What's Working: Daily Stretching

One of the great early successes of Training Year 6 (Aug 2010 - Jul 2011) is my daily stretching routine, which just notched a full month of consecutive practice.

The trick has been to cut my routine in half. The full upper body/lower body routine I do have 18 different stretches, some L/R, some with as many as six parts (like the standing hamstring stretch).

Holding each position for at least 30 seconds can make this a longer routine than I'd like, especially since I do my stretching at night between 8 and 9. It got to be easy to skip a night, then two nights, then struggle to make up the work later.

But by cutting the routine in half and doing upperbody and hip stretches one night and leg streches the next, I've managed to cut the daily routine down to where I don't feel as if I'm going to have to spend half an hour on the floor.

Maybe it would be different if I were already a flexible person and stretching was more a combination of maintenance and showing off (bitter much?). But as it is, stretching is no big pleasure and I'm usually pretty glad to get it over with. So props to me for finally getting a month's worth of stretching in the books.

"Sleep"

To sleep is to replenish vitality. The more intense the individual's physical and mental activity, the greater the need for rest. To sleep seems to me just as important as any other facet of an athlete's training. I prize at least eight hours of sleep per day, always deep and uninterrupted.

Poor sleep means ill health, poor performance and mood, mental fatigue.

--Carlos Gracie Jr. from "Body health" in the Sound Body issue of GracieMag.

I've been training harder than ever before, getting very close to averaging four training sessions a week. I've been doing more off-mat conditioning than ever - and smarter conditioning than ever before, thanks to the work of Joel Jamieson. My diet has improved dramatically, with the addition of some Gracie Diet-influenced additions (namely eating fruit daily and not mixing carbs). I'm regularly weighing-in at under 155 - a number I usually only make under duress in the final few hours before a pre-tournament weigh-in.

At the same time, I got sick twice in October last year as cold and flu season kicked in and, here we are a year later and I'm stumbling through my second rhinovirus in 30 days.

So what's the deal?

The only thing I can point to is a lack of rest. Since I started at The Daily Planet, I've been averaging about 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night, getting up at 5:30 am for work and hitting the sack sometime between 10:30 and 11 pm - usually closer to the latter.

In some other situation, this may not be such a big deal. But when you add in all the physical stress of training and conditioning (and as far as mental stress goes, life at the Daily Planet is no children's crossword puzzle, either), 6 1/2 hours just isn't going to cut it.

As much as I'd like to pretend otherwise, I'm 42. And if I'm going to keep up this pace, I'm going to have to get my rest the old-fashioned way: 8 hours of sleep minimum during the week.

Maybe getting some sort of cold has been inevitable (I'm pretty sure that I've gotten a cold every fall for at least the last several years). But the double-dip nature of it all - the two colds in October last year and the two setbacks this fall - speak to something more than just the regular change-of-seasons headcold.

So that's what I'm figuring right now. Assuming that I'm not going to get sick for a third time this year, there may not be an easy way to tell if this "figuring" has worked (though maybe an uptick in my on the mat performance would be one welcome sign). But I've really got to try something to break this pattern and, from some perspectives, forcing myself to hit the sack at 9:30 or 10 p.m. at the absolute latest, might be both the easiest and most effective approach.

Iron Lion Zion

This is actually what's going through my head as I'm trying to get through the push-up part of the pummeling/push-up start of training Thursday night. Much thanks to Mr. Marley for that. But for the evening's overall cardio performance, I've got to give it up for this guy.

Training Days: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Blame it on the heat ... I've had a harder time than usual keeping up with my post-training posts this past week. I've had a great time in training, focusing particularly on standing to open and pass the guard for 75% of the time and only "resorting" to the Flat Pass when the guy is determined to break my posture and keep it close.

So far, it's not a bad one-two. I still don't have a "jeito" for actually passing the guard other than the Fowler Backstep. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but I'm still loitering around the "toreano" sections of both Jean Jacques and Saulo's books. Ultimately, I'll find something there that works for me.

