07/03/2015 - Artemis BJJ | Pre-GrappleThon Open Mat | Back Escapes

Class #631
Artemis BJJ (PHNX Fitness), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 07/03/2015

To kick off a long day of grappling, I headed to the weekly Artemis BJJ open mat. Small turn-out - as most people were saving themselves for the GrappleThon - but I still got in some drilling. I mainly wanted to practice escaping the back, so did my usual escape a few times. I then had a play with a different escape I don't use often, as a purple belt visitor suggested it.

For that one, you get control of their arm and pull it over to the side. From there, the purple belt likes to do a rolling back take. That's a little complex for me, but fun to try out. From what I remember, you hook their same side leg, roll over your shoulder, then get a grip on their back to pull yourself into position. I do rely way too much on the one back escape, so it would be a good idea to develop a few other options.

I played around a bit with open guard too, mainly practicing what I learned from Kev in the recent private. Plenty more time to practice that at the GrappleThon! ;)