Today was a really good day, not because I dominated on the mat- actually quite the contrary. I think today was a great training day because I learned, and practiced a LOT. I also got to work with a newer guy and help him get better at Jiu Jitsu.
I set out a few weeks ago to learn and practice more methods of escaping side control. Through asking for advice from instructors, and looking at tactics on YouTube, along with some book studies I feel pretty comfortable that I have at least 3 new side control escapes, and sweeps that I can implement effectively. I worked each of them today. The first is to work to get myself parallel to my opponent, and then hook one of his legs and cross my feet into a half guard. I then trap the arm on the side of the leg I have control of and sweep him by rolling toward that side. In more advanced practice I then turn the hand that had trapped the arm and grasp under his armpit- this allows me to control his motion, but also frees my hand to grasp his top leg and force it down so that I can come to the mount.
The second method is to get the pommel, then bridge up onto my shoulders to change his center of balance, I then trap his outside arm and I push off, and drive my chest into his using the power of my legs untl he rolls onto his side and I come up and take his back- from here it is choke attacks.
Third method is useful in a situational capacity. If the opponent counters one of my primary sweeps and puts his weight/force against the direction of my sweep I trap his forward arm and reverse my effort- using his directional force to my advantage and sweep him across my chest and onto my opposite side. Depending on how he reacts and ends up once I gain side control I can work for the mount, or take his back. I am feeling pretty strong in these methods and will continue to practice them, while looking at additional techniques. The good news is, side control escapes are now within my grasp, hence my opponent of 2 weeks ago has made me into a better, and more effective fighter.
I'd like to touch on my theories about training, and what the school is meant to be. For me, the School, and classmates are not meant to be a "fight club". I didn't start doing this to learn how to beat people up, nor do I get some masochistic glee from being beat on. I have come to grips with the fact that no matter how good I get at this, there will always be someone who is better than I am. Some guys/girls possess natural gifts, and others have a wealth of experience gained from time spent toiling upward in the art. I think about that fact, and a light bulb pops on in my head. There is just one person I know for sure I can always be better than, and that person is myself. I look at the development of my game starting last February, and I see how far I have come along this road. Looking over everything I realize that I have a lot of people to thank. Each and every student that ever showed me something I didn't know, or took the time to explain what he/she had just done to position themselves for a choke/triangle/armbar/sweep/escape/omoplata/insert submission here/. I have come to realize that we are there to learn from each other as much as we are there to learn from our coaches, and professors. We get to practice the art with each other, and the best way to thank someone for that opportunity is to share what you learned from them with them. It is sort of a pay-it-forward theory that elevates everyone. As I mentioned, I have no illusions of being better than anyone regardless of rank, but I do know one thing. The Fighter wearing my Gi today is a hell of a lot better than the fighter that wore my Gi back on February 1st, and I am better thanks to everyone I have trained with in that school.
This was the development of my new mantra- The reason I train isn't to be better than my classmates. I train to be better than myself. I realize that sounds like some sort of eastern altruism, but that isn't it at all. Really it is accepting the fact that i have so much to learn, and that each and every class contains a multitude of lessons that only serve to make me a better me. I'm glad for it.
If I get better, and I pay it forward to help others get better than not only am I a better fighter, but the people I train with will also become better fighters. Win/lose it makes no difference as long as we coninue to evolve together and help each other grow.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Wednesday with Amal / Enter the Shoyoroll Comp 450
We had a pleasent surprise Wednesday in Arvada. The school's founding Black Belt joined the class to instruct. We worked Osotogari foot sweep takedowns from standup, and then we worked open guard passes. It was a pretty intense workout, but not highly technical. We worked a lot of Up/Down/Out cycles, but no free rolling or randori during class.
I am really liking my new Shoyoroll Comp 450 Gi. The pants are unbeatable with their stretchy waist ties, and padded knees it is easy to become spoiled. The kimono is quite nice as well. It seems to breath a lot better than my Solid, or my Atama, and it feels much lighter, although the construction is very solid.
