Showing posts with label 2 on 1 guard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2 on 1 guard. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2015
Monday, February 13, 2012
Training Day: Monday
Trained with Bryan today, working on different elements from the fundamentals program: side control escape to turtle position, turtle to taking the back with an emphasis on putting in the hooks by rolling over the shoulder, and finally putting it all together and attacking with the choke.
Three rounds of Live Training: J.M., Bryan and Chaim - tough rolls all. One thing that is very clear about training from my Cobra guard position is that I need to re-emphasize the arm control that Marcelo uses from this position. I'm just allowing far too much movement and grips, and not doing enough to take advantage of the fact that I'm in a relatively unfamiliar position for most folks. That 2-on-1 grip is critical to avoid the guardpasser getting momentum and confidence about the pass by putting him initially on the defense (trying to escape your 2-on-1 control).
Also thanks to Professor Carlos for the help with the Ryan roll. I'm feeling pretty good about attacking with the roll from the backstep against the half, and from the deep half the way Ryan did at the Houston Open last weekend. But I still don't quite have the feel for the straight half guard version, where you walk the guy into exposing his back by doing a Roger Gracie half guard pass, then turn 90 degrees toward the back and execute the roll. Trying it a time or two with Bryan, I didn't get the initial move right. Fortunately, I remember Prof Rodrigo showing us this move a few weeks ago. I'll have to remember to ask him about it this week.
So I need that review, plus a little drilling with the deep to X and RDLR to back transitions and then I'll be ready to put in some serious drilling volume on all of these variations.
A very wonderful 156.5 on the scale-post-train in the gi. Maybe it was the scale, but that is almost exactly where I want to be on a training day-in, training day-out basis. Eu sou pena, after all!
Three rounds of Live Training: J.M., Bryan and Chaim - tough rolls all. One thing that is very clear about training from my Cobra guard position is that I need to re-emphasize the arm control that Marcelo uses from this position. I'm just allowing far too much movement and grips, and not doing enough to take advantage of the fact that I'm in a relatively unfamiliar position for most folks. That 2-on-1 grip is critical to avoid the guardpasser getting momentum and confidence about the pass by putting him initially on the defense (trying to escape your 2-on-1 control).
Also thanks to Professor Carlos for the help with the Ryan roll. I'm feeling pretty good about attacking with the roll from the backstep against the half, and from the deep half the way Ryan did at the Houston Open last weekend. But I still don't quite have the feel for the straight half guard version, where you walk the guy into exposing his back by doing a Roger Gracie half guard pass, then turn 90 degrees toward the back and execute the roll. Trying it a time or two with Bryan, I didn't get the initial move right. Fortunately, I remember Prof Rodrigo showing us this move a few weeks ago. I'll have to remember to ask him about it this week.
So I need that review, plus a little drilling with the deep to X and RDLR to back transitions and then I'll be ready to put in some serious drilling volume on all of these variations.
A very wonderful 156.5 on the scale-post-train in the gi. Maybe it was the scale, but that is almost exactly where I want to be on a training day-in, training day-out basis. Eu sou pena, after all!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Training Day: Monday
Back on the mat after almost two weeks off due to illness and recovery ... According to Rodrigo, we had quite a few guys who were out sick over the past week - including Rodrigo himself, who just got back on the mat to train this past Saturday. I know that there were a lot of UW football players who were also sick according to the folks over at KJR-AM, so there was definitely something wicked going 'round here in Seattle.
My first training at the new GB Seattle 3.0. I really, really love the new facility. It's spacious and roomy, combining the best of the Tully's location (GB Seattle 1.0) with the best of the "Treehouse" a few miles north (GB Seattle 2.0), and then upping them both with new amenities and an overall "feel" that is going to be great to train and compete in.
I took the Advanced Class today. We are on Week Four of the Advanced curriculum, working on the ko uchi gari takedown, the ankle pick off the failed ko uchi gari, and a smash 'n' scoop butterfly/sitting guard pass that's a bit similar to the underhook/overhook pass that Mike Fowler shows on his DVD. Professor Carlos emphasized one detail, pinning the shin of the smashed leg with your inside shin to avoid the half guard. But the pass was similar in many ways.
