Missed a planned training session last night. But it probably wasn't the worst idea in the world to take a day off between sessions. Maybe last week's 6x training blitz caught up with me, but I was feeling a few aches and stiffness that I hadn't felt before. But insofar as they were in all of the usual places, it seemed like a little time was all that was needed to get back on track.
Efficiency in the guard is about knowing what you want to do in the guard. Nothing is more exhausting than being lost and struggling to find the right direction. Skill, speed, and size aside, part of what is so challenging about training with Professor Carlos in recent days has been my lack of a process, especially when it comes to playing guard against a standing passer.
My tendency has been to try and play a "leggy guard". But there is nothing in my experience or body type that would recommend such a strategy against anyone, much less someone with the Anderson Silva/Jon Jones combination of length and agility. Instead, as I have discovered with light featherweights I train with who have great ability (and speed rather than length), the goal has to be to (a) reduce the length advantage by concentrating my attack, and (b) reduce the agility advantage by making movement either difficult or a liability.
Easier said than done doesn't even begin to describe it. I've started to train away from "small guy" jiu-jitsu in an effort to embrace my inner pessadissimo. But when there is no way to escape the 10-minute moment in which you are very much the small guy, there is no alternative to adopting strategies that are specifically geared toward turning this bug into a feature.
The question, though, is this: do I take a more Marcelo Garcia approach to this dilemma (drags, X-guards and single legs), or a more Rafa Mendes approach (berimbolo, berimbolo, berimbolo)? There is something tempting about the latter - and something worthwhile in finally learning that great berimbolo reverse. And those who questioned Rafa as an absolute candidate have to be satisfied with his performance against Rodolfo Viera at the Abu Dhabi World Pro in 2011.
At the same time, there's no doubting what Marcelinho has been able to accomplish as an absolute competitor. And I suspect that a significant fraction of that success is a much a matter of method as anything else.
Showing posts with label guard replacement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guard replacement. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Training Day: Wednesday
Very nice to get back on the mats after relapsing into my summer cold over the weekend (and missing training on Monday). We worked guard replacements from the turtle (sprawl defense and side attacks against the turtle), which provided a good opportunity to work on mechanics, as well as a good workout.
Live Training was also good. I have to say, the past several sessions training with Coach Angela have been especially productive, giving me a chance to focus almost exclusively on open guard passing, movement, and technique. I'm getting a chance to work on not only the Effing Pass, but also some toreano passing, which is another major priority for my guard passing game. I'm also able to train the double under/double drop pass that Brian and I worked on a week or two ago.
The focus for me today was not letting anyone put their weight on me, going chest to chest, in half guard. It's one of my worst habits, making my work a hell of a lot harder. So with arm frame and knee shield, I did a much better job of controlling range and setting up my entries to sweeps. Also on this score, from a half guard passing game, I had some great early success with one of the passes that Rodolfo Viera shows in the latest edition of GracieMag, especially helpful against the knee shield half guard, where you overhook the top leg, fight for the cross face, and then squeeze your arms together while kicking your trapped leg free.
158.8 on the scale, post-train. Anything under 160 is gold.
Live Training was also good. I have to say, the past several sessions training with Coach Angela have been especially productive, giving me a chance to focus almost exclusively on open guard passing, movement, and technique. I'm getting a chance to work on not only the Effing Pass, but also some toreano passing, which is another major priority for my guard passing game. I'm also able to train the double under/double drop pass that Brian and I worked on a week or two ago.
The focus for me today was not letting anyone put their weight on me, going chest to chest, in half guard. It's one of my worst habits, making my work a hell of a lot harder. So with arm frame and knee shield, I did a much better job of controlling range and setting up my entries to sweeps. Also on this score, from a half guard passing game, I had some great early success with one of the passes that Rodolfo Viera shows in the latest edition of GracieMag, especially helpful against the knee shield half guard, where you overhook the top leg, fight for the cross face, and then squeeze your arms together while kicking your trapped leg free.
158.8 on the scale, post-train. Anything under 160 is gold.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Training Day: Wednesday
Another great session this week. It's still all about the guard passes, which is great as far as I'm concerned, tonight working against the spider guard (another version of Rodrigo's folding pass v.s. the DLR and a pass I call the Jack Pass) as well as a refresher on the Fowler pass from Monday.
As I've said, I love the fact that I'm getting to spend so much focused time on guard passing. So much of jiu jitsu is about developing sensibilities, and there's no better way to develop sensibilities than do repetitions, drill, over and over again. There are a lot of other considerations, I suppose. You don't want "bore" anyone. But the fact of the matter is that there's really only one way to get better, and training lately has been especially geared toward that very purpose.
The armbars from mount/armbar escape to side control was a nice late drill, and then to finish up with something fast paced like the arm drag drill - just a perfect class.
Live training was about 30+ minutes with Danny, Lance (2x) and a purple belt from Bellevue, Darrin. Great challenges all - and different looks. My game wasn't flowing as automatically as I'd like, even from half guard. But there were some good moments, including my first ever Glover #2 deep half pass to the back (I didn't get the back-take, but it was the first time I'd ever really gone after that move in live training), that are worth carrying forward.
One thing I've noticed rolling with black belts over the past week (Profs. Rodrigo and Carlos, Casey and Lance) is that I end up pulling out of my gi all sorts of techniques that I never use otherwise, but have been desperate to integrate into my game. That deep half move is one example. The single X is another. And even though I'm rarely successful, the fact that these moves come rocketing out of my subconscious when I'm under the stress of a black belt trying to pass my guard.
Most of the time I just get passed. But every now and then, something I'm not expecting happens and it's the second or the third attempt at the pass that works instead of the first. And sometimes defending until the second or third pass is accomplishment enough.
161.2 on the scale, post-train. Steady as we go. Off the mat tomorrow. Back on Friday and Saturday if I'm lucky.
As I've said, I love the fact that I'm getting to spend so much focused time on guard passing. So much of jiu jitsu is about developing sensibilities, and there's no better way to develop sensibilities than do repetitions, drill, over and over again. There are a lot of other considerations, I suppose. You don't want "bore" anyone. But the fact of the matter is that there's really only one way to get better, and training lately has been especially geared toward that very purpose.
The armbars from mount/armbar escape to side control was a nice late drill, and then to finish up with something fast paced like the arm drag drill - just a perfect class.
