventing my guard from being passed via frames. I almost had a 93 guard set up today but my feet weren't in the right place. Slow, steady progress.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
More is Less
7/30 - Valley
Went through the self-defense and top side-control movements for Damon's purple test. Some techniques I swear I haven't seen before. A new entry for the cross-choke from side-control by going to reverse kesa gatame first and sliding your hand in at that point. Ditto when going for a far-side arm-bar that is being defended.
Quick rolls with Damon and Scott. I worked a lot of open guard (not by choice) with Damon. I tried the tripod-to-sickle sweep and missed it. That would be a good one to drill a lot in order for it to become second nature and not allow them time to react. It would be worth it to have a follow-up to the tripod since I've been relying on it quite a bit. I managed to keep Damon at bay for most of the roll, which is a good accomplishment for me.
Scott was able to pass my guard relatively early on so I was left defending from bottom side and turtle. I still have to think too much on the turtle escapes, so by the time my brain chugs through what to do next my opponent has moved and I've lost the opportunity. Actually, that statement is true of so many positions. I didn't quite understand when people said that the more they learn about BJJ the less they know, but I'm starting to get it now...
Went through the self-defense and top side-control movements for Damon's purple test. Some techniques I swear I haven't seen before. A new entry for the cross-choke from side-control by going to reverse kesa gatame first and sliding your hand in at that point. Ditto when going for a far-side arm-bar that is being defended.
Quick rolls with Damon and Scott. I worked a lot of open guard (not by choice) with Damon. I tried the tripod-to-sickle sweep and missed it. That would be a good one to drill a lot in order for it to become second nature and not allow them time to react. It would be worth it to have a follow-up to the tripod since I've been relying on it quite a bit. I managed to keep Damon at bay for most of the roll, which is a good accomplishment for me.
Scott was able to pass my guard relatively early on so I was left defending from bottom side and turtle. I still have to think too much on the turtle escapes, so by the time my brain chugs through what to do next my opponent has moved and I've lost the opportunity. Actually, that statement is true of so many positions. I didn't quite understand when people said that the more they learn about BJJ the less they know, but I'm starting to get it now...
Monday, July 29, 2013
Sat/Mon
7/27 - Downtown
Guard passes from kneeling and standing. I was doing a pretty good job of getting my hips forward today on the standing passes, although I still need to work on my posture.
We started off with 15min of KOTH, which resulted in the usual outcome for me. I kept my ego in check though and did what I could. After that we rolled, and I can't remember who my partners were. I was starting to feel fatigued b/c I hadn't had enough water and it was hot as blazes. Everyone was really feeling the heat, and there was no desire to roll after class.
7/29 - Downtown
93 Guard basics, arm drag, twist sweep. Rolled with Kelly, Sol, Taylor, Jason (B) and Kevin. Defense was ok, although I let it lapse during my roll with Jason and he got an arm-bar at the end. I'm getting a little bit better at not collapsing my legs when people are passing but I'm still doing it. Taylor is a new girl but she has some grappling experience, I think primarily no gi. It was a fun roll, as she is light and very fast.
Guard passes from kneeling and standing. I was doing a pretty good job of getting my hips forward today on the standing passes, although I still need to work on my posture.
We started off with 15min of KOTH, which resulted in the usual outcome for me. I kept my ego in check though and did what I could. After that we rolled, and I can't remember who my partners were. I was starting to feel fatigued b/c I hadn't had enough water and it was hot as blazes. Everyone was really feeling the heat, and there was no desire to roll after class.
7/29 - Downtown
93 Guard basics, arm drag, twist sweep. Rolled with Kelly, Sol, Taylor, Jason (B) and Kevin. Defense was ok, although I let it lapse during my roll with Jason and he got an arm-bar at the end. I'm getting a little bit better at not collapsing my legs when people are passing but I'm still doing it. Taylor is a new girl but she has some grappling experience, I think primarily no gi. It was a fun roll, as she is light and very fast.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Not Crushed
7/26 - Downtown
Today was a good day. Sweeps on standing opponents. A couple that I haven't seen before, including one that James picked up from the Keenan dvds. It involves a level of control of their sleeve and hip that I rarely have, so I'm going to have to improve in those areas before I try to incorporate it in my game.
Tried to take my head out of the rolls today and not get all sad panda when I didn't do well. Rolled with Antone, Blaine, Dennis and Jason (B). Good rolls with all of them, but I noticed they were pulling back a little bit. Antone restarted a bunch when he normally wouldn't. Blaine simply defended my guard game, let me take his back and then defended my back attacks. Dennis played a bit more, but I think he let me finish a pass when he normally wouldn't. Jason also wanted to go a bit lighter and gave me more space than normal. It was kindof weird. I don't think it was anything more than coincidence, but certainly a curious one. It was hot as blazes which might have effected some of the guys, but still. I could have kept rolling, my cardio felt on point even though I had a tough lifting session last night.
Dennis got his fourth stripe today and will be testing for roxa in November. Really excited for him, he has a lot of years into this sport and his technique will deserve it.
Today was a good day. Sweeps on standing opponents. A couple that I haven't seen before, including one that James picked up from the Keenan dvds. It involves a level of control of their sleeve and hip that I rarely have, so I'm going to have to improve in those areas before I try to incorporate it in my game.
Tried to take my head out of the rolls today and not get all sad panda when I didn't do well. Rolled with Antone, Blaine, Dennis and Jason (B). Good rolls with all of them, but I noticed they were pulling back a little bit. Antone restarted a bunch when he normally wouldn't. Blaine simply defended my guard game, let me take his back and then defended my back attacks. Dennis played a bit more, but I think he let me finish a pass when he normally wouldn't. Jason also wanted to go a bit lighter and gave me more space than normal. It was kindof weird. I don't think it was anything more than coincidence, but certainly a curious one. It was hot as blazes which might have effected some of the guys, but still. I could have kept rolling, my cardio felt on point even though I had a tough lifting session last night.
Dennis got his fourth stripe today and will be testing for roxa in November. Really excited for him, he has a lot of years into this sport and his technique will deserve it.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
More KOTH
7/24 - Downtown - Evening
On a bit of a whim, I decided to do the evening class since it was too hot to do much of anything else. Normally I'd spend time with the dog in the yard or take her for a walk, but she had no desire to do either in the heat. So I figured I'd try to redeem myself from the manhandling earlier in the day. Not a good mindset to go to class in.
