Training Day: Wednesday

Open Mat today with the 4th of July holiday.  I got in some good open guard drilling with Glenn (X-guard sweeps for him, Leandro Lo sweep for me), helped a new guy with armbar defense, and managed two sparring sessions, including a long roll with Jeremy, who I haven't seen much less trained with in some time.

W/re2 the Leandro Lo sweep, I think the key is in abandoning the spider control as soon as you get the leg locked up.  Otherwise, I feel as if I'm leaving myself vulnerable to a potential footlock or ankle lock.  Maybe even more importantly, I am able to get to the top after the sweep much faster if I get rid of the spider control (i.e., foot on bicep).  This is more or less what I discovered drilling the sweep with Mark awhile back.  But it was good to be reminded of the issue.

One thing that is becoming clearer about my sparring is that the guard passing work of this year is really starting to pay off.  My guard passing confidence has never been higher, which in some ways isn't saying very much because I've never felt as if guard passing was a strong part of my game, anyway.  But confidence is confidence, and I've got it.  I'm finally starting to enjoy attacking the guard.

The flip side of this is that I've been spending so much time working on my guard passing game that my guard has started to suffer.  As always "guard" for me is just shorthand for "half guard".  And while I have no intention whatsoever of giving up the half guard as my go-to guard, I also need to grow the guard out a bit if I'm going to be able to use it effectively against bigger and more talented opponents.

The issue is that I'm not controlling the space, and am spending too much time fighting from a flattened position.  There are three ways to fix this: (1) re-prioritize the frame, either at the shoulder or with the knee, (2) use the butterfly hook more aggressively to change the balance and attack with a hook sweep from sitting up, and (3) crush the space with a deep half attack.

Right now (2) is the option I need to focus on particularly.  I was able to get a reverse out of a fairly flattened situation at one point today with the Foster sweep, which was a reminder of not only the value of the butterfly hook, but also of the kimura grip.  I really don't have a sweep out of (1), though this may be a good place to start, including this variation that gets you to the back.

Last, (3), especially with the Faria sweep, is another option I need to train more.  I got a lot of insights out of the Pan and Mundial this year when it comes to understanding the Faria sweep from deep half, and I've been letting those insights ripen on the vine a little too long.

160.5 on the scale post-train.  I would have liked to knock another pound off that number for a sub-160 midweek count.  But assuming the end of week number on Friday is where is should be (i.e., 157-159), Wednesday's 160+ is no crime.

Ricardo Almeida: 50/50 Guard Sweep and Reverse

Training Day: Monday

A short, short session on the holiday ... They opened up the Bellevue academy for a couple of hours for open mat. There weren't as many folks training as I had hoped, but there were plenty of folks: Pat, Nate, Dan, Jake, Chris, Jei and Sonia, Chaim, Jesse ... who were there and ready to go.

I spent most of the time rolling with Jake and drilling with Chaim. Jake is a blue belt with a very good butterfly guard attack and, more to the point, excellent balance when attacked with hook sweeps. It was a huge challenge to try and get him off base, reminding me that I need to secure more points of control to deal with those who are able to keep themselves balanced even deep into the sweep.

I wasn't able to work the 2on1 game that I want to focus on for the balance of the year. But there was some good movement and improvisation from the deep half that I liked and will probably indicate the way forward in the whole menagerie of halfs, deep halfs, X-guards and single Xs.

Again, not as much training today as I would have hoped for - it's been a bit of a low volume week as summer winds down. But I'm looking to make up for it in the days leading up to my mini-vacation in Portland in a little over a week - including that great seminar with Profs Feitosa, Joca and Almeida on Saturday. Here's to a four-day work week!

Training Day: Friday

Missed the first half of class due to obligations at the Daily Planet - or at least the desire to be "at the ready" for potential obligations at the Daily Planet. As frustrating as that was, I was rewarded by the fact that the sweep Prof Carlos was teaching as I walked through the door of the academy was the infamous Jean-Jacques Machado sweep off the shin guard.

I call this sweep infamous because I've seen a lot of different folks do it: from JJ Machado himself to Stephan Kesting in his excellent half guard video. But what I haven't seen any do is actually "teach" the sweep, step-by-step, in slow motion and with critical details. However much I may have missed most of Friday's training, I got more than my time's worth by getting to see this sweep in action - under instruction.