Live training was about 30+ minutes with Danny, Lance (2x) and a purple belt from Bellevue, Darrin. Great challenges all - and different looks. My game wasn't flowing as automatically as I'd like, even from half guard. But there were some good moments, including my first ever Glover #2 deep half pass to the back (I didn't get the back-take, but it was the first time I'd ever really gone after that move in live training), that are worth carrying forward.
One thing I've noticed rolling with black belts over the past week (Profs. Rodrigo and Carlos, Casey and Lance) is that I end up pulling out of my gi all sorts of techniques that I never use otherwise, but have been desperate to integrate into my game. That deep half move is one example. The single X is another. And even though I'm rarely successful, the fact that these moves come rocketing out of my subconscious when I'm under the stress of a black belt trying to pass my guard.
Most of the time I just get passed. But every now and then, something I'm not expecting happens and it's the second or the third attempt at the pass that works instead of the first. And sometimes defending until the second or third pass is accomplishment enough.
161.2 on the scale, post-train. Steady as we go. Off the mat tomorrow. Back on Friday and Saturday if I'm lucky.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Training Day: Saturday
Today was the seminar for Prof Christiano. It was great to see the entire academy packed - both mats - with students from white belt all the way up.
I got there a little late. But it seemed as if they had some of the brown belts helping the lower belts with some of the techniques the black belts were sharing. Rather than try and steal a partner from some pair, I figured I'd just go ahead and follow Jeff B.'s lead and help some of the guys - mostly the white belts - with the new moves.
That was a lot of fun. Having been off the mats for a week, just being back in the "ocean" again was incredibly refreshing. Seminars are as much opportunities for reunion as they are anything else, IMO, so any technical tips I pick up are often just a bonus. It's nice a great opportunity to feel the energy and to be reminded of being a part of something that is in many ways just in its infancy (at least here in the U.S.).
I got a chance to get a little rolling in, training for about 15-20 minutes or so with Daniel. He showed me a nice Andre Galvao move to combat the knee cross pass that is a bit less complex than some of the versions I've been working with lately that involve a lot of lapel control. I'll have to make sure to work on it some the next time the opportunity comes up.
165.0 on the scale in the gi, post-train. And while there is a part of me that would love to knock another five pounds off that number, there's nothing not to like about being 2.5 pounds under more than a month out.
I got there a little late. But it seemed as if they had some of the brown belts helping the lower belts with some of the techniques the black belts were sharing. Rather than try and steal a partner from some pair, I figured I'd just go ahead and follow Jeff B.'s lead and help some of the guys - mostly the white belts - with the new moves.
That was a lot of fun. Having been off the mats for a week, just being back in the "ocean" again was incredibly refreshing. Seminars are as much opportunities for reunion as they are anything else, IMO, so any technical tips I pick up are often just a bonus. It's nice a great opportunity to feel the energy and to be reminded of being a part of something that is in many ways just in its infancy (at least here in the U.S.).
I got a chance to get a little rolling in, training for about 15-20 minutes or so with Daniel. He showed me a nice Andre Galvao move to combat the knee cross pass that is a bit less complex than some of the versions I've been working with lately that involve a lot of lapel control. I'll have to make sure to work on it some the next time the opportunity comes up.
165.0 on the scale in the gi, post-train. And while there is a part of me that would love to knock another five pounds off that number, there's nothing not to like about being 2.5 pounds under more than a month out.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Training Day: Tuesday
It always surprises me to see so many white belts when I train on Tuesday nights. I have no idea how big the academy is growing. But it seems as if every week I train on Tuesday nights, I see 4-5 white belts I've never seen before.
More work from the back tonight. Rodrigo had us working turtle escapes from the front (cross grip. step up), the back (sameside grip, sit), and the side (far knee straightarm, sit and hook with sitting leg) and it was nice to train with Clint like back in the olden days. Good training partners are worth their weight in gold and I've been pretty lucky over the past several months to train and drill with a lot of good teammates who are also good training partners (not always one in the same, unfortunately).
Advanced training was good tonight. I got to roll with Benny, Clint and Rodrigo and it felt good to see some development along planned lines. I'd still like to see more movement from dominant positions on top (side control to mount, side control to knee on belly) from the top and more work on the Stomp Guard from 1/2. But there was a lot to like in tonight's effort, including the first effective hook sweep from Rap Star in what are literally months.
157.0 on the scale post-train.
More work from the back tonight. Rodrigo had us working turtle escapes from the front (cross grip. step up), the back (sameside grip, sit), and the side (far knee straightarm, sit and hook with sitting leg) and it was nice to train with Clint like back in the olden days. Good training partners are worth their weight in gold and I've been pretty lucky over the past several months to train and drill with a lot of good teammates who are also good training partners (not always one in the same, unfortunately).
Advanced training was good tonight. I got to roll with Benny, Clint and Rodrigo and it felt good to see some development along planned lines. I'd still like to see more movement from dominant positions on top (side control to mount, side control to knee on belly) from the top and more work on the Stomp Guard from 1/2. But there was a lot to like in tonight's effort, including the first effective hook sweep from Rap Star in what are literally months.
157.0 on the scale post-train.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Training Day: Friday
I had an interesting conversation with Lance the other day. We were talking about how minor injuries, the kind of injuries you try to "play through", often force you to make alterations or changes to your game. Sometimes the changes are in line with things you've thought about working on. My bad right shoulder actually means that it makes sense for me to try passing guard to my right, for example, something I've wanted to work on for a long time but never committed myself to.
Sure, some of this is just "sweet lemons". But whenever the injury is (or seems) relatively minor, the forced change can be productive - at least, that's what I'm sticking to until I start feeling a little more capable on my right.
Training today was a good hard session. I'm still working the two-on-one, but making the mistake of sticking with it (and the foot on hip control) even when guys stand to pass. Elliott did a great "Professor Carlos-like" job of walking through my two-on-one today - in part because I continued to fight for foot in hip control. Against a guy with Elliott's length, that is just not going to work.
The toreano passes have been my biggest problem from the sitting guard. Lindsey, Benny (Faixa roxa) and now Elliott have all managed to fly past my sitting guard with this approach. I need to do a better job of looking for the armdrag if they move to dramatically to my right. And go to the shin guard when they remain standing and try to run around or hop over my guard.
Still feeling a little sluggish overall. I know I'm feeling a little depressed at my first injury in two years, but the fact that I'm able to roll through it is good - even if it means often performing at 75% or less. I can't underhook at all on my right side, making certain passes, guard recoveries from turtle and a few other jiu jitsu delicacies out of the question for now.
