Introduction to Neurotyping: The Type 3 Profile
Neurotyping: Nutrition for Type 3
Neurotyping: Training for Type 3
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Saturday, December 09, 2017
Wednesday, July 05, 2017
Get Lean
When growing crops, you can have the best fertilizers and ideal weather conditions but if the soil is rotten you will get very little production. The same is true with your body: You can provide it with as much protein as necessary, use the best supplements, and train hard but if your body is “rotten” you will not progress optimally. It will be difficult both to build muscle and lose fat.
-- Christian Thibaudeau
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Training Day: Saturday
I've said it before: there is nothing better than training on a Saturday morning/afternoon.
One of the best things about today's training was getting to work on two passes of my 3 Blind Mice half-guard pass series: the knee cross and the cross wedge. The timing couldn't have been better since I was just thinking about how I need to tighten up my pass game in general, and my half-guard passing game in specific.
I felt like I had a lot of energy for today's training, and was moving much better - especially from the guard - than I have in a long time. I never, ever attack with traditional moves from the closed guard. But today I was able to attack effectively with both armbars and omoplatas from the guard. Again, it is hard to say how surprising it was - and I'm going to credit the little bit of closed guard drilling I did literally one week ago today for giving me the muscle memory to launch into those attacks when the opportunity presented itself.
Finished up with some HICT work (five minutes of hipscape laps) and cardiac output (three 1-min rounds of spin move). Again, felt very good energy-wise with max HR at 160 BPM at the end of all sessions. I'm really starting to think that there is something to be said for the Warrior Diet/Longevity Diet approach of keeping calories low and activity high. Not only does it seem to make it a lot easier to train longer, but it's probably the easiest way to a walking-around weight nearer a buck fi'ty.
Speaking of which, 160.4 on the scale, post-train, dressed to yonder nines as shall be the custom going forward.
P.S. Someone please tell me what the hell happened with Demian Maia tonight. He looked more sluggish out of the gate than I've ever seen him. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out that there was some sort of issue during training camp, like an illness or something, that affected his stamina.
One of the best things about today's training was getting to work on two passes of my 3 Blind Mice half-guard pass series: the knee cross and the cross wedge. The timing couldn't have been better since I was just thinking about how I need to tighten up my pass game in general, and my half-guard passing game in specific.
I felt like I had a lot of energy for today's training, and was moving much better - especially from the guard - than I have in a long time. I never, ever attack with traditional moves from the closed guard. But today I was able to attack effectively with both armbars and omoplatas from the guard. Again, it is hard to say how surprising it was - and I'm going to credit the little bit of closed guard drilling I did literally one week ago today for giving me the muscle memory to launch into those attacks when the opportunity presented itself.
Finished up with some HICT work (five minutes of hipscape laps) and cardiac output (three 1-min rounds of spin move). Again, felt very good energy-wise with max HR at 160 BPM at the end of all sessions. I'm really starting to think that there is something to be said for the Warrior Diet/Longevity Diet approach of keeping calories low and activity high. Not only does it seem to make it a lot easier to train longer, but it's probably the easiest way to a walking-around weight nearer a buck fi'ty.
Speaking of which, 160.4 on the scale, post-train, dressed to yonder nines as shall be the custom going forward.
P.S. Someone please tell me what the hell happened with Demian Maia tonight. He looked more sluggish out of the gate than I've ever seen him. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out that there was some sort of issue during training camp, like an illness or something, that affected his stamina.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Training Day: Saturday
Some good training today, getting to work with a couple of up 'n' coming guys as well as putting myself to the test with an 8-minute roll with Sauleh. As far as the latter is concerned, it's all about making incremental progress, fewer mistakes, more efficiency, etc. And on that score, it was very successful, very rewarding training and I'm looking forward to next Saturday when Sauleh is slated to be back.
To the former, it is always good jiu-jitsu karma to be on the lookout for ways to help guys improve their game without taking too much away from the fun and spontaneity of Saturday training. Hopefully, I got a good mix of that. In the same way that the best performers are not always the best teachers or coaches (i.e., Michael Jordan and Larry Bird), I feel I do a better job of conveying information that I often do in putting that information into praxis, as the kids say. At the same time, I don't want to be so pedagogical that people feel that they can't just relax and roll. After all, as Mrs. Burien Top Team always says before sending me out the Academy, "Make sure you have FUN."
156.6 on the scale post-train, everything but the coat. Doing pretty well on the maxi/mini meal plan (one small meal during the day/one large meal after training), feeling as if I've got plenty of energy while keeping my weight in a very nice range.
To the former, it is always good jiu-jitsu karma to be on the lookout for ways to help guys improve their game without taking too much away from the fun and spontaneity of Saturday training. Hopefully, I got a good mix of that. In the same way that the best performers are not always the best teachers or coaches (i.e., Michael Jordan and Larry Bird), I feel I do a better job of conveying information that I often do in putting that information into praxis, as the kids say. At the same time, I don't want to be so pedagogical that people feel that they can't just relax and roll. After all, as Mrs. Burien Top Team always says before sending me out the Academy, "Make sure you have FUN."
156.6 on the scale post-train, everything but the coat. Doing pretty well on the maxi/mini meal plan (one small meal during the day/one large meal after training), feeling as if I've got plenty of energy while keeping my weight in a very nice range.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Training Day: Thursday
Circumstances allowed me to give a Thursday night training a shot and it was very much worth it. I got to the academy early enough to do a little matwork (TM) before hooking up with Angus for some technique review. This is something I've really got to make a habit of - some of the most important breakthroughs have come from working with blue belts like Angus and Mark and Joe before or after class, reviewing specific problem areas and potential solutions.
Tonight we worked on the far side ankle pick from the collar drag. My preference has always been for the near side pick, the cross pick, using the drag to get the guy to put his weight on the foot you are seeking to attack. But the far side pick has it's advocates and both Prof Carlos and Prof Lindsey have both made the case for the far side pick.
Prof Carlos added a subtle guard pass at the end of the takedown, which then morphed into a guard pass with collar choke. Very good chain working - going all the way from takedown to finish - which is a really good way to think about jiu-jitsu.
Good hard training. We did a takedown King of the Hill that really put me through my paces. Having not worked on Live takedowns in several weeks, I was more tentative than I would have liked to have been, not really aggressively working Rip Cord, my ankle pick set-up and takedown, as I should have. One nice discovery/recollection was that the safe clinch is one of my favorite positions for a takedown. Obviously, not everybody is going to let you close the distance that much. But I love the push/pull of the safe clinch, and almost never have failed to get the takedown if I am fortunate enough to get the clinch.
Live training with Prof Casey, which is always a great study - and right now more than ever in many ways. I also got a chance to roll with Joe, who thankfully encouraged me off the sidelines when I was thinking about calling it an evening. A great roll with Joe, though maybe shorter than I would have liked due to recurrent leg cramps and overall fatigue on my part (the latter largely induced after fighting off a very tough triangle attack).
That said, I was still surprised to weigh in at 153.6 on the scale. That's among my lightest, post-train weights ever. Wednesday was a essentially a fast day (largely unintended) and today was a pretty low carb/low calorie day (one midday meal of steak and broiled greens and a piece of toast). Combine that with 24 minutes of HICT (high intensity continuous training) this morning and maybe it's not so surprising to see numbers so low.
At least it gives me license to eat! I just need to keep it relatively clean.
Tonight we worked on the far side ankle pick from the collar drag. My preference has always been for the near side pick, the cross pick, using the drag to get the guy to put his weight on the foot you are seeking to attack. But the far side pick has it's advocates and both Prof Carlos and Prof Lindsey have both made the case for the far side pick.
Prof Carlos added a subtle guard pass at the end of the takedown, which then morphed into a guard pass with collar choke. Very good chain working - going all the way from takedown to finish - which is a really good way to think about jiu-jitsu.
Good hard training. We did a takedown King of the Hill that really put me through my paces. Having not worked on Live takedowns in several weeks, I was more tentative than I would have liked to have been, not really aggressively working Rip Cord, my ankle pick set-up and takedown, as I should have. One nice discovery/recollection was that the safe clinch is one of my favorite positions for a takedown. Obviously, not everybody is going to let you close the distance that much. But I love the push/pull of the safe clinch, and almost never have failed to get the takedown if I am fortunate enough to get the clinch.
