Class #839
Grass'N'Grapple (Acton Green Common), London, UK - 01/07/2017
Ellie and Jai have been down to visit Artemis BJJ before, along with meeting me at the Bournemouth BJJ Globetrotter Camp last year. Since then, Ellie has been sending me regular invites to a cool open mat she started organising back in June, where she brings a load of jigsaw mats to a park in a van. She and friends then lay them out and get rolling, right there in the park. It's a cool idea (like the one I went to a few years back in Austin, Texas), but until now I haven't been able to go. However, this Saturday I was in London for the opening of Mike Cowling's school, meaning I had time to pop down to the Grass N Grapple too.
If you head to Turnham Green tube station, the park in question is right by the station. Turnham Green is one stop down from Hammersmith: normally you can get there all the way, but at the moment you have to change at Hammersmith because a line connection is down. Still, easy to reach from central London. I got there a bit early, so sat on a bench until I noticed Ellie and friends laying out the mats, which I when I wandered over to help out them set up.
I am lazy, therefore I spent a lot of it chatting. Socialising is a big part of BJJ for me, a vibe I have tried to build at my club, Artemis BJJ. It's the same vibe I enjoy at both the GrappleThons and the BJJ Globetrotter Camps. Excellently, the Grass N Grapple has almost managed to foster that atmosphere, making for some lovely chats in the sunshine. My Facebook friends list always balloons after a Globetrotter camp or a GrappleThon, the same was true after the Grass N Grapple. ;)
Still, I did eventually get onto the mat for some rolling. First that was with Ket, who is around my size, probably slightly smaller. I therefore made a point of not muscling anything (not that I have much muscle to add, but when someone is smaller, that's pointless as you won't learn anything). He has a tight game, putting me in plenty of positions I need to work on (like escaping the back). I need to get better at preventing them getting their arms in position for a choke, rather than defending after they've secured it. The 'grab their arms and pull' will kinda work when it's white belts, but you'll get choked against bigger people and higher belts.
Later I went with Antony, who is bigger, so I didn't need to worry about putting in more force. I spent most of this one on top, playing around with my usual love of side control and kimura grips. I am pretty sure he could have caught me in a few leglocks if he wasn't being nice. Next time, he now knows he doesn't need to hold back on those, as I need to work my leglock defence anyway. :D
I will definitely make it along again. Not only was it a great atmosphere with some cool people, the gi fashion was magnificent too. Jai is building up a beautiful line of tie dye gis, I very much approve. ;P
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
01 July 2017
07 May 2017
07/05/2017 - 1st Anniversary at Borehamwood BJJ
Class #819
Borehamwood BJJ (Maxwell Community Centre), Seymour Yang, London, UK - 07/05/2017
Seymour Yang has been immensely important to the success of the GrappleThons, as well as an inspirational figure for me online, providing plenty of support and advice. I therefore like to support stuff he does if I can. One simple way to try and do that is travel down to his school in Borehamwood to show support in person. I last popped down to Seymour's club a year ago, for the first session at Borehamwood BJJ. He has changed venue since 2016, but it's relatively nearby to the previous location. I wanted to pop down for the 1st anniversary of the club, but I hadn't reckoned with the joys of Sunday transport in London. Blithely thinking there would be no problem (as I couldn't remember running into trouble last time), I just assumed trains from Great Missenden would be fine.
According to the website planner, there weren't any trains from Great Missenden, but you could apparently head down to Harrow-on-the-Hill via the Chiltern Line from Amersham, then bounce from the Metropolitan line to the Jubilee and finally Thameslink. The 08:39 morphed into a much slower train, throwing everything else out of whack. However, I can confirm that if you run, getting into Elstree & Borehamwood on the 10:15 from West Hampstead Thameslink is just enough time to make the start of the 10:45 class. I can also confirm that if you're 36 and crap at running, it's much better to make it in time for the 09:42 from that Thameslink and stroll in comfortably. ;)
Seymour footlocked me all over the place when we last sparred at this year's GrappleThon (and last year's, it's becoming a trend ;D), so he suggested running through some leglock material if I could make it down for the 7th May. That meant today was all about the straight ankle lock. First up, Seymour recommends that when wrapping your arm around their Achilles tendon, stick to the one arm. If you look to bolster that grip by making a figure four or grabbing with your other hand, it's likely that you'll slacken the pressure into their Achille. Instead, use the one arm to maintain the sharp 'blade' of your forearm, reaching up as if you want to grab your shoulder.
With your same side leg, put your heel on their same side hip. Your other leg tucks behind their knee, also squeezing your knees together. You're always looking to tilt in the direction of their knee (presuming you want to stick with IBJJF rules, which tends to be the most common, but certainly not the only ruleset). From there, tuck your elbow back on the gripping side, arching back as well and thrusting your hips if you need extra leverage.
You can also switch the foot across your body to your other arm, applying the same grip and trying the footlock from there. My training partner and I got a little confused at this point, as we kept turning in the other direction. You're staying with the same tilt: remember, the foot you're pushing into their hip is the side you stick with, even if you switch your footlock grip to the other side.
