Gracie Magazine Jiu-Jitsu Manual
An oldie-but-goodie.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Training Day: Saturday
"Some of the hardest training I've done in awhile" is probably the best way to describe training on Saturday. Arriving after they'd gotten started, I was paired with Prof Carlos to work butterfly guard drills and specific. And as has been the theme all week, Prof Rodrigo had turned things up to 11.
One of the things that continues to confuse me is the long time it takes to get warmed up. Within the first half hour, I felt as if I was going to collapse. But 90 minutes later, as I'm finishing up sparring and heading over to the side mat to do some HICT work, I'm feeling pretty good - good enough to do another two sessions before finally packing it in for the day.
Today was mostly about moving. Training with both Profs, I spent a lot of time on the defensive and trying to keep from falling too far behind. To be sure, there's a lot of cardio involved. But there's also a lot of "efficiency-seeking", as well, trying to get maximum effect for minimum effort.
That said, I'm convinced that the off-mat conditioning is starting to pay off - so much so that I'm wondering if some pre-heating might do the trick to help me avoid that initial 30 minutes of dispiriting local muscle fatigue. I used to think that doing conditioning before training would only make me too tired to train. But there's got to be some sort of middle ground that will allow me to get off to a somewhat swifter start.
157.2 on the scale post-train, everything but the coat. A nice two-pound drop below last week's number.
One of the things that continues to confuse me is the long time it takes to get warmed up. Within the first half hour, I felt as if I was going to collapse. But 90 minutes later, as I'm finishing up sparring and heading over to the side mat to do some HICT work, I'm feeling pretty good - good enough to do another two sessions before finally packing it in for the day.
Today was mostly about moving. Training with both Profs, I spent a lot of time on the defensive and trying to keep from falling too far behind. To be sure, there's a lot of cardio involved. But there's also a lot of "efficiency-seeking", as well, trying to get maximum effect for minimum effort.
That said, I'm convinced that the off-mat conditioning is starting to pay off - so much so that I'm wondering if some pre-heating might do the trick to help me avoid that initial 30 minutes of dispiriting local muscle fatigue. I used to think that doing conditioning before training would only make me too tired to train. But there's got to be some sort of middle ground that will allow me to get off to a somewhat swifter start.
157.2 on the scale post-train, everything but the coat. A nice two-pound drop below last week's number.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Training Day: Friday
A great session on the mat. Prof Rodrigo kept the warm-up short and sweet so we could get quickly to the drilling.
We spent most of the session working on the clock choke variations.
1 the basic clock choke
2 clock choke with hip switch
3 spin and sit to the back
4 back escape return to clock choke
Very nice work - and Rodrigo had us going at a pretty good pace. It certainly didn't hurt to have worked the position just a few days ago (and with the same partner).
A lot of specific (rear mount, closed guard), which went well. I actually managed to work my omoplata game - a game I know I haven't even touched in a year, no lie. For sure, watching a few minutes of Stephan Kesting's omoplata DVD got the move in my head. But one of the things that I know helped me really get fully into position is all that triangle drilling I do as part of my matwork BJJ conditioning routine.
So it was nice to see that off-site training paying off a little.
Now, with about a month or so to go before the tournament I'm not competing in, the goal is to up the intensity and really push the endurance. Today, I was the last guy on the mat, which is something that - like my lonesome omoplata - has been a real rarity for some time. I was on my way out the door at a respectable time, but then decided, to hell with it, it's Friday. I'm getting some more training in.
159.8 on the scale post-train - a very nice little number. Too spent to do HICT - hopefully I'll have enough left after Saturday's training to get 6 laps in.
We spent most of the session working on the clock choke variations.
1 the basic clock choke
2 clock choke with hip switch
3 spin and sit to the back
4 back escape return to clock choke
Very nice work - and Rodrigo had us going at a pretty good pace. It certainly didn't hurt to have worked the position just a few days ago (and with the same partner).
A lot of specific (rear mount, closed guard), which went well. I actually managed to work my omoplata game - a game I know I haven't even touched in a year, no lie. For sure, watching a few minutes of Stephan Kesting's omoplata DVD got the move in my head. But one of the things that I know helped me really get fully into position is all that triangle drilling I do as part of my matwork BJJ conditioning routine.
So it was nice to see that off-site training paying off a little.
Now, with about a month or so to go before the tournament I'm not competing in, the goal is to up the intensity and really push the endurance. Today, I was the last guy on the mat, which is something that - like my lonesome omoplata - has been a real rarity for some time. I was on my way out the door at a respectable time, but then decided, to hell with it, it's Friday. I'm getting some more training in.