Live training with Prof Casey, which is always a great study - and right now more than ever in many ways. I also got a chance to roll with Joe, who thankfully encouraged me off the sidelines when I was thinking about calling it an evening. A great roll with Joe, though maybe shorter than I would have liked due to recurrent leg cramps and overall fatigue on my part (the latter largely induced after fighting off a very tough triangle attack).
That said, I was still surprised to weigh in at 153.6 on the scale. That's among my lightest, post-train weights ever. Wednesday was a essentially a fast day (largely unintended) and today was a pretty low carb/low calorie day (one midday meal of steak and broiled greens and a piece of toast). Combine that with 24 minutes of HICT (high intensity continuous training) this morning and maybe it's not so surprising to see numbers so low.
At least it gives me license to eat! I just need to keep it relatively clean.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Conditioning: Cardiac Output
Still experimenting with LSD-type training with minimal treadmill. Here's today's routine. It took about 35-40 minutes or so.
400m
Berardi round
matwork round
1/2 guard round (10 reps w/60s r x3)
360 drill round (10 reps w/60s r x3)
1200m
I've done this routine with abswork and the 3-part toreano drill, but I think I like it a little bit leaner, keeping skills-related activity to a minimum. This is a pure cardio circuit, so the idea is more constant movement and effort rather than precise movement. That's where the tempo training (Tuesdays and Saturdays) comes in.
I'll probably shuffle this so that I do all the shoes-on work in the beginning and the jiu-jitsu drill work at the end. That saves a little bit of time - though I have to admit that there's something I like about finishing up on the treadmill (though 800m at a time is probably a better way to go than 1200m!).
I really need to do a video of matwork sometime. I think it's a really nice combination of jiu-jitsu exercises that can be used in everything from cardiac output type work to anaerobic/lactic circuit training. I'd like to try a circuit of alternating matwork and Berardi rounds sometime - definitely something for the second half of the training camp.
I've been thinking about the diet thing and am probably headed back for another try at the Warrior Diet (with the Gracie Diet approach for undereating). I think the key to pulling it off over time, though, is staying active and training not just regularly but frequently.
One point Griff made recently about these sorts of diets in general (including the Paleo, for example) is that they tend to be harder when you are in a sedentary environment. That makes sense on a number of levels, not the least of which that the whole point of Warrior/Paleo diets is that they are based on a time when Homo sapiens was far from sedentary.
Here, I need to take more advantage of my Little Prince status. I was thinking of how difficult a time Prof. Rodrigo is having gaining weight in spite of eating more. The issue is activity. Training hard every day - and twice a day most of the week - will keep your metabolism at a level where it will readily devour just about any calories you can throw at it.
So that's the game for me for the balance of 2011, the mid-year resolution, the plan for getting to a walk-around weight of 150 over the next 30-45 days.
Very much looking forward to training tomorrow and getting back on a MWF kick.
400m
Berardi round
matwork round
1/2 guard round (10 reps w/60s r x3)
360 drill round (10 reps w/60s r x3)
1200m
I've done this routine with abswork and the 3-part toreano drill, but I think I like it a little bit leaner, keeping skills-related activity to a minimum. This is a pure cardio circuit, so the idea is more constant movement and effort rather than precise movement. That's where the tempo training (Tuesdays and Saturdays) comes in.
I'll probably shuffle this so that I do all the shoes-on work in the beginning and the jiu-jitsu drill work at the end. That saves a little bit of time - though I have to admit that there's something I like about finishing up on the treadmill (though 800m at a time is probably a better way to go than 1200m!).
I really need to do a video of matwork sometime. I think it's a really nice combination of jiu-jitsu exercises that can be used in everything from cardiac output type work to anaerobic/lactic circuit training. I'd like to try a circuit of alternating matwork and Berardi rounds sometime - definitely something for the second half of the training camp.
I've been thinking about the diet thing and am probably headed back for another try at the Warrior Diet (with the Gracie Diet approach for undereating). I think the key to pulling it off over time, though, is staying active and training not just regularly but frequently.
One point Griff made recently about these sorts of diets in general (including the Paleo, for example) is that they tend to be harder when you are in a sedentary environment. That makes sense on a number of levels, not the least of which that the whole point of Warrior/Paleo diets is that they are based on a time when Homo sapiens was far from sedentary.
Here, I need to take more advantage of my Little Prince status. I was thinking of how difficult a time Prof. Rodrigo is having gaining weight in spite of eating more. The issue is activity. Training hard every day - and twice a day most of the week - will keep your metabolism at a level where it will readily devour just about any calories you can throw at it.
So that's the game for me for the balance of 2011, the mid-year resolution, the plan for getting to a walk-around weight of 150 over the next 30-45 days.
Very much looking forward to training tomorrow and getting back on a MWF kick.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Pena 2011 or Bust?
It's far from official, but I'm more than half thinking about competing at next year's Pan Ams - hopefully as a Senior 2 Brown belt.
And the more I think about it, for a variety of reasons, I think Griff may be right after all in putting me in the pluma category along with guys similarly-sized guys like Cobrinha, Ryan Hall and Professor Christiano.
Pena is 154 pounds in the gi, 149 without. Without killing myself, I've managed to reach a walk-around weight of about 154-155 in recent months and, truth told, the vast majority of the reasons why I haven't been able to stay down there and instead have drifted back up over 160 are reasons that can be dealt with and reduced - if not eliminated.
To that end, here's some familiar advance on the topic of losing weight.
How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise
And the more I think about it, for a variety of reasons, I think Griff may be right after all in putting me in the pluma category along with guys similarly-sized guys like Cobrinha, Ryan Hall and Professor Christiano.
Pena is 154 pounds in the gi, 149 without. Without killing myself, I've managed to reach a walk-around weight of about 154-155 in recent months and, truth told, the vast majority of the reasons why I haven't been able to stay down there and instead have drifted back up over 160 are reasons that can be dealt with and reduced - if not eliminated.
To that end, here's some familiar advance on the topic of losing weight.
How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise
It is possible to lose 20 lbs. of bodyfat in 30 days by optimizing any of three factors: exercise, diet, or drug/supplement regimen. I’ve seen the elite implementation of all three in working with professional athletes. In this post, we’ll explore a variation of the “slow carb” diet as used by Dean Karnazes, an ultramarathoner famed for completing 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days in 50 different states. The most impressive part of this, for me, is that he did so, not with the typical anemic marathoner build, but with a well-muscled mesomorph body.
In the last six weeks, I have cut from about 180 lbs. to 165 lbs., while adding about 10 lbs. of muscle, which means I’ve lost about 25 lbs. of fat. This is the only diet besides the rather extreme Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) that has produced veins across my abdomen, which is the last place I lose fat (damn you, Scandinavian genetics.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Training Day: Thursday
First Cindy class in almost a month. Since the tournament is about a week and a half away, Cindy had us work guard/pass guard and then sparring for both the gi and no gi classes. In both instances, we did extensive standup - another tournament prep bonus. I was struggling cardio-wise more than I would have liked, though I was effective enough with my picks off the collar tie with both gi and no gi. The trick is really to commit and get low - fatigue meant I was going for the knee a lot more than I should have relative to the ankle (as Rene pointed out later in the session). But the lower I go, the easier it will be to get that ankle.
I need to make sure that I get my rest with nine days to go until the event - that and keeping my diet up. I've been getting away with about a meal and a half a day for the past several weeks and what I'm gaining by way of weight loss I may be losing in terms of energy. Even if I haven't been able to do the off mat conditioning I would have liked to do, training has been vigorous enough for me to be doing better than I am doing. A little more eating, and a lot more rest are a must for the next week and a half.
Very much looking forward to the weekend. I should be able to get in one more training session this week, hopefully tomorrow. I've got some questions for Rodrigo about the Leozinho pass, the one he showed us the day before the summer Revolution tournament, that pass that might have won me that first match if I had the opportunity to drill it a few more times (and remembered to use it when the opportunity came). I've noticed that a lot of guys are hipscaping out when I clamp down tight in the guard. The Leozinho - and the bear hug pass - are great options when that happens.