One thing that was really nice about today's training was that I got one of the blue belts (John?) to do some drills with me. We just did about 3-4 sets of 10 alternating armbars from the guard. But that was more armbars from the guard than I've done in months - which was exactly the point.
I'm going to try and make it a goal to get in 100 armbars from the guard each week in drilling sessions after class. I don't ever think it will be a go-to move for me. But I'd like to have at least one, classic, closed guard submission in my arsenal. And since there's no chance in hell that that technique will be a triangle choke, why not an armbar?
159.2 or so on the scale post-train. I'll be seeing what I've got left for this week at tomorrow's competition training.
Sure, some of this is just "sweet lemons". But whenever the injury is (or seems) relatively minor, the forced change can be productive - at least, that's what I'm sticking to until I start feeling a little more capable on my right.
Training today was a good hard session. I'm still working the two-on-one, but making the mistake of sticking with it (and the foot on hip control) even when guys stand to pass. Elliott did a great "Professor Carlos-like" job of walking through my two-on-one today - in part because I continued to fight for foot in hip control. Against a guy with Elliott's length, that is just not going to work.
The toreano passes have been my biggest problem from the sitting guard. Lindsey, Benny (Faixa roxa) and now Elliott have all managed to fly past my sitting guard with this approach. I need to do a better job of looking for the armdrag if they move to dramatically to my right. And go to the shin guard when they remain standing and try to run around or hop over my guard.
Still feeling a little sluggish overall. I know I'm feeling a little depressed at my first injury in two years, but the fact that I'm able to roll through it is good - even if it means often performing at 75% or less. I can't underhook at all on my right side, making certain passes, guard recoveries from turtle and a few other jiu jitsu delicacies out of the question for now.
One thing that was really nice about today's training was that I got one of the blue belts (John?) to do some drills with me. We just did about 3-4 sets of 10 alternating armbars from the guard. But that was more armbars from the guard than I've done in months - which was exactly the point.
I'm going to try and make it a goal to get in 100 armbars from the guard each week in drilling sessions after class. I don't ever think it will be a go-to move for me. But I'd like to have at least one, classic, closed guard submission in my arsenal. And since there's no chance in hell that that technique will be a triangle choke, why not an armbar?
159.2 or so on the scale post-train. I'll be seeing what I've got left for this week at tomorrow's competition training.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Training Day: Tuesday
Kind of a zombie training tonight ... I never really felt entirely there - at least not until my calf seized up like a stone just as we started sparring (but fortunately after the specific guard/pass guard work). I was moving through the motions - and not doing a half bad job in most respects. But it just wasn't jelling mentally.
It's the kind of thing I usually expect to happen on a Monday - which is one reason why I've become such a big fan of training on Monday: to get the rust and funk out of my system. Like I said, it was a strangely positive physical experience: technique was good in a number of instances and my cardio continues to surprise me with its improvements. But my brain was all feedback and white noise.
The class was mostly focused on avoiding the toreano pass by stiff arming the passers inside arm and, with your other arm posted behind you for support, escaping your hips away. There was also a turtle move that Rodrigo showed us. But I don't think we ever really got all the way to the sweep.
Then again, maybe we did and I was totally nublado about it.
As anti-climatic anniversaries go, tonight's training was about perfect. I got a massive calf cramp immediately after a half guard sweep and ended up having to cut training about two sparring sessions short. I'm especially annoyed because I drank about 40 ounces of Gatorade in the hours before training and took a potassium/magnesium pill beforehand, as well. Didn't seem to matter.
I cramped up a bit Monday night also, but managed to ride it out. I thought I could again tonight, but the cramp was hard and immediate when it finally came on strong.
I'm going to try and seriously bump up my water consumption for the next month or so and see if I can avoid this kind of thing. It totally shuts me down for the session and even though it tends to happen late when it does happen, I could have really used some more training.
I'd planned to take tomorrow off and train Thursday and Friday. Not so sure about that now.
It's the kind of thing I usually expect to happen on a Monday - which is one reason why I've become such a big fan of training on Monday: to get the rust and funk out of my system. Like I said, it was a strangely positive physical experience: technique was good in a number of instances and my cardio continues to surprise me with its improvements. But my brain was all feedback and white noise.
The class was mostly focused on avoiding the toreano pass by stiff arming the passers inside arm and, with your other arm posted behind you for support, escaping your hips away. There was also a turtle move that Rodrigo showed us. But I don't think we ever really got all the way to the sweep.
Then again, maybe we did and I was totally nublado about it.
As anti-climatic anniversaries go, tonight's training was about perfect. I got a massive calf cramp immediately after a half guard sweep and ended up having to cut training about two sparring sessions short. I'm especially annoyed because I drank about 40 ounces of Gatorade in the hours before training and took a potassium/magnesium pill beforehand, as well. Didn't seem to matter.
I cramped up a bit Monday night also, but managed to ride it out. I thought I could again tonight, but the cramp was hard and immediate when it finally came on strong.
I'm going to try and seriously bump up my water consumption for the next month or so and see if I can avoid this kind of thing. It totally shuts me down for the session and even though it tends to happen late when it does happen, I could have really used some more training.
I'd planned to take tomorrow off and train Thursday and Friday. Not so sure about that now.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Sunday Afternoon
After spending the middle third of the 1980s trying to make it as a teenage, hotshot post-punk guitarist, one of the first thoughts I had when I heard Soundgarden's "Let Me Drown" back in the early 1990s was "now I know why I'm not a rock star."
Looking back over my last few training sessions, it is clear why I am not a jiu jitsu phenomenon, either. I am definitely having some productive moments when I have the advantage, working on weak spots or new techniques like the cross half guard Rodrigo showed us that I was able to attack with on Friday. But I am not doing nearly as well in the survival and escape categories when I am overmatched in size, skill or both.
Truth told, I'm actually doing well in the survival level. What I am failing to do is consistently pursue a strategy for escape or a strategy for both opening and passing the guard (beyond the Flat Pass, at least). Fortunately, the dharma that is jiu jitsu provided me with just what I needed in last Friday's instruction - not unlike the way that one guard pass the Rodrigo showed us the Friday before the last tournament would have been the ideal way to pass the guard of my first opponent in that competition.
