Slidey's Training Log

14/08/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-08-14T22:31:00.001+01:00

Class #171

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Gustavo Dos Santos Pires, London, UK - 14/08/2008 - Advanced

My gf got funding for her MA at Warwick, so that should hopefully mean loads more training in the future for me. As she will need to get lots of work done, makes sense if I go and spend the first half on the day on campus: that will also serve to give me a kick up the arse on my PhD. In terms of training, it will be way easier to make Warwick Uni BJJ sessions once we move closer, and I also plan to give judo another go (though I remain concerned about injury due to last time, so will be extra-careful).

Tonight's class featured lots of sparring, as often seems to be the case with Gustavo. Very unusually, we started off with full-on sparring, from our feet, so effectively like a competition. I'm always wary of throws, so I was looking to pull guard as soon as possible. My first partner was a rather keen blue belt, meaning that I was sitting in guard looking to see if I could nab his arm somehow. Eventually ended up in half-guard and swept him, but fell straight into a tight choke.

I don't think I tapped (unless it was reflex or something, as the choke was quite forceful), but either way looks like he thought I did, so eased off. Should have stayed on, but he seemed happy to leave, meaning I could then get swiftly passed by my next partner. Also reminds me to be careful of chokes from half-guard: not sure if the usual defence works as well, as I can't then base up so easily. Something to think about.

Gustavo then showed one of his seemingly endless repertoire of open guard sweeps. You have both their sleeves, they're on their knees. Bring one leg over an arm, then hook under the other arm. Sit up and straighten that same leg, pushing off with your other leg, sweeping them to one side.

If they resist, then immediately switch to the other side, driving forward with your legs and pulling on their arms, putting them on their back. Gustavo described it as an osoto-gari motion, as its effectively a throw from your knees. Judging from drilling with Tanvir, it relies a lot on momentum: swinging first one way, then the opposite. I think you also need to push on their arm with your knee, keeping their sleeve tight to reduce their ability to resist.

Specific sparring was guard passage, where I'm still not standing up: this particularly becomes a problem for me when I'm against bigger guys (i.e., almost everyone in the class), as I just get pulled down again when I start to stand. I need to overcome that, just get up and then gradually develop a better base. Instead, I was defending once again, and got my nose squished by Alex (who was going for a triangle, but due to my position wrenched the nose straight up instead), then armbarred by Justin (a variation where he had the arm wrapped up so my hand was by his back).

For free sparring my partner was Tanvir, who has recently received his blue belt, which is cool. Less cool is that he unfortunately broke his ribs a while back, so I was being extra careful to avoid that side. As it turned out, most of the spar was open guard anyway, so the ribs weren't a problem.

I tried to get into the De La Riva, so I could attempt the sweep from Sunday, but found it difficult to keep control long enough to wrap up Tanvir's legs. While I could keep an instep hooked, he was able to keep moving and stepping back, meaning I generally just had control of one leg and one arm.

He later got into my half-guard, where after some wiggling I was able to get on top. Again, I was looking to avoid placing my weight on my ribs, but I doubt it made much difference to my technique: if it did have an impact, that would have been more than mitigated by the care Tanvir himself was no doubt taking with his injury, which must have hampered certain movements.

The roll also reminded me that I haven't got a clue what to do with submissions. I found myself in a mounted triangle, but was left pondering what to do with the arm, eventually getting rolled over as I first tried to cinch the triangle from guard, then switched to an equally sloppy armbar attempt. Very unusual for me to be in position for a submission, and it really shows. At present I'm more than happy to keep working defence, but worth remembering that I will need to develop some kind of facility with submissions later on.

My next and final sparring partner was Joanna, where we both spun about through open, half and full guard, with occasional forays into side control. As with Tanvir, I couldn't control Joanna's leg sufficiently in open guard, normally just getting the one leg, so she could simply pass with the free limb. I also gave up my back, which is an extremely bad habit I do not want to develop: must go to my knees more, rather than always wanting to recover guard or half-guard.

I got cramp in my right leg in the midst of holding half-guard, which was annoying. Was just about to keep control by using my other leg to hook, but I could see that being a problem if I ever compete again. I don't get cramp too often, but does occasionally happen, almost always in that exact situation. Not sure if it was exacerbated by all the open guard with Tanvir, or if its just something that can happen towards to end of a long sparring class.

Shame that I'll miss out on the affiliate open day on Saturday, but I'll hopefully be busy house-hunting in Leamington, Kenilworth and Canley. Would be good to find accommodation soon, so that we can move in and I can at long last get into all the various sports on offer on campus. Judo of course, but I'd love to try out archery, and I haven't done any fencing since I was about twelve. Might even return to horse-riding, if there is the option, as I enjoyed the little bit I did back in the day (again, was pretty young when I did it on a regular basis: wonder if my helmet still fits…).

13/08/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-08-13T23:03:00.001+01:00

Class #170

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 13/08/2008 - Advanced

Those of you who read about the Oxford Throwdown may remember Jadon: he has now started his own training blog, which you can check out here. Especially useful if you're thinking of training with Andy Roberts in Guildford (soon moving to a larger premises in Farnborough), a Roger Gracie brown belt, experienced competitor and Jadon's instructor.

Keeping on the topic of cool blogs, Matt from Martial Farts just posted up this great interview with Caleb, of Fightworks Podcast fame. Interesting stuff, such as his points on competition, and I like that he emphasised relaxing and shrimping as the two things every beginner should work on.

He has also put up a video of the quarter-guard technique he mentioned earlier, which I tried briefly in sparring, but need to watch a few more times. I don't think I'm using the right arm, grabbing the leg in the correct way, or getting that knock with the hip right. As there is now video to check, should hopefully be able to better visualise what I'm supposed to be doing.

For the technique tonight, Nick showed us an armbar from side control. Trying not to be too obvious about your intentions, keep their near hand under some kind of control. Your knee nearest their legs will then shift up slightly, staying tight, while you grip deep around their far arm, reaching under as much as you can.

Your leg nearest their head now steps out, while your leg folds against their side: the foot should be up toward their face. This, coupled with the tight grip on their far arm, will help prevent them turning out of the armbar. Bring your raised leg over their head, keeping the foot close to them. The other leg will also come out, scooping their arm with your knee as you do so (maintain control of that arm all the way through the technique), putting them in position for the armbar. Drop back for the submission.

Specific sparring was done twice, first before the technique with your partner, then king of the hill. Both times I did much the same thing, continuing to work on transitioning from side control to scarf hold and back again. I also attempted reverse scarf hold, where you are facing their knees, but still needs work. I was trying to keep my weight down and make space by moving backwards, but could not clear enough room to bring my knee through for mount. However, it was good to practice being mobile on top: seems to be improving, though at various points both Bruno and Joanna were able to escape because I left too much room.

Underneath, I built on the drilling from Sunday, with the spinout side control escape and Nick's earlier technique where you roll them over your back. The spinout remains problematic, as I end up on my side, and wasn't able to drive through with my shoulder as with Rosie: I'm pretty sure that's just a matter of force, so very unreliable. I had the same sloppy approach to the other side control escape, coming up on my knees instead of toes. I did manage to get Joanna over, but didn't stay tight, and again I doubt it would have worked against anybody heavier or simply putting up more resistance: Joanna tends to stay fairly relaxed in sparring.

In free sparring, I again found myself in side control, open guard and half-guard most of the time, trying the same escapes again. I wanted to go for the De La Riva sweep Rosie had showed me, but couldn't get into position, getting passed instead. It does at least mean I've got some kind of specific goal when in open guard now, which was largely missing previously.

Zaf went to his back, as he normally does with me due to the huge strength discrepancy, putting me in lockdown. I wasn't totally certain how to neutralise that, so tried sitting back on his legs. Not especially successful, and found myself in a footlock, pushing on Zaf's bum to escape (like Bruno had shown me a while back).

Zaf also advised me on keeping control in guard, getting my legs up high and forcing my partner down. I'm always wary of anything that requires strength (because its not something I can ever rely on, being weedy), but its important to be able to strike a balance. Some force is required in situations like that, but as ever I want to stay relaxed and technical.

