14/02/2015 - Interview on NHBNews Podcast | Artemis BJJ | Open Mat | Half Guard

Class #628
Artemis BJJ (PHNX Fitness), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 14/02/2015

Back when I first started listening to podcasts around 2005/2006, my initial choices were the Fightworks Podcast and No Holds Barred. They were both relatively new at that time (although in the case of NHBNews, it wasn't really 'new', because the radio show had been around for much longer. However, it had recently been relaunched in the 'new' format of a podcast). It's therefore pretty cool that I can now say I've appeared on both of them, having spoken to Caleb in 2013, then this Wednesday I also got to chat with Eddie Goldman. Yay! :D



Apart from peppering almost everything I said with 'absolutely!', that turned out fairly well. Main thing is that it hopefully drives more people towards the donation page for the GrappleThon. We're almost at £1,000 now, a quarter of the way through our target goal. As always, no amount is too small and you can donate from anywhere in the world. There should be a live stream again this year, as there's WiFi and Steve said he's up for bringing his equipment along. Coolness.

I went on a media blitz at the weekend too, in terms of sending out the press release for the GrappleThon everywhere. That should mean it pops up in a couple of places over the next week or two, depending how many news outlets are interested. I'll be putting the full pre-event press release up on the Artemis BJJ site too, probably in the next couple of days.
___________________

I did more playing with half guard today, drilling a bit with Rafal, though I should have been a bit more focused. It's easy to slip into the "hmm, maybe this would work? Or perhaps this?" mode, which is fun but not constructive enough. Still, I went through more on the Braulio arm shield, along with the waiter sweep and trying that knee cut defence. I'm not entirely convinced by it yet (basically, from knee shield you hook your arm under the leg they're trying to slide over), but it's got potential.

In sparring, I was working against the lockdown which was fun. It's been a while since anyone has tried that on me (I don't seem to end up in half guard that often, although naturally I haven't been free sparring as much as I'd like given that it mostly get training from specific sparring in class). I was mostly just untangling my foot: I should try the more reliable scoot down to control their hips. I also need to be careful of my leg, especially if people are trying some of the esoteric Eddie Bravo stuff that tweaks the knee. I didn't feel threatened on that score, but nevertheless I need to keep it in mind.

As ever I looked for the kimura again, both from side control and then the back. Unusually the latter was more successful, using that to move into an armbar. Sloppy and I suspect force had a lot to do with it, but still, I'm glad the armbar is slowly becoming a part of my game. I doubt it will ever be a major part, but it's good to work on it more. I'd like to develop more chokes from side control and half guard, as that's more dependable than a joint lock. Perhaps I should teach one? That's normally a good way of refining my game, based on past experience.

Sparring with Tracey and Laura was cool too, finishing off the two hours by running through some pointers on the RNC choke set up with Steve (same stuff as that women's class a while ago). Next week is all passing, meaning that if I can get in some specific sparring, I'll be able to continue working on bottom half guard stuff. I therefore definitely want to revisit the kimura from under half guard, as I'd like to use that a lot more.