159.8 on the scale post-train - a very nice little number. Too spent to do HICT - hopefully I'll have enough left after Saturday's training to get 6 laps in.
An Interview with Lloyd Irvin
Interview with Lloyd Irvin
Whatever mindset you allow on your mats will become the culture of your mats. I have a saying, “if everyone on our team did what you did, what type of team would we have?” This is a question that I have made a standard at my school. The answer can only be a good team or a bad team. So if a student gets tapped in practice and throws a fit, it would never be allowed on my mats. If I was to ask that student my question, “If everyone on our team threw a fit when they got tapped on our floor what type of team would we have?” The answer would be a bad team. Many instructors allow things to happen on their floor that the answer would be ‘a bad team’ and since they allow others do it and it becomes an accepted behavior within that team then it results in a serious problem.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Conditioning: Threshold Training
4 rounds (approx 7 minutes each) 20 reps
3 min rest between rounds
BPM splits: 132, 160, 168, 164/120
current matwork:
alt upas
hipscapes
sit-outs
hip splits
backrolls
crossovers
arm drags
hook sweeps
triangles
technical lifts
3 min rest between rounds
BPM splits: 132, 160, 168, 164/120
current matwork:
alt upas
hipscapes
sit-outs
hip splits
backrolls
crossovers
arm drags
hook sweeps
triangles
technical lifts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
More Rafa, More Leg Drag
Rafa Rolling at PuraBJJ 22/06/2011 from MendesBrosOnline.com on Vimeo.
Rodrigo made a fundamental point after training Monday night. He was working the Hioki guard pass all night, the one he showed us last week. While the rest of us marveled at how many times Rodrigo attacked with it, he said simply: "This is how you do it. I'm doing this pass all week."
Pretty much sums it up.
Training Day: Wednesday
Very nice midweek training tonight. It's "Choke Week" at GB Seattle (like "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel, only with chokes) and tonight's entry was the clock choke.
There were a couple of great details that Prof. Rodrigo pointed out. The move count I did was something like:
1 open far collar and sprawl against the hip
2 choke hand under chin to far collar ("see your fingers")
3 control far wrist with far grip, pull in to widen elbow
4 choke elbow tight into belly, heavy on near shoulder
5 pressure forward w/forehead on mat, turn the clock
We also did the variation with the hip switch. Training with Jason Garcia (who is was great to see again after what seems like a million years), we talked about how if you put that pressure on quickly, it could almost pop the guy's head off.
Anyone who's ever seen that classic finish by Wallid Ismail over Royce Gracie knows how effective the clock choke can be even at the highest levels.
I'm really liking the way I'm opening things up in training. It may have taken me almost six years (my sixth anniversary in jiu-jitsu is less than a month away!), but I'm finally getting to the point where I feel comfortable about really working at the margins of my game. The half guard to the back move that Rodrigo showed us on Monday is something that is very, very attractive right now. And more than that, I'm thinking not just of the move itself, but of what situations I can create that will make the guy give me the opening I need to move into that take the back move.
I'm convinced that's how the truly great ones do it. You can't know every variation of every position in the world. But if you know a couple of ways that, more often than not, get the guy to react one of maybe two or three different ways, then you can construct an entire mousetrap to lead the guy deeper and deeper into doom.
So it is about "anticipation." But not in a spontaneous sense, per se, or some mystical "read your mind" way. It's much more straightforward. If you push forward, more often than not, the person will push back in response, at least the first time or two before becoming suspicious. The game is to make sure that when they give that response, you've got the rest of the trap ready to go.
I remember Rickson Gracie saying something along these lines in a video taken at a seminar he gave for one of his top students, Pedro Sauer (and, yes, it is odd to think of Pedro Sauer as anyone's "student", in a way). Rickson said that he was "always a step ahead" because he knew how Pedro was going to react. And assuming Rickson is no mind reader, and doesn't have light-speed like reflexes, the only way that is possible is for Rickson to create irresistible poor choices. More than that, "progressively worse but no less" irresistible poor choices. Until there is only one final choice left.
160.7 on the scale post-train. I really can't complain especially since I felt fairly blimp-like for most of the day. No HICT or UBS/LBS tonight, so I'll have to make up that conditioning and stretching sometime in the second half of the week.
