Tonight we did a lot of stand-up, given the tournament this Saturday. The warm-up, after the regular calisthenics, was back and forth ippon seionage (one-arm shoulder throw) which is one of Rodrigo's favorite throws. I've never tried it (of course, with my judo paranoia), but I'm training it so much - and it has so few obvious downsides for me physically - that one of these days I'm going to have to put it on the mat.
The other warm-up takedown was something that I really, really need to make a fundamental part of my stand-up game: pulling half-guard.
Rodrigo put the takedown in context of being locked up in that typical, sleeve 'n' collar tie-up with dual, defensive postures. While the uchi mata is a great option (my introduction to Sauleh back when he was a white belt and I was a new blue belt was tumbling to the ground courtesy of a Sauleh uchi mata), another option is to pull half guard and go immediately for the sweep.
The detail was in working your grip down the length of the guy's gi jacket. You want to work it down - don't let go and try to grab it again at the bottom. When you get to the bottom of the gi lapel and have a good grip of cloth, divert with a pull on the sleeve (at the elbow) which should get the guy to pull back. Then shoot in on the inside/near leg and pull half guard.
Make sure you pull a good half guard, nice and deep, with your chest connected to the guy's leg. Pass the gi lapel between his legs to our outside hand and pull tight.
If he steps forward, then your best bet will probably be a twist sweep, taking him backwards. If he steps backward, then the better option is a tackle sweep. Here, make sure that you keep the leg trapped between your legs as you swing your hips out and undermine his base. In both instances, be sure to follow-through, leading with your shoulder and your weight, into side control rather than half-guard.
Tatame tonight was definitely a defensive tale. I cut the fuel way down today, probably to make up for the pizza I had for dinner (3 pm) on Tuesday. I had some pork, cheese and salad for breakfast and fish with leeks for lunch. My snack was raisins and almonds and my water intake was good but not great.
The consequences were feeling far more fatigued early in the training than I would have liked. It was annoying given all the time I spent on conditioning in January and February. Future adjustments to my conditioning routine notwithstanding, I feel like my output should have been much better tonight.
But the fuel issue is likely part of the problem. I just don't think I took in enough calories to power a regular training session. It's tricky. I like training on an empty stomach first of all. And I'm paranoid about my weight. So it's hard to figure out just what to eat and when to eat it.
Fortunately, my weight is pretty much on track. Using Martell's strategy from his book, Greco-Roman Wrestling, I should be no more than 159.5 hydrated today. I hit the scale at 158.2 after training, giving me more than a pound of hydration allowance (that said, I had finished about 32 ounces of my protein/Gatorade drink so maybe I had officially rehydrated by the time I put that 158.2 on the scale).
Tomorrow I need to hit 158.8 (2.5% over), which is what I weighed in at on Monday. And then I've got a few games planned for Friday to help sweat out the final pounds. Martell warns against "burn(ing) glycogen" on the day of weigh-ins (with competition the following day and using a sauna instead. Hopefully, layers of sweatclothes all day and a heated drive to Kent will suffice.
Martell also recommends a small meal three hours before competing, which would be at about 7-7:30 am on Saturday for me. I think I'm going to caravan with everyone else (for the first time), which will have us leaving from the academy at 8 am, so a 7 am meal makes sense from that perspective, as well. I'm thinking a little chicken, a little rice, and some water for breakfast, with some raisins, almonds and the Drink for the ride south.
