What do you get when you're off the mat for four days in a row? A post-training weigh-in of 162.4.
I've been binge-ing it up, starting relatively strong but fading late in the day into fast food and even faster desserts. For me, sudden eating jags almost always mean anxiety. But I really can't spot the loci of any particular panic. The Subleague is a month away. The wife's new job is going well one week in. My gig is actually getting better in some ways though, as Ms. Rosanadana would remind us, there's always something ...
I had a great week of training last week - four days in a row - then a great Saturday working in the backyard helping transition into spring. So maybe I'm just having a little let down. I felt sloppy during the tatame, as if I weren't really able to commit to any move. Again, as I told myself, this is why ATM is so important: if nothing else, it's an opportunity to get some of that rusty water out of the pipe.
There's still a good chance that I'll be able to get four trainings in this week. What's equally important is making those training sessions count by working on some of the specific issue areas. To be fair, I did get the walking armlock from side control at one point, a submission I don't think I've gotten more than once or twice before. And I was trying very hard to figure out a way to set-up King Crimson and some arm drags from the closed guard. But my partners were having none of it, and that is a credit to all of us.
One of the most annoying things - almost a Code Red - is my passing of the half guard. I do think I'm seeing very clearly what I'm doing wrong, steps I'm leaving out due to impatience and laziness. But if the half guard is going to be my special part of the ocean, then I need to master attacking from the half as well as attacking the half. Watchdog to Ballerina Pass. Watchdog to Knee Wedge. Over/Under to Knee Cross. Over/Under to Switch Wedge. Work the passes, one after the other after the other.
The lesson for tonight was working from standup. We did single legs, a counter/escape to the single leg, and a counter/takedown to the single leg.
From collar and sleeve, Rodrigo had us pull up sharply on both grips, then dropping to the rear knee and scooping up the front leg for the single leg. He emphasized keeping your head to the inside for this single leg attack. Bear-hugging the leg and bringing your legs together as you drove your shoulder into the guy or tripped him completed the takedown.
The counter/escape had you first push the head down and away from the trapped leg. If there is space, then you want to slip your near/inside arm between his arms and chest and grab his far collar. While pushing down and away on the head, pull up on the collar, bringing your elbow up.
At the same time, you want to take your leg and hook it around the outside of the guy's leg so that he can't control it between his legs. From there, angle the knee on your trapped leg away from him and kick your leg down and free. In some ways it is similar to the motion of the Knee Cross.
The takedown was a roll. In this instance, you want to work the guy's head to the outside (he may have it there already). With your far hand, stuff the guy's forwardmost arm and with your near hand, reach over the back and grab the belt or pants.
If you don't have the momentum of him moving forward, then you can step forward with your free leg, stepping a little past his foot, and then sit down into the backroll and kick up with the trapped leg. If you get the motion accurately, then the roll will be almost effortless. End in mount or side control, depending on whether you sustain the hook all the way through the roll.
Rodrigo showed us another move, a way to take the back if you do get taken down with the single leg. It was very counter-intuitive because rather than turn your weight and hips into the guy's head as we were for the other moves, in this one, once he takes you to the mat, say, by just being able to drive you straight backward, you want to actually plant with the arm on the same side as the trapped leg. Plant your free foot wide to the side and do a seat-to-knees (like a back2knees from sitting) to free your trapped leg.
Good work tonight, though both Lindsey and Rodrigo got a little banged up tonight (back and knee, respectively). Also Jimmy, who just got his purple belt a few weeks ago, was getting cut up from something.
Looking forward to getting back on the mat tomorrow. Need to get more of this rust out of the system.