In terms of escaping, Seymour emphasised that your goal is to split the legs. Start by 'putting the boot on', driving your heel and pulling your toes back to give you time, then push their anchoring heel off you hip. Bring your bum over, then move forwards into mount. Alternatively, you could try pushing their top knee (so, not on the hip pushing side) with your free leg. That again splits the legs, enabling you to move forwards and into mount.
Naturally there is a counter to the counter. If they attempt to escape by pushing through with their leg, you can try to quickly switch sides, locking your arm around that pushing leg and scooting into a footlock on that side instead. This lends itself to a drill where you're repeatedly trying footlocks while your partner escapes over and over. Seymour's teaching style makes for a really nice atmosphere. He's a charismatic guy, so comes across as both confident and relaxed, cracking jokes while he runs through the techniques.
I have a whole bunch of injuries at the moment (mainly knee, fingers, tailbone and a tweaked neck), meaning I'm especially averse to sparring at the moment. Even so, when a black belt asks you, it's generally a good idea to say yes, in this case Steve (Seymour's class has a few higher belts who head down, which is cool, including Sandeep, a fellow student of Kev Capel). He took it very slow and easy as we did some specific sparring around those footlocks, working through the techniques. He spun to a belly down footlock at one point, which foxed me, but suggested the way to escape that was to try and move around behind.
Thanks very much to Seymour for letting me train again at his club today. Also, I'm impressed by how much the club has grown in just a year, very cool. Borehamwood BJJ currently has sessions twice a week, but with those ever increasing numbers, I'm sure he'll be expanding the schedule in future (though Seymour is of course a very busy man. Those rashguards don't just Meerkatsu themselves! ;D)
Borehamwood BJJ (Maxwell Community Centre), Seymour Yang, London, UK - 07/05/2017
Seymour Yang has been immensely important to the success of the GrappleThons, as well as an inspirational figure for me online, providing plenty of support and advice. I therefore like to support stuff he does if I can. One simple way to try and do that is travel down to his school in Borehamwood to show support in person. I last popped down to Seymour's club a year ago, for the first session at Borehamwood BJJ. He has changed venue since 2016, but it's relatively nearby to the previous location. I wanted to pop down for the 1st anniversary of the club, but I hadn't reckoned with the joys of Sunday transport in London. Blithely thinking there would be no problem (as I couldn't remember running into trouble last time), I just assumed trains from Great Missenden would be fine.
According to the website planner, there weren't any trains from Great Missenden, but you could apparently head down to Harrow-on-the-Hill via the Chiltern Line from Amersham, then bounce from the Metropolitan line to the Jubilee and finally Thameslink. The 08:39 morphed into a much slower train, throwing everything else out of whack. However, I can confirm that if you run, getting into Elstree & Borehamwood on the 10:15 from West Hampstead Thameslink is just enough time to make the start of the 10:45 class. I can also confirm that if you're 36 and crap at running, it's much better to make it in time for the 09:42 from that Thameslink and stroll in comfortably. ;)
Seymour footlocked me all over the place when we last sparred at this year's GrappleThon (and last year's, it's becoming a trend ;D), so he suggested running through some leglock material if I could make it down for the 7th May. That meant today was all about the straight ankle lock. First up, Seymour recommends that when wrapping your arm around their Achilles tendon, stick to the one arm. If you look to bolster that grip by making a figure four or grabbing with your other hand, it's likely that you'll slacken the pressure into their Achille. Instead, use the one arm to maintain the sharp 'blade' of your forearm, reaching up as if you want to grab your shoulder.
With your same side leg, put your heel on their same side hip. Your other leg tucks behind their knee, also squeezing your knees together. You're always looking to tilt in the direction of their knee (presuming you want to stick with IBJJF rules, which tends to be the most common, but certainly not the only ruleset). From there, tuck your elbow back on the gripping side, arching back as well and thrusting your hips if you need extra leverage.
You can also switch the foot across your body to your other arm, applying the same grip and trying the footlock from there. My training partner and I got a little confused at this point, as we kept turning in the other direction. You're staying with the same tilt: remember, the foot you're pushing into their hip is the side you stick with, even if you switch your footlock grip to the other side.
In terms of escaping, Seymour emphasised that your goal is to split the legs. Start by 'putting the boot on', driving your heel and pulling your toes back to give you time, then push their anchoring heel off you hip. Bring your bum over, then move forwards into mount. Alternatively, you could try pushing their top knee (so, not on the hip pushing side) with your free leg. That again splits the legs, enabling you to move forwards and into mount.
Naturally there is a counter to the counter. If they attempt to escape by pushing through with their leg, you can try to quickly switch sides, locking your arm around that pushing leg and scooting into a footlock on that side instead. This lends itself to a drill where you're repeatedly trying footlocks while your partner escapes over and over. Seymour's teaching style makes for a really nice atmosphere. He's a charismatic guy, so comes across as both confident and relaxed, cracking jokes while he runs through the techniques.
