Instead of road tripping this morning, Rachael and I went to class. There is a great unwillingness for people to compete up in weight, so we stayed home. I understand not wanting to compete against someone 20lb+ pounds heavier, but I'm really bummed out. I've fought 40lb+ up and while it's no picnic, I roll against heavier guys all the time. Ideally competition would consist of people your weight and age, but that's not the world we live in.
I thought for sure the other purple belt women would be willing to go up in weight and we'd have a marvelous five person round-robin bracket. Nay. Only one was willing to go up, and I'm not driving 14hrs for one match in gi and no gi with the same person. Sad panda.
Anyway, my neck was feeling better until I lifted last night. Inadequate warm-up and I could tell that my back was feeling a little weird (likely from poor stretching form, not from lifting). Woke up feeling like it might want to freak out a bit, but it held up during rolling and both back and neck seemed fine.
Technique consisted of DLR sweeps from combat stance and standing. Nothing new. One funny moment when both Rachael and I tried to complete a sweep by doing a technical stance...with both of our hands full of grips. We were finding it extremely difficult. James informed us that it'd be a lot easier if we, y'know, released one of the grips to post a hand on the mat. d'oh.
Rolled with Chaz, Sarah, Laurie and Rachael. Chaz kicked my ass. At least one knee-bar, can't remember what else he got me with. About the only thing I did well was circle my leg out of his shallow DLR hook. That's it. First time I rolled with him. He's pretty good.
Sarah wasn't feeling so hot and her knees were really bothering her. I would have backed off of the DLR guard if I had known about her knees. Took her back several times, but I could tell her heart wasn't in it.
Transitioned through several positions with Laurie, let her work the DLR sweeps of the day near the end.
I did a crap job of establishing guard with Rachael and paid for it by being stuck under bottom side-control for the majority of the round. I finally started making some progress out of it at the end of the round but took waaaaaay too long.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
No Good Comes from No Gi
On a bit of a whim, I managed to convince Rachael and myself that doing no gi on Tuesday night would be a good idea. I'm going to be competing in no gi, so I might as well practice it once beforehand, right?
I asked Jason W (who was running class) if he would go over leg lock defense, since I know next to nothing about it and will competing in the advanced division. He did knee-bar defense when they're flattened on top of your leg and when they're off to the side. Also basic foot-lock and toe hold defense. I liked the way that he broke it down, b/c it made a lot of sense. Change the angle of the joint being locked, change the direction of your hips and then finish the escape. Great stuff.
I could tell midway through that my neck was going to be a bit bothersome, but I decided to roll anyway. Bad idea. Rachael started a pass and as soon as she got control of my head I was done. D'oh!
Sat out rolling and massaged it as best I could.
Not doing class for the rest of the week and hope that it's 100% on Saturday. If it tweaks out like it did in class then I'm going to have a rough go of it.
I asked Jason W (who was running class) if he would go over leg lock defense, since I know next to nothing about it and will competing in the advanced division. He did knee-bar defense when they're flattened on top of your leg and when they're off to the side. Also basic foot-lock and toe hold defense. I liked the way that he broke it down, b/c it made a lot of sense. Change the angle of the joint being locked, change the direction of your hips and then finish the escape. Great stuff.
I could tell midway through that my neck was going to be a bit bothersome, but I decided to roll anyway. Bad idea. Rachael started a pass and as soon as she got control of my head I was done. D'oh!
Sat out rolling and massaged it as best I could.
Not doing class for the rest of the week and hope that it's 100% on Saturday. If it tweaks out like it did in class then I'm going to have a rough go of it.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Monday
Neck was still pretty jacked yesterday, no chance of doing advanced class.
Woke up feeling pretty good today. Turning too far in either direction and it was stiff, but didn't seem to be painful.
Worked subs from top turtle, which in some cases caused twinges of pain but nothing especially uncomfortable.
I was stressed yesterday that it was something that might persist to the tournament, but I think it's going to be fine.
Rolled with Sarah for the duration of rolling time. No way was I rolling with anyone else with a suspect neck. I tried to invert a couple of times and immediately though better of it. Couldn't turn into the left much, but otherwise felt fine. Don't think I made it worse and it was good to get some training in today.
On the fence about training tonight. Caution and common sense dictate that I not go tonight or tomorrow. If I do that, I should be 100% by Wednesday.
Woke up feeling pretty good today. Turning too far in either direction and it was stiff, but didn't seem to be painful.
Worked subs from top turtle, which in some cases caused twinges of pain but nothing especially uncomfortable.
I was stressed yesterday that it was something that might persist to the tournament, but I think it's going to be fine.
Rolled with Sarah for the duration of rolling time. No way was I rolling with anyone else with a suspect neck. I tried to invert a couple of times and immediately though better of it. Couldn't turn into the left much, but otherwise felt fine. Don't think I made it worse and it was good to get some training in today.
On the fence about training tonight. Caution and common sense dictate that I not go tonight or tomorrow. If I do that, I should be 100% by Wednesday.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Saturday
Do you know how I know that tournament season is coming?
When the injuries start to plague training!
I winged it a bit in the Fundamentals class b/c I was coming to the end of the curriculum and didn't want to start afresh when there was going to be a two break in between classes. So I decided to go over some open guard basics. I showed a DLR sweep and back-take, and then promptly lost everyone on the inversion drill (going from DLR -> RDLR from one side to the other of a standing partner). That was awesome, b/c I saw an opportunity to go over something that we do in class on occasion that might be confusing to people. Also had a good sized group of 9 (excluding myself). I feel like it was one of those days where I really provided some value.
The noon class started off fine. We did submissions from bottom side control (which is another way of saying that testing is coming up in the relative near future for some people). Trapping the far arm and going for wrist-lock, shoulder-lock or inverted triangle. If none of that pans out, attack the near arm with kimura or americana. Felt pretty good with all of these.
Rolled with Rachael, and everything was fine. I think it was pretty back and forth, though I tended to have the upper hand.
Roll with Chuck. He hit a nice sweep to mount (don't know exactly how), I was able to escape, reverse and had back or mount at one point. He is very scrambly and goes after things pretty fast, so I try to slow the rolls down. I think my neck got tweaked during this roll, b/c my next roll with Jerry was terrible. Turning my head and contorting my body felt awful. I tried to keep going, but he was passing my guard with ease and maintaining top position uncontested. I realized something was wrong, and sat out for the last and final round.
Felt stiff after class, but I could tell later that night that it wasn't a small, couple of hour thing. Had a difficult time finding a comfortable sleeping position. A bit better the next day, but still pretty stiff and both class and lifting are out of the question.
Hoping that it'll be better with a couple of days rest and that I can get some rolls in before the tournament next weekend.
When the injuries start to plague training!
