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.
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