Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday Night Training
One thing I like about training when there is a tournament 30 days out is how focused the classes get. We really only worked on two different moves - the ankle pick takedown and the uchi mata - Thursday night in the first hour, with 50-count squats and wall-sits mixed in.
Some classes begin with a really hardcore warm-up, and then a nicely paced class. I'm always a slow starter, so those hardcore warm-ups, usually loaded with abs work, just kill me.
But when we do a light warm-up and a pretty intense class, I really feel like I rise to the occasion. I felt better doing the last set of squats than I did doing the first three.
I'm adding the wall sits to my occasional routine. They're a great way to build up leg strength.
During Cindy's no gi we worked some Rap Star moves: the triangle and some moves off the arm wrap when the guy pulls his arm out a bit.
There were a couple of highlights. Cindy helps secure the armwrap by hooking the wrapping hand around the side of her body. This isn't so important with the gi, but it was a nice reminder for trying Rap Star no gi.
Another big key was how far you hipscaped out in order to pressure the armwrap down at the guy's shoulder. You also want to throw the leg over the back of the shoulders or neck to help keep him down.
With the inside leg, use the knee or foot to pressure the arm bend. Shoot the leg past and attack with the triangle per usual.
The move off the arm wrap was especially interesting. You attack with the Rap Star. He dives down and tries to limp arm out of it.
With your inside hand, you reach between and armdrag the limp arm. It's just a simple move, and its a nice option to attack from the inside.
Other ways of attacking the limp arm are the kimura and the omoplata. Those are the traditional ways and they work just fine. Adding the armdrag gives you another option depending on how much space you have. If you have hipscaped back far enough, you can attack with the omoplata. If you've gotten some good but not great distance, the kimura is an option. If you're still closer than you might otherwise want to be, then the armdrag Cindy showed us is a nice alternative.
Another great opportunity to re-develop my Rap Star game. The next four weeks should be my max training intesity period - with the two-day Marcelo Garcia seminar in Olympia on the 20th and 21st and the GB Seattle "Friendly" on the 27th. I'll step up the conditioning an extra couple hours a week for the next month and start tightening up on the diet (starting Monday, that is, I have cupcakes waiting for me this very moment).
Thursday night weigh-in was 160.2. That's about 3% above where I want to be four weeks from now - a little over a pound a week. From there it's about another month of staying the course into the Revolution event in November.
Some classes begin with a really hardcore warm-up, and then a nicely paced class. I'm always a slow starter, so those hardcore warm-ups, usually loaded with abs work, just kill me.
But when we do a light warm-up and a pretty intense class, I really feel like I rise to the occasion. I felt better doing the last set of squats than I did doing the first three.
I'm adding the wall sits to my occasional routine. They're a great way to build up leg strength.
During Cindy's no gi we worked some Rap Star moves: the triangle and some moves off the arm wrap when the guy pulls his arm out a bit.
There were a couple of highlights. Cindy helps secure the armwrap by hooking the wrapping hand around the side of her body. This isn't so important with the gi, but it was a nice reminder for trying Rap Star no gi.
Another big key was how far you hipscaped out in order to pressure the armwrap down at the guy's shoulder. You also want to throw the leg over the back of the shoulders or neck to help keep him down.
With the inside leg, use the knee or foot to pressure the arm bend. Shoot the leg past and attack with the triangle per usual.
The move off the arm wrap was especially interesting. You attack with the Rap Star. He dives down and tries to limp arm out of it.
With your inside hand, you reach between and armdrag the limp arm. It's just a simple move, and its a nice option to attack from the inside.
Other ways of attacking the limp arm are the kimura and the omoplata. Those are the traditional ways and they work just fine. Adding the armdrag gives you another option depending on how much space you have. If you have hipscaped back far enough, you can attack with the omoplata. If you've gotten some good but not great distance, the kimura is an option. If you're still closer than you might otherwise want to be, then the armdrag Cindy showed us is a nice alternative.
Another great opportunity to re-develop my Rap Star game. The next four weeks should be my max training intesity period - with the two-day Marcelo Garcia seminar in Olympia on the 20th and 21st and the GB Seattle "Friendly" on the 27th. I'll step up the conditioning an extra couple hours a week for the next month and start tightening up on the diet (starting Monday, that is, I have cupcakes waiting for me this very moment).
Thursday night weigh-in was 160.2. That's about 3% above where I want to be four weeks from now - a little over a pound a week. From there it's about another month of staying the course into the Revolution event in November.
Uchi Mata
One of the classic judo throws. Rodrigo had us work the combination ankle pick/uchi mata during Thursday night's training. It's a really nice one-two: if the guy takes the step when you drag him with the collar, then go for the ankle pick. If he hangs back and stays defensive, step in with the skip pivot and throw the uchi mata.
I've always been a little intimidated by the uchi mata, thinking that it was another "tall guy" throw. But Karo Parisyan is a pretty stock guy and loves the uchi mata. So it's probably time I gave it a second look.
Here are some uchi matas in judo competition.
I've always been a little intimidated by the uchi mata, thinking that it was another "tall guy" throw. But Karo Parisyan is a pretty stock guy and loves the uchi mata. So it's probably time I gave it a second look.
Here are some uchi matas in judo competition.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
GSP and Gracie Barra
What in the world is a BJ Penn fan like me who also bleeds Gracie Barra red supposed to do when he comes across a photo like this?GSP Goes to GB Headquarters in Brazil
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Tuesday Night Training
A nice couple of hours on the mat tonight. Going in to things, it was good to see little Emmanual back on the mat after his injury last week (I think it was). If he sticks with it, he is really going to be something else. Of course, as my Dad once said when somebody said the same thing of me 25 years ago at one of those infamous high school football awards banquets, "he already is." Props to Pop.
Anyway, Rodrigo had us work out some half guard basics. These are the kinds of things I need to sear into my jiu jitsu brain if I'm going to make half guard my province, basics or not.
The first was his technique of cranking the outside leg and hipscaping out to get to your side when you get put flat on your back in half guard. This happens to me all the time and though I often get out of that situation fairly well, I don't have a good "go to" approach (like when I'm passing half guard). The point of that hipscaping and leg cranking is to both get on your side as well as create space so that you can shoot in your arm and get the underhook.
With your underhook, you want to shoot that arm high under the shoulder. The higher you shoot it, the more you are likely to move his body forward - making it easier to slip your head out and take the back.
I had a really hard time with this using my "bad" side (left leg as inside hook leg). My regular side wasn't perfect. But at least I was able to do the technique.
Rodrigo also showed us a sweep from this position. Say you try and get the underhook but the guy is just too tight. This would also probably work if the guy gets the underhook on you.
Reach over his back and grab his belt. Hipscape your hips back as far as you need to in order to insert a butterfly hook on the same side as your belt grab.
With your other hand, you want to control his outside arm, preferably at the elbow.
The sweep is a tackle type sweep. You want to pull on the arm, lift with the butterfly hook and - importantly - "stand up" on the inside leg as you look in the direction of the sweep.
Andrew, who I hadn't seen in a while and showed up about 45 minutes in, emphasized this last point. It was something I was doing a bit of - I think because I was reminded of that detail that Kesting talks about in his butterfly guard DVD, the idea that by pressing up on that one leg, you can get some nice elevation that makes the sweep that much harder to "balance" out of.
We worked those pretty much for the first half of class, then did some specifics out of the half guard, and then some general sparring. Tonight was kimura night for me. I managed to get one from the guard and one from side control. It's funny. I used to go for weeks without ever managing to submit anyone during sparring. But over the past few months I actually managed to get one or two a night.
I also got Stephen and Rodrigo to show me that one moth guard sweep that I was liking a few weeks ago. I couldn't remember where to put the inside leg. It actually hooks either under the leg (if the guy brings his knee up) or "backwards hooking" the side of the guy's body. Rodrigo emphasized the point that you can attack with this sweep in pretty much the same way whether the guy brings the knee up or not. Just attack and underhook that inside leg and use your inside leg as the lever to help get him up and over.
Stubbornly high 160.6 or so after training. I'm hoping to be under 159 after training on Thursday. But I'm not holding my breath. Then again, ideally, I'll gradually drift all the way down to 155 and not have to cut weight in November. So, I've got plenty of time to still do it the way I want.
Wow, I'm watching UFC 4. I've been watching the first few UFC events on DVD over the past few days and I'm almost as amazed now as I was 13-14 years ago when I first saw vale tudo fighting. I say vale tudo instead of mixed martial arts because the early UFC events really do show the difference between the two. In a perfect world, I actually prefer vale tudo. But that's another story for another day.
Anyway, Rodrigo had us work out some half guard basics. These are the kinds of things I need to sear into my jiu jitsu brain if I'm going to make half guard my province, basics or not.
The first was his technique of cranking the outside leg and hipscaping out to get to your side when you get put flat on your back in half guard. This happens to me all the time and though I often get out of that situation fairly well, I don't have a good "go to" approach (like when I'm passing half guard). The point of that hipscaping and leg cranking is to both get on your side as well as create space so that you can shoot in your arm and get the underhook.
With your underhook, you want to shoot that arm high under the shoulder. The higher you shoot it, the more you are likely to move his body forward - making it easier to slip your head out and take the back.
I had a really hard time with this using my "bad" side (left leg as inside hook leg). My regular side wasn't perfect. But at least I was able to do the technique.
