Classes 403-404...

A Gi Beginners Class in which we worked on the armbar, omoplata and leg triangle attack combination.
Double Armbar from Closed Guard: opponent is in your closed guard, go for cross collar choke, hip escape body out, opponent places both hands on your hips to escape choke, grab his hands, cross your legs behind his head in a high guard, close knees on his elbows for tap.

We also worked on a Hip Bump Sweep to Arm-in Guillotine to Leg Triangle.

Next up was a Gi Advanced Class. We worked on three passes from top half half guard. 

Tripod Pass from Half Guard: Flatten opponent and collect near-side arm and pull it up; move head to other side of opponent's head; tripod up using head, free leg and free arm, work leg free using other leg, pass to side.

Leg Untangle Pass from Half Guard: Flatten opponent out, come to side with your back facing opponent and isolate his arm, grab his belt and pants, bring leg out to knee, switch hips and the direction you face, kick leg off and come to side

Armbar from Reverse Scarfhold: grab your own pant leg or belt to secure isolated arm, then using your other arm to push the trapped hand of the opponent away for the tap.

Stretch Out Leg Untangle Pass from Half Guard: Flatten opponent out, come to side with your back facing opponent and isolate his arm, grab his belt and pants, edge yourself backwards to create space for leg to escape past knee, switch hips and go to quarter guard, then go to mount.

Sparring was fine but it got worse as I got more tired. I got tapped by a decent white belt who got me in a head and arm triangle when I had him in lockdown. It was a good move by him, but I was too tired to defend it. On the plus side, it made me go home and look up escapes from arm triangles. 

Class 402...

A No Gi Beginners class where we went through one of the cook's favourite submission sequences:

Ten-finger Choke: Head and arm control from standing; bring outside hand in to push head down, head hand moves under throat for chin strap, chest on top of head of opponent, connect hands and pull up hands up and press chest down for tap.

High Elbow Guillotine: push head under arm pit, connect hands for the Marcellotine, and pull choking arm up for tap.

Arm In Guillotine: Non-choking arm goes under armpit of opponent and hands connect, use this control to take opponent to floor.

From here, move to side and punch arm through to create Neck Clamp and drive opponent over, then use Darce Choke or Anaconda to tap.

Ten-finger Choke, High Elbow Guillotine and Arm-in Guillotine also an option from Butterfly Guard, then sweep also an option using hooks. This leads to Neck Clamp, Darce Choke or Anaconda set-up.

King of the guard was fine. I played Full Guard and I fought to Hip Bump Sweep a bigger opponent, then held on for a few more rounds.

Sparring was OK. I tried to pace myself and did fine. In other news, I am also trying to learn the Imanara Roll.

Classes 399-401...

First up a No Gi Beginners Class where we went through some of the basic positions and escapes.

Bridge and Roll v Full Mount: Man in bottom is in full mount, grabs and traps one arm of the man on top in full mount, pull own feet up towards backside of opponent to create leverage, bridge up and roll opponent over so you end up in full mount.

Standing Guard Break v Full Guard: pin arm of opponent with both your hands and push it into the opponent and use it as a base to stand, foot on side of trapped arm can go closer to opponent, use nearest hand to break guard of opponent. 

Passing Legs v Opponent on Back: take nearest side leg of opponent and pass it over, drop down and use knee cut pass set up to pin leg, secure head and arm control then pass outside leg to knee cut leg and pass kneecut leg to other side of opponent, then come into mount.

Bridge v Armbar Set-up: Opponent goes to bridge, you go to s-mount and use his arm hooks to secure the opponent's arm, swap hands and use the other hand to base, leg over head of opponent, then sit back for armbar

Spider Web v Armbar: use spider web to prevent armbar if on bottom, use spider web arm to push leg of opponent back and come up to guard of opponent

Hip Bump Sweep to Full Mount

Sparring was OK. I am experimenting with half gaudy when play king of the guard. It is getting better and I am switching between full guard, half guard, lockdown and back takes when possible.

Next up was a No Gi Advanced Class. We did a lot of work on Quarter Guard and securing head and arm control to drive pressure into the head and neck of the opponent, then free the trapped leg using he other leg or bring knee of trapped leg to mat 

We also played with setting up a arm triangle from half guard top.