We drilled takedowns, specifically ankle picks. I felt ok about these, primarily b/c they aren't hip throws. We did a fun a little drill where one person would lay on the mat and two others were standing 10' away. The fourth person would front roll over the person the middle, pop up and perform a take down. Turn around, front roll over the prone individual, pop up, take down. Three minutes of that was a good a little workout.
We spent the remaining technique time on using laterally bumps from guard to get a stalling opponent off base and either shoot for a triangle, kimura, or hip bump sweep.
The roll portion was my nemesis, KOTH passes and sweeps. I started down and had a couple of new white belts that I easily swept. Then it was Ian, and I kept ending up in submission positions instead of getting sweeps and he passed. He's a quick study, but I should have been able to sweep him. After that, the onus was on me to pass my opponents and it was the usual debacle. Of course the better players end up on mat in KOTH, so after a relatively short time you're going against the best in the class. But once again, I felt like I wasn't posing much of a challenge. I don't expect to "win", but I don't want to feel like I'm an easy mark for other blues. In this case, I don't want to feel like they can do pretty much whatever sweep they want on me anytime the mood strikes them. It makes me feel like I'm not at an appropriate rank. By the end of class I wanted to rip the stripes off my belt. It's easy to tell other people to not stress about their belt color and/or stripes, but more difficult to put into practice. As a side note, Julio (brown) did a brute force tomoe nage type sweep that was just ridiculous.
In sum, I didn't leave class feeling better about myself. James did say after I swept one of the newer white belts that I was transitioning well between open guard and closed guard. He said that I'm clearly more comfortable with closed guard sweeps, but that it's good to move between the different types of guards and give people different looks. So there's that.
On a bit of a whim, I decided to do the evening class since it was too hot to do much of anything else. Normally I'd spend time with the dog in the yard or take her for a walk, but she had no desire to do either in the heat. So I figured I'd try to redeem myself from the manhandling earlier in the day. Not a good mindset to go to class in.
We drilled takedowns, specifically ankle picks. I felt ok about these, primarily b/c they aren't hip throws. We did a fun a little drill where one person would lay on the mat and two others were standing 10' away. The fourth person would front roll over the person the middle, pop up and perform a take down. Turn around, front roll over the prone individual, pop up, take down. Three minutes of that was a good a little workout.
We spent the remaining technique time on using laterally bumps from guard to get a stalling opponent off base and either shoot for a triangle, kimura, or hip bump sweep.
The roll portion was my nemesis, KOTH passes and sweeps. I started down and had a couple of new white belts that I easily swept. Then it was Ian, and I kept ending up in submission positions instead of getting sweeps and he passed. He's a quick study, but I should have been able to sweep him. After that, the onus was on me to pass my opponents and it was the usual debacle. Of course the better players end up on mat in KOTH, so after a relatively short time you're going against the best in the class. But once again, I felt like I wasn't posing much of a challenge. I don't expect to "win", but I don't want to feel like I'm an easy mark for other blues. In this case, I don't want to feel like they can do pretty much whatever sweep they want on me anytime the mood strikes them. It makes me feel like I'm not at an appropriate rank. By the end of class I wanted to rip the stripes off my belt. It's easy to tell other people to not stress about their belt color and/or stripes, but more difficult to put into practice. As a side note, Julio (brown) did a brute force tomoe nage type sweep that was just ridiculous.
In sum, I didn't leave class feeling better about myself. James did say after I swept one of the newer white belts that I was transitioning well between open guard and closed guard. He said that I'm clearly more comfortable with closed guard sweeps, but that it's good to move between the different types of guards and give people different looks. So there's that.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Wrist Lock City
7/24 - Downtown
Life and circumstances have gotten in the way of a slew of classes this week. Not too worried about since I hit quite a few earlier in the month.
We had an obscene number of people at the morning class today. Sixteen, including James. Kelly requested that we work on wrist locks, and predictably there was a shared groan from the entire class. Wrist locks from standing, guillotine defense, kesa gatame, top side-control and omoplatas. They are indeed everywhere if you know where to look. I don't quite know where to look yet, but I am learning when my own wrists are in danger and can generally identify it before someone (except James) can complete the lock. During the technique portion I was tapping early b/c I absolutely do not want to have an injured wrist.
A lot of good rolls. I did well against Sarah, but was pretty much manhandled by everyone else. Granted two of those were purple belts, but still. Rolls with Michael and Jason (P), neither of which I've rolled with in many moons.
Early on, I tried to free my mind of techniques that I expected or wanted to perform and really just go with the flow. That lasted for a piece of time, and is something I want to experiment with further. In class I generally don't have a set plan other than focusing on a particular fundamental...grips, controlling distance, etc. However, I think mid-roll I try to fit a technique into a situation even though it may not be the right tool for the job. I want to get a sense of momentum, space, pressure, etc. For example, if someone is in my open guard in a combat stance, the first (and only thing I think of) is to get a DLR hook and do the one DLR sweep that I know, regardless of their posture. Instead, I'd rather get the DLR hook and play with getting inverted, or change their posture/balance. So being more in a flow to control position instead of trying to hit specific techniques, if that makes sense.
Life and circumstances have gotten in the way of a slew of classes this week. Not too worried about since I hit quite a few earlier in the month.
We had an obscene number of people at the morning class today. Sixteen, including James. Kelly requested that we work on wrist locks, and predictably there was a shared groan from the entire class. Wrist locks from standing, guillotine defense, kesa gatame, top side-control and omoplatas. They are indeed everywhere if you know where to look. I don't quite know where to look yet, but I am learning when my own wrists are in danger and can generally identify it before someone (except James) can complete the lock. During the technique portion I was tapping early b/c I absolutely do not want to have an injured wrist.
A lot of good rolls. I did well against Sarah, but was pretty much manhandled by everyone else. Granted two of those were purple belts, but still. Rolls with Michael and Jason (P), neither of which I've rolled with in many moons.
Early on, I tried to free my mind of techniques that I expected or wanted to perform and really just go with the flow. That lasted for a piece of time, and is something I want to experiment with further. In class I generally don't have a set plan other than focusing on a particular fundamental...grips, controlling distance, etc. However, I think mid-roll I try to fit a technique into a situation even though it may not be the right tool for the job. I want to get a sense of momentum, space, pressure, etc. For example, if someone is in my open guard in a combat stance, the first (and only thing I think of) is to get a DLR hook and do the one DLR sweep that I know, regardless of their posture. Instead, I'd rather get the DLR hook and play with getting inverted, or change their posture/balance. So being more in a flow to control position instead of trying to hit specific techniques, if that makes sense.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Not King of the Hill
7/19 - Downtown
I signed up for the Buchecha seminar in September. Excited doesn't even begin to describe it.