Rodrigo also showed us a sweep from this position. Say you try and get the underhook but the guy is just too tight. This would also probably work if the guy gets the underhook on you.
Reach over his back and grab his belt. Hipscape your hips back as far as you need to in order to insert a butterfly hook on the same side as your belt grab.
With your other hand, you want to control his outside arm, preferably at the elbow.
The sweep is a tackle type sweep. You want to pull on the arm, lift with the butterfly hook and - importantly - "stand up" on the inside leg as you look in the direction of the sweep.
Andrew, who I hadn't seen in a while and showed up about 45 minutes in, emphasized this last point. It was something I was doing a bit of - I think because I was reminded of that detail that Kesting talks about in his butterfly guard DVD, the idea that by pressing up on that one leg, you can get some nice elevation that makes the sweep that much harder to "balance" out of.
We worked those pretty much for the first half of class, then did some specifics out of the half guard, and then some general sparring. Tonight was kimura night for me. I managed to get one from the guard and one from side control. It's funny. I used to go for weeks without ever managing to submit anyone during sparring. But over the past few months I actually managed to get one or two a night.
I also got Stephen and Rodrigo to show me that one moth guard sweep that I was liking a few weeks ago. I couldn't remember where to put the inside leg. It actually hooks either under the leg (if the guy brings his knee up) or "backwards hooking" the side of the guy's body. Rodrigo emphasized the point that you can attack with this sweep in pretty much the same way whether the guy brings the knee up or not. Just attack and underhook that inside leg and use your inside leg as the lever to help get him up and over.
Stubbornly high 160.6 or so after training. I'm hoping to be under 159 after training on Thursday. But I'm not holding my breath. Then again, ideally, I'll gradually drift all the way down to 155 and not have to cut weight in November. So, I've got plenty of time to still do it the way I want.
Wow, I'm watching UFC 4. I've been watching the first few UFC events on DVD over the past few days and I'm almost as amazed now as I was 13-14 years ago when I first saw vale tudo fighting. I say vale tudo instead of mixed martial arts because the early UFC events really do show the difference between the two. In a perfect world, I actually prefer vale tudo. But that's another story for another day.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Monday Night Training
You've gotta love training on Monday nights. We do a quick warm-up and then get right to it. It's really a nice way to start the training week.
Mike was there Monday night. I don't think I've seen him since the spring. For a few months, it seemed like he was my most regular training partner. I can still remember sparring with him one night, Mamazinho rooting us both on. Mike had me in a triangle choke and I was trying to escape using an escape that Mamazinho had recently shown us.
For the record, it was the "CC Grinder" triangle escape. I couldn't get it because I forgot to control the hips with my free hand, so Mike and I were pretty much locked in place. After what seemed like five minutes, Mamazinho congratulated us both in our stalemate.
Anyway, it was great to see him again. It seems like the fall season is bringing back more than a few folks: I'm seeing more of Casey lately, and Brock has been around more and more it seems. Maybe it's just me coming to train more regularly. Who knows?
We started Monday night training with some light stand-up work. Mike worked mostly on reverse pivots. I stuck with double legs, ankle picks, arm drags and that nifty duck under move that Cindy showed us.
From there we went on to specific work. Mostly guard/pass guard. Then some sparring.
I did fairly well, executing another armlock from the guard (the only thing rarer for me would be a triangle choke from the guard) and a nice omoplata sweep. It dawned on me that the omoplata sweep Cindy showed us awhile back is very similar to the one Stephan showed a bunch of us a few years ago back at the Tully's building.
I'm feeling more and more comfortable working from the guard. I appreciate the point that Eddie Bravo makes about being good from the guard: it makes you more risk-seeking and aggressive when on top if you know that your guard is tight. I wouldn't say my guard game is tight. But between an evolving half guard game and a full guard game that I'm getting less fearful of rolling out when the chance comes, I'm a lot closer to "tightness" than I've ever been.
Mike was there Monday night. I don't think I've seen him since the spring. For a few months, it seemed like he was my most regular training partner. I can still remember sparring with him one night, Mamazinho rooting us both on. Mike had me in a triangle choke and I was trying to escape using an escape that Mamazinho had recently shown us.
For the record, it was the "CC Grinder" triangle escape. I couldn't get it because I forgot to control the hips with my free hand, so Mike and I were pretty much locked in place. After what seemed like five minutes, Mamazinho congratulated us both in our stalemate.
Anyway, it was great to see him again. It seems like the fall season is bringing back more than a few folks: I'm seeing more of Casey lately, and Brock has been around more and more it seems. Maybe it's just me coming to train more regularly. Who knows?
We started Monday night training with some light stand-up work. Mike worked mostly on reverse pivots. I stuck with double legs, ankle picks, arm drags and that nifty duck under move that Cindy showed us.
From there we went on to specific work. Mostly guard/pass guard. Then some sparring.
I did fairly well, executing another armlock from the guard (the only thing rarer for me would be a triangle choke from the guard) and a nice omoplata sweep. It dawned on me that the omoplata sweep Cindy showed us awhile back is very similar to the one Stephan showed a bunch of us a few years ago back at the Tully's building.
I'm feeling more and more comfortable working from the guard. I appreciate the point that Eddie Bravo makes about being good from the guard: it makes you more risk-seeking and aggressive when on top if you know that your guard is tight. I wouldn't say my guard game is tight. But between an evolving half guard game and a full guard game that I'm getting less fearful of rolling out when the chance comes, I'm a lot closer to "tightness" than I've ever been.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Thursday Night Training - Coursework
Fortunately, my banged up knee didn't prevent me from training Thursday night. I worked in with Bruce and Jason on the wrestler's back control drill, switching from side to side, as welll as some counters to the butterfly guard sweep.
The key point about the counters was to let the guy take you in the direction of the sweep. But to sit down on that hip and use the northside arm/elbow to brace your upper body. You also want to lift your hooked leg as high as possible to make it more difficult for his hook to remain in place. With your other leg, you want to walk yourself backward, bit by bit, in a sort of crawling backstep.
You can practice the counter on your own - always a nice feature. As a matter of fact, it's probably a great drill to work into a 3T routine, along with the butterfly sweep solo drill that Kesting shows on his butterfly guard DVD.
Rodrigo also showed us a full pass from that position, a sort of variation on the ballerina pass that I've been relying on in the half guard. Another nice application of the General Theory.
A nice class. I always like how Rodrigo keeps the pace at a high level. Admittedly, it doesn't hurt that I'm in better shape now than I was a year ago. But considering we didn't spar, at all, it was a nice workout as well as instructional. In my Dream Future, when I'm running a jiu jitsu class once or twice a week, that is exactly how I want things to be: one solid hour of motion.
Cindy had us do a routine that was based on those same themes as part of the warmup to the no gi that followed Rodrigo's class. The idea, the Bulgarian Hustle I'll call it, is to just keep moving. Rolling, jumping, pivoting, spinning, reversing, sitting in, sitting out, you name it, as long as it's not sitting still.
Technique-wise, Cindy had us work on some basics, like the armlock from the guard. One of the things Cindy has always emphasized is the idea of stiff-arming the head to make it easier to get your leg around for the armlock finish. Another key - which carries over into the triangle, as well, is getting perpendicular, as perpendicular as possible.
We worked on the stuff triangle, the omoplata off the triangle defense, and the omoplata "barrel roll" sweep when the guy tries to put his weight on you during the omoplata off the triangle defense.
I had a hard time with the mount triangle finish that I've seen Cindy do before and saw her show us again Thursday night. One point she pointed out was that by leaning forward, planting your hand in front of you, you can create space to slip the leg under and secure the triangle.
Failing that, there was a transition to side control that certainly suffices for my purposes of ultimately finishing from the mount.
Not a bad night of sparring. I had to cut things short because of a recurrent cramp in my right leg, right at the base of my hamstring and to the inside. I figured I might as well quit while I was ahead. I'd like to figure out a solution to this new onset of leg cramps. I know I'm not drinking as much water as I should. But then again, if I'm training at a decent clip for 2 hours, should I complain that I can't push it out to 2.5 because my legs say "enough"?
My goal of getting in 21 trainings over the next six weeks is going to be a challenge. I got on the mat twice this week, which means I'm going to have to squeeze in more than a few 4x weeks between now and the visit from the P's. The knee thing is more distraction than anything else, because it is a reminder of my limitations, of what happened with my shoulder after five and a half great weeks of training this spring.
Then again, maybe earlier in the process is better. Injuries have a way of helping your train smarter, if only by making you less athletic, more careful. That's no argument in favor of the beating your body takes in jiu jitsu - at least not necessarily. But like losses, injuries can teach you well what needs to be done to make you better.
The key point about the counters was to let the guy take you in the direction of the sweep. But to sit down on that hip and use the northside arm/elbow to brace your upper body. You also want to lift your hooked leg as high as possible to make it more difficult for his hook to remain in place. With your other leg, you want to walk yourself backward, bit by bit, in a sort of crawling backstep.
You can practice the counter on your own - always a nice feature. As a matter of fact, it's probably a great drill to work into a 3T routine, along with the butterfly sweep solo drill that Kesting shows on his butterfly guard DVD.
Rodrigo also showed us a full pass from that position, a sort of variation on the ballerina pass that I've been relying on in the half guard. Another nice application of the General Theory.