I have a whole bunch of injuries at the moment (mainly knee, fingers, tailbone and a tweaked neck), meaning I'm especially averse to sparring at the moment. Even so, when a black belt asks you, it's generally a good idea to say yes, in this case Steve (Seymour's class has a few higher belts who head down, which is cool, including Sandeep, a fellow student of Kev Capel). He took it very slow and easy as we did some specific sparring around those footlocks, working through the techniques. He spun to a belly down footlock at one point, which foxed me, but suggested the way to escape that was to try and move around behind.
Thanks very much to Seymour for letting me train again at his club today. Also, I'm impressed by how much the club has grown in just a year, very cool. Borehamwood BJJ currently has sessions twice a week, but with those ever increasing numbers, I'm sure he'll be expanding the schedule in future (though Seymour is of course a very busy man. Those rashguards don't just Meerkatsu themselves! ;D)
07 May 2016
07/05/2016 - First Class at Meerkatsu's Borehamwood BJJ
Class #719
Borehamwood BJJ (The Venue), Seymour Yang, London, UK - 01/05/2016
The mighty Meerkatsu has launched his own Brazilian jiu jitsu school, the straightforwardly named Borehamwood BJJ, in the eponymous part of London. Check out the website here.
Seymour has been a huge help with all the GrappleThons I've run, so I was keen to support his new venture. A few hours on the Megabus later, I was en route to Kentish Town up the Northern Line. From there, grab a Thameslink train to Elstree: your Oyster card is valid all the way.
Head out the station, off to the right and onto the main high street. Keep walking until you get to Borehamwood BJJ's somewhat confusingly named base, The Venue (about 15 minutes on foot). It's a large, well appointed leisure centre, with excellent changing facilities, showers and everything else you would expect at a good sports centre.
Borehamwood BJJ is upstairs in Studio 1, past the treatment rooms. This is normally used for dance: it turns into a Brazilian jiu jitsu school by spreading jigsaw mats across the centre of the room. That provides a decent sized space for grappling. You could probably have up to ten people rolling, eight comfortably. There is plenty of room for more mats, should the classes grow larger.
I arrived just as Seymour was finishing off his kids class. The plan is to have a kids session (6 to 11 year olds) from 12:30 to 13:30, then adults straight after through until 15:00. For this free opening class, Seymour had a 30 minute split between them, which was handy as I could take the opportunity to have a chat.
Adults began at 14:00, focusing on the absolute basics. Seymour kicked off with some stretching and calisthenics, before the first of the fundamentals: technical stand up. That was followed by shrimping and bridging. You would think that after almost a decade of BJJ, I would have nothing left to learn about such basic moves. You would be wrong: even on the simplest techniques, you can always learn something, as everybody has different tweaks and ways of teaching.
With the shrimp, I normally start on my back, pushing off both feet, a slight turn, then driving the hips back. I prefer Seymour's method of demonstrating, which I'm going to adopt as I think it is a better way to reach beginners. Start on your back, with one knee raised. Push off with that leg, dragging the other leg as you thrust out your hips, curving your body.
While it is possible to shrimp off both feet, Seymour's version is exactly the way you would do it to escape from under mount. I'll therefore be sticking that into the warm-up drills when I next teach shrimping mount escapes.
The second basic technique was bridging, where again Seymour used a variation I hadn't seen before. I split bridging drills into three: straight bridge (directly up and down), angled bridge (going up at an angle with your hips tilted) and turning bridge, where you rotate over your shoulder. Seymour did a modified straight bridge. After he drove up, he did a sharp twist with his shoulders, looking over his shoulder. The idea is to knock them off balance, almost like a punch.
Everybody had a chance to drill, followed by some specific sparring from mount. Class finished up by introducing the idea of guard, as Seymour and another black belt sparred for a minute. Seymour narrated at various points, an excellent idea to help the beginners understand what was going on.
As I expected given Seymour's popularity, there were plenty of higher belts in attendance, particularly friends from Seymor's own instructor's club, Mill Hill BJJ (head coach Nick Brooks himself was on hand to take pics, as he has a knee injury at the moment).
I look forward to seeing Borehamwood BJJ grow over the next few years. With Seymour's experienced and friendly guidance, I'm sure it will soon be a thriving hub for BJJ. :D
Borehamwood BJJ (The Venue), Seymour Yang, London, UK - 01/05/2016
The mighty Meerkatsu has launched his own Brazilian jiu jitsu school, the straightforwardly named Borehamwood BJJ, in the eponymous part of London. Check out the website here.
Seymour has been a huge help with all the GrappleThons I've run, so I was keen to support his new venture. A few hours on the Megabus later, I was en route to Kentish Town up the Northern Line. From there, grab a Thameslink train to Elstree: your Oyster card is valid all the way.