There were a couple of great details that Prof. Rodrigo pointed out. The move count I did was something like:
1 open far collar and sprawl against the hip
2 choke hand under chin to far collar ("see your fingers")
3 control far wrist with far grip, pull in to widen elbow
4 choke elbow tight into belly, heavy on near shoulder
5 pressure forward w/forehead on mat, turn the clock
We also did the variation with the hip switch. Training with Jason Garcia (who is was great to see again after what seems like a million years), we talked about how if you put that pressure on quickly, it could almost pop the guy's head off.
Anyone who's ever seen that classic finish by Wallid Ismail over Royce Gracie knows how effective the clock choke can be even at the highest levels.
I'm really liking the way I'm opening things up in training. It may have taken me almost six years (my sixth anniversary in jiu-jitsu is less than a month away!), but I'm finally getting to the point where I feel comfortable about really working at the margins of my game. The half guard to the back move that Rodrigo showed us on Monday is something that is very, very attractive right now. And more than that, I'm thinking not just of the move itself, but of what situations I can create that will make the guy give me the opening I need to move into that take the back move.
I'm convinced that's how the truly great ones do it. You can't know every variation of every position in the world. But if you know a couple of ways that, more often than not, get the guy to react one of maybe two or three different ways, then you can construct an entire mousetrap to lead the guy deeper and deeper into doom.
So it is about "anticipation." But not in a spontaneous sense, per se, or some mystical "read your mind" way. It's much more straightforward. If you push forward, more often than not, the person will push back in response, at least the first time or two before becoming suspicious. The game is to make sure that when they give that response, you've got the rest of the trap ready to go.
I remember Rickson Gracie saying something along these lines in a video taken at a seminar he gave for one of his top students, Pedro Sauer (and, yes, it is odd to think of Pedro Sauer as anyone's "student", in a way). Rickson said that he was "always a step ahead" because he knew how Pedro was going to react. And assuming Rickson is no mind reader, and doesn't have light-speed like reflexes, the only way that is possible is for Rickson to create irresistible poor choices. More than that, "progressively worse but no less" irresistible poor choices. Until there is only one final choice left.
160.7 on the scale post-train. I really can't complain especially since I felt fairly blimp-like for most of the day. No HICT or UBS/LBS tonight, so I'll have to make up that conditioning and stretching sometime in the second half of the week.
"Wrestle! Wrestle! Wrestle! Find Angles!"
Another look at the leg drag pass variations. Although the pass is different, lot of what he has to say reminds me of the spirit and theme of what Prof Rodrigo was talking about after training Monday night.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Conditioning: Explosive-Repeat
800m
6 sets 8 seconds work/60 seconds rest - thrusters
400m
6 sets 8s work/60s rest - thrusters
400m
6 sets 8s work/60s rest - bench press
400m
6 sets 8s work/60s rest - bench press
800m
6 sets 8 seconds work/60 seconds rest - thrusters
400m
6 sets 8s work/60s rest - thrusters
400m
6 sets 8s work/60s rest - bench press
400m
6 sets 8s work/60s rest - bench press
800m
Monday, July 11, 2011
Training Day: Monday
Trying to put ATM back on track with some Monday night training. Some judo to start off things with: osoto gari (major outer reap) to ashi barai (foot sweep), then Rodrigo showed us a way to take the back from half guard when the guy on top reverses on you (watchdog position or kimura attack from top).
The keys here were to trap the near arm at the shoulder as he reaches over to reverse, and then to do the basic half guard reguard where you switch the legs, grip the pass side leg at the knee, drag the far side leg wide to shift the guy's weight on top, then slide your pass side leg to the side and begin to climb around and take the back.
We spent a good amount of the class training specific, a lot of half guard and full guard. Good hard training and having done some serious conditioning at the home gym, I didn't have anything left for the Live Training afterwards.
That was the first time that has happened in years - if ever. And I do factor in Monday's cardiac output work has having a lot to do with it. But it was still a little unnerving, with that creeping feeling that I'm aging at double speed these days.
A very nice 160.1 on the scale post train. Even nicer were the five laps of hipscapes I managed to pull off after training for some HICT work. Nicer still? Nicer even than having the discipline to do my complete stretching routine after all that?
I'll call it "The Master Class." After a heroic Live Training session (two rounds, 16 minutes and 14 minutes), Prof Rodrigo and Abel and Lance started talking guard passing. I wish I could better translate all that Rodrigo had to say and show about the importance of angles and dealing with grips and fundamental tactics and strategies that apply to just about any type of guard.
It was absolutely incredible. It was a reminder of why it is so important to train when I've got TIME to train - which especially includes time AFTER training. As much as I love training during the day, too often I'm in a rush to leave. And that means that I'm missing out on some of what is often the most interesting material of the day - when the black belts start to show some of what they have been thinking about and working on regardless of the curriculum.