One thing that Cindy's classes always expose is my horrifically weak hip flexors. Scissor kicks, flutter kicks, even the triangle conditioning drill ... all of them are among the hardest jiu jitsu calisthenics we do. I'm going to have to integrate those into my matwork routine - or as a separate routine, maybe combined with armoplatas and hook sweeps to really murder my hips and quads. It's clearly one of my weak spots.
153.0 on the scale after class. I was actually 160.2 in the gi before class, well under the IBJJF lightweight max of 167.5, but still way too heavy for the featherweights at 154. If I ever end up at the Pan Ams one of these years, it will definitely be as the former.
I need to make sure that I get my rest with nine days to go until the event - that and keeping my diet up. I've been getting away with about a meal and a half a day for the past several weeks and what I'm gaining by way of weight loss I may be losing in terms of energy. Even if I haven't been able to do the off mat conditioning I would have liked to do, training has been vigorous enough for me to be doing better than I am doing. A little more eating, and a lot more rest are a must for the next week and a half.
Very much looking forward to the weekend. I should be able to get in one more training session this week, hopefully tomorrow. I've got some questions for Rodrigo about the Leozinho pass, the one he showed us the day before the summer Revolution tournament, that pass that might have won me that first match if I had the opportunity to drill it a few more times (and remembered to use it when the opportunity came). I've noticed that a lot of guys are hipscaping out when I clamp down tight in the guard. The Leozinho - and the bear hug pass - are great options when that happens.
One thing that Cindy's classes always expose is my horrifically weak hip flexors. Scissor kicks, flutter kicks, even the triangle conditioning drill ... all of them are among the hardest jiu jitsu calisthenics we do. I'm going to have to integrate those into my matwork routine - or as a separate routine, maybe combined with armoplatas and hook sweeps to really murder my hips and quads. It's clearly one of my weak spots.
153.0 on the scale after class. I was actually 160.2 in the gi before class, well under the IBJJF lightweight max of 167.5, but still way too heavy for the featherweights at 154. If I ever end up at the Pan Ams one of these years, it will definitely be as the former.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Training Day: Tuesday
Not a bad night of training, though the same problems remain.
There's no point in getting glum two days into an eight-week training camp. With any luck, I'll be on the mat at least two more times this week, so there is plenty of time even this week to start getting on a plan to fix what ails. But, for now, I'm a little annoyed, a little impatient and a little worn out.
We worked on the morote seionage, the one-arm shoulder throw as the takedown warmup/instructional. The set up was a counter to the lapel grab. You reach up and grab the attacking arm (the one that has the lapel) right at the triceps. Step back with your outside foot and lean your attacked shoulder forward to whizzer the situation a little bit and to keep him from getting access to your body or far leg (for a Jacare type takedown).
With that outside foot, you step in deep to a reverse pivot, swinging your free/outside arm under the guy's attacking arm (the lapel grab arm and squatting down as your turn your back to the guy and go for the throw.
I worked this at top speed with Shawn, who was hanging out but not training. Shawn was great to help me out - training me both left and right, which was very helpful.
After quite a while with that, we worked on the 180 drill just like Monday night. I was able to mix in with Connor and Juan, and got some good work in here.
Rodrigo finished things off with a guard pass. He used the basic opening on knees, one hand grabbing the lapels, one hand on the hip bone, one knee pinches in toward the middle and the other knee goes out perpendicular. Bow your back out and pop the guard open.
From here, Rodrigo had us crouch down low with your hands between the guy's legs but no deeper that the wrist or forearm to avoid being drawn into a triangle choke. From here you do a basic underhook pass, stepping up with your back foot to give your the mobility to move forward and put your other knee behind the guy's back.
What you want to be careful of is "reaching" for the collar. Instead, you want to move your body up so that you can do a very short T-Rex style grab for the far collar. Maintain your posture, using your hips and chest to press the up leg forward and away from you as you pass.
The variation on this was in case the guy was able to heavy leg you and prevent you from getting around the leg. Here, then, you want to swing around the other way, clamping the guy's other leg down on the mat with your kneed, hooking the head and backstepping around the other side.
Tatame was a mixed bag. I struggled mightily against Connor in both the side control specific (me on bottom) and in passing his guard. I still don't have a routine when it comes to passing the guard. Daniel Coyle would say that my guard passing circuitry is slow where it is not entirely non-existent. Again, there is plenty of time to fix these problems (I'm giving myself four weeks or the first half of my training camp.
As I said at the outset, I need to be wary of making premature evaluations of what I'm doing. I should probably consider myself lucky in that I am able to identify what is holding me back pretty accurately. The challenge now, of course, is to figure out a path beyond it - and the sooner the better.
No scale, but about 152 when I got home. That includes some rehydration, but I think the number is pretty legit. I'm not necessarily trying to drop any lower than 150 this far out. For the first time in a long time, I might actually have to start making sure I take in enough "quality" calories every couple of days.
A short practice on the schedule tomorrow. I'd toyed with the idea of taking Wednesday off and training Thursday, but in all likelihood it will be the other way around.
There's no point in getting glum two days into an eight-week training camp. With any luck, I'll be on the mat at least two more times this week, so there is plenty of time even this week to start getting on a plan to fix what ails. But, for now, I'm a little annoyed, a little impatient and a little worn out.
We worked on the morote seionage, the one-arm shoulder throw as the takedown warmup/instructional. The set up was a counter to the lapel grab. You reach up and grab the attacking arm (the one that has the lapel) right at the triceps. Step back with your outside foot and lean your attacked shoulder forward to whizzer the situation a little bit and to keep him from getting access to your body or far leg (for a Jacare type takedown).
With that outside foot, you step in deep to a reverse pivot, swinging your free/outside arm under the guy's attacking arm (the lapel grab arm and squatting down as your turn your back to the guy and go for the throw.
I worked this at top speed with Shawn, who was hanging out but not training. Shawn was great to help me out - training me both left and right, which was very helpful.
After quite a while with that, we worked on the 180 drill just like Monday night. I was able to mix in with Connor and Juan, and got some good work in here.
Rodrigo finished things off with a guard pass. He used the basic opening on knees, one hand grabbing the lapels, one hand on the hip bone, one knee pinches in toward the middle and the other knee goes out perpendicular. Bow your back out and pop the guard open.
From here, Rodrigo had us crouch down low with your hands between the guy's legs but no deeper that the wrist or forearm to avoid being drawn into a triangle choke. From here you do a basic underhook pass, stepping up with your back foot to give your the mobility to move forward and put your other knee behind the guy's back.
What you want to be careful of is "reaching" for the collar. Instead, you want to move your body up so that you can do a very short T-Rex style grab for the far collar. Maintain your posture, using your hips and chest to press the up leg forward and away from you as you pass.
The variation on this was in case the guy was able to heavy leg you and prevent you from getting around the leg. Here, then, you want to swing around the other way, clamping the guy's other leg down on the mat with your kneed, hooking the head and backstepping around the other side.
Tatame was a mixed bag. I struggled mightily against Connor in both the side control specific (me on bottom) and in passing his guard. I still don't have a routine when it comes to passing the guard. Daniel Coyle would say that my guard passing circuitry is slow where it is not entirely non-existent. Again, there is plenty of time to fix these problems (I'm giving myself four weeks or the first half of my training camp.
As I said at the outset, I need to be wary of making premature evaluations of what I'm doing. I should probably consider myself lucky in that I am able to identify what is holding me back pretty accurately. The challenge now, of course, is to figure out a path beyond it - and the sooner the better.
No scale, but about 152 when I got home. That includes some rehydration, but I think the number is pretty legit. I'm not necessarily trying to drop any lower than 150 this far out. For the first time in a long time, I might actually have to start making sure I take in enough "quality" calories every couple of days.
A short practice on the schedule tomorrow. I'd toyed with the idea of taking Wednesday off and training Thursday, but in all likelihood it will be the other way around.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday Training
Rodrigo had us working more on passing the guard today. There were three variations:
Version One:
1. Open the guard from the wedge position, with one hand on the chest and one on the hip.
2. Slide your left arm under the guy's right leg and grab on to his belt. BE SURE TO KEEP THE ELBOW ON YOUR RIGHT ARM TIGHT AND LOW. The main threat to this pass is the triangle. If you keep your off-side elbow tight and low, you'll be fine.