I'm feeling a little ego-sore about my jiu jitsu, which one of the reasons why I decided not to train on Saturday despite the rare opportunity to do so. Now is a great time to really get saturated in technique as the solution to problems like passing the guard or countering the bear hug pass of the half guard (hint: sit up and hook sweep or sit up and attack the neck) or escaping mount and rear mount. I think I'm slowly putting together a Unified Field Theory for myself when it comes to passing the guard, which would be pretty epic (as the kids say) in terms of taking my game to the next level.
That and finally going ahead and adding the butterfly guard and sitting guard to my half guard in a more proactive way to deal with the fact that more and more people are avoiding my half guard with strategies that provide for other opportunities to attack.
Looking back over my last few training sessions, it is clear why I am not a jiu jitsu phenomenon, either. I am definitely having some productive moments when I have the advantage, working on weak spots or new techniques like the cross half guard Rodrigo showed us that I was able to attack with on Friday. But I am not doing nearly as well in the survival and escape categories when I am overmatched in size, skill or both.
Truth told, I'm actually doing well in the survival level. What I am failing to do is consistently pursue a strategy for escape or a strategy for both opening and passing the guard (beyond the Flat Pass, at least). Fortunately, the dharma that is jiu jitsu provided me with just what I needed in last Friday's instruction - not unlike the way that one guard pass the Rodrigo showed us the Friday before the last tournament would have been the ideal way to pass the guard of my first opponent in that competition.
I'm feeling a little ego-sore about my jiu jitsu, which one of the reasons why I decided not to train on Saturday despite the rare opportunity to do so. Now is a great time to really get saturated in technique as the solution to problems like passing the guard or countering the bear hug pass of the half guard (hint: sit up and hook sweep or sit up and attack the neck) or escaping mount and rear mount. I think I'm slowly putting together a Unified Field Theory for myself when it comes to passing the guard, which would be pretty epic (as the kids say) in terms of taking my game to the next level.
That and finally going ahead and adding the butterfly guard and sitting guard to my half guard in a more proactive way to deal with the fact that more and more people are avoiding my half guard with strategies that provide for other opportunities to attack.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday Training
Today we worked again on a half guard replacement from the turtle position. This was the one where you stiff arm one leg at the knee, straighten your leg on the same side (shoot it straight back) and then sit out as if you were doing a wrestler's switch, using the grip at the knee for leverage.
We also did a guard replacement after side control escape. The side control escape was the same one that Rodrigo showed us a few days ago: legs bent and together, swing into the guy for momentum then swing your legs away, plant your feet and bridge from a 45 degree angle or so ...
Rather than do the drop step move to the knees, Rodrigo had us do this guard replacement. What you did was swing your farthest away leg up and over the guy's head so that it lands on the far shoulder, with the crook of your knee on his shoulder. With your inside leg, you want to tuck it in between your body and his, hooking your foot on his side with your knee pointing out (sort of a reverse knee block, a shin hook ...).
Your grips from this position are to grab the pants at the knee on the same side that your knee is pointing out and to grab the sleeve at the elbow on the other side (the side with the slung knee).
It wasn't the easiest guard for me to get into. But there is a lot of control from this position and a ton of sweeps. One that Rodrigo showed Stephen and I that was especially nice had you do a cross grip (release the elbow and get the sleeve at the wrist on the knee side) and bow out, kicking with your shin hook and pulling with your grips. You have to go almost face down to get the sweep. But if you keep your grips and just walk your body backwards after the sweep, you're likely to get a nice top position.
Some good stuff. Tatame had two features that really stood out. One was the lapel rope counter to the knee cross pass against my half guard. I did this three or so times in one spar late in the session and managed to avoid the pass every time. I think I even got a sweep in an instance or two. The lapel rope counter is something that I saw in Saulo's book - only Saulo was showing how to avoid it. Reverse engineering that example, I think I've found a major keeper for my half guard.
I've been working on the far side with the half guard, trying to get chokes, maintain a nice frame with the high half to keep the guy's weight off of me. It's a real work in progress. But one thing that worked very well today was to pass that far arm (sort of the Aesopian kung fu move toward the outside leg) and then reach over with my inside arm and get a good grip around his back at the waist. From here, I can essentially do a sort of crossover sweep, pulling with the grip and rotating my hips. I ended up in a watchdog half guard position on top. Another major keeper.
I'm also starting to see some success with the Flat pass, and doing better about avoiding getting caught in half guard. That said, I'm trying to make sure I take opportunities to stand against the guard and work on my balance and pass "approach."
Back back on the cardio bandwagon today before training. We'll see how it works out, but I'm going to commit to getting back on the treadmill at least twice a week. I'm doing 30 and 45 minute sessions with my heart rate in the 120s - which is exactly what my resting heart rate was at the end of training today. It was foolish to abandon it last fall. Hopefully I'll stick to it this time.
158.0 on the scale after class. Much more like it.
We also did a guard replacement after side control escape. The side control escape was the same one that Rodrigo showed us a few days ago: legs bent and together, swing into the guy for momentum then swing your legs away, plant your feet and bridge from a 45 degree angle or so ...
Rather than do the drop step move to the knees, Rodrigo had us do this guard replacement. What you did was swing your farthest away leg up and over the guy's head so that it lands on the far shoulder, with the crook of your knee on his shoulder. With your inside leg, you want to tuck it in between your body and his, hooking your foot on his side with your knee pointing out (sort of a reverse knee block, a shin hook ...).
Your grips from this position are to grab the pants at the knee on the same side that your knee is pointing out and to grab the sleeve at the elbow on the other side (the side with the slung knee).
It wasn't the easiest guard for me to get into. But there is a lot of control from this position and a ton of sweeps. One that Rodrigo showed Stephen and I that was especially nice had you do a cross grip (release the elbow and get the sleeve at the wrist on the knee side) and bow out, kicking with your shin hook and pulling with your grips. You have to go almost face down to get the sweep. But if you keep your grips and just walk your body backwards after the sweep, you're likely to get a nice top position.
Some good stuff. Tatame had two features that really stood out. One was the lapel rope counter to the knee cross pass against my half guard. I did this three or so times in one spar late in the session and managed to avoid the pass every time. I think I even got a sweep in an instance or two. The lapel rope counter is something that I saw in Saulo's book - only Saulo was showing how to avoid it. Reverse engineering that example, I think I've found a major keeper for my half guard.
