I’ve got plenty of stuff to do, but I haven’t posted since my Waterloo Moment of last week. Suffice to say that Thursday went better—nothing groundbreaking, just a good solid practice. It was no gi, so some of the specific things I’d wanted to work out weren’t going to happen. I did drills with Jim, then specific work with Shaka if I remember correctly. I actually didn’t do half-bad with Shaka in terms of escaping side control. Mostly I managed to roll him over once or twice a la my fight at the Yesler tournament this spring. Not the textbook escape, but an escape worth being able to do.
Last night I worked drills with Michelle the brown belt. Clock choke attack and defense, and a lot of rear mount attack and rear mount defense from a variety of positions. I certainly didn’t mind this work—my rear mount game is still pretty miserable. I think we finished off with specific guard attack/guard pass work. I’ve been working two passes of late: the handcuff pass and the body underhook, both of which work pretty well together.
Free sparred with Tommy, then Bruce and Joe. Tommy was hard to handle, as always, but one mistake I’m making is in my triangle choke defense and escape. Once I get ahold of the choking leg with both hands, I’ve had the tendency to stay crouched down and to try and “walk” the leg open. That might work with guys my size or skill-level, but against Tommy-caliber guys and up, that won’t be nearly enough.
What I need to do is to push down on the choking leg, pinning it to the mat, while simultaneously pushing my body into the other guy. I’m trying to create space to bring a knee through, so I can’t stay crouched down like I have been doing. Even—or especially—if the guy tries to pull your head toward him, that will only help the escape by making it easier to wedge your body between his body and that choking leg.
I knew something was missing after I’d managed to work the escape a few times without doing it properly. Getting stuck a few times lately when rolling with higher belts like Tommy and that purple belt from my “Risk of Ruin” evening was a big-tip off. Mamazinho was yelling at me last night, trying to get me to complete the escape, but I was lost. I’ve got two more sessions—Wednesday and Thursday—to try and get that right before the tournament. Tommy sounded confident that the escape will work—he’d made some adjustments to defeat it that somebody who hadn’t dealt with that escape often might not. So I’ll take his word for it.
Rolling with Bruce and, to a lesser degree Joe, showed some weaknesses in my top game—particularly when guys are effective at turning on their sides. This is where I’ve got a couple of options I should work on. One is the S-mount that Saulo talks about. The others are the brabo/d’arce choke options. A last option is the Kron choke, the winding guillotine. If there’s a common denominator, then it appears that denominator is the choke as a way of dealing with the guy who has turned on his side.
I tried that keylock with my hand behind the head on Joe once or twice, but there really was no leverage whatsoever. I half-remember Waterman trying to submit Overeem that way in a Pride event awhile back. H20 couldn’t get it either until he moved his arms back into the traditional keylock position. There may be a way of entering the proper positioning if I catch the wrist from behind the head—it seems like a nice way to sneak up on the submission. But I don’t think I can get the finish unless my arms are in front.
That’s it for now. My weight is okay for Tuesday. Wednesday morning will be the big test. I’d love to get down around 155 by Thursday night, and then glide into the weigh-in Friday evening. I think I’m around 158-159 right now. A few tentative butterflies have already found some space in my gut, but nothing too traumatic. I just want to represent well and let the chips fall where they may.
