16/05/2017 - Open Mat (Tuesday)

Class #823
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 16/05/2017

Great #OpenMat today with @tacerob and Rich. Good tips on the #OverUnderPass from Tracey: it's always cool when I learn stuff from my students. :D #BJJ #BrazilianJiuJitsu #ArtemisBJJ #SupportWomensBJJ

A post shared by Artemis BJJ (@artemisbjj) on May 16, 2017 at 9:11am PDT

Excellent open mat today, very technique focused. Tracey is one of my absolute favourite students for many reasons, one of which is whenever I ask the question "is there anything you'd like to work on?", she has a carefully prepared list. Yes! More students like Tracey, please. :D

Working our way through that list was useful for me, as I could highlight some issues with each technique that helps me teach better, plus it was clearly handy for another student who was there. Tracey is among the most experienced students at Artemis BJJ, so had lots of useful advice for him, and indeed for me. I rarely use the over-under pass, but some of the details Tracey mentioned look very handy. For example, a slight shift towards them before you hop over the leg. I found when drilling that and watching both of them drill it, that small adjustment made it significantly harder for the person being passed to get their leg under and through for guard recovery.

The main thing I'm not keen on with the over-under pass is that it requires a firm grip on the gi. That's tough on the fingers. However, perhaps there is a way I can apply that 'open grip' I've been working on since hearing about it yesterday. I had a brief play with that at the end of the class, but I haven't yet applied it fully in sparring. Something I'm building up to, especially as I shared the same video with my personal trainers. They have therefore been getting me to do a bunch of exercises to work on that grip (e.g., pull ups on FatGripz, open grip deadlifts, etc).

After a #RedditBJJ thread discussing a video about #grips that don't mess up your #fingers yesterday, I was keen to try it. The idea was that a #climbing style '#OpenGrip' was the way to save yourself #JointPain. I shared the #reddit thread with my #personaltrainer, @strengthlabuk / @kettlebellnation, who suggested some #FatGripz #pullup variations. Much tougher than normal #pullups! We also tried the open #grip for #kettlebell deadlift and #swings, which incidentally also highlighted I need to avoid #scooping with my knees on the swing. After that, it was time to find myself an #office for doing my @ArtemisBJJ #admin. I decided #TheWardrobeTheatre was the place, which worked out well. Also, they're doing a #StarTrek / #FlashGordon #comedy show. Amazing! :D #kettlebells #gym #fitness #strength #griptraining #sorefingers #jiujitsuhands #Meerkatsu @bjjstyle #JiuJitsuStyleMagazine

A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on May 15, 2017 at 8:02am PDT