A couple of good daylight training sessions in the first half of the week. Professor Carlos has us working on a kneeling guard break with a specific calf block on the pinned leg (pivoting on the inside knee and swinging the lower leg over the knee above the thigh) on Monday. Wednesday, I arrived too late for the class, but was able to catch up with Professor Rodrigo who had been pretty sick last week.
I also managed to get in some Live Training on Wednesday, three eight-minute rounds with JM, Angela and Will. It was pretty much exactly what I needed to get back into things: plenty of movement, diverse body types and jiu-jitsu styles. Professor Carlos told me that we'd be training together on Friday, and I suspect that he has something special (i.e., leglocks) in store.
Maybe I'll have a little tienda of my own. I've made a re-commitment to the half-guard over the past couple of days, going back to basics of the position: the reguarding, the off-balancing, the transitions. Professor Rodrigo, like a lot of Brazilians and old school guys I suspect, refers to a lot of the different "variations" of guard like X-guard and sitting guard, as just "half guard", and I think there's a lot to thinking this way that will help me really take maximum advantage of the position that has defined my jiu-jitsu guard game ever since I had one.
What's working? Kesting's Banana Peel reverse, which is new and gives me something specific to do when in a deep skirt counter to the knee cross, is working. The Blood Zeke and Feitosa Stack Pass are working. Book 'Em 2 Flat Pass is working. Spin Move is working. Push-ups are working.
Looking to add the Double Sticky Paw (DSP) backtake from half. The "Sievert Slide" backtake after crossing the arm in closed guard (this one just picked up this afternoon, thanks Prof and Chaim!). Maybe the single-leg takedown off the shin guard.
A very not nice 162.1 on the scale post-train. A sub 160 Friday daylight weigh-in and I'll call it even.