It isn't the easiest thing to obtain a Shoyoroll. They only import about 300 of each size for each limited run. The fact that I had set my heart on a Comp 450 didn't help much either since it was well past the initial run/ pre-order dates. I first went to Ebay, and found a Comp 450 in A3 available "lightly rolled" according to the description. I sat on it, watching, and stewing for 5 days before entering the bidding. In the last minute of the auction the bidding skyrocketed from $125 to $182. I had $200 to spend, but missed the auctions end as I was entering my final bid. I was heartsick to lose that one. Perhaps it was the heat of battle... I then decided to pursue a new Batch 7 Golden State Gi, but the pre-orders on the mainstream sites were all sold out. I grew frustrated as here I was with money to spend, but I couldn't find a Gi to purchase.
On a fluke I was browsing the Shoyoroll Brand Facebook page and spotted a reference to a website where they supposedly had Shoyorolls for sale brand new. I checked it out, and low and behold he had a brand new Comp 450 in A3 available. I bought the Comp 450 for myself, and a 7th Son for my best friend. I got the Comp about a week later but the 7th Son is still on pre-order and per Shoyoroll hasn't shipped from Pakistan yet. We will have to see what that is like when it gets here.
Thus far i know my comp 450 is a "stripper" model Gi, it doesn't have the heavy taping inside, nor does it have a liner- this keeps it cool, and light for competition, but i worry it may affect durability. Regardless, there will be more shoyoroll products in my future. It is just that good.
I guess I understand the demand, and the shortness of supply now.
I am really liking my new Shoyoroll Comp 450 Gi. The pants are unbeatable with their stretchy waist ties, and padded knees it is easy to become spoiled. The kimono is quite nice as well. It seems to breath a lot better than my Solid, or my Atama, and it feels much lighter, although the construction is very solid.
It isn't the easiest thing to obtain a Shoyoroll. They only import about 300 of each size for each limited run. The fact that I had set my heart on a Comp 450 didn't help much either since it was well past the initial run/ pre-order dates. I first went to Ebay, and found a Comp 450 in A3 available "lightly rolled" according to the description. I sat on it, watching, and stewing for 5 days before entering the bidding. In the last minute of the auction the bidding skyrocketed from $125 to $182. I had $200 to spend, but missed the auctions end as I was entering my final bid. I was heartsick to lose that one. Perhaps it was the heat of battle... I then decided to pursue a new Batch 7 Golden State Gi, but the pre-orders on the mainstream sites were all sold out. I grew frustrated as here I was with money to spend, but I couldn't find a Gi to purchase.
On a fluke I was browsing the Shoyoroll Brand Facebook page and spotted a reference to a website where they supposedly had Shoyorolls for sale brand new. I checked it out, and low and behold he had a brand new Comp 450 in A3 available. I bought the Comp 450 for myself, and a 7th Son for my best friend. I got the Comp about a week later but the 7th Son is still on pre-order and per Shoyoroll hasn't shipped from Pakistan yet. We will have to see what that is like when it gets here.
Thus far i know my comp 450 is a "stripper" model Gi, it doesn't have the heavy taping inside, nor does it have a liner- this keeps it cool, and light for competition, but i worry it may affect durability. Regardless, there will be more shoyoroll products in my future. It is just that good.
I guess I understand the demand, and the shortness of supply now.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
When your worst fear aint so bad...
I got choked out tonight. A second stripe white belt choked me from in my guard. It happened pretty fast, and I didn't react properly at all. He had both hands occupied for the choke, so I should have used my legs and swept him, but I panicked a little and pulled him in tighter with my legs- big mistake. Looking back on it now I should have kicked his base out from underneath him and rolled myself up into a mount. I didn't do that though, he just surprised me. It was a forearm choke- he had the blade of his forearm across my neck, with his elbow on the mat and had his other hand applying pressure at his wrist. I should have broken his base on the elbow side and rolled him, but instead I tried to control him with my guard, next thing I know I felt a headrush, and then a loud noise as I came back out of it.
It wasn't so bad being choked out, but next time I'll have a better plan to get out of it. Rookie choke, and a rookie mistake to get caught by it.
The rest of class was Americana, Armbar, Kimura from side control. Pretty standard stuff and this isn't my first time through the curriculum. I was pleased to see one of my favorite coaches return to instruct both the Fundamentals, and Intermediate classes. I inquired about setting appointments for private sessions and he told me to just get in touch and we can meet up to roll. He is a purple belt, and purple belt sessions go for $70 an hour. his price? Free.
I think I'll take him up on it!
