11/30
Just. Got. Crushed. I should have known I was in trouble when I was feeling winded during the warm-ups. It's amazing how you can have ample energy for one class and then crap for the next one. I've been needing to get back to lifting and bodyweight conditioning, a theory which was reinforced when I was puffing along today.
Worked pulling guard with the dummy sweep, dummy sweep to single-leg, tripod to sickle, tripod to X guard back-take. Did ok with the techniques, but did not come up correctly a single time with the sickle sweep and ended up in a bastardized 50/50. Simply couldn't noodle how to back my leg out. Other than that, the technique portion was fine.
The rolls weren't so fine. First with Antone, who tied me up in knots, bolo'd me, and discovered a neat sweep to bolo combination that he was pretty excited about. Then Clayton, who just crushed, crushed, crushed. Top side-control, KOB, rinse and repeat. At one point, I was wondering if he was returning the favor for my part in the shark tank from the previous week. Then Russ wanted to drill the arm-bars from Walter's visit. That wasn't so bad. Then James had top side-control and gently but thoroughly crushed. Finally Sol and crush crush crush from top side control. Ugh.
Felt utterly ineffective today. Hate days like that. Granted, I was rolling exclusively with purple belts and above, but still.
My neck started feeling better before class and didn't bother me at all during.
Have a local tournament coming up in a couple of weeks, which probably didn't help with my expectations of myself during the rolls.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
No Gi Black Friday
11/29
I sent a text to James in the morning to see if someone was going to host an open mat. I felt like I had put on 10lb in the past week that I've been sick. No open mats though, had to wait until no gi in the evening.
There were seven of us: James, Jason (p), Joey, Savannah, Cory and Ben. It was an hour and a half of rolling, with one person sitting out. We started out flow-rolling, and I was paired with Savannah first. She must have been saving up some aggression from Thanksgiving family get-togethers, b/c she went immediately into smash mode. I squawked "flow roll!!! flow roll!!" from underneath her cross-face. It was all in good fun.
Taking a week off and coming back to no gi was a bit rough as far as timing and executing technique was concerned. On the positive side, my body felt great and I had cardio for hours. I've also dropped the habit off blindly reaching for gi grips. Now I just sit there and try to noodle out what to do. I tried a work a bit of spider guard by holding the triceps. I was able to maintain it, but couldn't do anything with it. I also tried to work the DLR back take, but without gi grips I was wholly unsuccessful. I really, really need to learn something other than the back take from DLR. Such a one trick pony.
Had a fun roll with James. Tried to take his back to no avail. I didn't feel like I was particularly on, but still did well enough that it was fun.
Jason smashed me. When he wasn't smashing, he was rolling into toe holds or trying to apply chokes that were sortof blood chokes but moreso uncomfortable/painful forearms on the side of my neck. I'm assuming that caused the re-tweaking of my neck. I'm going to have do a fair amount of targeted stretching before class today. :(
I sent a text to James in the morning to see if someone was going to host an open mat. I felt like I had put on 10lb in the past week that I've been sick. No open mats though, had to wait until no gi in the evening.
There were seven of us: James, Jason (p), Joey, Savannah, Cory and Ben. It was an hour and a half of rolling, with one person sitting out. We started out flow-rolling, and I was paired with Savannah first. She must have been saving up some aggression from Thanksgiving family get-togethers, b/c she went immediately into smash mode. I squawked "flow roll!!! flow roll!!" from underneath her cross-face. It was all in good fun.
Taking a week off and coming back to no gi was a bit rough as far as timing and executing technique was concerned. On the positive side, my body felt great and I had cardio for hours. I've also dropped the habit off blindly reaching for gi grips. Now I just sit there and try to noodle out what to do. I tried a work a bit of spider guard by holding the triceps. I was able to maintain it, but couldn't do anything with it. I also tried to work the DLR back take, but without gi grips I was wholly unsuccessful. I really, really need to learn something other than the back take from DLR. Such a one trick pony.
Had a fun roll with James. Tried to take his back to no avail. I didn't feel like I was particularly on, but still did well enough that it was fun.
Jason smashed me. When he wasn't smashing, he was rolling into toe holds or trying to apply chokes that were sortof blood chokes but moreso uncomfortable/painful forearms on the side of my neck. I'm assuming that caused the re-tweaking of my neck. I'm going to have do a fair amount of targeted stretching before class today. :(
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Out
Not surprisingly, I have a cold. I knew I was pushing my body hard and making it susceptible to the gunk that everyone else had. It's all upper respiratory though, so it should pass quickly. I was bummed to miss James' first class as a black belt yesterday. A forced break is good for me though, as my body needs it.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Walter: Part IV
11/23
Felt like absolute death when I woke up. Probably partly the mono and partly simple exhaustion. The thought of shark-tanking my peers later in the day was most unpleasant. I figured my body was close to its limit, so I had breakfast and went back to bed. Woke up, did dishes, back to bed. Sat on the couch and watched a football game. Did absolutely nothing all day. I had to be at the gym at 5pm, and it was very lucky for me that the belt testing was a late afternoon affair instead of a morning affair. I started to feel more human around 4pm, and on the drive over I felt more confident that I was going to have energy to get through it.
Four guys were testing for purple, and they were on the last couple of positions when I arrived. There were about 15 people who showed up for tank. We did 7 people per guy, with James and Walter as the last two to go. No submissions, only dominate positions. I went with the first group for Clayton, and was the 5th to go. I had no intention of trying to take him down whether he was tired or not, so I pulled guard and immediately went for a sweep. Missed the sweep, but he came forward enough in my guard that I was able to get back-mount. I don't remember the rest, except that I was on top for the majority of the time. I did well, and heard someone comment behind me that I turn into an animal during tankings.
Other groups went with Dennis and Russell, and then Walter put me first against Sol. Sad panda for me. Again I pulled guard, and as I went for a scissor sweep he passed my guard and sat in side-control. I tried to escape, but was wholly unsuccessful. If someone gets a dominant position they can just chill, and that's what Sol did to conserve his energy. I was mad at myself for not being able to escape, but it's not like I ever have much success against his top side-control. Wasn't happy with my performance. He ended up getting mauled by everyone else, so it was good that he had a minute of not mauling from me.
I've never looked kindly upon hazing, but there's something about the rite of passage associated with the tank that is appealing. Your peers are trying to destroy you, while simultaneously cheering and letting out throaty roars when you stand up one more time after Walter has hip tossed you into the ceiling. For all of the participants, there is absolutely nothing else going on in the world other than watching and exhorting the attempt to survive--and for the very strong of heart and body--thrive. I can make peace with the tanking ritual b/c it isn't just mindless abuse...it's an exhibition of the sport itself. The belt gauntlet on the other hand...
After the tank the guys went through the belt gauntlet, and they got absolutely pummeled. I never think it's that bad until it's happening. The noise is the most alarming part. No, not true. Watching Walter wind up is the worst part.
I'm so proud of those guys.
Felt like absolute death when I woke up. Probably partly the mono and partly simple exhaustion. The thought of shark-tanking my peers later in the day was most unpleasant. I figured my body was close to its limit, so I had breakfast and went back to bed. Woke up, did dishes, back to bed. Sat on the couch and watched a football game. Did absolutely nothing all day. I had to be at the gym at 5pm, and it was very lucky for me that the belt testing was a late afternoon affair instead of a morning affair. I started to feel more human around 4pm, and on the drive over I felt more confident that I was going to have energy to get through it.
Four guys were testing for purple, and they were on the last couple of positions when I arrived. There were about 15 people who showed up for tank. We did 7 people per guy, with James and Walter as the last two to go. No submissions, only dominate positions. I went with the first group for Clayton, and was the 5th to go. I had no intention of trying to take him down whether he was tired or not, so I pulled guard and immediately went for a sweep. Missed the sweep, but he came forward enough in my guard that I was able to get back-mount. I don't remember the rest, except that I was on top for the majority of the time. I did well, and heard someone comment behind me that I turn into an animal during tankings.
Other groups went with Dennis and Russell, and then Walter put me first against Sol. Sad panda for me. Again I pulled guard, and as I went for a scissor sweep he passed my guard and sat in side-control. I tried to escape, but was wholly unsuccessful. If someone gets a dominant position they can just chill, and that's what Sol did to conserve his energy. I was mad at myself for not being able to escape, but it's not like I ever have much success against his top side-control. Wasn't happy with my performance. He ended up getting mauled by everyone else, so it was good that he had a minute of not mauling from me.
I've never looked kindly upon hazing, but there's something about the rite of passage associated with the tank that is appealing. Your peers are trying to destroy you, while simultaneously cheering and letting out throaty roars when you stand up one more time after Walter has hip tossed you into the ceiling. For all of the participants, there is absolutely nothing else going on in the world other than watching and exhorting the attempt to survive--and for the very strong of heart and body--thrive. I can make peace with the tanking ritual b/c it isn't just mindless abuse...it's an exhibition of the sport itself. The belt gauntlet on the other hand...
After the tank the guys went through the belt gauntlet, and they got absolutely pummeled. I never think it's that bad until it's happening. The noise is the most alarming part. No, not true. Watching Walter wind up is the worst part.
