The focus for tonight was on passing the guard. I worked with a new guy, I think it was his first or second class.
The emphasis was on getting the knee in the middle. It's one of those drills that you can really make work for you over the long run if you abide by it. Rodrigo had us do a couple of different openers: the wedge, the Saulo, stand to knee drop ... all with the focus on getting your knee up and your hips connected with his hips.
The essence of all attacks is closing the distance. No different when passing the guard. It's why I need to start making sure I pin the leg to the mat when I attack with passes that require pressure on the leg. Pushing on the leg with my arms just won't do and I think I'm finally starting to feel the difference.
Cindy's no gi class had us working the duck under and a move where you stick with the basic clinch grip, but then chop the arm under the tricep as you turn into the guy, hanging on the head all the way. The result is similar to the duck under, only you often have the guy's arm trapped against his head as if in an arm triangle.
A variation on this takedown had us do a move called a Russian. From the chop above with the arm trapped against the guy's head, you step forward and underhook that arm with both your arms. The underhook is like you were carrying a large log or something.
Lean back into the guy's nearest shoulder as you drag the arm. This should make it easy to drive him to the mat with pressure that is very much like an armlock.
A good night. I got to train with a couple of different folks and, toward the end of the evening, Stephen showed me a way to generate both more momentum and better pressure with my Fugitive sweep.
The trick is to swing all the way into the guy as if you were doing a moth guard twist sweep. Underhook that far leg. Take your inside leg and kick it up to generate momentum, then swing it back down toward the mat. At the same time, instead of just pushing forward with the Fugitive, try pushing out, in the direction of his knee.
I'll experiment with it some. Somewhere between the traditional Fugitive, the Saulo version and this one Steve showed me is a sweep I think I can use with some regularity.