A nice class. I always like how Rodrigo keeps the pace at a high level. Admittedly, it doesn't hurt that I'm in better shape now than I was a year ago. But considering we didn't spar, at all, it was a nice workout as well as instructional. In my Dream Future, when I'm running a jiu jitsu class once or twice a week, that is exactly how I want things to be: one solid hour of motion.
Cindy had us do a routine that was based on those same themes as part of the warmup to the no gi that followed Rodrigo's class. The idea, the Bulgarian Hustle I'll call it, is to just keep moving. Rolling, jumping, pivoting, spinning, reversing, sitting in, sitting out, you name it, as long as it's not sitting still.
Technique-wise, Cindy had us work on some basics, like the armlock from the guard. One of the things Cindy has always emphasized is the idea of stiff-arming the head to make it easier to get your leg around for the armlock finish. Another key - which carries over into the triangle, as well, is getting perpendicular, as perpendicular as possible.
We worked on the stuff triangle, the omoplata off the triangle defense, and the omoplata "barrel roll" sweep when the guy tries to put his weight on you during the omoplata off the triangle defense.
I had a hard time with the mount triangle finish that I've seen Cindy do before and saw her show us again Thursday night. One point she pointed out was that by leaning forward, planting your hand in front of you, you can create space to slip the leg under and secure the triangle.
Failing that, there was a transition to side control that certainly suffices for my purposes of ultimately finishing from the mount.
Not a bad night of sparring. I had to cut things short because of a recurrent cramp in my right leg, right at the base of my hamstring and to the inside. I figured I might as well quit while I was ahead. I'd like to figure out a solution to this new onset of leg cramps. I know I'm not drinking as much water as I should. But then again, if I'm training at a decent clip for 2 hours, should I complain that I can't push it out to 2.5 because my legs say "enough"?
My goal of getting in 21 trainings over the next six weeks is going to be a challenge. I got on the mat twice this week, which means I'm going to have to squeeze in more than a few 4x weeks between now and the visit from the P's. The knee thing is more distraction than anything else, because it is a reminder of my limitations, of what happened with my shoulder after five and a half great weeks of training this spring.
Then again, maybe earlier in the process is better. Injuries have a way of helping your train smarter, if only by making you less athletic, more careful. That's no argument in favor of the beating your body takes in jiu jitsu - at least not necessarily. But like losses, injuries can teach you well what needs to be done to make you better.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Thursday Night Training - Injury Report
Scary knee pop in my left leg to begin tonight's training and another cramp in my right leg at the bottom of my hamstring finished things off.
The knee pop was avoidable. I was trying to do a cobrinha to get up after doing my first set of elbow escapes and make the mistake of going up on my left knee. The pressure was too much and I realized it instantly. I hobbled up, my knee throbbing, and stumbled around for a bit unsure of just how much I'd messed it up.
A few moments later, as I tried to move my leg around, I felt my knee pop - as in pop back in place. It felt sore, but better almost immediately. I hung around for awhile, trying to catch up with the warmup and, after I did, I went down to the locker room to get the knee brace I bought more than a year ago and strapped it on.
I went gently, but the pop-back and the knee brace seemed to do the trick. I was able to drill, and to do some no-gi sparring - at least until my leg cramped up.
It's just something - like my eye and my shoulder - that I'm going to have to pay attention to. I think it will help me be better, as I slow myself down to keep from getting myself into trouble. I'll probably take some Ibuprofen tonight for inflammation, but my knee already feels pretty close to 100%.
Maybe I should have recognized the omen. Emmanuel, one of the little guys in the kids program who I've seen compete, got dropped on his head a la Nog v. Sapp. Only Emmanuel didn't get the armlock and was instead out of commission for a little while. He seemed okay and Cindy did a pretty incredible job of dealing with both Emmanuel, who was hurting, and the kid he was rolling with, who was obviously devastated at the idea of accidentally hurting his sparring partner.
If they stick with it, it will be a great moment for all of those young kids. A "growing-up" moment, of sorts. I don't know how Cindy does it - but it's really pretty cool seeing all those little guys (and gals) go.
I'll save the coursework report for tomorrow. I'm not likely to make it into training Friday afternoon or Saturday - which is too bad because I hear that Saturdays are a lot like Mondays. We'll see. I can probably come to some arrangement where I can get in a Saturday training at least once or twice a month ...
The knee pop was avoidable. I was trying to do a cobrinha to get up after doing my first set of elbow escapes and make the mistake of going up on my left knee. The pressure was too much and I realized it instantly. I hobbled up, my knee throbbing, and stumbled around for a bit unsure of just how much I'd messed it up.
A few moments later, as I tried to move my leg around, I felt my knee pop - as in pop back in place. It felt sore, but better almost immediately. I hung around for awhile, trying to catch up with the warmup and, after I did, I went down to the locker room to get the knee brace I bought more than a year ago and strapped it on.
I went gently, but the pop-back and the knee brace seemed to do the trick. I was able to drill, and to do some no-gi sparring - at least until my leg cramped up.
It's just something - like my eye and my shoulder - that I'm going to have to pay attention to. I think it will help me be better, as I slow myself down to keep from getting myself into trouble. I'll probably take some Ibuprofen tonight for inflammation, but my knee already feels pretty close to 100%.
Maybe I should have recognized the omen. Emmanuel, one of the little guys in the kids program who I've seen compete, got dropped on his head a la Nog v. Sapp. Only Emmanuel didn't get the armlock and was instead out of commission for a little while. He seemed okay and Cindy did a pretty incredible job of dealing with both Emmanuel, who was hurting, and the kid he was rolling with, who was obviously devastated at the idea of accidentally hurting his sparring partner.
If they stick with it, it will be a great moment for all of those young kids. A "growing-up" moment, of sorts. I don't know how Cindy does it - but it's really pretty cool seeing all those little guys (and gals) go.
I'll save the coursework report for tomorrow. I'm not likely to make it into training Friday afternoon or Saturday - which is too bad because I hear that Saturdays are a lot like Mondays. We'll see. I can probably come to some arrangement where I can get in a Saturday training at least once or twice a month ...
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Tuesday Night Training
The training camp for Revolution 11 08 08 began yesterday, with a moderate LSD3 session on the treadmill (385/120). Tonight, was the first mat training of the camp.
A good night. Very Monday-like insofar as the warm-up was pretty much some hipscapes across the mat. We drilled for awhile: spider guard triangles, left and right, and one of Rodrigo's patented moth guard sweeps.
Here's how the sweep works from one side. From tight moth guard, slide your right leg across to the left so that your foot hooks back against his ribs.
Extend your left shin out to the side. You've got a grip on his sleeve with your left hand, and you're controling his right arm with that sleeve and knee/shin pressure.
As you swing your hips out to the left to extend the shin, dive and underhook his near leg with your right arm.
Extend the shin, lift up with the right leg "backwards" hook, and lift with the underhook to finish the sweep.
As with most sweeps, you want the guy to be coming in toward you. So wait to feel his pressure coming forward before going for the sweep.
We did some specific guard/pass guard work that is always nice. I wasn't as persistent in working my standing passes. But I did do a fairly good job of turning full guard passes into half guard passes. And I feel pretty confident in attacking the half guard. I've got a basic gameplan - nothing special. But I follow it like religion. And more often that not - and certainly against comparable opponents - it works.
Free sparring was a blast. 10 minute rounds. I rolled with Clint, Rodrigo, Stephen, Casey (who I haven't seen since the tournament in July) and then a good sized white belt whose name (Ben?) escapes me right now.
A black belt. Two advanced purple belts. One intermediate purple belt. And a white belt who had a couple of pounds on me to say the least. That's the kind of mix that's going to work wonders if I can keep at it for another 10 weeks.
I was thinking about that while I was in the shower after training. How many of my opponents in November train with - actually get on the mat and roll with - guys with Rodrigo's skill? Our purple belts regularly place at the local events - when they don't sweep the division. Do my opponents train against purple belts as tough as Casey, Stephen and Clint?
My bet is that they don't. Not regularly, not three times a week, they don't.
This is what I need to leverage. Not just the teaching - and certainly not just the endless hours plotting and planning my jiu jitsu. I train with some of the best guys (and gals) in the Northwest. I need to remember that when I'm thinking ahead, starting to get nervous about my imagined future opponents with their Aoki-like flexibility and Lesnar-like power.
There's nothing I'm going to see in November that I haven't seen done better right down the road in SoDo. Remembering that will go a long way toward keeping things in perspective as competition time nears.
A good night. Very Monday-like insofar as the warm-up was pretty much some hipscapes across the mat. We drilled for awhile: spider guard triangles, left and right, and one of Rodrigo's patented moth guard sweeps.
Here's how the sweep works from one side. From tight moth guard, slide your right leg across to the left so that your foot hooks back against his ribs.
Extend your left shin out to the side. You've got a grip on his sleeve with your left hand, and you're controling his right arm with that sleeve and knee/shin pressure.
As you swing your hips out to the left to extend the shin, dive and underhook his near leg with your right arm.
Extend the shin, lift up with the right leg "backwards" hook, and lift with the underhook to finish the sweep.
As with most sweeps, you want the guy to be coming in toward you. So wait to feel his pressure coming forward before going for the sweep.
