One thing I like about training when there is a tournament 30 days out is how focused the classes get. We really only worked on two different moves - the ankle pick takedown and the uchi mata - Thursday night in the first hour, with 50-count squats and wall-sits mixed in.
Some classes begin with a really hardcore warm-up, and then a nicely paced class. I'm always a slow starter, so those hardcore warm-ups, usually loaded with abs work, just kill me.
But when we do a light warm-up and a pretty intense class, I really feel like I rise to the occasion. I felt better doing the last set of squats than I did doing the first three.
I'm adding the wall sits to my occasional routine. They're a great way to build up leg strength.
During Cindy's no gi we worked some Rap Star moves: the triangle and some moves off the arm wrap when the guy pulls his arm out a bit.
There were a couple of highlights. Cindy helps secure the armwrap by hooking the wrapping hand around the side of her body. This isn't so important with the gi, but it was a nice reminder for trying Rap Star no gi.
Another big key was how far you hipscaped out in order to pressure the armwrap down at the guy's shoulder. You also want to throw the leg over the back of the shoulders or neck to help keep him down.
With the inside leg, use the knee or foot to pressure the arm bend. Shoot the leg past and attack with the triangle per usual.
The move off the arm wrap was especially interesting. You attack with the Rap Star. He dives down and tries to limp arm out of it.
With your inside hand, you reach between and armdrag the limp arm. It's just a simple move, and its a nice option to attack from the inside.
Other ways of attacking the limp arm are the kimura and the omoplata. Those are the traditional ways and they work just fine. Adding the armdrag gives you another option depending on how much space you have. If you have hipscaped back far enough, you can attack with the omoplata. If you've gotten some good but not great distance, the kimura is an option. If you're still closer than you might otherwise want to be, then the armdrag Cindy showed us is a nice alternative.
Another great opportunity to re-develop my Rap Star game. The next four weeks should be my max training intesity period - with the two-day Marcelo Garcia seminar in Olympia on the 20th and 21st and the GB Seattle "Friendly" on the 27th. I'll step up the conditioning an extra couple hours a week for the next month and start tightening up on the diet (starting Monday, that is, I have cupcakes waiting for me this very moment).
Thursday night weigh-in was 160.2. That's about 3% above where I want to be four weeks from now - a little over a pound a week. From there it's about another month of staying the course into the Revolution event in November.
