Finally, after repeated watchings of Cesar Gracie's beginner jiu jitsu instructional DVD and one sparring session with Tom, an advanced white belt at the academy--I have finally figured out how I'm getting caught so often by that little "pocket armbar."
Basically it happens when I try a scoop leg guard pass. I have one grip on the lapel, and with the other hand go for the scoop leg. The problem is that there are two moves I need to do in order to make the scoop leg pass effective. In some ways, there are just one coordinated move, one re-alignment that--in typical jiu jitsu style--both gets me out of danger and puts the opponent off-balance.
As I'm scooping the leg, I need to make sure that my other arm is out of the way, preferably with my elbow cocked in to my side. At the same time I want to throw my weight behind the scooping arm and shoot that scoop-side leg back in a sprawl as I drive him over toward his opposite side with my shoulder. My head should pass from inside to outside his leg as I do the shoulder shove and sprawl. And most importantly, get your other arm out of there!
I've been leaving it in--in addition to not really torquing the pass with the shoulder shove and sprawl move. I have a terrible habit of not passing the guard aggressively. Instead, I tend to let guys get settled and then launch their attack. I notice that I rarely get a moment to get my closed guard in place before I'm under attack. I need to return the favor, so to speak, by passing the guard as soon as I get in it.
As it stands, I've got three guard passes that I like: the Saulo Ribeiro plant and hip out. The basic Gracie Barra standing pass that Cesar Gracie and Rodrigo have taught. The scoop leg pass that I mention above. The first two are more ways of getting out of the closed guard--you might still get caught in the open guard. The last one is a complete pass, from closed guard to taking side control. So I can use either of the first two techniques with the third for a complete guard pass attack.
Class was relatively light tonight with fewer students. We worked two different self-defense techniques: defending a wrist grab and defending a choke from behind. Both are in my Royler/Renzo bjj book, but were pretty easy to remember in any event.
The guy I worked with, Tom, is good for sparring, but not so good with the drills. It was a lot like drilling with Robert: there's an obvious indifference after a few tries. This time it was sort of embarassing insofar as Tom had apparently decided that he'd done enough drills, and we're just standing there while everybody else "finishes."
Like I said, definitely a good guy to roll with. He's been away for a little while (or so I overheard), so his cardio is no better than the rest of us recent white belts. But he's got good reversal and sweep skills until the gas runs out. He got me in that pocket armbar right off the bat, but that was the only submission he got. I like rolling with the bigger guys where I don't have any strength or weight advantage because it forces me to do proper technique to make up the difference.
But the drills, eh, not so much. Joe on Tuesday was and is much better, as is Elliott--who I haven't seen for a couple of weeks now ... Mario is also great to drill with.
It's probably worth my while to start scouting out better drill partners so as to not waste my time. I'm having a hard time remember what the drill was--and I think a part of it was the indifference of my training partner while I was doing them.
Sparring was good. I had three matches. Tom was first. Caught me in that pocket armbar right off the bat, but things were more even later. I need to get a few passes of the half guard together; he tied me up in his half-guard for awhile and I didn't really have a counter. Also, although I don't remember him gaining a great advantage, he did "pass" my open guard fairly easily. I need to think about an open guard game, as well.
Next up was the new Asian guy "Ar-No" I think. He and Joe looked really evenly matched when I saw them on Tuesday. He had just rolled with Tom, and I've probably got about 15 pounds on him, so it wasn't surprising that he didn't have a whole lot for me that night. I tapped him out with chokes from the mount three times.
Last was Clint. Although I didn't honestly think of it much at the time, it was nice to take a little revenge from the last time we sparred. I was worn out and he was relatively fresh and no-gi. I didn't have anything for him. This time--with both of us in the gi--I took him down at will, choked him out twice and armlocked him once. He'll be another good guy to roll with as he gets more and more knowledge.
