Artemis BJJ (PHNX Fitness), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 30/05/2015
More comp prep with Kirsty, working on passing half guard as I think that's likely to come up if her initial game plan works. We did specific sparring on that, to isolate any problems she might be having with the pass. I was mainly using my arm to push her free leg into my closed guard. Is that a strength issue, as I'm a bit bigger than her? Then again, she was putting that leg in range, so maybe it's worth both keeping it out of range and controlling my arm. Normally I teach wrapping up the head, but if I'm able to still push on her leg when she does that, does that mean there is too much space when focusing on controlling the head? Something for me to think about.
We also need to do more closed guard stuff, but there's a month of that coming up in June. What I want to show is a simple sweep and a strong pass into side control, in terms of what would be useful for the comp (and generally, as my closed guard game still needs plenty of work). I will most likely go with the sit up sweep, as that is by far the highest percentage sweep for me. Scissor/push sweep is a good one too, but I rarely have much success with that. Then there's the windscreen wiper, but like the sit-up sweep, that puts you in mount (though of course if somebody is really keen to finish from side control, you can always use mount to lock in the grips and then move into side control, I guess)
Also, a question came up about finishing the gi tail choke if they put knee up and block you moving round. I think raising your hips and going for it from there should work, as you can generate the necessary tension that way rather than moving all the way around. I'll need to try that against somebody bigger, perhaps, see if it will still work.
I got in some sparring with Tracey too, whose pressure keeps improving. She also had some nice passes today. It was especially cool when she did a leg drag: that's actually teaching me something, as I never use that one. Student becomes the teacher! ;D
To finish off I sparred with Laura, where I was looking for triangles from guard. A simple but not inconsequential thing to keep in mind is don't kick your partner in the head: very easy to collide your shin into them if you're not careful. I was also seeing if I could hop up into that far side armbar from side control I was teaching on Thursday. Although I don't feel entirely confident with it yet, it does open up more offence from side control. Just by focusing on controlling that far arm, my approach to attacks changed a bit, hopefully making my side control more offensive. But again, I'm mostly sparring with people smaller and less experienced than me, so it's not the best measure (though having said that, it is a good way to practice techniques you're less familiar with, I guess).
All classes moving to MYGYM with the new schedule next week: exciting stuff! That means that along with the usual Monday and Wednesday classes, there will now also be a Friday mixed class from 18:30-19:30, along with a Sunday open mat from 12:00-13:00. If that picks up, I'll be looking to extend it to two hours, but we'll see what attendance is like. :)
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