Missed the first half of class due to obligations at the Daily Planet - or at least the desire to be "at the ready" for potential obligations at the Daily Planet. As frustrating as that was, I was rewarded by the fact that the sweep Prof Carlos was teaching as I walked through the door of the academy was the infamous Jean-Jacques Machado sweep off the shin guard.I call this sweep infamous because I've seen a lot of different folks do it: from JJ Machado himself to Stephan Kesting in his excellent half guard video. But what I haven't seen any do is actually "teach" the sweep, step-by-step, in slow motion and with critical details. However much I may have missed most of Friday's training, I got more than my time's worth by getting to see this sweep in action - under instruction.
A couple of key points. Prof Carlos emphasized getting to your side - something that my matwork (TM) drills have really helped forge into muscle memory. He referred to it as "putting your ear on the ground" as you move for the dive under. He also emphasized using a strong "fist-hand" curled behind the knee of the off-leg. I saw a few guys grabbing the pants and a few others using an open hand. Neither of those is the way to go. Drive that off-hand up behind the knee almost like a Popeye uppercut - it is part of the project to disrupt the base.
Another detail came courtesy of Jesse after class. Jesse really focused on using both legs to lock up the shin guard. Prof Carlos used a similar pressure, but kept his off leg straight rather than curled around the standing opponent's trapped leg. I suspect this is something that can be adjusted depending on the resistance and type of pass the opponent is working toward.
We also worked on an interesting trap from the closed guard against a standing opponent. Here, with double sleeve control as he stands, you triangle his legs low beneath the knees. Pull the sleeves over and toward you on the side your triangle-leg lock is on. Plant your free foot on the mat and turn in the opposite direction.
This was a tricky one. Working with Glenn and Fred, I was able to get the sweep a little more certainly when I pulled the triangle in toward my chest a bit before rolling. The problem with that approach seemed to be that you lost control of the potential for mount as you come up on top.
Open Mat was very good. I'm doing a lot with some pretty barbarian hook sweeps, to which I credit strongly my matwork (TM) drilling. Yesterday, as part of Threshold Training, I did 80 hook sweeps L/R, for example. That's what building the circuitry, the drilling the "muscle memory", can do for you. I also got to work with Angus and Tom, showing them elements of my King Crimson (kimura, crossover sweep, guillotine ...) game, which was a lot of fun.
Speaking of a lot of fun, I'm back on the dark side of 162, weighing in at 163.6 - everything but the coat. At a certain level, this is a terrible number for a Friday post-train. But at the end of the day, it is less than 2 pounds above my maximum weight for the tournament next Saturday. It may not be pretty. But making my number should be no problem.
A few close calls with headbutts, but the cut above my good eye seems to have made it through training unscathed. If I can get past Saturday's competition training similarly unblemished that might be all the time I need to let this petit gash seal up nice and tight ahead of the Seattle Open.