Today we worked the flower sweep and a couple of variations of an arm-bar depending on where they post their hand to counter it.
For rolls we did king of the hill guard pass or sweep, starting in closed guard. Ugh. I was swept with a double-ankle in less than a minute into my first try. I came relatively close to passing Dennis' guard but other than that it was an exercise in futility. I tried standing and kneeling guard passes and had very little luck. This is a great drill for me but it makes me feel like crap b/c I do so poorly at it. I remember the last time we did this drill I tried standing guard passes and it ended in abject failure. I think it was a little better this time around, but stilll...meh.
We had a couple of regular rolls after the pass/sweep drill. I had the top of the food chain with James and Antone and had fun rolls with both of them. Antone got me in a sortof crucifix shoulder lock thing and James got me with a wrist lock after I tried to roll out of an omoplata. After those rolls I decided that I like BJJ again.
I signed up for the Buchecha seminar in September. Excited doesn't even begin to describe it.
Today we worked the flower sweep and a couple of variations of an arm-bar depending on where they post their hand to counter it.
For rolls we did king of the hill guard pass or sweep, starting in closed guard. Ugh. I was swept with a double-ankle in less than a minute into my first try. I came relatively close to passing Dennis' guard but other than that it was an exercise in futility. I tried standing and kneeling guard passes and had very little luck. This is a great drill for me but it makes me feel like crap b/c I do so poorly at it. I remember the last time we did this drill I tried standing guard passes and it ended in abject failure. I think it was a little better this time around, but stilll...meh.
We had a couple of regular rolls after the pass/sweep drill. I had the top of the food chain with James and Antone and had fun rolls with both of them. Antone got me in a sortof crucifix shoulder lock thing and James got me with a wrist lock after I tried to roll out of an omoplata. After those rolls I decided that I like BJJ again.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Buchecha!
7/18 - Valley
Found out yesterday that Buchecha is going to be doing a seminar on the west side in September. If I have the funds and it's not outrageous, you bet your sweet bippy that I'm going.
Went through a bunch of techniques on the purple belt list. Some of them I swear I haven't seen before. Good thing I'm not testing. :) One in particular, a N/S choke that starts from mount did not go especially well for me. Fist on one side of their neck, palm up lapel grip on the other. I didn't particularly care for the hand placement...seemed awkward...I was probably botching it.
Four of us today, and we went with flow rolls again. This time, Damon specified that there would be no submissions and no holding positions for more than ~3sec. I think these stipulations helped loosen the guys up. I got a spiderguard sweep a couple of times, which was gratifying. We all flowed a lot better, transitioning quite a bit from position to position. Gary was giving me superior positions and letting me work. Damon would let me get to top side-control but damned if I could establish anything that even remotely resembled control. In general, I focused on not getting passed and was more or less successful. I also focused on not doing that stupid thing that I tend to do with my leg in bottom half guard that could easily result in ligament tearing. :)
My ribs are pretty well seasoned to BJJ, and I regularly roll with guys that have 50+lb on me. Even so, at one point Scott dropped his weight on my ribs just right and I had to take a moment to collect my thoughts. Didn't take my wind, but it sure didn't feel like sunshine. It went away pretty quickly though and hasn't bothered me since, so I'm not too worried about it.
The space had A/C, but either it wasn't on or it wasn't on very much b/c I was sweating like a demon after 15min of rolling.
Last night in my Portuguese tutorial, it asked me to translate the following into Portuguese:
She is not a girl.
Hmmm. Ok. I mean, hey, I understand androgyny/trans issues better than most, but do I need to go off on a mental tangent about it when I'm trying to figure out word order? No, not really...
Ela não é uma menina
Found out yesterday that Buchecha is going to be doing a seminar on the west side in September. If I have the funds and it's not outrageous, you bet your sweet bippy that I'm going.
Went through a bunch of techniques on the purple belt list. Some of them I swear I haven't seen before. Good thing I'm not testing. :) One in particular, a N/S choke that starts from mount did not go especially well for me. Fist on one side of their neck, palm up lapel grip on the other. I didn't particularly care for the hand placement...seemed awkward...I was probably botching it.
Four of us today, and we went with flow rolls again. This time, Damon specified that there would be no submissions and no holding positions for more than ~3sec. I think these stipulations helped loosen the guys up. I got a spiderguard sweep a couple of times, which was gratifying. We all flowed a lot better, transitioning quite a bit from position to position. Gary was giving me superior positions and letting me work. Damon would let me get to top side-control but damned if I could establish anything that even remotely resembled control. In general, I focused on not getting passed and was more or less successful. I also focused on not doing that stupid thing that I tend to do with my leg in bottom half guard that could easily result in ligament tearing. :)
My ribs are pretty well seasoned to BJJ, and I regularly roll with guys that have 50+lb on me. Even so, at one point Scott dropped his weight on my ribs just right and I had to take a moment to collect my thoughts. Didn't take my wind, but it sure didn't feel like sunshine. It went away pretty quickly though and hasn't bothered me since, so I'm not too worried about it.
The space had A/C, but either it wasn't on or it wasn't on very much b/c I was sweating like a demon after 15min of rolling.
Last night in my Portuguese tutorial, it asked me to translate the following into Portuguese:
She is not a girl.
Hmmm. Ok. I mean, hey, I understand androgyny/trans issues better than most, but do I need to go off on a mental tangent about it when I'm trying to figure out word order? No, not really...
Ela não é uma menina
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
No Handed Knee Bah
7/17 - Downtown
Transitioning from side-control to KOB, and then a couple of different ways to get to a mounted triangle or straight arm-bar. A pretty wide-ranging group today with some newish white belts, blue belts, purple and of course James. I'm becoming more comfortable with KOB, now it's just a matter of getting to a dominant position in rolling so I can practice it.
It didn't seem too hot when we started, especially since we had a couple of fans going. However, mid-way through the rolls it was positively steamy. I was feeling the warmth, but it didn't effect my cardio much. I'm really quite happy that my rolling cardio is back. Some of the guys were sucking wind pretty hard. I mentioned the whole not-straining-during-rolls-the-entire-time but it just doesn't seem to sink in.
