38 Closed Guard BJJ Combinations Everyone Should Know in 4 Minutes - Jas...

Wednesday Morning No Gi training with Coach John Boyle- No Gi Gear review

No Gi training this week is still drilling the pendulum sweep, but rather than transitioning to the armbar we transitioned to the omoplata with a under-roll where I ended up in mount. This was pretty slick, but risky unless it happens very quickly, and the omoplata is pretty secure- in other words- not for a novice like me. At least not yet.

The Tux from The BJJ Life $39.95
In the spirit of sharing, I also added another piece of gear to my Gi Bag a few months back. Its about time i posted a review of my Tuxedo Shirt Rash Guard which I purchased from The BJJ Life. I like it for the good time reaction it gets from my training partners. Everyone gets a laugh when I come out of the locker room ready to party, but still be formal. Style wise, it is exactly what it sounds like it is- a tuxedo print on a rash guard. It is well constructed with heavy stitching at the seams, and the print has been washed several times without cracking or coming loose from the fabric. I never dry it, but just leave it to air dry, this could be the reason the print is holding up so well. It is a screened on vinyl material, and I imagine dryer heat would damage it pretty quickly. I like the thing, but it isn't all sunshine- the collar is a little too restrictive. I really wish it had the more t-shirt like lay-flat collar of my other new rash guard which I'll review below. The collar feels a bit like a very weak midget is trying to put a rear naked choke on me, and the reinforces seams don't seem to be allowing any stretch to cure it.

Nike iD Pro Combat Core Compression T-shirt $40.00

I picked this up as sort of an afterthought. a buddy of mine was having his birthday, and very generously gave me a ticket to UFC 135 here in Denver. I wanted to thank him so I ordered up one of these customized Nike iD rash guards for him as a birthday gift. While I was creating his shirt I decided:Why the hell not get one of my own? So I designed one using a nickname / forum username, and some other little easter eggs from my life. What I got is what you see to the left. I chose white as the primary color, with blue details signifying my rank. I initially went with white as I also wear it under my Gi, and I didn't want the color to rub off on the inside of my Gi. After use and abuse I see now that there was no need for concern. The shirt is a Nike- and as much as I claim not to be a fan boi of labels, I still trust big names. Nike hasn't let me down here. Stitched together in Mexico, the shirt is well put together and tough. I've been wearing it for about 2 months now and just took the photos for the blog today. The prints are sublimated into the fabric- which is like they dye the design into the fabric instead of sticking the design onto the fabric. This is pretty nice considering how much wear and tear a rashguard gets- friction against the inside of my gi, or against the mats in no gi class. The designs are completely unaffected, and the shirt itself is standing up to my abuse very well. there are a few pills around the shoulders, but i think that is from that metallic liner in my Shoyoroll ComPadre rubbing against it.
I wear a large, and the fit is great. The collar is pretty much t-shirt perfect, while still laying comfortably flat. The material feels very light, and breaths, and wicks away moisture really well allowing me to sweat without becoming all soggy and gross feeling. I do regret not going for the long sleeved version, but that is easily remedied in my next order. The price seemed quite reasonable considering that the garment is a custom one off. I am a bit curious how they turn these orders around so quickly- I had my shirt within 10 days of placing the order which was pretty impressive to me, but then this IS Nike, it's not like they don't have the cash-flow to pick up some advanced manufacturing techniques. So I'm pretty impressed with the shirt as a rashguard, and I will definitely be ordering another in the not to distant future.
Next on my wish list are some actual grappling shorts- possibly Forty Thieves, or Jaco. I'm also interested in Scramble grappling tights for No Gi training. I've seen the size of the new gym, and it's gonna be nippy training in the mornings in winter.

Tuesday night training- Pendulum sweeps with Prof. Junior

Tuesday afternoon I hit the Rec center gym. I ran 2 miles, then took a 15 minute steam. This si part of my training for the TX Tough Mudder coming up at the end of January. Later that night I trained in the Gi with Professor Junior. We practiced seoi-nage (shoulder throws) and then moved to the ground where we worked, pendulum sweeps, then pendulum to armbar, and then back to the sweep with an armbar finish. We rolled to finish out the class. I hung in there pretty well with Jason, I went for a few submissions, but he defended well. I was able to regain the guard afterwards which was a good thing.

I also want to take a moment in the blog to thank Jason Scully of BJJ for Life! on Facebook. Professor Scully sent me his "Super Solo Grappling Drills" for free after I won a contest on his page. ALL HAIL FREE SHIT! These look really good, and I can definitely use them here at home. I'll go through the DVDs (there are 3) and try out all 330 drills, then post a review soon. Thanks again BJJ for Life!