The technical part of the class ran long, so I wasn't able to get in any training today. I'll pick that up tomorrow night, I'm sure, and it will be nice to roll out some of the work I've done on improving my half guard and 2on1 guard games.
My first training at the new GB Seattle 3.0. I really, really love the new facility. It's spacious and roomy, combining the best of the Tully's location (GB Seattle 1.0) with the best of the "Treehouse" a few miles north (GB Seattle 2.0), and then upping them both with new amenities and an overall "feel" that is going to be great to train and compete in.
I took the Advanced Class today. We are on Week Four of the Advanced curriculum, working on the ko uchi gari takedown, the ankle pick off the failed ko uchi gari, and a smash 'n' scoop butterfly/sitting guard pass that's a bit similar to the underhook/overhook pass that Mike Fowler shows on his DVD. Professor Carlos emphasized one detail, pinning the shin of the smashed leg with your inside shin to avoid the half guard. But the pass was similar in many ways.
The technical part of the class ran long, so I wasn't able to get in any training today. I'll pick that up tomorrow night, I'm sure, and it will be nice to roll out some of the work I've done on improving my half guard and 2on1 guard games.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Training Day: Friday
Recently in the grappling forum over at Sherdog, someone started a thread about aggressiveness in jiu jitsu.
One of the things I've learned from studying Marcelo Garcia is that aggressiveness in jiu jitsu comes primarily from having a plan, a 1-2-3-reset/transition-1-2-3 that gets you from unfamiliar or poor situations to better ones, and from familiar or good situations to finishes. In a sense, it is so clear, so obvious. But nothing undermines that obviousness like the calculus of physical combat, the ever more divisible units of anticipation, reaction, deception and panic.
So the trick is to turn that calculus into, at worst, algebra, cornering the variables with as many constants as you can. On my way to training Friday I get caught by the bridge so I'm going through my progressions from the 2 on 1 while Otis Smith thumps on the iPod: hook sweep, arm drag, cross to back ...
What I missed, and what could have served me well during my toughest roll of the day, was the gi grip break. I had just been reviewing this grip break earlier today. But when the opportunity to use it came, I couldn't put it together and ended up trying the no gi version - which didn't stand a chance.
Knowing what to do makes it a lot easier to move from one attack to another, makes it easier to be aggressive even if "aggressiveness" is against your nature or your "style". A little pick up in the pace, sure. A little more determination and patience, yes. But, more than anything else, it trick - the technical trick of it all - seems to boil down to just having a map of the terrain, and a means of getting back to that terrain if you find yourself off course.
For all my time working on the half guard, this is my biggest weakness with the position. Right now, my half guard is really just a set of moves from different spots - not unlike my guard passing game - rather than a coherent start-to-finish plan for getting to the top from half guard (or, again, for passing the guard). I haven't been evolving the position like I should have, introducing the shin block more frequently from long half, making the deep half a bigger priority when the space is there.
Learning a new guard set-up like the 2 on 1 at this point in my jiu jitsu training really exposes the deficiencies in my current half guard game, a game that has carried me through blue and purple belts and is still a large part of what I do when I end up on the bottom. But in order to make the half guard really work for me at this level and against the bigger, better guys I'm increasingly training with, I need to turn my half guard into the sort of problem-solving equation that will allow me to be more aggressive, spend less time on the bottom and create better opportunities for myself to get to the top.
156.6 on the scale post-train. A week out from the Seattle Open, that's just about perfect. Competition team training tomorrow. I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do about next week, but there's a fairly good chance that I'll be spending at least one or two evenings navigating the 405.
