We started off with the ouchi gari-like takedown that Rodrigo had us working on from Monday. I was doing some "kata" with it before class and should be able to add it into my conditioning routine as another jiu jitsu-specific drill.
I'm calling that takedown "Machida" for now. Very Lyoto like, IMO.
The move of the day were two sweeps from half guard. The half guard involved both a cross grip on the sleeve and a same side grip on the pants at the knee. The first was a tackle in the event that the guy sat back on his heel in response to your pulling and pushing action (critical).
The second was a twist/backroll in case he comes forward with his momentum. Here you want to make sure that you kick your crossbody leg (my left leg most of the time) when you kick your other leg. That's what really elevates the guy and makes it easier to control him as you roll over your sleeve-grip shoulder and pull then push with your knee grip as your reach the top and begin to roll over.
It also helps to focus on the fact that you are going to do the full backroll. When you reach the midpoint of the sweep, there's a temptation to transition to something else or scramble. And while there are opportunities there (Rodrigo showed us a few back-takes as examples), until I get the 1-2-3, it's probably a better idea to stick with the roll.
Insofar as I've made half-guard my home, I really owe it to myself to put this in my August Book. Now is the time to start trying to implement things that will ultimately be part of the gameplan this fall and beyond. And anything half guard is worth spending at least a few weeks on to see if it fits.