3. Take a BIG STEP with the leg on the pass side (left). As you do this, pull up on the belt. Driving forward with your lunge, you should be able to put your hip solidly against his back. Remember, you don't want to throw the guy. You want to lock his body and put him on his side.
Version Two:
1. This time, when you go to put your arm under and grab the belt, he blocks it.
2. Bring your off side (right) knee up and knee pin the guy's leg on that side (his left leg). I needed to stand up a little bit to make sure I got on top of the leg for the pin. So there may need to be adjustments depending on how the guy moves.
3. Hook the head with your right arm. Keeping the leg pinned with your knee, backstep with your other (left) leg and move into side control.
Version Three:
1. This time, when you go to put the knee in, he blocks it with both hands.
2. Here, you have two options. The first option is a version of version one: reach high and grab the opposite collar with the version one pass side hand. Use your other hand to keep the guy's knee pin leg in place. Spin around backward (in to out) as you shrug the guy's leg off your shoulder and move to the side.
I can't remember exactly what the second option was. I think there was a banana split type of move with a can opener that allowed you to move to the side as you would in version two. But I'm not sure.
Not a bad night on the tatame, not a good night. One thing that did work very well during the takedown training at the beginning was my kouchi gari, which I hit almost perfectly 2 or 3 times. That is definitely something to continue working on.
I also am feeling my ankle pick sweep. There's really only one of my main six takedowns that I don't have any live success with, the ushiro ashi barai. I'll have to work on that tomorrow or Friday.
My guard passing tonight was horrible. The effort wasn't half bad: I did repeatedly try to work the Squat Pass and the Flat Pass. I think I passed once with the Flat Pass, but the Squat Pass got a little incoherent after I got beyond Step 3. I was probably trying to rush things, having done three sets of 12 Squat Passes as part of my am conditioning. We'll see if things can look better by the end of the week. I really want to go into the tournament a week from this Saturday with some confidence about my guard passing attack. That's really the key goal: pass the damn guard. Everything after that is extra.
Tommy is back! He's around 185, be-goggled and not in the jiu jitsu shape he'd like to be. But it was almost scary to see him rolling after two years off that mat. It was almost like he never left.
When I think of all the guys in that welterweight/lightweight/featherweight range (and Tommy is looking to drop back to 155), we really have one hell of a crew. Even if you just focus on the brown and purple belts, imagine if we had one of those 2-week, every day, training sessions like the Mothership (i.e., Gracia Barra USA) did leading up to the Mundials ...
Finished June with 13 training sessions, two off my goal of 15, but I would have likely picked up those two classes if I hadn't been on le business trip at the beginning of the month. Still, my weekly average for the second quarter rose to 3.33 from 3.17 (38 classes in Q1, 40 in Q2). My goal for the third quarter (July, August, September) is to get that grade up over 3.5, which means averaging 14 classes a month.
On the scale: 156.8. I'll admit to being very pleasantly surprised. I've been wearing my heaviest gi jacket and a rashguard to help pump the water out. And my very modest diet seems to be paying dividends even after two days. To drop more than 10 pounds in a little over 24 hours isn't something I should get in the habit of doing. But it's nice to know that the weekend calories might be costly, but haven't bankrupted me yet.
Version One:
1. Open the guard from the wedge position, with one hand on the chest and one on the hip.
2. Slide your left arm under the guy's right leg and grab on to his belt. BE SURE TO KEEP THE ELBOW ON YOUR RIGHT ARM TIGHT AND LOW. The main threat to this pass is the triangle. If you keep your off-side elbow tight and low, you'll be fine.
3. Take a BIG STEP with the leg on the pass side (left). As you do this, pull up on the belt. Driving forward with your lunge, you should be able to put your hip solidly against his back. Remember, you don't want to throw the guy. You want to lock his body and put him on his side.
Version Two:
1. This time, when you go to put your arm under and grab the belt, he blocks it.
2. Bring your off side (right) knee up and knee pin the guy's leg on that side (his left leg). I needed to stand up a little bit to make sure I got on top of the leg for the pin. So there may need to be adjustments depending on how the guy moves.
3. Hook the head with your right arm. Keeping the leg pinned with your knee, backstep with your other (left) leg and move into side control.
Version Three:
1. This time, when you go to put the knee in, he blocks it with both hands.
2. Here, you have two options. The first option is a version of version one: reach high and grab the opposite collar with the version one pass side hand. Use your other hand to keep the guy's knee pin leg in place. Spin around backward (in to out) as you shrug the guy's leg off your shoulder and move to the side.
I can't remember exactly what the second option was. I think there was a banana split type of move with a can opener that allowed you to move to the side as you would in version two. But I'm not sure.
Not a bad night on the tatame, not a good night. One thing that did work very well during the takedown training at the beginning was my kouchi gari, which I hit almost perfectly 2 or 3 times. That is definitely something to continue working on.
I also am feeling my ankle pick sweep. There's really only one of my main six takedowns that I don't have any live success with, the ushiro ashi barai. I'll have to work on that tomorrow or Friday.
My guard passing tonight was horrible. The effort wasn't half bad: I did repeatedly try to work the Squat Pass and the Flat Pass. I think I passed once with the Flat Pass, but the Squat Pass got a little incoherent after I got beyond Step 3. I was probably trying to rush things, having done three sets of 12 Squat Passes as part of my am conditioning. We'll see if things can look better by the end of the week. I really want to go into the tournament a week from this Saturday with some confidence about my guard passing attack. That's really the key goal: pass the damn guard. Everything after that is extra.
Tommy is back! He's around 185, be-goggled and not in the jiu jitsu shape he'd like to be. But it was almost scary to see him rolling after two years off that mat. It was almost like he never left.
When I think of all the guys in that welterweight/lightweight/featherweight range (and Tommy is looking to drop back to 155), we really have one hell of a crew. Even if you just focus on the brown and purple belts, imagine if we had one of those 2-week, every day, training sessions like the Mothership (i.e., Gracia Barra USA) did leading up to the Mundials ...
Finished June with 13 training sessions, two off my goal of 15, but I would have likely picked up those two classes if I hadn't been on le business trip at the beginning of the month. Still, my weekly average for the second quarter rose to 3.33 from 3.17 (38 classes in Q1, 40 in Q2). My goal for the third quarter (July, August, September) is to get that grade up over 3.5, which means averaging 14 classes a month.
On the scale: 156.8. I'll admit to being very pleasantly surprised. I've been wearing my heaviest gi jacket and a rashguard to help pump the water out. And my very modest diet seems to be paying dividends even after two days. To drop more than 10 pounds in a little over 24 hours isn't something I should get in the habit of doing. But it's nice to know that the weekend calories might be costly, but haven't bankrupted me yet.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday Training
ATM two weeks in a row ... it's been awhile since I've been able to say that.
Two things stood out in tonight's training, which was a mix of instructional (crossover and scissor sweeps) and specific sparring (guard/pass guard and takedowns). One, my ankle pick is definitely a go-to takedown and, two, the combat squat might be the savior of my standing attack against the closed guard.
I also spent some time really working out of my #1 half guard position. For the next two weeks leading into the tournament, I want to give myself full license to focus on that position and my fundamental sweeps. Whenever I realize that a 100% effective twist back tends to be the product of a 99% effective tackle sweep, I tend to be in good shape.
My half guard passing wasn't pretty, but I'm still looking forward to working on it some more this week and next. I have a better idea of the fundamentals of what I'm doing wrong - especially in putting my weight on the guy, giving him too easy control. But it would be nice to work them out some in practice.
A good night full of good training partners. Even though my weight was atrocious coming in (166.2!), I managed to leave the academy at 161. If I can shed another few pounds over the next 24 hours, then I won't feel as if I did too much damage on those thirsty Saturday and Sunday afternoons ...
Two things stood out in tonight's training, which was a mix of instructional (crossover and scissor sweeps) and specific sparring (guard/pass guard and takedowns). One, my ankle pick is definitely a go-to takedown and, two, the combat squat might be the savior of my standing attack against the closed guard.