Head out the station, off to the right and onto the main high street. Keep walking until you get to Borehamwood BJJ's somewhat confusingly named base, The Venue (about 15 minutes on foot). It's a large, well appointed leisure centre, with excellent changing facilities, showers and everything else you would expect at a good sports centre.
Borehamwood BJJ is upstairs in Studio 1, past the treatment rooms. This is normally used for dance: it turns into a Brazilian jiu jitsu school by spreading jigsaw mats across the centre of the room. That provides a decent sized space for grappling. You could probably have up to ten people rolling, eight comfortably. There is plenty of room for more mats, should the classes grow larger.
I arrived just as Seymour was finishing off his kids class. The plan is to have a kids session (6 to 11 year olds) from 12:30 to 13:30, then adults straight after through until 15:00. For this free opening class, Seymour had a 30 minute split between them, which was handy as I could take the opportunity to have a chat.
Adults began at 14:00, focusing on the absolute basics. Seymour kicked off with some stretching and calisthenics, before the first of the fundamentals: technical stand up. That was followed by shrimping and bridging. You would think that after almost a decade of BJJ, I would have nothing left to learn about such basic moves. You would be wrong: even on the simplest techniques, you can always learn something, as everybody has different tweaks and ways of teaching.
With the shrimp, I normally start on my back, pushing off both feet, a slight turn, then driving the hips back. I prefer Seymour's method of demonstrating, which I'm going to adopt as I think it is a better way to reach beginners. Start on your back, with one knee raised. Push off with that leg, dragging the other leg as you thrust out your hips, curving your body.
While it is possible to shrimp off both feet, Seymour's version is exactly the way you would do it to escape from under mount. I'll therefore be sticking that into the warm-up drills when I next teach shrimping mount escapes.
The second basic technique was bridging, where again Seymour used a variation I hadn't seen before. I split bridging drills into three: straight bridge (directly up and down), angled bridge (going up at an angle with your hips tilted) and turning bridge, where you rotate over your shoulder. Seymour did a modified straight bridge. After he drove up, he did a sharp twist with his shoulders, looking over his shoulder. The idea is to knock them off balance, almost like a punch.
Everybody had a chance to drill, followed by some specific sparring from mount. Class finished up by introducing the idea of guard, as Seymour and another black belt sparred for a minute. Seymour narrated at various points, an excellent idea to help the beginners understand what was going on.
As I expected given Seymour's popularity, there were plenty of higher belts in attendance, particularly friends from Seymor's own instructor's club, Mill Hill BJJ (head coach Nick Brooks himself was on hand to take pics, as he has a knee injury at the moment).
I look forward to seeing Borehamwood BJJ grow over the next few years. With Seymour's experienced and friendly guidance, I'm sure it will soon be a thriving hub for BJJ. :D
10 April 2016
09-10/04/2016 - GrappleThon for One25 (London Edition)
Mike Cowling has been coming to the GrappleThons I run in Bristol for several years now. I first met him in 2013 when we were raising money for RapeCrisis (he's on the far left here), then again at last year's event for Equality Now (second from right on the bottom row). He was part of the dedicated twenty-hour crew this year too, but in 2016 went the extra mile by deciding to host a twenty-four hour GrappleThon himself a few weeks later, also supporting One25.
Thanks to Mike and his team, the total for One25 has had a considerable boost. Along with a big donation from BrisDoc among others, it means that at the time of writing the JustGiving total is over £5,000, which jumps up to over £6,000 when you add in gift aid. That's the second highest total we've ever managed: well done to all the fundraisers!
Mike added in lots of extras to his event at the London Wing Chun Academy, with food, massages and t-shirts. There were raffles and even a mini arcade, costing 20p to have a go on UFC 2. Incorporating that 'donate to play' model is a great idea, so I think I'll copy it for the next GrappleThon I do. Oscar mentioned bringing down a console, something we could perhaps put upstairs and turn into a sort of 'chill out' room. ;)
It's the second GrappleThon Mike has done at the school, having run a smaller event as part of ROLLforROWW late last year. That was squeezed into the side mats as he fit it around the school schedule. Mike also sent over pictures on the hour for the GrappleThon Instagram. I popped in briefly on my way through London, but didn't take part as I had a fresh tattoo healing on my arm.
This time around, I could stay much longer and actually take part. Mike kicked things off at 08:30am, sending over a few pics on Facebook like last time. I headed down to London in the afternoon (meeting up with an old friend I haven't seen in years, which was cool: we wandered round the National Gallery chatting), dropping off a banner and collection box afterwards at about 6pm. After a delicious meal of top notch Turkish food with my father at Babaji, I was finally ready to stay for the long haul from around 10pm through to the end at 08:30am on Sunday.