I'm so proud of those guys.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Walter: Part III
11/22 - Evening Seminar
The evening did not start off well, as I my dog decided to ditch me at the end of our hike and damned near gave me a heart attack thinking she was lost as the bitter cold and dark descended. I got to the top, turned around and headed back down. After a few minutes she came hauling ass up the trail, which allowed me to resume normal cardiac operations.
I had a master plan of brewing fresh coffee before class to give me a kick, but forgot and ended up nuking some coffee from the morning and rushing out the door. It didn't help much b/c I was dog tired for the entire seminar. Dragging a whole lot of ass. Lots of appropriate euphemisms. We started off with a takedown that would put you immediately in a kimura. I'm not sure if it would constitute as a takedown for competitions. Pretty slick though. I did ok drilling this one. We also worked crucifixes from turtle and a butterfly to X to footlock. I didn't fare so well with the butterfly to X, partially b/c I was working with Jason. He outweighs me by 50lb+, and elevating him is no small feat. He was good to work with though, b/c he was patient and gave good feedback. We had also both done the morning class, so we were equally exhausted.
After the planned techniques, we sat and Walter asked if we had specific questions about any positions, submission, etc. It was a cool forum, as he could discuss principles instead of details. We don't do that often, but I love it when we do.
KOTH and Walter was rolling with everyone that he hadn't rolled with already. I came off the wall and got Manny first. It was working out ok until he got my back and ended it with some sort of choke that I don't remember. I think I went with a couple of other people but the details have escaped me. Went with Dennis twice. The first time he got me with a kimura...I think. The second time we were rolling and time was called. I was really, really happy about this, b/c I was hoping that I would get to be the last person to roll with him as a blue. I did earlier in the day, but b/c of his knee I wasn't expecting him to roll tonight. That was cool.
We lined up, and Zack received the fourth stripe on his orange belt. Then Walter surprised him with a green/white belt. It's a transition belt to green, and he could possibly go straight from green to purple when he turns 16y/o in a year. Depends on how he progresses.
Then......
Just awesome. I've never seen someone receive their black belt before, and it was a truly inspiring experience. No fluff, nothing contrived. Walter started to give a bit of a speech, got emotional, and pulled a black belt out of his gi. It was really something to watch the belt go around James' waist. He almost lost it a little bit, and as much as he tried to downplay it this week, there was no playing cool about it when the time came. I've only known James as a brown, so it's going to take a bit to get used to the black. He absolutely deserves it, and I'm really, really glad that I was able to be able to witness it.
He did the belt gauntlet and ended up with some wicked welts. Last time he'll have to endure that though......
The evening did not start off well, as I my dog decided to ditch me at the end of our hike and damned near gave me a heart attack thinking she was lost as the bitter cold and dark descended. I got to the top, turned around and headed back down. After a few minutes she came hauling ass up the trail, which allowed me to resume normal cardiac operations.
I had a master plan of brewing fresh coffee before class to give me a kick, but forgot and ended up nuking some coffee from the morning and rushing out the door. It didn't help much b/c I was dog tired for the entire seminar. Dragging a whole lot of ass. Lots of appropriate euphemisms. We started off with a takedown that would put you immediately in a kimura. I'm not sure if it would constitute as a takedown for competitions. Pretty slick though. I did ok drilling this one. We also worked crucifixes from turtle and a butterfly to X to footlock. I didn't fare so well with the butterfly to X, partially b/c I was working with Jason. He outweighs me by 50lb+, and elevating him is no small feat. He was good to work with though, b/c he was patient and gave good feedback. We had also both done the morning class, so we were equally exhausted.
After the planned techniques, we sat and Walter asked if we had specific questions about any positions, submission, etc. It was a cool forum, as he could discuss principles instead of details. We don't do that often, but I love it when we do.
KOTH and Walter was rolling with everyone that he hadn't rolled with already. I came off the wall and got Manny first. It was working out ok until he got my back and ended it with some sort of choke that I don't remember. I think I went with a couple of other people but the details have escaped me. Went with Dennis twice. The first time he got me with a kimura...I think. The second time we were rolling and time was called. I was really, really happy about this, b/c I was hoping that I would get to be the last person to roll with him as a blue. I did earlier in the day, but b/c of his knee I wasn't expecting him to roll tonight. That was cool.
We lined up, and Zack received the fourth stripe on his orange belt. Then Walter surprised him with a green/white belt. It's a transition belt to green, and he could possibly go straight from green to purple when he turns 16y/o in a year. Depends on how he progresses.
Then......
Just awesome. I've never seen someone receive their black belt before, and it was a truly inspiring experience. No fluff, nothing contrived. Walter started to give a bit of a speech, got emotional, and pulled a black belt out of his gi. It was really something to watch the belt go around James' waist. He almost lost it a little bit, and as much as he tried to downplay it this week, there was no playing cool about it when the time came. I've only known James as a brown, so it's going to take a bit to get used to the black. He absolutely deserves it, and I'm really, really glad that I was able to be able to witness it.
He did the belt gauntlet and ended up with some wicked welts. Last time he'll have to endure that though......
Walter: Part II
11/22 - Morning
James taught class while Walter walked around the gym. We went over the same arm-bar from last night, so nothing new. It clicked better today, and I avoided the dumb side like the plague. It's a very simple concept, which is probably why I like it.
Technique was relatively short, which left about 45min for rolling. Antone was first, as apparently it's a thing for us to pair up on Fridays for technique (which is pretty much the only day he can come to class). He passed my guard with ease as per usual, but I had some success fending off the bolo attempts. I've been trying to roll through as they roll and have had mixed success. Overall I was pretty happy well with how it went.
Roll with Dennis, my last one with him as a blue belt. His knee got all wonky earlier in the week so he wanted to flow today. We did kinda flow, and I was trying to let him finish the movements that he's practicing for his test but I think that threw him off more than if I had just kept moving. It's funny what you get used to.
Roll with Walter. Last time he was here, he made a point of saying that everyone was too timid with him. No one came forward...pretty much everyone pulled guard. I kept that in mind, and have been thinking about how I was going to approach this roll for awhile. No elaborate plan, but I wanted to make sure that I was moving forward and on the offensive (as much as I could be anyway). We bump fists, and I immediately go to pass his butterfly guard. I attack his neck, his arms, pretty much anything I can get a hold of. I pretend that he isn't a 3rd degree black belt that outweighs me by at least 50lb. He let me work a bit, way more than I expected. I wasn't going a 100%, but probably around 90%, which is more intense than usual. I tried to get that stupid shoulder lock from bottom-side control but he shrugged his arm out after I got the position. He got on top side-control and finished with a straight arm-bar. At another point he had my guard seriously stacked and I was close to tapping, but stuck with it and survived. He didn't try to kill me with pressure in top side-control which was really quite nice. Fun roll, was happy with how I did.
Rolled with Jason, and I was mostly able to keep space and not get in too many terrible positions. I was dragging a little bit, but I didn't think he landed a submission.
James didn't let me work as much today, probably b/c of all the smack talk that's been going back and forth between us on fb. He got me in the crucifix at one point, and I thought was being all clever by scooching down to get a bend in my arms and prepare for a back roll escape...as soon as I back rolled, he did something and was all over my back. I got dominated, but I still think I did ok.
After class, Antone and I did 3min of my trying to pass his guard and 3min of him passing my guard. I had very little success in either scenario. I tried all standing passes, and did mix up which foot I had forward to see if that would throw him off. I could see that he was cogitating about how to do movements from the other side, but it didn't flummox him for too long. He gave me some great advice on open guard for a standing opponent. I have a bad habit of trying to control both of their sleeves instead of one sleeve and one leg. I leave both of their legs free quite a bit, which is one of the reasons why it's so easy to pass my guard. He also showed me hand positioning for transitioning from DLR to RDLR. I've been trying to kindof shoot to an X guard when my DLR is no longer feasible, but I don't have enough control and end up losing everything.
I feel like I'm a bit on auto-pilot as far as jiu jitsu goes. Two weeks of seven classes is taking its toll. My body is generally tired and sore, but not in a debilitating way. I seem to have plenty of energy for the rolls, and don't feel like I'm gassed or heavily exerting. It's weird...my mind thinks that I should be tired, but if I resolve to buck up and get more intense with a roll my body has the energy for it and I'm fine. My mind tells my body to do it and the body obliges. I hope this lasts through the seminar tonight. I know that I'm going to sleep like the dead afterwards.
Cannot wait to see James get his black belt tonight!!!!
James taught class while Walter walked around the gym. We went over the same arm-bar from last night, so nothing new. It clicked better today, and I avoided the dumb side like the plague. It's a very simple concept, which is probably why I like it.
Technique was relatively short, which left about 45min for rolling. Antone was first, as apparently it's a thing for us to pair up on Fridays for technique (which is pretty much the only day he can come to class). He passed my guard with ease as per usual, but I had some success fending off the bolo attempts. I've been trying to roll through as they roll and have had mixed success. Overall I was pretty happy well with how it went.
Roll with Dennis, my last one with him as a blue belt. His knee got all wonky earlier in the week so he wanted to flow today. We did kinda flow, and I was trying to let him finish the movements that he's practicing for his test but I think that threw him off more than if I had just kept moving. It's funny what you get used to.