Surprisingly, the tape I had round my toes and foot to protect the mat burn I acquired on Sunday held out. I had purchased a bottle of that liquid plaster Zaf recommended earlier, but didn't need to use it. Judging by that, it would seem that while tape doesn't seem to last very long on the fingers, its ok for the toes. The same tape I'd wrapped around on Sunday was still going strong, despite having got wet from the shower. I'd expected it to come loose in sparring.

Should be in again tomorrow, where hopefully we'll work some side control escapes. Would be great to get a refresh on the one Nick showed us before, but will wait and see what happens. Might be good to have a basic open guard lesson too, or perhaps some work on passing half-guard. I was struggling to remember Maurição's tips when with Zaf, so something I need to read back in my blog.

10/08/2008 - Warwick Uni BJJ (Drilling)

2008-08-10T19:09:00.004+01:00

Warwick Uni BJJ Training Group, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK - 10/08/2008

I've haven't been able to make all of them, so this was the third meeting of the Warwick Uni BJJ group for me. As I've said before, it isn't a formal class, as none of us are experienced enough to teach: its just a bunch of people getting together for drilling. I wouldn't normally stick it in its own entry, but scribbling this down now its getting kinda long, so I didn't want to shove it at the top of my next RGA post.

I finally got to meet Rosie today, who trains at GB Brum, and also did lots of drilling on side control escapes and a De La Riva sweep. Started off with the basic escape where you bridge, shrimp, bring your knee in and recover guard, then moved on to the 'spinout' Roy Dean demonstrates on Blue Belt Requirements.

I've only seen this on that video, so that means my understanding remains suspect. So, keeping that in mind: the spinout side control escape starts the same way as the basic bridge and shrimp. If you can't quite get your knee through, then as Roy Dean explains on his DVD, you can try changing directions. Slide the hand that was by their hip under their body, and grab their far hip. Bring your knees towards their knees, then fling them back in the other direction. At the same time, you'll be using that momentum to swivel right round underneath them, also pushing off with the hand on their far hip, ending up in open guard.

As always, I combined several drills together, as I think the best way to drill is where both people get to work. So, that meant I started with a guard pass to side control, after which the other person recovered guard, so you passed it again. After that, we did Roy Dean's spinout escape, which puts you in open guard, so perfect for adding the De La Riva sweep Rosie wanted to work on.

The spinout works fine in drilling, as everything does, but once you start adding resistance, it becomes very difficult. I've attempted it a few times in sparring at RGA, and yet to get anywhere with the technique. However, both Rosie and I found that while we couldn't complete the spin because the space was cut off, the escape still opened up options.

For me, the momentum of swinging the legs off-balanced the person on top sufficiently that I could drive through with my legs and shoulder to roll on top: that may have been down to the weight difference, though, as I've got 9kg on Rosie. When Rosie was on the bottom trying out the escape, she didn't roll me over, but was able to pop out the side. I found that her head slipped out of my grasp after she attempted the spinout, even though she couldn't complete the motion when I cut off the space.

I also noticed she often uses her arms for pushing out to escape to guard. I've been avoiding using my arms when escaping side control, as I'm wary both of armbars and of trying to use pure strength to shove people off (I'm small, so in addition to wanting to concentrate on technique, I don't have the muscle to fall back on anyway). Perhaps I've been avoiding them too much, however, as it might help when trying to make space to recover guard. Something to think about when I next spar.

The De La Riva sweep looked familiar, but looking through my blog, I don't think I've done it before. From the De La Riva position (same side leg around the outside of their leg, instep hooking their other hip), you push their leg back with your free foot, pressing just above the knee. This should put them a little off balance, setting up switching your pushing foot to behind their ankle, while you De La Riva leg goes to their same side hip. Simultaneously push on their hip and drag on their ankle: as they fall back, use your grip on their sleeve to pull yourself up, moving through to side control.

As we were doing that sweep off the spinout, that meant you end up already with a grip on their arm. However, it’s the wrong arm for the De La Riva sweep, so you have to switch. I was trying to come up with a way of doing that, mainly by relying on the initial push on their knee to off-balance, but not entirely reliable, especially if your training partner knows what you're trying to do. Grabbing the collar first and then switching was another option, but then you still have to release to grab the sleeve (if you don't have the sleeve, they can post to stop their fall).

Aidi and Rosie got in some sparring towards the end of the two hours, whereas I did a bit more drilling with Dan. Not as measured as before, because we mainly just went through some drills Dan wanted to do on armbars. I also showed Dan some options to complete the armbar from mount, with the proviso that I'm total poo at submissions. Hence why I don't teach a class: just a matter of exchanging training tips.

We finished off by going through that side control escape Nick showed me last week. It’s a little strange, so I wanted to take the opportunity to drill it some more. I still don't quite have that roll to my other shoulder down, and I also need to watch where I land, as I was ending up rather too high.

No idea when I'll make the next one, as I can only ever do these drilling meets when my gf is away: I get limited time with her as it is, so normally spend my weekends with her. Hopefully won't be too long before I pop down to a Warwick Uni BJJ meet-up again, as its really handy having that extended period to just drill technique.

07/08/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-08-07T22:23:00.002+01:00

Class #169

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 07/08/2008 - Advanced

I got a pleasant PM from someone on Sherdog this morning, saying they'd found this blog useful, and in particular were wondering if I could send them a copy of the spreadsheet I use to track my attendance (the offline version is way more geeky, with a load more formulae, tabs and even graphs ;p). That means I've now got a template version, so if anyone else wants one, let me know.

My face was raw from yesterday, probably from defending chokes in free sparring, and it was going to get some more gi action tonight: Jude focused on chokes from the guard. As is often the case, he started with the fundamental position, then demonstrated variations depending on how your partner defends.

The initial cross choke from guard we worked on tonight started with you opening up your partner's lapels, pulling them out of their belt, keeping a firm grip on one with your same side hand. Bring them forwards with your legs, then keep them down by using your free arm to clamp over their back. The hand grasping their gi will now punch up and past their armpit, aiming to feed the end of the gi to your other hand.

Push off their hip and shrimp, bringing your free hand past their throat. Switch the gi back to that hand, so you now have secure control over their neck. The hand which is therefore now free again grabs the gi material by their shoulder, on the opposite side of their neck to your other hand, pressing both forearms into their throat. Squeeze for the choke.

Next the first cross choke variation. You've got them wrapped up, ready to bring your other hand through to finish off the choke. However, this time they've managed to get their hand in place on their face to block you. To counter that, push the elbow of that arm away from you and come up on your side slightly, while still holding the gi you've looped around their head. Your free arm is going to press on the back of their head (not directly on the back, but towards their ear), pushing their head a bit sideways. Pull on the gi with your gripping hand as you do so for the choke.

Finally, the last variation is a way of taking the back. Again, you're ready to choke, but this time instead of defending with a hand, they get their whole head to the other side of your head, preventing the choke. That presents you with two ways to take their back.

You could shrimp out, bringing the leg over, locking in the body triangle and then putting in your hooks, putting you on top of them, back mounted. Or you could reach for the far elbow, pull it up and back, twisting them towards you, which should enable you to spin them into rear mount, with both of your backs facing the floor.

I started on my back during king of the hill guard passage, which hasn't happened for a while. Lorenzo didn't have much trouble passing, but did put me in that quarter guard position I've been playing with recently since Rob T suggested it. I thought I could try Matt's sweep, but I think I went for the knee with the wrong arm. Against a guy as strong as Lorenzo, the technique needed to be perfect, which very clearly mine wasn't, but at least I've now given it a go. Something to improve next time I find myself in quarter-guard (which reminds me, must add that to the glossary - in short, like half guard, but you only have their foot).

With mount, I thought I'd attempt the same strategy that had worked well with Anthony a few lessons ago, but no such luck tonight. I was rolled pretty easily, and my balance was poor. I also wasn't attacking, which meant I was basically waiting to be swept. So, will need to think more carefully about how to be proactive when wrapping my legs around their's, trying to get my feet under their bum in mount.

