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.
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