Mike's GrappleThons have already developed a tradition: at some point during the night, people put on masks. There was only one luchador at the ROLLforROWW edition, who was joined by two more this time around. The atmosphere reminded me of the first GrappleThon I ever ran, back in 2012. Most people were from the same team, though there were a few visitors from other BJJ clubs (like Hiren, another GrappleThon stalwart, plus people from Mill Hill and of course me). I look forward to seeing this grow, as Mike has said he wants to make it an annual event. Hooray for more GrappleThons! Especially as because I wasn't running it, I treated myself to a brief power nap at 3am or so. Refreshing. ;)
Class #710
Origin BJJ (London Wing Chun Academy), Open Mat, London, UK - 09-10/04/2016
I was keeping things chilled out as usual, but got in quite a bit more sparring than normal. Mostly that was relaxed flopping on top of people, or staying in open guard and fencing with my legs. I did have one slightly harder roll, mainly because I joined in the mask excitement and pulled on a fetching Deadpool number. It means you get hotter and sweatier, but the main drawback is reduced vision. At one point the eyeholes slipped away from me while my partner was going for a choke from the back. Fortunately he crossed his feet, so I could anklelock my way to safety. :)
I also played around with the material I'd learned earlier on Saturday at RGA Bucks, throwing up a few reverse triangles, as well as attempting that worm guard sweep Kev showed me. The main issue with that was tempting them to stand up enough that I could bring the lapel behind the leg. I think I need to swing out more to get the necessary space, but I'll keep playing with it.
I went for lots of armbars too. With the armbar grip break I learned from Matt H a while back, I wasn't getting low enough on the arm to generate leverage. That could mean my initial grip is too high, I'll need to practice it some more at open mat. I should get behind their arm better too, blocking them with my body. Saulo has a good video on that I want to rewatch.
15 March 2014
15/03/2014 - Legacy BJJ at Urban Kings
Class #550
Urban Kings, (Legacy BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 15/03/2014
I haven't had a whole Saturday morning and afternoon in London to myself for a good while, so I determined to make the most of it. I started off with an exhibition at the National Gallery that caught my eye (to ignore my babble about art and skip straight to training, click here), as it focused on the Northern Renaissance, specifically Germany. It wasn't as large as I had hoped - I had wrongly thought it would be some extensive examination, when it was in fact a tightly curated narrative - but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I especially liked the engraving of St Christopher by Albrecht Altdorfer, which I think is normally in the British Museum. I thought it looked surprisingly modern, almost like a piece of comic book art, rather than something from 16th century Germany.
The strength of Strange Beauty was the excellent audio guide and clearly defined structure. There was nothing haphazard about the arrangement of works around the rooms: they were all there to tell the story of how German art first entered the National Gallery collection. That meant not only did you get to see some of those early additions, you also got the full context, with comparative paintings put alongside. For example, when discussing the low reputation of German painting back in early 19th century Britain, there is the useful counterpoint of the kind of painting that was admired, exemplified by Raphael.
Much of the exhibition is made up of paintings from the National Gallery's own collection, but I still felt I got my money's worth due to the insights from the audio guide. I pretty much never go round an art gallery these days without one. Some audio guides fall down on a lack of coverage, picking out the odd painting but leaving most untouched, but this one was relatively broad. It also often went beyond the pieces with the specific audio guide marker on them, giving you orders like "now turn to the painting on the left".
The big names at Strange Beauty are Holbein, Cranach and Dürer, along with a few others you may have heard of too, like Altdorfer. It's not all paintings. they are bolstered by miniatures, medals and even original documents discussing the purchases of some of the works. A ticket will set you back £7, while that audio guide is another £3 (I think, as I paid a tenner, but that might be the £1 Gift Aid). Looking around at reviews of the show, a number of them complained about paying to see works that would normally be available for free. Personally, I don't begrudge the fee: that lack of entrance fee to the main collection is a wonderful privilege.
It took me around an hour and a half to explore the exhibition fully, though I go quite slowly. Head right down the bottom of the Sainsbury Wing: Strange Beauty is in the basement all the way down the stairs, down from the cloakroom and main ticket desk a few floors up. Remember to buy your ticket from that desk before you descend into the depths of the gallery.
_______________________
Ever since Jude set up his new club, I have been meaning to pop down and check out the class. It has taken me so long to finally make the time that the club isn't really 'new': Legacy BJJ has moved location several times, with at least one person there who wasn't training when I last saw Jude but is now a purple belt. I guess five years is a pretty long time. ;)
The current home of Legacy BJJ is near Kings Cross Station at the swish Urban Kings gym. It's a classy venue, from the front desk through to the card-operated turnstiles, the extensive weight training facilities, boxing ring and a matted area. Even the bench by the lockers in the changing rooms is upholstered with plush padding all along its length. It therefore also isn't cheap, with a day rate of £20 (I've heard RGA is the same, but that's from quite a few years ago now). Bring a padlock with you for the locker: the showers have soap and shower gel in them, but you'll need your own towel.
