20/03/2018 - Tuesday Open Mat

Class #962
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 20/03/2018

On the escape, I always have trouble thinking what to add. The knee up is handy, as is stiff arming into a leg once you've gotten your shoulders to the mat. However, I'm finding that I don't focus as much on the hip twist to pop off hooks and stepping the leg out. A few people are getting stuck because of crossed feet: does that mean it becomes easier to simply turn inside their guard when that happens? I should explore that more. Having said that, also a byproduct of progressive resistance, as people come up with specific responses to artificial situations: I'm not sure it's as likely a follow up in normal sparring.

From the second bit of pre-cap teaching, I think on armbars pushing the head with an arm could be a useful thing to mention. It's not just getting the arm over the head that can make the technique fall down, but also getting the leg over the head. That's a common problem with armbars generally, so perhaps pushing on the head is a useful pointer that can solve some of the awkward placement there. I'll keep playing with that, and seeing how it goes for people in progressive resistance when I teach it on Friday. I'll be showing this one in more detail on Friday, so I should do some prep beforehand, really dial in the armbar details.

My open guard sparring continues to have the age old problems. Then again, perhaps it's another age old thing, that 'definition of madness', as I am doing the same thing over and over so shouldn't expect different results. My sitting guard is too passive, so in that sense it isn't surprising that people will just pass if I sit there and just scoot back a bit. More tripod sweep attempts, which is something I've wondered before? Although with that it's really hard to get the finish if I can't secure an arm. Maybe I need to be using the tripod sweep to set something else up, like an ankle pick, though I'm not sure those go together. More sparring required, without the competitive mindset. There must be a solution to the puzzle, after all. :)