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.