We did some specific guard/pass guard work that is always nice. I wasn't as persistent in working my standing passes. But I did do a fairly good job of turning full guard passes into half guard passes. And I feel pretty confident in attacking the half guard. I've got a basic gameplan - nothing special. But I follow it like religion. And more often that not - and certainly against comparable opponents - it works.
Free sparring was a blast. 10 minute rounds. I rolled with Clint, Rodrigo, Stephen, Casey (who I haven't seen since the tournament in July) and then a good sized white belt whose name (Ben?) escapes me right now.
A black belt. Two advanced purple belts. One intermediate purple belt. And a white belt who had a couple of pounds on me to say the least. That's the kind of mix that's going to work wonders if I can keep at it for another 10 weeks.
I was thinking about that while I was in the shower after training. How many of my opponents in November train with - actually get on the mat and roll with - guys with Rodrigo's skill? Our purple belts regularly place at the local events - when they don't sweep the division. Do my opponents train against purple belts as tough as Casey, Stephen and Clint?
My bet is that they don't. Not regularly, not three times a week, they don't.
This is what I need to leverage. Not just the teaching - and certainly not just the endless hours plotting and planning my jiu jitsu. I train with some of the best guys (and gals) in the Northwest. I need to remember that when I'm thinking ahead, starting to get nervous about my imagined future opponents with their Aoki-like flexibility and Lesnar-like power.
There's nothing I'm going to see in November that I haven't seen done better right down the road in SoDo. Remembering that will go a long way toward keeping things in perspective as competition time nears.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Competition Preparation
Here's a nice, thorough article on preparing for competition by David Thomas, head coach, Austin Jiu Jitsu.
Competition Preparation: Getting Ready for Battle
Competition Preparation: Getting Ready for Battle
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Thursday Night Training, Part 2
Cindy led no gi. She emphasized double leg takedowns for the most part, as well as sprawls and sitouts.
Cindy continues to emphasize the role of turning the corner on the double leg in order to get the maximum leverage for the takedown. It's a key flaw in my double legs, which tend to resemble tackles more than true wrestling takedowns. It means having to pass the guard, which is another whole task in and of itself. So there's a real benefit to getting the proper takedown.
Another point Cindy makes about the sitout against a sprawl is to shoot as far out as possible with the sitout. This is worth remembering as I do my jiu bata training at home. Like with the hipscape, you want to go deep, to really make the move. In both cases, you are trying to move your hips - not just your "body" in some generic way.
When you first start learning jiu jitsu, you are focused on trying to move your "body" in ways that seem completely counter-intuitive. But what are doing in almost every instance is moving your hips: forward or backward, turning them to face one direction or the other. Everything you do with your legs or torso or arms (and pretty much in that order of importance) is to set up the proper positioning of your hips. I think that realizing that makes everything you need to do, and do properly, that much easier.
I had a good night of sparring: the first armlock from the guard in maybe ever, another omoplata, some good attack and defense with the handcuff. Even though I only got in two days of training this week, I can feel myself starting to "fill out" and add more and more things to what I'm trying to do on the mat. Maybe 3-4 times a week will prove to be too ambitious. But if I can keep up this pace of at least 2-3 times a week (more often 3 than 2), then I think I'll be glad I did.
Cindy continues to emphasize the role of turning the corner on the double leg in order to get the maximum leverage for the takedown. It's a key flaw in my double legs, which tend to resemble tackles more than true wrestling takedowns. It means having to pass the guard, which is another whole task in and of itself. So there's a real benefit to getting the proper takedown.
Another point Cindy makes about the sitout against a sprawl is to shoot as far out as possible with the sitout. This is worth remembering as I do my jiu bata training at home. Like with the hipscape, you want to go deep, to really make the move. In both cases, you are trying to move your hips - not just your "body" in some generic way.
When you first start learning jiu jitsu, you are focused on trying to move your "body" in ways that seem completely counter-intuitive. But what are doing in almost every instance is moving your hips: forward or backward, turning them to face one direction or the other. Everything you do with your legs or torso or arms (and pretty much in that order of importance) is to set up the proper positioning of your hips. I think that realizing that makes everything you need to do, and do properly, that much easier.
I had a good night of sparring: the first armlock from the guard in maybe ever, another omoplata, some good attack and defense with the handcuff. Even though I only got in two days of training this week, I can feel myself starting to "fill out" and add more and more things to what I'm trying to do on the mat. Maybe 3-4 times a week will prove to be too ambitious. But if I can keep up this pace of at least 2-3 times a week (more often 3 than 2), then I think I'll be glad I did.
Thursday Night Training, Part 1
Rodrigo's class: we worked two sweeps out of moth/spider guard and a side control escape to another sort of combo guard with some nice control and sweep possibilities.
The moth guard sweep was similar to some of the others we've done out of that position. Hipscape out to create space out of the moth guard and vine an arm. Pull tight on the vined sleeve and drop your inside leg down so that your shin is across his body around his abdomen.
This is the trap door. It looks so irresistable that the guy will tend to crowd you, maybe to hook your head to pass guard. As he moves toward you, you grab the pants at the knee and roll him over your far shoulder.
The mechanics of the sweep call for lifting your inside leg - the shin across the body - to get the real elevation for the sweep. That and turning your self toward the far side, leading with the vine.
The other version of the sweep was against a standing opponent and involved more of a spider than a moth guard. But they were similar in that in both cases you locked up an arm (this time with a straight foot on bicep) and then let the guy move in to put his weight on you. Here, the key was in bending the foot on bicep leg and then extending it, rather than just trying to swing the leg back to get the sweep. The inside leg plays more of a role of blocking as you go more or less perpendicular to his body/legs. An underhook or pants grab with the inside arm helps keep the guy from recovering his balance as the sweep gets going.
The third and final move of the first hour was a guard replacement out of a side control escape. You start with the escape, creating space and working to get a knee inside. Then you swing your other leg over the guy's head to control the otehr side of his body. For example, if you are escaping from a side control on your right side, you would escape your hips to the left and wedge your right knee inside between you and your opponent. Then you swing your other leg - your left leg - up and over the guy's head, to the left side of his head.
From here you want to grab the pants at the knee with your right hand and the sleeve with your left. You should be able to control him from being able to move to your rigt, and if he tries to pass to your left, you can pull on the sleeve and lift with the pants grip at the knee and get a pretty solid sweep.
The moth guard sweep was similar to some of the others we've done out of that position. Hipscape out to create space out of the moth guard and vine an arm. Pull tight on the vined sleeve and drop your inside leg down so that your shin is across his body around his abdomen.
This is the trap door. It looks so irresistable that the guy will tend to crowd you, maybe to hook your head to pass guard. As he moves toward you, you grab the pants at the knee and roll him over your far shoulder.
The mechanics of the sweep call for lifting your inside leg - the shin across the body - to get the real elevation for the sweep. That and turning your self toward the far side, leading with the vine.
The other version of the sweep was against a standing opponent and involved more of a spider than a moth guard. But they were similar in that in both cases you locked up an arm (this time with a straight foot on bicep) and then let the guy move in to put his weight on you. Here, the key was in bending the foot on bicep leg and then extending it, rather than just trying to swing the leg back to get the sweep. The inside leg plays more of a role of blocking as you go more or less perpendicular to his body/legs. An underhook or pants grab with the inside arm helps keep the guy from recovering his balance as the sweep gets going.
The third and final move of the first hour was a guard replacement out of a side control escape. You start with the escape, creating space and working to get a knee inside. Then you swing your other leg over the guy's head to control the otehr side of his body. For example, if you are escaping from a side control on your right side, you would escape your hips to the left and wedge your right knee inside between you and your opponent. Then you swing your other leg - your left leg - up and over the guy's head, to the left side of his head.
From here you want to grab the pants at the knee with your right hand and the sleeve with your left. You should be able to control him from being able to move to your rigt, and if he tries to pass to your left, you can pull on the sleeve and lift with the pants grip at the knee and get a pretty solid sweep.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Found
Unbelievable. After about six hours I get a call from the King County sheriff's deputy who did the original police report on my stolen car. They found it, in a Roadway parking lot on the other side of Burien.
Aside from a pervasive smell of cigarette smoke and general disorder (including two opened mismatched condom wrappers - contents thankfully nowhere to be found), the Old Grey Mare is in good shape and ready to roam the streets of Burien, West Seattle and beyond once again.
Aside from a pervasive smell of cigarette smoke and general disorder (including two opened mismatched condom wrappers - contents thankfully nowhere to be found), the Old Grey Mare is in good shape and ready to roam the streets of Burien, West Seattle and beyond once again.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Always Something
The good news: my shoulder feels much better after some Ibuprofen and a night's rest.
The bad news: my car was stolen this afternoon.
With any luck, I'll be back on the mat tomorrow night. That is all.
The bad news: my car was stolen this afternoon.
With any luck, I'll be back on the mat tomorrow night. That is all.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Tuesday Night Training
As Roseanne Rosannadanna used to say, it's always something."
Tonight - and most nights these days - it's my shoulder acting up. Things got really hairy toward the end of last week. But going into training tonight I was feeling pretty top notch. A few hours later, I'm aching again.
I'll have a better sense tomorrow. It wouldn't be the first time I came home after training aching somewhere only to wake up the next morning feeling close to if not at 100%.
