Training Day: Tuesday (Or,

Walking into Gracie Barra 3.0 these days reminds me of nothing so much as the UFC Training Center in The Ultimate Fighter reality show. I almost expect to see larger-than-life, monochromatic paintings of Carlos Sr., Carlos Jr., Prof. Feitosa and Mamazinho hanging from the ceiling and fixed to the walls.

It was also great to be back training at night. As much as I love the early class, the late class is where I came in, so to speak, and there's still nothing like a great evening training when the Live Training or Open Mat feels like it could go on for hours into the night. I got to work with Clint on the same takedowns from Monday (ouchi gari / ouchi gari counter to ankle pick), as well as the guard pass against the sitting guard (smash knee at sharp angle, scoop opposite leg to belt grip, outside shoulder to midsection), going both smash side and scoop.

Live training with Lance (first and last), Clint and Brock. I could feel the two-week layoff, but I was glad to close down the mat. That bodes well for having the stamina to train hard for the next few weeks leading up to the November Revolution.

It will take some time to integrate some of what I've been studying off-mat. Right now, I'm focusing on tightening up the half guard game: the Rodeo and Dogfight positions, as well as the Twist and Tackle, and I'll see what Marcelo guard and Glover guard I can add to my game over the next week or two (I'm hoping for Marcelo's shin guard sweep and Glover's Homer sweep - maybe with today's guard pass (The Week Four? The Smoop?) to avoid the inevitable triangle attack.

Unofficial weight around 156-157 at home after training. A great place for me to say for the next month and a half or so.