Teaching and Learning

I was really excited to see Chris come through the door this morning. He received his blue belt last year, but shortly thereafter had back surgery and has been off the mat since. He helps James with the kids class and stays involved, but his back has been too dicey for him to roll. I think today was the first class he's attended for himself, and it was great to have him. 

Also had a friend of Joyce's (Denise) who had come to the Friday morning class. She liked it enough to come back, which was awesome.

Went over submissions from rear-mount, including RNC, lapel choke, bow and arrow and arm-bar. I stressed the importance of active hooks a dozen times. There were six people, which is a good size for me, as it gives me a chance for me to see everyone do the techniques. I felt comfortable teaching everything except the arm-bar, b/c I almost never abandon the position to go for it myself. Overall it went well, and it seems to be really well received by the people who attend. It's stressful, but I think it's really, really good for me.

Had about 16 for the noon class, where James went over chokes and arm-bars from closed guard using the back of their jacket. I really like this as an option and have tried it a couple of times, but getting their gi untucked enough and pulling it through is tough. If nothing else, people generally stop stalling and move to something else while you're fussing with their gi.

Rolls with Opal, Denise, Savannah, Sol and Nick. I let the white belts work for the most part. Nick said his ribs were still recovering, so I tried to stay off of them as much as possible. Savannah passed my guard as per usual but I got her back several times. Sol let me sweep but was able to pass. He said that my guard maintenance is better, but I don't see it.