17/11/2015 - Open Mat | Back Escapes

Class #681
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 17/11/2015

I spent most of the open mat today working through some back escapes with Tracey. As ever, it's always interesting doing that with Tracey, because she has some old injuries that require modification for certain techniques. With the standard back escape I do, that means you tend to find that their leg with press into your back at some point, along with a potential small impact on the back as you pop over their leg to get your shoulders to the mat. That impact was problematic, so we tried some workarounds.

There is the option of trying to turn within back control. It's lower percentage, but negates that impact on the back. This turn becomes an option if you're able to dislodge their arms, because you can then lean your upper body forward and create space. You could also try combining it with the arm grab, if you can get a solid grasp on their arm and pull it over your head.

Another good point Tracey mentioned is that you're attacking the back, you aren't always looking to drop them to one side or the other, which is where that standard escape becomes viable. It is the person defending who will tend to initiate that, dropping to the open side. Tracey therefore wondered if she could avoid that pressure on the back by staying in the middle. I look forward to hearing how her modifications go in sparring (with trusted partners, naturally). :)

Chris was there too, getting in plenty of sparring with Matt, along with Simon. Matt is becoming a part of the core daytime open mat group, along with Tracey, Simon, Chris and Mike. Ross and Milka are relatively regular too, as they work nearby, though I haven't seen them on a Tuesday in a while. Either way, it's cool that the daytime open mat is getting reasonable attendance. I'm hoping in future to do another daytime open mat on Thursdays, depending on if I can work that around my part-time office job.