One of the things I've learned from studying Marcelo Garcia is that aggressiveness in jiu jitsu comes primarily from having a plan, a 1-2-3-reset/transition-1-2-3 that gets you from unfamiliar or poor situations to better ones, and from familiar or good situations to finishes. In a sense, it is so clear, so obvious. But nothing undermines that obviousness like the calculus of physical combat, the ever more divisible units of anticipation, reaction, deception and panic.
So the trick is to turn that calculus into, at worst, algebra, cornering the variables with as many constants as you can. On my way to training Friday I get caught by the bridge so I'm going through my progressions from the 2 on 1 while Otis Smith thumps on the iPod: hook sweep, arm drag, cross to back ...
What I missed, and what could have served me well during my toughest roll of the day, was the gi grip break. I had just been reviewing this grip break earlier today. But when the opportunity to use it came, I couldn't put it together and ended up trying the no gi version - which didn't stand a chance.
Knowing what to do makes it a lot easier to move from one attack to another, makes it easier to be aggressive even if "aggressiveness" is against your nature or your "style". A little pick up in the pace, sure. A little more determination and patience, yes. But, more than anything else, it trick - the technical trick of it all - seems to boil down to just having a map of the terrain, and a means of getting back to that terrain if you find yourself off course.
For all my time working on the half guard, this is my biggest weakness with the position. Right now, my half guard is really just a set of moves from different spots - not unlike my guard passing game - rather than a coherent start-to-finish plan for getting to the top from half guard (or, again, for passing the guard). I haven't been evolving the position like I should have, introducing the shin block more frequently from long half, making the deep half a bigger priority when the space is there.
Learning a new guard set-up like the 2 on 1 at this point in my jiu jitsu training really exposes the deficiencies in my current half guard game, a game that has carried me through blue and purple belts and is still a large part of what I do when I end up on the bottom. But in order to make the half guard really work for me at this level and against the bigger, better guys I'm increasingly training with, I need to turn my half guard into the sort of problem-solving equation that will allow me to be more aggressive, spend less time on the bottom and create better opportunities for myself to get to the top.
156.6 on the scale post-train. A week out from the Seattle Open, that's just about perfect. Competition team training tomorrow. I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do about next week, but there's a fairly good chance that I'll be spending at least one or two evenings navigating the 405.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Training Day: Saturday
I got to training a little late, but more than made up for lost time by rolling with a lot of good guys - top of the list being a roll with Rodrigo. I've noticed that both Profs. Rodrigo and Carlos both like to attack the guard from standing from time to time, which on Saturday gave me a great opportunity to work the single X. I didn't get much farther than the cross guard before Rodrigo passed. But it was nice to feel myself almost instinctively flow into the positions I wanted to be in. That's what I need to do more of.
The most important detail of the day has to be keeping my balance during the first stage of my half guard pass series. Both Jeremiah and Clint were able to reverse me backwards as I put pressure on the lower leg of their 1/2 guard lock and wedged my free knee inside. I think a little more control over the upper body is what was missing and what led to getting reversed. I'll need to check back in with the Saulo DVD to see if this is the detail I'm missing.
Still working the 2 on 1. I need to make sure that I move in for the kill the second the guy becomes distracted by trying to free his wrist. That's an excellent ""take the lead" opportunity that I need to look for more often. I also need to look to bail out into deep half, not just half, when things are getting dicey. That's the kind of thing that will give me confidence to continue to train from the bottom against bigger guys and when I'm tired.
157.8 on the scale post-train. Sunday officially starts Pre-Week: 3 weeks out from the Seattle Open and 9 weeks out from the November Revolution.
The most important detail of the day has to be keeping my balance during the first stage of my half guard pass series. Both Jeremiah and Clint were able to reverse me backwards as I put pressure on the lower leg of their 1/2 guard lock and wedged my free knee inside. I think a little more control over the upper body is what was missing and what led to getting reversed. I'll need to check back in with the Saulo DVD to see if this is the detail I'm missing.