Finally in side control, I felt more comfortable. I'm continuing to work on switching between side control and scarf hold, but keep forgetting that I should be using that transition to shift up towards their head, getting their arm out of the way and thereby making space to mount. I'm getting better and remembering to keep my head down and close to their's, which should help to make my scarf hold heavier.

Free sparring started with Christina, who as always drove through to knee-on-belly while I tried to escape. I again attempted to shift to quarter-guard, but couldn't get my feet into position. I tried reaching through with my arm to push on the ankle, but didn't do it carefully, so was asking to get armbarred rather than effecting any kind of productive escape.

In relation to that, Christina gave me a useful reminder that I really need to be more careful of my arm. Had we been in a competition, she would have slapped it on several times, but because she's a good training partner, my joints were mercifully left intact. However, I need to keep the distinction in mind – I've often said you shouldn't treat class like a competition (an essential point many beginners miss, I feel), but its also important to remember that class is different from competition, so I shouldn't allow myself to get complacent about dangling my arm in dangerous positions.

Last roll was with a visiting Irish purple belt named John, who sought me out because we're the same size. He took it relatively easy, eventually ending up mounting me. I tried to elbow escape, as well as pushing on his foot to see if I could snatch half guard, but to no avail. I was also bridging a lot to knock his submissions attempts off-balance. That was working ok right up until he got set up for a mounted triangle. I wasn't quite sure how to get free, so had a go at curling my body in close and bringing my legs to his arms.

This might have worked better if I'd been going somewhere specific rather than just flailing hopefully looking for a grip. John then helpfully explained one option to start an escape, which is to grab an arm with your trapped arm, then bring your foot through utilising that grip. You can then push back and roll upright: although you will most likely still be in a triangle, its far preferable to be resisting against one from guard – where you have some kind of base – then against one from mount.

There's going to be an open day at the Roger Gracie Academy on 16th August, where all the affiliate schools (so places like the Vie Academy, Nick Brooks in Mill Hill, Andy Roberts in Guildford etc) will be popping down for a visit. Shame I can't make that, as its on a weekend, but I am planning to make Andy's opening seminar for his new venue in Farnborough. Should be early September.

06/08/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-08-06T23:23:00.002+01:00

Class #168

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 06/08/2008 - Advanced

Great news for people looking to train BJJ in Aylesbury: a new club, Fightin-Fit, opened its doors last Sunday, headed up by Kev Capel (purple belt) and Yasmine Wilson (blue belt). Having trained with both of them at the Roger Gracie Academy, I'm sure that Fightin Fit (not 'fighting fit', as the g is missed off) will be an awesome place to learn BJJ. I was chatting to Yas about it tonight, and she mentioned that they've already had a good turn-out since opening up last Sunday. This is the address:

Fightin-Fit
McLeod Academy,
7 Pembroke Road,
Stocklake, Aylesbury,
Bucks, HP20 1BD
kevcapel@hotmail.co.uk
07904810640 (Kev)

Aylesbury is relatively near where I live, so I'll have to see if I can drop in somehow: too far to make after work, but if for some reason I'm at home on a Friday or Sunday, wouldn't be overly difficult. I also see they've got a decent BJJ history up on the site, as well as details on UK BJJ history. That reminds me I should really finish up the one I've been compiling since last christmas – I've just about got all the sources I wanted now (Fightin-Fit provides another, handily), so it’s a matter of getting it into shape.

Another senior belt from RGA, Andy Roberts, is already running a club, but will soon be moving to new premises in Farnborough. Hopefully the open day will be on a weekend so I can make it: would be nice if I could go support my fellow RGA members. :D

Tonight's class was split between three instructors, though I'm putting this down as one for Nick, because he taught technique. Gustavo kicked off class with the warm-up, which as ever includes throws. I don't normally bother noting them down, but I liked the technique tonight, because there seemed to be little chance of accidentally tweaking your back through bad form.

I think Christina said it was called 'ippon' something, but basically, it’s a sort of trip where you throw them over your own leg. Grip their same side lapel, halfway down, while grabbing the fabric by their elbow with your other hand. Step in close to them and shove your elbow up into their armpit (on the lapel side, IIRC), twisting them off-balance. Swivel to bring your back against them, dragging down on the arm as you drive up with your other elbow into their armpit. Put your foot in front of them (on the trapped arm side), with your leg slightly bent. Finally, straighten up to put them onto your hip and bring your arms around, throwing them over your outstretched leg.

Main technique was taught by Nick G, and I was pleased to hear we would be doing side control escapes. With his trademark methodical, clear instruction, Nick broke the technique down, starting with a drill to get us used to the principal motion. Shrimp to one side as you would normally, but then bring one leg underneath the other and come up on your toes, so that you're now facing the floor with your bum in the air. This looks a bit like a drill I've seen called "threading the needle", but I don't think its quite the same thing.

The actual side control escape starts from a typical position, in which your partner has one arm under your head, the other under your far arm. For this technique to function, you want their arm past your head. To get it there, grab the gi by their opposite shoulder, then with your free arm grip the material near their elbow. Bridge up and thrust, dragging their arm over your head.

Keep that motion going, pushing their arm down towards their knees, aiming to get it between their legs. You can now execute the drill from earlier, shrimping, then bringing one leg under the other, rising up on your toes with your bum in the air (or in this case, pressing into your opponent).

As you've still got that grip on the arm, which they can't use to post because you've got it by their knees, you can now roll over your shoulder, bringing them with you. Be careful to come up on your elbow as you do this, rather than putting all the pressure on your neck: that hurts, as I discovered when drilling. As you roll them, you'll need to twist in mid-air to land on top in side control.

The next side control escape builds on that technique. You've got to the point where you've done the shrimp and step-through, raising them up ready to roll them. However, this time they're wise to it, and step round past your head. Let go of their arm, and instead hook around their leg, making sure your head is directly between their legs.

Your free arm is going to act as a lever – Nick described it as a 'robotic arm', pressing your body up, also using your lower back. That will lift your partner into the air, completely destroying their base. Drop them off to one side, holding their legs, then use that grip to twist them onto their back, driving through with your shoulder and ending in side control.

I wanted to keep trying to stand up during guard passage, but found that both the guys I was sparring were too strong for that to be effective. Or rather, they were sufficiently strong that I was extra-wary of getting up, a mental barrier I still need to overcome. Its so much more comfortable to just settle into base and defend, but that always ends up with the inevitable sweep.

Specific sparring from side control went better. My partner was Rohit, who hasn't been back to class for a few months, meaning he was rusty. That meant that he was tending to lean forward too much on top, so I was able to roll him over: wouldn't happen normally, but it can take a while to get back into the flow of things.

On top, I mainly tried to hold him down in scarf hold, which sort of worked, but I had some trouble breaking his grips on my legs. I should have secured his arm properly before shifting to scarf hold, though I managed to get back to side control (rather sloppy though, as I was leaving too much space).

In free sparring, I was a little better about standing up in guard, as Christina went to her back. She still swept me, but at least I worked getting to my feet a little. I also had a play with open guard again, trying to establish some grips, but I'm not active enough: need to review some of the many sweeps we've been shown from there. I got into a weird position with my legs, wrapping them around her legs, but to no meaningful effect (though it did show me I haven't lost all my flexibility from when I did stand-up back at Warwick Uni ZSK).

Following Rob T's advice after my last post, when Christina went to her favoured knee-on-belly this time, I grabbed her ankle and moved to quarter-guard (which from what Rob said is where you sort of have a half-guard, but only around their foot). Getting into that position seemed relatively straightforward (pull their ankle in, bring your leg over, lock your ankles around their foot), but the hard bit is going to be working back to full half-guard from there. Also as Rob mentioned, its not a secure place to be, as they are almost past your guard.

Finally, yet another weird position happened later on, I think from my attempts to use quarter-guard to escape knee-on-belly. I was reaching for the other leg with my arms, trying to pull myself through and pop out the back, while Christina was looking for the armbar. I did get behind her, but she was still holding me with her legs. Random: eventually think I either ended back in her guard, but can't quite remember.