I winged it a bit in the Fundamentals class b/c I was coming to the end of the curriculum and didn't want to start afresh when there was going to be a two break in between classes. So I decided to go over some open guard basics. I showed a DLR sweep and back-take, and then promptly lost everyone on the inversion drill (going from DLR -> RDLR from one side to the other of a standing partner). That was awesome, b/c I saw an opportunity to go over something that we do in class on occasion that might be confusing to people. Also had a good sized group of 9 (excluding myself). I feel like it was one of those days where I really provided some value.
The noon class started off fine. We did submissions from bottom side control (which is another way of saying that testing is coming up in the relative near future for some people). Trapping the far arm and going for wrist-lock, shoulder-lock or inverted triangle. If none of that pans out, attack the near arm with kimura or americana. Felt pretty good with all of these.
Rolled with Rachael, and everything was fine. I think it was pretty back and forth, though I tended to have the upper hand.
Roll with Chuck. He hit a nice sweep to mount (don't know exactly how), I was able to escape, reverse and had back or mount at one point. He is very scrambly and goes after things pretty fast, so I try to slow the rolls down. I think my neck got tweaked during this roll, b/c my next roll with Jerry was terrible. Turning my head and contorting my body felt awful. I tried to keep going, but he was passing my guard with ease and maintaining top position uncontested. I realized something was wrong, and sat out for the last and final round.
Felt stiff after class, but I could tell later that night that it wasn't a small, couple of hour thing. Had a difficult time finding a comfortable sleeping position. A bit better the next day, but still pretty stiff and both class and lifting are out of the question.
Hoping that it'll be better with a couple of days rest and that I can get some rolls in before the tournament next weekend.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Friday Morn
Relatively basic guard breaks and passes. Always pick up good details on things that I think that I know well. I worked my split pass a bit, the smash pass and back-step. I didn't care too much for switching from a split pass to a knee slice b/c I found it difficult to keep adequate pressure.
Sarah and I discussed beforehand about rolling continuously, so we had a 20+min roll. I enjoy the longer rolls, especially when preparing for comps. I especially enjoy a longer roll with someone who isn't going monkey poo on submissions and is more interested in transitioning through positions instead of stalling. I had several catch-and-release submissions. She got past my guard and was playing a heavy top game. Overall great, great roll and nice way to end the week.
Sarah and I discussed beforehand about rolling continuously, so we had a 20+min roll. I enjoy the longer rolls, especially when preparing for comps. I especially enjoy a longer roll with someone who isn't going monkey poo on submissions and is more interested in transitioning through positions instead of stalling. I had several catch-and-release submissions. She got past my guard and was playing a heavy top game. Overall great, great roll and nice way to end the week.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Wed Night
I didn't want to go to class. I had taken the dog for an hour and a half on the trail after morning class, and my legs were shot. But Rachael was there, and while I longing gazed at a beer in the fridge, I got my gear together and went to class instead.
Large class, 20+. Covered leg locks: Attacking from top half guard, defending the attack, and the rolling back attack from top quarter guard.
KOTH, win by submission or back-mount. I started down and had a white belt guy come over that had blue stripes. Never saw him before. I could tell that he wasn't super technical, but he was persistent and definitely knew a thing a two. I worked from guard for the most part. I was in some bad spots, but he didn't seem to have many attacks from top side-control. He did snag my arm at one point for an arm-bar, but I got my elbow to the mat and escapes. I tried to pass his guard and ended up getting caught in a foot-lock. Goddammit. Probably a 10min+ roll.
On the wall, then had a match against Nader who set up a knee-bar in about half a minute.
Back on the wall, then down with Naomi. She was really pushing the action, but I eventually got to her back.
After that it was Brian, who has been studying for his PhD and whom I haven't seen in at least a year. We were having a very good and interesting roll when time was called.
So yeah, got tapped by a white belt again. Not making any excuses, it happens.
Large class, 20+. Covered leg locks: Attacking from top half guard, defending the attack, and the rolling back attack from top quarter guard.
KOTH, win by submission or back-mount. I started down and had a white belt guy come over that had blue stripes. Never saw him before. I could tell that he wasn't super technical, but he was persistent and definitely knew a thing a two. I worked from guard for the most part. I was in some bad spots, but he didn't seem to have many attacks from top side-control. He did snag my arm at one point for an arm-bar, but I got my elbow to the mat and escapes. I tried to pass his guard and ended up getting caught in a foot-lock. Goddammit. Probably a 10min+ roll.
On the wall, then had a match against Nader who set up a knee-bar in about half a minute.
Back on the wall, then down with Naomi. She was really pushing the action, but I eventually got to her back.
After that it was Brian, who has been studying for his PhD and whom I haven't seen in at least a year. We were having a very good and interesting roll when time was called.
So yeah, got tapped by a white belt again. Not making any excuses, it happens.
Wed Morn
Transportation issues so James didn't make. Jason S. ran class instead, and worked guard pull to baby bolo to leg drag to passing or taking the back. Good little series.
What became embarrassingly obvious is that even after literally YEARS of guard-pulling, I still suck at it. Granted, I rarely drill it, but good grief.
Roll with Savannah, Christopher, Dennis and Jason. Savannah and I were going fairly light b/c her knee was wonky and she was tired. I wasn't exactly full of pep myself.
Christopher was interested in a faster pace than I was, so I was content to play bottom half guard and slow it down. We got into 50/50 at one point, and after he got the swept he immediately yelled across the room to Shaun that he got the sweep that Shaun had just taught him. That's great that he was able to implement a new thing, but com'n.
I tried pass Dennis' guard several times, but he, of all people, is starting to invert! It took me by surprise, but I'm really excited that he's trying it and having success. He's a smash passer with a strong top game, and it's awesome to see him branch out to inverting. He was having pretty good success with it too.
I tried to pass Jason's guard but he had me on my butt pretty fast. I'm clueless as to what to do once he gets that worm guard grip. Neither moving in nor keeping distance seems to work, and I can't figure out how to break the grip. At one point when closing the distance I seemed to have some success, but couldn't maintain it.
Overall not really stoked about my rolling today. I woke up full of vigor, but my knee was bugging me a bit after warm-ups and I didn't have the oomph I would have liked for more comp style rolls.
What became embarrassingly obvious is that even after literally YEARS of guard-pulling, I still suck at it. Granted, I rarely drill it, but good grief.
Roll with Savannah, Christopher, Dennis and Jason. Savannah and I were going fairly light b/c her knee was wonky and she was tired. I wasn't exactly full of pep myself.
Christopher was interested in a faster pace than I was, so I was content to play bottom half guard and slow it down. We got into 50/50 at one point, and after he got the swept he immediately yelled across the room to Shaun that he got the sweep that Shaun had just taught him. That's great that he was able to implement a new thing, but com'n.