In any event, tonight's training was solid. I had actually been hoping to do some mount/mount escape work and tonight that's exactly what Rodrigo delivered. The emphasis was on getting your elbows tight, your hands on the hips (I was grabbing the pants at the top or the belt with underhand grips) and giving a good strong upa before escaping your hips BACK.
Back. Back, back, back, back, back. Another point of emphasis was this good strong hipscape as far back as you can drive your hips. Otherwise, all you're doing is turning on your side beneath his mount.
This is a good reminder of why it's a bad idea to half-ass your hipscapes. I've been working on them on my home mat, trying to get smaller and deeper (just like with the half guard). It's a little more extra effort. But the rewards of a good, deep hipscape are huge. And it's worth making them a habit.
A good time in sparring. I got my first omoplata submission in months if not years, and a nice omoplata to rear-mount transition that I remembering seeing Ryan Hall pull off (though he was en route to a heel hook or something). Can I tell you how nice it is to get a submission that ISN'T a keylock/americana?
I made a nice transition from the Cobra guard to X-guard - another move I haven't done in years. It took me awhile to get the inside hook in - and I spent a little too much time "working the guard". But it was nice to feel myself slip into that opportunity - however awkwardly.
There was also some nice work overall in half guard,a nice patient twist back sweep. Out of sitting guard, I'm being much more aggressive about controling the wrists. I need to move that to the next step of turning wrist control into armdrags. But so far so good.
I was trying a lot of my toreano guard passes with Rodrigo. For one, I think that will be my main weapon of attack when trying to pass the guard because so many of the guys I compete against have very active open guards.
The other reason was that I have had trouble against standing guard passes myself - particularly when I'm in my sitting/Cobra guard. Standing against Rodrigo gives me an excellent look at some of the options that I should consider when I'm on the bottom against a standing opponent.
While I'm on the subject, one thing that Rodrigo did was that patented Gracie Barra move that I've seen Pe de Pano do in the Pan Ams, where you attack one leg and sort of do a hip split around it after capturing the arm. That's not a great description. But I'm going to do a lot more standing against Rodrigo's guard to see more options that I can use when I'm in that spot.
My mount has grown by leaps and bounds just from being trapped in Rodrigo's mount and seeing what I had the hardest time with. That's where I got the idea of alternating between locking my ankles underneath the hips when I needed maximum control of the hips (for example, to deal with the upa), and grapevining the legs to make hipscapes harder.
If I can improve my basic approach to guard passing the way I improved my mount, then this will be a very productive second half of 2008.
Tonight - and most nights these days - it's my shoulder acting up. Things got really hairy toward the end of last week. But going into training tonight I was feeling pretty top notch. A few hours later, I'm aching again.
I'll have a better sense tomorrow. It wouldn't be the first time I came home after training aching somewhere only to wake up the next morning feeling close to if not at 100%.
In any event, tonight's training was solid. I had actually been hoping to do some mount/mount escape work and tonight that's exactly what Rodrigo delivered. The emphasis was on getting your elbows tight, your hands on the hips (I was grabbing the pants at the top or the belt with underhand grips) and giving a good strong upa before escaping your hips BACK.
Back. Back, back, back, back, back. Another point of emphasis was this good strong hipscape as far back as you can drive your hips. Otherwise, all you're doing is turning on your side beneath his mount.
This is a good reminder of why it's a bad idea to half-ass your hipscapes. I've been working on them on my home mat, trying to get smaller and deeper (just like with the half guard). It's a little more extra effort. But the rewards of a good, deep hipscape are huge. And it's worth making them a habit.
A good time in sparring. I got my first omoplata submission in months if not years, and a nice omoplata to rear-mount transition that I remembering seeing Ryan Hall pull off (though he was en route to a heel hook or something). Can I tell you how nice it is to get a submission that ISN'T a keylock/americana?
I made a nice transition from the Cobra guard to X-guard - another move I haven't done in years. It took me awhile to get the inside hook in - and I spent a little too much time "working the guard". But it was nice to feel myself slip into that opportunity - however awkwardly.
There was also some nice work overall in half guard,a nice patient twist back sweep. Out of sitting guard, I'm being much more aggressive about controling the wrists. I need to move that to the next step of turning wrist control into armdrags. But so far so good.
I was trying a lot of my toreano guard passes with Rodrigo. For one, I think that will be my main weapon of attack when trying to pass the guard because so many of the guys I compete against have very active open guards.
The other reason was that I have had trouble against standing guard passes myself - particularly when I'm in my sitting/Cobra guard. Standing against Rodrigo gives me an excellent look at some of the options that I should consider when I'm on the bottom against a standing opponent.
While I'm on the subject, one thing that Rodrigo did was that patented Gracie Barra move that I've seen Pe de Pano do in the Pan Ams, where you attack one leg and sort of do a hip split around it after capturing the arm. That's not a great description. But I'm going to do a lot more standing against Rodrigo's guard to see more options that I can use when I'm in that spot.
My mount has grown by leaps and bounds just from being trapped in Rodrigo's mount and seeing what I had the hardest time with. That's where I got the idea of alternating between locking my ankles underneath the hips when I needed maximum control of the hips (for example, to deal with the upa), and grapevining the legs to make hipscapes harder.
If I can improve my basic approach to guard passing the way I improved my mount, then this will be a very productive second half of 2008.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Happy Anniversary!
It's my third birthday in jiu jitsu. My first day on the mat was August 18, 2005.
First Day of BJJ
A lot of things to reflect on three years later. The most obvious, of course, is the fact that many of the people I began training with years ago are no longer training. Mario, Andrew, Big Mike, Joe, Jeff ...
I wonder if people like Rodrigo and Cindy, who've been around for years and seen people come and go, had a sense of who might still be training after three years ... who might still be training after another three years.
All told, I'm happy with where I am after three years: slowly coming into feeling like a "solid blue belt" ... maybe a year or a year and a half of solid, 3 times a week training from purple. I'm at the point where I clearly recognize the difference that mat time makes, and am able to take advantage of my training better and better.
I'm trying to train a little harder in class. All the great fighters do. Rodrigo runs class at a nice fast tempo, so it is easy to do when he teaches. But it is something I want to get more and more in the habit of doing.
I'm definitely starting to see my jiu jitsu game develop, like a shape beneath a block of marble. From the bottom, I'm all about sweeps - especially from the half guard. From the top, mount increasingly seems like my best position, though I'm still struggling to find a finishing technique that works well for me from the mount. (Katagatame? Double attack?)
So far so good in any event. I'm still struggling to balance work and training - the fact that I spent my anniversary off the mat tonight is a testament to that continued battle. But I'm doing a better job of getting my tatame time in. May that be the case for the next three years.
First Day of BJJ
A lot of things to reflect on three years later. The most obvious, of course, is the fact that many of the people I began training with years ago are no longer training. Mario, Andrew, Big Mike, Joe, Jeff ...
I wonder if people like Rodrigo and Cindy, who've been around for years and seen people come and go, had a sense of who might still be training after three years ... who might still be training after another three years.
All told, I'm happy with where I am after three years: slowly coming into feeling like a "solid blue belt" ... maybe a year or a year and a half of solid, 3 times a week training from purple. I'm at the point where I clearly recognize the difference that mat time makes, and am able to take advantage of my training better and better.
I'm trying to train a little harder in class. All the great fighters do. Rodrigo runs class at a nice fast tempo, so it is easy to do when he teaches. But it is something I want to get more and more in the habit of doing.
I'm definitely starting to see my jiu jitsu game develop, like a shape beneath a block of marble. From the bottom, I'm all about sweeps - especially from the half guard. From the top, mount increasingly seems like my best position, though I'm still struggling to find a finishing technique that works well for me from the mount. (Katagatame? Double attack?)
So far so good in any event. I'm still struggling to balance work and training - the fact that I spent my anniversary off the mat tonight is a testament to that continued battle. But I'm doing a better job of getting my tatame time in. May that be the case for the next three years.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Katagatame
Courtesy of Saulo Ribeiro.
The key ingredient is using the knee to drive the elbow up. As is the case with the half guard, the trick is concentrating, getting small.
The key ingredient is using the knee to drive the elbow up. As is the case with the half guard, the trick is concentrating, getting small.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Marcelo in the Pacific Northwest
a.k.a. an opportunity of a lifetime.I have no plans of rolling with Marcelo Garcia, arguably the greatest jiu jitsu fighter alive (along with Roger, Xande, Jacare, Cobrinha ... ). And, truth told, a photograph with him is probably not the most likely thing in the world either (though I am bringing my book for an autograph).
But the opportunity to take a seminar and learn some of the current projects of one of the true innovators of jiu jitsu is beyond belief. I have heard nothing but unbelievable things from people who've taken seminars with Marcelo Garcia, and am excited to soon be a part of that lucky cohort who have. I kicked myself for missing Minotauro and Anderson Silva when they came to town several months ago. But catching two days worth of Marcelo Garcia is a chance I'm not going to miss.
Marcelo Garcia Two-Day Seminar
Outside of Rodrigo and Cindy, obviously, Marcelo Garcia's game is the one that has the most elements that I want to adopt, particularly his butterfly and X-guard game. We have a similar body type: slightly above average reach and strong, heavy legs, so it makes sense that a lot of what works for Marcelo might work for me.