Back on the mat Wednesday night.
The keys here were to trap the near arm at the shoulder as he reaches over to reverse, and then to do the basic half guard reguard where you switch the legs, grip the pass side leg at the knee, drag the far side leg wide to shift the guy's weight on top, then slide your pass side leg to the side and begin to climb around and take the back.
We spent a good amount of the class training specific, a lot of half guard and full guard. Good hard training and having done some serious conditioning at the home gym, I didn't have anything left for the Live Training afterwards.
That was the first time that has happened in years - if ever. And I do factor in Monday's cardiac output work has having a lot to do with it. But it was still a little unnerving, with that creeping feeling that I'm aging at double speed these days.
A very nice 160.1 on the scale post train. Even nicer were the five laps of hipscapes I managed to pull off after training for some HICT work. Nicer still? Nicer even than having the discipline to do my complete stretching routine after all that?
I'll call it "The Master Class." After a heroic Live Training session (two rounds, 16 minutes and 14 minutes), Prof Rodrigo and Abel and Lance started talking guard passing. I wish I could better translate all that Rodrigo had to say and show about the importance of angles and dealing with grips and fundamental tactics and strategies that apply to just about any type of guard.
It was absolutely incredible. It was a reminder of why it is so important to train when I've got TIME to train - which especially includes time AFTER training. As much as I love training during the day, too often I'm in a rush to leave. And that means that I'm missing out on some of what is often the most interesting material of the day - when the black belts start to show some of what they have been thinking about and working on regardless of the curriculum.
Back on the mat Wednesday night.
Conditioning: Cardiac Output
I missed a planned Cardiac Output: LSD session on Sunday so, to make up for it, I did another jiu jitsu based circuit for Cardiac Output on Monday.
800m
20 count matwork round
400m
3 rounds half guard drill
400m
Berardi complex round
800m
The total workout lasted about 40 minutes, give or take.
800m
20 count matwork round
400m
3 rounds half guard drill
400m
Berardi complex round
800m
The total workout lasted about 40 minutes, give or take.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Parabens Prof. Gordo!
I have to pass along a very special "parabens" to the Godfather of the Half Guard on news that he was awarded a fifth stripe from the Rio de Janeiro JJF, making him a fifth degree black belt.
Roberto "Gordo" Corrrea
Gordo Receives Fifth Stripe on Black Belt
Roberto "Gordo" Corrrea
Gordo Receives Fifth Stripe on Black Belt
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Conditioning: High Intensity Continuous Training (HICT)
I had been doing HICT work with box steps. But I've long thought that what would really work well for HICT, especially in the post-training environment, are just hipscape laps from one side of the mat to the other.
I managed to do 4 laps after training on Saturday and will look to add one lap after each training until I'm up to 12 laps.
Here's the skinny on HICT from Joel Jamieson at 8 Weeks Out
We'll see how I'm feeling about all this in mid-August. For now, I'm grateful at having been able to adopt yet another routine from Joel's great book Ultimate MMA Conditioning to jiu-jitsu.
*Update: In terms of the specific aerobic adaptations that HICT delivers is "greater oxygen utilization and increased endurance of the fast twitch fibers." Again, given my sprinter's gas tank (and transmission, for that matter) this is just what I need. Far more often than not, my legs give out long before my lungs do.
I managed to do 4 laps after training on Saturday and will look to add one lap after each training until I'm up to 12 laps.
Here's the skinny on HICT from Joel Jamieson at 8 Weeks Out
This method is different from other forms of aerobic training in that it is both high intensity and relatively high volume. This unique characteristic is also why it is so effective. Whereas most aerobic training methods are either high intensity/low volume intervals, or high volume/low intensity continuous training, the high intensity continuous training method is high intensity based on resistance rather than speed and thus it allows form a higher volume of stimulus.The archetypical HICT workout is either a spin bike or a Versaclimber cranked up to maximum resistance. But my bet is that a bodyweight exercise like hipscapes might suffice. After doing HICT with box steps (one of the alternatives that Joel suggests), it seems that there is a similar (though more jiu-jitsu specific) effort doing hipscapes.
We'll see how I'm feeling about all this in mid-August. For now, I'm grateful at having been able to adopt yet another routine from Joel's great book Ultimate MMA Conditioning to jiu-jitsu.
*Update: In terms of the specific aerobic adaptations that HICT delivers is "greater oxygen utilization and increased endurance of the fast twitch fibers." Again, given my sprinter's gas tank (and transmission, for that matter) this is just what I need. Far more often than not, my legs give out long before my lungs do.