A couple of key points. Prof Carlos emphasized getting to your side - something that my matwork (TM) drills have really helped forge into muscle memory. He referred to it as "putting your ear on the ground" as you move for the dive under. He also emphasized using a strong "fist-hand" curled behind the knee of the off-leg. I saw a few guys grabbing the pants and a few others using an open hand. Neither of those is the way to go. Drive that off-hand up behind the knee almost like a Popeye uppercut - it is part of the project to disrupt the base.

Another detail came courtesy of Jesse after class. Jesse really focused on using both legs to lock up the shin guard. Prof Carlos used a similar pressure, but kept his off leg straight rather than curled around the standing opponent's trapped leg. I suspect this is something that can be adjusted depending on the resistance and type of pass the opponent is working toward.

We also worked on an interesting trap from the closed guard against a standing opponent. Here, with double sleeve control as he stands, you triangle his legs low beneath the knees. Pull the sleeves over and toward you on the side your triangle-leg lock is on. Plant your free foot on the mat and turn in the opposite direction.

This was a tricky one. Working with Glenn and Fred, I was able to get the sweep a little more certainly when I pulled the triangle in toward my chest a bit before rolling. The problem with that approach seemed to be that you lost control of the potential for mount as you come up on top.

Open Mat was very good. I'm doing a lot with some pretty barbarian hook sweeps, to which I credit strongly my matwork (TM) drilling. Yesterday, as part of Threshold Training, I did 80 hook sweeps L/R, for example. That's what building the circuitry, the drilling the "muscle memory", can do for you. I also got to work with Angus and Tom, showing them elements of my King Crimson (kimura, crossover sweep, guillotine ...) game, which was a lot of fun.

Speaking of a lot of fun, I'm back on the dark side of 162, weighing in at 163.6 - everything but the coat. At a certain level, this is a terrible number for a Friday post-train. But at the end of the day, it is less than 2 pounds above my maximum weight for the tournament next Saturday. It may not be pretty. But making my number should be no problem.

A few close calls with headbutts, but the cut above my good eye seems to have made it through training unscathed. If I can get past Saturday's competition training similarly unblemished that might be all the time I need to let this petit gash seal up nice and tight ahead of the Seattle Open.

Trading Day: Monday

Only the Advanced class today. I would have liked to spar and do some Live Training, but by the time the Advanced Class was over, it was time for me to get my hat, as the old folks used to say. No worries insofar as I'll be back on the mat Tuesday and there was plenty for me to think about and integrate from today's class.

The whole session was devoted to pulling half guard, pulling deep half really. The idea is to dive into the half guard using your sleeve grip side, using your collar grip to pull the guy lower and break his posture down. Prof. Carlos had us underhook the rear leg rather than wrapping both arms around the front leg as Jeff Glover prefers in his deep half. From here scissor your legs and drag on the collar to sweep the guy face forward.

One variation on this takedown/sweep was to transition from the scissor to the shin sweep using the pendulum motion to turn the guys leg over and bring his knee closer. Here, you grab the foot with the collar grip and slide under the front leg with your farthest out leg cocked behind the guy's leg at the knee. Carlos had us grab our pant leg to wrap up the leg for more control. But the basic sweep is very similar to the one that Marcelo Garcia has relied on for some time now.

We also did a variation where you dive with the collar grip, but I'm going to ignore that one because I like the sleeve grip dive better: more options, more control.

Lastly we finished up with some basic half guard. In addition to the Old School sweep that I've made my bread and butter, Carlos also showed a butterfly half sweep option in case the guy posts his leg out wide. Most of the time, I've gone to the Twist Back when the leg is posted wide. Having this hook sweep option out of the half butterfly is a nice additional option.

It was also nice to work the transition from deep half to regular half. I am able to scramble to deep half more often than not when in trouble. Being able to get from deep half to regular half will soon come in handy I'm sure.

162.5 on the scale post train, everything but the coat. Three weeks to go, I'm pretty much were I should be. I've been brushing up on some escape details, things to work on over the next couple of weeks. Today's class was definitely a building one in terms of techniques I can put to work immediately.