Roll with Walter. Last time he was here, he made a point of saying that everyone was too timid with him. No one came forward...pretty much everyone pulled guard. I kept that in mind, and have been thinking about how I was going to approach this roll for awhile. No elaborate plan, but I wanted to make sure that I was moving forward and on the offensive (as much as I could be anyway). We bump fists, and I immediately go to pass his butterfly guard. I attack his neck, his arms, pretty much anything I can get a hold of. I pretend that he isn't a 3rd degree black belt that outweighs me by at least 50lb. He let me work a bit, way more than I expected. I wasn't going a 100%, but probably around 90%, which is more intense than usual. I tried to get that stupid shoulder lock from bottom-side control but he shrugged his arm out after I got the position. He got on top side-control and finished with a straight arm-bar. At another point he had my guard seriously stacked and I was close to tapping, but stuck with it and survived. He didn't try to kill me with pressure in top side-control which was really quite nice. Fun roll, was happy with how I did.
Rolled with Jason, and I was mostly able to keep space and not get in too many terrible positions. I was dragging a little bit, but I didn't think he landed a submission.
James didn't let me work as much today, probably b/c of all the smack talk that's been going back and forth between us on fb. He got me in the crucifix at one point, and I thought was being all clever by scooching down to get a bend in my arms and prepare for a back roll escape...as soon as I back rolled, he did something and was all over my back. I got dominated, but I still think I did ok.
After class, Antone and I did 3min of my trying to pass his guard and 3min of him passing my guard. I had very little success in either scenario. I tried all standing passes, and did mix up which foot I had forward to see if that would throw him off. I could see that he was cogitating about how to do movements from the other side, but it didn't flummox him for too long. He gave me some great advice on open guard for a standing opponent. I have a bad habit of trying to control both of their sleeves instead of one sleeve and one leg. I leave both of their legs free quite a bit, which is one of the reasons why it's so easy to pass my guard. He also showed me hand positioning for transitioning from DLR to RDLR. I've been trying to kindof shoot to an X guard when my DLR is no longer feasible, but I don't have enough control and end up losing everything.
I feel like I'm a bit on auto-pilot as far as jiu jitsu goes. Two weeks of seven classes is taking its toll. My body is generally tired and sore, but not in a debilitating way. I seem to have plenty of energy for the rolls, and don't feel like I'm gassed or heavily exerting. It's weird...my mind thinks that I should be tired, but if I resolve to buck up and get more intense with a roll my body has the energy for it and I'm fine. My mind tells my body to do it and the body obliges. I hope this lasts through the seminar tonight. I know that I'm going to sleep like the dead afterwards.
Cannot wait to see James get his black belt tonight!!!!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Walter: Part I
11/21
I was almost late for class b/c I was in a catatonic state on the couch and let the time get away from me. Made it just in time though. I was expecting a ginormous class but it was pretty reasonable with about ~15 ppl.
Relatively quick warm-up, then Walter showed arm-bar from guard variations. I like them quite a bit, as it works well for my game and it keeps their arm ridiculously tight to your body. I could not for the life of me get it with any degree of smoothness from my right side though. It was the epitome of "dumb side". We also did a type of sit-out from butterfly guard that sets up for an omoplata. I liked this one a lot too.
Walter and James were rolling while the rest of us did KOTH. I was part of the first group down, and I had Sarah first. I got off to a good start and finished with an arm-bar from mount. After that was Savannah. She is very, very difficult to finish with a submission, but after multiple attempts I finally finished a triangle. Then Michael. I was doing ok, until we ended up in a weird 50/50 situation. He started going for foot locks, abandoned that and then put on a toe hold. Whaaaaaaaaaaa? We normally don't adhere to competition rules as far as which submissions are allowed at a particular belt level, but this took me by surprise. So off I go, and a short while later I'm paired up with Grant. He had me in one terrible position after another, close to submitting me several times. Time was called before a submission was obtained, so I gave myself a moral victory for surviving. He does a fantastic job of getting into positions and he has an idea of what to do for the finish but isn't 100% sure. He's definitely going to deserve his blue belt on Saturday.
After class I chatted with Sarah a bit, and then Nando asked me to roll. I had the impression that he wanted to show off to Walter, and sure enough, he went 100mph. In no time I was back in Terrible Position Land and trying to fend off chokes, kimuras, arm-bars.... Again, he was close with several but I was able to defend. I finally kicked up my intensity near the end and battled to a neutral position. The one thing I have going for me is that my grappling cardio is very, very good. He was exhausted, partly due to cardio and partly b/c he doesn't pace himself.
Body is sore tonight, apparently I did something to piss off my hip flexors. Looking forward to a bit of a break next week with the holiday.
I was almost late for class b/c I was in a catatonic state on the couch and let the time get away from me. Made it just in time though. I was expecting a ginormous class but it was pretty reasonable with about ~15 ppl.
Relatively quick warm-up, then Walter showed arm-bar from guard variations. I like them quite a bit, as it works well for my game and it keeps their arm ridiculously tight to your body. I could not for the life of me get it with any degree of smoothness from my right side though. It was the epitome of "dumb side". We also did a type of sit-out from butterfly guard that sets up for an omoplata. I liked this one a lot too.
Walter and James were rolling while the rest of us did KOTH. I was part of the first group down, and I had Sarah first. I got off to a good start and finished with an arm-bar from mount. After that was Savannah. She is very, very difficult to finish with a submission, but after multiple attempts I finally finished a triangle. Then Michael. I was doing ok, until we ended up in a weird 50/50 situation. He started going for foot locks, abandoned that and then put on a toe hold. Whaaaaaaaaaaa? We normally don't adhere to competition rules as far as which submissions are allowed at a particular belt level, but this took me by surprise. So off I go, and a short while later I'm paired up with Grant. He had me in one terrible position after another, close to submitting me several times. Time was called before a submission was obtained, so I gave myself a moral victory for surviving. He does a fantastic job of getting into positions and he has an idea of what to do for the finish but isn't 100% sure. He's definitely going to deserve his blue belt on Saturday.
After class I chatted with Sarah a bit, and then Nando asked me to roll. I had the impression that he wanted to show off to Walter, and sure enough, he went 100mph. In no time I was back in Terrible Position Land and trying to fend off chokes, kimuras, arm-bars.... Again, he was close with several but I was able to defend. I finally kicked up my intensity near the end and battled to a neutral position. The one thing I have going for me is that my grappling cardio is very, very good. He was exhausted, partly due to cardio and partly b/c he doesn't pace himself.
Body is sore tonight, apparently I did something to piss off my hip flexors. Looking forward to a bit of a break next week with the holiday.
Throw the One Legged Man
11/20 - Evening
I'm probably over-training. I've been rolling ok the past couple of days, but I feel like I'm missing a ton of opportunities and that I'm not being smooth. Not sure if it's a real problem or a perception problem. Doesn't matter, b/c Walter is flying in today and will be here for tonight's class, tomorrow morning and tomorrow night.
Last night was prep for the guys testing. Everyone pair up and do 2min of as many techniques as you know from a particular position. I did ok with this, but as usual my KOB escape repertoire was a little suspect.
Rolls with Tien, Savannah, Sarah, Opal, Julio, Christine, Nando. Everything was fine until Nando got me in a triangle. I let me ego get involved here, b/c Nando hasn't been training much since July. He was out completely from July-Sep and has been sporadic in the past couple of months. How is he catching me in a triangle? It kindof ticked me off, b/c I've been training my ass off and he hasn't. That's all ego though. Need to let it go.
We lined up after class and James gave Ian a stripe. That's great. But then he decided that we should all still throw Ian, even though he has a broken foot and is wearing a cast. Just let him down easy, he said. *sigh* Everyone did mellow throws, and I decided that an ankle pick on his good leg would dump him (gently) on his ass. Well, no. He ended up hopping around on his cast and I looked like a complete idiot. Meh. I apologized profusely while everyone laughed. Meh. Meh.
Rolled with Julio after class, as much to get myself away from the stink of that situation as to actually roll. I did especially well against him during class, which surprised him. He did a lot of sitting back and not engaging in my guard, which flummoxed me. Although it wasn't difficult to flummox me after the debacle of post-stripe throws. He showed me a easy sweep from the leg lasso that I've had done to me quite a bit but haven't drilled for myself in quite awhile. He was very much in the teaching mood, which was fine by me.
Body is generally a little sore and tight all over, but not too bad.
I'm probably over-training. I've been rolling ok the past couple of days, but I feel like I'm missing a ton of opportunities and that I'm not being smooth. Not sure if it's a real problem or a perception problem. Doesn't matter, b/c Walter is flying in today and will be here for tonight's class, tomorrow morning and tomorrow night.
Last night was prep for the guys testing. Everyone pair up and do 2min of as many techniques as you know from a particular position. I did ok with this, but as usual my KOB escape repertoire was a little suspect.
Rolls with Tien, Savannah, Sarah, Opal, Julio, Christine, Nando. Everything was fine until Nando got me in a triangle. I let me ego get involved here, b/c Nando hasn't been training much since July. He was out completely from July-Sep and has been sporadic in the past couple of months. How is he catching me in a triangle? It kindof ticked me off, b/c I've been training my ass off and he hasn't. That's all ego though. Need to let it go.