I was mainly there because I wanted to catch up with Jude. He was one of my first instructors, along with Felipe, and he's also the guy who awarded me my blue belt back in 2008. Naturally I was hoping to get in some training as well, which on Saturday at Legacy BJJ is open mat. After the warm-up, Jude moved into a few drills, starting with the basic bullfighter pass, then a slightly more complex option. Interestingly, Jude split his demonstration between a technique for the advanced students then another for the beginners. For example, x-pass for the advanced student, for the beginner, just stand up in guard and push the leg down. This is something Ricardo da Silva also did when I was at Nova Forca: it's a sensible approach to mixed ability classes.
There was then some specific sparring from guard, with the person on top looking to pass and the person on the bottom trying to sweep or submit. My guard passing remains terrible, consisting mostly of stalling. I stayed on my toes, trying to keep my balance and looking for an opportunity. That means that it becomes a matter of waiting to be swept or submitted rather than initiating any kind of technique. It's a bad habit I still haven't shaken off, especially when I'm visiting another school.
Moving into the free sparring, I had the useful experience of getting beaten up by three higher level partners. First up was a brown belt, who proceeded to easily dismantle my guard, immediately passing. I'm not sure if it was a leg drag or a basic bullfighter pass, but either way my guard was completely useless. I'm being too passive as ever, so I should work more proactively to get some kind of grip with both my hands and feet. It happened three times, IIRC: on the third occasion I tried to get into what I hoped was the stronger position of Kev's sitting guard, but got passed exactly the same way.
The vast majority of my sparring time was spent in the running escape position. Both the brown belt and the purple belt I went with next treated it the same way Kev had warned in our last private: halfway to a leg-drag pass. I did manage to grab a sleeve and stiff arm, but couldn't convert that into some kind of escape. Their knee pressed firmly into my leg made making space difficult. I also attempted to hook the leg into the empty half Kev had demonstrated, but couldn't get any purchase. I was perhaps still too flat and not pushing off them to make some space, in the way Dónal advised back in his private on the same topic a while ago.
I swung my legs through a few times, though I can't remember who that was against, but not sufficiently to make any headway with guard recovery. I'd just bounce off their arm or side and end right back under side control in the running escape position. More commitment to the leg swing might help, along with making more space initially for the swing.
I ended up squashed under mount with the brown belt too, who gradually got tighter walking up into my armpits (I couldn't get my leg flat on the ground to attempt the heel drag: Saulo's escape where he bridges into their leg then pushes it to half guard could have been worth trying too), then switched to s-mount. I had expected him to drop back for the armbar, when I thought I might have a small chance to try and escape during the transition, but he simply pushed my arm outwards for an americana. It also makes me think I should be trying s-mount more myself, as I often have trouble finishing from mount.
Jude unsurprisingly made me feel like a white belt. He was taking it easy, waiting for me to do something, but I was unable to do a whole lot. Jude watched as I moved into a lasso spider guard, then totally failed to disrupt his base at all. I was trying to push into his non-lassoed arm to get him to stand-up, like Kev showed, but he didn't budge. Switching to the running escape at some later point, I was flopping around ineffectually as usual against higher belts. Jude gradually moved to take the back and then choked me, I think. So, our most recent roll probably wasn't much different to our last one back in 2009. ;)
Rolling finished with a purple belt who is also an MMA fighter. He stuck with a very relaxed pace and like Jude was waiting to see if I did anything. Again, much of the roll was spent with me in the running escape looking for an opening. It is always good to spar with people better than you, along with people at the same level and people who aren't as experienced. Given my current situation, most of my sparring partners are new, meaning it's especially useful visiting mature clubs like Jude's and Kev's.
I need to keep improving my woeful guard, creating better angles and being careful of grips (both in terms of breaking theirs and establishing my own). My passing still needs loads of work, where again angles might help: I tried sitting on the leg as per the Dónal private from a while back but my positioning was off. Pinning the legs with good grips would help too. Under mount, I'd like to incorporate that Saulo escape in there, as it looks like a good option when you've messed up and they've gotten high up into your armpits. Finally, back escapes and over-reliance on a stalling running escape. On the positive side of things, I was grabbing the sleeve, so taking my own advice of breaking down techniques into components, that's something I can hopefully build on. :)
Urban Kings, (Legacy BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 15/03/2014
I haven't had a whole Saturday morning and afternoon in London to myself for a good while, so I determined to make the most of it. I started off with an exhibition at the National Gallery that caught my eye (to ignore my babble about art and skip straight to training, click here), as it focused on the Northern Renaissance, specifically Germany. It wasn't as large as I had hoped - I had wrongly thought it would be some extensive examination, when it was in fact a tightly curated narrative - but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I especially liked the engraving of St Christopher by Albrecht Altdorfer, which I think is normally in the British Museum. I thought it looked surprisingly modern, almost like a piece of comic book art, rather than something from 16th century Germany.The strength of Strange Beauty was the excellent audio guide and clearly defined structure. There was nothing haphazard about the arrangement of works around the rooms: they were all there to tell the story of how German art first entered the National Gallery collection. That meant not only did you get to see some of those early additions, you also got the full context, with comparative paintings put alongside. For example, when discussing the low reputation of German painting back in early 19th century Britain, there is the useful counterpoint of the kind of painting that was admired, exemplified by Raphael.