Training Day: Saturday
A great day on the mat today. If I've said it once, I've said it a 1,000 times, there is nothing better than trading on Saturdays.
Today we had a whole slew of folks from Gracie Barra Lake Stevens. One of the nice things about Saturday training is that it gives a chance for some of our out-of-town teammates to join in. There must have been 40 or more people on the mat today. It was packed.
I arrived a few minutes late (imagine that), so the two techniques I got to drill were the butterfly guard passes: the same-side backstep pass and the Hioki pass. One of the things that all this reminded me was that passing the guard, in part, is a lot like setting up and attacking with a submission. You want to come up with creative and surprising ways to lure the guy into defending with the type of guard that you feel most comfortable passing. You may think that you'll never have the opportunity to attack with the Hioki pass, for example, because you don't have a lot of opponents who play butterfly guard. But there are ways of moving that can bait a guy into positioning his guard in a way that allows you to attack with a pass as if he were using an actual butterfly guard.
Anyway, thoughts to keep in mind. Got in a lot of great training, including rolls with a brown belt from Lake Stevens, Dylan, as well as with Jeff (who is only one step away from getting his black belt, BTW), Allison and Casey. Trying more than anything else to stick with my gameplan w/re2 the half guard and managed to get in some halfway decent guard reguarding. But one of the more pleasant surprises was a collar drag from closed guard that got me to the back more than once. Definitely something to keep in heavy rotation going forward.
159.3 on the scale post-train. I'm doing more calorie restriction than I probably should, but to the extent that such restriction is part and parcel with both the Warrior Diet and rumors of living forever (or at least to 100), I'm likely to stick with it.
Today we had a whole slew of folks from Gracie Barra Lake Stevens. One of the nice things about Saturday training is that it gives a chance for some of our out-of-town teammates to join in. There must have been 40 or more people on the mat today. It was packed.
I arrived a few minutes late (imagine that), so the two techniques I got to drill were the butterfly guard passes: the same-side backstep pass and the Hioki pass. One of the things that all this reminded me was that passing the guard, in part, is a lot like setting up and attacking with a submission. You want to come up with creative and surprising ways to lure the guy into defending with the type of guard that you feel most comfortable passing. You may think that you'll never have the opportunity to attack with the Hioki pass, for example, because you don't have a lot of opponents who play butterfly guard. But there are ways of moving that can bait a guy into positioning his guard in a way that allows you to attack with a pass as if he were using an actual butterfly guard.
Anyway, thoughts to keep in mind. Got in a lot of great training, including rolls with a brown belt from Lake Stevens, Dylan, as well as with Jeff (who is only one step away from getting his black belt, BTW), Allison and Casey. Trying more than anything else to stick with my gameplan w/re2 the half guard and managed to get in some halfway decent guard reguarding. But one of the more pleasant surprises was a collar drag from closed guard that got me to the back more than once. Definitely something to keep in heavy rotation going forward.
159.3 on the scale post-train. I'm doing more calorie restriction than I probably should, but to the extent that such restriction is part and parcel with both the Warrior Diet and rumors of living forever (or at least to 100), I'm likely to stick with it.
Friday, July 08, 2011
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Conditioning: Threshold Training
Today was the first day of Block B conditioning work, with the full transition to Block B starting on Tuesday with Explosive-Repeat.
Last round of Block B (tempo training) is a week from this Saturday.
Threshold Training (matwork)
3 rounds (approx 7 minutes each) 20 reps
3 min rest between rounds
BPM splits: 152/92, 164/120, 172/132
current matwork:
alt upas
hipscapes
sit-outs
hip splits
backrolls
crossovers
arm drags
hook sweeps
triangles
technical lifts
Last round of Block B (tempo training) is a week from this Saturday.
Threshold Training (matwork)
3 rounds (approx 7 minutes each) 20 reps
3 min rest between rounds
BPM splits: 152/92, 164/120, 172/132
current matwork:
alt upas
hipscapes
sit-outs
hip splits
backrolls
crossovers
arm drags
hook sweeps
triangles
technical lifts
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Training Day: Wednesday
Managed to get on the mat near what was probably the hottest part of the hottest day of the year. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Worked on some combination/counter throws again in Prof. Carlos' class - something he has been developing with us for a few weeks now, at least. For example, last week, we did ko uchi gari attacks to set up the seionage. Today, we worked on counter throws, specifically, countering the initial "distance-checking" arm reach of a double leg with the seionage.