Some memorable rolls this week with Bryan on Friday, Cindy on Thursday, an incredible, exhausting, mind-bending roll with Rodrigo on what must have been Tuesday, I think ... I found myself working a lot of top position this past week, particularly the baseball choke trick of crawling up toward the head to get the second hand insertion. But it is still a region in progress. I'm also working a lot on the cross collar and sleeve guard with either the sleeve side foot in the hip or the outside foot hooking the thigh or knee of the trailing leg. Mostly, I'm getting scissor and scissor/hook sweeps and transitions to half guard - which is fine.

This week marks my first four-week, training per week average of 4.0. I'd been at 3.75 for the previous two weeks. But it is nice to see the number tick up into the A range. Post-training weight all week has been outstanding: Mon (155.8), Tue (153.2), Thu (155.6), Fri (151.8). And I've got two sessions left (out of 10) of the "cardiac output" phase of my pre-camp aerobic conditioning program. So far, so good.

Thursday Training

Back on the mat for a Cindy class after more than a month ... It was nice to get back into her routine: the semi-gymnastic warm-up has been augmented with a serious core building routine: duo triangles, flutter kicks, duo triangles, isometric situps with trunk twists ... it was actually a relief to get to the Superman, behind-the-head Superman and alternating Superman drills.

We did specific work after several minutes of pummelling. Guard/Pass Guard and Mount/Escape Mount. Since it was no gi, I focused on the Flat Pass. I'm a little hung up on some of the things guys are doing to defend it - tonight, grabbing my attacking hand and controlling it was a major tactic. I need to work through that. It definitely works to get into the habit of opening the ankles with your top leg. It is agility worth developing because it is a nice edge to be able to open those ankles without necessarily needing to use your hand.

That was probably the biggest lesson. I went a lot more for the knee wedge half guard pass with the double underhooks, which should probably be my go-to half guard pass outside of the watchdog position. I had to fight for it, but the ballerina pass out of the watchdog and crossface positions both seemed to work tonight.

I'm also thinking that Thursday night might be a good weightlifting night, given the new equipment downstairs. Being able to do some heavy pulls on the lat machine and rows on the cables would be great, along with some leg extensions for my quads. Mainly focusing on stuff I can't do at home. Doing that after class on Monday and Thursday might be a nice little difference maker in my strength training.

157.8 on the scale. So far I've managed to weigh in below 160 after every class this month. Starting in July, that's going to have to be a pre-train weight instead of post-train, keeping things nice and low for the two weeks going into the Revolution event.

Fedor Training Secrets & More!

A nice, long interview with the top heavyweight mixed martial artist in the world.

Fedor Emelianenko: Insider Training Facts

"Wake up at 8 am. Train at 10 am. Train again at 5 p.m. Lights out at 11 am. Three meals a day. Cardio before each training session. Diet: meat, fish, vegetables, fruit ..."


I'm still marveling at the idea of getting nine hours of sleep a night!

Bitten by the Holiday Bug

I didn't make it to the academy Thursday night. I would have loved to - I haven't been to one of Cindy's no gi classes since she opened up shop over at the Bellevue location. But the long days and late spring sun - and the bliss of a three-day weekend - were calling to me HARD.

So that's my excuse. The weather was just too damn nice and I was too ready for a three-day weekend.

You'd think I worked at coal mine or something, rather than the occupational heaven-on-Earth that is life at The Daily Planet over the past year and a half. But liberation from the samsara of punching a time clock - however otherwise wondrous that time clock might be - has been a goal of mine for many, many years. And a three-day weekend spent reading, writing, gardening, and working out was - save the absence of jiu jitsu - a mighty incentive to stick to the path.

