Good hard, pre-competition training. Even if there ever comes a day when I stop competing (yeah, right, Senior 4 anyone?), there will never follow a day when I don't enjoy the kind of training we do when competition draws near. Everything is kicked up a notch: faster, more intense, more precise.
The takedown for today was the ouchi gari, the inside leg hook I call "drag 'em to Hell". The footwork here is a diagonal step forward and out on the sleeve side and a drag on the collar side. When the guy takes the step forward from the collar drag, slide your collar side foot inside and around to hook the guy's step forward foot. Close your leg around the ankle, pull hard on the collar, and drive forward into closed guard.
The follow-up on the ouchi gari is the Jacare or the ankle pick. Here, if the guy steps out and around your inside hook, then you keep your grip on the collar and with your other hand pick up the ankle on the other leg. Lift and drive the guy in a backward circle for the single leg finish.
We also did some half guard specific, followed by some side control and closed guard specific. I got to work with Benny the Purple, who is a great guy to work with in general and an ideal guy to work with as the Revolution draws near. I got to train with him some more during Live Training, in addition to rolling with Rodrigo and Dex.
What's working with ten days left until the Revolution? I was able to make some significant improvements in my deep half tonight, focusing more on positioning and controling the ankle. It's still largely defensive. But if I can avoid getting triangled from the deep half, then I'll be more than grateful (BTW, a thousand thanks to Mr. Glover for his quick response and insightful tips on fixing THAT problem!)
164.8 on the scale post train, everything but the coat. That's about five pounds heavier than I want to be a week from now. But otherwise, I've got no complaints.