We also worked on chokes from the back. A variation on the bow and arrow choke, where you lean back and lock your legs around the guy's far shoulder (your near leg is around the guy's waist). Leaning back to create space is critical unless you have very long legs.
From here there was a shin choke variation in case the guy kept turning and managed to get to his side. Here, you slide your leg out from under the guy as you put your other foot on the ground as if moving to S mount. Grab the pants as you would for the bow & arrow for balance and, with your choking hand still in place, rock forward a bit. This will allow you to pull you bottom leg up and to the nearside of the guy's neck.
The choke comes on pretty quick given all the leverage. There are also triangle choke and armbar options depending on how the guy defends.
Did some rear mount specific to finish things off before the Live Training. It was done King of the Hill style, and starting out as one of the villagers, I never managed to get my spot on top. There were a few technical things I did poorly: not going to the seatbelt to help stabilize position, and forgetting how to move the forehead back in order to open up the chin. But hopefully I'll get more and more time to work on this insofar as the back is probably my least effective dominant position.
Live Training was good - I didn't get to work on many of the key elements other than the general notion of looking to pass directly into mount (especially directly from half guard to mount). Still feeling sloppy and heavy. But I need to realize that that feeling is likely to last until I can get my 4-week training average back up into the 3.5-4.0 range (end of Week 5 or July 23rd, at the earliest).
From a "competing in August" perspective (for illustrative purposes, only), that would leave four weeks to maintain that 3.5 -4.0 pace (although, arguably, that pace would have been set at least a week if not two, previous.)
164.1 on the scale, post-train. A typically fat, post-holiday weekend weigh-in, I suppose. I'm still looking to drop 10-15 pounds between now and mid-August. Dan walks around at about 147 or so, which makes me think my featherweight dreams may remain just that. But I would be perfectly happy walking around at 155 and being able to dip into the high 40s after a week of competition-prep type training.
Worked on some combination/counter throws again in Prof. Carlos' class - something he has been developing with us for a few weeks now, at least. For example, last week, we did ko uchi gari attacks to set up the seionage. Today, we worked on counter throws, specifically, countering the initial "distance-checking" arm reach of a double leg with the seionage.
We also worked on chokes from the back. A variation on the bow and arrow choke, where you lean back and lock your legs around the guy's far shoulder (your near leg is around the guy's waist). Leaning back to create space is critical unless you have very long legs.
From here there was a shin choke variation in case the guy kept turning and managed to get to his side. Here, you slide your leg out from under the guy as you put your other foot on the ground as if moving to S mount. Grab the pants as you would for the bow & arrow for balance and, with your choking hand still in place, rock forward a bit. This will allow you to pull you bottom leg up and to the nearside of the guy's neck.
The choke comes on pretty quick given all the leverage. There are also triangle choke and armbar options depending on how the guy defends.
Did some rear mount specific to finish things off before the Live Training. It was done King of the Hill style, and starting out as one of the villagers, I never managed to get my spot on top. There were a few technical things I did poorly: not going to the seatbelt to help stabilize position, and forgetting how to move the forehead back in order to open up the chin. But hopefully I'll get more and more time to work on this insofar as the back is probably my least effective dominant position.
Live Training was good - I didn't get to work on many of the key elements other than the general notion of looking to pass directly into mount (especially directly from half guard to mount). Still feeling sloppy and heavy. But I need to realize that that feeling is likely to last until I can get my 4-week training average back up into the 3.5-4.0 range (end of Week 5 or July 23rd, at the earliest).
From a "competing in August" perspective (for illustrative purposes, only), that would leave four weeks to maintain that 3.5 -4.0 pace (although, arguably, that pace would have been set at least a week if not two, previous.)
164.1 on the scale, post-train. A typically fat, post-holiday weekend weigh-in, I suppose. I'm still looking to drop 10-15 pounds between now and mid-August. Dan walks around at about 147 or so, which makes me think my featherweight dreams may remain just that. But I would be perfectly happy walking around at 155 and being able to dip into the high 40s after a week of competition-prep type training.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Conditioning: Tempo Method
800m
5 of 9 tempo squats
400m
5 of 9 tempo squats
400m
5 of 9 tempo squats
800m
BPM splits: 140, 148, 148/120
5 of 9 tempo squats
400m
5 of 9 tempo squats
400m
5 of 9 tempo squats
800m
BPM splits: 140, 148, 148/120
Monday, July 04, 2011
Passing the De La Riva Guard
Some nice passes of the de la Riva guard, courtesy of Shawn Williams and the very, very unfortunately named Jits magazine
Fourth of July
No conditioning today and no training either, since it seems like every mat in Western Washington was on holiday today.