Rolled with Nate, Dennis, Ben, Kelly, James and the new girl. I did something dumb with my leg when I was in side-control trying to get to half guard and am lucky that I didn't tear every ligament in my knee. I didn't do any damage to it, but I've done that a couple of times now where I try to get an overhook on their far leg instead of getting a knee inside. I HAVE to stop doing that. James was toying with me a bit. Keeps getting knee-bars w/o using his hands. I fall for it every time too, b/c he lures me into a position that I think is going to end well for me.
After the rolls I sat for awhile to cool down, but to no avail. I was quite the sweat demon today. I hydrate very well during the day, but even so I need to remember to bring water to class. I was feeling thirsty after, which means it's already too late...
Transitioning from side-control to KOB, and then a couple of different ways to get to a mounted triangle or straight arm-bar. A pretty wide-ranging group today with some newish white belts, blue belts, purple and of course James. I'm becoming more comfortable with KOB, now it's just a matter of getting to a dominant position in rolling so I can practice it.
It didn't seem too hot when we started, especially since we had a couple of fans going. However, mid-way through the rolls it was positively steamy. I was feeling the warmth, but it didn't effect my cardio much. I'm really quite happy that my rolling cardio is back. Some of the guys were sucking wind pretty hard. I mentioned the whole not-straining-during-rolls-the-entire-time but it just doesn't seem to sink in.
Rolled with Nate, Dennis, Ben, Kelly, James and the new girl. I did something dumb with my leg when I was in side-control trying to get to half guard and am lucky that I didn't tear every ligament in my knee. I didn't do any damage to it, but I've done that a couple of times now where I try to get an overhook on their far leg instead of getting a knee inside. I HAVE to stop doing that. James was toying with me a bit. Keeps getting knee-bars w/o using his hands. I fall for it every time too, b/c he lures me into a position that I think is going to end well for me.
After the rolls I sat for awhile to cool down, but to no avail. I was quite the sweat demon today. I hydrate very well during the day, but even so I need to remember to bring water to class. I was feeling thirsty after, which means it's already too late...
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Foot Burgler
7/16 - Valley
First class back at the Valley in awhile. The guys are working through the list of techniques for their purple belts, so we went through techniques at a pretty clip. There were a couple that I hadn't seen before, and was a little surprised by that b/c I thought that I'd been exposed to everything they were going to get tested on by now. One of them I really was a transition from the triangle to an arm-bar. If they posture straight up right before you have the triangle locked on, keep the grip on their arm and figure-four your legs in the opposite direction, with the leg that was going to lock on the outside coming over the top of their trapped arm and being locked on the other side. Probably not explaining it well, but it was pretty cool.
We were flying through techniques, and I think they were letting me get away with some sloppy reps b/c they are testing and I'm not. Maybe my reps weren't as bad as I thought they were, but they sure didn't seem smooth.
A couple of quick rolls at the end, two with Damon and one with Gary. Damon was really emphasizing rolling loose (i.e. flow rolling), but it's a completely unnatural style of rolling for them. I'm not being critical, as it's a learned skill and not something that has been cultivated at this school. Damon started to loosen up in our second roll. I leave a lot of leg lock opportunities out there for him, especially when I play open guard. I need some help on how to keep my feet from getting burgled, especially in DLR.
First class back at the Valley in awhile. The guys are working through the list of techniques for their purple belts, so we went through techniques at a pretty clip. There were a couple that I hadn't seen before, and was a little surprised by that b/c I thought that I'd been exposed to everything they were going to get tested on by now. One of them I really was a transition from the triangle to an arm-bar. If they posture straight up right before you have the triangle locked on, keep the grip on their arm and figure-four your legs in the opposite direction, with the leg that was going to lock on the outside coming over the top of their trapped arm and being locked on the other side. Probably not explaining it well, but it was pretty cool.
We were flying through techniques, and I think they were letting me get away with some sloppy reps b/c they are testing and I'm not. Maybe my reps weren't as bad as I thought they were, but they sure didn't seem smooth.
A couple of quick rolls at the end, two with Damon and one with Gary. Damon was really emphasizing rolling loose (i.e. flow rolling), but it's a completely unnatural style of rolling for them. I'm not being critical, as it's a learned skill and not something that has been cultivated at this school. Damon started to loosen up in our second roll. I leave a lot of leg lock opportunities out there for him, especially when I play open guard. I need some help on how to keep my feet from getting burgled, especially in DLR.
Monday, July 15, 2013
More Rolls, More Better
7/13/13 - Downtown
I think we did the brabo and baseball bat chokes from top side-control and/or KOB. Only had a couple of rolls. They were good, but I wanted more.
7/15/13 - Downtown
We had quite a few newbies, so it was a basic getting into and out of spiderguard, and then setting up an arm-bar from there.
Had great rolls with Dennis, Julio and Opal. After class I rolled with Kelly for awhile, who commented on how I was trying to pull him over my body when my legs were collapsed instead of doing a hip heist in the other direction. That probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me. Basically if my legs get collapsed he's recommending that I try to sit through, go belly down and re-guard instead of just letting them smash my side. I'm generally pretty hesitant to go belly-down and give up my back, but if you turn quick enough you might be ok. I'm going to try it (if I think of it) during rolls this week and see how it works for me.
Had a really good roll with Dennis...he asked if I was feeling especially good today b/c he said that I was rolling strong. I was trying very hard to keep my frames and not let him pass my guard and was mostly successful. I didn't threaten him with much, but I seemed to be transitioning between open and closed guard at the right times.
I also got some tips on kimura defense. I really need to work on this, b/c I've been getting kimura'd quite a bit. Kelly showed me that if your legs are free and opponent is trying to kimura you from the bottom (like a sloppy open guard), you can rotate a bit and turn it into an arm-bar from the top. Very slick, looks like something that will really work.
Overall I think I'm finally pretty much over mono (finally). I seem to have enough energy for BJJ in the morning and lifting at night and don't feel quite like death by 9pm.
I think we did the brabo and baseball bat chokes from top side-control and/or KOB. Only had a couple of rolls. They were good, but I wanted more.
7/15/13 - Downtown
We had quite a few newbies, so it was a basic getting into and out of spiderguard, and then setting up an arm-bar from there.
Had great rolls with Dennis, Julio and Opal. After class I rolled with Kelly for awhile, who commented on how I was trying to pull him over my body when my legs were collapsed instead of doing a hip heist in the other direction. That probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me. Basically if my legs get collapsed he's recommending that I try to sit through, go belly down and re-guard instead of just letting them smash my side. I'm generally pretty hesitant to go belly-down and give up my back, but if you turn quick enough you might be ok. I'm going to try it (if I think of it) during rolls this week and see how it works for me.
