Private Class No.8...

My first private class after a lengthy lay-off following a few injuries. 

First up, we went through the three-attack combination: armbar, omaplata and triangle. This was OK, but the main advice was to tighten up the mechanics and maximise the pressure, particularly between the switch over from left to right when drilling.

We then did some work on chokes, which seemed to be OK. I also learnt two new chokes. 

The first of these relied on the same initial collar grab, but saw the thumb of the other hand go in at the back of the gi collar, then swoop over to the other side and tighten as normal to close the choke. It seems to rely on timing your opponent's escape to make it truly effective.

The second new choke involved grabbing the flap of the opponent's gi jacket from guard, then passing it over the shoulder of the opponent onto the other side and securing it as one side of a choke. The hand grips like an uppercut. Then the other hand goes in as normal and secures the choke and tightens it. 


We did some work on breaking and opening guard. The main adjustments here involved having the hooking leg tight and the escaping leg flat on the floor to block the hips. 

Finally, we did some work on pulling guard. The key advice here was to use the foot on the hip to apply tension between you and the opponent. 

Things to remember: Tighten the mechanics, the new choke options.