Managed to spend a couple of hours outside raking, chopping and hacking my way from one side of the yard to the other. Worked up a halfway decent sweat and it was great to get all that fresh air. It would be hard to ask for a better weekend for a triple.
Heading into Week Three, the focus is on half guard to full guard replacements, as well as the Marcelo backstep half guard pass. I feel as if I'm still very much training on instinct and have yet to get back into a training groove and, because of that, am spending too much time being "athletic".
I'll need to grab a training partner or two (or three) if I'm doing to make this a regular affair. As I've found out in the past, trying to just pick one guy to always be available/interested/etc. is just not going to work. Until and unless you find other folks who are thinking along the same lines, the a la carte approach is the most viable for most of us.
Trying to make the off-mat life as efficient as possible - so as not to continue to interfere with the life on the mat. It's not easy. Everything wants to run into everything else like little pails of paint spilled across a canvas all at once. Turning that chaos into something a Pollack-like is in many ways the goal for the balance of the year.
Managed to spend a couple of hours outside raking, chopping and hacking my way from one side of the yard to the other. Worked up a halfway decent sweat and it was great to get all that fresh air. It would be hard to ask for a better weekend for a triple.
Heading into Week Three, the focus is on half guard to full guard replacements, as well as the Marcelo backstep half guard pass. I feel as if I'm still very much training on instinct and have yet to get back into a training groove and, because of that, am spending too much time being "athletic".
I'll need to grab a training partner or two (or three) if I'm doing to make this a regular affair. As I've found out in the past, trying to just pick one guy to always be available/interested/etc. is just not going to work. Until and unless you find other folks who are thinking along the same lines, the a la carte approach is the most viable for most of us.
Trying to make the off-mat life as efficient as possible - so as not to continue to interfere with the life on the mat. It's not easy. Everything wants to run into everything else like little pails of paint spilled across a canvas all at once. Turning that chaos into something a Pollack-like is in many ways the goal for the balance of the year.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Tito!
I've had a soft spot for Tito Ortiz for awhile, for reasons both noble and not-so-noble. But at any event, I will admit to being overjoyed at the news of his victory by submission tonight at UFC 132.
Tito is another one of those guys who probably could have had an even more fruitful second half of his career if he's spent just a little more time on the tatame.
Tito is another one of those guys who probably could have had an even more fruitful second half of his career if he's spent just a little more time on the tatame.
Conditioning: Tempo Method
800m
4 sets of 9 tempo squats
400m
4 sets of 9 tempo squats
400m
4 sets of 9 tempo squats
800 m
BPM splits: 144, 160, 176/136
4 sets of 9 tempo squats
400m
4 sets of 9 tempo squats
400m
4 sets of 9 tempo squats
800 m
BPM splits: 144, 160, 176/136
Friday, July 01, 2011
Training Day: Friday
Back on the mat for what will be the last time until Tuesday since the academy is closed on Monday and I've got to wait for a refigerator delivery on Saturday.
We worked takedowns mostly in Prof. Carlos' class. The seoinage, the drop seoinage, and a combo takedown where you attacked with the ko ouchi gari and then transitioned directly into the seoinage.
Carlos also showed us some finishes from the bottom, specifically, a transition from lockdown sidecontrol into both a mounted triangle and a straight armlock by way of trapping the arm on the north side and bringing the southside knee up on the the chest to bait the guy to push away with the far arm (stuff the hand and step over to attack with the triangle).
The armlock was tricky - and brutal to train - my arm has been sore for hours after time spent tweaking it this way and that trying to find the right angle for the lock.
Managed to get in a little Live Training before I had to run. My half guard top is very, very rough, a part of which I attribute to lack of regular training. I've got a few things targeted for post-training drills next week (some half guard replacement and Marcelo's backstep pass v.s. half) that I need to prioritize. Hopefully that will both fix some major technical issues, as well as begin to implement a post-training routine that allows me to focus on weak spots.
159.8 on the scale-post train.
We worked takedowns mostly in Prof. Carlos' class. The seoinage, the drop seoinage, and a combo takedown where you attacked with the ko ouchi gari and then transitioned directly into the seoinage.
Carlos also showed us some finishes from the bottom, specifically, a transition from lockdown sidecontrol into both a mounted triangle and a straight armlock by way of trapping the arm on the north side and bringing the southside knee up on the the chest to bait the guy to push away with the far arm (stuff the hand and step over to attack with the triangle).