My last spar was with the aforementioned Yas, having chatted about the new Fightin-Fit BJJ club in Aylesbury she's running with Kevin. I couldn't pass her guard, though I was trying to drive my knee through, shifting between pushing on that and sprawling back, looking to either get my legs under her knees for a stack pass, or pushing both knees to one side and spinning round the back.

Neither worked, and I fell into half-guard. I'm still ending up on the wrong side: I want to have my torso on the same side as the trapped leg, which should be viable because I'm often grabbing half-guard as they try to pass, so have a small window to position myself. I had a go at the arm sweep, also pulling Yas' gi around her head, without being quite sure what to do with it.

I did finally get back to guard, but then somehow found myself with Yas going for my back and looking for the choke. Vaguely remembering a video, I grabbed for an arm, as I assumed she had one wrapped around me, and eventually secured a grip. I then attempted to use that to roll her over and land in scarf or something, but totally couldn't recall the technique. After the spar, I realised I was thinking of the wrestler's sit-out, so should have been attempting that motion instead. Something to remember for next time.

Roger had been rolling with students during free sparring, and now took the warm-down. I like that he emphasised the importance of stretching to avoid injury: I've trained in a number of places (outside of BJJ) that don't include a warm-down, which I feel is a serious omission.

Should be training again tomorrow, then I'll be looking to get in another meet-up of the Warwick Uni BJJ training group on Sunday. I have the weekend free, so should be good: also want to finally finish up my BJJ history post.

31/07/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-07-31T22:03:00.002+01:00

Class #167

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 31/07/2008 - Advanced

Back to technique this session, returning to some open guard sweeps Jude has shown us before. They both begin from half-guard, after your opponent has stood up, then I think switch to what is called 'x-guard', but as I'm still not entirely sure what the hell that is, may be mislabelling the position.

Anyway, the first x-guard sweep starts with them standing up, while you have both of your legs wrapped around one of theirs, also using your same side hand to grab their gi trousers. With your other hand, grip their other sleeve. In order to make them step forward, brings your knees towards your chest and pull their sleeve forward.

Once they've stepped forward, switch your grip from their sleeve to behind their leg, wrapping your arm around the back of their knee, gripping just above that same knee round the other side. Your half-guard now switches to the 'x-guard' thingy, where your have one shin underneath their leg, the other foot braced by the side of their knee. If they are trying to drop their knee to your stomach, use your own knee to press them back.

To knock them over, pull your arm in so you can change your grip from their gi pants to their ankle, then use the combination of pushing on their knee and your hold on their other leg to put them on the ground. Don't come up using your hand: rely on the momentum instead, completing the motion by coming round to side control.

The next x-guard sweep was a bit more complicated, working from the same starting position. However, this time when you try to get them to step forward, they put their weight back and hold steady, so you can't hook that leg. Instead, you'll move right round to the side of the leg you've trapped with your own legs. Pull their arm between their legs, feeding the sleeve to your other hand, then hook the instep of one leg around their other thigh (taking care not to get your arm and leg tangled up, which I did a few times when drilling this). Your other leg is going to push on their knee again.

Having got into position, sit up and grab their collar, aiming to get a deep grip. You can now drop the leg you've got hooked, and instead concentrate on pushing their knee, pulling down on the gi with your collar grip at the same time. This should drag them to the floor: note that they can't easily break their fall, so be careful when drilling this (you basically end up landing on your shoulder).

Specific sparring was king of the hill guard passage, where again my main goal was to make myself stand up. I got defensive a few times, but was pleased to at least get to my feet during a couple of spars. I'm not getting any further than that at the mo, but it’s a start: next thing will be to drive my hips forward and develop good balance, so I can being to work a pass. At the moment, I tend to get swept fairly quickly and easily after I'm up, so its going to be a matter of persevering until I start to settle into the motion and get my base.

I spent a lot of free sparring in half-guard, particularly with Dean and Christy. For the first spar, my partner was Christina, and I tried to stand up: didn't really work, but again, something I just need to keep trying. As ever, soon ended up underneath, mostly in either side control or knee on belly. In the latter position, I'm tending to do a lot of waiting, trying to go to half guard by pushing on the knee, which isn't very effective. I've seen some escapes in the Ed Beneville books, and I remember Maurição showing us some a while back, so need to double-check those.

My main problem in half-guard at present is getting up my torso onto the same side as the leg I've trapped. I keep ending up in a diagonal posture, which is much less useful for sweeps, taking the back, recovering guard etc. I'm getting better with snatching half guard if I can see I'm about to be swept or passed, but I must be doing it in such a way that I end up with my torso in the wrong place. Working back around is proving difficult: I should probably be using my hips more, and bridging to make space.

I seem to remember getting some kind of sweep on Christy, but I think it was kinda sloppy, and right near the end I rolled her over with her leg (if I'm remembering correctly). That wasn't really planned, but I should keep in mind that their leg is vulnerable if its up close to my head.

I also rolled into Dean's guard a couple of times, but that didn't help me much as on each occasion he had a kimura mostly locked in when on top of my half-guard. The second time round I managed to get out of it by attempting to crush my shoulder down after I rolled, but I'm not sure if I escaped due to that, or he eased off: not sure on the correct technical escape for a kimura from guard.

Seemed to bruise up my knee today, which I think may have been exacerbated by the unpleasant humidity. London has been wet and hot today, which is a terrible combination. Hopefully will be a little cooler when I get back next week: got a friend's wedding to go to in Cambridge this weekend, which should be fun.

30/07/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-07-30T23:02:00.001+01:00

Class #166

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 30/07/2008 - Advanced

The Fightworks Podcast has been shifting to more user-generated content recently, meaning that Caleb is asking the audience if they have any questions for upcoming guests. I emailed a few for the judo interview (subscribing in Google Reader is a good way to keep up to date with the content, or alternately getting on the mailing list). Caleb managed to fit them all in, which was a pleasant surprise: I thought maybe one or two would make it, so to hear all five was kinda cool.

No technique tonight, just sparring. We kicked off with throws to warm-up, then straight on to guard passage. I was trying to stand up in order to try and pass Tran's guard, but found it difficult to even get to that position. As has been happening frequently from this position, I tend to get pulled down and then have to defend, rather than getting my hands secure and rising up from that. It could be that I should be quicker in getting up, or worrying less about having a totally rock solid base first. Clearly I should be attempting something slightly different, as I'm finding myself in a predictable pattern of putting hands on hips, trying to raise up, then my posture is broken and I'm defending.

Underneath I didn't fare much better: Tran inevitably got my guard open, pushed a knee through and moved round. As he said afterwards, I need to think about how he is passing and what to do to stop the pass. First off, I have to come up with a way to block that knee and elbow, perhaps by coming up on one side, or working harder to break their posture. I was also looking to try and break Tran's grips, so I could armdrag and bring him in close, but not quite there yet: if I keep trying, will eventually improve.

Next was half-guard, for which my partner was Dean. He is a bit larger than me, but stays controlled, probably because he's fairly experienced (I think he mentioned about six years of training). I tried staying tight and seeing if I could move round, but wasn't able to free my trapped leg. I also attempted to remember the half guard passes we'd be shown by Maurição a while back: drew a blank on the upright passes, so will need to review those.

When we reversed I felt a bit more comfortable, aiming to get up on my side and either try for their back or the arm sweep. I think I can see improvements in getting to my side, particularly as before I was often just lying there squashed, which doesn't seem to happen quite so often. I need to use my legs more, and also shrimp a lot more, rather than thinking about over and underhooks so much (though they're still important). I managed to sweep once, but it was fairly sloppy on my partner. I almost recovered guard a few times too, but on each occasion Dean was able to bring his knees through, so I'm still missing some vital element, which I'll be sure to watch out for especially carefully when I'm next in that position.

