Class 46...

Today we did some work from half-guard. Half-guard is something I've found quite perplexing so far and a while ago I sparred with a purple belt who was very good at this position and it – and him – totally threw me in both senses of the phrase. So to have some of the basics explained was very useful.

We started working on a sweep from the bottom in half-guard: The steps to doing this involved:
i) On the bottom sit up on your right hip in half-guard under opponent.
ii) Right foot hooks opponent's leg to prevent it moving out.
iii) Left knee comes across opponent's chest and connects to elbow of left arm with left hand in opponent's gi collar on your right-hand side to form a frame.
iv) Right hand monkey grips inside top of opponent's bicep on his left arm.
v) Kick up to create space using left leg and wrap your left arm around the opponent's back to get an underhook and drive you head into his chest/stomach to prevent him grabbing your neck.
vi) Then let go of his bicep and drive your right hand under his left thigh so you can grab the back of his gi pants.
vii) Then roll backwards towards your left shoulder and elevate the opponent using your right arm to sweep and end up in side control.

We then played with a few variations on this sweep. So if the opponent posts out to prevent the sweep you can drive off your right leg to force and muscle the sweep through.

If you can't, however, muscle the sweep through, then climb to the side where the underhook is using the space you've created then using your free right hand, cup his knee to prevent him extending his base and drive through him.

We then discussed the key points to remember if you are fighting against the sweep and these were:
i) Fight to control his head
ii) Fight to establish an underhook of your own
iii) Fight to drive your  hips down to flatten him out and limit his mobility.

We ended the class with a bit of sparring and I did OK and I even managed a sweep to reverse a bottom position. A very good class. 

LESSON FROM TODAY: Fight to establish head control, get an underhook and flatten the opponent's hips to fight against the half-guard sweep.

Classes 44 & 45...

Two beginners classes in one week and both were really good.

In both classes we continued drilling the Americana from side control before allowing the opponent to extend the arm out so we could employ an armbar. We also did a little bit of work on bridging and pushing the opponent off but that was about it. And brilliant for it because we essentially focused on just three things.

It was a good chance to drill and re-drill a few basic techniques and I'm enjoying these classes more and more because there's very limited sparring and they're essentially focused on technique. And a few of the things emphasised in these classes were:
i) Turning the thumb out to face away from you before applying the Americana.
ii) Ensuring you are using your weight to pin the shoulder and pinning the opponent's hand to the floor before applying the straight arm lock.
iii) Exploding when bridging out and driving your opponent away to create the space to recover guard or back away.

These are all key details and when coupled with some of the other key lessons I've learnt this year, like not allowing an arm to be isolated, or position before submission, or how to utilise your weight, or closing down the space to help secure the position, I feel like I'm getting a better understanding of things. It's by no means a complex understanding on any level but I'm starting to feel the foothills of learning this are no longer quite so scary or alien.

The peaks, however, still remain a very long way off.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drill the basics. And keep drilling them.

Classes 42 & 43…

Class 43 was an open mat session and I spent quite a bit of time with another white belt drilling basics.

We worked on some armbars then moved into the armbar, triangle and omoplata flow drill. We also spent some time working on the kimura and the kimura sweep as well as a basic scissor sweep. We spent quite a bit of time also working on shrimping and hip escaping. This was really good for me because I need to spend much more time on these techniques if they’re ever to become things I’m truly familiar with.

We then did some rolling and this was competitive but friendly with neither of us going full pelt. I did pretty good here but I could also tell he was less experienced than I was so I didn’t really read too much into it. It was simply good to have some drilling time and a bit of rolling time.

At the end of the session I got to roll with a very helpful purple belt I last rolled with about six months ago. And I managed to fend him off for a full five-minute round by just working on my basics and not letting him separate and attack one of my arms and also pinning his hips when he tried to sweep me. He complimented me on my improved defensive skills, which was nice, then for the next ten minutes proceeded to lure me into trap after trap and tap after tap, which was impressive. But I know he’s still light years ahead of me. One great bit of advice he shared with me, though, was to keep the distance closed at all times because I was giving him wriggle room and this was something he was exploiting.

It was still an enjoyable class, though, as getting tapped is all part of the learning process.

I then had a break of about two weeks and returned to a beginner’s class.

In this we worked on the spinning armbar from kneeling side control:

Secure opponent’s left arm by grabbing your own gi collar with your right arm; go to right knee on belly; Superman out with left arm as you pull his trapped arm up and spin with right leg going 180 degrees into his hip; with your left leg going over his neck as you drop down and extend the arm to tap.

We then added an escape to this which involved moving the thumb to the right like you’re thumbing a lift to flatten your arm and relieve pressure on the hip extension; then roll at a 90-degree angle on your right shoulder to move into side control.

After this we worked on the Americana from side control:

Grab the opponent’s arm and frame your own arm against his rib cage using elbow; bring left arm through to secure grips; switch base by moving to face the opponent’s head and step right leg over his head; then pull him up onto his side using your hand grips and close the space using your legs to trap him; then push arm up and turn for submission.

More basics and more good stuff. I need to do these classes more often.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drill the basics and close down the space.

Class 41...

Today we were spared the usual gruelling warm-up of neck exercises and press-ups to work on some takedown drills.

We started facing the opponent with one of his hands gripping your gi collar. Using two hands you break the grip, then push the opponent's hand towards his groin as you drop down a level with your head on his stomach. Both your hands grasp the backs of his knees and, keeping good posture, you drive forward as you pull his legs towards to send him flying on his back. You then switch over and practice on the other side. 

You then grab the opponent's left-side gi collar with your right hand and drop down onto the opposite side with your left arm grabbing his right leg around the knee. Keeping good posture you then drive to the right as you lift his leg to send him flying on his side. You then switch over and practice on the other side. 

This four-move drill helps practice the double-leg takedown and the single-leg takedown on each side and, although I wasn't particularly fluid at it, I can absolutely see its practical application. 

