After Tuesday night's instructional of sweeps from the spider guard, I've been thinking again also about what Tommy said about his white belt career.
Tommy was saying that he relied on omoplatas and triangles from spider guard, attacking with one then the other, for some time when he was a white belt. While I like the idea of doing things that are equally effective in gi and no gi, the fact of the matter is that jiu jitsu for me is gi: that's how I train and that's the only way I really feel like competing. So the "equally effective in gi and no gi" point, for me, really is a non-starter.
One thing I can see about using open guards like the spider guard as early as possible is that it really teaches you how to use your legs and move your body (read: elevate your hips). That is the one signature of both Tommy's and Rodrigo's guards, and it is the one thing that really makes Rodrigo's guard such a maze. It's what I try to remember when I think that I'm not flexible enough to have a good open guard: Rodrigo is no yoga master, either.
It does involve leg strength, though, that kind of working strength you get most effectively from just doing the work. I've figured out some tweaks to my workout routine that will help isolate my quadriceps and strengthen them. But the best way is just to deploy the open guard, the spider guard, over and over again until raising your legs is as easy as raising your arms.
I'm calling the command position for spider guard attacks, "Tommy Gun". That is in part because of Tommy's point about the spider guard omoplata/triangle combination, and also in part because the idea of a "Tommy Gun" or old school machine gun is a helpful mnemonic for pumping your legs when you've got your feet in the biceps. You want to both keep the guy off balance as well as keep your legs in motion and ready to move. It's a lot like putting a foot on the hip when in closed guard.
The Tommy Gun series includes the omoplata/triangle combination attack, an armlock I just picked up from the Internets, an armdrag, and what I'm calling a front and back sweep. The front and back sweep were the techniques Rodrigo showed us Tuesday night. I've managed to put together an "Unplugged" version of both sweeps, so hopefully I'll be able to keep them in mind and try them on the mat.
