Class 37...

Into a beginners’ class and the usual warm-up. The plus side of this was that press-ups are no longer impossible so my hyper-extended arm is clearly on the mend.

In the class itself we continued the work from a week or so ago where we worked a collar choke from the guard by grabbing the gi flap of the opponent’s gi and passing it over his shoulder. This was good because I'd totally forgotten the following variations which I now have a better idea of.

The setup for this was:

The opponent postures up in your guard with one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest; grab the sleeves of his gi at the elbow and flare his sleeves out at the side with these grips and pull him toward you with your guard to break his posture down; once his posture is broken down then secure his body by using an overhook with your left arm to keep him in place; with your right hand unravel the flap of his gi jacket and pass it over his back; secure this with your right hand and then pass it to your left as you prepare to go for the cross choke;

It is at this point the armbar variation comes in:

The opponent defends the choke by passing his head under your right arm; so swap hands and grab the gi collar with your left arm again and drag it over his left shoulder and with your left hand pull it to your left; as you do this plant your right leg on his left hip to ensure his right arm is trapped; climb your legs further up his back and raise your hips high so his right arm has no base; then pass the right arm to your left with your right hand; from here use your right hand to cross his head and push it towards your right; then swivel on your left hip; secure the arm; sweep the right leg over his head and chop down; raise hips for the armbar.

The other variation of this technique comes when he defends the armbar by grabbing hold of his bicep with the attacked arm and holding the leg of the opponent with the other. In this situation:
Swap the hands holding the gi jacket collar and switch back to a closed guard and tighten the collar to choke; if the opponent is not tapping then scissor sweep him but also remember to grab the trouser leg of his gi with your free left hand; then apply the choke and if the choke fails at least you end up in mount.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Close the space down when grappling; any space gives your opponent the chance to work himself free.

Class 36...

My arm's still a bit busted so no press-ups for me during warm-up although I have realised I need to start doing these again as soon as I can because they're ideal for strengthening the arm muscles I need for grappling.

Today the early exercises focused on grip fighting and breaking grips then on establishing guard and maintaining guard while the opponent tries to break your guard.

The main focus in class was on a flow drill that started with the opponent jumping guard and wrapping his legs while you are in a standing position.

To break his guard: you gain control of one of his hands, break his grip on your gi jacket and grab the sleeve; then with your other arm you drive your elbow into his thigh until his legs break open and you drop him to the floor.

To secure the position: once on the floor you pin his left leg with your right knee on the floor and your foot hooking behind his knee; your left leg pushes through on his right leg to stop him from sweeping and to help maintain pressure on his body; your left leg also has the bottom of the foot on the floor; with your left arm you underhook his arm and put your head to the left side of his head; your right arm overhooks his opposite shoulder and goes palm-to-palm to secure the top half of his body; the opponent should now be unable to wriggle out.

To move into side mount; you simply bring your left leg into position near your right leg and drop both legs over and clamp down chest-to-chest to secure the position with your head down; bring your knees up to his body so he has no wriggle room; note his left arm should be trapped between your right hip and right elbow.

To get the figure 4 lock: raise your head and tempt the opponent to try to frame your head away; when he does this drive slightly forward and trap his right arm; then bring you right arm from underneath his head and frame against his head and pin his left arm; secure the figure 4 lock with your left hand and paint down to tighten the lock then apply the figure 4 lock by elevating the arm at the shoulder joint.

In sparring I came up against more skilled and stronger people and got tapped out a few times; with somebody of my own level, however, I held my own and proved tough to shift by going back to caging their hips. I even managed to break guard and get to side control but ran out of time. A good class.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drop weight chest to chest when in side control to help secure position.

Class 35…

A week and a half off due to injury and I was raring to go and first up was a white belt beginner’s class. I like these classes because there’s no sparring and it’s all technique so I always try to absorb as much as possible.

Today the focus was on attacking from the guard using a collar grip. The set-up for all the techniques was the same: the opponent is postured up in your closed guard with one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach; to break his posture you grab his gi at the elbows and push it back so it flares his elbows out and attacks the integrity of his posture; at the same time you use your closed guard to bring his body forward then use your left arm to overhook his shoulder and keep him in place tight to you.

The following variations then come into play:

Collar Choke: while keeping opponent’s posture broken down unhook the lapel of his gi with your right hand and pass it over his back so you can grab it with your left hand to keep him pinned down; now create a little space by using your guard and then bring your right hand in front of your opponent’s face facing up and grab the lapel to the right of the opponent’s neck; with your left hand you now grab the lapel still around the opponent’s back forming an x with your wrists in front of his face; now wring to close the choke.