We then moved onto another drill where we drilled the set-up and the footwork for a judo throw called Ippon Seoi Nage, which is essentially a hip throw where you use the opponent's arm for leverage. This involved stepping in and out of 50 set-ups one after the other. It was tiring but it was also very good.

We then went on to work on re-establishing guard from full mount by hip escaping on one side then fishing for the opponent's foot and pushing down on his knee to establish half-guard before hip escaping the other side and achieving closed guard. This was quite a technical process involving several individual steps but again it's such a vital technique that I need to spend some real time on it.

As an aide memoir the steps from being fully mounted were:

1) Frame hands and push down on opponent's right knee.

2) Hip escape onto left hip and keep pushing knee down. 

3) Using right leg, fish the opponent's foot and drag it backwards.

4) Push down on knee until your left knee has passed it ad you can establish half-guard. 

5) Hip escape out onto right hip. 

6) Frame hands and push opponent's other knee down until his knee has passed your leg. 

7) Bring leg round and establish closed guard.

We also worked on bridging and rolling the opponent and I was OK at this. 

In sparring I got caught in a kimura by a blue belt but I managed to hold my own against him for the rest of the time. I was then paired with a smaller but very energetic white belt for a 10-minute round and we grappled to a draw. I then sparred with another much bigger white belt and managed to move from being fully mounted to turtle to throwing him and getting him to side mount.

I'm ever so slowly forming an idea of what to do in certain positions. I'm under no illusion, however, that I'm anywhere near really getting anywhere. A good class, though.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drill the hip escape and takedowns.

Class 40...

After a break of four weeks owing to other commitments and a two-week holiday, it was back into a mixed class today.

The warm-up was tough and I struggled a little but I put that down to general fatigue and me needing to get my body back up to speed.

I started waking up in the technique section, however, as we started doing armbar, sweep and hip escape drills. I'm very aware that these are the type of beginner techniques I need to work on and it was a nice welcome back after a one-month lay-off.

The armbar drill was essentially about setting the armbar up using one hand under the opponent's leg to hip escape onto one then swapping over sides and repeating the movement on the other side. I wasn't too slick at this but it's fine as I was sort of feeling my way back.

The sweep drill was essentially a scissor sweep with the opponent's base arm (left in this case) trapped with your right and you confirming a collar grip on the same side collar you are sweeping towards with your left hand. You then move you left leg under the opponent's armpit and across his chest then chop away with you flat leg while toppling the opponent as you drag them towards you. You then end up in full mount. We went backwards and forwards with this for a while.

We then ran a hip escape drill from the mount position. This entailed the person on the bottom framing his hands to push the opponent's right leg back. Using this space you then hip escape onto your left hip while using your right leg to fish for the opponent's foot and catch it. You then pull back his leg using the foot hook and use your framed hand to push his right knee back so you get your left leg out and secure half guard. You then hip escape onto your right hip and push the opponent's left knee back so you can thread your right leg through and recover guard. Then sweep...

This is such bread and butter stuff but it's so vital I drill particularly the last technique over and over again.

In sparring I was paired with white belts and, apart from falling for a rookie guillotine choke early on, I held my own against one very technical player and one smaller but incredibly explosive player. I even escaped one big white belt when he had me in trouble on the bottom and I reversed the position into side mount thanks to adapting a nifty overhead throw before I ran out of time.

But it was a good class and great to be back.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drill the hip escape and the sweep.

Classes 38-39...

Regular class attendance is something of a problem at the moment because of a change in personal circumstances. On the plus side I did make two classes in the last fortnight so at least I got some rolling in.

Class 38 was a mixed ability dinner-time class and after the usual gruelling warm-up we started doing drills about gaining control from half-guard and passing to side control. A lot of this was way over my head but the main points I did pick up were if I can control my opponent's head then I have a much better chance of dictating where the rest of him is going. Also if I can get an underhook with his head also controlled I have a much better chance of passing guard. 

This was a tough class as I wasn't quite sure what I was doing and when, but martial arts is sometimes like that. Lessons sometimes take a while to sink in. You sometimes have to learn things where you're ready to learn them.

We only sparred for one round at the end of the lesson and I got paired with a very good white belt. I managed to fend off a few of his attacks but his movement was superb and much slicker than mine. 

Class 39 was a free mat session and I got paired with a very helpful purple belt who showed me a new guard pass. 

This involves the man in full guard getting both his arms under the legs of his opponent, then getting one hand on the inside of the opponent's opposite lapel in a palm-down and thumb-facing-down grip. Imagine you are trying to choke him with the blade of your wrist across his throat. From here you stack the opponent and start to turn away from the side of the lapel grip until his legs have base and you can collapse him and go into side control. 

The other really good tip he showed me was about closing space down in side control. If you have side control on an opponent then always base out and bring your knee to his hip so there is no space for him to re-establish guard. If you're then intending to go to north-south you have to use your arm to replace the knee to prevent him from re-establishing guard. 

I also got to roll with a very good white belt and, although I got tapped quite a bit, I held my own for long periods and nearly pulled off an omo-plata and used the Americana control to nearly get a tap. 

Finally I got the chance to roll no-gi for 10 minutes. This was my first experience of doing this and it was hard work as I was having to work out where my grips were going. On the plus side I did recognise where the dangers were coming from and successfully fended off several wrist locks and a few leg locks but it was very hard work. But very enjoyable, too. 

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drill the new guard break; close the space and keep it closed.

Class 37...

Into a beginners’ class and the usual warm-up. The plus side of this was that press-ups are no longer impossible so my hyper-extended arm is clearly on the mend.

In the class itself we continued the work from a week or so ago where we worked a collar choke from the guard by grabbing the gi flap of the opponent’s gi and passing it over his shoulder. This was good because I'd totally forgotten the following variations which I now have a better idea of.