Had a really good roll with Dennis...he asked if I was feeling especially good today b/c he said that I was rolling strong. I was trying very hard to keep my frames and not let him pass my guard and was mostly successful. I didn't threaten him with much, but I seemed to be transitioning between open and closed guard at the right times.
I also got some tips on kimura defense. I really need to work on this, b/c I've been getting kimura'd quite a bit. Kelly showed me that if your legs are free and opponent is trying to kimura you from the bottom (like a sloppy open guard), you can rotate a bit and turn it into an arm-bar from the top. Very slick, looks like something that will really work.
Overall I think I'm finally pretty much over mono (finally). I seem to have enough energy for BJJ in the morning and lifting at night and don't feel quite like death by 9pm.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Oi!
7/12/13 - Downtown
Scissor sweep variations... scissor to triangle, scissor to omoplata and reverse scissor. I was drilling with two other people, and all three of us were crowding the reverse scissor which made it very difficult to get our partner loaded up. James had a great idea of having us start from kneeling. Get the cross-grip, put knee in their lap, reach across for the lat, lay back as you pull them into you, then extend. Gave a good sense of the space that we needed to make it effective.
Rolls with Jason, Zack, Kelly, Opal and an after class roll with Dennis. Jason kept going for kimuras and I was able to defend those much better than I did last night. Happy with that, b/c I'm getting a little tired of being kimura'd while someone is sitting on my face. Of course, it would be ideal to not have them sit on my face in the first place, but it doesn't always work out that way. Zack was going pretty hard and spazzing a bit. I really want to not tap to him. Oh the ego...
Kelly and I had a good back and forth roll. First time I've rolled with him. He's a one stripe purple, and I think he had to take a fair amount of time off from BJJ b/c of a heart condition.We ended with me having an inverted triangle, which wasn't tight but I was still pretty stoked about it. Jayson was watching and recommended that I use that to try to set up a foot lock.
The roll with Dennis was also a bit back-and-forth. He was going for an electric chair(?) sweep and it felt like it was really torquing my calf/knee/hip. I squawked as he was taking me overhead b/c it was a pretty sharp pain. No damage done b/c he released it immediately. Very strange positioning, wish I could have seen it on video. I was doing a fairly good job of passing his guard today. Had to be patient and work for it.
I was looking for deep half opportunities today since we worked on it last night, and got it once on Opal.
On a side note, I've decided to learn Brazilian Portuguese. Bought a book/audio set and am working through greetings in lesson 1. The heavy nasal usage is tough, as I have a very flat American accent and it sounds pretty lame when I try it. It's a pretty language, and shares some common grammar themes with French, which I took for four years in high school. I'm hoping to be able to speak a bit when Walter (James' instructor) comes in November. Walter is a stocky Brazilian, and it would be pretty neat to be able to understand him when he starts firing Portuguese at Nando.
Scissor sweep variations... scissor to triangle, scissor to omoplata and reverse scissor. I was drilling with two other people, and all three of us were crowding the reverse scissor which made it very difficult to get our partner loaded up. James had a great idea of having us start from kneeling. Get the cross-grip, put knee in their lap, reach across for the lat, lay back as you pull them into you, then extend. Gave a good sense of the space that we needed to make it effective.
Rolls with Jason, Zack, Kelly, Opal and an after class roll with Dennis. Jason kept going for kimuras and I was able to defend those much better than I did last night. Happy with that, b/c I'm getting a little tired of being kimura'd while someone is sitting on my face. Of course, it would be ideal to not have them sit on my face in the first place, but it doesn't always work out that way. Zack was going pretty hard and spazzing a bit. I really want to not tap to him. Oh the ego...
Kelly and I had a good back and forth roll. First time I've rolled with him. He's a one stripe purple, and I think he had to take a fair amount of time off from BJJ b/c of a heart condition.We ended with me having an inverted triangle, which wasn't tight but I was still pretty stoked about it. Jayson was watching and recommended that I use that to try to set up a foot lock.
The roll with Dennis was also a bit back-and-forth. He was going for an electric chair(?) sweep and it felt like it was really torquing my calf/knee/hip. I squawked as he was taking me overhead b/c it was a pretty sharp pain. No damage done b/c he released it immediately. Very strange positioning, wish I could have seen it on video. I was doing a fairly good job of passing his guard today. Had to be patient and work for it.
I was looking for deep half opportunities today since we worked on it last night, and got it once on Opal.
On a side note, I've decided to learn Brazilian Portuguese. Bought a book/audio set and am working through greetings in lesson 1. The heavy nasal usage is tough, as I have a very flat American accent and it sounds pretty lame when I try it. It's a pretty language, and shares some common grammar themes with French, which I took for four years in high school. I'm hoping to be able to speak a bit when Walter (James' instructor) comes in November. Walter is a stocky Brazilian, and it would be pretty neat to be able to understand him when he starts firing Portuguese at Nando.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Points
7/11/13 - Downtown
I asked James what we were going to work on today. He didn't have a plan, and asked me what I wanted to learn. This is also a dicey proposition, b/c oftentimes no one else wants to drill what I want to drill, or the idea is so vague that James isn't sure what to do with it (although he usually wings it pretty well). I gave it some deep thought (as much deep thought as one can muster in the changing room) and decided on back mount escapes. I haven't gone over those in awhile at either school and thought it would be a good refresher.
He came through, and had a couple of techniques that I haven't seen before. He also had some really good tips on getting to deep half and keeping (or getting) their leg to extend.
The rolls were point rolls, with a penalty of calisthenics to whoever had 6pts or a submission scored against them. Rolled with Sarah first. I was getting a sub near the end, but there was a disagreement about whether it was just supposed to be points or subs and then time ran out.
Roll with a newish big guy (Russell?) that I just wimped out on and kept in my guard. Eventually got an omoplata.
Roll with Grant. Worked a long time on a guard pass and eventually was able to sneak into mount while he was defending the pass.
At the end of class, rolled with Jimmy b/c I couldn't take anymore of the point rolls. They serve a good purpose, but there's something about rolling for a specific number of points that I think makes me very cautious. It's weird, I'm so focused on not getting 6pts scored on me, I think it makes me stall out a bit. Anyway, not sure how long Jimmy and I rolled, but it was long enough for him to kimura at least a couple of times and try for several more. Those judo guys have redonkulious grips.
