Takedowns....NOOOO...

10/10

I should amend that to "Guard Pulling...YESSSSS....". We worked a basic guard pull, basic ankle pick, guard pull to DLR and what to do if they pull their foot back on the ankle pick. The only time someone's butt hit the mat was during the sweeps that we chained into the guard pulls, so I shouldn't really complain. The problem is that anytime I do something that involves standing on my feet, my brain turns to mush. Dancing and takedowns are simply not my strong suits.

Worked with Jenny, who trains primarily at another school but drops by every so often. She's a blue belt and pretty small, probably near the 125lb category. Rolled with her first, and it was a pretty good back and forth. She passed my guard, I escaped and eventually got some variant of a loop choke or cross choke. It was a weird set-up, and I'm not even that clear as to what it was.

Also had rolls with Ian, Clayton and Michael. Had a turn with Grant, but he wanted to work techniques for his upcoming blue belt test, which was fine with me. The roll with Ian was fun...I ended up inverting at least once if not several times for escapes and guard retention. Was getting in some odd positions, but seemed to be mostly advantageous. Clayton pretty much crushed me, as usual. Michael was on top for most of the roll, but I did get top side-control a couple of times. I think he's still working on getting his cardio back.

After class, rolled with Jimmy and C. I don't even know what C's real name is, but I don't think it has the letter "c" anywhere in it. The origins of his nickname are completely unknown to me. Anyway, Jimmy had mostly top control, though I was able to get him in my guard. Don't remember much about my roll with C.

It's remarkable the difference in energy level between this week and a week or two ago. I've done five classes already this week and plan on doing two more. I'm tired but not fatigued when I get home. I hope that mono crap goes away for a good long while.