I've been working on the far side with the half guard, trying to get chokes, maintain a nice frame with the high half to keep the guy's weight off of me. It's a real work in progress. But one thing that worked very well today was to pass that far arm (sort of the Aesopian kung fu move toward the outside leg) and then reach over with my inside arm and get a good grip around his back at the waist. From here, I can essentially do a sort of crossover sweep, pulling with the grip and rotating my hips. I ended up in a watchdog half guard position on top. Another major keeper.
I'm also starting to see some success with the Flat pass, and doing better about avoiding getting caught in half guard. That said, I'm trying to make sure I take opportunities to stand against the guard and work on my balance and pass "approach."
Back back on the cardio bandwagon today before training. We'll see how it works out, but I'm going to commit to getting back on the treadmill at least twice a week. I'm doing 30 and 45 minute sessions with my heart rate in the 120s - which is exactly what my resting heart rate was at the end of training today. It was foolish to abandon it last fall. Hopefully I'll stick to it this time.
158.0 on the scale after class. Much more like it.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Leo Viera and the Half Guard
Some great stuff from Budo Videos and Leo Viera. The very first pass is one that I know I will be working on over the next few weeks.
Leo Viera Half Guard Transition Series.
Leo Viera Half Guard Transition Series.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Wednesday Night Training
Wednesday nights are set-up a lot like Mondays. Class starts at 5 p.m. instead of 6, and we do a real beginners class before moving to specifics and then some sparring.
In some ways, it was one of the most complete classes I've had in awhile. Elbow escapes for a warm-up (+1 for that!), then some sitting guard retreats, backrolls from guard pass into sitting guard, and alternating S-mount switches. Very good stuff.
The coursework was the same as Tuesday night, though we focused only on #1: back bridging away from the elbow, walking your legs free and turning in with your weight and shoulder. I'm thinking about some drills that might help with the early stages of that escape.
We also did the spider guard pass - I think I'm calling it Gangster - with the Royler finish to scarf hold. It's a really good move, and makes me think of something else that was very apparent tonight. More on that later.
We did specific work, guard/pass guard. I did terribly in my first pass at passing the guard. It's the same bad habit of extreme over-caution when rolling with new guys. The "not-knowing" makes me extremely risk-averse. Things got better my second turn, when I got to work from the guard and spent most of my time working out of the half. But my guard passing remains the glaring weak spot in my game.
Rolled with Casey after the specific. He caught me in about four armlocks from the top. It's funny; I've been rolling with Casey since he was a blue belt and I was a white belt and here we are, brown belt and purple belt respectively, and he's still killing me every time we get on the mat.
But again, the glaring weak spot. I won't say that my half guard makes me able to hang with guys like Casey or Jesse, or any number of purple belts for that matter. But when I'm in the half guard I have something that I don't have when I'm trying to pass the guard, and that something gives me confidence to at least compete against these guys when I'm in my spot.
The something? An agenda.
I know exactly what I'm trying to do when I'm in the half guard. To be sure, many times I'm not doing it very well. But if I can stop myself for a second when things get weird in the half guard, there's a good chance that I won't make a really bad mistake and a halfway decent chance that I'll actually do the right thing.
Not so when it comes to passing the guard. Sometimes I do this, sometimes I do that. I've got a few tricks that I catch guys with like the handcuff. But like my keylock from the bottom, the handcuff should be like the old shotgun in the closet: a classic produced on special occasions alone.
But there's no sequence, no set of routines and subroutines that are automatic for me when it comes to passing the guard. The other evening I had my first Ezekiel choke submission, just days after breaking it down into steps. Doing that helped me focus on the key aspects, in this case, using your head to help keep his head in place for the choke.
I need an agenda for passing the guard, "something I do" that is as signature as my half guard sweeps are becoming. As someone who likes to work from the top, having such a 50/50 guard passing game really limits what I can do.
A few weeks out from the tournament, this is probably a good thing to realize, in part because it contains its own solution. I need an agenda, a sequence that can guide my fight to pass the guard 80-90% of the time. While I've got plenty of other things to work on, there's a very good argument that figuring out what this agenda might be should be immediately moved to the top of the list.
In some ways, it was one of the most complete classes I've had in awhile. Elbow escapes for a warm-up (+1 for that!), then some sitting guard retreats, backrolls from guard pass into sitting guard, and alternating S-mount switches. Very good stuff.
The coursework was the same as Tuesday night, though we focused only on #1: back bridging away from the elbow, walking your legs free and turning in with your weight and shoulder. I'm thinking about some drills that might help with the early stages of that escape.
We also did the spider guard pass - I think I'm calling it Gangster - with the Royler finish to scarf hold. It's a really good move, and makes me think of something else that was very apparent tonight. More on that later.
We did specific work, guard/pass guard. I did terribly in my first pass at passing the guard. It's the same bad habit of extreme over-caution when rolling with new guys. The "not-knowing" makes me extremely risk-averse. Things got better my second turn, when I got to work from the guard and spent most of my time working out of the half. But my guard passing remains the glaring weak spot in my game.
Rolled with Casey after the specific. He caught me in about four armlocks from the top. It's funny; I've been rolling with Casey since he was a blue belt and I was a white belt and here we are, brown belt and purple belt respectively, and he's still killing me every time we get on the mat.
But again, the glaring weak spot. I won't say that my half guard makes me able to hang with guys like Casey or Jesse, or any number of purple belts for that matter. But when I'm in the half guard I have something that I don't have when I'm trying to pass the guard, and that something gives me confidence to at least compete against these guys when I'm in my spot.
The something? An agenda.
I know exactly what I'm trying to do when I'm in the half guard. To be sure, many times I'm not doing it very well. But if I can stop myself for a second when things get weird in the half guard, there's a good chance that I won't make a really bad mistake and a halfway decent chance that I'll actually do the right thing.
Not so when it comes to passing the guard. Sometimes I do this, sometimes I do that. I've got a few tricks that I catch guys with like the handcuff. But like my keylock from the bottom, the handcuff should be like the old shotgun in the closet: a classic produced on special occasions alone.
But there's no sequence, no set of routines and subroutines that are automatic for me when it comes to passing the guard. The other evening I had my first Ezekiel choke submission, just days after breaking it down into steps. Doing that helped me focus on the key aspects, in this case, using your head to help keep his head in place for the choke.
I need an agenda for passing the guard, "something I do" that is as signature as my half guard sweeps are becoming. As someone who likes to work from the top, having such a 50/50 guard passing game really limits what I can do.
