Rodrigo started us off with the other collar drag takedown - the one I'm not so good at. I'm going to call it Dog Tail (as opposed to Rip Cord, the other collar drag takedown) because the key to getting into position is to circle away from the drag to attack the near leg (opposite the drag side). This circling is as critical to the Dog Tail as the step/stepback is to Rip Cord. Dog Tail also reminds me to get low on the leg (cue Frank Zappa's Zombie Wolf) with my head in tight and working ("circling") toward the back.
Rodrigo added a deep half sweep in case the guy sprawled or posted to avoid the takedown. Actually, he added two. The first was to shoot in with your outside, up leg, roll under, and reach for an X-guard type roll and sweep. Version two had you attack the sleeve rather than the collar, and go to both knees after the takedown and then shoot in with the near leg (the leg that had been knee down and part of the takedown) and roll under (back to front). This version was more than a little tricky for me. But the first version really seemed to feel right.
We also did the headlock defense, the one where you step over and hook the guy's up knee, and then hip out to get your far leg's knee on the mat. This combines with the leg over headlock counter we did last night that I think I forgot to write about.
Self-defense was the guillotine and standing guillotine counter ( look in toward the body, hold the wrist, reach over the back, close the elbow and walk around in that direction, kick the leg and takedown backwards ...). The A-frame triangle on the back of the guy sprawling was key to the set-up.
We also worked a side control escape to guard. If the guy has both arms over, his elbows checking your head and hip, then you can forearm brace at his forearm and neck, bridge into him and slide your inside knee between the two of you. If necessary, hipscape to get additional space to recover full guard.
In the advanced class, we worked that second takedown to deep half as part of the specific. Then a lot of guard/pass guard. I felt a lot like I did on Monday: moving pretty decently in my transitions from the guard and being patient and Roger-like when passing from standing (almost 100% of the time). The flow was very nice and I felt a lot less fatigued at the end of the night than I have in weeks. I'm trying to work through my progressions: sit-up guard with Skeedaddle or the guillotine/kimura to crossover sweep ... breakdown guard with Guy La Fleur ... Rap Star ... the half ... My guard game is starting to coalesce in ways I hadn't anticipated. I've essentially created a menu that is nothing but appetizers. But by the time the server delivers the espresso and Sambuca, you know you've had a meal.