The setup for this was:

The opponent postures up in your guard with one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest; grab the sleeves of his gi at the elbow and flare his sleeves out at the side with these grips and pull him toward you with your guard to break his posture down; once his posture is broken down then secure his body by using an overhook with your left arm to keep him in place; with your right hand unravel the flap of his gi jacket and pass it over his back; secure this with your right hand and then pass it to your left as you prepare to go for the cross choke;

It is at this point the armbar variation comes in:

The opponent defends the choke by passing his head under your right arm; so swap hands and grab the gi collar with your left arm again and drag it over his left shoulder and with your left hand pull it to your left; as you do this plant your right leg on his left hip to ensure his right arm is trapped; climb your legs further up his back and raise your hips high so his right arm has no base; then pass the right arm to your left with your right hand; from here use your right hand to cross his head and push it towards your right; then swivel on your left hip; secure the arm; sweep the right leg over his head and chop down; raise hips for the armbar.

The other variation of this technique comes when he defends the armbar by grabbing hold of his bicep with the attacked arm and holding the leg of the opponent with the other. In this situation:
Swap the hands holding the gi jacket collar and switch back to a closed guard and tighten the collar to choke; if the opponent is not tapping then scissor sweep him but also remember to grab the trouser leg of his gi with your free left hand; then apply the choke and if the choke fails at least you end up in mount.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Close the space down when grappling; any space gives your opponent the chance to work himself free.

Class 36...

My arm's still a bit busted so no press-ups for me during warm-up although I have realised I need to start doing these again as soon as I can because they're ideal for strengthening the arm muscles I need for grappling.

Today the early exercises focused on grip fighting and breaking grips then on establishing guard and maintaining guard while the opponent tries to break your guard.

The main focus in class was on a flow drill that started with the opponent jumping guard and wrapping his legs while you are in a standing position.

To break his guard: you gain control of one of his hands, break his grip on your gi jacket and grab the sleeve; then with your other arm you drive your elbow into his thigh until his legs break open and you drop him to the floor.

To secure the position: once on the floor you pin his left leg with your right knee on the floor and your foot hooking behind his knee; your left leg pushes through on his right leg to stop him from sweeping and to help maintain pressure on his body; your left leg also has the bottom of the foot on the floor; with your left arm you underhook his arm and put your head to the left side of his head; your right arm overhooks his opposite shoulder and goes palm-to-palm to secure the top half of his body; the opponent should now be unable to wriggle out.

To move into side mount; you simply bring your left leg into position near your right leg and drop both legs over and clamp down chest-to-chest to secure the position with your head down; bring your knees up to his body so he has no wriggle room; note his left arm should be trapped between your right hip and right elbow.

To get the figure 4 lock: raise your head and tempt the opponent to try to frame your head away; when he does this drive slightly forward and trap his right arm; then bring you right arm from underneath his head and frame against his head and pin his left arm; secure the figure 4 lock with your left hand and paint down to tighten the lock then apply the figure 4 lock by elevating the arm at the shoulder joint.

In sparring I came up against more skilled and stronger people and got tapped out a few times; with somebody of my own level, however, I held my own and proved tough to shift by going back to caging their hips. I even managed to break guard and get to side control but ran out of time. A good class.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drop weight chest to chest when in side control to help secure position.

Class 35…

A week and a half off due to injury and I was raring to go and first up was a white belt beginner’s class. I like these classes because there’s no sparring and it’s all technique so I always try to absorb as much as possible.

Today the focus was on attacking from the guard using a collar grip. The set-up for all the techniques was the same: the opponent is postured up in your closed guard with one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach; to break his posture you grab his gi at the elbows and push it back so it flares his elbows out and attacks the integrity of his posture; at the same time you use your closed guard to bring his body forward then use your left arm to overhook his shoulder and keep him in place tight to you.

The following variations then come into play:

Collar Choke: while keeping opponent’s posture broken down unhook the lapel of his gi with your right hand and pass it over his back so you can grab it with your left hand to keep him pinned down; now create a little space by using your guard and then bring your right hand in front of your opponent’s face facing up and grab the lapel to the right of the opponent’s neck; with your left hand you now grab the lapel still around the opponent’s back forming an x with your wrists in front of his face; now wring to close the choke.

Defending Collar Choke and Attack to the Side: while keeping opponent’s posture broken down unhook the lapel of his gi with your right hand and pass it over his back so you can grab it with your left hand to keep him pinned down; now create a little space by using your guard and then bring your right hand in front of your opponent’s face facing up and grab the lapel to the right of the opponent’s neck; the opponent defends against your left arm here to stop you applying the choke so instead open your guard and plant your left leg on the floor and scissor sweep him onto his side using your right leg to chop into him. Keep the right hand collar grip firm. At the same time posture up on your left arm to gain leverage. The opponent is now on his side so apply the choke for the tap or use the leverage to end up in full mount.

The other variations, which I’ve forgotten the details of, included Defending Collar Choke and Armbar Attack; Defending Collar Choke and Armbar Attack, Defending Armbar Attack and Reverting to Collar Choke; and Defending Collar Choke By Pinning Arm and Pushing Through to Set Up Triangle Choke.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Break the opponent’s posture from guard by flaring the elbows, bringing the opponent forward using the guard and securing the overhook.

Class 34...

Today a trial lesson at a new school nearer to home. The school was fab and the teacher and students very welcoming and friendly.

I enjoyed it until I was sparring at the end and got caught in an armbar and thought I had time to escape. Sadly my timing was out and I got my arm hyper-extended before I had time to tap. It now hurts.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Always tap out early.

Class 33...

Today some exercises on passing guard then some work on breaking guard and taking control after breaking guard.

Passing drill: one man on his back in open guard, the other standing with his hands on the opponent's knees and gripping his trouser legs and applying pressure down: the standing opponent has to move from centre to side then from centre to the other side without the opponent hooking his legs.

Guard pass 1: you have your opponent in closed guard, secure his right arm with your right hand and extend it to your left so that it crosses your body; open your guard and hip escape so your stomach is against the elbow of his dragged arm to lock it in place; then grab his shoulder with your left hand and hip escape out so you are sort of climbing onto his back; from here get the hooks in and take his back.