I tried pass Dennis' guard several times, but he, of all people, is starting to invert! It took me by surprise, but I'm really excited that he's trying it and having success. He's a smash passer with a strong top game, and it's awesome to see him branch out to inverting. He was having pretty good success with it too.
I tried to pass Jason's guard but he had me on my butt pretty fast. I'm clueless as to what to do once he gets that worm guard grip. Neither moving in nor keeping distance seems to work, and I can't figure out how to break the grip. At one point when closing the distance I seemed to have some success, but couldn't maintain it.
Overall not really stoked about my rolling today. I woke up full of vigor, but my knee was bugging me a bit after warm-ups and I didn't have the oomph I would have liked for more comp style rolls.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Monday
Close to 10hrs of sleep and I felt mostly human this morning.
Huge class due to the MLK holiday, probably close to 20 ppl.
Technique was sweeps from various reverse half-guards. Either they have the mount leg in (or not) and arm-over or cross-face. I do ok with these, but have been known to get techniques confused and even figuring out whether the mount leg is trapped or not. It's more clear now, but even writing notes after class I wasn't 100% sure on a couple of the variations.
Rolled with Rachael, Sarah (twice) and Tyrone. My body didn't completely tell me to sod off, but pretty close. Rolls went ok. Was trying to stay up on points with Rachael but wasn't doing a good job of keeping track so not sure how that played out. Sarah was a little low on energy so I didn't comp roll with her. Was more of a playful, transitional type of roll. Tyrone passed my guard and I came close to locking up the inverted triangle but no dice. I played guard for the most part, until near the end when we reset and he started in guard.
Nothing remarkable. I'm not doing class tonight, my body needs a break. I sneezed a couple of times today and am dreading that I'm going to get the crud that everyone else has.
Huge class due to the MLK holiday, probably close to 20 ppl.
Technique was sweeps from various reverse half-guards. Either they have the mount leg in (or not) and arm-over or cross-face. I do ok with these, but have been known to get techniques confused and even figuring out whether the mount leg is trapped or not. It's more clear now, but even writing notes after class I wasn't 100% sure on a couple of the variations.
Rolled with Rachael, Sarah (twice) and Tyrone. My body didn't completely tell me to sod off, but pretty close. Rolls went ok. Was trying to stay up on points with Rachael but wasn't doing a good job of keeping track so not sure how that played out. Sarah was a little low on energy so I didn't comp roll with her. Was more of a playful, transitional type of roll. Tyrone passed my guard and I came close to locking up the inverted triangle but no dice. I played guard for the most part, until near the end when we reset and he started in guard.
Nothing remarkable. I'm not doing class tonight, my body needs a break. I sneezed a couple of times today and am dreading that I'm going to get the crud that everyone else has.
Saturday & Sunday
Fundies
Attacks from back-control. RNC, lapel choke, bow and arrow. Consistent attendance with 7 people (2 other purples and a blue belt). Not many questions asked during demos but quite a few during drilling.
Nooner
Tomoe nagi from guard, my least favorite thing to drill. I worked with Joyce, and we were both extremely careful. Unfortunately, the more you slow it down, the more difficult it is to do unless you are really, really proficient at it (which neither of us are).
I told myself that I wasn't going to roll b/c Sunday was going to be a long day, but I rolled anyway. Can't remember who I rolled with other than Joyce.
Sunday Women's Open Mat
We had about 13 ppl, include a couple of youngsters. They stuck around for an hour or so and then bailed b/c of the Seahawks game. Started with a couple of rounds of flow rolling which naturally morphed into regular rolls. I think I got in five or six rolls, including a no gi roll with Julie. I think it was the first time I've rolled with her that she wasn't able to finish a guillotine or kimura. She locked up a kimura at one point, but I was able to defend. I eventually got to top position which was pretty gratifying. She seemed off her game a bit though.
After the open mat we had some time to kill b/c everyone had bailed early, so I decided to use the weights and squat rack to do my lifting session.
Advanced Class
I was cooked by 1pm. My body was absolutely not interested in drilling anything for 5min. I wasn't the greatest partner yesterday, b/c I'd have to take a few breaks with some of the techniques that other people wanted to work on that involved more than minimal effort on my part. I drilled top side-control transitions a couple of times, but switched to spiderguard and leg lasso work midway through b/c my legs were too tired. Drilled some reverse half guard sweeps/back-takes too.
Rolled with Rachael, James and Shaun. Rachael was getting the better part of it to start, but I was able to escape her side-control and get to her back before the clock ran out.
Had an awesome roll with James. It didn't feel like he was giving me anything, it seemed like I was earning it. Very nearly took his back, and transitioned to an arm-bar that he escaped but it was relatively close. I did a slightly crazy move during a pass to stay on top that was outside my norm. It was a scrambly move based on an anticipation of how James would try to sweep me. It sortof worked if I remember correctly. I haven't rolled with him much in the past couple of months, but it was far and away the best roll I've had with him in that time. I was very happy with that, considering how tired I was.
Shaun said he wanted to go light, but of course he went hard for a knee bar early on. He gets to the leg lock position fast and then applies the actual submission at a moderate pace, so I wasn't too bothered by it. We ended up in some scrambles too, so by the end of that roll I was completely wiped.
Took the dog for a walk for an hour or so and then went to bed at 8pm. :p
Attacks from back-control. RNC, lapel choke, bow and arrow. Consistent attendance with 7 people (2 other purples and a blue belt). Not many questions asked during demos but quite a few during drilling.
Nooner
Tomoe nagi from guard, my least favorite thing to drill. I worked with Joyce, and we were both extremely careful. Unfortunately, the more you slow it down, the more difficult it is to do unless you are really, really proficient at it (which neither of us are).
I told myself that I wasn't going to roll b/c Sunday was going to be a long day, but I rolled anyway. Can't remember who I rolled with other than Joyce.
Sunday Women's Open Mat
We had about 13 ppl, include a couple of youngsters. They stuck around for an hour or so and then bailed b/c of the Seahawks game. Started with a couple of rounds of flow rolling which naturally morphed into regular rolls. I think I got in five or six rolls, including a no gi roll with Julie. I think it was the first time I've rolled with her that she wasn't able to finish a guillotine or kimura. She locked up a kimura at one point, but I was able to defend. I eventually got to top position which was pretty gratifying. She seemed off her game a bit though.
After the open mat we had some time to kill b/c everyone had bailed early, so I decided to use the weights and squat rack to do my lifting session.
Advanced Class
I was cooked by 1pm. My body was absolutely not interested in drilling anything for 5min. I wasn't the greatest partner yesterday, b/c I'd have to take a few breaks with some of the techniques that other people wanted to work on that involved more than minimal effort on my part. I drilled top side-control transitions a couple of times, but switched to spiderguard and leg lasso work midway through b/c my legs were too tired. Drilled some reverse half guard sweeps/back-takes too.