Still working the 2 on 1. I need to make sure that I move in for the kill the second the guy becomes distracted by trying to free his wrist. That's an excellent ""take the lead" opportunity that I need to look for more often. I also need to look to bail out into deep half, not just half, when things are getting dicey. That's the kind of thing that will give me confidence to continue to train from the bottom against bigger guys and when I'm tired.
157.8 on the scale post-train. Sunday officially starts Pre-Week: 3 weeks out from the Seattle Open and 9 weeks out from the November Revolution.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Training Day: Wednesday
I've always had a very strange synchronity with jiu jitsu. I would be fixated on a certain problem, and then out of nowhere Mamazinho or Rodrigo would be basing the lesson of the day on that problem. In reality, it's probably simply a matter of most of the problems I had as a white belt and a blue belt were pretty common and always good for a lesson. But the experience was always exhilerating - making me think all the more that jiu jitsu "was for me."
Today was another episode in that series. I've been studying the 2 on 1 and looking for ways to deal with standing opponents. Right now, I'm looking at setting up the single X. But it was very nice to have Carlos teaching the cross guard (a relative of the 2 on 1) and the tripod sweep. There were some good details, like checking the ankle rather than the knee, and some more details that Brian picked up about using a torreano style pass to clear the legs after you "technical lift" to the top position. Now, out of the cross guard or 2 on 1, I've got the tripod sweep, the transition to the single X and, hopefully one day, the split back roll from Jiu Jitsu University.
Very good post-class training with Mark. We got in three sets of 10 armbars each, reviewed some side control escape fundamentals, and took another look at the pendulum sweep that he's said is one of his favorites. During a brief sparring session after, I made sure to attack with the pendulum sweep every opportunity I got to help give him a well-rounded sense of the position. One of the ways to get good at a position is to defend against it a lot. So as long as he has the pendulum sweep on his "A" list, I'm going to make sure I keep it in heavy rotation on mine whenever we get a chance to roll.
This is what it is going to take. I'm going to make something really special out of the time I spend at faixa marrom in terms of my own development and my own personal sense of contribution to the guys I train with every other day. I have a pretty good sense of what I need to do in order to be, one day, the kind of black belt I want to be and, with a few willing teammates, there's no doubt that I'll be able to get there. And any white belt or blue belt who's starting to feel a little lost in the mix and wants to roll along for the ride is more than welcome.
158.8 on the scale post-train after a good, but not especially rough training. I haven't figured out how I'm going to negotiate the final week of training leading up to the October tournament. There are potentially some training options that don't necessitate braving Seattle/Bellevue's notoriously terrible weekday highway traffic. But there's no way I'm going to take off the week before a tournament when I'm far more used to training four days the week of a tournament - including the Friday morning 24 hours beforehand. Maybe if I'd been a more successful tournament competitor, I'd feel differently. But I haven't been, so I don't. I need my mat time as much as, if not more than, just about everybody else I'm likely to face in the brown and brown/black belt divisions.
Today was another episode in that series. I've been studying the 2 on 1 and looking for ways to deal with standing opponents. Right now, I'm looking at setting up the single X. But it was very nice to have Carlos teaching the cross guard (a relative of the 2 on 1) and the tripod sweep. There were some good details, like checking the ankle rather than the knee, and some more details that Brian picked up about using a torreano style pass to clear the legs after you "technical lift" to the top position. Now, out of the cross guard or 2 on 1, I've got the tripod sweep, the transition to the single X and, hopefully one day, the split back roll from Jiu Jitsu University.
Very good post-class training with Mark. We got in three sets of 10 armbars each, reviewed some side control escape fundamentals, and took another look at the pendulum sweep that he's said is one of his favorites. During a brief sparring session after, I made sure to attack with the pendulum sweep every opportunity I got to help give him a well-rounded sense of the position. One of the ways to get good at a position is to defend against it a lot. So as long as he has the pendulum sweep on his "A" list, I'm going to make sure I keep it in heavy rotation on mine whenever we get a chance to roll.