Specific sparring from the back was against a much larger guy, but as he had hurt his shoulder, that meant he was basically only using one arm. Due to that, the spar wasn't quite as painful as I'd expected, with him spinning fairly easily into my guard when I was on his back, while when he had rear mount I stayed tight in defence. We also ended up back in mount or with him in my guard a few times, which I guess counts as an escape: better than being choked. I had one arm in place for a RNC for a while, but couldn't get the other one secure: if I got close, he was more than strong enough to simply wrench my arm away.

My partner for side control was Radek, which turned out comparatively even (though as he's got a considerable bit of muscle on me, could well have been taking it easy). On top, I rather fortuitously found myself in reverse scarf hold (at least I think I was: my side was across his torso and face, with one of his arms around my back). It was fairly simple to shift back, then bring my leg through for mount. Definitely something to work on more, as I remain very limited from the top.

That was rare, however, as mostly I was getting rolled over, although I slightly improved my mobility from position to position as the spar went on. I'm still nowhere near mobile enough, however, and get to try and sit in secure side control, which almost always results in a gradual escape on the part of my opponent.

Underneath, the Tran side control escape worked several times. Radek had control of my legs, but must have left some room for my hips, as I was still able to bridge into him and roll into his guard. I think I also recovered my own guard at one point, but can't quite remember, along with snatching half guard, which tends to be my favourite escape.

I was pretty tired once we reached free sparring, so happily sat out waiting to see if anyone wanted to roll with a small guy. Two purple belts duly obliged, starting with Tomek. He kept it fairly light, given the usual weight difference, so I spent most of the spar trying to avoid getting triangled in the guard, then attempting to work my way free from side control.

Much the same happened against Bruno, though he threw on a leglock part of the way through. I'm very wary of lower body submissions (though I was more confident about escaping an earlier attempt from his guard), so tapped immediately, seeing that he had the position and I was off-balance, leaning back. That had the added bonus of him showing me an escape, which is to push their bum with your free leg.

Roger was in class, rolling with several of the students: I saw him go with both Zaf and Tomek, and no doubt a whole bunch of other people too. Always nice to see him on the mats. Nick taking the sessions has been another pleasant change: its great how RGA has so many top notch instructors to cycle between.

24/07/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-07-24T23:36:00.001+01:00

Class #165

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 24/07/2008 - Advanced

Having already chatted earlier in the day over a brief bit of lunch, I met Johannes at Westbourne Park to show him the way. When we first got in, looked like it was going to be a small class, and there also weren't many of the people I'd normally chat to (e.g., Owen, Christina, Tran etc), and was therefore looking to introduce to Johannes. On the other hand, there were plenty of good browns and purples for him to roll with, which was cool.

Jude went through the same two half guard passes from last week, though I'm still not quite sure I'm getting them (partly that’s because I have an aversion to 'mean' techniques which essentially are based around making your partner really uncomfortable in order to achieve your goal, but mostly because I'm really bad at passing).

We then moved on to a half guard sweep. I think this is the one Christina has mentioned to me before, as it involves pulling their lapel through their own legs. First thing you need to do from half guard - which seems to be a central principle of the position - is to underhook around their back on the same side as the leg you've trapped, then come up onto your side.

Pull their lapel down and through their legs, then feed it to your other hand (I think still all on the trapped leg side, but might have misremembered) then bump them forward with your knee. Having knocked them off balance, use your firm grip on their leg to put them on their back and drive forwards. Cup their other knee and yank it back, using that to move through and secure side control.

Specific sparring was therefore from half-guard, where I got absolutely nowhere. I tried to settle into a position where I had a tight grip under their head and arm, but every time I was either swept or they recovered guard. Paxton, as before, immediately brought his leg through, slicing past my defences as if they were made of tissue paper. Weight distribution, especially maintaining good pressure, continues to be a major problem for me.

When it came to free sparring, I ended up going with Johannes twice (no bad thing, as its not like I get to roll with him often). His background as an instructor over in Sweden swiftly became apparent, as he approaches the roll looking to work your game, rather than simply crush you. He frequently urged me to get hooks in open guard, keep moving, go for submissions, and be more offensive. As he mentioned afterwards, he noticed that I'll get vaguely in position for a submission, but don't follow through. He also commented on how I wasn't being careful of his hooks when trying to pass, as a few times he had a hook but I kept driving forward anyway, so was asking to be reversed.

The next time I sparred, having sat out two rounds, was again with Johannes. This went pretty much the same way, as I spun around on the bottom trying to defend, while Johannes took it easy, trying to get me to go for something. He intentionally set me up for a sweep at one point, but I didn't see what he was intending, then gave me a triangle (though I was laughing, because he so obviously wasn't resisting at all ;p). He did mention that my submission defence wasn't bad, but it served as another reminder that my game is bereft of anything resembling an attack at the moment, something I really need to rectify.

Finally, I had a light roll with Jason, again mostly spinning around on the bottom, getting put in side control, then trying to snatch half guard after he went to knee-on-belly, which would normally result in going under side control again. As I'm small and Jason is coming back from a nasty knee injury, this kind of relaxed rolling works well for both of us: Jason gets to attempt new stuff that wouldn't work so well against more accomplished members of class, while I get to practice movement.

Paxton received his much-deserved blue belt at the end of class, which was great to see: nice guy who always works hard in class. He's got a good attitude (asks lots of questions) and has been improving rapidly since I first encountered him in the beginners class: I can fondly look back on the days when I could hold him off, because he's now surpassed me. Good defence and offence, so a useful example, as he isn't all that much bigger than me either.

I'm off to Lincolnshire to visit some friends this weekend, so won't be able to make the Tuesday, again. However, I'd most likely spend that on PhD anyway, and will definitely be doing that the following week to make up for lost time. So, probably going to be just Wednesdays and Thursdays for the foreseeable future, but I'll hopefully be able to add in the odd Tuesday if I can get enough of the thesis done in the morning. I'd have to catch a 14:00 train to make it to Tuesday training in time, which doesn't tend to give me as long as I need to sort out the academic side of things.

23/07/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-07-23T23:02:00.001+01:00

Class #164

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 23/07/2008 - Advanced

I couldn't get to sleep last Sunday, so decided to get up and be productive. As I do rather strange things for fun, that resulted in my new BJJ Beginner FAQ. I'd appreciate any feedback (e.g., further good questions you think should be on there, broken links, informative threads/articles I could add in for further reading etc). Still adding things to it, but just about got in all the questions I wanted (last one I can think of is cross-training, for which I mainly use my Bullshido.txt file, especially my usual 'Welcome to Bullshido!' post with the stuff about 'if you're interested in striking/ if you're more interested in grappling').

Also didn't get to train yesterday, as the PhD has stepped up a gear (though I also got an extension, which is nice: the final deadline is now October 2010). That’s probably going to mean I'll be spending most of my Tuesdays PhDing, at least until I feel I've got on top of the thesis and have a solid chunk of the word count ready. If only it was as easy to pump out academic prose as it is to write several thousand word essays on a BJJ blog…

Nick G took class today, who brings something different to the table as an instructor. He runs one of the top BJJ blogs on the net, The Jiu-Jitsu Brotherhood: the same thoughtful style is evident in his teaching. It felt very much like reading one of his posts when he began the drilling, as he discussed his theory that there are two main types of position in BJJ: set positions, like side control, guard etc, and the scramble, where neither person has settled into a controlling posture. As he mentioned, this is common in nogi, but not often the focus of a lesson when wearing the gi.

To help develop this ability to scramble, Nick had us do a drill where we were effectively sparring, but the whole point was to simply keep moving: no submissions and no grips. That meant I found myself rolling over to my back, swinging my legs over, spinning around underneath etc. I tend to be slow and steady in sparring, as I like to feel secure and then work from a comfortable position, so this was a useful exercise for me.

We then did the same thing again, but this time with the difference that one of us had their eyes closed. That meant I now had to feel for my partner so I could work out where they were going, not to mention the practical reason that class was stuffed so I didn't want to slam into anyone. The 'seeing' partner basically ended up shepherding their training partner away from walls and other grappling pairs.

