Let's see...
Blue Belt Class:
* punch/block drills
* worked on headlock escapes.
- Standing headlock escape.
- From side-mount: pendulum sweep, throwing the football, pulling over when throwing the football doesn't work.
Nothing major. Just helped out a no-stripe whitebelt and used it as a warm-up.
Purple Belt Class:
* We did an arm-drag to single leg takedown that was interesting. Set up from an armdrag that they pulled back from. Weird part was that the far-side hand reached around the uke's waist (near side and head were same as normal double-leg), then blocked legs with legs to do the takedown. Started getting a stomach cramp doing this...shouldn't have had that pasta at 4:40.
* Worked on punching drills, but with cross going to hook with partner providing hand targets and moving around.
* Last, we worked on butterfly guard work. How do get pummel if the are riding low. How to undo a can-opener from butterfly guard and get double pummels (grab elbows, roll over, legs up, bearhug with head in the middle, then sit up), a side sweep to side-control and a counter roll to their posting with a leg to stop the side sweep.
Randori:
Worked with a couple guys about my level, a couple of younger guys, a brown belt, and a blue belt who was really good. blue belt had wrestling experience and went for the legs a lot, which kinda threw me off my game some...plus he was really good. Going to have to work on defending leg takedowns, even when kneeling. Got Keegen with a walkover guard pass to upside-down footlock...tried it on the brown belt and -almost- got it...he pulled me back. :) I like that one. As promised, I worked on side control escapes and got a lot more comfortable with them. Learned some basic form that helps out a lot. Last match during Randori, Professor Easton asked anyone who wanted some tips on being in guard to gather round and me and some other guys went over to get some wizdam. We defintely got some good tips on how to hold posture and what to worry about controling when inside someone else's guard.
Looked up my stats on their computer...I have 23 Randori's under my belt. I think they start thinking seriously about belt promotions after about 30. It would be neat to see how many total 1-hour classes and Randori (combined) that I've actually gone to, at -minimum-, its over 140...I would guess close to 170). That's crazy. I got my pilot's license in like 80 hours.
I'm totally drained. I need to start running more (now that I'm not sick) and eating smarter before classes like that.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
New Book!
Just got Gracie Submission Essentials by Helio and Royler Gracie from a friend. Wow! Cool book! Going to study this a lot. :)
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
mats
Just made a deal for 18 sq. meters of 7/8" thick rubber matting. :) Hello garage jiu-jitsu studio!
Neil
Neil
Randori last week.
Wanted to post on my experiences in Randori last week (2/21) to get it put into words and really think about it. I hadn't been to any Randoris for 2.5 weeks prior to that one and, honestly, I was pretty apprehensive about it. I was feeling sick (still am really) and didn't want to go, but some part of me said 'you need to go' and I think I understand what that part of me was trying to say. Even after just 2.5 weeks, I'd started to feel out of practice with the details of the techniques. I'd begun to loose some confidence in my abilities in general too, so that the thought of going to Randori at all had sort of an intimidating air to it. I felt weakened from 2.5 weeks of being sick, the 12 shots of antibiotics (and days of oral antibiotics) I had from 2/5 to 2/10 for the staph infection on my leg (which I am still getting over), for the cough I had, from a shoulder injury I've been nursing since the end of January that still hurts, and in general, from not working out, not running, and from not thinking about BJJ for almost 3 weeks. Indeed I -was- weak...after the Randori on Wednesday, it took me a full 3 days to recover completely from the soreness, and it set back my flu recovery I'm sure. Still, I had to go. Some part of me was screaming at me to go, get back into this thing that I love. Amal is always saying to train when you are feeling your worst. Well, I couldn't do it when I was feeling my worst, but it was like the worse I felt, the louder that voice became inside my head.
So I went. I went and had a -blast-! I was playing with a lot of side control from the top, scarf holds, and in generally playing with knee-on-belly and other dominant position techniques that were -not- mount. I really am starting to feel like mount is somewhat overrated in a situation where you are not in a fist fight. Don't get me wrong, it's clearly a great position to work from, but if you are rolling for submissions rather than trying to get to a position to strike from, mount seems to me to give up a lot of options and leave you much more vulnerable to sweeps than side-mount positions. I can hold side-mount on almost any white belt and most blue belts in my class for a very long time, and if they start escaping, I switch to scarf hold, or if I run out of attack options because of their good side mount defense, I can switch to knee-on-belly. From knee, I can drop into side mount in an instant again, or drop to scarf, or even switch sides, depending on where they go. Also from knee-on-belly, I have a whole range of new attacks, if they roll towards me, it's easy to switch sides and either attack or maintain side control. Plus, my brain was really ready to attack and to switch from position to position quickly, and not just sit there.