This is what it is going to take. I'm going to make something really special out of the time I spend at faixa marrom in terms of my own development and my own personal sense of contribution to the guys I train with every other day. I have a pretty good sense of what I need to do in order to be, one day, the kind of black belt I want to be and, with a few willing teammates, there's no doubt that I'll be able to get there. And any white belt or blue belt who's starting to feel a little lost in the mix and wants to roll along for the ride is more than welcome.
158.8 on the scale post-train after a good, but not especially rough training. I haven't figured out how I'm going to negotiate the final week of training leading up to the October tournament. There are potentially some training options that don't necessitate braving Seattle/Bellevue's notoriously terrible weekday highway traffic. But there's no way I'm going to take off the week before a tournament when I'm far more used to training four days the week of a tournament - including the Friday morning 24 hours beforehand. Maybe if I'd been a more successful tournament competitor, I'd feel differently. But I haven't been, so I don't. I need my mat time as much as, if not more than, just about everybody else I'm likely to face in the brown and brown/black belt divisions.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Thoughts on the 2 on 1 & More!
While I look for a way around, over or under the psychic block that's apparently preventing me from working on the slingshot guard, I have been able to spend a lot of time on the 2 on 1. I haven't really pulled off the sweeps or the take-the-back. But I have begun to get more and more accustomed to the grips and controls, as well as the sort of opportunities they might provide.
One thing I noticed is that any fight to free the wrist works in my favor because it gives me the opportunity to be first with the attack. If I have the elbow then as far as the sweep or the back take is concerned, the wrist is just a compliment.
It's not quite the "deception" in my Batman Begins-esque formulation. But there are some of the same elements. Marcelo says that "any time you defend you are losing the fight"; Patton: "advancing constantly" ... One way to attack is by distracting the opponent, helping him waste his time and energy not just in defending, but often in defending attacks that might not even exist.
Back on the mat tomorrow. I did some hip flexor and abs work today, 6 of 20 glute bridges, solo armbars, decline sit-ups and incline leg raises. I'm trying to put this work in the same category, ultimately, as the stretching, which has become an early training year success story. The shoulder feels better every day - I don't know how much credit to give the Cissus, but I'm sticking with what's working.
In a lot of ways, the October 2nd tournament will be like having a home opener at a new stadium. Rodrigo plans to have the tournaments as a regular series, with three or four events a year. And while they won't be quite as big as the Revolution events, they will be sizable, "3-4 mats at a time" productions, with a good number of schools participating.
I haven't seen the new facility, even from the outside. I think a couple of guys trooped over there on Monday after training, but it will still be a surprise for me when I finally get to take a look-see for myself. From what I've heard, it will be hard to miss the old "treehouse" we've been training in for the past couple of years - which is good news, sentimentality notwithstanding.
One thing I noticed is that any fight to free the wrist works in my favor because it gives me the opportunity to be first with the attack. If I have the elbow then as far as the sweep or the back take is concerned, the wrist is just a compliment.
It's not quite the "deception" in my Batman Begins-esque formulation. But there are some of the same elements. Marcelo says that "any time you defend you are losing the fight"; Patton: "advancing constantly" ... One way to attack is by distracting the opponent, helping him waste his time and energy not just in defending, but often in defending attacks that might not even exist.
Back on the mat tomorrow. I did some hip flexor and abs work today, 6 of 20 glute bridges, solo armbars, decline sit-ups and incline leg raises. I'm trying to put this work in the same category, ultimately, as the stretching, which has become an early training year success story. The shoulder feels better every day - I don't know how much credit to give the Cissus, but I'm sticking with what's working.
In a lot of ways, the October 2nd tournament will be like having a home opener at a new stadium. Rodrigo plans to have the tournaments as a regular series, with three or four events a year. And while they won't be quite as big as the Revolution events, they will be sizable, "3-4 mats at a time" productions, with a good number of schools participating.