Guard pass 2: you have your opponent in closed guard, secure his right arm with your right hand and extend it to your left so that it crosses you body; open your guard and hip escape so your stomach is against the elbow of his dragged arm to lock it in place; then grab his shoulder with your left hand and hip escape out so you are sort of climbing onto his back; from here use your right hand to loosen his gi collar then thread your left hand over his shoulder and confirm the grip and start to choke.

Guard pass 3: you have your opponent in closed guard, secure his right arm with your right hand and extend it to your left so that it crosses you body; open your guard and hip escape so your stomach is against the elbow of his dragged arm to lock it in place; then grab his shoulder with your left hand and hip escape out so you are sort of climbing onto his back; from here he clamps onto your right leg so kick your left leg over his head and superman your arms out and keep going until you end up with his arm ripe for an armbar.

In sparring I rolled with a good white belt and a blue belt and got killed. I struggled today. Everyone was better than me

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drill guard escapes.

Class 32...

Today a class all about guard breaks and how to attack after breaking guard, plus some very helpful advice from a very helpful white belt thrown in, too.

The first of the two guard passes we were shown went something liked this:
you are in your opponent’s closed guard with your knees either side of his hips; you grab his belt or his gi pants and use this grip to drive his hips to the floor as you posture up; you then drive the small of your back against his closed ankles as you move your base backwards to break his guard; once his guard is broken you immediately connect your right arm to your right elbow if your are passing on your right side to prevent him reclosing his guard or establishing a hook; your foot is on the floor with your weight balanced; your left leg and your left arm are also attached together to prevent him getting his leg through and you are in ‘low surfer stance’; to pass his guard you then pass your right knee over his left leg with your knee on the floor and your foot hooked behind his knee; you then bring your left leg across your own leg so he cannot hook either of your legs and move them; the right leg passes over then the left leg follows; your arms at this point are hooking around his neck and under one shoulder getting ready to go to side control once you have cleared his legs.

The second of the two passes involved a standing pass. This went something like this: in your opponent’s closed guard pull across his right hand his middle line by establishing wrist control by grabbing hold of his gi sleeve with your left hand and grabbing his collar with your right hand; then stand up so your opponent is hanging off you; switch hands but remember to control his sleeve with your right hand; with your left hand drive down his knee and jump up to shrug him off; you then go into ‘surfer stance’ and start to pass as before.

Guard passing is very technical but it remains something I need to spend real time on and it seems there are no short cuts to this. The white belt I was drilling with was very helpful and pointed out there were too many holes in my attacks and defence and I had to close the space. This was excellent advice and it did help.

In sparring I was cannon fodder for most of the session, although I did manage to hold my own for a few lengthy sessions until falling foul of a very slick armbar and a kimura. I also nearly fell into a very impressive gogoplata but I spotted the danger and escaped. I did have one minor victory, though, when I caught a very good white belt in a bizarre reverse kimura from half guard. It was a desperation measure but I just managed to catch it and hold it for long enough. I should use kimura control more often, though, as the kimura is a favourite technique.

And I also used the rear-mounted neck attack escape to good effect today, too.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Close down the space; drill guard escapes.

Classes 30-31...

First up a beginners’ class with a warm-up of belt jumps interspersed with sprawled press-ups.

Doing belt jumps is awful. It’s essentially like sideways skipping where you lay your belt on the floor then have to leap two-footed over it and back again. You then change into belt jumps that have a press-up attached to them either time you land on either side of the line. It’s agony on the calves.

In class proper we reworked on attacking the turtle from the back and using kimura control to establish hooks and spin out for armbars. It was a sort of repeat of a class from a week earlier with a visiting black belt but at any level it’s always good to repeat technique as many times as possible.

In the open mat session the following day I trained with my new white belt friend and we drilled armbars and armbar escapes, triangles and triangle escapes, and kimuras and hip buck sweeps. We rolled for a while, too, and he got the better of me but I managed to escape a few times from tricky positions and am no longer such an easy target.

I then got the chance to work with a very helpful purple belt. He spent some time drilling the importance of defending the choke and showed me a very nifty defence on defending the choke from the back.

This essentially involved placing the nearest hand on the opponent’s elbow then placing the furthest hand on the gi sleeve and grabbing and driving the choking arm to the side to relieve pressure on the neck. When the opponent goes to place the arm back to where it was you simply throw the elbow forward and keep the sleeve in position and escape your head out so the opponent’s arm is sort of in a kimura position. It’s very nifty. I’m drilling this.

LESSON FROM TODAY: The kimura-style defence against the choke.

Classes 28-29...

In class 28, the chance to learn from a world champion BJJ expert. And it was the second world champion BJJ expert visiting the school in two weeks. That's pretty impressive and it's also one of the reasons I really like the school. It regularly attracts that calibre of visiting teacher.

The two techniques he demonstrated in the class I saw involved attacking the turtle position. And these went something like this:

Opponent in turtle:
To attack the turtle, close the space and hold the back, then reach under the opponent's left armpit with your left hand and grab the right-side collar of his gi jacket, then post out on your right arm and drag him over into a sort of side control with your knee up against his back; then shoot your left leg over his body and he should be open enough to get the left side hook in from that position; if you can't get the right side hook as well in the you can use this as a holding position by triangling your legs; if you can get the other hook in then you can go crossface and stretch him out and start attacking for the choke.

Using kimura control to attack the opponent in turtle:
It's the same start as before: to attack the turtle, close the space and hold the back, then reach under the opponent's left armpit with your left hand and grab the right-side collar of his gi jacket, then post out on your right arm and drag him over into a sort of side control with your knee up against his back.

It changes here, though:
To obtain the kimura you shoot your right arm over his right shoulder to grab his left arm; your left arm which is already under his armpit grabs your own wrist in a figure-four lock to secure the kimura; you then pull the kimura over his head and work the kimura; or let him try to roll out and go for the armbar as you have his arm already trapped.

Keys to both these techniques, however, are to keep in really tight so he has no room to manoeuvre.