We lined up after class and James gave Ian a stripe. That's great. But then he decided that we should all still throw Ian, even though he has a broken foot and is wearing a cast. Just let him down easy, he said. *sigh* Everyone did mellow throws, and I decided that an ankle pick on his good leg would dump him (gently) on his ass. Well, no. He ended up hopping around on his cast and I looked like a complete idiot. Meh. I apologized profusely while everyone laughed. Meh. Meh.
Rolled with Julio after class, as much to get myself away from the stink of that situation as to actually roll. I did especially well against him during class, which surprised him. He did a lot of sitting back and not engaging in my guard, which flummoxed me. Although it wasn't difficult to flummox me after the debacle of post-stripe throws. He showed me a easy sweep from the leg lasso that I've had done to me quite a bit but haven't drilled for myself in quite awhile. He was very much in the teaching mood, which was fine by me.
Body is generally a little sore and tight all over, but not too bad.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Where Nobody Knows Your Name
11/20 - Morning
Tiny class. Started with take-downs as warm-ups. Russian tie to uchi mata to single leg pick. Russian tie, they push your face and try to face you. Throw their arm(s) up and drop for a double-leg.
Top side-control, breaking a death grip from the bottom by getting knee to sternum and taking it to a arm-bar. If they face away from you, you have the option of a straight arm-bar, a kimura or an arm-bar on the other arm. So slick.
Rolls with Dennis, Parker, and guy who's name I can't remember. We started the rolls from standing, and I almost fell over when Dennis pulled guard. Wuuuuuuuuuut??? We had a kindof a weird roll. Neither of us were in our groove, so there were several points of unintentional stalling while we tried to figure out what to do next.
I think Parker had the advantage early, but I worked him over for the remainder of the time. It not-so-secretly feels really good to work over someone who is twice your size. He picks up technique fast though, and it's going to be hard to keep him at bay once he gets the fundamentals down. I had mount at the end and was trying to figure out how if it was possible to finish an omoplata and maintain mount.
Guy who's name I don't remember was gassing out pretty hard. I took a loop choke opportunity b/c I've been trying it on higher level partners with no success. I maintained a mount or top side-control position for the remainder of the roll.
A quick minute with James at the end. He got me with a couple of silly (i.e. made me feel silly) sweeps. Near the end he went for a rolling back take and I made it a point to roll hard into it. I didn't get a superior position, but he didn't get my back either.
Tiny class. Started with take-downs as warm-ups. Russian tie to uchi mata to single leg pick. Russian tie, they push your face and try to face you. Throw their arm(s) up and drop for a double-leg.
Top side-control, breaking a death grip from the bottom by getting knee to sternum and taking it to a arm-bar. If they face away from you, you have the option of a straight arm-bar, a kimura or an arm-bar on the other arm. So slick.
Rolls with Dennis, Parker, and guy who's name I can't remember. We started the rolls from standing, and I almost fell over when Dennis pulled guard. Wuuuuuuuuuut??? We had a kindof a weird roll. Neither of us were in our groove, so there were several points of unintentional stalling while we tried to figure out what to do next.
I think Parker had the advantage early, but I worked him over for the remainder of the time. It not-so-secretly feels really good to work over someone who is twice your size. He picks up technique fast though, and it's going to be hard to keep him at bay once he gets the fundamentals down. I had mount at the end and was trying to figure out how if it was possible to finish an omoplata and maintain mount.
Guy who's name I don't remember was gassing out pretty hard. I took a loop choke opportunity b/c I've been trying it on higher level partners with no success. I maintained a mount or top side-control position for the remainder of the roll.
A quick minute with James at the end. He got me with a couple of silly (i.e. made me feel silly) sweeps. Near the end he went for a rolling back take and I made it a point to roll hard into it. I didn't get a superior position, but he didn't get my back either.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Four Arms
11/18 - Evening
Kelly was teaching since James was out, so he went over submissions from bottom side-control. Which submission did he choose? The one that yours truly attempts all the time. Trap their far side arm between your legs, weave your foot through and shrimp out to shoulder lock. Lucky me had a brand spanking new white belt to shepherd through this rather complicated move. To his credit, he picked up on it pretty quick. We also worked the inverted triangle and a transition to d'arce. A fairly complex set of movements for a novice crowd, but it is what it is.
Tried to explain flow rolling to the new guy, and then did a round of rolling with him. Again, he did well for being so new. Rolled with Parker (twice I think), C, Russ and Karey. Might have been one more in there that I don't remember. C worked me over pretty good. I was little ticked that he was able to get a submission on me. Nothing of note from anyone else. Energy was great, especially considering it was my second class of the day. Parker said that I have a second set of arms b/c of how I use my legs. Pretty sure it was a compliment. He's a big dude, probably over 6' and 200lb+.
After class I was a demo dummy for Russ to go over some techniques. I think he was getting a little impatient with me b/c I couldn't read his mind as to how he wanted me to set up positions. I try not to take it personally though, as he's getting a bit stressed about testing on Saturday.
Kelly was teaching since James was out, so he went over submissions from bottom side-control. Which submission did he choose? The one that yours truly attempts all the time. Trap their far side arm between your legs, weave your foot through and shrimp out to shoulder lock. Lucky me had a brand spanking new white belt to shepherd through this rather complicated move. To his credit, he picked up on it pretty quick. We also worked the inverted triangle and a transition to d'arce. A fairly complex set of movements for a novice crowd, but it is what it is.
Tried to explain flow rolling to the new guy, and then did a round of rolling with him. Again, he did well for being so new. Rolled with Parker (twice I think), C, Russ and Karey. Might have been one more in there that I don't remember. C worked me over pretty good. I was little ticked that he was able to get a submission on me. Nothing of note from anyone else. Energy was great, especially considering it was my second class of the day. Parker said that I have a second set of arms b/c of how I use my legs. Pretty sure it was a compliment. He's a big dude, probably over 6' and 200lb+.
After class I was a demo dummy for Russ to go over some techniques. I think he was getting a little impatient with me b/c I couldn't read his mind as to how he wanted me to set up positions. I try not to take it personally though, as he's getting a bit stressed about testing on Saturday.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Takedowns That Don't Go Horribly Wrong
11/18 - Morning
This is shaping up to be as busy as last week, if not more so. Walter is coming on Thursday. Seminar on Friday night and belt testing on Saturday. I couldn't be more thrilled that I'm not testing, b/c those dudes are stressed out. I want to do my part to help them, so I told Russ I'd come to the evening classes this week so that he could drill. Sooooo.....it's looking like seven classes for me this week.
My heart dropped a bit when James said we're doing takedowns today, but I should have known better. He is not a brutal takedown hip-throwing guy. He really embodies the gentle art. So we did Russian tie variations (at least I'm pretty sure they were Russian tie-ish). The first one I really liked, as you simply sit at your opponent's feet and then sweep their leg out. Easy peasy.
Rolled with Todd, Jason, Nate, Dennis. Focused on establishing a solid DLR, since that's what I want to work on with James when I have my private lesson(s). (Trade for making nice medal boxes)
I don't recall any successful sweeps coming off of DLR, but otherwise it went ok. I tried the back-take several times and was close on one. I controlled a good portion of the roll with Todd and was really happy with my guard work. I was finally understanding the importance of holding the ankle that is hooked.
I had a surprisingly good roll with Jason. Nothing special to note, but I felt like I neutralized his DLR and was able to at least force some scrambles instead of being swept.
Wasn't able to keep guard on Nate well. He's so ridiculously scrambly. I had him dead to rights with a double-ankle sweep and he went down as expected but didn't stay put long enough for me to come up. I didn't reach for the sleeve grip as he went down, so I wasn't able to use his momentum to help bring me up. At one point I had the inverted triangle from bottom side-control but I had no idea which way I needed to angle myself to finish it.
Dennis and I didn't have one of our usual barnburners, probably b/c he was getting over from being sick. He was out all last week and still sounded a bit froggy. I think I was working guard for the most part. Ready to get back at it tonight...
This is shaping up to be as busy as last week, if not more so. Walter is coming on Thursday. Seminar on Friday night and belt testing on Saturday. I couldn't be more thrilled that I'm not testing, b/c those dudes are stressed out. I want to do my part to help them, so I told Russ I'd come to the evening classes this week so that he could drill. Sooooo.....it's looking like seven classes for me this week.
My heart dropped a bit when James said we're doing takedowns today, but I should have known better. He is not a brutal takedown hip-throwing guy. He really embodies the gentle art. So we did Russian tie variations (at least I'm pretty sure they were Russian tie-ish). The first one I really liked, as you simply sit at your opponent's feet and then sweep their leg out. Easy peasy.
Rolled with Todd, Jason, Nate, Dennis. Focused on establishing a solid DLR, since that's what I want to work on with James when I have my private lesson(s). (Trade for making nice medal boxes)
I don't recall any successful sweeps coming off of DLR, but otherwise it went ok. I tried the back-take several times and was close on one. I controlled a good portion of the roll with Todd and was really happy with my guard work. I was finally understanding the importance of holding the ankle that is hooked.
I had a surprisingly good roll with Jason. Nothing special to note, but I felt like I neutralized his DLR and was able to at least force some scrambles instead of being swept.
Wasn't able to keep guard on Nate well. He's so ridiculously scrambly. I had him dead to rights with a double-ankle sweep and he went down as expected but didn't stay put long enough for me to come up. I didn't reach for the sleeve grip as he went down, so I wasn't able to use his momentum to help bring me up. At one point I had the inverted triangle from bottom side-control but I had no idea which way I needed to angle myself to finish it.