I also spent some time really working out of my #1 half guard position. For the next two weeks leading into the tournament, I want to give myself full license to focus on that position and my fundamental sweeps. Whenever I realize that a 100% effective twist back tends to be the product of a 99% effective tackle sweep, I tend to be in good shape.
My half guard passing wasn't pretty, but I'm still looking forward to working on it some more this week and next. I have a better idea of the fundamentals of what I'm doing wrong - especially in putting my weight on the guy, giving him too easy control. But it would be nice to work them out some in practice.
A good night full of good training partners. Even though my weight was atrocious coming in (166.2!), I managed to leave the academy at 161. If I can shed another few pounds over the next 24 hours, then I won't feel as if I did too much damage on those thirsty Saturday and Sunday afternoons ...
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Wednesday Training
Wednesday was all about deep half guard - another position that is going to be a fundamental part of my guard game. Rodrigo focused on getting deep, your head should be on or under the hips, to avoid the crossface. This is something that I've struggled with from time to time with my own half guard: letting the crossface get through.
For the most part, I've been blocking the crossface with the sticky paw grip. The sticky paw is also a great entry for the sweep I'm calling Aesopian, even though I don't know if he uses it. Actually, the set-up kung fu move is the Aesopian, the actual sweep is still the crossover.
I want to keep evolving away from the toe grab sweep. I don't want to lose that sweep, but I want to make sure that I've got a couple of other nice sweeps from the half guard as well: the twist back, the crossover, deep half to the back, kimura sweep ...
Some nice Tatame tonight. I tried to get that brabo choke with the collar going in my roll with Rodrigo (guard/pass guard specific) but, unsurprisingly, it didn't work out so well. I should have tried it on some of the other guys I rolled with. I was trying to avoid going to half guard as much as possible since I ended up rolling with a couple of white belts and have promised myself to work on broadening my game whenever I'm rolling with white belts: traditional closed guard, open guard, spider guard, even butterfly guard. Anything that I'd be terrified to do in a tournament, basically.
Feeling increasingly comfortable with the Flat pass (Rodrigo actually turned the tables and passed to half guard with that pass on me!). It's still a very new pass for me, so I'm giving myself a little leeway in trying it on white belts. But it is getting better. I'm doing a better job of getting to the side and staying there after the dive. One weakness is that I'm still "wrestling" the ankles open instead of using my legs the way that Justin Garcia shows in his absolutely vital Flat pass instructional.
Another technique of note was the crossover sweep from the full or closed guard. I was reading a point that Saulo made in his book that he likes to attack with the crossover at the elbow rather than at the shoulder. This adds a little whip to the sweep, which I liked when I attacked with it today. It also seems to require a little less control over the guy, meaning that it is easier to set-up without telegraphing your sweep.
My Zeke choke was working well tonight, very well in at least one instance. I want to make sure that my Zeke choke is as clean as possible. Nothing but blood. I can't think of a faster way of becoming THE asshole on the tatame than by hitting guys with trachea Ezekiel chokes ...
A good night. I'm in a weird drifty mode with the next tournament still a month away (the next GB Seattle Invitational on June 20th). And I'm not yet at the nervous stage about my appearance at the L.A. Trader's Expo (the weekend of the Mundials - and my birthday). This is the time when I think I can make some stealth gains: tightening up my toe grab sweep, bringing the crossover up to speed, developing some go to attacks from the mount and maybe, just maybe, developing a coherent guard passing game - before the final month leading up to the July Revolution event. A little focus now may go a long way.
158.6 on the scale. Not bad. I had a breakfast of leftover cod with tomatoes and green olives and a cheese quesadilla, about 6 ounces of chicken and an arugula salad for lunch. Some snacking on walnuts and almonds during the day. That's about the speed I want to maintain. With the cardio back on line starting tomorrow (my right quad was fine tonight in training), I should see the south side of the 150s on a consistent basis before too long.
For the most part, I've been blocking the crossface with the sticky paw grip. The sticky paw is also a great entry for the sweep I'm calling Aesopian, even though I don't know if he uses it. Actually, the set-up kung fu move is the Aesopian, the actual sweep is still the crossover.
I want to keep evolving away from the toe grab sweep. I don't want to lose that sweep, but I want to make sure that I've got a couple of other nice sweeps from the half guard as well: the twist back, the crossover, deep half to the back, kimura sweep ...
Some nice Tatame tonight. I tried to get that brabo choke with the collar going in my roll with Rodrigo (guard/pass guard specific) but, unsurprisingly, it didn't work out so well. I should have tried it on some of the other guys I rolled with. I was trying to avoid going to half guard as much as possible since I ended up rolling with a couple of white belts and have promised myself to work on broadening my game whenever I'm rolling with white belts: traditional closed guard, open guard, spider guard, even butterfly guard. Anything that I'd be terrified to do in a tournament, basically.
Feeling increasingly comfortable with the Flat pass (Rodrigo actually turned the tables and passed to half guard with that pass on me!). It's still a very new pass for me, so I'm giving myself a little leeway in trying it on white belts. But it is getting better. I'm doing a better job of getting to the side and staying there after the dive. One weakness is that I'm still "wrestling" the ankles open instead of using my legs the way that Justin Garcia shows in his absolutely vital Flat pass instructional.
Another technique of note was the crossover sweep from the full or closed guard. I was reading a point that Saulo made in his book that he likes to attack with the crossover at the elbow rather than at the shoulder. This adds a little whip to the sweep, which I liked when I attacked with it today. It also seems to require a little less control over the guy, meaning that it is easier to set-up without telegraphing your sweep.
My Zeke choke was working well tonight, very well in at least one instance. I want to make sure that my Zeke choke is as clean as possible. Nothing but blood. I can't think of a faster way of becoming THE asshole on the tatame than by hitting guys with trachea Ezekiel chokes ...
A good night. I'm in a weird drifty mode with the next tournament still a month away (the next GB Seattle Invitational on June 20th). And I'm not yet at the nervous stage about my appearance at the L.A. Trader's Expo (the weekend of the Mundials - and my birthday). This is the time when I think I can make some stealth gains: tightening up my toe grab sweep, bringing the crossover up to speed, developing some go to attacks from the mount and maybe, just maybe, developing a coherent guard passing game - before the final month leading up to the July Revolution event. A little focus now may go a long way.
158.6 on the scale. Not bad. I had a breakfast of leftover cod with tomatoes and green olives and a cheese quesadilla, about 6 ounces of chicken and an arugula salad for lunch. Some snacking on walnuts and almonds during the day. That's about the speed I want to maintain. With the cardio back on line starting tomorrow (my right quad was fine tonight in training), I should see the south side of the 150s on a consistent basis before too long.
Friday, March 06, 2009
152.1
And is my new custom, the weigh-in photo of who I think will win the main event at UFC 96 a few sweet hours after The Revolution.
Once again, I arrive way under the 154.9 limit. Things were starting to get a little annoying on the hungry/thirsty side, so I was glad to get on the road shortly after 5 p.m. for the drive down to Kent for the pre weigh-ins.
I've started rehydrating with some Gatorade, and will eat in about half an hour or so. No reason to rush.
I'm split between watching some old Pride fights, a little NBA, a little soccer or Batman Begins to relax for the evening. Batman Begins is very inspirational for me, but it might be a little heavy. I remember trying to watch 300 before a tournament and it just made me all the more anxious.
So Pride now and English League Soccer from 8-10 are probably what I'll settle into - that's assuming I can tear myself away from the boxing on ESPN ...
The task for tomorrow is straight-forward. I have my takedowns. I have my game from the bottom. And I have my finish from the top. As long as I stick to the gameplan, then I'll have something valuable about the experience. If I don't stick to the gameplan, then win or lose, I'm not likely to learn what I need to learn in order to improve as quickly as I want to improve.
That's all for now. An aggressive but effective weight-cut goes into the history books a success. Take 'em where you find 'em.
Weight Cut Update
Four hours to go ... about 152-3 or so on my unofficial, needle scale, maybe even a little less. Looking good.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Thursday Training
Last training before the tournament tonight. We worked on two basic triangle set-ups: one from half spider guard by way of moth guard and a traditional collar/sleeve attack. The half spider setup had you extend the spider legged arm and pull the other arm into the center in your lap or between your legs. As you do this, shoot the spider leg inside his arm, a sort of slide-by on the arm, and use it to attack the neck for the hook of the triangle choke.