Technique tonight was an armbar from the back. I can imagine Nick G doing a good instructional video, as his method of demonstration was tailor-made for recording: methodical and clear, with several repetitions. We started from the back, with hooks in, your arms underneath theirs, while they defend against the choke. Your same side hand slips through their armpit to grab their same side wrist. Bring your other arm over the top to grip their wrist, then switch your hands. Your first hand now grabs the wrist of your other arm, meaning you've secured a figure-four hold.

Drop slightly towards their legs, shrimping out your legs. You are now in position to execute what Nick called the 'stamp and clamp'. With your far leg, 'stamp' on their same side hip to stop them turning towards you (as they'll be aiming to get back in your guard). Then bring your other leg across their waist, hooking across their hip: this is the 'clamp'.

Your free leg goes over their head, pushing them back (make sure you're holding them firmly with this leg, squeezing your knees together), while you push their arm up towards their head then down in a semi-circle. That should enable you to straighten out the limb and secure the armbar.

Specific sparring, unsurprisingly, was from the back. As I've mentioned before, this is easily my worst position. I find it very difficult to maintain any kind of control over my opponent when I've got their back, particularly with my legs. Back mount is supposed to be an incredibly dominant position, so I'm clearly doing something very wrong: however, I was trying to put into practice some tips I'd read on the Grapplers Guide (e.g., keeping your head low). I need to watch the video on back control from their too, as I don't think I've done that yet.

While I lasted slightly longer than I have previously, both Liam and Christina gradually worked their way free, the normal process being that I lost a hook, they kept moving to the side, then spun into my guard. With Liam I had a vague attempt at going for the armbar we had learned in class, but didn't manage to secure the stamp and clamp – I also went for the wrong side initially, which messed me up further. Still, reminds me I absolutely have to go for techniques we've learned in class more often when sparring.

The skin on the top joint of my fingers is still giving me trouble, so I've been taping it up recently. However, the specific sparring had dislodged all my tape, so I popped back to the changing room to reapply before my first free spar, with Christina. She has been working her guard a lot at the moment, which gave me a chance to try and implement some of the principles I've been failing to use in passing. Most importantly, that is standing up and driving my hips forward: I tried that tonight, but generally just put me in position to get swept over Christina (though I did at least manage to snatch half-guard as I was being swept a few times).

I also found that Nick's flow drill from earlier had an impact on my escapes. I never normally try to get to my knees, but it felt natural to do so today after all the rolling over my back in the earlier drill. Could be a useful thing to try at home with my gf, as she sometimes complains about the pressure BJJ drilling puts on her muscles (e.g., when passing): not a problem with that flow drill.

Christina and I were a little delayed in starting, because I was taping up my fingers, so had an extended spar spilling over across the next round. I then went with Tran, although that ended up (much to my benefit) being a bit of instruction on the flower sweep. Tran does it a little differently than the Grapplers Guide video I've been watching.

Tran's variation begins when your opponent is doing the usual stiff arm thing against your hips (as I mentioned that's where I've been having trouble). Pull their head down, underhook one arm, bringing your other arm over the top. Grab your hands together palm to palm for a gable grip, keeping your opponent tight. You can then walk your legs up their back for a high guard.

Next, bring the arm that came over the top of the arm under their armpit, aiming to grab their opposite collar: you've now secured a firm overhook. With the same side foot, push off their same side hip to rotate (not shrimp, but literally bring your upper toward their opposite knee). You should get your other leg right up into their armpit.

Finally, grab their pant leg on your armpit leg side, then push your leg down while simultaneously lifting their leg up. If you've got the leverage right, you should be able to roll them straight into mount.

Zaf mentioned something which sounded very handy when he saw me taping up my finger. At first I thought he was joking, as he said I could do with some new skin. Turns out New Skin is actually a type of liquid plaster, so I'll be sure to look into it: could be more effective – as well as more convenient – than my roll of zinc oxide tape.

Tomorrow Johannes should be popping down to RGA, so look forward to training with him again. No doubt the higher belts will also relish the chance to roll with a tough Swedish purple (I'm more interested in just seeing him again, and whether I've improved much since we last met at the first Belfast Throwdown. Looking forward to it. :)

17/07/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-07-17T22:17:00.002+01:00

Class #163

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 17/07/2008 - Advanced

I got back from my trip to Barmouth in Wales yesterday, which surprisingly did manage to squeeze out a few sunny days at the beach. Harlech Castle was cool, as that hit two of my biggest pleasures, fantasy and history, as to a lesser extent Powis Castle did later on. King Arthur's Labyrinth was rather cheesy, as it consisted of about five wax set pieces with a narrator booming out of some nearby speakers, but was at least in an atmospheric underground setting, built up out of an old slate mine.

That extended stay over on the Welsh coast meant that it was just one session this week. The main focus of tonight's lesson was passing half guard, emphasising the importance of getting the underhook and then gable gripping under your partner's head.

Jude's first half guard pass started by underhooking the arm opposite to their trapped leg, bringing your other arm underneath their head. Clasp your hands palm to palm, securing what is known as the gable grip. Once you've got that, crush your weight down, getting chest to chest, shoving your trapped leg side shoulder forcefully into their chin. This should make them very uncomfortable, and therefore enable you to use your free foot to push on their same side leg. Press straight down, and don't lean forward: if you need extra leverage, put extra pressure on their chin instead. Free your leg, then bring the knee through to either mount or side control.

The second half guard pass develops off the first. You've got into position and are crushing with your shoulder, pushing on their leg to try and free your trapped limb. To relieve the pressure, they bring their underhooked forearm in front of your face and push up. This could provide them with space to start working an escape, so to keep the pressure on, switch your head to the other side. Now press your skull into their skull, which both isolates their head movement and is also rather unpleasant. As with the shoulder pressure previously, you can use this pressure on their head to distract them sufficiently to free your leg. If you're having trouble getting your leg free, you can also kick out their bottom leg and slip through to side control.

Specific sparring from half guard was tough on top. I was with Paxton, who I always find a challenging sparring partner. I had real difficulty securing that underhook, meaning that Paxton would frequently be able to slide his knee through to full guard. Even when I did get the underhook, I still couldn't maintain enough pressure to stop Paxton recovering guard. As ever, need to work on keeping my weight down on my partner.

Underneath, things were easier, as this time I was able to recover full guard (although with Paxton's level of success when our role's were reversed). Securing my own underhook and trying to duck under his arm were both useful in avoiding the passes we'd just been shown, although Paxton did at one point manage to use his head in a similarly effective fashion to what Jude had demonstrated. Good to be aware of that, as now I know to make sure to stop my partner getting their head into position.

On top in guard, I found myself in my seemingly inevitable defensive mode. I'm steadily trying to move towards standing up and driving my hips forward, but today I was finding it difficult to work into a solid base from which I could go to my feet. Frequently Paxton was dragging my arm to one side and then attempting chokes, so I had to defend that before I could think about standing up. Raising up my same side leg, as Tran had advised, worked well, but it was all defensive: I wasn't able to launch any kind of offence of my own.

Underneath, things went worse. I have said in the past that closed guard is my strongest position, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I'm finding that my partner will often stiff arm both my hips, meaning that I can't raise up, then gradually stand and walk through my open guard. I did at least manage to use my legs more, rather than straining away with my arms, and I also found myself shifting to a sort of butterfly guard at several points, with Waqi's gorillatine vaguely in mind. However, I wasn't able to secure it properly, so eventually got passed each time I tried it.

I also attempted to use my legs to bring Paxton down towards me, so I could think about the scissor sweep I've been wanting to work, but that didn't quite go according to plan. I did get Paxton's torso forward, but couldn't lock up his arm, so while I tried to switch to an elevator sweep, he stood up, then went through my open guard.

I think working the armdrag may pay dividends for me: a fellow small guy asked Kid Peligro about the guard on the Fightworks Podcast #125, where Peligro's advice was to armdrag and take the back. I'm terrible at back control, but using the armdrag to at least get my partner onto their side could be a useful tactic to try. I'll have to look into armdragging, and also review the Grapplers Guide videos on grips and back control.

