It's always difficult to separate the good from the bad after a night of training or, more to the point, to reassign your mind to what succeeded and to forgive - if not forget - what failed.
Basic class focused on moving from side control to mount, and then returning to side control on the other side. Essential stuff from the top. Shoulder of justice. Always a knee or an arm blocking the hip. Keep the knee stuffed until you completely pass the leg over the top.
And the truth of the matter is that I was able to put that side control practice to immediate good use in sparring later that evening. Not only that, but the techniques that Rodrigo was showing last week from knee on belly, the methods for passing the arm that often is extended from the bottom to block the hip that involved a quick 180 degree hip switch, also came into play, helping me maintain side control and eventually take and keep mount.
So the problem is what exactly?
My shoulder was killing me after training. Not quite a sense of re-injuring it, but more ache than I felt after training last week. I was trying to protect it, but I don't want to use it as an excuse when training so I try not to let on and instead work around it (though I'm quick to tap if I get caught in a shoulder lock, as I was tonight).
Three ibuprofen and the usual "reality prophylactics" later, it feels a lot better, more like the ache of a week ago. A good sign.
A couple of thoughts for next time: let's work the toreano passes. I was struggling to get out of a spider guard and I need to slow down and work the passes Rodrigo showed us (i.e., the shoulder) or the toreanos from Jean Jacques.
Also let's work on finishes from the mount. I think ultimately the double attack will be the one that will work. But I need to have a credible collar choke/armlock move from the mount, as well. What top guy worth his or her feijoada doesn't have THAT? It would be like having a great closed guard, but a mediocre triangle choke.
Did a new workout I'm calling a "Burn Session" today. Basically, I got on the scale and was nearly 165 and freaked out. So I jumped on the treadmill and 46 minutes and 55 second later, had burned off about as much as I was going to burn. Very LSD workout that I capped off with some Arnolds and uprights. I like my conditioning these days. I'm making gains.