We also worked on some attacks from mount: a take-the-back by way of S-mount and an Ezekiel choke.
One detail I liked with the take-the-back move is that you can grab inside on the biceps as well as the collar with your outside grip as you come around. I found that it gave me a little more control over the guy's body than grabbing the collar, which was still decent control. The key is keeping chest to back connection, not allowing the space that will make you have to pull with your arms instead of just holding him in place and having him controlled by your weight and body movement.
The details with the Ezekiel choke were about controlling the head. Rodrigo showed us how to use your biceps to attack the neck, using your shoulder to get under the chin and using your head to keep his head in place. The guy's head should be almost immobilized.
By pressing against the side of the neck with your free hand, you can create a very effective choke. Of course, you can always slide your hand around in a blade and get the traditional Ezekiel choke. What is most important is keeping everything tight (especially the head) and staying with the choke even if you get rolled back into guard.
After training, Rodrigo showed us an Ezekiel variation on the rear choke. In this one, you've got the harness but are having a hard time getting the choking arm around the neck. Reach as deep as you can with the crossbody arm. You want to be able to touch the opposite shoulder near the neck - lean in the direction of the arm if it helps to get more length. Then with your crossbody grip grab the cuff of your other arm and do an Ezekiel against the back of the neck. Fade to get your body behind the choke (i.e., if your slicing hand is your right, then fade to your left).
There's a lot of leverage in that choke. Rodrigo said it was the one that was used to finish Telles in a recent fight (I didn't recognize the name of the guy who did it).
Tomorrow is hungry thirsty day. I couldn't have asked for a better number after training: 156.4, only a pound and a half over with 24 hours to go. I need to get a haircut, and should probably get the oil changed before the drive to Bonney Lake also. And that will likely be the limit of my physical activity for the day. Martell says that the Friday before weigh-ins should be a no glycogen burning day.
That also means I'm going to be doing a lot of sweating it out while I'm working. In that, it sure doesn't hurt to work from home. I'll layer up and swap out when things get a little too productive. Martell recommends a sauna. This should do given where I finished tonight.
I don't like how fatigued I've felt over the past three weeks or so, more or less coinciding with the final three weeks of my 8-week training camp. And the fact that I don't feel more energetic in these final two weeks having stopped doing two-a-day workouts is all the more alarming.
A part of this is cutting down on the calories, I'm sure. And maybe even not getting the water intake up higher earlier. Apparently, future Revolution tournaments are going to move to an IBJJF standard where we weigh-in right before the match, which if nothing else will end this weight-cutting madness of mine once and for all. And it will not be missed.
Tatame was fair. Nothing spectacular except being able to do some decent wrestling - though late in the training I was able to get that Saulo style baseball choke from side control to work a time or two. That and the Ezekiel are going to be keepers, for sure.
We also worked on some attacks from mount: a take-the-back by way of S-mount and an Ezekiel choke.
One detail I liked with the take-the-back move is that you can grab inside on the biceps as well as the collar with your outside grip as you come around. I found that it gave me a little more control over the guy's body than grabbing the collar, which was still decent control. The key is keeping chest to back connection, not allowing the space that will make you have to pull with your arms instead of just holding him in place and having him controlled by your weight and body movement.
The details with the Ezekiel choke were about controlling the head. Rodrigo showed us how to use your biceps to attack the neck, using your shoulder to get under the chin and using your head to keep his head in place. The guy's head should be almost immobilized.
By pressing against the side of the neck with your free hand, you can create a very effective choke. Of course, you can always slide your hand around in a blade and get the traditional Ezekiel choke. What is most important is keeping everything tight (especially the head) and staying with the choke even if you get rolled back into guard.
After training, Rodrigo showed us an Ezekiel variation on the rear choke. In this one, you've got the harness but are having a hard time getting the choking arm around the neck. Reach as deep as you can with the crossbody arm. You want to be able to touch the opposite shoulder near the neck - lean in the direction of the arm if it helps to get more length. Then with your crossbody grip grab the cuff of your other arm and do an Ezekiel against the back of the neck. Fade to get your body behind the choke (i.e., if your slicing hand is your right, then fade to your left).
There's a lot of leverage in that choke. Rodrigo said it was the one that was used to finish Telles in a recent fight (I didn't recognize the name of the guy who did it).
Tomorrow is hungry thirsty day. I couldn't have asked for a better number after training: 156.4, only a pound and a half over with 24 hours to go. I need to get a haircut, and should probably get the oil changed before the drive to Bonney Lake also. And that will likely be the limit of my physical activity for the day. Martell says that the Friday before weigh-ins should be a no glycogen burning day.
That also means I'm going to be doing a lot of sweating it out while I'm working. In that, it sure doesn't hurt to work from home. I'll layer up and swap out when things get a little too productive. Martell recommends a sauna. This should do given where I finished tonight.
I don't like how fatigued I've felt over the past three weeks or so, more or less coinciding with the final three weeks of my 8-week training camp. And the fact that I don't feel more energetic in these final two weeks having stopped doing two-a-day workouts is all the more alarming.
A part of this is cutting down on the calories, I'm sure. And maybe even not getting the water intake up higher earlier. Apparently, future Revolution tournaments are going to move to an IBJJF standard where we weigh-in right before the match, which if nothing else will end this weight-cutting madness of mine once and for all. And it will not be missed.
Tatame was fair. Nothing spectacular except being able to do some decent wrestling - though late in the training I was able to get that Saulo style baseball choke from side control to work a time or two. That and the Ezekiel are going to be keepers, for sure.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Wednesday Training
Tonight we did a lot of stand-up, given the tournament this Saturday. The warm-up, after the regular calisthenics, was back and forth ippon seionage (one-arm shoulder throw) which is one of Rodrigo's favorite throws. I've never tried it (of course, with my judo paranoia), but I'm training it so much - and it has so few obvious downsides for me physically - that one of these days I'm going to have to put it on the mat.
The other warm-up takedown was something that I really, really need to make a fundamental part of my stand-up game: pulling half-guard.
Rodrigo put the takedown in context of being locked up in that typical, sleeve 'n' collar tie-up with dual, defensive postures. While the uchi mata is a great option (my introduction to Sauleh back when he was a white belt and I was a new blue belt was tumbling to the ground courtesy of a Sauleh uchi mata), another option is to pull half guard and go immediately for the sweep.
The detail was in working your grip down the length of the guy's gi jacket. You want to work it down - don't let go and try to grab it again at the bottom. When you get to the bottom of the gi lapel and have a good grip of cloth, divert with a pull on the sleeve (at the elbow) which should get the guy to pull back. Then shoot in on the inside/near leg and pull half guard.
Make sure you pull a good half guard, nice and deep, with your chest connected to the guy's leg. Pass the gi lapel between his legs to our outside hand and pull tight.
If he steps forward, then your best bet will probably be a twist sweep, taking him backwards. If he steps backward, then the better option is a tackle sweep. Here, make sure that you keep the leg trapped between your legs as you swing your hips out and undermine his base. In both instances, be sure to follow-through, leading with your shoulder and your weight, into side control rather than half-guard.
Tatame tonight was definitely a defensive tale. I cut the fuel way down today, probably to make up for the pizza I had for dinner (3 pm) on Tuesday. I had some pork, cheese and salad for breakfast and fish with leeks for lunch. My snack was raisins and almonds and my water intake was good but not great.
The consequences were feeling far more fatigued early in the training than I would have liked. It was annoying given all the time I spent on conditioning in January and February. Future adjustments to my conditioning routine notwithstanding, I feel like my output should have been much better tonight.
But the fuel issue is likely part of the problem. I just don't think I took in enough calories to power a regular training session. It's tricky. I like training on an empty stomach first of all. And I'm paranoid about my weight. So it's hard to figure out just what to eat and when to eat it.
Fortunately, my weight is pretty much on track. Using Martell's strategy from his book, Greco-Roman Wrestling, I should be no more than 159.5 hydrated today. I hit the scale at 158.2 after training, giving me more than a pound of hydration allowance (that said, I had finished about 32 ounces of my protein/Gatorade drink so maybe I had officially rehydrated by the time I put that 158.2 on the scale).