The armlock was tricky - and brutal to train - my arm has been sore for hours after time spent tweaking it this way and that trying to find the right angle for the lock.
Managed to get in a little Live Training before I had to run. My half guard top is very, very rough, a part of which I attribute to lack of regular training. I've got a few things targeted for post-training drills next week (some half guard replacement and Marcelo's backstep pass v.s. half) that I need to prioritize. Hopefully that will both fix some major technical issues, as well as begin to implement a post-training routine that allows me to focus on weak spots.
159.8 on the scale-post train.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Conditioning: Cardiac Output
Still experimenting with LSD-type training with minimal treadmill. Here's today's routine. It took about 35-40 minutes or so.
400m
Berardi round
matwork round
1/2 guard round (10 reps w/60s r x3)
360 drill round (10 reps w/60s r x3)
1200m
I've done this routine with abswork and the 3-part toreano drill, but I think I like it a little bit leaner, keeping skills-related activity to a minimum. This is a pure cardio circuit, so the idea is more constant movement and effort rather than precise movement. That's where the tempo training (Tuesdays and Saturdays) comes in.
I'll probably shuffle this so that I do all the shoes-on work in the beginning and the jiu-jitsu drill work at the end. That saves a little bit of time - though I have to admit that there's something I like about finishing up on the treadmill (though 800m at a time is probably a better way to go than 1200m!).
I really need to do a video of matwork sometime. I think it's a really nice combination of jiu-jitsu exercises that can be used in everything from cardiac output type work to anaerobic/lactic circuit training. I'd like to try a circuit of alternating matwork and Berardi rounds sometime - definitely something for the second half of the training camp.
I've been thinking about the diet thing and am probably headed back for another try at the Warrior Diet (with the Gracie Diet approach for undereating). I think the key to pulling it off over time, though, is staying active and training not just regularly but frequently.
One point Griff made recently about these sorts of diets in general (including the Paleo, for example) is that they tend to be harder when you are in a sedentary environment. That makes sense on a number of levels, not the least of which that the whole point of Warrior/Paleo diets is that they are based on a time when Homo sapiens was far from sedentary.
Here, I need to take more advantage of my Little Prince status. I was thinking of how difficult a time Prof. Rodrigo is having gaining weight in spite of eating more. The issue is activity. Training hard every day - and twice a day most of the week - will keep your metabolism at a level where it will readily devour just about any calories you can throw at it.
So that's the game for me for the balance of 2011, the mid-year resolution, the plan for getting to a walk-around weight of 150 over the next 30-45 days.
Very much looking forward to training tomorrow and getting back on a MWF kick.
400m
Berardi round
matwork round
1/2 guard round (10 reps w/60s r x3)
360 drill round (10 reps w/60s r x3)
1200m
I've done this routine with abswork and the 3-part toreano drill, but I think I like it a little bit leaner, keeping skills-related activity to a minimum. This is a pure cardio circuit, so the idea is more constant movement and effort rather than precise movement. That's where the tempo training (Tuesdays and Saturdays) comes in.
I'll probably shuffle this so that I do all the shoes-on work in the beginning and the jiu-jitsu drill work at the end. That saves a little bit of time - though I have to admit that there's something I like about finishing up on the treadmill (though 800m at a time is probably a better way to go than 1200m!).
I really need to do a video of matwork sometime. I think it's a really nice combination of jiu-jitsu exercises that can be used in everything from cardiac output type work to anaerobic/lactic circuit training. I'd like to try a circuit of alternating matwork and Berardi rounds sometime - definitely something for the second half of the training camp.
I've been thinking about the diet thing and am probably headed back for another try at the Warrior Diet (with the Gracie Diet approach for undereating). I think the key to pulling it off over time, though, is staying active and training not just regularly but frequently.
One point Griff made recently about these sorts of diets in general (including the Paleo, for example) is that they tend to be harder when you are in a sedentary environment. That makes sense on a number of levels, not the least of which that the whole point of Warrior/Paleo diets is that they are based on a time when Homo sapiens was far from sedentary.
Here, I need to take more advantage of my Little Prince status. I was thinking of how difficult a time Prof. Rodrigo is having gaining weight in spite of eating more. The issue is activity. Training hard every day - and twice a day most of the week - will keep your metabolism at a level where it will readily devour just about any calories you can throw at it.
So that's the game for me for the balance of 2011, the mid-year resolution, the plan for getting to a walk-around weight of 150 over the next 30-45 days.
Very much looking forward to training tomorrow and getting back on a MWF kick.
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