Good news was that I was able to successfully employ a halfguard escape learned from my rubberguard book. This, along with some very helpful instruction from classmates helped me gain some confidence in my ability to escape from that position. One key is to get up on my side, and another it to make sure my top shoulder is in front of my bottom shoulder creating a stable base to hip out from. Using my hands to push off, preferably from his arm, or knee.
From the rubberguard book I learned to walk around with my feet and hook a leg to get halfguard and destroy their base for a sweep.
It all works, just need to keep practicing to find what works best for me.
It wasn't so bad being choked out, but next time I'll have a better plan to get out of it. Rookie choke, and a rookie mistake to get caught by it.
The rest of class was Americana, Armbar, Kimura from side control. Pretty standard stuff and this isn't my first time through the curriculum. I was pleased to see one of my favorite coaches return to instruct both the Fundamentals, and Intermediate classes. I inquired about setting appointments for private sessions and he told me to just get in touch and we can meet up to roll. He is a purple belt, and purple belt sessions go for $70 an hour. his price? Free.
I think I'll take him up on it!
Good news was that I was able to successfully employ a halfguard escape learned from my rubberguard book. This, along with some very helpful instruction from classmates helped me gain some confidence in my ability to escape from that position. One key is to get up on my side, and another it to make sure my top shoulder is in front of my bottom shoulder creating a stable base to hip out from. Using my hands to push off, preferably from his arm, or knee.
From the rubberguard book I learned to walk around with my feet and hook a leg to get halfguard and destroy their base for a sweep.
It all works, just need to keep practicing to find what works best for me.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Some good / Some bad
Saturday proved to me that I can fight pretty proficiently from my guard, but I do not do well from someones side control.
First the good...
I fought my way out of an ugly situation after pulling a more advanced opponent into my guard. I didn't want to stay on my back for nearly as long as I ended up being there, but I was able to survive and eventually trive from there.
I had a 4th stripe white belt in my guard, and he grabbed my left sleeve, and stood up to try and stand out of my guard. I tried to grab his left leg with my right arm for a sweep and he managed to reach under my hips and snag my sleeve, he then stepped over my arm so he had my right arm pulled tight behind and across my back, and he had my left pulled across my front. Now I can't use either of my arms, but I have a real solid lock on my guard, and he doesn't have a free hand to break it. He tried to crush me by rolling me up onto my shoulders and sprawling, but my answer was to stretch out in my guard with my feet locked behind his back- just applying squeezing pressure to his midsection and stretching out effectively minimizing the pressure he had on me. I have extremely strong legs, so I could afford the effort, and it worked considering my position Eventually, through squeezing and pulling with my legs I managed to work my arms free. I'm not sure if it was due to him letting go to look for another opportunity or not, but I got them free. I started looking for opportunities. I thought about omoplata, and I thought about an armbar. I decided to try faking a telegraph for omoplata, intending to get grip on his right arm for the armbar, but his wrist slipped from my grip and I ended up with his right arm clutched chickenwing style to my chest. No go on the arm bar, but a positive was that he read my fakeout as I had intended. I know this because he pointed out that I ought not go for an omoplata when he had his arm where he had had it- so he got the message I was trying to send, and he moved his arm to where I want to move it, but I missed my opportunity by botching the wrist grab.
So there we are, he is in my guard, and on his knees so I tried pulling him forward off his base. I got him in tight once and swapped my closed guard for a body triangle, but that was ineffective so, as I switched back he backed out- but when he did that he had his hands on my chest- I grabbed his sleeves, and put my feet up onto his shoulders in the spider guard. I caught him smiling, as I am sure he thought he was going to pass at that point, but then I sprang up off my shoulders hooking my left leg over his right shoulder, while shooting my right leg under his left armpit, immediately hooking my left foot under my right knee in a perfect triangle. At that point I figured- he is tapping I've got this, but it ended up being what felt like an eternity before I was able to submit him. It didn't help much that our professor was standing over us. I am sure my opponent didn't want to tap in front of the professor- we white belts are pretty ego driven at times as if we are out to prove something. Tapping to a guy that is a stripe below you can feel like failure. I had him, he should have tapped- he didn't so I started putting on the triangle pressure, making small adjustments- and ultimately grabbing him by the back of his head and pulling him down into me- and then the tap. It was a good moment, but I was totally spent from the effort. We had gone the whole 7 minutes of the drill, and we had gone through them as hard as possible.
The professor then went to check my class attendance- which can mean that he is thinking about promotion. I was kind of excited, but then came the bad round...