I haven't seen the new facility, even from the outside. I think a couple of guys trooped over there on Monday after training, but it will still be a surprise for me when I finally get to take a look-see for myself. From what I've heard, it will be hard to miss the old "treehouse" we've been training in for the past couple of years - which is good news, sentimentality notwithstanding.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Training Day: Monday
Live Training only today - given the holiday-nature of the day. That was fine with me. I've been debating changing my training schedule to include a lot more Live Training than usual. And while I haven't fully decided on a schedule for the fall, I'm close - and today's time spent Live Training only confirmed it.
Did a little Rap Star, but by far most of my time from the guard was spent working on the 2 on 1. Some nice success with hook sweeps and sleeve control out of that guard, but I'm still definitely getting used to it. There were probably some take-the-back opportunities that I missed, especially when guys got preoccupied with trying to free their wrist.
I also noticed that there might be a armbar/pendulum sweep option when guys over commit to trying to free their wrist using the other, free arm. Something to keep an eye on.
Speaking of armbars and pendulum sweeps, the first day of Operation Escola Na Escola is off to a pretty good start. I'm very much taking Griff's advice to build an environment that will help my jiu jitsu continue to improve - and hopefully at an even faster pace than it has for the past 5+ years. Like everything else in jiu jitsu, it's a matter of working on things a little bit each day - and to recognize that any work done after-hours will just continue to add up and add up over time.
A part of this is also about my sanity. There is a lot of change at the academy these days and while 99% of it is for the good, change is change and some of us deal better with it than others. As someone who can be a real slave for stability, I'll admit that this occasionally leaves me feeling a little lost and adrift in the school I've been training in for the better part of a decade.
"Escola na escola" should go a long way toward helping minimize these feelings, especially since I'm not likely to make my mark on Gracie Barra Seattle as an outstanding competitor or great teacher. As much as the Operation is about making my own process better and more robust, it is also about becoming a real asset for guys and gals who are blue belts and just really starting to get going in jiu jitsu. There's so much that I feel like I figured out the hard way over the past year and a half; if I can spare any blue belt some of the confusion and moments of jiu jitsu angst that I experienced, then the whole thing will be more than worth it.
159.0 on the scale post-train. I was about three pounds over in the gi before training - and in my heavier gi - which is fine. It's all IBJJF rules from here on out, meaning 167.5 in the gi about about 162 out of it are my marks.
Did a little Rap Star, but by far most of my time from the guard was spent working on the 2 on 1. Some nice success with hook sweeps and sleeve control out of that guard, but I'm still definitely getting used to it. There were probably some take-the-back opportunities that I missed, especially when guys got preoccupied with trying to free their wrist.
I also noticed that there might be a armbar/pendulum sweep option when guys over commit to trying to free their wrist using the other, free arm. Something to keep an eye on.
Speaking of armbars and pendulum sweeps, the first day of Operation Escola Na Escola is off to a pretty good start. I'm very much taking Griff's advice to build an environment that will help my jiu jitsu continue to improve - and hopefully at an even faster pace than it has for the past 5+ years. Like everything else in jiu jitsu, it's a matter of working on things a little bit each day - and to recognize that any work done after-hours will just continue to add up and add up over time.
A part of this is also about my sanity. There is a lot of change at the academy these days and while 99% of it is for the good, change is change and some of us deal better with it than others. As someone who can be a real slave for stability, I'll admit that this occasionally leaves me feeling a little lost and adrift in the school I've been training in for the better part of a decade.
"Escola na escola" should go a long way toward helping minimize these feelings, especially since I'm not likely to make my mark on Gracie Barra Seattle as an outstanding competitor or great teacher. As much as the Operation is about making my own process better and more robust, it is also about becoming a real asset for guys and gals who are blue belts and just really starting to get going in jiu jitsu. There's so much that I feel like I figured out the hard way over the past year and a half; if I can spare any blue belt some of the confusion and moments of jiu jitsu angst that I experienced, then the whole thing will be more than worth it.
159.0 on the scale post-train. I was about three pounds over in the gi before training - and in my heavier gi - which is fine. It's all IBJJF rules from here on out, meaning 167.5 in the gi about about 162 out of it are my marks.
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