24/01/2017 - Open Mat (Tuesday)

Class #796
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK -24/01/2017

Sparring yesterday, I was repeatedly going for the kimura again but not quite getting there. Good defence by Mat J as always. From closed guard, I'm continuing to focus on angles, grip breaks and posture: I mustn't forget about shoulder clamp. I'll teach that again next month from butterfly to help remind myself. ;)

Today, I did a bit of sparring with Heidi, who is becoming an increasingly useful training partner. I tried to practice Sam knee shield, plus I want to drill that reverse de la Riva stuff from JJS. That spar gave me a chance to practice my modified spider guard too, where I'm trying to make sure I switch from pushing my foot into their arm and then into their hip, in order to keep them off balance. That ended up in the tripod sweep a few times, which is perfect as that's one of my favourite sweeps. I'm not sure if that just tends to happen with Heidi, but I'll continue playing with the arm/hip switch.

We also talked at length about stacking in passes, how that can turn into a choke, as well as defending. Matt had another interesting tip from Faria, who just slightly lifts his head on underhook passes rather than moving round to the side. The idea is to avoid them blocking into the hip, then pushing the leg out of the way with your hand/shoulder. I don't like lifting the head as I don't want to give them space, but a very small, gradual lift should be ok. Something to try.