Rolled with Rachael, James and Shaun. Rachael was getting the better part of it to start, but I was able to escape her side-control and get to her back before the clock ran out.
Had an awesome roll with James. It didn't feel like he was giving me anything, it seemed like I was earning it. Very nearly took his back, and transitioned to an arm-bar that he escaped but it was relatively close. I did a slightly crazy move during a pass to stay on top that was outside my norm. It was a scrambly move based on an anticipation of how James would try to sweep me. It sortof worked if I remember correctly. I haven't rolled with him much in the past couple of months, but it was far and away the best roll I've had with him in that time. I was very happy with that, considering how tired I was.
Shaun said he wanted to go light, but of course he went hard for a knee bar early on. He gets to the leg lock position fast and then applies the actual submission at a moderate pace, so I wasn't too bothered by it. We ended up in some scrambles too, so by the end of that roll I was completely wiped.
Took the dog for a walk for an hour or so and then went to bed at 8pm. :p
Friday, January 16, 2015
Fri Morn
My knee is bothering me, I think from all of the air squats + weighted squats that I (foolishly) did last night. D'oh.
No gi, which invariably results in a lot of no shows. :( It was coooooold in the gym, and mid-roll with Sarah I realized that my toes were still icicles.
Top half guard attacks, starting with a head and arm choke, far-side arm-bar, kimura, kimura to arm-bar and so forth.
Flow roll with Sarah, then a roll with Chris and Savannah. After the roll with Sarah I tried to pick her brain a bit on how she defends my RDLR back-take. She showed me several times but I never quite got the hang of it.
Chris and I had a pretty good roll. We seemed to trade the top half position midway through, and both of us tried the move of the day but the other defended too well.
Savannah got her pass, and near the end of the roll I put myself in a tournament mindset, down on points and needing to get a sweep at the end. I got to her back before the buzzer, but wasn't able to get both hooks in.
No gi, which invariably results in a lot of no shows. :( It was coooooold in the gym, and mid-roll with Sarah I realized that my toes were still icicles.
Top half guard attacks, starting with a head and arm choke, far-side arm-bar, kimura, kimura to arm-bar and so forth.
Flow roll with Sarah, then a roll with Chris and Savannah. After the roll with Sarah I tried to pick her brain a bit on how she defends my RDLR back-take. She showed me several times but I never quite got the hang of it.
Chris and I had a pretty good roll. We seemed to trade the top half position midway through, and both of us tried the move of the day but the other defended too well.
Savannah got her pass, and near the end of the roll I put myself in a tournament mindset, down on points and needing to get a sweep at the end. I got to her back before the buzzer, but wasn't able to get both hooks in.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Wed Night
Body was still feeling quite good, which was fortunate b/c James decided to up the cardio intensity for the evening class warm-up.
The same side-control -> top turtle -> back-control from the previous couple of classes, plus bow and arrow variations. Nothing really new for me, although the variety and reasoning of leg placement on the bow and arrow was great detail and good to practice.
KOTH. Person down starts with opponent from the wall having back-control with no underhooks. To win, person starting on the back must submit or get to mount. Other person must escape and submit or get to mount or back-control.
I started down, and Seline was the first off the line. I escaped fairly quickly, but then was left with a bit of a conundrum as to how to not use any strength, mass or speed to pass a teenager girl's open guard. I somehow managed and ended up taking her back.
After that it was Zack (adult). When he approached I was thinking "oh crap...". I escaped back-control with relative ease, got to guard and tried various submissions and sweeps. I got a flower/pendulum sweep variation to mount twice, but he immediately got an arm under one of my legs and was able to escape both times. I harassed him mainly from guard, but did get a couple of other sweeps and passes. He passed my guard once and was looking for some lapel choke but I eventually escaped and regained guard. We were going at it for at least 15min, and I was getting fairly tired near the end but still getting the better of it. He tried for an arm-bar from side-control at one point and I wish I had it on video, b/c I did a pretty nifty roll which landed him in guard (still with arm-bar), which I pressured down quickly to get my arm out.
The same side-control -> top turtle -> back-control from the previous couple of classes, plus bow and arrow variations. Nothing really new for me, although the variety and reasoning of leg placement on the bow and arrow was great detail and good to practice.
KOTH. Person down starts with opponent from the wall having back-control with no underhooks. To win, person starting on the back must submit or get to mount. Other person must escape and submit or get to mount or back-control.
I started down, and Seline was the first off the line. I escaped fairly quickly, but then was left with a bit of a conundrum as to how to not use any strength, mass or speed to pass a teenager girl's open guard. I somehow managed and ended up taking her back.
After that it was Zack (adult). When he approached I was thinking "oh crap...". I escaped back-control with relative ease, got to guard and tried various submissions and sweeps. I got a flower/pendulum sweep variation to mount twice, but he immediately got an arm under one of my legs and was able to escape both times. I harassed him mainly from guard, but did get a couple of other sweeps and passes. He passed my guard once and was looking for some lapel choke but I eventually escaped and regained guard. We were going at it for at least 15min, and I was getting fairly tired near the end but still getting the better of it. He tried for an arm-bar from side-control at one point and I wish I had it on video, b/c I did a pretty nifty roll which landed him in guard (still with arm-bar), which I pressured down quickly to get my arm out.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Wednesday Morning
I feel fantastic today. It must have been those tabata deadlifts last night. :p
Technique consisted of transitioning from side-control to s-mount, and either arm-barring or triangling from mount. Also a quick refresher on the back-take from top turtle if they try the running escape from side-control.
Rolled 25min straight with Sarah, which was awesome. I LOVE those continuous rolls. She suggested it near the end of the first round, and we just kept going. I identified a habit that I have of trapping the far arm with a gable grip and trying to get to back-mount. It's sortof like a crucifix, but I don't have the near arm trapped. Once in awhile it sortof works for me, but often it doesn't. I tried to ask James about it after class but I couldn't quite demonstrate the starting position correctly and he thought I meant something else. I tried to clarify but it still wasn't right. Oh well, I got a lot of useful pointers about similar positions, so it's all good.
I brought my gear for class tonight, but Rachael won't be there. :( Will still good and hope my body continues to feel amazing.
Technique consisted of transitioning from side-control to s-mount, and either arm-barring or triangling from mount. Also a quick refresher on the back-take from top turtle if they try the running escape from side-control.
Rolled 25min straight with Sarah, which was awesome. I LOVE those continuous rolls. She suggested it near the end of the first round, and we just kept going. I identified a habit that I have of trapping the far arm with a gable grip and trying to get to back-mount. It's sortof like a crucifix, but I don't have the near arm trapped. Once in awhile it sortof works for me, but often it doesn't. I tried to ask James about it after class but I couldn't quite demonstrate the starting position correctly and he thought I meant something else. I tried to clarify but it still wasn't right. Oh well, I got a lot of useful pointers about similar positions, so it's all good.
