Classes 155 & 156...

I did two BJJ classes this week and, coupled with a boxing session and a hapkido session, it's been a good week on the training front... which is just as well as I have a small competition coming up in a few weeks.

First up was a dinner-time class and 90 minutes felt very brutal at the end of it. But it's getting my body back used to it and this will take a bit of time.

In the class, we drilled the armbar, omoplata and triangle combinations, then we worked on specific sparring with the man in guard having to escape and the man holding guard having to submit. 

We then went on to sparring and I did OK sparring with a younger white belt opponent, but I got murdered by a much bigger and stronger and very solid blue belt. At least, I was trying a few different attacks and even tried a gogoplata at one point.

On the plus side, I used the guard position with the cross-collar grab and the wrist control I picked up in the private class, and this is bearing fruit, slowly.

I then went to an open mat session and sparred with a much heavier blue belt and defended OK. I then did some no-gi with a couple of much smaller opponents and did OK. No-gi is still a bit alien to me, though. But it is good fun. 

Things to remember: Persevere with the cross-collar grab and wrist control from guard. Leg locks and wrist locks are allowed in no-gi.

Private Class No.5...

My fifth private class and we went straight into working on the trinity of armbar, triangle and omaplata, plus the cross collar choke. Further notes on these techniques included:

Armbar from guard: leg on opponent's neck drives head out away from body as armbar us applied.


Omaplata from guard: nearest hand grabs nearest wrist, right hand takes cross collar grab, stuff hand away using knuckles.

Triangle from guard: toes up and vertical with leg flaring out to tighten choke.

Cross collar choke from guard: angle off the choke, then the choke tightens as you come back to centre.


We then did some work on two chokes:

Sleeve choke from guard: loose initial cross collar grip, bring body up and push opponent's head under your own armpit, hand slides behind own wrist then flicks up to lock choke in, fall back and squeeze.

Ezekiel choke from mount: arm under neck of opponent, use own head to push opponent's head to opposite side so opponent can't see what is going on, grab sleeve of own gi with hand under opponent's neck, then other hand slides on top of opponent's neck, then turn palms in  to face self and sag weight down to tighten the choke.
 Tip: if opponent does not tap, use own head driving on top of choking hand to apply pressure.

Things to remember: Use the cross collar grip with the nearest hand controlling the nearest hand of the opponent.

Classes 153 & 154...

Two open mat sessions and I got pretty comprehensively ruined at sparring in both. 

In the first class, I did some drilling and I added a collar choke in front of the armbar, triangle and omaplata drill I'm working on. I also showed a friend how to pull guard from standing and we did some work on this.

On a not-so-good note, an opponent got injured during sparring. I was pulling his legs straight to pass his guard and something went in his knee. There was nothing malicious in it, but it was a salient reminder that injuries can happen even in quite controlled sparring. 

In the second class, I managed to do some drilling and work on the kimura, too. I'm also spending more time in guard and working from this position a lot more.

I also entered the in-house club tournament, which means I now have to get back down to fighting weight and lose about 10 pounds. I should be able to do this.

Things to remember: pulling guard, adding collar choke to three-movement drill.

Class 152...

Today was an early morning class with some technique drilling, followed by some work on half guard.

We drilled the arm bar, kimura and omaplata from closed guard before starting work on a half-guard technique. This was:

Half guard escape from underneath opponent: secure an underhook, then hip escape onto side with knee under armpit of opponent, then hands pushing the hands of the opponent to stretch him out, eventually attack back with hooks in. 

Half guard escape from underneath opponent: secure an underhook, then hip escape onto side with knee under armpit of opponent, then hands pushing the hands of the opponent to stretch him out, drop down to his belly and follow him up, then switch base, remove posts and drive in and collapse him.

In sparring, I did OK and defended myself against much bigger and stronger opponents. I also threatened a sleeve choke at one point.

Things to remember: Bury head and get underhook in half guard, also switch base to come to knees

Class 151...

An early morning class with one of several world champions who trains and teaches at the gym.

The class focused on the standing man passing the guard of a seated opponent using spider guard. The fundamentals of this were as follows:
i) Break the sleeve control and secure the gi trousers of the opponent with one hand.
ii) Change the plain of motion of the bicep being controlled by the opponent's other leg and secure the gi trousers.
iii) Step to the side to break the leg tension and use the gi trouser grips to control the legs of the opponent, then pass to the side.
iv) Once in side control, use the kimura control to either secure position or submit.

Things to remember: Secure the gi trousers to control the legs; use kimura control.

Private Class No.4...

A private class and more time on some submission basics from close guard, namely the armlock, the omaplata, the leg triangle and the palm up/shoulder grab choke.

The mechanics of these seemed to be sort of OK, but there were a few tweaks to make.

Armbar: hand position is now better but ensure the leg on the back chops down to keep the opponent out of posture.

Omaplata: one hand on the collar and one hand securing wrist control, drag the hand back as the leg goes over to help collapse the opponent.

Leg triangle: On entry from an overhook, grab the gi collar of the opponent to keep him collapsed. Also don't prop up on an elbow but use the shoulder so the arm.has more reach to control the opponent's arm. Angle off more to tighten the choke, then keep the toes pointing up.

Palm up/shoulder grab choke: first hand goes deep, shoulder grab hand grabs gi and keeps active.

We did a flow drill between the armlock, leg triangle and omaplata, too.

Things to remember: thumb in and fingers out when opening up gi collar of opponent.

Private Class No.3...

My third private class and some work on tightening up my basic submissions.

Armbar from bottom in closed guard: left hand grabs opponent's right hand on sleeve while right hand goes thumb down and grabs back to opponent's tricep then pulls the arm across and secures the position; leg active on back of opponent; leg kicks over opponent's head and presses down to separate head and arm as hips rise and you pull arm in; knees nip together.

Triangle from bottom in closed guard: set-up using posture collapse and overhook to secure arm; angle off and tighten and secure position; then bring opponent's arm in front and secure; then pull head down with both hands; note that toes point up; also note that flare vertical foot out to tighten ligaments.

Omaplata from bottom in closed guard: right hand reaches across to grab opponent's right hand at sleeve; left hand grabs bottom of opponent's gi trousers; closed guard opens and right leg goes onto hip of opponent or on floor; left leg swoops over; keep opponent's arm secure' then sit up and hand wraps opponent's waist to prevent him rolling free; then legs move to alter base; apply pressure down onto arm; then swoop forward to whisper into opponent's far ear to apply pressure.

Hand in/hand over choke from closed guard: left hand opens collar of opponent and right hand goes across deep with palm up; guard opens and you angle off; left hand goes over shoulder of opponent and confirms grip on shoulder and grabs material; pull elbows to shoulders; then turn right wrist to drive wrist bone into carotid.

Things to remember: Angle off correctly on arm bar, triangle and choke; toes up on triangle; posture, position and, then, submission.