03/01/2016 - One25 GrappleThon in March | Open Mat | Guard Passing

Class #688
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 05/01/2016

Want to earn an amazing custom @Meerkatsu #tshirt? There's only one way: join the #fundraising team for this year's @artemisbjj #GrappleThon. On the March #BankHoliday weekend (26th-27th March), #ArtemisBJJ is holding a @grapplethon at #MYGYMbristol, where we will grapple for 24 hours in support of #One25. Everyone is welcome to join in, and if you also raise some money as part of the fundraising team on #JustGiving, you can earn yourself a #Meerkatsu t-shirt featuring the design in the accompanying picture!

A photo posted by @grapplethon on Jan 4, 2016 at 9:11am PST

The GrappleThon is here again! This year, we're going to hold it over the weekend of 26th to 27th March. It will be in support of a great local charity, One25. If you'd like to donate, or join the fundraising team, that's all on JustGiving. If you're looking to take part or find out more about what it all involves, the full details are waiting for you on the Artemis BJJ website, here.
__________________________

At the Tuesday lunchtime open mat today it was just Mike and I, so we focused on guard passing. That gave me a chance to work on guard retention, though my legs were a little tired from the kettlebell class beforehand. I learned the Turkish get up, which is cool as I'm Turkish, but because the instructor is rightly safety conscious and it's a complex move, we haven't done it with a weight yet. The soreness came from doing 100 kettlebell swings and a load of squats.

Still, I was able to use my wobbly legs to provide a bit of resistance, trying to be annoying during the pass attempt. Mike improved significantly through the session. He started off like most beginners staying back, making it easier to push into his legs and keep him at bay. However, after some pointers he was closing that distance and crushing in tighter, putting on the pressure. That forces me to think more about preventing the pass than launching an attack of my own. Good stuff. :)

That's not to say there aren't passes you can do from longer range: I use the bullfighter to fill in that gap. Having said that, I'm looking for alternatives as the variation I do most often relies a lot on gripping (it's all about reducing that finger soreness!). I'm thinking Chelsea's non-grip option could be good, as you simply need to jam your hands into their hip and knee. It will be interesting to see what she teaches at her upcoming seminar: we're hosting her again on the 31st January. Looking forward to it: 2016 is shaping up to be full of good BJJ! ;D