I brought my gear for class tonight, but Rachael won't be there. :( Will still good and hope my body continues to feel amazing.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Monday
Great class today. A (new) normal sized group, about 14 or so. Went over top side-control transitions. Top side to KOB, top side to back-stepping to other side if they get an underhook, top side to monoplata in similar scenario. My transitions didn't feel amazing, but it wasn't due to not understanding what I was supposed to do.
Sarah was back, and even rolled with me twice!
I tried to stay away from Sarah's recently tattoo'd arm, so the rolls were a little funky.
Rolled with Tyrone and then Julio after class. Tyrone was doing really well, and while he left some openings (not getting an underhook on knee slide pass and exposing his neck during a sortof pass), he was recovering very well. Definitely gave me a run for my money.
Julio was going about 80% or so. I was defending fairly well, and he gave me some positions. I tried the damned inverted triangle from bottom side b/c I simply cannot help myself. Ended up in a worse position. Otherwise my defense seemed pretty good.
No night class for me tonight, going to be busy rooting for the Ducks.
Sarah was back, and even rolled with me twice!
I tried to stay away from Sarah's recently tattoo'd arm, so the rolls were a little funky.
Rolled with Tyrone and then Julio after class. Tyrone was doing really well, and while he left some openings (not getting an underhook on knee slide pass and exposing his neck during a sortof pass), he was recovering very well. Definitely gave me a run for my money.
Julio was going about 80% or so. I was defending fairly well, and he gave me some positions. I tried the damned inverted triangle from bottom side b/c I simply cannot help myself. Ended up in a worse position. Otherwise my defense seemed pretty good.
No night class for me tonight, going to be busy rooting for the Ducks.
Sunday
I'm happy with how well my body is recovering after a full night's sleep. I've been training a fair amount in addition to lifting and while my body is fatigued at the end of the day, it's good to go the next morning.
Yesterday was advanced class, and somehow I didn't come up with a good plan for what I wanted to drill. I was thrown off by a couple of visitors and didn't feel comfortable drilling moves with them for some reason. They were both purples, and I've rolled with one of them before, so not sure why I was hesitant. Did some open guard movement drills, passing DLR and butterfly sweeps.
Rolled with Rachael twice, Shaun, and Jason W. Pretty evenly matched against Rachael, although I felt like I had a bit of the upper hand in position/points in both rolls. Shaun wanted to go light and actually went fairly light. Jason smashed all my attempts at trying to sweep, got to top side and might have gotten a submission.
I wore a new rashguard yesterday and apparently the back of my gi made it pill in the back. I'm really bummed out about that b/c I rarely get new gear and it looked very nice until the pilling. :( We got new team patches too, and my cat got ahold of it and now there's bite marks on it before I even get it sewn onto a gi.
Can't have nice things.
Yesterday was advanced class, and somehow I didn't come up with a good plan for what I wanted to drill. I was thrown off by a couple of visitors and didn't feel comfortable drilling moves with them for some reason. They were both purples, and I've rolled with one of them before, so not sure why I was hesitant. Did some open guard movement drills, passing DLR and butterfly sweeps.
Rolled with Rachael twice, Shaun, and Jason W. Pretty evenly matched against Rachael, although I felt like I had a bit of the upper hand in position/points in both rolls. Shaun wanted to go light and actually went fairly light. Jason smashed all my attempts at trying to sweep, got to top side and might have gotten a submission.
I wore a new rashguard yesterday and apparently the back of my gi made it pill in the back. I'm really bummed out about that b/c I rarely get new gear and it looked very nice until the pilling. :( We got new team patches too, and my cat got ahold of it and now there's bite marks on it before I even get it sewn onto a gi.
Can't have nice things.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Saturday
Fundamentals was back escapes. Good sized class at 8 ppl. I'm really excited to have steady participation. One brand new guy that I had to caution to slow down while drilling.
Noon class was wrestling. Double (high-crotch), single-leg, defending those with a sprawl (hip down instead of flat), rolling them and getting a kimura grip if they are in a head-to-head turtle position with you with underhooks. Sitting out if they have you turtled from behind. He didn't call it a sit-out though, can't remember his term.
We went half to three quarter speed and then full speed takedowns. Ugh. My technique wasn't bad during drilling but I could not get anywhere close enough to shoot effectively when my partner was defending. I'm being mellow about it though. It's my second class ever on wrestling, I'm not going to expect that I'm going to be very good at it.
After class, I somehow summoned the energy to roll with Rachael 3 rounds. We started standing the first time, where I ended up pulling guard. The other two rounds I started on her back and was able to get out and to a superior position.
I was daaaamned tired at the end of class.
It didn't help that I ate something yesterday that disagreed violently with my digestive system. Also, wicked cramps this morning. But I powered through.
I have a private with James tomorrow, followed by advanced class. Pretty sure my body hates me.
Noon class was wrestling. Double (high-crotch), single-leg, defending those with a sprawl (hip down instead of flat), rolling them and getting a kimura grip if they are in a head-to-head turtle position with you with underhooks. Sitting out if they have you turtled from behind. He didn't call it a sit-out though, can't remember his term.
We went half to three quarter speed and then full speed takedowns. Ugh. My technique wasn't bad during drilling but I could not get anywhere close enough to shoot effectively when my partner was defending. I'm being mellow about it though. It's my second class ever on wrestling, I'm not going to expect that I'm going to be very good at it.
After class, I somehow summoned the energy to roll with Rachael 3 rounds. We started standing the first time, where I ended up pulling guard. The other two rounds I started on her back and was able to get out and to a superior position.
I was daaaamned tired at the end of class.
It didn't help that I ate something yesterday that disagreed violently with my digestive system. Also, wicked cramps this morning. But I powered through.
I have a private with James tomorrow, followed by advanced class. Pretty sure my body hates me.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Fri Morn
Managed to get the bad taste of Wed out of my mouth. Probably hormones.
DLR passes today, both of which I had a private on many moons ago. Pop hook to leg drag and then the dive under. James showed a sweet variation on the dive under that is really dependent on the body types involved. Getting your foot in front of the knee that's elevating the far leg (like you're getting ready to lock a triangle), then straighten the elevating leg and hook it with the other foot.
I couldn't get it to work with Sol unless he helped get his leg in place. I could do it no hands with James.
Rolls with Sol (who was half dead), Christopher, Jason S., Savannah and Chris. Apparently Sol had been drinking until 3am this morning...so....that's all I need to say about that roll.
Christopher got me with a knee-bah early, I think I got to mount (or his back) later on.