Class 29 was a free mat session and this was great fun as I got paired with a very good white belt who was happy to let me go through some very basic armbar, kimura, hip buck sweep and triangle drills. In sparring he absolutely murdered me but there were a few times I managed to get in his guard and stay in his guard and not get swept. I even managed a few armbar escapes and one triangle escape. I also tried the guard escpae I learnt last week and nearly had some success with it, but I was aware I was second best for most of the session. On the plus side I am recognising the positions and the dangers but I'm not reacting quickly enough to defend them. Yet. But that will come...

LESSON FROM TODAY: Breaking turtle and using kimura control; I also need another strategy to escape mount if the bridge and roll escape isn't working.

Classes 26-27...

Two classes in one week and both were thoroughly enjoyable and, even more pleasing, my body coped with the demands.

In the opening class we did the usual gruelling warm-up then worked on a choke from rear mount then used the same choke from rear mount to move into an armbar.

Key details from the rear choke involved placing my right hand across my opponent's chest and under his chin and getting the right hand as deep as possible into the back of his gi on the left side towards the back of his neck before confirming the grip. The left hand goes under the left side of the opponent under his armpit. First it helps loosen the gi collar for the right hand to go in, then it it secures the gi on the right side. Once in position the right arm pulls back to tighten the forearm bone across the carotid artery and the throat and the left pulls the gi collar down to apply more pressure and the choke should come on.

We then set this choke up again and the opponent rolled out onto the right hand side to relieve the pressure from the choke. The left underhook, however, helps secure then grab the opponent's left arm and you secure the arm with both hands and drop back for an armbar with the knees squeezing tightly together.

The second class was an open mat session and this involved spending time rolling and drilling techniques with whoever was present. A very helpful white belt showed me a few sweeps he'd learnt but these seemed far beyond me at the moment: too many fine motor skills when what I need is the gross motor skills. When we rolled together, though, I did OK and held my own and even escaped a very dicy side control position using a bridge and move escape I borrowed from Stephan Kesting.

The highlight of the class, though, was the chance to roll with a much stronger and heavier purple belt and pick his brains for half an hour. Some of the key bits I learnt were to keep my head down in side control so I couldn't be pushed back and rolled, an idea for attacking turtle, and he also showed me his favourite guard escape, which I intend to drill and use.

This went as follows: you are in your opponent's closed guard so posture up and grab his pants at the belt line and, with your hands on his hips, push his hips to the floor; once here wedge your left knee under the opponent's bum and pull the other leg back to base out; then lean backwards and break the guard while keeping his hips pinned; then pin the leg nearest you and pass over it and end up in side control.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drill the guard escape and keep drilling it.

Class 25...

Today I attended my first evening beginner's class at the BJJ school, as previously I'd only been attending mixed sessions, and it was very good.

First we worked on a kimura. Key details from this were hip escaping out so you can use your weight to bend the arm when you drop back down. Also keep the leg over the opponent to prevent him from moving or rolling out.

Hip bump sweep: kimura position but with one hand fully back and straight to hold weight and the hip high to drive through opponent and roll him over. Also ensure you are over your opponent's shoulder.

Hide and seek: you grab the same arm on the opponent and elevate it and dive your other arm and head underneath his armpit, before settling backwards down on his arm so it's a type of backward kimura that pins the opponent. Then hip escape out and secure the seatbeat and your hooks and get back.

LESSON FROM TODAY: I need to attend more beginners' classes so I can learn and drill more basics.

Class 24...

Today was a good day at training and even a demanding warm-up of press-ups and neck exercises didn't deter me from really getting stuck in.

First we worked a sweep from open guard. Details of this that I could remember were: the opponent has control of your legs with you flat on your back in open guard; you pistol grip one of the opponent's sleeves and break his grip on your leg by kicking it away, then place your foot on the thigh of the opponent. Repeat this on the other side. Then hip escape to the far side of the opponent's right leg and thread your leg behind his right thigh so it locks over the front of his left thigh. Then grab his right ankle with your left hand and pull him over with your right hand on his sleeve and go into side control.

Then we worked an ankle collapse from open guard: the opponent is in your open guard and goes to grab you collar; use both of your hands to break the grip of his hand and push him away; then place your feet behind his ankles to lock his feet in place and push his lower legs to make him topple backwards.

Finally we worked a simple off-balancing drag; the opponent is in your open guard and he cross grabs your collar; break the grab using the two hand push-off; then same-side grab the gi collar of your opponent and sweep your other arm back and pull him towards you as you hip escape and let him fall in the space you've vacated.

Sparring was also very enjoyable today. I still got tapped out a few time but I was successful with two triangle escapes against two good opponents. I also did OK rolling with a purple belt and I even employed some judo-style throws to take down an opponent who kept standing.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Simple off-balancing is also an option to catch an unwary opponent and gain positional advantage.

Class 23...

Today my focus was all over the place and I paid the price.

The warm-up seemed harder work than usual but that was probably because we did more press-ups than usual and I’m pretty rubbish at press-ups. This is obviously something I need to address and I have since downloaded a phone app to track and increase my press-up numbers in the next few months.

In class we worked an armbar and a defence/escape from an armbar, then an omoplata and a defence/escape from an omoplata, then a leg triangle and a defence/escape from a leg triangle.

The key information I retain from the armbar application was that my foot goes on the hip behind the elbow I am attacking to prevent the opponent pulling it out.

For the armbar defence I need stack my opponent and bring my free hand to the wrist of the arm under attack. The stack, the knee in the opponent’s bum and the free arm coming in help prevent the opponent stretching out to apply hip pressure and close out the armbar. It’s then a case of lawnmowering the arm out of there and moving into side control as you collapse the stacked opponent.

The omoplata defence relied on turning the arm the other way and grabbing the opponent’s leg to relieve pressure on the shoulder, then moving around 180 degrees to end up in side control as the once-trapped arm is freed.