Free sparring started with Christina (glad to see her back, as haven't trained with her in a few weeks), where we took it fairly easy, with Christina taking on an instructor role. She coached me through some guard passes, giving me advice on driving my hips forward and standing up as soon as possible in guard. From that spar, I think my posture needs improvement in guard too: I can defend against chokes ok, but that has meant I've been getting too comfortable with leaning forward in guard. Good posture involves a straight back and looking up, so I need to concentrate on achieving that positioning.

Finally, I had a roll with Bruno, a high level purple whose relaxed rolling style makes him a good sparring partner. He was taking it pretty light, which given the large skill discrepancy makes sense. I tried to put into practice what I'd learned from Christina (which also fits with an earlier discussion with Paxton from a while back), driving my hips forward, but not yet getting it quite right. Something I need to keep doggedly attempting until I start to make some improvements.

I was more comfortable defending underneath, as usual, particularly after I almost got flung straight into one of those flashy armbars where you get flipped up by your opponent's leg and dropped straight into position. I could see what was coming, so scampered round to escape, but goes to show the difference between a low level blue like me and a high level purple like Bruno: he can throw in playful stuff like that with impunity.

I'll be training again next week, but not sure whether or not I'll do the Tuesday. As I'd expected, there's a hefty bit of PhD coming up, so it would be good to devote my Tuesday to that instead. Depends if Johannes makes it on both Tuesday and Thursday as he'd planned, or opts for just Thursday (RGA is a pricey place to drop in, after all, at £18 for a single session. If you've come from Renzo's, or somewhere with a similarly close connection to the Roger Gracie Academy, its normally cheaper, but Johannes is a Brasa guy).

Hopefully he does make it to at least one, as it would be cool to train with him again. Always nice to meet up with fellow Bullshido people. :)

09/07/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-07-09T23:08:00.001+01:00

Class #162

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Gustavo Dos Santos Pires, London, UK - 09/07/2008 - Advanced

Useful tip from Joanna yesterday I forgot to mention: if you want to get someone to put their limb in a particular place, pull or push it in the opposite direction. If they resist, that means they are now directing their limb exactly where you initially wanted, so reverse your push or pull to get them in position. I've heard this before in reference to finishing a kimura, but worth repeating, particularly as its got a broader application than just that single technique.

Tonight's class was all sparring again. However, I preferred it this time round, as it wasn't king of the hill with the specific sparring, staying with your partner instead. I find this far more useful, as that way you definitely get a chance to work both the top and bottom position for the specific spar. When doing guard passage, I'll never get to work the bottom in king of the hill, because my passing is too crappy to get me through anybody's guard (unless they're really tired or something, like Gary yesterday).

My partner was Anthony again, who is proving to be a good person to both drill and spar with. Thing began from guard passage, and having had another chat with Paxton about just going for it by standing up and driving your hips, I tried that a few times. Didn't really get me anywhere, but I did at least try it out. Later on, I reverted to my usual patient defence, generally not achieving a whole lot, but I did pass at one point. I can't remember if that was from standing or after Anthony had gone for some kind of sweep, but I did knock him in the head as I went past: must be careful of my elbows if I'm trying to jump past quickly.

Underneath, I still really want to work the flower sweep, but couldn't work myself into position. I've been trying that grip break where you figure four their wrist and lift, which does work, but I haven't been able to follow that up with good control of their arm. So most of the time I was working open guard again, the main focus for me still sitting up. I think I managed that better today, and also kept Anthony away for a little while by using my legs more offensively, pulling on the back of his knees to break his posture. He generally got round in the end, but at least my open guard wasn't quite the damp tissue paper edifice it has been so often in the past.

Next up was half-guard. On top, I found it hard to maintain control, trying to lock my arms around Anthony's head and arm. Even if I was able to hold him down for a little while, I struggled to do anything proactive: he was able to sweep me several times, or work back to guard. I had a go and attacking the far arm a few times, but Anthony could see it coming a mile off: I should start looking into chokes rather than always going for a bent armlock or straight armbar.

Underneath I fared better, which tends to be the case as I spend such a large proportion of my free sparring in that position. I was pleased to get the arm sweep a couple of times, which I think was the same slightly overbalanced position I failed to capitalise on against Joanna yesterday. Reaching all the way over their back and grabbing the arm, then pulling that arm back across while bridging is a fairly simple motion, so its easy enough to attempt.

I also managed to work my way back to full guard once or twice, which is good as that's been a central goal for some time now. I kept in mind trying to bring their leg out to get them to raise their knee, as shown in Strategic Guard, and also the half butterfly game that I've seen various people talk about, like Aesopian. It was kinda sloppy, but it did seem to be enough to whisk my legs under and out back to full guard.

By this point, I was getting pretty tired. Side control was up next, where I clung on top. I could maintain that for a while, but again in a rather inactive fashion: I think Anthony realised he wasn't at much risk of being submitted or mounted. I tried to then get under his elbow and shift to scarf or something, but that merely gave Anthony the opportunity to escape.

Underneath, I felt very immobile. I should have been bridging and trying some escapes, but I simply didn't have the energy. I did attempt to go for Roy Dean's spin-out, off his Blue Belt Requirements DVD, but that just ended up putting me under north-south. I need to time that better, and combine it with some other escapes to be effective. I also looked for Tran's bridging into them escape, but Anthony had his timing down, so had no trouble quickly bringing his foot over and securing mount before I could react and bridge.

Despite my body's protestations that it would much prefer to go and flop by the wall, there was still yet another position to work: mount. I was dreading this one, as its always been one of my biggest weak points. However, it seems that being so knackered actually worked in my favour, as I was looking for a way to basically lie on top of my opponent without having to expend too much energy. I grapevined Anthony's legs, with one arm under his head, adjusting my feet as he tried to unlock the hold. I also switched to crossing my ankles underneath his bum a few times, having read (I think on the Grapplers Guide) about how that is a good way of taking their hips out of the equation. Seemed to work, so instead of being my worst area, today it was a strong one for me today. Then again, I don't often get to try mount against someone my own size, and no doubt Anthony was getting fatigued by that point too.

Underneath I felt ok too: much better than under side control. I attempted the escape, again from Roy Dean, where you wait for them to grab under your head, then wrap up their arm by grabbing your own and bridging. As usual, I wasn't able to complete the technique, as Anthony immediately slipped his arm back out when I tried to trap it.

More successful was my favoured step-over heel drag. I haven't been using that as much as I once did, but put it into practice a lot today. I was pleased to get the full motion shown by Roy Dean, where you step over, drag, go to a half guard position, then shrimp to the other side and free your leg for full guard. Finally, I was defending a lot of chokes with my knuckles again, blocking Anthony's questing fist with my own, literally pushing it out of the way at one point.

Fortunately we stopped there to go to free sparring, so I collapsed against the wall to catch my breath. I sat out the first one, and was quite tempted to keep sitting there, but Tran called me out, so as he is among my best training partners I dragged myself over to spar. I tried working on top and attacking his guard, getting my knee in the middle, also attempting to base off my head into Tran's body (or was that with Anthony? Think it was Tran) but ended up getting swept after a short wait.

Underneath, the main thing I remember is trying to escape an arm triangle. I was able to resist from guard and half guard, adjusting to relieve the pressure, but once Tran worked through to side control, I had nothing to resist with. I could see him going for it earlier, as he had knocked my arm with my head. I struggled for a bit trying to slip my forearm back into a safer position braced into his neck, but couldn't stop Tran getting it set up for an arm triangle: pretty much a lost cause after that point, though I tried defending anyway to see if shifting my base and hips had any effect.

I was completely drained after that, and also had several chunks of skin dangling from my fingers, so sat out the rest of sparring. Abrasive gi on exposed flesh did not sound like a good idea, though its not like I need much of an excuse to take a break when knackered. ;)

One of my friends from Bullshido, Johannes, might be popping over from Sweden in a few weeks, which would be very cool. Depends on being free at the same time, of course, but look forward to rolling with him again if he makes it. He was a solid blue when I last saw him a year ago, and recently got his purple. Most importantly for me, however, is that he's the guy I have to thank for the step-over heel drag: I saw him doing it at the first Belfast TD, and have been using it ever since.