Defending Collar Choke and Attack to the Side: while keeping opponent’s posture broken down unhook the lapel of his gi with your right hand and pass it over his back so you can grab it with your left hand to keep him pinned down; now create a little space by using your guard and then bring your right hand in front of your opponent’s face facing up and grab the lapel to the right of the opponent’s neck; the opponent defends against your left arm here to stop you applying the choke so instead open your guard and plant your left leg on the floor and scissor sweep him onto his side using your right leg to chop into him. Keep the right hand collar grip firm. At the same time posture up on your left arm to gain leverage. The opponent is now on his side so apply the choke for the tap or use the leverage to end up in full mount.

The other variations, which I’ve forgotten the details of, included Defending Collar Choke and Armbar Attack; Defending Collar Choke and Armbar Attack, Defending Armbar Attack and Reverting to Collar Choke; and Defending Collar Choke By Pinning Arm and Pushing Through to Set Up Triangle Choke.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Break the opponent’s posture from guard by flaring the elbows, bringing the opponent forward using the guard and securing the overhook.

Class 34...

Today a trial lesson at a new school nearer to home. The school was fab and the teacher and students very welcoming and friendly.

I enjoyed it until I was sparring at the end and got caught in an armbar and thought I had time to escape. Sadly my timing was out and I got my arm hyper-extended before I had time to tap. It now hurts.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Always tap out early.

Class 33...

Today some exercises on passing guard then some work on breaking guard and taking control after breaking guard.

Passing drill: one man on his back in open guard, the other standing with his hands on the opponent's knees and gripping his trouser legs and applying pressure down: the standing opponent has to move from centre to side then from centre to the other side without the opponent hooking his legs.

Guard pass 1: you have your opponent in closed guard, secure his right arm with your right hand and extend it to your left so that it crosses your body; open your guard and hip escape so your stomach is against the elbow of his dragged arm to lock it in place; then grab his shoulder with your left hand and hip escape out so you are sort of climbing onto his back; from here get the hooks in and take his back.

Guard pass 2: you have your opponent in closed guard, secure his right arm with your right hand and extend it to your left so that it crosses you body; open your guard and hip escape so your stomach is against the elbow of his dragged arm to lock it in place; then grab his shoulder with your left hand and hip escape out so you are sort of climbing onto his back; from here use your right hand to loosen his gi collar then thread your left hand over his shoulder and confirm the grip and start to choke.

Guard pass 3: you have your opponent in closed guard, secure his right arm with your right hand and extend it to your left so that it crosses you body; open your guard and hip escape so your stomach is against the elbow of his dragged arm to lock it in place; then grab his shoulder with your left hand and hip escape out so you are sort of climbing onto his back; from here he clamps onto your right leg so kick your left leg over his head and superman your arms out and keep going until you end up with his arm ripe for an armbar.

In sparring I rolled with a good white belt and a blue belt and got killed. I struggled today. Everyone was better than me

LESSON FROM TODAY: Drill guard escapes.

Class 32...

Today a class all about guard breaks and how to attack after breaking guard, plus some very helpful advice from a very helpful white belt thrown in, too.

The first of the two guard passes we were shown went something liked this:
you are in your opponent’s closed guard with your knees either side of his hips; you grab his belt or his gi pants and use this grip to drive his hips to the floor as you posture up; you then drive the small of your back against his closed ankles as you move your base backwards to break his guard; once his guard is broken you immediately connect your right arm to your right elbow if your are passing on your right side to prevent him reclosing his guard or establishing a hook; your foot is on the floor with your weight balanced; your left leg and your left arm are also attached together to prevent him getting his leg through and you are in ‘low surfer stance’; to pass his guard you then pass your right knee over his left leg with your knee on the floor and your foot hooked behind his knee; you then bring your left leg across your own leg so he cannot hook either of your legs and move them; the right leg passes over then the left leg follows; your arms at this point are hooking around his neck and under one shoulder getting ready to go to side control once you have cleared his legs.

The second of the two passes involved a standing pass. This went something like this: in your opponent’s closed guard pull across his right hand his middle line by establishing wrist control by grabbing hold of his gi sleeve with your left hand and grabbing his collar with your right hand; then stand up so your opponent is hanging off you; switch hands but remember to control his sleeve with your right hand; with your left hand drive down his knee and jump up to shrug him off; you then go into ‘surfer stance’ and start to pass as before.

Guard passing is very technical but it remains something I need to spend real time on and it seems there are no short cuts to this. The white belt I was drilling with was very helpful and pointed out there were too many holes in my attacks and defence and I had to close the space. This was excellent advice and it did help.

In sparring I was cannon fodder for most of the session, although I did manage to hold my own for a few lengthy sessions until falling foul of a very slick armbar and a kimura. I also nearly fell into a very impressive gogoplata but I spotted the danger and escaped. I did have one minor victory, though, when I caught a very good white belt in a bizarre reverse kimura from half guard. It was a desperation measure but I just managed to catch it and hold it for long enough. I should use kimura control more often, though, as the kimura is a favourite technique.

And I also used the rear-mounted neck attack escape to good effect today, too.

LESSON FROM TODAY: Close down the space; drill guard escapes.