The leg triangle defence also relied on stacking the opponent but I didn't retain the rest of the details on that technique.

Sparring was tough and I didn’t have much success, although I did manage to retain position in my opponent’s guard a few times thanks to the caging the hips technique. It's always good to train, though, even if you don't feel like it.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Armbar details concerning the foot on the hip and the armbar escape.

Class 22...

Today another set of sparring drills designed to aid grip fighting.

We were partnered up and one partner had to get an inside grip on the opponent’s gi collar but with his fingers on the inside and his thumb on the outside pointing down. This helped the arm naturally shape to act as a frame to defend against an incoming opponent and control his position. The opponent then had to use both his hands to grab the hand and break the gi grip and push the gripping hand away.

We then did a guard retention and passing drill where the opponent on the bottom had to retain closed guard and sweep his opponent while the person on top had to break guard and achieve side control. I did OK breaking out of guard but my guard retention technique sucked. My legs didn't feel strong enough and I struggled to keep my thighs tight enough against my opponent’s torso.

In sparring I got paired with a high brown belt and he just did nothing then exploded when I was where he wanted me to be. One thing I did notice, though, was that he was never flat on his back. He was always shrimping out and he always operated from one hip and didn't allow me to settle or cage his hips. Food for BJJ thought.

In sparring with other belts I fell for a few chokes but also succeeded with a kimura and an arm triangle from side mount. The highlight of my class was an escape from side mount I'd borrowed from the ever-excellent Stephan Kesting and this worked twice. I even used a judo escape from a triangle, which worked, too.

A positive class with some reasons to be cheerful.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Don't stay flat on your back... shrimp out and always operate off one hip when you're on the bottom.

Class 21...

Today a class on standing takedowns and using the sprawl to avoid getting taken down from the single or double-leg. I enjoyed this and did OK although I quite literally walked into a couple of chokes. My base was generally pretty solid, though, and I even managed a few Judo-style throws into the bargain.

A key detail from the class was to grab the gi lapel of the opponent with four fingers inside with the thumb pointing down and you staring at the back of your hand. This may sound a bit odd but it makes it easier to make a frame against you opponent and fend him off. It also makes it easier to set up the 'goodbye choke'.

In sparring I got tapped a lot but also managed a few submissions of my own. I'm also working on a choke from side control using the bottom flap of the opponent's gi. I also played with a few other chokes.

Side control seems to be the position I'm most comfortable in at the moment and the one I seem to find myself in a lot when I've successfully passed guard so I'm spending some time reading up and viewing scarf hold positions and submissions.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Thumb down when grip fighting to help secure frame using arm to fend off opponent.

Class 20...

A week off on holiday with the Missus and back to class and it was a good one.

The usual physical warm-up was all neck strengthening exercises today. This was tough but I never feel like the warm-up is brutal for the sake of it. It's just to make us stronger to train and I can see how and why this is needed.

The class then revolved around two drills. The first saw half the class on their backs while the other half were in the first man's guard. The job of the top man was to break his opponent's guard and end up in side control or full mount. The job of the bottom man was to retain closed guard and get his opponent on the bottom by reversing the position.

I did OK at breaking out of guard or at least not getting swept as I've sort of decided I prefer to be on top in guard at the moment so I'm pretty comfortable stabilising my position and caging my opponent's hips and hanging in. When the situation was reversed, however, my ability to retain guard or attack from it is pretty poor. I know I'm still quite new but I need to really get at least one sweep I like from this position and drill it and do the same with a few submissions. I like the kimura and know how to do a basic version of this. I also know the kimura sweep so I'll try to incorporate both these next time. Retaining guard is also really hard work on your thigh muscles. They are still very sore.

The second drill involved half the class sat up on their bums while the other half attacked from the back in rear mount. I struggled with this a bit but I did manage to fend off a lot of rear naked choke attacks when I was rear mounted. Sadly, I also fell for a few foot locks when one canny opponent used this attack from the back when he trying to go for a choke. Even worse I know this attack as I caught a blue belt with it a few weeks ago but I couldn't work out how this new opponent was managing to get it when I hadn't crossed my feet to put myself in danger. I'll work it out. Or just ask him.

In sparring I was paired with a new white belt I hadn't met before and he was very elusive. I dropped into his guard and worked my way to side control a few times and locked in a choke and an armbar. I feel the chances were there to do other things as well but the fact I escaped and stabilised my position were the minor victories of the day. The taps were an unexpected bonus. A very good class.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Work on a few attacks and a few sweeps from guard.

Classes 18-19...

Two classes in one week and my body survived the experience so my fitness is obviously improving.

In class 18 we did another sweep from open guard. This involved hooking an opponent's standing leg with your foot, getting wrist control by pistol gripping the sleeve of his gi and driving your other leg through him as you chop his hooked foot and pull his arm to the side. I may not be remembering the details of all the sweeps we're working on but the principle is now becoming much clearer: remove the posts on one side and use your other limbs to sweep or collapse the opponent on the side he cannot post out on. There will be a point some time soon when I remember this under the pressure of sparring and sweep someone from open guard. Hopefully...

In class 19 we ran a good exercise where the opponent is in your closed guard and you attack with an armbar, then allow his to pull his arm out of the armbar and you roll into an omoplata, before allowing your opponent to put you back on your back and you finish with a leg triangle.

This is exactly the type of drill I need to repeat as it teaches three submissions that flow quite easily from one another. Getting to grips with it was fine as I was training with a very helpful but very good white belt and my understanding of the armbar and the omoplata was sort of OK, but I got to play with a leg triangle against a slightly resisting opponent and this needs much more work.

The key lesson least here, though, is not to panic if I don't lock the position straight away. The move to a leg triangle is also a good holding position if I grab my ankle with my opposite arm and use it to break and keep my opponent's posture down and use this to improve my position.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Repeating and drilling basic submissions is essential to progress.

Class 17...

Today a sweep and two variations from open guard and some more chinks of light.

I was also lucky enough to be partnered with a blue belt and a purple belt I hadn't met before and both had some sage advice to give me.