Much of the exhibition is made up of paintings from the National Gallery's own collection, but I still felt I got my money's worth due to the insights from the audio guide. I pretty much never go round an art gallery these days without one. Some audio guides fall down on a lack of coverage, picking out the odd painting but leaving most untouched, but this one was relatively broad. It also often went beyond the pieces with the specific audio guide marker on them, giving you orders like "now turn to the painting on the left".
The big names at Strange Beauty are Holbein, Cranach and Dürer, along with a few others you may have heard of too, like Altdorfer. It's not all paintings. they are bolstered by miniatures, medals and even original documents discussing the purchases of some of the works. A ticket will set you back £7, while that audio guide is another £3 (I think, as I paid a tenner, but that might be the £1 Gift Aid). Looking around at reviews of the show, a number of them complained about paying to see works that would normally be available for free. Personally, I don't begrudge the fee: that lack of entrance fee to the main collection is a wonderful privilege.
It took me around an hour and a half to explore the exhibition fully, though I go quite slowly. Head right down the bottom of the Sainsbury Wing: Strange Beauty is in the basement all the way down the stairs, down from the cloakroom and main ticket desk a few floors up. Remember to buy your ticket from that desk before you descend into the depths of the gallery.
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Ever since Jude set up his new club, I have been meaning to pop down and check out the class. It has taken me so long to finally make the time that the club isn't really 'new': Legacy BJJ has moved location several times, with at least one person there who wasn't training when I last saw Jude but is now a purple belt. I guess five years is a pretty long time. ;)
The current home of Legacy BJJ is near Kings Cross Station at the swish Urban Kings gym. It's a classy venue, from the front desk through to the card-operated turnstiles, the extensive weight training facilities, boxing ring and a matted area. Even the bench by the lockers in the changing rooms is upholstered with plush padding all along its length. It therefore also isn't cheap, with a day rate of £20 (I've heard RGA is the same, but that's from quite a few years ago now). Bring a padlock with you for the locker: the showers have soap and shower gel in them, but you'll need your own towel.
I was mainly there because I wanted to catch up with Jude. He was one of my first instructors, along with Felipe, and he's also the guy who awarded me my blue belt back in 2008. Naturally I was hoping to get in some training as well, which on Saturday at Legacy BJJ is open mat. After the warm-up, Jude moved into a few drills, starting with the basic bullfighter pass, then a slightly more complex option. Interestingly, Jude split his demonstration between a technique for the advanced students then another for the beginners. For example, x-pass for the advanced student, for the beginner, just stand up in guard and push the leg down. This is something Ricardo da Silva also did when I was at Nova Forca: it's a sensible approach to mixed ability classes.
There was then some specific sparring from guard, with the person on top looking to pass and the person on the bottom trying to sweep or submit. My guard passing remains terrible, consisting mostly of stalling. I stayed on my toes, trying to keep my balance and looking for an opportunity. That means that it becomes a matter of waiting to be swept or submitted rather than initiating any kind of technique. It's a bad habit I still haven't shaken off, especially when I'm visiting another school.
Moving into the free sparring, I had the useful experience of getting beaten up by three higher level partners. First up was a brown belt, who proceeded to easily dismantle my guard, immediately passing. I'm not sure if it was a leg drag or a basic bullfighter pass, but either way my guard was completely useless. I'm being too passive as ever, so I should work more proactively to get some kind of grip with both my hands and feet. It happened three times, IIRC: on the third occasion I tried to get into what I hoped was the stronger position of Kev's sitting guard, but got passed exactly the same way.
The vast majority of my sparring time was spent in the running escape position. Both the brown belt and the purple belt I went with next treated it the same way Kev had warned in our last private: halfway to a leg-drag pass. I did manage to grab a sleeve and stiff arm, but couldn't convert that into some kind of escape. Their knee pressed firmly into my leg made making space difficult. I also attempted to hook the leg into the empty half Kev had demonstrated, but couldn't get any purchase. I was perhaps still too flat and not pushing off them to make some space, in the way Dónal advised back in his private on the same topic a while ago.I swung my legs through a few times, though I can't remember who that was against, but not sufficiently to make any headway with guard recovery. I'd just bounce off their arm or side and end right back under side control in the running escape position. More commitment to the leg swing might help, along with making more space initially for the swing.
I ended up squashed under mount with the brown belt too, who gradually got tighter walking up into my armpits (I couldn't get my leg flat on the ground to attempt the heel drag: Saulo's escape where he bridges into their leg then pushes it to half guard could have been worth trying too), then switched to s-mount. I had expected him to drop back for the armbar, when I thought I might have a small chance to try and escape during the transition, but he simply pushed my arm outwards for an americana. It also makes me think I should be trying s-mount more myself, as I often have trouble finishing from mount.