So my take-away from all this was a few things:
1. Most people do not defend side control and scarf hold very well...this can be exploited.
2. I don't defend side control very well...need to work on this.
3. Stay on the move, don't get stagnant.
#3 is always hard, but it's getting easier now as I get more fluid with changing positions.
#2 is something I am going to work on. I have trouble recognizing when side control is coming and setting up escapes and starting them early enough to be really effective. I have devised a plan. :)
My plan is simple, start letting people take side control, whether they can or can't normally take it. Let everyone take side control on me and the whole time I'm rolling, try to get people to get side control on me. Then work on recognizing when side control is coming and start working on escapes before they have settled in, or, worst case, after they have settled in. Either way, basically the rule is going to be to make myself give up side control, a lot, and work on technique to a. keep the position from getting worse, and b. escape.
Anyway, I really felt like I had a good game last Wednesday and it just goes to show how much this stuff stays with you and why you should go train, even when you don't feel like it. I'm going to try to work on not just training when I feel strong more often.
So I went. I went and had a -blast-! I was playing with a lot of side control from the top, scarf holds, and in generally playing with knee-on-belly and other dominant position techniques that were -not- mount. I really am starting to feel like mount is somewhat overrated in a situation where you are not in a fist fight. Don't get me wrong, it's clearly a great position to work from, but if you are rolling for submissions rather than trying to get to a position to strike from, mount seems to me to give up a lot of options and leave you much more vulnerable to sweeps than side-mount positions. I can hold side-mount on almost any white belt and most blue belts in my class for a very long time, and if they start escaping, I switch to scarf hold, or if I run out of attack options because of their good side mount defense, I can switch to knee-on-belly. From knee, I can drop into side mount in an instant again, or drop to scarf, or even switch sides, depending on where they go. Also from knee-on-belly, I have a whole range of new attacks, if they roll towards me, it's easy to switch sides and either attack or maintain side control. Plus, my brain was really ready to attack and to switch from position to position quickly, and not just sit there.
So my take-away from all this was a few things:
1. Most people do not defend side control and scarf hold very well...this can be exploited.
2. I don't defend side control very well...need to work on this.
3. Stay on the move, don't get stagnant.
#3 is always hard, but it's getting easier now as I get more fluid with changing positions.
#2 is something I am going to work on. I have trouble recognizing when side control is coming and setting up escapes and starting them early enough to be really effective. I have devised a plan. :)
My plan is simple, start letting people take side control, whether they can or can't normally take it. Let everyone take side control on me and the whole time I'm rolling, try to get people to get side control on me. Then work on recognizing when side control is coming and start working on escapes before they have settled in, or, worst case, after they have settled in. Either way, basically the rule is going to be to make myself give up side control, a lot, and work on technique to a. keep the position from getting worse, and b. escape.
Anyway, I really felt like I had a good game last Wednesday and it just goes to show how much this stuff stays with you and why you should go train, even when you don't feel like it. I'm going to try to work on not just training when I feel strong more often.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Blue Belt Class Today
Worked on punch drills, guillotine choke defense, side control escapes. Good take-away for the day was to, when doing the side control escape, execute in this series of steps:
1. Buck
2. Hip out
3. Straighten Arms
4. Step Over
5. Hip in
Before, I was skipping #3 a lot and forgetting to make space with my arms too. I didn't realize this until today. Maybe this escape will work better for me now. :)
Another take away was that on the guillotine take-down, blocking the outside leg is essential. I need to practice these more.
Dealing with the last stages of a flu, so I didn't do no-gi purple/randori night (again...this is the 3rd one I've missed in a row!)
1. Buck
2. Hip out
3. Straighten Arms
4. Step Over
5. Hip in
Before, I was skipping #3 a lot and forgetting to make space with my arms too. I didn't realize this until today. Maybe this escape will work better for me now. :)
Another take away was that on the guillotine take-down, blocking the outside leg is essential. I need to practice these more.
Dealing with the last stages of a flu, so I didn't do no-gi purple/randori night (again...this is the 3rd one I've missed in a row!)
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