Jason had me in a world of trouble and was trying like hell to baratoplata me from mount. Fortunately I've had just enough exposure on those that I was able to block him from stuffing my arm inside. I eventually got him to his guard and then passed at the end of the round. I think he let me pass though.
Savannah got her knee slice pass, but I got back control and was able to pass her guard as well.
Chris got me with some kindof choke with a bit of crank on it. Not sure what it was...maybe an anaconda variation. I attacked hard from closed guard but nothing was really close to finishing. Had him on the defensive, can't remember if I got a sweep at the end or not.
DLR passes today, both of which I had a private on many moons ago. Pop hook to leg drag and then the dive under. James showed a sweet variation on the dive under that is really dependent on the body types involved. Getting your foot in front of the knee that's elevating the far leg (like you're getting ready to lock a triangle), then straighten the elevating leg and hook it with the other foot.
I couldn't get it to work with Sol unless he helped get his leg in place. I could do it no hands with James.
Rolls with Sol (who was half dead), Christopher, Jason S., Savannah and Chris. Apparently Sol had been drinking until 3am this morning...so....that's all I need to say about that roll.
Christopher got me with a knee-bah early, I think I got to mount (or his back) later on.
Jason had me in a world of trouble and was trying like hell to baratoplata me from mount. Fortunately I've had just enough exposure on those that I was able to block him from stuffing my arm inside. I eventually got him to his guard and then passed at the end of the round. I think he let me pass though.
Savannah got her knee slice pass, but I got back control and was able to pass her guard as well.
Chris got me with some kindof choke with a bit of crank on it. Not sure what it was...maybe an anaconda variation. I attacked hard from closed guard but nothing was really close to finishing. Had him on the defensive, can't remember if I got a sweep at the end or not.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Wed Night
Technique was the same as this morning (side-control escapes).
Rolling was KOTH. This time the purps did not start down as James wanted to take pity on those of us who were doing two-a-days.
After class I rolled once with Rachael and once with Julio.
I have nothing positive to say about how I rolled tonight. So I'm going to leave it at that.
Wed Morn
Side control escapes. Sarah is out for awhile due to a recent tattoo. Worked with Sol, which was great since his side control is stifling.
Basic escapes, but I picked up on several details. Also it seems like either James has changed his philosophy on the underhook one or I've been remembering it wrong. In any case, I like the new way better.
KOTH rolls b/c we had a huge morning class (~20ppl). Person down starts in bottom side-control. Either person wins with a submission or back-control.
Guy that comes over to me is new and looks MMA-ish. Half my age, twice my size, ripped physique. Rolled MMA-ish too. Definitely knew a fair amount about grappling, and seemed to know two submissions: guillotine and kimura. Suspicions confirmed: MMA guy. I don't mean that in a detrimental way, but every single person that I've rolled with that has primarily focused on MMA only seems to go for those two submissions.
Anyway, I had him in my closed guard on a couple of occasions, but felt like I was stalling out b/c I couldn't get anything going. He did a fair job of breaking grips. I had a nice arm-wrap at one point, but wasn't able to do anything with it. Almost had a Frank Mir but no go. So I opened my guard, had him in my half guard and swept a couple of times. As I swept the first time, he got a strong kimura grip and used that to sweep me around. He had a helluva tight lock on it and was even trying to do some crazy banana split thing too with my legs. Somehow I got out of that jam. As I was trying my second split pass, I got caught in a guillotine and couldn't get out. I hate being the purple belt that taps to new guys in the door, but whatever.
After that I was on the wall for a bit, then had a roll with Dennis. I escaped his side-control after quite a long while where he threatened quite a few chokes and arm locks. I felt like a rockstar just getting back to guard. As he broke my guard and did a stack pass (stacking one leg, pushing other down on the mat), my groin felt like it was stretching in a really uncomfortable and I tapped. I don't think I've ever tapped to a stack pass before, but with my hip flexor already being pissed at me I decided not to push it.
Basic escapes, but I picked up on several details. Also it seems like either James has changed his philosophy on the underhook one or I've been remembering it wrong. In any case, I like the new way better.
KOTH rolls b/c we had a huge morning class (~20ppl). Person down starts in bottom side-control. Either person wins with a submission or back-control.
Guy that comes over to me is new and looks MMA-ish. Half my age, twice my size, ripped physique. Rolled MMA-ish too. Definitely knew a fair amount about grappling, and seemed to know two submissions: guillotine and kimura. Suspicions confirmed: MMA guy. I don't mean that in a detrimental way, but every single person that I've rolled with that has primarily focused on MMA only seems to go for those two submissions.
Anyway, I had him in my closed guard on a couple of occasions, but felt like I was stalling out b/c I couldn't get anything going. He did a fair job of breaking grips. I had a nice arm-wrap at one point, but wasn't able to do anything with it. Almost had a Frank Mir but no go. So I opened my guard, had him in my half guard and swept a couple of times. As I swept the first time, he got a strong kimura grip and used that to sweep me around. He had a helluva tight lock on it and was even trying to do some crazy banana split thing too with my legs. Somehow I got out of that jam. As I was trying my second split pass, I got caught in a guillotine and couldn't get out. I hate being the purple belt that taps to new guys in the door, but whatever.
After that I was on the wall for a bit, then had a roll with Dennis. I escaped his side-control after quite a long while where he threatened quite a few chokes and arm locks. I felt like a rockstar just getting back to guard. As he broke my guard and did a stack pass (stacking one leg, pushing other down on the mat), my groin felt like it was stretching in a really uncomfortable and I tapped. I don't think I've ever tapped to a stack pass before, but with my hip flexor already being pissed at me I decided not to push it.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Mon Night
Huuuuuuuuge class. Lots of New Year's resolution folks came in, around 4 or 5.
I asked James before class to go over some butterfly guard since we almost never work on that, and surprisingly enough, that's what we did. At least a little bit. Sweep to mount, attempt sweep to triangle, then arm-bar and monoplata from mount.
I didn't think Rachael was going to show, but she did. My body was feeling especially beat up and creaky after the morning class, but by the time night class was over it felt better.
There were several comments about the perceived weight class of our training partners with the arm-bar from mount. There was much sternum crushing and spinal alignment occurring. Felt good with all of the techniques, except the sortof whizzer thing that you're supposed to get to set up the triangle. That felt a little awkward.
KOTH with all of the purps and a couple of blues down. I managed to hold my spot through one slightly spazzy newcomer (Nate), a tentative newcomer (Mike), Nick, Tom, little Rachel and Aaron. I was absolutely wiped by the end of it, and had my most difficult roll at the end with Tom. I think I out-lasted him on cardio though, and was able to secure an americana from mount.