I've been working on elements of my conditioning routine, simplifying the tabata, trying out the armoplatas (verdict: excellent). I think I've got an HICT (high intensity continuous training) routine to alternate with my LSD cardio work that is based around the tabata, armoplatas and the 360s. It's not HICT in the strictest sense that Joel of 8 Weeks Out. But I suspect that it will serve a similar purpose in increasing muscle endurance.

In fact, what I'm thinking is that what the matwork might lack in intensity (read: resistance, since it is all bodyweight work), it definitely gains in sport-specificity. At root, I can't see any other way for it not to improve my muscle endurance and muscle memory in some of the key movements I need to improve my fundamental jiu jitsu.

Mat Work

One minute each exercise. Two trips through series. 10-minute rest. Then another two trips through the series.

Keep a moderate pace throughout. Constant precise movement is more important than quick imprecise movement. Full coil. Full extension.

hipscapes
upas
sit outs
hip splits
crossovers
360 drill
hook sweeps
armoplatas
scissor pulls
back rolls

There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do

With apologies to Mr. Ondaatje.

Bishop Knife Trick

I was working on my latest set of jiu jitsu cardio drills ("mat work") and for some reason this scene from Alien popped into my head.

I've been using the first few chapters of Saulo's book as my "hypnotic" during hour-long cardio sessions on the treadmill. Very basic, foundational stuff like suriving against rear mount, mount and, today, side control.

There are a ton of reasons why LSD cardio is good for you (meaning me, I suppose). The fact that it gives you so much time to meditate and think about what your trying to accomplish can't be understated. By the end of the hour - and after a shower and some rehydration - I was full of energy and ready for the day.

I'm looking forward to adding mat work into my routine. I'm trying to adapt the conditioning concepts I'm learning from Joel at 8 Weeks Out, using tempo methods and extended sessions to develop real muscle endurance.

More than that, though, I'm trying to adapt important jiu jitsu movements into this routine, so that in addition to getting into better and better shape, I'm searing certain fundamental movements into my muscle memory. I've already seen the difference that doing 3 sets of one minute "armoplatas" has done for my armlock and omoplata attacks from the guard.

We've got a huge new bench weight set installed at the GB Seattle location: a full Christmas tree of stuff from leg extensions and lat pulldowns to bench presses and the rest. For me, the possibility of being able to throw in a few sets of leg extensions and lat pulldowns after training is ideal: those are the two exercises I have the hardest time recreating using dumbbells.

Except for the eagerness to get back on the mat, training three times this past week wasn't the worst thing in the world. I definitely felt more energetic on Thursday, failures during the sprawl intervals notwithstanding. Maybe alternating three and four trainings per week is the key.

One thing I do think is the case (and is borrowed from Joel's approach to conditioning) is that I think that heavy volume is important. In other words, when I train, I should arrive early and stay late, soaking up as my experience as I can. If that works out to only be able to train three times a week instead of four, then so be it. I tend to think that four is the magic number to keep yourself improving and fitting better and better into your jiu jitsu. And if I'm not going to be able to train on a given Friday, then I need to make certain I'm on the mat on Monday (the ATM rule).

Interesting goes on over at GB Seattle/Bellevue ... I don't know all the details, but I do know that from the moment Rodrigo told me that he was opening a school in Bellevue, I knew that GB Seattle/Bellevue would be a huge success. It was a no brainer. There are tons of people on the Eastside who would be ideal for jiu jitsu and there is no pure jiu jitsu training on the other side of the lake as far as I know. The facility itself is spacious - you could easily hold two classes at the same time. As I told Rodrigo at the time he brought it up: it will eventually have more students than the GB Seattle/Downtown school. That might be ten years from now. But there's no way that GB Seattle/Bellevue doesn't blow-up into something special.

Enough on that. I'm having a great time in training, feeling some modest cardio improvements, and seeing some technical betterment, as well. Just in time for spring training, so to speak.

Wednesday Training

A smallish class tonight. And rather than additional instruction, Rodrigo devoted the entire class to specific work.