A few weeks out from the tournament, this is probably a good thing to realize, in part because it contains its own solution. I need an agenda, a sequence that can guide my fight to pass the guard 80-90% of the time. While I've got plenty of other things to work on, there's a very good argument that figuring out what this agenda might be should be immediately moved to the top of the list.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Half to X, Half Sweep, Half Counter
Going into Week 3, I want to start working on transitions from half guard to X guard. Over the past two weeks I've been working to get deeper and deeper into half guard, which is good preparation for the next move to X guard.
I need to remember to use my far leg (left) to stretch the guy's leg out to make it easier to insert the inside leg hook (same side as X guard leg underhook arm - the right, in my case).
I'm looking forward to working on this for the next four weeks, adding some sweeps as soon as possible.
At the same time, I don't want to get too sloppy with my basic half guard sweeps (Old School and Twist Back). I'm noticing that I'm forgetting to use my outside leg as the primary hook when I'm attacking with either of those two keep sweeps. It is important in both but critical in Twist Back. With Old School, you just get in your own way. With Twist Back, not using the outside leg means that you'll get your guard passed as soon as you open up for the sweep.
I also want to tighten up my Watch Dog half guard "ballerina pass". Head down and tight against his leg. Weight on his hips but my hips on the mat. Rolling with Jaime on Thursday, he figure out a crossover sort of counter to that pass. But my mistake was simply in not putting my weight on him and starting to sit up. I still like the pass, a lot.
The best counter I've seen to it is the one that Saulo shows in his DVD set - a counter that is pretty similar to the one I remember Rodrigo showing Clint one night when we were sparring. Basically, you want to come up on your outside elbow as soon as the guy reverses into Watch Dog. With your inside arm, you want to reach between you and his back and grab his belt or pants below the waistline.
Trap the half guard with your outside leg.
The move is explosive. You want to pull on the belt or pants with a ripping, arm drag like pull. At the same time, you want to hipscape/switch from being on the one hip to the other. You are opening your hips up to the same side that you are pulling with the drag.
At a minimum, the move will give you the opportunity to re-establish half guard. At best, you'll be able to take the guy's back (which he has essentially given you by going to Watch Dog).
*
Another point about passing from the Watch Dog position. Remember that when you pass with Watch Dog and move to mount, there's a good chance if the guy is sharp that he'll work to put your other leg in half guard. Avoid this by doing up on one knee, planting the foot of the "other side" (other than the "step over into mount" side). When the coast is clear, switch back into regular mount.
I need to remember to use my far leg (left) to stretch the guy's leg out to make it easier to insert the inside leg hook (same side as X guard leg underhook arm - the right, in my case).
I'm looking forward to working on this for the next four weeks, adding some sweeps as soon as possible.
At the same time, I don't want to get too sloppy with my basic half guard sweeps (Old School and Twist Back). I'm noticing that I'm forgetting to use my outside leg as the primary hook when I'm attacking with either of those two keep sweeps. It is important in both but critical in Twist Back. With Old School, you just get in your own way. With Twist Back, not using the outside leg means that you'll get your guard passed as soon as you open up for the sweep.
I also want to tighten up my Watch Dog half guard "ballerina pass". Head down and tight against his leg. Weight on his hips but my hips on the mat. Rolling with Jaime on Thursday, he figure out a crossover sort of counter to that pass. But my mistake was simply in not putting my weight on him and starting to sit up. I still like the pass, a lot.
The best counter I've seen to it is the one that Saulo shows in his DVD set - a counter that is pretty similar to the one I remember Rodrigo showing Clint one night when we were sparring. Basically, you want to come up on your outside elbow as soon as the guy reverses into Watch Dog. With your inside arm, you want to reach between you and his back and grab his belt or pants below the waistline.
Trap the half guard with your outside leg.
The move is explosive. You want to pull on the belt or pants with a ripping, arm drag like pull. At the same time, you want to hipscape/switch from being on the one hip to the other. You are opening your hips up to the same side that you are pulling with the drag.
At a minimum, the move will give you the opportunity to re-establish half guard. At best, you'll be able to take the guy's back (which he has essentially given you by going to Watch Dog).
*
Another point about passing from the Watch Dog position. Remember that when you pass with Watch Dog and move to mount, there's a good chance if the guy is sharp that he'll work to put your other leg in half guard. Avoid this by doing up on one knee, planting the foot of the "other side" (other than the "step over into mount" side). When the coast is clear, switch back into regular mount.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
"Don't Let Him Pass Your Guard"
One of the downsides of the Cobra guard is that if the guy stands to pass and starts running around, I'm in trouble if I don't catch him with either the armdrag or the hook.
This guard pass defense move is one alternative for when I'm late. The key is that the guy's head needs to be down. He has to be about to put his weight on you. I suspect that if the guy comes in with very upright posture, as if he is going to go just for the knee on belly, this guard pass defense might not be as effective.
This guard pass defense move is one alternative for when I'm late. The key is that the guy's head needs to be down. He has to be about to put his weight on you. I suspect that if the guy comes in with very upright posture, as if he is going to go just for the knee on belly, this guard pass defense might not be as effective.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Hilo Guard
With no-gi training tonight (Thu 7/26), I’m looking at my three top closed guard sequences—King Crimson, The Widow and H. Rap Brown—as something to focus on, as well as the half guard and Cobra guard sequences.
I’m also looking at some of the tips over at BJ Penn’s My Gym. One interesting tip has to do with what I called the “Hilo Guard” sometime ago. Basically it is an open guard for no gi that involves putting both feet on the hips at the same time. This obviously gives you a lot of control over the guy’s ability to move forward. But I never really worked the Hilo guard thoroughly and BJ’s talk about open guard for no gi gave me some things to think about.
For one, BJ says to keep your shins on the guy’s biceps and your hands around his triceps to help hold him in place. You don’t want him to get too high on your knees or too low by your ankles—both of which would make it easier for him to pass your guard. And we all know what BJ Penn’s attitude is toward letting guys pass your guard … So keep the guy on the top of your shins.
The Hilo guard works by pushing with your legs on the hips and pulling on his triceps with your hands.
BJ says that the guy will try to trap your hips by either overhooking or underhooking your leg. If he tries to go over, then just block his arm with your arm on that side. If he tries to go under, then just circle your leg at the knee counterclockwise and replace the guard.
If the guy does manage to get over your knees, then do the following: (1) raise your hips up, (2) put both hands on his shoulders and lock them out, forming a double stiff arm, (3) elbow escape to one side and replace the Hilo guard, (4) elbow escape to the other side and replace the Hilo guard.