I'm also thinking that the seminar will serve as a nice halftime show between my experimental period now and my pre-tournament period starting in late September. I'm hoping to work my butterfly and half guard games simultaneously up to that point. See what Marcelo shows us that might be a nice addition to what I'm trying to do. Then, last, pick a gameplan out of what has worked over the past several weeks and train it exclusively for the final seven weeks going into the Revolution event.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Thursday Night Training
A great way to end the week - though it is clearer than ever that a perfect training schedule would allow me to get some time on the mat on Saturday just to wash things down. Rodrigo had us work one move - a counter to the bump / underhook /back2belly escape from side control - at varying levels of intensity.
The counter has you switch your hips to watchdog and bring your headside elbow back across his underhooking arm. As you do this, you backstep with your south leg. You are working to take his back as he goes flat.
Do a reverse sitout, bringing your inside leg back behind you to get toward the back. The trick is to backstep your way around instead of crawling, which gives the guy a chance to take your leg and attack with a single.
This is a tricky move. It really tests your ability to move your body, a theme in Rodrigo's training. There was a lot of that in the handicapped drill that Rodrigo had us to Monday night: moving your shoulders and hips - the strongest parts of your body - instead of reaching and trying to control and move the guy with your arms.
Cindy led the no gi class. We worked the arm stuff triangle, and a front headlock snapdown to rear mount. The arm stuff triangle was a nice repeat - it's always nice to see people with shorter legs like mine teaching the triangle choke. The long-legged guys can just throw triangles like nothing. You've got to have the right technique to get away with it if you are built on the smaller side.
The front headlock snapdown to rear mount move was a nice jiu jitsu/wrestling hybrid. You "pet the cat" and pull the head down, immediately going for an overunder (like you were setting up an arm triangle or anaconda choke). Keep your elbow in (I'll explain why in a minute) but clasp the guy's tricep as part of the arm triangle.
You want to put all your weight on his shoulder, as you would for a clock choke. If you can flatten him out, so much the better.
You are going to spin into the guy, reaching under his body with your outside arm (the one not involved in the arm triangle) to get an underarm grip on his wrist (as you might if you had rear mount).
In the spin, your inside knee should rotate in against his hip. It's the inside knee that you pivot around as you spin.
Release the arm triangle and cross face to get new head control. Cindy calls it "brushing the teeth". Depending on the ferocity of your opponent, apply this concept at your discretion as literally as the situation requires.
From here, switch your knees and do the "fat man roll" back in towards you and work for the hooks.
I mentioned the elbow. Cindy warned us against going too deep with the elbow. It's something that Saulo warns about also. Cindy's point was that it was very easy to "elbow drag" the guy if his arm was too deep in attacking with the front headlock.
All you have to do is grab his elbow with the hand on your trapped arm and walk toward that side. So if your right arm is trapped and you are reaching across your body (your arm should already be driven against your body), grab the elbow on your left side and walk around to your left.
As you do this, pull on the elbow and you'll be surprised at how easy it is to "elbow drag" him and take his back - or even armlock him if you lean forward against his elbow.
Some good work from the half guard in no gi. I think I'm going to work both butterfly and half guard from now until after the Marcelo Garcia seminar in September. That's when I'll begin my seven-week "camp" in preparation for the November revolution tournament. This is the one I've been working up to, so I want to do this one right - which might even include competing in the no gi division, as well.
We'll see. As much as I'd love to be able to train on Saturdays, Thursday night no gi is a pretty fun way to finish of the training week.
One thing that I've been doing a much, much better job with is controlling the hands from my cobra guard. I still don't mount much of a credible offense and end up pulling half guard. But I'm surprised at how just being aggressive about controlling the guy's hands has stopped that "expressway to side control" that had been happening far too frequently as I've tried to learn this type of guard.
Now if only I could turn that wrist control into arm drags ...
The counter has you switch your hips to watchdog and bring your headside elbow back across his underhooking arm. As you do this, you backstep with your south leg. You are working to take his back as he goes flat.
Do a reverse sitout, bringing your inside leg back behind you to get toward the back. The trick is to backstep your way around instead of crawling, which gives the guy a chance to take your leg and attack with a single.
This is a tricky move. It really tests your ability to move your body, a theme in Rodrigo's training. There was a lot of that in the handicapped drill that Rodrigo had us to Monday night: moving your shoulders and hips - the strongest parts of your body - instead of reaching and trying to control and move the guy with your arms.
Cindy led the no gi class. We worked the arm stuff triangle, and a front headlock snapdown to rear mount. The arm stuff triangle was a nice repeat - it's always nice to see people with shorter legs like mine teaching the triangle choke. The long-legged guys can just throw triangles like nothing. You've got to have the right technique to get away with it if you are built on the smaller side.
The front headlock snapdown to rear mount move was a nice jiu jitsu/wrestling hybrid. You "pet the cat" and pull the head down, immediately going for an overunder (like you were setting up an arm triangle or anaconda choke). Keep your elbow in (I'll explain why in a minute) but clasp the guy's tricep as part of the arm triangle.
You want to put all your weight on his shoulder, as you would for a clock choke. If you can flatten him out, so much the better.
You are going to spin into the guy, reaching under his body with your outside arm (the one not involved in the arm triangle) to get an underarm grip on his wrist (as you might if you had rear mount).
In the spin, your inside knee should rotate in against his hip. It's the inside knee that you pivot around as you spin.
Release the arm triangle and cross face to get new head control. Cindy calls it "brushing the teeth". Depending on the ferocity of your opponent, apply this concept at your discretion as literally as the situation requires.
From here, switch your knees and do the "fat man roll" back in towards you and work for the hooks.
I mentioned the elbow. Cindy warned us against going too deep with the elbow. It's something that Saulo warns about also. Cindy's point was that it was very easy to "elbow drag" the guy if his arm was too deep in attacking with the front headlock.
All you have to do is grab his elbow with the hand on your trapped arm and walk toward that side. So if your right arm is trapped and you are reaching across your body (your arm should already be driven against your body), grab the elbow on your left side and walk around to your left.
As you do this, pull on the elbow and you'll be surprised at how easy it is to "elbow drag" him and take his back - or even armlock him if you lean forward against his elbow.
Some good work from the half guard in no gi. I think I'm going to work both butterfly and half guard from now until after the Marcelo Garcia seminar in September. That's when I'll begin my seven-week "camp" in preparation for the November revolution tournament. This is the one I've been working up to, so I want to do this one right - which might even include competing in the no gi division, as well.
We'll see. As much as I'd love to be able to train on Saturdays, Thursday night no gi is a pretty fun way to finish of the training week.
One thing that I've been doing a much, much better job with is controlling the hands from my cobra guard. I still don't mount much of a credible offense and end up pulling half guard. But I'm surprised at how just being aggressive about controlling the guy's hands has stopped that "expressway to side control" that had been happening far too frequently as I've tried to learn this type of guard.
Now if only I could turn that wrist control into arm drags ...
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Wednesday Night Training
Lindsey led the class tonight. We worked a couple of different moves from the guard and mount. The first was a triangle from the guard. Lindsey's main emphasis on was on keeping everything tight and, like Cindy's triangle, grabbing the shin instead of trying hit the Instant Triangle.
Lindsey also likes to underhook the arm to help you pivot into the "rifle sight" of the triangle. I would imagine that if you combined that with the shin grab and pivoting with the overlocking leg, you would very effortlessly get perpendicular and perfectly into prime triangle position.
We also worked to Rap Star moves. The Rap Star triangle and the Rap Star butterfly sweep. I had success going both directions with the Rap Star butterfly sweep, but Lindsey's approach of sweeping away from the rap side seems to leave you in the most dominant position.
I go back and forth over whether I should stick with developing my half guard whenever possible or introduce butterfly guard and try to optimize them both at the same time. I still think the better approach is to bring on the butterfly guard work after I've started to feel some real comfort with my options in the half. But it is nice to work the butterfly a bit from time to time, just to alert my body to what will be coming with more frequency in 2009.
We last did a triangle choke from mount. I had been looking at this position in one of my books because I'm still looking for a "go to" attack from mount. I'm feeling more and more capable of maintaining mount, switching from the Squeeze to double grapevines to Saulo's "technical mount". But I'm not at a point where I have a proven gameplan for finishing from the top.
I'm sure I'll figure it out. Clearly that will be where I will be getting most of my submissions from: I'm doing too well at getting and keeping mount to look to finish fights elsewhere (i.e., from the guard, knee on belly, rear mount ...). I've just got to keep trying different things and see what surfaces.
Lindsey also likes to underhook the arm to help you pivot into the "rifle sight" of the triangle. I would imagine that if you combined that with the shin grab and pivoting with the overlocking leg, you would very effortlessly get perpendicular and perfectly into prime triangle position.
We also worked to Rap Star moves. The Rap Star triangle and the Rap Star butterfly sweep. I had success going both directions with the Rap Star butterfly sweep, but Lindsey's approach of sweeping away from the rap side seems to leave you in the most dominant position.
I go back and forth over whether I should stick with developing my half guard whenever possible or introduce butterfly guard and try to optimize them both at the same time. I still think the better approach is to bring on the butterfly guard work after I've started to feel some real comfort with my options in the half. But it is nice to work the butterfly a bit from time to time, just to alert my body to what will be coming with more frequency in 2009.