It is really one of my favorite types of classes to have every now and then. I worked with Travis as we did specifics for side control, rear mount, mount and closed guard. I think we did three minutes rounds, with each person getting to work from both positions twice.

We followed that up with some long sparring sessions, more than 7 minutes in most cases with two or three minutes rest in between. I can't remember all of my sparring, but I know I got in at least four separate rolls before calling it a night at quarter of seven.

I was checking my HR after each session, routinely clocking in between 120-140 bpm which is right in the aerobic zone I should be focused on in my LSD work. After each session I laid flat on my back which I read is the best way to lower your heart rate in between conditioning events. One of the things I've learned from Joel Jamieson over at 8 Weeks Out is how important a simple measure like your HR can both help you see exactly where your conditioning is and help you know adjust your training intensity to achieve conditioning improvements.

Technically speaking, I continued working the toe grab sweep from low half with good effect. The more I work out of the high half, the more opportunity and space I seem to have to shoot in for the underhook. My high half remains nothing to write home about. But already I'm starting to see it as enough of a distraction that it is giving me opportunities to transition to the low half and even the deep half.

The pass by crossover from low half is also something that is working well. I want to try it on some tougher guys. But it is a sweep I don't remember seeing anyone do at the academy over the years, so there's a chance I'll be introducing something newish to the GB Seattle jiu jitsu "construct," so to speak.

My mount and side control escapes are still on the rough side. I've got my techniques down, actually, I just need more mat time to get them nice and soaked into my muscle memory. Classes like tonight are great for that.

Not sure if I'll train tomorrow or Friday - or maybe both. April's target was 18, which would require training tomorrow night. But we'll see.

I am starting to feel the benefits of the increased training frequency. Including tournaments, I've trained at least four times a week since late March, which is a great pace considering I've managed to avoid even the fleeting injury (and yes, I did just knock on my wooden desk). I'm not doing anything incredible, and I still wish my conditioning were about 50% better (my goal is to get my in-between sparring HR down to 100-120 bpm by the first week of June and between 80-100 bpm by the first week of July).

But I'm starting to get used to being on the mat, a feeling I haven't had in earnest since the spring of 2007 (the great days of training with Bryan and Steve three times a week ...). And that's only likely to lead to good things.

157.6 on the scale. In the same way I always wish I had just one more hour every day, I'd love to be consistently about five pounds lighter than I am. My Monday night weigh-in goes from 163 to 158 ... Tonight's goes under 153 ... Considered that way, putting in the extra effort to "permanently" drop 5 pounds seems more than worth it.

Tuesday Training

Today we worked again on a half guard replacement from the turtle position. This was the one where you stiff arm one leg at the knee, straighten your leg on the same side (shoot it straight back) and then sit out as if you were doing a wrestler's switch, using the grip at the knee for leverage.

We also did a guard replacement after side control escape. The side control escape was the same one that Rodrigo showed us a few days ago: legs bent and together, swing into the guy for momentum then swing your legs away, plant your feet and bridge from a 45 degree angle or so ...

Rather than do the drop step move to the knees, Rodrigo had us do this guard replacement. What you did was swing your farthest away leg up and over the guy's head so that it lands on the far shoulder, with the crook of your knee on his shoulder. With your inside leg, you want to tuck it in between your body and his, hooking your foot on his side with your knee pointing out (sort of a reverse knee block, a shin hook ...).

Your grips from this position are to grab the pants at the knee on the same side that your knee is pointing out and to grab the sleeve at the elbow on the other side (the side with the slung knee).

It wasn't the easiest guard for me to get into. But there is a lot of control from this position and a ton of sweeps. One that Rodrigo showed Stephen and I that was especially nice had you do a cross grip (release the elbow and get the sleeve at the wrist on the knee side) and bow out, kicking with your shin hook and pulling with your grips. You have to go almost face down to get the sweep. But if you keep your grips and just walk your body backwards after the sweep, you're likely to get a nice top position.