My favourite move of the day was the Ninja Roll. This went some like this:

Ninja Roll Top v Quarter Guard Bottom: opponent on bottom has quarter guard on man on top, move to the side so you are 90 degrees away from the opponent, use quarter guard foot as foot behind own knee in lockdown, use other foot to collect and undertook the legs of the opponent. The granby roll away from him towards his feet and come up into a 90 degree position. This offers the calf slicer or use triangle or lockdown to stretch opponent out and take back

Sparring was tiring. But it was ok. At some points I was just too tired and I fell for stuff I would not have fallen for if I was less knackered. But it was two 90-minute classes back-to back. i fiord I had a right to be tired.

Finally was a gi class working on some more basics: 

Dominating Side Control from Top: man on top drives knee into hip of opponent to prevent hip escape on one side, elbow on opposite side pinches in to prevent hip escape on the other way, switch to scarf hold then come back to side control but collect the arm of the opponent so it is isolated.

Leg Weave to Dominate Side Control from Top: once side control is established, the man on top can weave his arm through the legs of the opponent on the bottom and use this to drive his hip towards the floor. To escape from this, he has to kicks his legs out.

Arm Weave to Dominate Side Control from Top: once side control is established, the man on top can weave his arm through the arm of the opponent on the bottom and punch his fist to the floor and exert pressure in the form of a neck crank.

Attacks from Side Control from Top: Attack for the Americana by driving through horizontally in side control to stretch out the arm of the opponent, then link grips for Americana attack, opponent stretches his arm out to defend then attack for the straight arm lock, if he grabs his belt, push the arm up and place the head in-between, then attack for the kimura. 

Sparring was fine. It was pretty much a white belt class so I played defence for most of it. Pretty much everyone there was bigger and stronger so I focused on frame.

In other news, I have now done more than 400 classes at BJJ. Not bad for an old bloke who found it relatively late in life. 

Classes 397-398...

My final session of the year was a No-Gi Open Mat and I sparred with pretty much everyone and I felt like I did OK. My cardio was decent and I kept going long after it felt awful. I also hit a couple of baseball bat chokes, kimuras, guillotines and omoplatas, all of which I am trying to add to my game.

Fast-forward nine days and my first training session of 2020 and I felt slow and massively off the pace. I did some OK stuff and I feel like my guard passing is OK-ish, but I was largely not very good. 

On the plus side, my not-very-good at the start of 2020 is better than my good at the start of 2019. So reasons to be cheerful.

Class 396...

A Gi class with a few different bits and pieces. These included some work on single and double legs. The take-home from this was the idea of using a push on the opponent to get him stepping one leg forward to ace it easier to attack the single.

We then did some work on the knee shield half guard position, which went like this:

Knee Shield Half Guard Kimura: You are on the bottom in knee shield half guard loosely controlling the sleeve of the arm you are targeting to attack with the kimura; collapse the knee shield to disrupt the base of the opponent, pull his arm towards you and fish over his shoulder to connect the kimura lock. 

Sweeping Option from Knee Shield Half Guard Kimura: if the opponent buries the arm to protect against the kimura, then use the kimura to pull the opponent op top, then sweep him over and come up on top of him, keeping the kimura lock connected. 

Knee Shield Half Guard Reverse Kimura: You are on the bottom in knee shield half guard loosely controlling the sleeve of the arm you are targeting to attack with the kimura; collapse the knee shield to disrupt the base of the opponent; opposition sleeve control securing the wrist of the opponent; drive your nearest arm under the arm of the opponent to connect the reverse kimura; options from here include wrist lock, elevator sweep or scissor sweep. 

Hook Sweep from Knee Shield Half Guard: You are on the bottom in knee shield half guard loosely controlling the sleeve of the arm you are targeting to attack with the kimura; switch the knee shield inside so your foot is hooked under the thigh of the opponent; pull the sleeve of the opponent and use the hook to elevate him to sweep.

Escape from Body Lock Triangle No.1: Move opponent onto the side of the body lock triangle; fish for one leg, the reinforce it with the other and attack the fit lock.

Escape from Body Lock Triangle No.2: Connect knee and elbow again the top leg of the body triangle; then kick leg out against leg of opponent and sideways elbow against leg of opponent, creating two forces working against the leg in opposite direction; then scramble for position.

Sparring was good. I more than held my own against everyone I rolled with. I hot two or three wrist locks when my opponent had their elbows against the mat. 

Things to remember: Kimura position and sweep from half guard; reverse kimura sequence.

Classes 394-395...

First up a time class with attacks from full guard.