I’m also looking at some of the tips over at BJ Penn’s My Gym. One interesting tip has to do with what I called the “Hilo Guard” sometime ago. Basically it is an open guard for no gi that involves putting both feet on the hips at the same time. This obviously gives you a lot of control over the guy’s ability to move forward. But I never really worked the Hilo guard thoroughly and BJ’s talk about open guard for no gi gave me some things to think about.
For one, BJ says to keep your shins on the guy’s biceps and your hands around his triceps to help hold him in place. You don’t want him to get too high on your knees or too low by your ankles—both of which would make it easier for him to pass your guard. And we all know what BJ Penn’s attitude is toward letting guys pass your guard … So keep the guy on the top of your shins. The Hilo guard works by pushing with your legs on the hips and pulling on his triceps with your hands.
BJ says that the guy will try to trap your hips by either overhooking or underhooking your leg. If he tries to go over, then just block his arm with your arm on that side. If he tries to go under, then just circle your leg at the knee counterclockwise and replace the guard.
If the guy does manage to get over your knees, then do the following: (1) raise your hips up, (2) put both hands on his shoulders and lock them out, forming a double stiff arm, (3) elbow escape to one side and replace the Hilo guard, (4) elbow escape to the other side and replace the Hilo guard.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Granby Rolls
I posted a few stills of Ryan Hall doing a guard replacement move. After Monday night's class and warmup by Stephan, I'm now thinking that guard replacement move was a Granby Roll.
Stephan's had us do this drill in warmups before, and watching guys like Ryan Hall, Tommy, and Clint--guys who spend a lot of time in the guard--over the past several months has only underscored how important this move is.
There's picture in The Essential Guard of Rodrigo Medeiros doing what he calls the "compass drill" that looks very similar, involving a shoulder roll. But there's probably a better copy of the granby roll in this Google Video.
Stephan's had us do this drill in warmups before, and watching guys like Ryan Hall, Tommy, and Clint--guys who spend a lot of time in the guard--over the past several months has only underscored how important this move is.
There's picture in The Essential Guard of Rodrigo Medeiros doing what he calls the "compass drill" that looks very similar, involving a shoulder roll. But there's probably a better copy of the granby roll in this Google Video.
Turtles, Bulldogs and Tales from the Back
Mamazinho had us working on a few related techniques last night in training. The first was taking the back against a guy’s turtle, a position I’ve been calling “bulldog” from even before I started giving names to everything. It’s a basic move: he attacks your right leg from the turtle, you reach over with your right arm and hook the opposite waist/oblique, turn counter-clockwise, backstepping toward his side. Use your outside hand to check guy’s inside elbow, then move your outside knee in its place.
There were two breakdowns. Both involve reaching around and under to attack the far arm that is likely being used as a post in the turtle position. In the first variation, you reach across the face with the outside arm and hook the guy’s far arm, then reach under the chest with the inside arm and claps hands around that far arm. Pull the arm towards you as you lean your weight into the shoulder. As the guy topples over, pull the arms up and out of the way as you slip into judo side control.
The variation is in case the guy posts out with his far leg, making it hard to roll him over. What you want to do in this case is to move a little further behind him and twist him over his shoulder, rather than directly on his side. It actually looks a little like a midget shoulder throw.
What is especially interesting is that I’d been looking at escapes from the bulldog position (i.e., being turtled and looking to reverse or put the guy in your guard). The Essential Guard has two different moves that I like. One is a backroll over and the other is a sort of inside drop step. With the roll, you want the guy to your side and you want to hook his outside leg from the inside out. Roll on your inside shoulder and throw your outside leg up, around and over the guy’s body. You should wind up in guard.
The other inside drop step is similar to a move Mamazinho showed me last night when I was rolling with George the purple belt from Oklahoma. Here, instead of hooking the leg, you want both of your legs to be outside his. Create a little space with your inside leg and then bring your outside leg up inside.
Another key: make sure you keep your elbows in. I made the mistake of reaching out with an arm and George managed to trap that arm, making it impossible for me to work either of those two escapes.
A very good night of training for me. I’m starting to feel like I’m getting “it” back. I hit a very nice “Poosh the Guy” to “Rodeo” for the first time, and will definitely make sure to keep working on it from the cobra guard (formerly the lotus guard). I also like the fact that when I went to closed guard, I immediately transitioned to the hilo guard, which is something else I want to work on diligently this year.
At the same time, I got a little lazy and a little sloppy in the guard—so I want to make sure I don’t start slipping on this and falling back into old habits. Pass the guard! Stand, STAND, STAND!
I also like the way I was controlling the sleeve when I was working effectively for the pass. It was a point that Rodrigo had brought up frequently. I was impressed at how effective controlling that sleeve can be so, again, something to make a staple of future practices.
I’ve got some ideas about finishing the d’arce and brabo chokes. I was trying to work them in one sparring round, going back and forth between the two, but couldn’t get either of them sunk. I know one mistake with the brabo was in not going under the arm at the armpit. Instead I attacked further down on the arm where the guy had more control of the arm and could nullify the choke.
I’m actually starting to find some extra inspiration in some of the things that were on my mind when I wrote parts of my “Born Under a Bad Sign” post. It’s actually very similar to the situation I was feeling (and also wrote about) with Bartinho, the leader of BJJ Spokane, and what tended to happen when I was matched up against his guys. While it is a stretch to say that this kind of jabber is a “compliment”, there is a perspective from which I can treat it as one--and that’s exactly the perspective that I’m going to take. Whether I like it or not, the jabber is a barometer of my performance that I can use to get better, faster. And that's just what I plan to do.
There were two breakdowns. Both involve reaching around and under to attack the far arm that is likely being used as a post in the turtle position. In the first variation, you reach across the face with the outside arm and hook the guy’s far arm, then reach under the chest with the inside arm and claps hands around that far arm. Pull the arm towards you as you lean your weight into the shoulder. As the guy topples over, pull the arms up and out of the way as you slip into judo side control.
The variation is in case the guy posts out with his far leg, making it hard to roll him over. What you want to do in this case is to move a little further behind him and twist him over his shoulder, rather than directly on his side. It actually looks a little like a midget shoulder throw.