I asked James what we were going to work on today. He didn't have a plan, and asked me what I wanted to learn. This is also a dicey proposition, b/c oftentimes no one else wants to drill what I want to drill, or the idea is so vague that James isn't sure what to do with it (although he usually wings it pretty well). I gave it some deep thought (as much deep thought as one can muster in the changing room) and decided on back mount escapes. I haven't gone over those in awhile at either school and thought it would be a good refresher.
He came through, and had a couple of techniques that I haven't seen before. He also had some really good tips on getting to deep half and keeping (or getting) their leg to extend.
The rolls were point rolls, with a penalty of calisthenics to whoever had 6pts or a submission scored against them. Rolled with Sarah first. I was getting a sub near the end, but there was a disagreement about whether it was just supposed to be points or subs and then time ran out.
Roll with a newish big guy (Russell?) that I just wimped out on and kept in my guard. Eventually got an omoplata.
Roll with Grant. Worked a long time on a guard pass and eventually was able to sneak into mount while he was defending the pass.
At the end of class, rolled with Jimmy b/c I couldn't take anymore of the point rolls. They serve a good purpose, but there's something about rolling for a specific number of points that I think makes me very cautious. It's weird, I'm so focused on not getting 6pts scored on me, I think it makes me stall out a bit. Anyway, not sure how long Jimmy and I rolled, but it was long enough for him to kimura at least a couple of times and try for several more. Those judo guys have redonkulious grips.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Newbie
7/9/13 - Downtown
Bit of a frustrating class today. Worked passes from 93 guard (near-side pass, far-side pass and over/under). This went ok, except we weren't getting much help during the drilling portion b/c there was a brand new woman that required all of James' attention. Not a big deal, after several tries my partner and I were able to execute the over/under with some success.
The bummer for me came during the rolls. One roll with Opal, then James asked me to roll with the new girl. I was totally cool with that, and showed her the collar choke from guard, the difference between guard and mount, etc. Was not going to roll with her b/c she did not have any idea what was what. However, when the time was up for the round, no one else would pair up with her, so I was left to show her more stuff. And again for the third round. In hindsight, I should have went over to Opal and asked her to work with her friend after I worked a round with her, but I didn't want her friend to think that I was trying to ditch her. Next time I'll be more proactive.
To be clear, I'm fine working with newbies. We all have to start somewhere, and it's crazy how much you learn even when you try to show very basic movements and you have to answer questions about things that you may have just taken for granted. However, methinks it's important to spread the wealth.
I was bummed about not getting a good roll today, especially since I won't be hitting as many classes this week. Maybe I can hit the evening class...
Bit of a frustrating class today. Worked passes from 93 guard (near-side pass, far-side pass and over/under). This went ok, except we weren't getting much help during the drilling portion b/c there was a brand new woman that required all of James' attention. Not a big deal, after several tries my partner and I were able to execute the over/under with some success.
The bummer for me came during the rolls. One roll with Opal, then James asked me to roll with the new girl. I was totally cool with that, and showed her the collar choke from guard, the difference between guard and mount, etc. Was not going to roll with her b/c she did not have any idea what was what. However, when the time was up for the round, no one else would pair up with her, so I was left to show her more stuff. And again for the third round. In hindsight, I should have went over to Opal and asked her to work with her friend after I worked a round with her, but I didn't want her friend to think that I was trying to ditch her. Next time I'll be more proactive.
To be clear, I'm fine working with newbies. We all have to start somewhere, and it's crazy how much you learn even when you try to show very basic movements and you have to answer questions about things that you may have just taken for granted. However, methinks it's important to spread the wealth.
I was bummed about not getting a good roll today, especially since I won't be hitting as many classes this week. Maybe I can hit the evening class...
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
KOB
7/8 - Downtown
Submissions from KOB. Near-side arm-bar, far-side armbar and baseball bat choke. I thought I'd be a lot better with the far-side arm-bar as I've done it before, but was pretty awkward.
Had four pretty solid rolls. Went light with Opal, let her work from a bunch of different positions. Had a rather odd roll with Julio where he stayed mostly in my guard and seemed to let me work quite a bit. Typically he lets me work guard a bit and then rolls me up into turtle, but yesterday he didn't seem inclined. Don't remember the details of my roll with Jason, but I'm pretty sure I was defending from bottom side and bottom mount for most of the time. Good roll with Dennis, who keeps telling me that he's fearful of my guard but I don't believe him. He fell back for a footlock but ended up eliciting a tap from the calf instead. I can't wait to learn defenses for leg locks, b/c right now I know zero. All I can think of to do is to get the bottom of my foot on the mat if possible, as that seems to prevent most subs.
Submissions from KOB. Near-side arm-bar, far-side armbar and baseball bat choke. I thought I'd be a lot better with the far-side arm-bar as I've done it before, but was pretty awkward.
Had four pretty solid rolls. Went light with Opal, let her work from a bunch of different positions. Had a rather odd roll with Julio where he stayed mostly in my guard and seemed to let me work quite a bit. Typically he lets me work guard a bit and then rolls me up into turtle, but yesterday he didn't seem inclined. Don't remember the details of my roll with Jason, but I'm pretty sure I was defending from bottom side and bottom mount for most of the time. Good roll with Dennis, who keeps telling me that he's fearful of my guard but I don't believe him. He fell back for a footlock but ended up eliciting a tap from the calf instead. I can't wait to learn defenses for leg locks, b/c right now I know zero. All I can think of to do is to get the bottom of my foot on the mat if possible, as that seems to prevent most subs.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Flow Rolls and a Milestone
7/6 - Downtown
Flow rolling is a running joke at our school. I'd like to think that I'm decent at it, but sometimes it's a cluster if my partner isn't moving enough and I have a brain fart about what to do next instead of just moving into the next thing. Only four of us on Saturday. It was good group to flow roll with, and I didn't feel like I was stuck during the flow portions at all. We rotated through everyone 2-3 times with flow rolling, then James showed us a sweep from DLR, then back to regular rolling. We got a solid hour of rolling in, which I was very happy with b/c the rest of the week had been heavy on technique.
During the flow rolls I kept trying for a tripod sweep on James b/c I couldn't seem to think of anything else to do. I even commented on it at one point that it was the only sweep that I knew. It's not true, but I can't ever get DLR sweeps to work when my opponent is standing, and he rarely had both legs forward. Anyway, toward the end of our second set of rolls (not flow rolls), it occurred to me that I should try the double-ankle sweep. Apparently I had lulled him into complacency with my failed tripod sweep attempts, because he was not expecting the double-ankle and went down on his butt hard. It surprised the hell out of both of us. I was so shocked that I didn't come up to finish the sweep and thought he must be hurt. He laughed and said it was well done and had really surprised him.