We last did a triangle choke from mount. I had been looking at this position in one of my books because I'm still looking for a "go to" attack from mount. I'm feeling more and more capable of maintaining mount, switching from the Squeeze to double grapevines to Saulo's "technical mount". But I'm not at a point where I have a proven gameplan for finishing from the top.
I'm sure I'll figure it out. Clearly that will be where I will be getting most of my submissions from: I'm doing too well at getting and keeping mount to look to finish fights elsewhere (i.e., from the guard, knee on belly, rear mount ...). I've just got to keep trying different things and see what surfaces.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
2008 IBJJF No Gi Championship Results
It blows me away that no jiu jitsu/grappling website has a story on the 2008 IBJJF "No Gi Mundial". Not even a link to the results, which are available at the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation website.
2008 IBJJF No Gi Championship Results
A lot of interesting things in these results. I'm going to stick with the black belt competition with regard to my top six highlights.
1. Cobrinha and Jeff Glover taking 1st and 2nd at lightweight.
2. Saulo Ribeiro winning the medium-heavyweight division.
3. Hermes Franca coming in 2nd in the masters middleweight division
4. Local jiu jitsu instructor Brian Johnson taking 2nd in senior 1 lightweight.
5. Lloyd Irvin winning first place in the senior 1 super heavyweight division.
6. Leticia Ribeiro winning women's superfeather and Felicia Oh taking 2nd in women's feather.
2008 IBJJF No Gi Championship Results
A lot of interesting things in these results. I'm going to stick with the black belt competition with regard to my top six highlights.
1. Cobrinha and Jeff Glover taking 1st and 2nd at lightweight.
2. Saulo Ribeiro winning the medium-heavyweight division.
3. Hermes Franca coming in 2nd in the masters middleweight division
4. Local jiu jitsu instructor Brian Johnson taking 2nd in senior 1 lightweight.
5. Lloyd Irvin winning first place in the senior 1 super heavyweight division.
6. Leticia Ribeiro winning women's superfeather and Felicia Oh taking 2nd in women's feather.
I, Soleus
My latest injury seems to involve my left calf. Rolling last night, I got a massive cramp deep in the muscle, one that took a little longer than usual to come around.
Come around it did, and I was able to roll with Rodrigo some (before his sea urchin injury caught up with him). But my calf has been pretty sore ever since. I can walk around fairly normally. But I decided to take the night off of training to let it heal up a bit more. I can easily see it cramping up on me given the way it feels right now.
I think the problem is actually the smaller calf muscle, the soleus. I usually do a pretty good job of the regular, straight leg calf stretch that stretches the larger gastrocnemius. But I almost never, ever do the bent leg version that stretches the smaller, long soleus muscle that is underneath and below it.
That would also explain the location, a little lower than the "head" of the calf, the sensation of the cramp being particularly deep, and the reason why massaging my calf didn't seem to help very much last night - which almost always works with my regular leg and calf cramps.
Truth told, my hydration was lousy and that was probably the primary culprit. Even though I downed a full jug of Gatorate 90 minutes before time, I suspect my body soaked that up like a sponge, leaving me with little left after the hour of jiu jitsu.
I need to get to the point where that jug of Gatorade feels excessive, so that it isn't quenching my thirst, at all. That only happens if I make sure to increase the water intake pretty seriously earlier in the day.
I'm doing those soleus stretches tonight, lightly and for the most part just trying to imbed the stretch in my memory so that it will become a part of my routine. Those calf cramps were bad enough during training. Now that one has actually kept me off the mat, they're all the more a problem to deal with as soon and as effectively as possible.
Come around it did, and I was able to roll with Rodrigo some (before his sea urchin injury caught up with him). But my calf has been pretty sore ever since. I can walk around fairly normally. But I decided to take the night off of training to let it heal up a bit more. I can easily see it cramping up on me given the way it feels right now.
I think the problem is actually the smaller calf muscle, the soleus. I usually do a pretty good job of the regular, straight leg calf stretch that stretches the larger gastrocnemius. But I almost never, ever do the bent leg version that stretches the smaller, long soleus muscle that is underneath and below it.
That would also explain the location, a little lower than the "head" of the calf, the sensation of the cramp being particularly deep, and the reason why massaging my calf didn't seem to help very much last night - which almost always works with my regular leg and calf cramps.
Truth told, my hydration was lousy and that was probably the primary culprit. Even though I downed a full jug of Gatorate 90 minutes before time, I suspect my body soaked that up like a sponge, leaving me with little left after the hour of jiu jitsu.
I need to get to the point where that jug of Gatorade feels excessive, so that it isn't quenching my thirst, at all. That only happens if I make sure to increase the water intake pretty seriously earlier in the day.
I'm doing those soleus stretches tonight, lightly and for the most part just trying to imbed the stretch in my memory so that it will become a part of my routine. Those calf cramps were bad enough during training. Now that one has actually kept me off the mat, they're all the more a problem to deal with as soon and as effectively as possible.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Monday Night Training
Monday night is must-train training. Rodrigo was back and he had us doing handicapped drills. For example, we did a guard drill where the guy on bottom had to have one hand in his belt. We did a half guard drill where the guy on top had to have one hand in his belt. And then we finished off with a side control drill where the guy on the bottom had to have both hands in his belt while the guy on top had to have one hand in his belt.
Great stuff. Real old school, forcing you to use your body instead of your hands and arms. Like I said, more Mondays like this would be just fine with me.
Nothing remarkable in sparring. I'm still working my Watch Dog half guard pass and feeling more comfortable with it. I need to try going immediately to mount after the pass (Jean Jacques calls this the "ballerina pass"), now that I'm getting better at freeing my leg - or even getting the wedge knee in.
Still having a lot of trouble passing knee-up half-guards. There are two options I need to start using. The first is to use a toreano style pass where I stand out of the half guard and pin the lower leg to the mat with one grip. Jean Jacques has a nice version or two of toreano passes that include this step. I'll pick one.
The other option is to grab his near sleeve and bring it up nice and high. With your other grip, I think you want to grab the pants near the hip. Stand up and out of the half guard and go immediately to a knee-through "Royler" pass while keeping a good hold on that sleeve.
It's interesting. I have two different types of ways of fighting the half guard. One is to reverse and go to Watch Dog (or "Crossbody" as I'm thinking of renaming the position). The other is to treat the half guard like a partially opened full guard.
We'll see how they work. A good night of training. I got a massive cramp in my left calf late in sparring with Stephen. It was a bad one. But it went away eventually and I was able to roll with Rodrigo later for good spell. I've got to make sure I keep my hydration up. Given the fact that I did my Pull resistance routine earlier in the day (and the hipscape/back2belly jiu bata before that), I really should have been consuming more fluid all day.
Post training number of 159.8. Not bad at all for a Monday. Bacon, cantaloupe and coffee for breakfast. Lamb, rice and salad for lunch.
Great stuff. Real old school, forcing you to use your body instead of your hands and arms. Like I said, more Mondays like this would be just fine with me.
Nothing remarkable in sparring. I'm still working my Watch Dog half guard pass and feeling more comfortable with it. I need to try going immediately to mount after the pass (Jean Jacques calls this the "ballerina pass"), now that I'm getting better at freeing my leg - or even getting the wedge knee in.
Still having a lot of trouble passing knee-up half-guards. There are two options I need to start using. The first is to use a toreano style pass where I stand out of the half guard and pin the lower leg to the mat with one grip. Jean Jacques has a nice version or two of toreano passes that include this step. I'll pick one.
The other option is to grab his near sleeve and bring it up nice and high. With your other grip, I think you want to grab the pants near the hip. Stand up and out of the half guard and go immediately to a knee-through "Royler" pass while keeping a good hold on that sleeve.
It's interesting. I have two different types of ways of fighting the half guard. One is to reverse and go to Watch Dog (or "Crossbody" as I'm thinking of renaming the position). The other is to treat the half guard like a partially opened full guard.
We'll see how they work. A good night of training. I got a massive cramp in my left calf late in sparring with Stephen. It was a bad one. But it went away eventually and I was able to roll with Rodrigo later for good spell. I've got to make sure I keep my hydration up. Given the fact that I did my Pull resistance routine earlier in the day (and the hipscape/back2belly jiu bata before that), I really should have been consuming more fluid all day.
Post training number of 159.8. Not bad at all for a Monday. Bacon, cantaloupe and coffee for breakfast. Lamb, rice and salad for lunch.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Demian Maia: Rap Star Triangle
Demian Maia put on a Fight of the Night/Submission of the Night performance this Saturday against tough, UFC middleweight gatekeeper Jason MacDonald. Here he is setting up the Rap Star Triangle in the first round.
Maia would go on to win by rear naked choke. But it is great to see someone of his calibre using the Rap Star triangle. It's a reminder of how you have to go after a move persistently, forcing the opponent to react, rather than just trying it once and giving up on it to try something else. Give the guy a chance to make a mistake!
It reminds me of what I love about the Werdum v. Lindland ADCC match from 2003. You see Werdum with three distinct attacks in his gameplan. You can see them as clear as day. But he stays at them and stays at them and eventually Lindland makes a mistake and the fight is over.
The work Cindy had us doing with the arm stuff triangle helps me think about trying to bring my Rap Star game back on board. She emphasizes getting the hips up high and just getting the initial lock with one arm in and one arm out before methodically working to finish it off.