Dennis and I didn't have one of our usual barnburners, probably b/c he was getting over from being sick. He was out all last week and still sounded a bit froggy. I think I was working guard for the most part. Ready to get back at it tonight...
Michael Grows Up
11/16
Michael received his blue belt at the start of class b/c it was his birthday, so no more orange belt for him. We shark-tanked him at the end of class, and I went about as hard as I could go for my minute. Did fairly well, although he was able to reverse at one point. Tried for an arm-bar but couldn't finish. Felt good to just go all out for a minute and see what I could do.
For the technique portion of class we went over spiderguard on a kneeling opponent to the omoplata and finishing with an arm-bar if they don't roll out of the omoplata. I don't remember what else we did, as I didn't take notes after class.
Roll with Antone, Michael and not sure who else.
Rolled with Antone again after class for awhile. I tried to get the bottom side-control shoulder lock on him and I think it was relatively close. He tried to toe hold him while I was applying it. We were both close but no cigar. He had me in a fairly bad position with an arm-bar and I was able to work my way out of it. I was proud of that one. Other than that, he got a ridiculous number of shoulder locks on my right side. Felt jacked up for most of the rest of the day. A day or two later and it's feeling good. So glad the joints/bones/muscles/tendons are so resilient....
Michael received his blue belt at the start of class b/c it was his birthday, so no more orange belt for him. We shark-tanked him at the end of class, and I went about as hard as I could go for my minute. Did fairly well, although he was able to reverse at one point. Tried for an arm-bar but couldn't finish. Felt good to just go all out for a minute and see what I could do.
For the technique portion of class we went over spiderguard on a kneeling opponent to the omoplata and finishing with an arm-bar if they don't roll out of the omoplata. I don't remember what else we did, as I didn't take notes after class.
Roll with Antone, Michael and not sure who else.
Rolled with Antone again after class for awhile. I tried to get the bottom side-control shoulder lock on him and I think it was relatively close. He tried to toe hold him while I was applying it. We were both close but no cigar. He had me in a fairly bad position with an arm-bar and I was able to work my way out of it. I was proud of that one. Other than that, he got a ridiculous number of shoulder locks on my right side. Felt jacked up for most of the rest of the day. A day or two later and it's feeling good. So glad the joints/bones/muscles/tendons are so resilient....
Friday, November 15, 2013
Moura Guard
11/15
Scott and Damon got the purples last night!!! I was bummed that their test was in Boise so I wasn't able to attend. I'm really happy for them. It's too bad that I don't get to train with them anymore, but such is the way of conflicting schedules. Hopefully we can get together on a Saturday.
Felt like a truck hit me when I woke up this morning, but a large cup of coffee fixed that. Caffe d'Arte drip dark from Seattle. Coffee elitist, yesssssssss.
Today we went over the Moura guard. I love this guard, even though I'm not particularly effective with it. Setting it up, triangle or arm-bar if they break the leg grip, arm-bar if they try to block the free leg.
Rolls with Antone, Todd, Jason, James, Ed. Another roll with Antone after class. Overall was really happy with my rolls. I was able to execute the DLR back-take successfully on Todd. Swept Jason, which almost never, ever happens. Did not let Ed pass. Got a couple of subs, but really should have focused on sweeps. I can't help it against big guys though. Antone manhandled me in our first roll, as did James. I thought I was getting good position on James and he'd get a toe hold from god knows where. He pulls ridiculous moves out of his arse and there were several times when I said (muffled through the mouthguard), "You've GOT to be kidding me." I sortof got a sweep, but I think he gave it to me.
Roll with Antone after class. I damn near had an arm-bar in the midst of a transition but it was an odd angle (I was sortof inverted) and I couldn't noodle how to finish it. Fridays are like a treat since it's the only day that I get roll with him.
Was pleasantly surprised with how much energy I had today. It's supposed to snow tonight, so I'll probably forego the no gi class and dive under the blankets.
I asked Walter if he'd bring old Portuguese books/magazines next week and he said he would. The grammar books I ordered earlier in the week arrived last night, and I'm looking forward to poring over those this weekend.
Can't believe James is going to get his black belt next week. He's being very, very low key about it. He's such an amazing, humble guy. I see enough stuff on the interwebs to know that I'm very lucky to have an instructor that is so passionate about the sport, runs 9 adult classes a week and makes it very affordable.
Scott and Damon got the purples last night!!! I was bummed that their test was in Boise so I wasn't able to attend. I'm really happy for them. It's too bad that I don't get to train with them anymore, but such is the way of conflicting schedules. Hopefully we can get together on a Saturday.
Felt like a truck hit me when I woke up this morning, but a large cup of coffee fixed that. Caffe d'Arte drip dark from Seattle. Coffee elitist, yesssssssss.
Today we went over the Moura guard. I love this guard, even though I'm not particularly effective with it. Setting it up, triangle or arm-bar if they break the leg grip, arm-bar if they try to block the free leg.
Rolls with Antone, Todd, Jason, James, Ed. Another roll with Antone after class. Overall was really happy with my rolls. I was able to execute the DLR back-take successfully on Todd. Swept Jason, which almost never, ever happens. Did not let Ed pass. Got a couple of subs, but really should have focused on sweeps. I can't help it against big guys though. Antone manhandled me in our first roll, as did James. I thought I was getting good position on James and he'd get a toe hold from god knows where. He pulls ridiculous moves out of his arse and there were several times when I said (muffled through the mouthguard), "You've GOT to be kidding me." I sortof got a sweep, but I think he gave it to me.
Roll with Antone after class. I damn near had an arm-bar in the midst of a transition but it was an odd angle (I was sortof inverted) and I couldn't noodle how to finish it. Fridays are like a treat since it's the only day that I get roll with him.
Was pleasantly surprised with how much energy I had today. It's supposed to snow tonight, so I'll probably forego the no gi class and dive under the blankets.
I asked Walter if he'd bring old Portuguese books/magazines next week and he said he would. The grammar books I ordered earlier in the week arrived last night, and I'm looking forward to poring over those this weekend.
Can't believe James is going to get his black belt next week. He's being very, very low key about it. He's such an amazing, humble guy. I see enough stuff on the interwebs to know that I'm very lucky to have an instructor that is so passionate about the sport, runs 9 adult classes a week and makes it very affordable.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
More Rolling, Less Thinking
11/14
I was feeling pretty good energy-wise, which was fortunate b/c it was another class of rolling. Started off with flow rolling, and I was once again amazed at how flow rolling is art that very few people are adept at. Or how much "take" there is with relatively little "give". I'm not genius at it by any means, but I think that I have a better grasp of it than most white and blue belts.
Anyway, many rounds of flow rolling, which transitioned into regular rolls. All in all, I rolled with C, James, Fernando (w), Tom, Joey, Jay, Savannah, and Sarah twice. None of the rolls felt spectacular, and overall I felt a bit off my game. Like I was winging it and making dumb mistakes. They weren't terrible rolls, but I didn't feel like I had my mojo.
We rolled for about 45min or so, and then it was KOTH. Win by mount (front) or submission. Winner stays, loser goes to the wall. I started down, and lost early on to C. We had a long back and forth roll. He had an arm-bar deep that I was able to fend off, but along the way my fingers started to hurt oddly and the second time he got the arm-bar I let him have it.
I went to the wall thinking that I was the worst pound-for-pound blue belt at the school, it was going to be another night of ego smashing, etc., etc. Got paired up with Jay and we had a lengthy roll. I finally got him in an inverted triangle and I think finished it with an arm-bar. After that, I kept my space on the mat for the remainder of the time (20min or so). Granted, I was going up against white belts and newer blue belts, but still. A couple of times I pulled off a really weird arm-bar from a mostly omoplata position. I didn't feel like it was a finishing move, but my partners said it was a legit arm-bar. I was getting arm-bars right and left, and even an omoplata.
Neck didn't bother me at all during class and is only a little stiff but not too bad a couple of hours after. Very happy that it's not going to be a lingering thing.
I feel a bit flummoxed about my game, but I think that's par for the course when I attend 5+ classes a week. I get my head too involved.
I was feeling pretty good energy-wise, which was fortunate b/c it was another class of rolling. Started off with flow rolling, and I was once again amazed at how flow rolling is art that very few people are adept at. Or how much "take" there is with relatively little "give". I'm not genius at it by any means, but I think that I have a better grasp of it than most white and blue belts.
Anyway, many rounds of flow rolling, which transitioned into regular rolls. All in all, I rolled with C, James, Fernando (w), Tom, Joey, Jay, Savannah, and Sarah twice. None of the rolls felt spectacular, and overall I felt a bit off my game. Like I was winging it and making dumb mistakes. They weren't terrible rolls, but I didn't feel like I had my mojo.
We rolled for about 45min or so, and then it was KOTH. Win by mount (front) or submission. Winner stays, loser goes to the wall. I started down, and lost early on to C. We had a long back and forth roll. He had an arm-bar deep that I was able to fend off, but along the way my fingers started to hurt oddly and the second time he got the arm-bar I let him have it.