Securing Open Guard Control: You have your opponent in full guard, secure double sleeve control, open guard, hip escape out and place one leg on hip down side of opponent and hip escape out on the other side to set the other foot on the hip of the opponent. Opponents cannot attack forward or move forward as you have control.

From here you can attack for leg triangles and omoplatas. You can also set up scissor sweeps.

Sparring was fine and I did OK. I feel like I'm getting to be OK again.

Next up was a No Gi class drilling full guard and the favoured overhook position. The set-up went like this: 

Full Guard Overhook with Leg Over Opponent's Head: Establish full guard with an overlook on one arm, hip escape out to one side and move into half guard side by swinging leg in crook of opponent's neck position and omoplata attack position. Can also attack for triangle from here.

I was one of the in-the-middle people at king of the guard and I switched between full guard and half guard. Sparring was fun and I hit a couple of omoplatas and rear naked chokes. I really grafted and went for as many rolls as possible and specifically targeted senior belts along the way. 

A Gi class and some work on catching the leg triangle drill from guard by securing sleeve control on the wrists of the opponent in guard, the keeping one and stuffing the other.

We then did some back take work from guard by arm dragging one of the opponent's arms from guard and forcing t to the side, then attacking for back by grabbing the tricep of the opponent and pulling yourself up onto his back.

There's also the sweeping option.

Pendulum Sweep: Secure sleeve control on one of the opponent's wrists with a same side grip, shoot other hand under leg of opponent or grab leg of gi pants, open guard and sit up and rock back and 90 degrees to the side, Leg under armpit of opponent kicks him over and grip n pants leg lifts leg up, other leg chops under base of opponent and cuts under base of opponent.

Sparring was ace. I held my own against two purple belts and two blue belts, then I stayed later with three senior belts and worked on compression lock from guard, a passing wrist locks when opponent secures his hand on your body and the waterfall wristlock.

Things to remember: keep persevering with half guard and use full guard and overhook attack position; keep working on sweeps.

Classes 391-393

A No Gi class and some work on Kimura attacks. 

Kimura from Full Guard: Collapse opponent so he puts arms an arm on the floor; connect hands together and attack for the kimura; fall back to slight angle on opponent and apply lock. 

Kimura from Half Guard Bottom: Collapse opponent using knee shield in half guard so he puts arms on the floor; connect hands together and attack for the kimura; fall back to slight angle on opponent and apply lock. 

Kimura from Open Guard: attack for kimura and use locking position to run round outside of opponent; then use kimura grip grip to force back take. 

Reverse Kimura: shoot opposite arm through and connect like Rear Naked Choke. 

Sparring was OK. I fell for some dumb stuff against a good white belt, but that was just lack of recent mat time. I was OK against junior belts and two senior belts. I am also experimenting with Greco-Roman Wrestling Lateral Drop and I am also trying to work out the No Gi Baseball Choke from Half Guard Bottom. 

A BJJ gi class where we worked on the following sequence: 

Leg Triangle from Full Guard: opponent hides arm so use Tee Pee to tap opponent by connecting legs behind opponent, then connecting hands behind knees and squeezing together.

We then worked on the flow drill involving the Armbar, Omoplata and Leg Triangle from Guard. 

Sparring was OK. I am playing with the Greco-Roman Lateral Drop and the No Gi Baseball Choke. 

Another gi class and some work on takedowns. The main one of these involved a snap down, a back take and a backwards lateral drop. 

Snap Down, Back Take and Backwards Lateral Drop: Start in a collar and arm tie, snap down the head of the opponent; when they come up, raise the arm and duck under and round for back take; then lateral back drop by moving your head away from the side where you are blocking the foot. 

We also worked on a Ten Finger Choke from a deep leg grab against an opponent in open guard when you are standing: when opponent wraps around leg; drive knee forward to create tension; then pull knee back to create space to insert choking fingers and drop chest or head on head of opponent to create pressure. 

We also worked on the Ezekiel Choke from full mount and guard. I use this all the time, but we also worked on the other choke I am experimenting with at the moment, too. 

Baseball Bat Choke from Full Guard Bottom Gi Grip Variation: You have opponent in full closed guard; grip opponent's gi and bring it under his armpit and pass it around the neck; then using the gi to baseball bat choke from there by opening the guard and tempting the opponent to move out of your guard and into a position himself where he will effectively choke himself. 

Sparring was fine. I got caught in a leg triangle when I wasn't watching my Ps and Qs, then I did ok against everyone else. But it was my first class back for two weeks so that was OK.