Took Thursday off from training. I was feeling more than a little worn down and probably unduly traumatized at the prospect of Rodrigo's potentially broken thumb. With any luck I'll be on the mat Friday to make my four mat appearances for the week.
If my last post on the Tozi/Wilson Reis/Sao Paulo pass was "ground passing gold," then how what does that make this excellent breakdown by Justin Garcia of Jungle Gym on the same guard pass series, which he calls the Chim Chim pass? Ground passing platinum?
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Works for me. Justin points out a couple of key details that I was missing in my execution of this pass.
1. How to do the "dive" portion of the set-up in three easy steps (inch, walk, sprawl).
2. What is necessary (and not necessary) in getting the underhook and keeping your shoulder pressure heavy.
3. The best way to actually open the guard using your trailing knee based on the way the guy has his ankles locked. A key point here was to keep a grip on the ankle (slide your grip down the leg to get to the ankle) and then to use your trailing knee to wedge the ankles apart. You'll either bring your trailing knee inside and push back against the locked ankles or bring your trailing knee outside and bring it forward to pop the ankles open.
4. A last point had to do with actually clearing the legs. Justin calls it the step and hook, and it was definitely something that Tozi pointed out in his instructional. With your grip on the ankle intact, you want to step over the leg with your trailing leg and then, as you come up on your other knee, swing your calf over as your rotate on your knee and pass the guard. Again, the idea is to avoid getting put in the half guard.
Anyway, incredible stuff and enough to make me convinced that I'll be making the Tozi/Wilson Reis/Sao Paulo and Chim-Chim pass part of my competition gameplan for 2009.