Tomorrow I need to hit 158.8 (2.5% over), which is what I weighed in at on Monday. And then I've got a few games planned for Friday to help sweat out the final pounds. Martell warns against "burn(ing) glycogen" on the day of weigh-ins (with competition the following day and using a sauna instead. Hopefully, layers of sweatclothes all day and a heated drive to Kent will suffice.
Martell also recommends a small meal three hours before competing, which would be at about 7-7:30 am on Saturday for me. I think I'm going to caravan with everyone else (for the first time), which will have us leaving from the academy at 8 am, so a 7 am meal makes sense from that perspective, as well. I'm thinking a little chicken, a little rice, and some water for breakfast, with some raisins, almonds and the Drink for the ride south.
The other warm-up takedown was something that I really, really need to make a fundamental part of my stand-up game: pulling half-guard.
Rodrigo put the takedown in context of being locked up in that typical, sleeve 'n' collar tie-up with dual, defensive postures. While the uchi mata is a great option (my introduction to Sauleh back when he was a white belt and I was a new blue belt was tumbling to the ground courtesy of a Sauleh uchi mata), another option is to pull half guard and go immediately for the sweep.
The detail was in working your grip down the length of the guy's gi jacket. You want to work it down - don't let go and try to grab it again at the bottom. When you get to the bottom of the gi lapel and have a good grip of cloth, divert with a pull on the sleeve (at the elbow) which should get the guy to pull back. Then shoot in on the inside/near leg and pull half guard.
Make sure you pull a good half guard, nice and deep, with your chest connected to the guy's leg. Pass the gi lapel between his legs to our outside hand and pull tight.
If he steps forward, then your best bet will probably be a twist sweep, taking him backwards. If he steps backward, then the better option is a tackle sweep. Here, make sure that you keep the leg trapped between your legs as you swing your hips out and undermine his base. In both instances, be sure to follow-through, leading with your shoulder and your weight, into side control rather than half-guard.
Tatame tonight was definitely a defensive tale. I cut the fuel way down today, probably to make up for the pizza I had for dinner (3 pm) on Tuesday. I had some pork, cheese and salad for breakfast and fish with leeks for lunch. My snack was raisins and almonds and my water intake was good but not great.
The consequences were feeling far more fatigued early in the training than I would have liked. It was annoying given all the time I spent on conditioning in January and February. Future adjustments to my conditioning routine notwithstanding, I feel like my output should have been much better tonight.
But the fuel issue is likely part of the problem. I just don't think I took in enough calories to power a regular training session. It's tricky. I like training on an empty stomach first of all. And I'm paranoid about my weight. So it's hard to figure out just what to eat and when to eat it.
Fortunately, my weight is pretty much on track. Using Martell's strategy from his book, Greco-Roman Wrestling, I should be no more than 159.5 hydrated today. I hit the scale at 158.2 after training, giving me more than a pound of hydration allowance (that said, I had finished about 32 ounces of my protein/Gatorade drink so maybe I had officially rehydrated by the time I put that 158.2 on the scale).
Tomorrow I need to hit 158.8 (2.5% over), which is what I weighed in at on Monday. And then I've got a few games planned for Friday to help sweat out the final pounds. Martell warns against "burn(ing) glycogen" on the day of weigh-ins (with competition the following day and using a sauna instead. Hopefully, layers of sweatclothes all day and a heated drive to Kent will suffice.
Martell also recommends a small meal three hours before competing, which would be at about 7-7:30 am on Saturday for me. I think I'm going to caravan with everyone else (for the first time), which will have us leaving from the academy at 8 am, so a 7 am meal makes sense from that perspective, as well. I'm thinking a little chicken, a little rice, and some water for breakfast, with some raisins, almonds and the Drink for the ride south.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Friday Afternoon Training
Managed to get in some mat time late on Friday for about 20 minutes. I got a chance to spar with JM, Bruce and Andrew (I think that's right) the white belt who is impossible to keylock.
Tried to work some moth guard, as I did with Clint the other evening. Still not sweeping with it, but I'm seeing how it can be an option out of the half guard when the guy on top is pressuring me. When guys are in my closed guard, they tend to sit way back. But in my half guard, they tend to go for a smash game. I should learn how to transition out of closed and half guards into the other guards - the sitting guard and butterfly guards in the first instance and the moth guard and Rap Star in the second - that will allow me to maintain an advantage with techniques I'm comfortable with.
Got a little stalemated in the closed guard at one point. I need to be more willing to transition to a standing pass if things start getting too tight in the closed guard. For now, I'm going to chalk it up to "warm up week". But it's been a bad habit in the past. I don't want to bring it forward into 2009.
Post train number was great, 158.8. I've been losing weight on a little more caloric restriction than I should. But if I can get my diet back in place and remain below 163.4 for the next six weeks or so (5.5% above the 154.9 limit at the Revolution event), that should be fine.
A good week of training. Getting in a Friday session every other week or so will be a nice way to get an edge over my previous training efforts. Going from a constant struggle to average 2.5 times a week to a more consistent regimen of 4 times a week should pay big dividends in a even a few month's time.
In a year, someone who trains 2.5 times a week trains about 125 times. Someone who trains four times a week trains 200 times. To catch up in mat time, the one who trained 2.5 times a week would have to train another 25 weeks, another six months.
I also think there is a multiplier effect that makes it even better to train as often as you can. The crucial patterns become ingrained that much faster because they always remain just a day or two away.
I've always thought that the stretch from Thursday to Monday, three consecutive days off the mat over the weekend, was the worst thing in my jiu jitsu week. By making sure that I get in some time on Friday or Saturday, I keep the gaps to a two-day maximum.
To steal a line from the late great Richard Pryor, when it comes to jiu jitsu, "yesterday, is about as back as I want to go to remember it."
Tried to work some moth guard, as I did with Clint the other evening. Still not sweeping with it, but I'm seeing how it can be an option out of the half guard when the guy on top is pressuring me. When guys are in my closed guard, they tend to sit way back. But in my half guard, they tend to go for a smash game. I should learn how to transition out of closed and half guards into the other guards - the sitting guard and butterfly guards in the first instance and the moth guard and Rap Star in the second - that will allow me to maintain an advantage with techniques I'm comfortable with.
Got a little stalemated in the closed guard at one point. I need to be more willing to transition to a standing pass if things start getting too tight in the closed guard. For now, I'm going to chalk it up to "warm up week". But it's been a bad habit in the past. I don't want to bring it forward into 2009.
Post train number was great, 158.8. I've been losing weight on a little more caloric restriction than I should. But if I can get my diet back in place and remain below 163.4 for the next six weeks or so (5.5% above the 154.9 limit at the Revolution event), that should be fine.
A good week of training. Getting in a Friday session every other week or so will be a nice way to get an edge over my previous training efforts. Going from a constant struggle to average 2.5 times a week to a more consistent regimen of 4 times a week should pay big dividends in a even a few month's time.
In a year, someone who trains 2.5 times a week trains about 125 times. Someone who trains four times a week trains 200 times. To catch up in mat time, the one who trained 2.5 times a week would have to train another 25 weeks, another six months.
I also think there is a multiplier effect that makes it even better to train as often as you can. The crucial patterns become ingrained that much faster because they always remain just a day or two away.
I've always thought that the stretch from Thursday to Monday, three consecutive days off the mat over the weekend, was the worst thing in my jiu jitsu week. By making sure that I get in some time on Friday or Saturday, I keep the gaps to a two-day maximum.
To steal a line from the late great Richard Pryor, when it comes to jiu jitsu, "yesterday, is about as back as I want to go to remember it."
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Tuesday Night Training
Tonight's training was a beginner version of Monday's night's training. We worked the same open guard set-ups and sweeps. But instead of pulling guard, we just worked them as open guard attacks on a standing opponent.
I worked with DG, a welterweight sized blue belt I remember from some time in the past. A very good guy to train with. We developed a nice three-count for all the set-ups that made it a lot easier for me to remember the steps. One of the things that I still have a hard time with is remembering the basic 1-2-3 of different moves. Having a three-count, even if you need an extra "four", is one way to keep things in mind.