Off to Wales tomorrow, so won't be training again until Thursday. At the end of class, I got my first stripe on my blue belt, which was a pleasant send-off: I'm definitely feeling more comfortable with the belt now. My lack of submissions is still a major flaw, but my top game appears to be slowly improving. Returning to sweeps is my current goal, especially the flower, and then trying to build on that, as well as continuing to try working the scarf hold. Getting better escapes is always going to be important for me, but I'm especially keen to develop the facility to recover full guard from half-guard. One or two basic sweeps from there would also be useful, but I'd prefer to recover guard than sweep, as the former would provide me with a more solid fundamental base.

08/07/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

2008-07-08T22:18:00.005+01:00

Class #161

Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Gustavo Dos Santos Pires, London, UK - 08/07/2008 - Advanced

I'm only going to get in two this week, as I'll be heading off to Wales off Friday, which means I can't make Thursday. I'm getting back late on Wednesday the following week, so that will be a mere one class: then again, I've make six in the previous two weeks, so still keeps up an average of at least two.

Having said that, I do keep finding myself sitting on the sidelines. Guard passage today I did three, but then got my elbow tweaked, sitting out the rest. Still, better than sitting them all out, which is what I did one class last week. Same story as usual in that I stayed defensive, but I've been finding (as ever) Tran's advice useful, stepping up with my same side leg if an arm gets trapped. I'm also bringing my legs back if my partner tries to grab my knee for a sweep, although I'm not sure if that's a good idea every time, as I wonder if it weakens my base.

Thankfully it wasn't a pure sparring class, which I thought at first it might become (guard passage lasted a long time). Techniques today were ideal, as recently I've been wanting to revisit the flower sweep, which I've never really worked out. Gustavo showed us both a sweep and an armbar from a similar starting position, so that gives me some more options to go for.

The omoplata sweep, if that's an accurate description, begins with a grip on your partner's opposite sleeve. Bring your other arm underneath their same side leg, wrapping behind the knee (like you would for a flower sweep). Feed the sleeve you're holding to the hand that is now by their leg, then kick your own same side leg out past their shoulder as if going for an omoplata.

Triangle your other leg other that, trapping their arm, and roll them forwards. Follow through the roll, coming out on top, then switch your legs so that you're in side control. You could also transition to scarf hold from here.

If when you are kicking out your leg for the omoplata, they grab your other leg, you can change to an armbar. Grip the elbow of the arm they're using to push on your leg and knock it across your body. Swivel and bring your leg over their head, trap their arm (either under your armpit, or hold their wrist: I found that trying to use the armpit tended to leave their arm bent). Raise your hips and finish off the armbar, or if they're resisting, you can use your hold under their leg to roll them into side control and get the submission from there.

The guard passage may have taken longer than I realised, or possibly the free sparring was in extended rounds, but either way, only got a single spar in today. I need to get into a pattern of always sparring the first round, rather than sitting it out and doing the second. That way, I should get at least two spars even when, like today, they only do three (normally its five or six rounds).

I went with Joanna, which always involves me spinning about in open guard, after which she either passes or I lock in half guard. I'm at the point now that, at least with people close to my own size, I'm relatively confident that I can get into half-guard from under mount, and defend myself in side control. That means that its time I took more risks from guard, and I'd like to be more offensive from half guard.

However, before I get all excited by half guard sweep craziness, most important is that I continue working to re-establish full guard, particularly as I want to develop my flower sweep. I frequently found tonight that in half guard Joanna's weight was heavily to one side, but couldn't work out how to use that to my advantage. With Dean in guard passage, I had also found myself in half guard, getting to deep half guard, but uncertain where to go from there.

Might be worth dipping into Eddie Bravo's simpler half-guard section at the start of Mastering the Rubber Guard (I'm continuing to ignore the rest of it as too advanced for me at present), and I should also review what is written about it in Strategic Guard. Then there's Indrek Reiland's instructional (which is my main source for recovering guard at present), and possibly something on the Grapplers Guide, of which I've recently become a premium member. That's the main reason I've been looking at the flower sweep again, as Jason Scully has a great instructional video on there: will have a look to see if he's got any half guard stuff too. I've had a thorough look through the gi section, but not checked nogi yet.

Anyway, getting back to the spar with Joanna: I was also getting on top quite often, but unable to maintain the position. I had scarf hold for a little while, getting into my preferred position where I grip under the head and clasp my own thigh, but I wasn't putting my weight down enough or keeping my head low. Joanna was slipping out of my side control quite easily, and I also couldn't hold rear mount on her either. Those attacks against the turtle Gustavo showed last week were pretty cool, so I need to review those again. Found myself in position to use them a few times, but blanked on the application.

Should be back again tomorrow, where I'll see if I can get a chance to work the flower sweep. If not, then I'll be trying to escape to guard, or possibly further develop my scarf hold. I had a few tries at moving to reverse scarf hold, but couldn't secure it: something to look at in more detail.

In unrelated geek news, I was happily playing with HTML and Java today, and was pleased to finally work out how to make a drop-down menu with links (top left of my blog, Review Index). Been trying to do that for ages, and finally found an easy to use tutorial today, here. Woo!

Book Review - The Guard (Ed Beneville & Joe Moreira)

2008-07-07T20:43:00.004+01:00

This is the second instructional book I added to my library, getting it as a christmas present in 2007. I had heard glowing reviews of Ed Beneville on the net, so wanted to get his highly acclaimed Passing the Guard (written with Tim Cartmell), but that was no longer available when I was looking around for books to add to my wish list. The Guard was still in stock, but only from second hand book websites: Beneville's books always seem to sell out fairly quickly. Fortunately for me, there is going to be an updated version of Passing the Guard at some point this year, and I think The Guard will also be revamped later on.

As this is an earlier book, The Guard is slightly less high quality than the glossy Strategic Guard, and doesn't feature the condensed technique charts at the end of each section. Nevertheless, The Guard remains an excellent discussion of techniques from the guard position, geared more towards offence than the largely defensive Strategic Guard.

It also contains the same well constructed flow of illustration, accompanying each picture with concise textual description. Key points of leverage and motion are often circled on the colour photographs, which is helpful for emphasising the positioning of your hands and feet - a beginner unsure of what to look for might otherwise miss those important details. Techniques are shown from multiple angles, and where space allows, simultaneously run across the page: this can be as many as three different perspectives on the full sequence.

I wrote earlier that Mastering Jujitsu is the first book I would recommend to a beginner: The Guard is probably the second. Unlike Mastering Jujitsu, this is a full-on instructional volume, without the extended historical and theoretical sections of Renzo's release. However, like Mastering Jujitsu, Beneville's book caters to beginners, as exemplified by the opening exercises demonstrating the correct usage of shrimping. That entails both forwards and backwards, driving off one leg or two, as well as progressing to related leg drills against a wall (handy for open guard). The drills are not shown in isolation, as Beneville includes further illustration detailing their application. Aptly, this chapter is called 'Fundamentals', and is perfect for somebody new to the sport, or functions as a thorough reminder for those at a more advanced level.

The starting point for Strategic Guard can be found in chapter two, 'Guard Pass Counters', but the rest of the volume is largely concerned with offence. Beneville includes sections on chokes and armbars, as well as how to attack certain positions, like when your opponent is stalling in your guard. The Guard tends to build through a position, such as moving from a kimura to a hip bump, followed by options if your partner defends the sweep.

This approach culminates in the chapter 'Flowing Attack', where Beneville goes through several well-known combinations, such as triangle to armbar, on to omoplata if your opponent defends both of those, then back to armbar and finally returning to a triangle, putting you back in the starting position. This is a significant difference to the principles and strategy led Mastering Jujitsu, as numerous techniques within The Guard rely on specific positions and reactions from your partner.

As with Mastering Jujitsu, this is a book that will benefit every BJJ beginner. Once you have been training for a few months and have read Mastering Jujitsu, this volume will provide an effective supplement to what you've learned in class. The solo drills at the start, promoting good fundamentals, are especially useful: these solid basics will continue to serve you well as you progress through BJJ.