My body was feeling the fatigue, especially when a couple of the guys started the rolls aggressively. I'm really happy with how my stamina held up, and even had enough at the end to do a bit of drilling with Russ at the end.
Also got some help earlier in the day on the defense for when someone tries to jump over your head when you have them in an omoplata. I've sortof known to put my arm up, but I'd get confused as to which arm and then what happens after I put the arm up. Will take some time on Sunday to drill it more so that I don't have to think about it.
I asked James before class to go over some butterfly guard since we almost never work on that, and surprisingly enough, that's what we did. At least a little bit. Sweep to mount, attempt sweep to triangle, then arm-bar and monoplata from mount.
I didn't think Rachael was going to show, but she did. My body was feeling especially beat up and creaky after the morning class, but by the time night class was over it felt better.
There were several comments about the perceived weight class of our training partners with the arm-bar from mount. There was much sternum crushing and spinal alignment occurring. Felt good with all of the techniques, except the sortof whizzer thing that you're supposed to get to set up the triangle. That felt a little awkward.
KOTH with all of the purps and a couple of blues down. I managed to hold my spot through one slightly spazzy newcomer (Nate), a tentative newcomer (Mike), Nick, Tom, little Rachel and Aaron. I was absolutely wiped by the end of it, and had my most difficult roll at the end with Tom. I think I out-lasted him on cardio though, and was able to secure an americana from mount.
My body was feeling the fatigue, especially when a couple of the guys started the rolls aggressively. I'm really happy with how my stamina held up, and even had enough at the end to do a bit of drilling with Russ at the end.
Also got some help earlier in the day on the defense for when someone tries to jump over your head when you have them in an omoplata. I've sortof known to put my arm up, but I'd get confused as to which arm and then what happens after I put the arm up. Will take some time on Sunday to drill it more so that I don't have to think about it.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Mon Morn
My hips and my knees weren't terribly interested in doing jiu jitsu today. I arrived early, which was fortunate b/c it gave me a chance to discover this nugget and try to mitigate it with a fair amount of stretching and moving. My hip flexor is only mildly noticeable at the beginning of class. It's moreso...everything else.
Omoplata set-ups today from spider and lasso. Transitioning to triangle, and recovering triangle if they posture.
Rolls with Sarah (twice), Tyrone and Sol. Another longish roll with Sarah after class since she'll be out of commission for awhile.
Rolls with Sarah were good, though I was kindof playing around a bit and made some ill-advised decisions. I have a difficult time trying to rack up points/subs with some people, b/c I'd rather have a more cooperative roll with lots of transitions on both sides. I could tell that Sarah had some sleep recently b/c her energy level was much higher than usual.
I tried to get Tyrone to sit on his butt instead of doing our usual him-trying-to-pass-my-guard-for-five-minutes but nope, it was a serving of the usual. I was relatively close on an arm-bar but he powered out of it. He didn't pass and I got one sweep near the end.
Sol worked top side-control for awhile and I was reminded of how much pressure he can generate from the kesa gatame position (as if I could really forget). Ooompf.
I crept behind Sarah after class and started to sink in hooks and a choke to signal that I wanted to roll again. Went in and out of a lot of different positions, and at one point I found myself in a mounted triangle. Managed to escape after awhile, but I'm still not sure how I got there.
Omoplata set-ups today from spider and lasso. Transitioning to triangle, and recovering triangle if they posture.
Rolls with Sarah (twice), Tyrone and Sol. Another longish roll with Sarah after class since she'll be out of commission for awhile.
Rolls with Sarah were good, though I was kindof playing around a bit and made some ill-advised decisions. I have a difficult time trying to rack up points/subs with some people, b/c I'd rather have a more cooperative roll with lots of transitions on both sides. I could tell that Sarah had some sleep recently b/c her energy level was much higher than usual.
I tried to get Tyrone to sit on his butt instead of doing our usual him-trying-to-pass-my-guard-for-five-minutes but nope, it was a serving of the usual. I was relatively close on an arm-bar but he powered out of it. He didn't pass and I got one sweep near the end.
Sol worked top side-control for awhile and I was reminded of how much pressure he can generate from the kesa gatame position (as if I could really forget). Ooompf.
I crept behind Sarah after class and started to sink in hooks and a choke to signal that I wanted to roll again. Went in and out of a lot of different positions, and at one point I found myself in a mounted triangle. Managed to escape after awhile, but I'm still not sure how I got there.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
2015 Goals
I'm not a huge fan of resolutions, but I think viewing a new calendar year as a blank slate and having some idea of what you want to engrave upon it is a worthwhile task.
Competitions:
* Tournament before Pans
* Pans
* Master Worlds
Anything in addition to that is gravy.
Notes:
* Take notes for every class. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)
* Update mind map and typed notes every week (HAHAHAHAHAHA)
Game:
* Learn how to pass, I guess
* Drill stand-up (even if it's guard pulling) once a week
Competitions:
* Tournament before Pans
* Pans
* Master Worlds
Anything in addition to that is gravy.
Notes:
* Take notes for every class. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)
* Update mind map and typed notes every week (HAHAHAHAHAHA)
Game:
* Learn how to pass, I guess
* Drill stand-up (even if it's guard pulling) once a week
Upper Belt Open Mat
The advanced class was a bit different today, as upper belts from all of the area schools were invited to attend. I figured it would be a true open mat, but James kept the drill portion of the usual Sunday class in place. Sooooo....I wasn't prepared, but decided to work some lapel grip breaks from kneeling and standing, my butterfly hook circling out thing, split pass from half guard, leg lasso to hammer sweep and the DLR -> RDLR transitions. I had to cut the hammer sweep from spiderguard short b/c my hip flexor told me to pound sand.
Sol gave me some great advice on the split pass when I start from half guard. If they have the knee up like a sortof 93 guard or Z guard, I can push down on the top leg, which will result in them bringing the knee up to avoid having it pinned. When they bring it up, I can use that circle my arm from on top of their leg to under their leg and grab their hip as my torso goes to the mat and I work to straighten their near leg.
Rolled with Scott G., Sol, Nader and Jason W. Good times. Haven't rolled with Scott for well over a year, and while I can't remember exactly what happened, I seemed to have had the upper hand in guard for the most part. He wasn't able to pass, but I wasn't able to sweep either. I set up several triangles (didn't finish). I think I did get a pass and to his back near the end. Was really a treat to be able to roll with him again.
I don't remember much about the roll with Sol, except that I did a bit better than Friday. I studiously avoided weaving my hand in when he had half guard.
Nader, not surprisingly, got on top and took my breath away (not in a dreamy way) on several occasions. He's a big boy AND he knows how to use his weight. I was trying not to be too dramatic with my exhalations but good grief. I think he was actually trying to go light a couple of times too.