I went to the wall thinking that I was the worst pound-for-pound blue belt at the school, it was going to be another night of ego smashing, etc., etc. Got paired up with Jay and we had a lengthy roll. I finally got him in an inverted triangle and I think finished it with an arm-bar. After that, I kept my space on the mat for the remainder of the time (20min or so). Granted, I was going up against white belts and newer blue belts, but still. A couple of times I pulled off a really weird arm-bar from a mostly omoplata position. I didn't feel like it was a finishing move, but my partners said it was a legit arm-bar. I was getting arm-bars right and left, and even an omoplata.
Neck didn't bother me at all during class and is only a little stiff but not too bad a couple of hours after. Very happy that it's not going to be a lingering thing.
I feel a bit flummoxed about my game, but I think that's par for the course when I attend 5+ classes a week. I get my head too involved.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Unbaffled
11/13 - Evening
The downside to training twice a day is that your body hates you a little bit. The upside is that you're able to revisit techniques and clear up misunderstandments while they're still fresh in your mind. We went over the same techniques from this morning, and it became clear to me what James meant about the two different "sides" of reverse kesa gatame in half guard (if there is such a thing). It boils down to which leg is trapped in the half guard.
Big class tonight, around 15 or so. Drilled the technique with Sarah, and of course it takes one little hip bump to make a technique about a billion times more effective.
Rolled with Sarah, Ben, Kelly and Sol. I'm getting a little bit better at not just sitting back when I'm in combat stance and someone gets me a bit off balance to sweep. But not really. I still flop over way to readily. I did work tonight on trying to keep my balance, but that often involved me trying to keep my balance after they establish grips, a hook, and were well on their way to the sweep.
After class rolled with Kelly. No clock, but I'm guessing we went about fifteen minutes or so. I think he was letting me work a bit, but even so I did fairly well in not letting him bolo me all over the mat. I genuinely surprised him at one point with a sweep. He gave me some constructive advice midway through our roll, namely that I extend my legs a fair amount when I don't have a contact point on my opponent's body whilst trying to retain guard. He recommended that I keep my feet closer and knees bent. Solid advice.
Body is feeling tired, neck is sore but not unbearable. Hardly felt it when rolling, but hours later it's stiffening up.
I had to wear the Atama tonight b/c Ian had my SYR, my new Tatami is at the tailor getting patched and my Koral is retired as of today. I haven't worn the Atama in a couple of months, and I didn't miss how damn short it is in the pants AT ALL. It's like wearing capris (which I don't wear). Not ok. If there are any good black Friday deals on gis, I think I'm going to pick up another one.
The downside to training twice a day is that your body hates you a little bit. The upside is that you're able to revisit techniques and clear up misunderstandments while they're still fresh in your mind. We went over the same techniques from this morning, and it became clear to me what James meant about the two different "sides" of reverse kesa gatame in half guard (if there is such a thing). It boils down to which leg is trapped in the half guard.
Big class tonight, around 15 or so. Drilled the technique with Sarah, and of course it takes one little hip bump to make a technique about a billion times more effective.
Rolled with Sarah, Ben, Kelly and Sol. I'm getting a little bit better at not just sitting back when I'm in combat stance and someone gets me a bit off balance to sweep. But not really. I still flop over way to readily. I did work tonight on trying to keep my balance, but that often involved me trying to keep my balance after they establish grips, a hook, and were well on their way to the sweep.
After class rolled with Kelly. No clock, but I'm guessing we went about fifteen minutes or so. I think he was letting me work a bit, but even so I did fairly well in not letting him bolo me all over the mat. I genuinely surprised him at one point with a sweep. He gave me some constructive advice midway through our roll, namely that I extend my legs a fair amount when I don't have a contact point on my opponent's body whilst trying to retain guard. He recommended that I keep my feet closer and knees bent. Solid advice.
Body is feeling tired, neck is sore but not unbearable. Hardly felt it when rolling, but hours later it's stiffening up.
I had to wear the Atama tonight b/c Ian had my SYR, my new Tatami is at the tailor getting patched and my Koral is retired as of today. I haven't worn the Atama in a couple of months, and I didn't miss how damn short it is in the pants AT ALL. It's like wearing capris (which I don't wear). Not ok. If there are any good black Friday deals on gis, I think I'm going to pick up another one.
Half Guard Bafflement
11/13 - Morning
I really wanted to do the no gi class last night, but my neck objected. It felt better today, but not 100%. I should take the rest of the week off and let it heal completely. However, it feels well enough that I don't think rolling is going to make it worse.
Relatively small class today. Went over half-guard sweeps if opponent is in reverse kesa gatame. I was understanding it fairly well until near the end and tried to over-think it. I thought I was being clever by tying another technique in and ended up confusing the hell out of myself. Sad for me. I didn't take notes at the end of class, but I should have.
Rolls with Todd (twice), Jason (twice), Jeremy, James. I was leery of my neck, but aside from some warning signals it sent every now and again, it was fine. After a couple of rolls it felt pretty limber and didn't bother me at all. Seemed like Todd was letting me work back mount positions today. I set up a chain of submissions from back-mount, mount, guard that I was particularly happy with. Jason used DLR to take my back the exact same way at least three times in a row. I kept thinking my strategy was sound but not to much. Once I really started controlling one of his legs I had a bit more success. He still pretty much tooled me.
I kept Jeremy in my guard for most of the roll. I felt bad about not initiating more, but he's still looking for his grappling cardio so it probably wasn't such a bad thing. Also, he might have close to 100lb on me, so I wasn't about to risk too much and end up under him.
Wasn't expecting much with my roll with James since I didn't feel like I was really on today, but it still turned out to be pretty fun. I think I legitimately escaped a calf slicer, which had me damned near ecstatic. He was applying it slowly though, so not sure how legit it was. I don't remember much else, other than enjoying the roll.
This was probably the last roll for my Koral. At least the pants. :(
I really wanted to do the no gi class last night, but my neck objected. It felt better today, but not 100%. I should take the rest of the week off and let it heal completely. However, it feels well enough that I don't think rolling is going to make it worse.
Relatively small class today. Went over half-guard sweeps if opponent is in reverse kesa gatame. I was understanding it fairly well until near the end and tried to over-think it. I thought I was being clever by tying another technique in and ended up confusing the hell out of myself. Sad for me. I didn't take notes at the end of class, but I should have.
Rolls with Todd (twice), Jason (twice), Jeremy, James. I was leery of my neck, but aside from some warning signals it sent every now and again, it was fine. After a couple of rolls it felt pretty limber and didn't bother me at all. Seemed like Todd was letting me work back mount positions today. I set up a chain of submissions from back-mount, mount, guard that I was particularly happy with. Jason used DLR to take my back the exact same way at least three times in a row. I kept thinking my strategy was sound but not to much. Once I really started controlling one of his legs I had a bit more success. He still pretty much tooled me.
I kept Jeremy in my guard for most of the roll. I felt bad about not initiating more, but he's still looking for his grappling cardio so it probably wasn't such a bad thing. Also, he might have close to 100lb on me, so I wasn't about to risk too much and end up under him.
Wasn't expecting much with my roll with James since I didn't feel like I was really on today, but it still turned out to be pretty fun. I think I legitimately escaped a calf slicer, which had me damned near ecstatic. He was applying it slowly though, so not sure how legit it was. I don't remember much else, other than enjoying the roll.
This was probably the last roll for my Koral. At least the pants. :(
Monday, November 11, 2013
Necks aren't Optional
11/11
Finally found out some of the results from my team. Savannah got gold in her division, Jimmy got silver...not sure about the rest. Really excited for them, especially Savannah. She's really improved her game in the past three months or so.
Apparently one of the bow and arrow attempts from earlier today made my neck unhappy. It felt a little off while I was at work, but by the time class started I knew I was in trouble. I tried to stretch it this and that, to no avail. We did an open mat for the first hour, and then a bit of technique at the end. I couldn't turn my head to the right, and any impact near my upper back, especially around my left shoulder was painful. I was grimacing quite a bit, and James asked me several times if I was ok. We were at odd numbers with him, and after a couple of rolls I sat out a round. It seemed to be a little bit better so I jumped back in. It inhibited my movement a bit, but it was more distracting than anything.
Rolls with Savannah (twice), Melissa, Michael, C, Colt and James. Nothing noteworthy, other than trying to grit my way through it. I knew I was doing some stupid things, but I gave myself a pass b/c of the pain. Hoping that I wake up tomorrow and it's all better. Positive thinking...
Finally found out some of the results from my team. Savannah got gold in her division, Jimmy got silver...not sure about the rest. Really excited for them, especially Savannah. She's really improved her game in the past three months or so.
Apparently one of the bow and arrow attempts from earlier today made my neck unhappy. It felt a little off while I was at work, but by the time class started I knew I was in trouble. I tried to stretch it this and that, to no avail. We did an open mat for the first hour, and then a bit of technique at the end. I couldn't turn my head to the right, and any impact near my upper back, especially around my left shoulder was painful. I was grimacing quite a bit, and James asked me several times if I was ok. We were at odd numbers with him, and after a couple of rolls I sat out a round. It seemed to be a little bit better so I jumped back in. It inhibited my movement a bit, but it was more distracting than anything.
Rolls with Savannah (twice), Melissa, Michael, C, Colt and James. Nothing noteworthy, other than trying to grit my way through it. I knew I was doing some stupid things, but I gave myself a pass b/c of the pain. Hoping that I wake up tomorrow and it's all better. Positive thinking...