Some good stuff. Tatame had two features that really stood out. One was the lapel rope counter to the knee cross pass against my half guard. I did this three or so times in one spar late in the session and managed to avoid the pass every time. I think I even got a sweep in an instance or two. The lapel rope counter is something that I saw in Saulo's book - only Saulo was showing how to avoid it. Reverse engineering that example, I think I've found a major keeper for my half guard.

I've been working on the far side with the half guard, trying to get chokes, maintain a nice frame with the high half to keep the guy's weight off of me. It's a real work in progress. But one thing that worked very well today was to pass that far arm (sort of the Aesopian kung fu move toward the outside leg) and then reach over with my inside arm and get a good grip around his back at the waist. From here, I can essentially do a sort of crossover sweep, pulling with the grip and rotating my hips. I ended up in a watchdog half guard position on top. Another major keeper.

I'm also starting to see some success with the Flat pass, and doing better about avoiding getting caught in half guard. That said, I'm trying to make sure I take opportunities to stand against the guard and work on my balance and pass "approach."

Back back on the cardio bandwagon today before training. We'll see how it works out, but I'm going to commit to getting back on the treadmill at least twice a week. I'm doing 30 and 45 minute sessions with my heart rate in the 120s - which is exactly what my resting heart rate was at the end of training today. It was foolish to abandon it last fall. Hopefully I'll stick to it this time.

158.0 on the scale after class. Much more like it.

The Case for Cardio

This pretty much sums up most of what I've learned from Joel Jamieson over at his website, 8 Weeks Out.

I found myself looking back over my training logs for the past several months and I'm wondering if the problems I've been having with cardio in training of late are simply due to the fact that I haven't done any serious cardio work since early last fall?

I'm sure there are a lot of factors involved. But I was a little shocked to realize how little emphasis I've been putting on pure, LSD type cardio.

I think I've been confused about how limited the anaerobic energy system is. There's a nice thread over at 8 Weeks Out that talks about this in connection with mixed martial arts. But I think a lot of the conversation is applicable to jiu jitsu, as well. As one poster notes, the anaerobic glycolytic system generates max power at the one minute mark and by the five minute mark has been cut in half.

In two out of the last four competitive matches I've been in, I've been ahead on points with a few minutes left (sometimes 45 seconds!). I'm increasingly convinced that the reason I lost those matches was because I was just too tired. Too tired to think, too tired to act, too tired to prevail.

Reminds me of that great Dan Inosanto quote: "If you are tired you’re not strong, if you are tired you’re not fast, if you’re tired you don’t have good technique, and if you’re tired you’re not even smart".

So part of my return to the drawing board that has me tightening things up with my half guard (i.e., introducing a "high half" component with chokes, sweeps and the kimura), I want to get back to twice a week LSD, treadmill cardio for the next several weeks.

And given the fact that I've been able to keep my weight under 160 without this kind of cardio, I'm curious to see what happens with some additional, pure fat burning cardio sessions added back to the mix.

Day One: 6 Weeks Out

The first day of the camp for the Subleague event in early May was a light one: muscle endurance program (MEP) using tempo and explosive pushups from Joel over at 8Weeks Out. I had tried to do this program last fall, but my shoulder was still too weak from my labrium injury. So far, with the first routine done this afternoon, so good.

I'm doing Berardi/Beaster on Tuesdays and Man Makers on Thursdays, LSD9 on Saturday. The MEP is Sunday and Wednesday, with the final two weeks of the program having a Monday session, as well.

I'll be curious to see how I handle this camp compared to the last one. I definitely felt like I was breaking down after week six of the previous eight week camp. I was doing too much calorie restriction and wasn't getting the hours of sleep I should have. Times were pretty stressful, too, off the mat. And I can't help but think that contributed to the general malaise of late February.

