151.5
That's my official weigh-in late this afternoon at Foster BJJ, nearly 3 1/2 pounds under the lightweight limit.
There were noticeable fewer people registering and weighing-in compared to the event at the beginning of the year. I always forget how much summer vacation plays a role in attendance at the July Revolution. I think last year, my last competition as a blue belt, there were only four of us. This past spring, in the purple belt LW division, there were six.
I had a great training Friday. Just what the doctor ordered. I got to work the kouchi gari with success, the Jacare with success and, maybe even more importantly, both the hug/kick half guard pass and the #1 closed guard open and pass from standing. It was pretty incredible.
I got to work with the black belt Joe, who I haven't seen in awhile. Rodrigo had us work on guard passes. The first was the underhook where you bring your inside elbow tight and reach under and grab the belt with the outside grip. Step deep (to his armpit) with the leg on the belt-grip side and pull him into you as you move your hips forward. Remember to drop your head between his head and his knee as you move into side control.
The second pass was one that I really, really want to focus on after the tournament. Here, you take advantage of the guy hipscaping back when you open the guard on the ground. Your move is to reach between his legs with your inside grip and cup the knee on his inside leg. A little bit above the knee is fine. With your outside grip, you want to control the sleeve on that side.
Sprawl out with your head in his abdomen area, pressing him down. Walk around to avoid the hook (it may be there, it may not), keeping the pressure. When you get to the side, all you need to do is pull up on the sleeve and pull up on the knee to get an excellent opening to side control.
The last pass came from standing. This was the one where you controlled the abdomen and the knee. The trick was to press forward with your knee, challenging his open guard and inducing him to push back. The order of the pass was: press forward, step back, then hop onto your outside foot as you kick back your inside leg and then swing it around to knee on stomach.
Like I said, a great training day - and one of the more productive classes, I've had. It also probably doesn't hurt that today was my fourth class this week and I'm becoming a fanatical convert to the idea that Mat Time Cures All Ills. I'm becoming convinced that a Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday training schedule might be just the ticket to help me get better at the pace at which I want to improve.
We'll see what happens tomorrow. My record-breaking 151.5 weigh-in may be one example, but I have to admit that I feel better prepared for this tournament than I have for any other I've competed in. I've got my jitters, to be sure. And am enjoying a Mariners home game in HD to help pass the time between now and then (if worse comes to worse, I'm tossing in The International.).
But I've got a plan. And more than that - much more than that - a plan that has been tested at least to some degree in training. I think that has been the missing link. The success I had with the half guard earlier this year was an example of familiarity developed through training the same situation over and over in training can be priceless when you are "in the spot" - as Saulo puts it.