Jason W., same old song and dance. Passed my guard before I could even really establish one, sat in side-control and worked chokes. My defense seemed a bit more effective than usual though.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Saturday
I wasn't quite as prepared as I wanted to be for teaching, but it still went well. Covered opening guard from kneeling, one foot up and standing. The first two were followed by the split pass. I felt like I was doing a lot of jabbering, but that's just my perception. I was sooooo excited when Jeremy told me after the rolling session at noon that he was able to use the kneeling guard break successfully multiple times. Had 8 ppl, not including myself or Rachael.
Noon was a big class, close to 20 or so. Several visitors from other gyms and out of town. Gi drag from seated guard, ankle pick from seated guard, fake guard pull to single leg and fake guard pull to ankle pick.
Worked with Sol, who seemed especially creaky today. Working for a railroad in winter especially cannot be kind to one's body. I felt decent with the techniques, but I was a little overzealous with burying my head into his shoulder at one point and got a twinge in my neck. Old.
Rolled with Sol, Rachael, Opal, Nick and Jeremy. I tried to pass Sol's half guard by weaving my hand between his legs and pressuring my chest on his top leg, but the second I got my hand in there he did some wizardry and swept me and/or wrist-lock me. I'm pretty sure it ended in a wrist-lock. He told me later that he's been working on that for awhile. Yeah, I guess.
I wanted no part of Rachael's side-control, so maintained guard and eventually got to the turtle and possibly back. We were interrupted repeatedly by (lower) belts crowding our space. I elected to move us since they were oblivious and feet were flying. I was pleased with how I was able to control the roll for the most part.
I pulled guard and swept Opal several times, getting to mount and taking the back. She was turning and showing a fair amount of back when she was mounted, which I cautioned her against after the roll.
I knew that Nick wanted to work spiderguard, so I promptly pulled guard myself. I got to his back as well. It was apparently my theme for the day.
Jeremy was trying to work the guard breaks from earlier, and I let him work a bit, but when he didn't pin my hips down I slid up and made him pay for it. Fairly certain I took his back too.
Overall, I was really happy with my rolls. As much as I was getting to the back, I still had instances in which I wasn't getting my arm out of the way and people were able to pull me back down into guard.
Noon was a big class, close to 20 or so. Several visitors from other gyms and out of town. Gi drag from seated guard, ankle pick from seated guard, fake guard pull to single leg and fake guard pull to ankle pick.
Worked with Sol, who seemed especially creaky today. Working for a railroad in winter especially cannot be kind to one's body. I felt decent with the techniques, but I was a little overzealous with burying my head into his shoulder at one point and got a twinge in my neck. Old.
Rolled with Sol, Rachael, Opal, Nick and Jeremy. I tried to pass Sol's half guard by weaving my hand between his legs and pressuring my chest on his top leg, but the second I got my hand in there he did some wizardry and swept me and/or wrist-lock me. I'm pretty sure it ended in a wrist-lock. He told me later that he's been working on that for awhile. Yeah, I guess.
I wanted no part of Rachael's side-control, so maintained guard and eventually got to the turtle and possibly back. We were interrupted repeatedly by (lower) belts crowding our space. I elected to move us since they were oblivious and feet were flying. I was pleased with how I was able to control the roll for the most part.
I pulled guard and swept Opal several times, getting to mount and taking the back. She was turning and showing a fair amount of back when she was mounted, which I cautioned her against after the roll.
I knew that Nick wanted to work spiderguard, so I promptly pulled guard myself. I got to his back as well. It was apparently my theme for the day.
Jeremy was trying to work the guard breaks from earlier, and I let him work a bit, but when he didn't pin my hips down I slid up and made him pay for it. Fairly certain I took his back too.
Overall, I was really happy with my rolls. As much as I was getting to the back, I still had instances in which I wasn't getting my arm out of the way and people were able to pull me back down into guard.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Friday Morning
Back to the grind today...
Big morning class, around 15 or so. One brand new guy, and poor thing, we went over worm guard.
Lapeloplata, baby bolo with far side lapel grip and basic worm guard sweep. Worked with Sarah, which was nice b/c it's been awhile.
Rolls with Sarah, Christopher, Ronna (sp?), Jason S.
I did something pretty stupid trying to pass Sarah's guard. I don't recall exactly what, but she had a single leg X-ish guard and I tried to cave my knee towards her hips and roll under, not really knowing what I was doing. I thought it would be sortof like a rolling back attack, but she ended up on top in a pretty good position. Whoops.
Started to roll with Christopher and realized he was bleeding from the top of his hand. I pointed it out to him, and he then proceeded to blot it on various spots on his gi to stop the bleeding. *facepalm*
Ronna and her friend were visiting from somewhere (Foster?). I worked some open guard, passed or took her back, then had her work from guard. Seemed to instinctively scramble well, which is rare for women. (Why is that?)
I tried to yank Jason's jacket out for lapel guard and ended up being passed pretty quickly. Turns out you have to get your hand on the outside of their knee with the lapel grip otherwise they end up squashing your wrist.
Big morning class, around 15 or so. One brand new guy, and poor thing, we went over worm guard.
Lapeloplata, baby bolo with far side lapel grip and basic worm guard sweep. Worked with Sarah, which was nice b/c it's been awhile.
Rolls with Sarah, Christopher, Ronna (sp?), Jason S.
I did something pretty stupid trying to pass Sarah's guard. I don't recall exactly what, but she had a single leg X-ish guard and I tried to cave my knee towards her hips and roll under, not really knowing what I was doing. I thought it would be sortof like a rolling back attack, but she ended up on top in a pretty good position. Whoops.
Started to roll with Christopher and realized he was bleeding from the top of his hand. I pointed it out to him, and he then proceeded to blot it on various spots on his gi to stop the bleeding. *facepalm*
Ronna and her friend were visiting from somewhere (Foster?). I worked some open guard, passed or took her back, then had her work from guard. Seemed to instinctively scramble well, which is rare for women. (Why is that?)
I tried to yank Jason's jacket out for lapel guard and ended up being passed pretty quickly. Turns out you have to get your hand on the outside of their knee with the lapel grip otherwise they end up squashing your wrist.
NYE Open Mat
Had a difficult deciding whether I should go to an open mat or watch football. I made the right choice with jiu jitsu b/c the game turned out to be a blowout.
Don't remember much about the rolls, other than I went I fared a bit better than Monday. I'm going to try very, very hard not to get down on myself this year.
Pulled a hip flexor Wed afternoon walking the dog on an icy trail. Feels better a couple of days later, but the true test will be how it performs in morning class.
Don't remember much about the rolls, other than I went I fared a bit better than Monday. I'm going to try very, very hard not to get down on myself this year.
Pulled a hip flexor Wed afternoon walking the dog on an icy trail. Feels better a couple of days later, but the true test will be how it performs in morning class.
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