But with spring in the air and fortune having at least reversion to the mean on its side, I'm thinking I can have a good run through the middle of the year.

I'm trying to fix the conditioning to the type of event Subleague will be (no gi, submission only, 4 minute matches). A combination of explosiveness (power and power endurance) and strategy are what will be needed to prevail. I have a four minute jiu jitsu Tabata that I may add to Saturdays before the LSD9 to get a feel of what that four minutes might feel like. With regard to strategy, I have my half guard for the bottom, and will spend the next six month focusing on taking the back.

As much as I want to improve my ability to take the back from half guard, there are a few other positions I want to master, as well. I'm liking, for example, the Rickson move that Saulo shows in his book (103-105) as "Closed Guard Overwrap" and "Overwrap to Back". I think both "rooms" go well with the Rap Star and half guard I've been working on.

I'm slowly working this cold off. Monday will probably be my first day back in two weeks. I've missed about 5 classes, but there's a pretty good chance that I can make up that time - and then some - in April during my 6 Weeks Out. One goal for 2009 is to average 15 classes a month - including seminars and competition/tournaments - which is 180 classes a year. So far I've got 14 for January, 13 for February and, hopefully, at least 11 for March. A big April (17-18) will go a long way toward my number.

I also want to do a better job of focusing on using both the move of the day and whatever I am working on for competition. In the same way that Berardi talks about meals as "feeding opportunities", I need to make sure I look at every sparring opportunity as a "continuing education opportunity." At the risk of sounding extreme about it, if I'm not working on something, I'm working toward nothing.

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.

Andre Galvao on Movement, Agility and Jiu Jitsu

Strength and Conditioning with Demian Maia

Partial Rep Squats

I've always thought that my hamstrings dominated my quadriceps when it came to leg power. Only when doing very quad specfic exercises like leg raises did I ever feel a real burn on the top of my legs. Even now, with my focus on squatting and inclines on the treadmill, I rarely feel significant stress in my quads while my hamstrings are getting stronger and more flexibile.

The problem is that I can instantly feel the burn when I do partial rep squats. When it comes to takedowns, especially leg attacks, being able to move around comfortably in this semi-crouch is crucial. It makes it easy to fake high and go low, for example, over and over again without tiring.

Here's an interesting article that talks about the partial rep squat and its relationship to what they call "springiness" in the legs.

Partial Squats: An Outstanding Exercise for Improving Your Strength, Stability and Efficiency

Runners who use partial squats find them especially helpful during speed workouts. They report that regular partial squatting makes their legs feel less tired during high-quality training sessions. Interestingly, this relief is often immediately apparent, suggesting that there is a strong neurological benefit associated with the 'pose' of the exercise and the balancing involved. You may safely carry out a high-quality track or other intense workout immediately after completing the partial squat routine - and expect to perform at a higher-than-normal level. Soccer and basketball players may also include partial squats as part of their pre-workout warm-ups.

Monday Night Training

First night back on the mat in about two and a half weeks. In some ways, it seemed like a very long time. In other ways - the drive, for example - it was nicely familiar. I'll be glad to get my new cheap MP3 player. I miss Beaster on the way to train and my little four-song Temple of the Dog suite on the way back.

We did some warm-up takedowns. I stuck with wrestling moves mostly: arm drags, a lot of double legs including a double leg with an out-to-in trip, and went with a good-sized blue belt who was very good to train with, attacking with a lot of different types of throws and shoots.

We finished off the Monday skills session with some triangle chokes, building on what Lindsey had been teaching in his 5 p.m. class. I wasn't doing a very good job of elevating my hips, though I did like the way that I've made catching my shin with my opposite grip an automatic part of my triangle choke attack.

I may want to include hip elevations in my 3T jiu jitsu tabata intervals. I think I could have a pretty decent stealth triangle game against guys who aren't too much bigger than me.