I'm pretty happy with my first legitimate sweep of my coach. :)
When rolling with Fernando (white) I found myself holding down his near side-leg without thinking about it as I was passing. I don't remember how I initiated the pass...might have been a scramble. In any case, as I was passing to side-control, I was controlling the near side leg automatically. Having my body do a small thing like that without a great deal of conscious thought is very gratifying. It was nice to see evidence of progress since lately I've been feeling like I'm stalling out.
Flow rolling is a running joke at our school. I'd like to think that I'm decent at it, but sometimes it's a cluster if my partner isn't moving enough and I have a brain fart about what to do next instead of just moving into the next thing. Only four of us on Saturday. It was good group to flow roll with, and I didn't feel like I was stuck during the flow portions at all. We rotated through everyone 2-3 times with flow rolling, then James showed us a sweep from DLR, then back to regular rolling. We got a solid hour of rolling in, which I was very happy with b/c the rest of the week had been heavy on technique.
During the flow rolls I kept trying for a tripod sweep on James b/c I couldn't seem to think of anything else to do. I even commented on it at one point that it was the only sweep that I knew. It's not true, but I can't ever get DLR sweeps to work when my opponent is standing, and he rarely had both legs forward. Anyway, toward the end of our second set of rolls (not flow rolls), it occurred to me that I should try the double-ankle sweep. Apparently I had lulled him into complacency with my failed tripod sweep attempts, because he was not expecting the double-ankle and went down on his butt hard. It surprised the hell out of both of us. I was so shocked that I didn't come up to finish the sweep and thought he must be hurt. He laughed and said it was well done and had really surprised him.
I'm pretty happy with my first legitimate sweep of my coach. :)
When rolling with Fernando (white) I found myself holding down his near side-leg without thinking about it as I was passing. I don't remember how I initiated the pass...might have been a scramble. In any case, as I was passing to side-control, I was controlling the near side leg automatically. Having my body do a small thing like that without a great deal of conscious thought is very gratifying. It was nice to see evidence of progress since lately I've been feeling like I'm stalling out.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Sixth Class this Week
7/5 - Valley
Good stuff today...four KOB escapes, a spiderguard sweep and chokes from top side-control. I don't think any of the techniques were new to me, although it had been awhile since I had seen some of the side-control chokes. We had a quick warm-up and then got right into the techniques. Had a good little flow with the spiderguard sweep into KOB and then rotated through the four escapes.
Quick rolls with Scott and Gary at the end. Had an omoplata on Gary...he rolled out of it twice, but I kept going for it. I think I tried to sit out to flatten him and keep him from rolling but I must not have done it (at least in time). Rolls felt good, hope it carries over into tomorrow.
Considered going to a no gi class tonight but had too much to do around the house.
Good stuff today...four KOB escapes, a spiderguard sweep and chokes from top side-control. I don't think any of the techniques were new to me, although it had been awhile since I had seen some of the side-control chokes. We had a quick warm-up and then got right into the techniques. Had a good little flow with the spiderguard sweep into KOB and then rotated through the four escapes.
Quick rolls with Scott and Gary at the end. Had an omoplata on Gary...he rolled out of it twice, but I kept going for it. I think I tried to sit out to flatten him and keep him from rolling but I must not have done it (at least in time). Rolls felt good, hope it carries over into tomorrow.
Considered going to a no gi class tonight but had too much to do around the house.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Helicopter Arm-Bar
7/4 - Valley
We did a fair number of techniques that I'm not especially excited about, including the helicopter arm-bar (which wasn't really that bad), the balloon/overhead sweep, and the standing hook (tripod) sweep. I normally don't mind the tripod sweep, but this variation has you pulling the hooking leg in whilst pushing up on the hip and pulling the ankle, which tends to get quite airborne.
I was glad that the guys wanted to get together and do some techniques today even though it was a holiday. We met a 9am and had a quick hour session. It took me awhile to get my partner's weight loaded up correctly for the helicopter sweep. They have about 50lb on me, so it's not like I could cheat on the technique. That is both a blessing and sometimes a frustrating curse. I was finally getting it though when I pushed them away from me first and then loaded them up as their momentum brought them into me. It's a slick looking move once you get it.
No rolls at the end as Gary needed to load up the smoker for 4th of July nom noms.
We did a fair number of techniques that I'm not especially excited about, including the helicopter arm-bar (which wasn't really that bad), the balloon/overhead sweep, and the standing hook (tripod) sweep. I normally don't mind the tripod sweep, but this variation has you pulling the hooking leg in whilst pushing up on the hip and pulling the ankle, which tends to get quite airborne.
I was glad that the guys wanted to get together and do some techniques today even though it was a holiday. We met a 9am and had a quick hour session. It took me awhile to get my partner's weight loaded up correctly for the helicopter sweep. They have about 50lb on me, so it's not like I could cheat on the technique. That is both a blessing and sometimes a frustrating curse. I was finally getting it though when I pushed them away from me first and then loaded them up as their momentum brought them into me. It's a slick looking move once you get it.
No rolls at the end as Gary needed to load up the smoker for 4th of July nom noms.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Two-A-Days
7/3 - Valley (Morning) / Downtown (Evening)
B/c of the funny holiday schedule, I was able to do two classes today. The first in the Valley consisted almost entirely of leg locks. The second downtown was focused on arm drags from guard. It wasn't in the 100s today, and the Valley school has A/C, so it was relatively nice. Two quick rolls in the Valley. I think I was close on a couple of good sweeps but couldn't quite complete them.
Downtown the technique portion felt good. For rolls, we kept track of the number points we would have earned if it was scored and whoever got to 6 first got to rest while their opponent did 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups and 10 jumping jacks. Not a terrible punishment, but there is something that is a bit distressing about not only "losing" but also then having to pay for it as well.
Sol was passing my guard like it was nothing. He would stand up, get grips on my knees and plant them to the floor. I couldn't break the grips, and he would subsequently pass my guard and either do it again or get mount and had his 6 pts. I really, really tried today to focus on not letting my knees getting pushed together. Once in awhile I succeeded, but clearly it is a very hard habit for me to break.
Two rolls with Sarah, one with Sol and one with Ian.
B/c of the funny holiday schedule, I was able to do two classes today. The first in the Valley consisted almost entirely of leg locks. The second downtown was focused on arm drags from guard. It wasn't in the 100s today, and the Valley school has A/C, so it was relatively nice. Two quick rolls in the Valley. I think I was close on a couple of good sweeps but couldn't quite complete them.