Morning Open Mat
11/11
Open mat this morning. A couple of rolls with Julio, a couple with new guy Jeremy, one with Todd, one with Kelly and one with Ben. Only stayed for an hour so that I could get off work early enough to hit the night class too. Nothing remarkable about the rolls, except that I panicked at one point when Jeremy had my arm for an arm-bar and I realized that this might be the guy that heel-hooked Sol. Apparently a new guy claimed no knowledge of BJJ and then wrenched Sol's heel and wouldn't let go even though Sol was tapping, yelling, and finally punching the guy to get him to let go. Didn't seem to do permanent damage, but caused quite a stir. The guy claimed he couldn't hear Sol and wasn't trying to be a d. James didn't say anything about kicking the guy out, so I assume he was free to come back.
In any case, he didn't rip my arm off and I was able to escape.
I stepped on the scale and noted that I'm 6lb over my normal weight w/ gi. I'm not participating in tournaments anytime soon, so it's not a problem as far as that's concerned. However, to be 6lb over before the holidays even arrive is a bit alarming. Time to get back to lifting. Especially if I have the chance to do Pans and/or Worlds next year. I do not want to cut a couple of weeks out.
Open mat this morning. A couple of rolls with Julio, a couple with new guy Jeremy, one with Todd, one with Kelly and one with Ben. Only stayed for an hour so that I could get off work early enough to hit the night class too. Nothing remarkable about the rolls, except that I panicked at one point when Jeremy had my arm for an arm-bar and I realized that this might be the guy that heel-hooked Sol. Apparently a new guy claimed no knowledge of BJJ and then wrenched Sol's heel and wouldn't let go even though Sol was tapping, yelling, and finally punching the guy to get him to let go. Didn't seem to do permanent damage, but caused quite a stir. The guy claimed he couldn't hear Sol and wasn't trying to be a d. James didn't say anything about kicking the guy out, so I assume he was free to come back.
In any case, he didn't rip my arm off and I was able to escape.
I stepped on the scale and noted that I'm 6lb over my normal weight w/ gi. I'm not participating in tournaments anytime soon, so it's not a problem as far as that's concerned. However, to be 6lb over before the holidays even arrive is a bit alarming. Time to get back to lifting. Especially if I have the chance to do Pans and/or Worlds next year. I do not want to cut a couple of weeks out.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Drill, Drill, Drill
11/9
Teammates were competing this weekend, so it was just Russ and I. There were plenty who weren't competing though, but no one shows up on Saturdays if James isn't there. I don't understand the philosophy behind this, b/c open mat is awesome. Apparently no one else agrees with this theory. In any case, Russ wanted to work on his purple belt test, so I was his dummy for an hour. Our purple belt test test requires five techniques from each position:
Subs from mount
Transitions to mount
Subs from back-mount
Back-mount escapes
Transitions to back-mount
KOB subs
KOB escapes
Top side-control subs
Bottom side-control subs
Bottom side-control escapes
Top half-guard subs
Top half-guard passes
Bottom half-guard subs
Bottom half-guard sweeps
Breaking open a closed guard
Passing guard
Guard sweeps
Guard subs
Turtle escapes
Turtle subs
Takedowns
Takedown defense
Of course some are easier than others to come up with techniques. The bottom half-guard subs and bottom side-control subs are some of the most sketchy. We rarely work bottom half guard subs, which is probably why.
We rolled for 15-20min after an hour of drilling. It was good back and forth, although I could tell that he was giving up some positions so that he could work on specific techniques from bottom positions.
I need to be more active when I'm in bottom positions but I can't quite figure out how to make myself do it. I'm a little too relaxed when I'm in inferior positions and waiting for my opponent to move so that I can capitalize on their change of position. I can't force things, but I'm a little too chill.
Teammates were competing this weekend, so it was just Russ and I. There were plenty who weren't competing though, but no one shows up on Saturdays if James isn't there. I don't understand the philosophy behind this, b/c open mat is awesome. Apparently no one else agrees with this theory. In any case, Russ wanted to work on his purple belt test, so I was his dummy for an hour. Our purple belt test test requires five techniques from each position:
Subs from mount
Transitions to mount
Subs from back-mount
Back-mount escapes
Transitions to back-mount
KOB subs
KOB escapes
Top side-control subs
Bottom side-control subs
Bottom side-control escapes
Top half-guard subs
Top half-guard passes
Bottom half-guard subs
Bottom half-guard sweeps
Breaking open a closed guard
Passing guard
Guard sweeps
Guard subs
Turtle escapes
Turtle subs
Takedowns
Takedown defense
Of course some are easier than others to come up with techniques. The bottom half-guard subs and bottom side-control subs are some of the most sketchy. We rarely work bottom half guard subs, which is probably why.
We rolled for 15-20min after an hour of drilling. It was good back and forth, although I could tell that he was giving up some positions so that he could work on specific techniques from bottom positions.
I need to be more active when I'm in bottom positions but I can't quite figure out how to make myself do it. I'm a little too relaxed when I'm in inferior positions and waiting for my opponent to move so that I can capitalize on their change of position. I can't force things, but I'm a little too chill.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Pulling Guard
11/8
I better eat a bagel, quick. I felt slow today too. I didn't get as much sleep as usual, and doing a night class followed by a morning class is probably partly the problem. Today we went over one of my favorite techniques...pulling guard. :p I've definitely improved in this area, as I had godawful technique during my matches and that's one of the reasons why I lost my absolute match at Pans. I didn't extend my leg and establish enough of a push/pull to control my opponent.
We did a basic guard pull to hook and sweep, guard pull to elevate and sweep, and fake pull to single leg ankle pick. If/When I compete again, I'm going to drill the hell out of pulls and takedowns instead of taking that aspect for granted.
Rolls with Antone, Jimmy, James, Manny and Jason. Antone had me tied up in knots and got a bow and arrow. Boo. Jimmy had great position at one point and was going for all kinds of submissions, but I was able to fend them off and eventually get top position. Was proud of myself for that roll. James must have done the back-step from half guard at least five times, and each time I tried to elevate his leg for the sweep but it shut it down every time. I asked him about it later and he said that he was starting off in a better position and that when I tried to elevate his leg I was doing it from under the calf instead of the knee. Manny had me in some bad positions, and while I was able to eventually escape I never got a good position. I tried to keep Jason in guard and did a so-so job. He passed and got a wrist-lock from some top position, probably side-control.
I had very little mojo today, and found myself taking deep breaths in the middle of rolls. I wasn't out of breath, just didn't have energy.
I better eat a bagel, quick. I felt slow today too. I didn't get as much sleep as usual, and doing a night class followed by a morning class is probably partly the problem. Today we went over one of my favorite techniques...pulling guard. :p I've definitely improved in this area, as I had godawful technique during my matches and that's one of the reasons why I lost my absolute match at Pans. I didn't extend my leg and establish enough of a push/pull to control my opponent.
We did a basic guard pull to hook and sweep, guard pull to elevate and sweep, and fake pull to single leg ankle pick. If/When I compete again, I'm going to drill the hell out of pulls and takedowns instead of taking that aspect for granted.
Rolls with Antone, Jimmy, James, Manny and Jason. Antone had me tied up in knots and got a bow and arrow. Boo. Jimmy had great position at one point and was going for all kinds of submissions, but I was able to fend them off and eventually get top position. Was proud of myself for that roll. James must have done the back-step from half guard at least five times, and each time I tried to elevate his leg for the sweep but it shut it down every time. I asked him about it later and he said that he was starting off in a better position and that when I tried to elevate his leg I was doing it from under the calf instead of the knee. Manny had me in some bad positions, and while I was able to eventually escape I never got a good position. I tried to keep Jason in guard and did a so-so job. He passed and got a wrist-lock from some top position, probably side-control.
I had very little mojo today, and found myself taking deep breaths in the middle of rolls. I wasn't out of breath, just didn't have energy.
No Bagel, No Bueno
11/7
I was feeling tired at the start of class, likely due to neglecting my afternoon bagel. Good-sized turnout, mostly lower blues and whites. It's so weird being an "upper" belt in a large class. Worked with Sarah, who was also feeling groggy, so we made a good pair. We worked on the basic flower sweep and a few variations to an arm-bar and triangle if they defend the sweep by posting.
KOTH with tournament competitors on the mat regardless of the outcome. Submission or mount ends the roll. I started with Savannah and after several minutes had to stop b/c my calf was cramping so badly. I had a truckload of water during the day and a banana, but I neglected the sodium component and paid for it. Also got to roll with Jesse, a big white belt. The trick is to not let him get on top. I kept him at bay and passed his guard, but let him get on top and he eventually got an arm-bar. Clayton finished me off rather quickly, as we had transitioned from sub/mount to 4 points for a win. He got a pass, followed by KOB. Ian and I went back and forth for awhile. I had him near the end, so he was pretty tired and I was able to secure an arm-bar.