Here is tonights lesson taught by Professor Scully

Thursday PM training w/ Professor Junior- Adaptation

When everything starts to go wrong in your life what should you do? Should you push a bad position and hope that by pushing hard enough you will overwhelm your troubles? Should you just freeze up and let the bad things happen? Should you look for an alternate way out of the problem? Change direction, and focus? Should you draw in your goals to focus on short term success instead of planning out the long run?
So it is with Jiu Jitsu. It's always good to have a plan A, and a plan B- but when it all starts going sideways, you need to adapt to what is happening, and react to it with smaller goals- like "I need to get my elbow out of there" or "how can I get him to transfer some weight off of my chest so I can get to my side" once you accomplish those small goals and regain a bit of control you can start planning your steps. This is why so many people compare BJJ to Chess. It's planning, adapting, reacting, attacking.
Last night we worked on some sweeps, and a sweet (but complicated) triangle from inverted guard.

I did some training with John, who is larger than me- he is quite good at using his size, and technique together and he pulled of some great subs- caught me in an armbar, and a choke- he nearly had a kimora, but gave up on it a little too soon. I wish I could say I was letting that happen, but really he was getting around me just fine. I think in his case I need to focus on making him reach so that I can get to the top. He storms my guard, and is one of few people I have rolled with that just seems to break right through. So I learned I need to develop some new engagements.

I finished the evening with a smaller guy and triangled him twice.  The first was almost identicle to the drill: triangle, armbar, then back to triangle and finish. The second was just straight triangle- he defended so I wrist locked him and sunk it in for the tap.

Not long for Broadway... AM training with Coach Boyle

The big news around Easton right now is the new 10,000 sq ft "Easton Training Center" which will be a full training center- BJJ, Muay Thai, Cross fit, Cardio- the works. the rumors say we will also have Showers at the new facility. Still, I was pretty much planning to keep coming to the school on Broadway since it is a bit closer than the new location. It's been nearly 2 years on the mats at Broadway, and the place feels like a home to me, but alas, my coach verified today Broadway is to close, and be replaced by the ETC. This raises some community questions for me, as it is widely publicized that MMA fighter Elliot Marshall will run the ETC. I like Elliot a lot, the few times we have met he has been awesome to work with- but this leaves me wondering where our current administrator will go. Professor King is a large part of the reason I started BJJ. Sure, Andrew "dragged" me in there for that first lesson, but honestly I had met Prof. Larry a few times before then and his genuine personality was definitely a factor in making training a permanent part of my life. I hope there are plans for him to continue in his role at the new facility- if they move him elsewhere, there is a good chance I would follow.

Monday AM training was the same drill focused workout I have come to expect and appreciate. I got my heart rate going, and learned a new drill. Excellent training partner once again- even more excellent than before because apparently he could be reading this (Ben) LoL

Interesting sidebar to Training Partner Ben, he will also be participating in the Boulder GORUCK in May. This is awesome because the more people I know who get involved the more driven I will be to train and be ready.

Also of note- the BEST MOTHER IN LAW IN THE GALAXY has gotten me a gift certificate to help me pick up my needed UA Coldgear for the Jan. Tough Mudder. Pretty psyched about that.

Jiu Jitsu Week Training Day 5 Intermediate Gi training with Professor Junior Fidelis (Denver)

Saturday I attended my usual 11am Intermediate class. Class went well, I got a lot of opportunity to put the techniques I worked on all week into practice.
I had a funny moment when I went for the cross guard- inverted triangle on Eddie. To review, Eddie and I are about the same weight, but where I am lanky, he is compact so he makes for an interesting challenge. I rarely get a choke to work with him because it is very difficult to get to his neck. So I get to cross guard- slip the bottom knee through and hook up strong with my over the top leg. I pull in the clench expecting the tap. It doesn't come. I make an adjustment of angle- clench- no tap. So now here I am WAY out of position to regain defense. I got control of both sleeves again, then "gave up" the inverted triangle- and drew my leg back through. I was able to then get my right knee to his left biceps in a modified spider. I gave that up for closed guard and started hunting for options again. This was a relief and gave me more confidence in "going for it" when the inverted triangle is available because I have some steps to get back to a safe position.

It was a good day training, I took some lumps, and learned some things. I didn't get hurt.

Day 5- the day that wasn't

Yes, I am pussing out on my own challenge. My wife has kindly asked me to spend this evening at home with her, and our daughter. I didn't really discuss this challenge with my better half before I embarked upon it, sooo... t is time to be realistic and honor thy family. 4 Days in a row was a good run, and I DO plan to be back training on Saturday morning, so really I am just taking a rest day to be one with my peeps.

Also, I forgot my mouthguard.



 Also, I do what my wife says.