The purple belt choked me out a few times and told me to keep my posture up and my hands on my opponent's hip and chest and not collapse my posture to avoid this. The blue belt showed me a variation on a choke I wasn't aware of. I also spent some time rolling with a very good white belt who's also very encouraging.

It's a good school with good people. I always feel like I'm learning.

I even got to roll with a white belt man mountain of muscle today and managed to bridge and roll him and tap him. Because I've trained in other martial arts I know size is not a factor if it's my body weight and correct technique against one of my opponent's joints and I remembered this today when I had 16 stone of solid muscle on top of me for several minutes. I even remembered to move myself instead of my opponent.

I enjoyed the class so much I didn't realise it over-ran by 30 minutes. A good day.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Posture up in guard, posture up in guard, posture up in guard..

Class 15 & Class 16...

Two very good classes in quick succession.

In the first class we learnt a sweep from open guard but the real lesson was the theory behind it, which was explained in a way that made total sense. I'd heard the theory before but it was good to have it re-emphasised.

Essentially on any sweep or bridge and roll escape you usually need to remove two of the posts the opponent is using to keep him stable. So in the bridge and roll escape used to escape mount you are trapping the foot and arm on the side you're rolling your opponent to. This means he can't post out and prevent himself from getting rolled onto his back.

I've also heard it explained as 'table theory', which basically means that a table is stable if it has four legs on the floor but becomes less stable with three legs but can't support itself with only two legs.

In sparring I also held my own with other white belts and latched onto an armbar. My opponent defended this by clasping onto his arm but I realised this left him vulnerable to a wrist lock so I gently applied it and he tapped. It was nice to get the tap but I was more pleased with the fact I quickly assessed what was open and went for it.

In the second class we did some more work on a different sweep from open guard. Again this employed the same principle but utilised a grab under the opponent's leg to control one of his arms and bring your body and thus momentum closer.

In sparring I did OK but got consistently tapped out by a very good but also very helpful white belt. I did fight him off for one lengthy period, though. I also managed to tap my first blue belt today. I'd fought off various choke attempts and managed to snag one of his feet between my legs and managed to work a foot lock. I was surprised to get it and I think he was surprised I knew it. I now have to work out whether what I did was legal or not.

But two good classes and a few little victories among the many learning experiences I was on the wrong end of.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Remember table theory; check whether foot locks and leg locks are legal for white belts.

Class 14...

An enforced one-week lay-off due to work and other commitments so the prospect of a Monday class followed by another class later in the week has me ready and raring.

A quick warm-up of jogging, falling, press-ups and stomach crunches and my enthusiasm, somewhat surprisingly, remained undimmed.

We were then straight into a sweep from the back to take a standing opponent onto his back with you ending up knee on belly. From a seated open guard, this involved placing the feet on the standing man's hips and holding his gi sleeves with a pistol grip and bringing your elbows to the floor to break his posture, then placing the left foot in the elbow of his arm and stretching him out to start off-balancing him. There was then a 90 degree spin and your right hand grabbed his gi pants leg as you swept and rolled him over and he ended up on his back and you ended up on top. There are details missing here but I'll find them out and include them at a later date.

It was then onto an exercise where one player had to retain the sleeve grips on his opponent and sweep him while the other player had to break the sleeve grips and stack his opponent. This was quite good fun... until I got stacked very quickly and heard several things go pop in my neck. Fortunately it was nothing too serious.

In sparring I again did OK. I got paired with my judo friend who's very strong and knows how to base out and spread his weight. He got the better of me today but I again had success with bridging and rolling. I also ended up in guard a few times and am no longer feeling quite so inept in this position.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Grips are important; I need to learn more about grips and gripping strategies.

Class 13...

I arrived expecting 30 minutes of yoga before facing an hour of grappling. Sadly the yoga teacher did not arrive so we had 30 minutes of gruelling exercise drills instead.

After this we did a basic guard pass from a standing position then turned this into a part-sparring drill before moving onto sparring proper.

The guard pass essentially involves controlling your opponent' legs then knees and pushing them to one side so you can eventually get knee on belly or pass into side control. The technical bits of this, however, include keeping your feet far enough back so your opponent can't pull you into his guard and also ensuring your knee and elbow touch so he can't drive his knee through and recover half guard. You also have to remember to posture up so your opponent can't grab your lapel or head to control your posture.

It's tricky stuff for a beginner but it's also the sort of basic stuff I need to get down. This will, however, take time.

In sparring I'm either getting tapped quickly or holding my own once I solidify my base and cage the opponent's hips. I also ended up with a few people in my guard and did OK. But I also know I don't have the mat time to really know what I'm doing there yet. I did jump on an armbar opportunity today, though, and had some success with bridging and rolling, too.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Legs back and posture up is basic position when attempting to pass an opponent's open guard from standing; elbow and knee must form a unit when attempting to pass an open guard or the opponent will quickly recover his own half or full guard.

Class 12...

It’s a Thursday so instead of the gentler climes of the yoga warm-up on Wednesday there was a grueling physical workout of countless press-ups, leg triangle drills, neck exercises and leg raises.

On the plus side my press-ups are no longer the dire excuses they were. They’re still not great but there is definite progress there…

Onto the class proper we opened up with some Achilles locks and entries into these from standing or in your opponent’s closed guard. I’ve done these locks before in the other martial art I study so I was OK with the hand position and angle of the wrist bone but using my gi to secure the grip by grabbing the inside of my collar was something new.

In sparring I got tapped all over the place by two senior white belts although I managed to hang on in there when the going got tough for two lengthy spells.

I managed a few bridge and roll escapes against senior white belts and also improvised by grapping several opponents’ gis at the back of the neck to roll or pull them off-balance. I don’t know whether this is a good tactic or not but it caught a few people by surprise so I may continue to utilise it until I’m told otherwise.