Wasn't happy with the outcome of my roll with Jesse. I try to be as colorblind as possible when it comes to belt colors, but sometimes it gets to me that I'm a "weaker" blue belt. I feel like I need another year or so at blue, b/c it's going to be even rougher emotional hurdle at purple. I know that I'm doing the best that I can, but it still kinda sucks. I make up stuff in my head as to what the guys are thinking, which is dumb. "I subbed an advanced blue and Pan Am gold medalist, but it's a female so....." It stings on multiple levels b/c it's not like I'm an "average" female. I'm in pretty damned good shape. I have great rolling cardio and have an especially strong upper body. I have a hard time believing that the physical differences are that significant, but apparently they are.
I was feeling tired at the start of class, likely due to neglecting my afternoon bagel. Good-sized turnout, mostly lower blues and whites. It's so weird being an "upper" belt in a large class. Worked with Sarah, who was also feeling groggy, so we made a good pair. We worked on the basic flower sweep and a few variations to an arm-bar and triangle if they defend the sweep by posting.
KOTH with tournament competitors on the mat regardless of the outcome. Submission or mount ends the roll. I started with Savannah and after several minutes had to stop b/c my calf was cramping so badly. I had a truckload of water during the day and a banana, but I neglected the sodium component and paid for it. Also got to roll with Jesse, a big white belt. The trick is to not let him get on top. I kept him at bay and passed his guard, but let him get on top and he eventually got an arm-bar. Clayton finished me off rather quickly, as we had transitioned from sub/mount to 4 points for a win. He got a pass, followed by KOB. Ian and I went back and forth for awhile. I had him near the end, so he was pretty tired and I was able to secure an arm-bar.
Wasn't happy with the outcome of my roll with Jesse. I try to be as colorblind as possible when it comes to belt colors, but sometimes it gets to me that I'm a "weaker" blue belt. I feel like I need another year or so at blue, b/c it's going to be even rougher emotional hurdle at purple. I know that I'm doing the best that I can, but it still kinda sucks. I make up stuff in my head as to what the guys are thinking, which is dumb. "I subbed an advanced blue and Pan Am gold medalist, but it's a female so....." It stings on multiple levels b/c it's not like I'm an "average" female. I'm in pretty damned good shape. I have great rolling cardio and have an especially strong upper body. I have a hard time believing that the physical differences are that significant, but apparently they are.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
A KOTH I Actually Like
11/6
Took a couple of days off from training. No particular reason, other than it seemed like a good idea. Body felt good today, though I was sucking a fair amount of wind during the first part of positional sparring.
Today we went over half guard passes. I was doing fine on the techniques, except that I really had no idea what to do with my hands. I mean, I knew what to do, but it still felt wrong. I think the problem is that I get too many different principles of passing mixed up in my head and I freeze like a deer in the headlights.
After the technique we did something a little new with the positional sparring (King of the Hill). For five minutes, two guys are down, starting in seated guard. Fresh opponent off the wall tries to pass their guard for a minute. If pass/sweep occurs, players reset in same position for the remainder of the minute. No one can go for submissions. No closed guard and no stalling. Guy on the bottom doesn't have to sweep, he just has to keep the top guy from passing. After a minute, a fresh opponent off the wall and no breaks for the bottom guy. We cycled through with everyone taking a turn at the 5min of guard retention, and I was part of the last pair to be down. I did much better than I thought I would in both the passing and retention aspect. Usually the positional sparring that focuses on passes distresses me b/c I'm so awful at it. However, I think having the minute of guaranteed sparring helped me be more aggressive and led to more successes. It's funny how subtly changing the rules can affect performance.
Took a couple of days off from training. No particular reason, other than it seemed like a good idea. Body felt good today, though I was sucking a fair amount of wind during the first part of positional sparring.
Today we went over half guard passes. I was doing fine on the techniques, except that I really had no idea what to do with my hands. I mean, I knew what to do, but it still felt wrong. I think the problem is that I get too many different principles of passing mixed up in my head and I freeze like a deer in the headlights.
After the technique we did something a little new with the positional sparring (King of the Hill). For five minutes, two guys are down, starting in seated guard. Fresh opponent off the wall tries to pass their guard for a minute. If pass/sweep occurs, players reset in same position for the remainder of the minute. No one can go for submissions. No closed guard and no stalling. Guy on the bottom doesn't have to sweep, he just has to keep the top guy from passing. After a minute, a fresh opponent off the wall and no breaks for the bottom guy. We cycled through with everyone taking a turn at the 5min of guard retention, and I was part of the last pair to be down. I did much better than I thought I would in both the passing and retention aspect. Usually the positional sparring that focuses on passes distresses me b/c I'm so awful at it. However, I think having the minute of guaranteed sparring helped me be more aggressive and led to more successes. It's funny how subtly changing the rules can affect performance.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Multiple Open Mats
11/2
There is an open mat for women that's held at a nearby gym, so I checked that out today. It was mostly no gi, but fortunately I knew that going in. Five other women there, and only one of them hasn't come to our gym at least once. Friendly group, and after some chit chat we got into it for well over an hour. No gi was fun, although a couple of pro MMA girls gave me the business with guillotine chokes. I don't know why I act so flummoxed during no gi, b/c it's not THAT different. It's like my mind goes completely blank and I just sit there like an idjit. I was doing relatively well once I got on top, which was reassuring. I like doing no gi b/c it encourages me to scramble more, which is something that I find lacking in my game. Overall lots of good rolls. I need to figure out how I end up leaving my neck out though.
Drove straight over to my gym for the second open mat. Got a few rolls in with Ian and Jason. One roll with Kelly. The guys who aren't testing soon were pretty chatty, and the guys who are testing soon were focused on techniques. So I didn't end up getting that many rolls in, but I did help the guys who are testing by being a demo dummy. I like helping them out. Between the rolls and being a dummy I got choked quite a bit today and my neck is more tender than usual.
The life of a fighter. :p
There is an open mat for women that's held at a nearby gym, so I checked that out today. It was mostly no gi, but fortunately I knew that going in. Five other women there, and only one of them hasn't come to our gym at least once. Friendly group, and after some chit chat we got into it for well over an hour. No gi was fun, although a couple of pro MMA girls gave me the business with guillotine chokes. I don't know why I act so flummoxed during no gi, b/c it's not THAT different. It's like my mind goes completely blank and I just sit there like an idjit. I was doing relatively well once I got on top, which was reassuring. I like doing no gi b/c it encourages me to scramble more, which is something that I find lacking in my game. Overall lots of good rolls. I need to figure out how I end up leaving my neck out though.
Drove straight over to my gym for the second open mat. Got a few rolls in with Ian and Jason. One roll with Kelly. The guys who aren't testing soon were pretty chatty, and the guys who are testing soon were focused on techniques. So I didn't end up getting that many rolls in, but I did help the guys who are testing by being a demo dummy. I like helping them out. Between the rolls and being a dummy I got choked quite a bit today and my neck is more tender than usual.
The life of a fighter. :p
Friday, November 1, 2013
Backmount Escapes
11/1
Antone was there, which was great for me as we haven't been on the mat at the same time in a couple of weeks. Started off with flow rolls, then did back-mount escapes for the technique. One I hadn't seen before is if you are on all fours while they have hooks and seatbelt grip. Kick your left leg back to free the hook, then bring your left knee behind their right ankle. That motion alone may be enough to shake them off if they aren't low and super-tight to your back. If they do stay tight and on your back, grab their right shin (gi) with your left hand and their right tricep with your right hand. Let your shoulder go dead, then shrug hard to the right to shake them off. Hard to explain and hard to do, but effective if done correctly. Even if you don't get them all the way around with the shrug, you can keep working it slowly and at least get out of backmount.
Rolls with Antone, Manny, Dennis, Jason. I saw shooting stars when Antone got a bow and arrow especially tight. I knew it was tight but didn't realize it was that far along. He complimented me after the roll and said that I improving, which is always nice to hear. With both Manny and Dennis I was in the situation where I almost had their backs, but couldn't quite get there. I think they were both off of escapes and I started pretty low on their body and tried to work my way up. I had little success in stopping Jason from getting his deep and tight DLR hook. Overall the rolls felt good. I'm really liking the fact that I am controlling my opponent's limbs more naturally when coming up into side-control or half guard (usually from escapes).
Antone was there, which was great for me as we haven't been on the mat at the same time in a couple of weeks. Started off with flow rolls, then did back-mount escapes for the technique. One I hadn't seen before is if you are on all fours while they have hooks and seatbelt grip. Kick your left leg back to free the hook, then bring your left knee behind their right ankle. That motion alone may be enough to shake them off if they aren't low and super-tight to your back. If they do stay tight and on your back, grab their right shin (gi) with your left hand and their right tricep with your right hand. Let your shoulder go dead, then shrug hard to the right to shake them off. Hard to explain and hard to do, but effective if done correctly. Even if you don't get them all the way around with the shrug, you can keep working it slowly and at least get out of backmount.
Rolls with Antone, Manny, Dennis, Jason. I saw shooting stars when Antone got a bow and arrow especially tight. I knew it was tight but didn't realize it was that far along. He complimented me after the roll and said that I improving, which is always nice to hear. With both Manny and Dennis I was in the situation where I almost had their backs, but couldn't quite get there. I think they were both off of escapes and I started pretty low on their body and tried to work my way up. I had little success in stopping Jason from getting his deep and tight DLR hook. Overall the rolls felt good. I'm really liking the fact that I am controlling my opponent's limbs more naturally when coming up into side-control or half guard (usually from escapes).
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