The Bad...
If I thought it mattered I'd caveat that I had just fought the hardest round of my training career, but it doesn't matter. I was spent, and had very little gas in the tank going into the round with my next partner- also a white belt one level above me. I was dragging for air, and felt like gumby. He had just fought a 7 minute round too though, so it is no excuse. He easily passed my guard, and got himself into a side control position and that was pretty much it. I had no tactic, and no juice to get out from under him. I was pretty pathetic- and the professor was still watching. No belt promotion on that day, and that is quite ok because unless I can escape from side control I don't have what it takes at this moment. For this reason this month November 2010 is now "Escape From Side Control Month". I can ill afford to be crushed like that any longer, so my studies will be dedicated to getting out from under.
P
First the good...
I fought my way out of an ugly situation after pulling a more advanced opponent into my guard. I didn't want to stay on my back for nearly as long as I ended up being there, but I was able to survive and eventually trive from there.
I had a 4th stripe white belt in my guard, and he grabbed my left sleeve, and stood up to try and stand out of my guard. I tried to grab his left leg with my right arm for a sweep and he managed to reach under my hips and snag my sleeve, he then stepped over my arm so he had my right arm pulled tight behind and across my back, and he had my left pulled across my front. Now I can't use either of my arms, but I have a real solid lock on my guard, and he doesn't have a free hand to break it. He tried to crush me by rolling me up onto my shoulders and sprawling, but my answer was to stretch out in my guard with my feet locked behind his back- just applying squeezing pressure to his midsection and stretching out effectively minimizing the pressure he had on me. I have extremely strong legs, so I could afford the effort, and it worked considering my position Eventually, through squeezing and pulling with my legs I managed to work my arms free. I'm not sure if it was due to him letting go to look for another opportunity or not, but I got them free. I started looking for opportunities. I thought about omoplata, and I thought about an armbar. I decided to try faking a telegraph for omoplata, intending to get grip on his right arm for the armbar, but his wrist slipped from my grip and I ended up with his right arm clutched chickenwing style to my chest. No go on the arm bar, but a positive was that he read my fakeout as I had intended. I know this because he pointed out that I ought not go for an omoplata when he had his arm where he had had it- so he got the message I was trying to send, and he moved his arm to where I want to move it, but I missed my opportunity by botching the wrist grab.
So there we are, he is in my guard, and on his knees so I tried pulling him forward off his base. I got him in tight once and swapped my closed guard for a body triangle, but that was ineffective so, as I switched back he backed out- but when he did that he had his hands on my chest- I grabbed his sleeves, and put my feet up onto his shoulders in the spider guard. I caught him smiling, as I am sure he thought he was going to pass at that point, but then I sprang up off my shoulders hooking my left leg over his right shoulder, while shooting my right leg under his left armpit, immediately hooking my left foot under my right knee in a perfect triangle. At that point I figured- he is tapping I've got this, but it ended up being what felt like an eternity before I was able to submit him. It didn't help much that our professor was standing over us. I am sure my opponent didn't want to tap in front of the professor- we white belts are pretty ego driven at times as if we are out to prove something. Tapping to a guy that is a stripe below you can feel like failure. I had him, he should have tapped- he didn't so I started putting on the triangle pressure, making small adjustments- and ultimately grabbing him by the back of his head and pulling him down into me- and then the tap. It was a good moment, but I was totally spent from the effort. We had gone the whole 7 minutes of the drill, and we had gone through them as hard as possible.
The professor then went to check my class attendance- which can mean that he is thinking about promotion. I was kind of excited, but then came the bad round...
The Bad...
If I thought it mattered I'd caveat that I had just fought the hardest round of my training career, but it doesn't matter. I was spent, and had very little gas in the tank going into the round with my next partner- also a white belt one level above me. I was dragging for air, and felt like gumby. He had just fought a 7 minute round too though, so it is no excuse. He easily passed my guard, and got himself into a side control position and that was pretty much it. I had no tactic, and no juice to get out from under him. I was pretty pathetic- and the professor was still watching. No belt promotion on that day, and that is quite ok because unless I can escape from side control I don't have what it takes at this moment. For this reason this month November 2010 is now "Escape From Side Control Month". I can ill afford to be crushed like that any longer, so my studies will be dedicated to getting out from under.
P
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)