I've been thinking about Rap Star on and off for the past few weeks. This six week pre-Revolution Prep period might be a good time to see how far I can take it.
Maia would go on to win by rear naked choke. But it is great to see someone of his calibre using the Rap Star triangle. It's a reminder of how you have to go after a move persistently, forcing the opponent to react, rather than just trying it once and giving up on it to try something else. Give the guy a chance to make a mistake!
It reminds me of what I love about the Werdum v. Lindland ADCC match from 2003. You see Werdum with three distinct attacks in his gameplan. You can see them as clear as day. But he stays at them and stays at them and eventually Lindland makes a mistake and the fight is over.
The work Cindy had us doing with the arm stuff triangle helps me think about trying to bring my Rap Star game back on board. She emphasizes getting the hips up high and just getting the initial lock with one arm in and one arm out before methodically working to finish it off.
I've been thinking about Rap Star on and off for the past few weeks. This six week pre-Revolution Prep period might be a good time to see how far I can take it.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Thursday Night Training
Gi and no gi tonight. Cindy led both classes. For the first hour, we worked on the arm stuff triangle and the omoplata transition if the guy defends by wrapping his trapped arm around the leg.
Working on the arm stuff triangle reminded me of the Machado Principle when it comes to the triangle choke. All you have to do is get your lock in with a trapped arm. From there, there are plenty of ways to break the posture and get the choke. Cindy also highlights another part of the Machado Principle by consistently grabbing her shin and pivoting off the free leg to get the proper angle to finish the triangle.
There's no reason to expect to land a picture-perfect triangle on the first attack. Get the lock, and then make the adjustments and reel him in.
The no gi class was mostly some crazy guard passes against the sitting guard/Cobra guard. A step-over pass, a knee-through pass, and a cartwheel/roundoff pass. Very "Cindy" like moves in the way that they are surprisingly efficient and straightforward. Although she has her share of fancy moves, Cindy's jiu jitsu is remarkably practical - the way she breaks down the triangle choke is just one example.
Some interesting times in sparring. I worked a pretty decent defensive moth guard, but when it was my turn on top I succumbed to a perfectly executed moth guard sweep - one of the very sweeps Rodrigo recently showed us and that I had told myself I wanted to start using.
No gi was a little more adventurous, getting to work some good mount and rear mount - the latter including a mata leao finish.
It was obvious what three days in a row of training have done for me. I'm starting to get a nice feel back, which is exactly what regular training will do for you. I haven't trained three times a week consistently since that great spring stretch from March 17 through April 25th when I got my shoulder injury.
In that six week stretch, I trained 21 times (average 3.5 times a week), and made some of my best gains in years. I'd love to be able to set a 3.5/week pace (3x weeks alternating with 4x weeks) from now until the November Revolution event. I can definitely feel the different mat time makes.
159.4 on the scale, post-training. A push.
Working on the arm stuff triangle reminded me of the Machado Principle when it comes to the triangle choke. All you have to do is get your lock in with a trapped arm. From there, there are plenty of ways to break the posture and get the choke. Cindy also highlights another part of the Machado Principle by consistently grabbing her shin and pivoting off the free leg to get the proper angle to finish the triangle.
There's no reason to expect to land a picture-perfect triangle on the first attack. Get the lock, and then make the adjustments and reel him in.
The no gi class was mostly some crazy guard passes against the sitting guard/Cobra guard. A step-over pass, a knee-through pass, and a cartwheel/roundoff pass. Very "Cindy" like moves in the way that they are surprisingly efficient and straightforward. Although she has her share of fancy moves, Cindy's jiu jitsu is remarkably practical - the way she breaks down the triangle choke is just one example.
Some interesting times in sparring. I worked a pretty decent defensive moth guard, but when it was my turn on top I succumbed to a perfectly executed moth guard sweep - one of the very sweeps Rodrigo recently showed us and that I had told myself I wanted to start using.
No gi was a little more adventurous, getting to work some good mount and rear mount - the latter including a mata leao finish.
It was obvious what three days in a row of training have done for me. I'm starting to get a nice feel back, which is exactly what regular training will do for you. I haven't trained three times a week consistently since that great spring stretch from March 17 through April 25th when I got my shoulder injury.
In that six week stretch, I trained 21 times (average 3.5 times a week), and made some of my best gains in years. I'd love to be able to set a 3.5/week pace (3x weeks alternating with 4x weeks) from now until the November Revolution event. I can definitely feel the different mat time makes.
159.4 on the scale, post-training. A push.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Wednesday Night Training
Rodrigo is still in Hawaii. I won't pretend not to miss him at the academy. But wishing someone returned early from a vacation is one cardinal sin I'm not going to commit.
In his absence we've had some solid jiu jitsu 101 (and 201) from Cindy and, tonight, Jesse. Jesse worked on side control escapes, both a full escape with the basic forearm-swim-back2belly and a guard replacement that was set up pretty much the same way.
We also covered a mount escape that Jesse's caught me with more than once. In this escape, used when the mounted guy is very high up with his knees in your armpits, you grab the hips, upa him forward and kick your legs back over your head aiming to put your feet in his armpits. I found that it was easier for me to pick a side and work to get at least one foot in the armpit as I did the backroll.
I got completely smashed in the side control drill we did afterwards. My side control from the top was very good and I did well where I should have done well. On the bottom, though, I didn't get a single escape. I came close in one situation. But I wasn't able to fully get away.
Rolled with Stephen afterwards and received additional smashing. Rolling with Stephen in 2008 reminds me of rolling with Casey in 2007. I lose all sense of what I'm supposed to do except for the most elemental "don't do that!" My goal is get to the point where I'm at least able to execute a losing gameplan.
Nice number after training of 159.6. I had pizza for lunch so I'm grateful for being lower by any amount.
Looking to get back on the mat tomorrow night. My shoulder has been acting up and I wonder if the time off was actually a bad thing for my shoulder recovery. If I can make it through tomorrow intact, then it will be nice to rest it up over the weekend. Ibuprofen and ice tonight. We'll see how things feel tomorrow.
In his absence we've had some solid jiu jitsu 101 (and 201) from Cindy and, tonight, Jesse. Jesse worked on side control escapes, both a full escape with the basic forearm-swim-back2belly and a guard replacement that was set up pretty much the same way.
We also covered a mount escape that Jesse's caught me with more than once. In this escape, used when the mounted guy is very high up with his knees in your armpits, you grab the hips, upa him forward and kick your legs back over your head aiming to put your feet in his armpits. I found that it was easier for me to pick a side and work to get at least one foot in the armpit as I did the backroll.
I got completely smashed in the side control drill we did afterwards. My side control from the top was very good and I did well where I should have done well. On the bottom, though, I didn't get a single escape. I came close in one situation. But I wasn't able to fully get away.
Rolled with Stephen afterwards and received additional smashing. Rolling with Stephen in 2008 reminds me of rolling with Casey in 2007. I lose all sense of what I'm supposed to do except for the most elemental "don't do that!" My goal is get to the point where I'm at least able to execute a losing gameplan.
Nice number after training of 159.6. I had pizza for lunch so I'm grateful for being lower by any amount.
Looking to get back on the mat tomorrow night. My shoulder has been acting up and I wonder if the time off was actually a bad thing for my shoulder recovery. If I can make it through tomorrow intact, then it will be nice to rest it up over the weekend. Ibuprofen and ice tonight. We'll see how things feel tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Tuesday Night Training
Finally made it back on the mat tonight for a little over an hour of drills and sparring.
Rodrigo is still in Hawaii. So Cindy led the class. We worked on submissions from the guard: the "swinging" armlock drill from the guard, then a more deliberate armlock from the guard, and finally a transition to the triangle choke.
Many nice little details, especially with the triangle choke. Cindy is a big fan of the Machado approach, where you grab your shin to get the triangle in place rather than just relying on your legs. During drills, I also focused on another Cindy detail of bucking and raising your hips to help get control over your opponent's upper body and to more easily bring his trapped arm across the centerline.
Managed to get in just a little bit of sparring. Was very pleased with a half guard move to the back that I managed to execute, as well as my moth guard. I was also able to pull off my knee-stuff guard pass to side control twice.
Short, but sweet, and a post-training weigh-in of 160.4. Not bad to start the week.
Rodrigo is still in Hawaii. So Cindy led the class. We worked on submissions from the guard: the "swinging" armlock drill from the guard, then a more deliberate armlock from the guard, and finally a transition to the triangle choke.
Many nice little details, especially with the triangle choke. Cindy is a big fan of the Machado approach, where you grab your shin to get the triangle in place rather than just relying on your legs. During drills, I also focused on another Cindy detail of bucking and raising your hips to help get control over your opponent's upper body and to more easily bring his trapped arm across the centerline.
Managed to get in just a little bit of sparring. Was very pleased with a half guard move to the back that I managed to execute, as well as my moth guard. I was also able to pull off my knee-stuff guard pass to side control twice.
Short, but sweet, and a post-training weigh-in of 160.4. Not bad to start the week.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Gracie Magazine's Special Coverage of the No Gi Mundial
Here are some of the articles about the No Gi Mundial that have appeared in Gracie Magazine as part of the lead-up coverage of the event.
No-Gi Worlds Warm-Up
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