Two early-morning classes focusing on guard passing,
involving one man positioned on his hip in open half guard with one hook in and
the other using a smashing pass to escape. This was hard work as the man on the
bottom was not allowed to close guard at any point to retain the position so it
was a lot of grip fighting and trying to retain hooks for him.
The man on top had to escape the initial hook and knee
slide then pressure pass into side control.
There were a few variations, one including the man on the
bottom monkey gripping the free arm to prevent head control, plus a variation
where the man on the bottom also grabbed the ankle of the opponent and the
sleeve or collar, then moved into a sweeping position.
The takehome from these lessons, though, was for the man
on top to apply pressure and close the space down when attacking and ensure the
opponent’s hip movement is blocked, while the man on the bottom used frame and
posture to defend the position and eventually turn in it into an attacking or
sweeping option.
Sparring was OK and I did fine against my fellow white
belts and I defended well against a decent and much bigger blue belt. At one point, I got
stuck in side control and drew a total blank trying to remember my side control
escapes, so I spent some time drilling them after the classes. I’m confident
these will eventually bear fruit, though.
Things to remember: Use frame when defending and close
down space when attacking.
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