Rodrigo lead the no-gi class. I saw Cindy for about a minute as she dashed past. I'd been meaning to get back into the rhythm of her Thursday no-gi sessions, but that will have to wait for later in the month. Strangely enough, it turns out that she never left (or left and came back) because she was up on the mat when I left, hobbling, for the night (more on that later).
We started with the warm-up and some pummeling - quite a bit of pummeling, actually, with some calisthenics (mostly pushups) added in between. It was good work and I felt very solid cardio-wise working with Frank, a smaller white belt that I've trained with a little bit over the past several weeks.
The main lesson for the day were two attacks from the sitting guard. They were basically designed to deal with a potential passer either attacking with elbows closed or open.
If the elbows were closed, then the attack was a sweep. You bear-hug the guys arms as high up under the arms as possible and then, depending on the side he gives you, hook sweep him in the direction he is already moving.
If the elbows are open, the attack was a straight armlock. Here, you slid in quickly, underhooking the arm at the shoulder with the same side arm and reaching over the top with your opposite arm and clasping your hands in a gable grip. Importantly, you want your head to be as close to the grip as possible so that you can trap the arm early. If you get the trap, then all you need to do is fall back and to your side, slowly sliding your head along the arm until your head reaches the bend of the wrist. By this time, you should be on your side with the attacked arm in front of you and your outside/top leg's foot in the hip. It looks a little like Rickson's take the back move from Saulo's book.
Make sure you slide your hands also so that they are right by the elbow when you apply the pressure for the armlock.
Not a bad day on the mat. I was doing some good work from half guard. Nothing special. But the heat and the workout eventually caught up with me and my left calf cramped severely after I had just done my hook sweep counter to the crossface. It was as bad as any cramp I'd had in awhile and pretty much took me out of training for the day.