What is especially interesting is that I’d been looking at escapes from the bulldog position (i.e., being turtled and looking to reverse or put the guy in your guard). The Essential Guard has two different moves that I like. One is a backroll over and the other is a sort of inside drop step. With the roll, you want the guy to your side and you want to hook his outside leg from the inside out. Roll on your inside shoulder and throw your outside leg up, around and over the guy’s body. You should wind up in guard.
The other inside drop step is similar to a move Mamazinho showed me last night when I was rolling with George the purple belt from Oklahoma. Here, instead of hooking the leg, you want both of your legs to be outside his. Create a little space with your inside leg and then bring your outside leg up inside.
Another key: make sure you keep your elbows in. I made the mistake of reaching out with an arm and George managed to trap that arm, making it impossible for me to work either of those two escapes.
A very good night of training for me. I’m starting to feel like I’m getting “it” back. I hit a very nice “Poosh the Guy” to “Rodeo” for the first time, and will definitely make sure to keep working on it from the cobra guard (formerly the lotus guard). I also like the fact that when I went to closed guard, I immediately transitioned to the hilo guard, which is something else I want to work on diligently this year.
At the same time, I got a little lazy and a little sloppy in the guard—so I want to make sure I don’t start slipping on this and falling back into old habits. Pass the guard! Stand, STAND, STAND!
I also like the way I was controlling the sleeve when I was working effectively for the pass. It was a point that Rodrigo had brought up frequently. I was impressed at how effective controlling that sleeve can be so, again, something to make a staple of future practices.
I’ve got some ideas about finishing the d’arce and brabo chokes. I was trying to work them in one sparring round, going back and forth between the two, but couldn’t get either of them sunk. I know one mistake with the brabo was in not going under the arm at the armpit. Instead I attacked further down on the arm where the guy had more control of the arm and could nullify the choke.
I’m actually starting to find some extra inspiration in some of the things that were on my mind when I wrote parts of my “Born Under a Bad Sign” post. It’s actually very similar to the situation I was feeling (and also wrote about) with Bartinho, the leader of BJJ Spokane, and what tended to happen when I was matched up against his guys. While it is a stretch to say that this kind of jabber is a “compliment”, there is a perspective from which I can treat it as one--and that’s exactly the perspective that I’m going to take. Whether I like it or not, the jabber is a barometer of my performance that I can use to get better, faster. And that's just what I plan to do.
Monday, March 05, 2007
SWAT Team
I’ve found myself going up against guys who’ve dropped into “combat base”, the position I’ve been calling “Jayhawk.” Both Tommy and Cindy dropped into this position at the beginning of our recent sparring sessions, as did George, the new purple belt that’s been training with us over the past few weeks.
I remembered a way to attack this position, a counter that Rodrigo showed us many months ago that I don’t remember having worked on in some time. I remembered the first part of the counter, which was to sit up (if you were on your back) and hook the guy’s up leg with your leg in the “hip split” position. If he puts his right leg up, then you hook with your right leg.
But I couldn’t remember the rest of the move. What did you do with your hands? Where were your grips? Which direction did you take the guy and how?
While looking for some help on finishing the arm drag—particularly help on dealing with people who stand and “run around” trying to pass your sitting/Lotus/Cobra guard, I actually found the key to solving the SWAT Team riddle. The key was in the form of an Ultimate Grappling magazine article from December 2006 featuring Marcelo Garcia. Garcia uses a form of SWAT Team as a way of dealing with somebody who is standing and pulls away to avoid the arm drag.
In order to complete SWAT Team, you want to completely control that up leg. So in addition to hooking it with your leg, you want to hook it with the opposite arm also.
With the hook side arm (the leg hook side), you want to post behind you in the same way that you would for an arm drag. This post is important because it will help you maintain your balance as you move—making it easier to move faster.
Turn in the direction of the leg hook, turning so that the shoulder of your arm hook is driving in to the back of the guy’s leg.
Marcelo stands up from here, wrapping both arms around the leg, moving his head to the inside of the trapped leg, and driving the guy to the mat on his back. I suspect there are other moves you can do to finish it off, like going to the back. It probably depends on what the guy gives you.
I remembered a way to attack this position, a counter that Rodrigo showed us many months ago that I don’t remember having worked on in some time. I remembered the first part of the counter, which was to sit up (if you were on your back) and hook the guy’s up leg with your leg in the “hip split” position. If he puts his right leg up, then you hook with your right leg.
But I couldn’t remember the rest of the move. What did you do with your hands? Where were your grips? Which direction did you take the guy and how?
While looking for some help on finishing the arm drag—particularly help on dealing with people who stand and “run around” trying to pass your sitting/Lotus/Cobra guard, I actually found the key to solving the SWAT Team riddle. The key was in the form of an Ultimate Grappling magazine article from December 2006 featuring Marcelo Garcia. Garcia uses a form of SWAT Team as a way of dealing with somebody who is standing and pulls away to avoid the arm drag.
In order to complete SWAT Team, you want to completely control that up leg. So in addition to hooking it with your leg, you want to hook it with the opposite arm also.
With the hook side arm (the leg hook side), you want to post behind you in the same way that you would for an arm drag. This post is important because it will help you maintain your balance as you move—making it easier to move faster.
Turn in the direction of the leg hook, turning so that the shoulder of your arm hook is driving in to the back of the guy’s leg.
Marcelo stands up from here, wrapping both arms around the leg, moving his head to the inside of the trapped leg, and driving the guy to the mat on his back. I suspect there are other moves you can do to finish it off, like going to the back. It probably depends on what the guy gives you.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Guard Replacement Move
A few weeks back, Maggie was trying to explain a guard replacement shoulder roll she thought I could have pulled off during one of our training sessions. She wasn't exactly sure how to describe it, but I was pretty sure of what she meant. I think these stills from Ryan Hall's most recent first-place winning performance at Grapplers Quest do a decent job of highlighting how that guard replacement move works.
See the whole fight here.
One key: the move is based on using your top leg as the pivot or post. That leg will essentially remain in place. Get small in your half guard (or passed guard, before your opponent gets to side control). Dip your up shoulder to the mat and curl inward. With your lower leg, you do a sort of backstep roll in the direction the guy is trying to pass toward.
See the whole fight here.
One key: the move is based on using your top leg as the pivot or post. That leg will essentially remain in place. Get small in your half guard (or passed guard, before your opponent gets to side control). Dip your up shoulder to the mat and curl inward. With your lower leg, you do a sort of backstep roll in the direction the guy is trying to pass toward.
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