Downtown the technique portion felt good. For rolls, we kept track of the number points we would have earned if it was scored and whoever got to 6 first got to rest while their opponent did 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups and 10 jumping jacks. Not a terrible punishment, but there is something that is a bit distressing about not only "losing" but also then having to pay for it as well.
Sol was passing my guard like it was nothing. He would stand up, get grips on my knees and plant them to the floor. I couldn't break the grips, and he would subsequently pass my guard and either do it again or get mount and had his 6 pts. I really, really tried today to focus on not letting my knees getting pushed together. Once in awhile I succeeded, but clearly it is a very hard habit for me to break.
Two rolls with Sarah, one with Sol and one with Ian.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
A/C Is Pretty Boss
7/2 - Valley
Had a late afternoon class b/c the school is on an odd schedule due to 4th of July week. One thing is for sure...having fully functional air-conditioning is amazing. I don't have it at my house, which is probably what makes me especially appreciative of having it at the gym on 100F days.
We worked breaking the closed guard and moving into a foot lock, breaking closed guard and then toe hold, knee bar from side-control, and finally the star sweep and the tripod sweep. I was feeling a bit awkward with the foot locks and some of the knee bars, especially the sweep from guard where you go right into a knee bar. I wasn't being a good partner either, as I rolled too much and kept screwing up Carrie's angle. Just a bit off today.
No rolling, only had an hour and focused on technique. It was one of those days where I felt like most of the reps on things I hadn't done before (guard break to foot lock and toe fold) weren't very high quality. Still got some exposure though, which is the only way to become more comfortable with the technique.
I showed the guys a variation on the star sweep and tripod sweep...I'm not sure that they were too excited about them. I think they are open to ideas, but since they are testing for their purple with a detailed list of techniques, they're focused on performing them in a very specific way.
Had a late afternoon class b/c the school is on an odd schedule due to 4th of July week. One thing is for sure...having fully functional air-conditioning is amazing. I don't have it at my house, which is probably what makes me especially appreciative of having it at the gym on 100F days.
We worked breaking the closed guard and moving into a foot lock, breaking closed guard and then toe hold, knee bar from side-control, and finally the star sweep and the tripod sweep. I was feeling a bit awkward with the foot locks and some of the knee bars, especially the sweep from guard where you go right into a knee bar. I wasn't being a good partner either, as I rolled too much and kept screwing up Carrie's angle. Just a bit off today.
No rolling, only had an hour and focused on technique. It was one of those days where I felt like most of the reps on things I hadn't done before (guard break to foot lock and toe fold) weren't very high quality. Still got some exposure though, which is the only way to become more comfortable with the technique.
I showed the guys a variation on the star sweep and tripod sweep...I'm not sure that they were too excited about them. I think they are open to ideas, but since they are testing for their purple with a detailed list of techniques, they're focused on performing them in a very specific way.
Monday, July 1, 2013
HOT
7/1 - Downtown
It was over 100F today, and I ended up going to the evening class instead of the morning class due to logistics. I think the school has some sort of air conditioning, but it became less apparent as time went on.
Started off with the tomoe nage sweep, which was less than thrilling for me b/c it's one of my least favorite sweeps and I got probably an hour of sleep the night before. I'm not a fan of doing techniques that I'm not comfortable with when I'm not sharp, but the beautiful part is that it's not up to me what we do on any given day. So overhead sweeps it was. Both my partner and I were pretty awkward with these, and it would be hard to believe that I've drilled this before. At both academies. But we seemed to improve as time went on, especially as we took some time to focus on when to execute it instead of freaking out about the rolling over head part.
Also did variations of the handstand sweep, star sweep and an omoplata sweep.
Rolled with Jimmy, Antone, Jay and James. I really started to feel the heat and lack of sleep early on in the rolls. Got kimura'd by Jimmy, Antone got me in...I don't remember what, but a couple of somethings. James knee-barred with just his legs, which still catches me by surprise b/c I think I have enough leeway to escape and I sadly don't. Roll with Jay was very controlled as usual, don't remember what happened there. I really tried to focus on not letting my legs get smashed together, and seemed to have a bit more success with that today. Antone commented after our roll that I keep moving the same way whenever he executes one of his guard passes, which doesn't surprise me. I'm such a creature of habit.
My feelings about rolls are such a yo-yo. Today it seemed like I had regressed a bit in skills and couldn't pull anything off effectively. I need to give myself a break for the fatigue and heat, and know that I'm progressing even when I don't feel like it. Not sure why it's such a constant theme for me lately.
My gi (and everyone elses) was soaked through before we even started rolling, which made for some really nice tactile experiences. It felt amazing to hop on my motorcycle after class and zip home to air out a bit.
It was over 100F today, and I ended up going to the evening class instead of the morning class due to logistics. I think the school has some sort of air conditioning, but it became less apparent as time went on.
Started off with the tomoe nage sweep, which was less than thrilling for me b/c it's one of my least favorite sweeps and I got probably an hour of sleep the night before. I'm not a fan of doing techniques that I'm not comfortable with when I'm not sharp, but the beautiful part is that it's not up to me what we do on any given day. So overhead sweeps it was. Both my partner and I were pretty awkward with these, and it would be hard to believe that I've drilled this before. At both academies. But we seemed to improve as time went on, especially as we took some time to focus on when to execute it instead of freaking out about the rolling over head part.
Also did variations of the handstand sweep, star sweep and an omoplata sweep.
Rolled with Jimmy, Antone, Jay and James. I really started to feel the heat and lack of sleep early on in the rolls. Got kimura'd by Jimmy, Antone got me in...I don't remember what, but a couple of somethings. James knee-barred with just his legs, which still catches me by surprise b/c I think I have enough leeway to escape and I sadly don't. Roll with Jay was very controlled as usual, don't remember what happened there. I really tried to focus on not letting my legs get smashed together, and seemed to have a bit more success with that today. Antone commented after our roll that I keep moving the same way whenever he executes one of his guard passes, which doesn't surprise me. I'm such a creature of habit.
My feelings about rolls are such a yo-yo. Today it seemed like I had regressed a bit in skills and couldn't pull anything off effectively. I need to give myself a break for the fatigue and heat, and know that I'm progressing even when I don't feel like it. Not sure why it's such a constant theme for me lately.
My gi (and everyone elses) was soaked through before we even started rolling, which made for some really nice tactile experiences. It felt amazing to hop on my motorcycle after class and zip home to air out a bit.
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