I rolled with Shawn, who was one-armed due to a shoulder injury. It was interesting. He caught me in a very nice loop choke after some aggressive defense in his sitting guard. Pretty impressive for a one-armed guy - Shawn's movement reminded me of how much can be accomplished with just the right hip movement. It was a very interesting roll.

After that I rolled with Rodrigo for about 15-20 minutes (I thought it was more like 8-10). He put me in the shake 'n' bake bag more than a few times, and turned my halfway decent Old School attack into a desperate attempt to avoid getting mounted in a matter of seconds. Definitely one of those sessions that Saulo calls "survival."

That said, I did more scrambling than anything else. I did manage to "scoop" against Rodrigo's rear mount. But he already had collar control and was switching to an arm attack. Still, as far as I'm concerned, every time I do the scoop to avoid getting choked from rear mount, an angel is going to get its wings if I have to hitchhike to heaven and attach them myself.

A good night of training - a great night even. I got a good standup workout, spotted a major weakness in my triangle choke game, and got to roll with a brown belt (with at least three or four stripes) and Rodrigo for nearly 30 minutes total. Even with my morning workout (Berari/Beaster), I had pretty good energy - though I was working hard to try and keep active against Rodrigo. Post-train weight was 162.2, also pretty good for a Monday after nearly three weeks off.

By the way, I was reminded of the Nogimura (the reverse kimura that Minotauro showed as one of his techniques of the day for MMA Weekly many moons ago) during sparring tonight. I need to take another look at that technique. It could be a signature type arm attack that no one is using.

Martell: January

William Martell's Greco-Roman Wrestling is one of my favorite books on combat sports. In fact, I'd put it right up there with Gene LeBell's Judo in the top ten books for martial artists and fighter/athletes. Not only are both books filled with great techniques and fundamentals for grapplers, but also the two share insights into the basics of what combat and, importantly, preparation for combat, are all about.

One of the features I like about Martell's book is its same programs: multi-year programs to build a combat team's training around, pre-competition programs for the final week and a half of training and weight-cutting ... if you're a planner like me, then it's some really good stuff.

I'm going to include Martell's One Year Program as part of my pseudo-Grappling Gameplan for 2009. He notes monthly goals that can help focus your training over the course of the year, including spring and fall fighting seasons.

January
Develop a new technique.
In addition to the other things I'm working on, I want to put a focus on Rap Star in January. It could end up being the basis of my non-half guard, guard game.

Build strength through heavy weight training for power.
Squat muscle endurance program begins in January. Pull routine 2x week (Monday, Thursday). Berardi/Beaster 1x week (Tuesday).

Develop body awareness and flexibility through gymnastics.
3T Flex 2x week (Sunday, Wednesday)

Teach some youth wrestling to develop your analytic approach to wrestling.
Regularly update and maintain "side control"

Year End Training: Week Three

I'm two weeks into my year-end training program. And more than a few things have changed.

For one, I'm abandoning the 8 Weeks Out muscular endurance program. Or, rather, I'm starting over using squats instead of pushups. My shoulder is taking plenty of abuse from training, and the pushups are really taking a toll.

As I think about it, the most important muscular endurance I need isn't in my pushing ability (which might be the case with an MMA athlete), but in my legs (with my pulling ability coming in second). Legs are what make it possible for me to shoot for a single leg in overtime, what make it possible for me to have confidence - and relentlessness - when passing the guard from standing, what makes an open guard attack that more powerful ...

So between those two revelations, I'm going to make the final six weeks of my Year End Training the full six weeks of the 8 Weeks Out muscular endurance program, only using squats instead of pushups (and doubling the volume).

I'm adding a 2x/week Pull program that I've been working on for weeks, and will add the LSD9 back into my conditioning routine once a week, as well as a Push progam. If I can get to the academy 3 or 4 times a week around this, then all will be more than well for the balance of the year and my goal of getting in 24 classes in the final eight weeks of the year. Six down. 18 to go.