For example, "one", the open guard with the hook was:
Starting from double sleeve control and feet on hips.
1. Switch to cross sleeve grip
2. Kick off with the sleeve side foot in hip, opening up guard wide and cup the sleeve side ankle
3. Insert hook behind far side knee or ankle
To switch to the balloon sweep from here:
1. Remove cup and take sleeve side grip
2. Grab far side collar, remove hook and put far side foot on hip
3. Pull on sleeve and collar and bend legs to load, lift to sweep
And to switch to "three":
1. Switch to cross sleeve grip
2. Cup ankle, push off hip with legs to "sit" on his sleeve side foot
3. De la Riva hook with your sleeve side leg while pushing on the hip with your far side leg
We worked on these for awhile, back and forth, at faster and faster speeds. I never use these kind of leggy open guards. But they really seemed to feel not-so-bad tonight. The trick, of course, will be working them in to my training - which I've not ever really done consistently.
Some good tatame tonight. Rolled with "Garcia" for the first time in months, if ever. It will be nice to have him back training regularly. I also rolled with a newer white belt I didn't recognize and tried to work some moth guard and long half. It was a little sloppy. I really need to review my moth guard sweeps.
Feeling pretty good. My shoulder has a few aches, but probably feels better now than it did earlier in the day. I did do some resistance work, all pulling motions, and I think I benefitted from not supersetting the bent-over overhand rows and the bent-over underhand rows and the alt curls and hammer curls. I really think it was the hammer curls that did it this time.
The plan is to train Thursday night and Saturday morning. I weighed in at 163.4 after training, which is heavy, obviously. But I think I'm not going to worry about my weight during this "End of Year" 8-week training stretch. Nothing over 165 will be acceptable. But aside from that, I want to train, build up my shoulders a bit, eat normally and maybe mix in a little cardio once a week (when I'm not doing jiu jitsu four times a week).
I worked with DG, a welterweight sized blue belt I remember from some time in the past. A very good guy to train with. We developed a nice three-count for all the set-ups that made it a lot easier for me to remember the steps. One of the things that I still have a hard time with is remembering the basic 1-2-3 of different moves. Having a three-count, even if you need an extra "four", is one way to keep things in mind.
For example, "one", the open guard with the hook was:
Starting from double sleeve control and feet on hips.
1. Switch to cross sleeve grip
2. Kick off with the sleeve side foot in hip, opening up guard wide and cup the sleeve side ankle
3. Insert hook behind far side knee or ankle
To switch to the balloon sweep from here:
1. Remove cup and take sleeve side grip
2. Grab far side collar, remove hook and put far side foot on hip
3. Pull on sleeve and collar and bend legs to load, lift to sweep
And to switch to "three":
1. Switch to cross sleeve grip
2. Cup ankle, push off hip with legs to "sit" on his sleeve side foot
3. De la Riva hook with your sleeve side leg while pushing on the hip with your far side leg
We worked on these for awhile, back and forth, at faster and faster speeds. I never use these kind of leggy open guards. But they really seemed to feel not-so-bad tonight. The trick, of course, will be working them in to my training - which I've not ever really done consistently.
Some good tatame tonight. Rolled with "Garcia" for the first time in months, if ever. It will be nice to have him back training regularly. I also rolled with a newer white belt I didn't recognize and tried to work some moth guard and long half. It was a little sloppy. I really need to review my moth guard sweeps.
Feeling pretty good. My shoulder has a few aches, but probably feels better now than it did earlier in the day. I did do some resistance work, all pulling motions, and I think I benefitted from not supersetting the bent-over overhand rows and the bent-over underhand rows and the alt curls and hammer curls. I really think it was the hammer curls that did it this time.
The plan is to train Thursday night and Saturday morning. I weighed in at 163.4 after training, which is heavy, obviously. But I think I'm not going to worry about my weight during this "End of Year" 8-week training stretch. Nothing over 165 will be acceptable. But aside from that, I want to train, build up my shoulders a bit, eat normally and maybe mix in a little cardio once a week (when I'm not doing jiu jitsu four times a week).
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Burien Top Team, Welterweight
Training for Revolution 11 08 08 has not gone as planned.
I got sick last week, the week of the 1sth through the 18th. I knew the week might prove tricky, with Rebecca's mom and dad coming to town. But if I hadn't gotten sick I'm sure I would have been able to get on the mat at least twice that week. As things turned out, I didn't make it to the Academy once.
That's set me back in a number of ways - most directly on my monthly training count. I'd set an unofficial goal of training 15 times a month - a mark I reached in September with the help of the two-day Marcelo Garcia seminar and the GB Seattle "Friendly" near the end of the month.
Controlling for those three events, I still should be able to train at least 12 times a month. So far, in October, I'm up to five sessions - three in the last week including today. That means if I can train four times next week, I can get it up to nine - which isn't horrible considering the missed week cost me at least two sessions, if not three.
One piece of good news. Rodrigo asked me to compete at welterweight - 155.9 - 169.9. I've not had a lot of success at welterweight - I'm 0-3, to be honest about it. But given the way the weigh-in's will work out this time around - we'll be weighing in day-of-event - I'm grateful for not having to worry so much about my pounds and kilos.
I probably should have made this decision sooner. Right now, Rodrigo is looking to have Sauleh and Bryan compete at LW, with myself and a GB Ballard guy named Dominick compete at WW. There aren't a lot of physical adjustments I can - or should try - to make in order to compete at WW. I've got a much better sense of my game since I last competed at WW back in February. I'll treat this competition as a play-through tournament - something I had increasingly thought about doing anyway given my poor preparation - and look to the summer or fall Revolution event in 2009 to really go for the gold.
The midway point as a WW is 162.5. I'll no doubt be the smallest guy in the division (I weighed in at 158.4 after training today). If I can become a cut 162.5, then I might be pretty happy about competing against guys I suspect will be cutting from 175. That will require some pretty quality calories, more iron and less treadmill. But I felt weak as hell when I last competed under 154.9 (I weighed in at 152.1 or so the day before). Not having to worry about my weight, assuming I behave myself by eating right and training consistently, will be a nice turn of events going forward.
I got sick last week, the week of the 1sth through the 18th. I knew the week might prove tricky, with Rebecca's mom and dad coming to town. But if I hadn't gotten sick I'm sure I would have been able to get on the mat at least twice that week. As things turned out, I didn't make it to the Academy once.
That's set me back in a number of ways - most directly on my monthly training count. I'd set an unofficial goal of training 15 times a month - a mark I reached in September with the help of the two-day Marcelo Garcia seminar and the GB Seattle "Friendly" near the end of the month.
Controlling for those three events, I still should be able to train at least 12 times a month. So far, in October, I'm up to five sessions - three in the last week including today. That means if I can train four times next week, I can get it up to nine - which isn't horrible considering the missed week cost me at least two sessions, if not three.
One piece of good news. Rodrigo asked me to compete at welterweight - 155.9 - 169.9. I've not had a lot of success at welterweight - I'm 0-3, to be honest about it. But given the way the weigh-in's will work out this time around - we'll be weighing in day-of-event - I'm grateful for not having to worry so much about my pounds and kilos.
I probably should have made this decision sooner. Right now, Rodrigo is looking to have Sauleh and Bryan compete at LW, with myself and a GB Ballard guy named Dominick compete at WW. There aren't a lot of physical adjustments I can - or should try - to make in order to compete at WW. I've got a much better sense of my game since I last competed at WW back in February. I'll treat this competition as a play-through tournament - something I had increasingly thought about doing anyway given my poor preparation - and look to the summer or fall Revolution event in 2009 to really go for the gold.
The midway point as a WW is 162.5. I'll no doubt be the smallest guy in the division (I weighed in at 158.4 after training today). If I can become a cut 162.5, then I might be pretty happy about competing against guys I suspect will be cutting from 175. That will require some pretty quality calories, more iron and less treadmill. But I felt weak as hell when I last competed under 154.9 (I weighed in at 152.1 or so the day before). Not having to worry about my weight, assuming I behave myself by eating right and training consistently, will be a nice turn of events going forward.
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