I also managed to tap one of my fellow white belts using a kimura. He rapidly got his own back with an armbar, though. I was more pleased that I managed to keep him pinned for quite a while as he’s much bigger and stronger so either he was knackered or I’m learning to spread and base myself a little better. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Hopefully…

LESSON FROM TODAY: Achilles locks can be used to attack an open guard; keep weight driving through opponent to keep him pinned; use gi grab at back of neck to move opponent.

Class 11...

Today's class started with 30 minutes of yoga. I'd attended one of these classes before and found it very difficult but this week I felt a little more at home and not quite so awful. My body also felt very good in the class afterwards.

Onto the BJJ class proper and we spent time doing some basic scrambling drills designed to get top position. I need more of this type of stuff and am looking at upping my class attendance to twice a week to include the beginner's class in my routine. But even if I don't do this, one class a week is better than no classes.

In sparring the teacher made several points very well.

The first was he doesn't like being called 'Sir'. He took me to a picture of some saintly looking old man on the wall and said 'When you call me sir you make me feel as old as him.'

In sparring with a senior belt he then underlined the importance of bridging and shrimping. It sort of made sense as bad things generally happen when my back is flat on the floor and I'm not moving as it allows my opponent to secure a much stronger top position.

He also emphasised the importance of shrimping out and pushing the opponent away when he gets to knee on belly.

This, of course, is all very basic stuff. But like all basic stuff it needs to be drilled and drilled again in order for it to sink in.

LESSON FROM TODAY: bridge and bridge again; shrimp and shrimp again.

Commercial Break...

I bought a new rash guard from Sprawl several weeks ago and I had some problems with it.

I contacted the company, told them what my problem was and sent them pictures of what had happened. A couple of emails later and they're replacing the item.

I like Sprawl's stuff so I'm genuinely pleased to report such good customer service. Good work, grappling fellas.

Class 10...

Something new today... a 30-minute yoga class before getting to grips with some BJJ techniques and grappling.

The yoga was quite demanding but I think it's something I'll go back and do as anything that helps keep me more flexible is a good thing.

Onto the class itself and today we learnt a sequence that ends in an arm lock and rib compressions of sort but starts with a goodbye choke. The latter section was wasted on me but I did pick up the basics of the choke section and liked this.

Goodbye choke: kneel facing your opponent and place your right hand palm up and fingers in under the right lapel of his collar; pull his head under the right side of your rib cage so it's like a guillotine choke; then tighten it by threading your left arm underneath your right elbow with your palm facing out and squeeze everything together.

The second section of this move involved shooting underneath your opponent, which rolls him over and then tightening the choke. If this fails you sprawl on your opponent, then get an underhook with your right hand under the centre of his gi collar at the back, then drive your right shoulder into his chest.

I didn't fully get this so I'll come back to it at a later date.

In sparring I got tapped all over the place. I got a couple of choke attempts in but I was largely outgunned. I also fell for several triangle chokes in quick succession. On the plus side I now know I need to study defences against these.

Triangle defence: grab onto your opponent's belt and posture forward by driving your hips forward and elevate your head; then grab his legs and shake him loose before breaking his guard.

LESSON FROM TODAY: drill the goodbye choke; read up on armbar and triangle escapes.

Class 9...

Today we learnt three basic sweeps. These were:

Scissor sweep variation one from back with opponent in guard:
pistol grip opponent's right gi sleeve with left hand; grab the bottom of the opponent's gi trousers (left leg) with your right hand; open guard and drop your left leg to the floor and drive your right leg under his armpit; then scissor your legs and pull his arm to your left as your right leg kicks under his armpit and you lift his leg ending up in full mount.

Scissor sweep variation two from back with opponent in guard:
pistol grip the right gi sleeve of the opponent with your left hand; drive your right hand under the collar of his gi on the same side as you are grabbing with your left hand; open your guard and shrimp out so you flatten your left leg against his right leg and and your left knee is under his left armpit; then drag his arm to your left as your bottom leg scissors his right leg and the knee drives through and rolls him over ending up with you in full mount.

Scissor sweep variation three from back with opponent in guard:
pistol grip opponent's right gi sleeve with your left hand; grab the bottom of the opponent's gi trousers (left leg) with your right hand; the opponent breaks this grip so go under his body and between his legs and secure the right trouser leg of his gi; open guard and drop your left leg to the floor and drive your right leg under his armpit; then scissor your legs and pull his arm to your left as your right leg kicks under his armpit and you lift his leg ending up in full mount.

There is also a way of dragging the opponent forward on all three of these techniques but I couldn't quite figure it out but I'm pretty sure it happens before the scissor to get the opponent moving. I'll pay attention to this next time and make sure I get it down in more detail.

We also did another sweep when you are on the bottom and your opponent is in your guard but pinning your arms apart and keeping a low base to cage your hips. This involved opening you guard but keeping your knees pinched and shrimping your hips away from your opponent. Then attack one of his arms and drag it in front of his face and hold it in place. With your other hand you reach around his back and latch onto his gi at the armpit and pull yourself onto his back. If he posts out with his free hand then you simply roll him and you end up in full mount. That sounds a bit convoluted. I'll come back to this when we next do it in class and refine the description. It's essentially a back climb from open guard with the opponent on top.

In sparring today I held my own against a more experienced white belt and even managed a bridge and roll escape at one point but I got tapped a few times escaping a triangle and getting caught in an armbar by other white belts. I also got caught in a kimura twice and I had no idea how to defend it. I’m pretty sure it was because I reacted too late and he’d got it sunk in but I’ll review some notes on this. I'm still not too worried about getting tapped this at the moment, though, as I know this is going to be a long journey. I'm just getting used to the positions and trying to recognise what's happening and getting my body used to rolling.

In other sparring news I also got to roll with a purple belt today, who was a very slight woman, and the way she moved was wonderful. There was a point she stopped trying to move me and just started creating bits of space and moving herself. It was brilliant to watch... until I realised she was setting a choke up and she started applying it.

LESSON FROM TODAY: drill your basic sweeps; read up on armbar and triangle escapes; read up on chokes.