Jude unsurprisingly made me feel like a white belt. He was taking it easy, waiting for me to do something, but I was unable to do a whole lot. Jude watched as I moved into a lasso spider guard, then totally failed to disrupt his base at all. I was trying to push into his non-lassoed arm to get him to stand-up, like Kev showed, but he didn't budge. Switching to the running escape at some later point, I was flopping around ineffectually as usual against higher belts. Jude gradually moved to take the back and then choked me, I think. So, our most recent roll probably wasn't much different to our last one back in 2009. ;)
Rolling finished with a purple belt who is also an MMA fighter. He stuck with a very relaxed pace and like Jude was waiting to see if I did anything. Again, much of the roll was spent with me in the running escape looking for an opening. It is always good to spar with people better than you, along with people at the same level and people who aren't as experienced. Given my current situation, most of my sparring partners are new, meaning it's especially useful visiting mature clubs like Jude's and Kev's.
I need to keep improving my woeful guard, creating better angles and being careful of grips (both in terms of breaking theirs and establishing my own). My passing still needs loads of work, where again angles might help: I tried sitting on the leg as per the Dónal private from a while back but my positioning was off. Pinning the legs with good grips would help too. Under mount, I'd like to incorporate that Saulo escape in there, as it looks like a good option when you've messed up and they've gotten high up into your armpits. Finally, back escapes and over-reliance on a stalling running escape. On the positive side of things, I was grabbing the sleeve, so taking my own advice of breaking down techniques into components, that's something I can hopefully build on. :)
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08 April 2011
08/04/2011 - De la Riva at Mill Hill
Class #385
RGA Mill Hill, (BJJ), Nick Brooks, Mill Hill, UK - 08/04/2011
I had intended to train in Bristol last week, but annoyingly I picked up some kind of virus. So, that ruled out BJJ, as I didn't want to pass that around the rest of the academy (it irritates me when people come in sniffling and coughing: if you know you're ill with something infectious, don't train!)
That meant I would have to wait until April to get back on the mats. For an upcoming issue of Jiu Jitsu Style, Nick Brooks generously arranged an interview with Ricardo de la Riva, who is visiting the UK for a couple of seminars. Even more generously, Nick also invited me down to train beforehand at the Mill Hill academy. Packing my dictaphone (or rather, my gf's dictaphone), I jumped on the train to London.
It has been almost three months since I hurt my knee, so I decided it was time to see if it could cope with a warm-up. The knee didn't complain during running round the room or shrimping, so it must be on the road to recovery. I'm still wary of sparring, but that's not a problem as long as I have sensible, considerate training partners.
Technique today was based around the flower sweep. Nick began with a straightforward method, beginning by grabbing both their sleeves. Release one of your grips and grab their same side trouser leg. Still on that side, kick your leg up into their armpit, aiming to break their posture and knock them diagonally forwards.
Continue pushing with your leg, pulling on their sleeve and lifting with that grip on their pant leg. That should enable you to roll through into mount. If they base out with a hand, you can take the opportunity to move into a triangle, bringing the leg on their basing side to curl around their head. Push them to the other side with that leg, then lock up the triangle.
You can also use different grips when you start. The orthodox version is to grab one sleeve (stopping their attempt to base out), then with your other hand, grab the opposite pant leg. However, you can also grab a sleeve, using your elbow and forearm to clamp down on their other wrist, trapping it in place (which again stops them using it to base out). On the same side as your grip, grab their pant leg, then proceed with the technique as before.
Finally, you can try a slightly different tactic from the same position. Establish your grips and go for the flower sweep. However, after you've kicked up into their armpit, you're going to swivel 180 degrees, then straighten that leg. At the same time, pull on their trouser leg straight backwards (rather than lifting up, as before).
This should flatten them out, so you end up alongside them, reaching over their body to immobilise their torso, ready to move into an omoplata. Normally, you would lean over to their opposite shoulder as if whispering in their ear to apply the submission. Nick showed a slightly different variation, where making sure your leg is over their shoulder, your head goes to their opposite hip instead. Twist your hips up for the shoulder lock.
Sparring was down to Nick, who like Kev pairs people up. As he knew about my knee, he started me off with a green belt. Children are useful if you've got an injury, as they're so light that it is unlikely they're going to power into some awkward movement that jars whatever joint you've hurt. It also meant I could stay very relaxed, leaving openings to see what he did, while also looking to concentrate purely on technique.
Next up was an entirely different prospect, the mighty Dan Strauss, fresh off his impressive victory at Submission 1000 (despite the fact that the tournament included several black and brown belts, purple belt Dan was able to win the whole thing). He took it easy on my knee, but given he is such a high level purple, that still meant he totally dominated me. I couldn't do anything except flop around defending.
No doubt if he'd been going full force, I would have spent the whole time tapping. However, as Dan was being nice, I mainly got a good work out due to all the spinning and twisting of my escape attempts. He also had some advice on escaping triangles, after he caught me with an americana from his guard.
I had been looking to create some kind of frame with my arm, as he had established a solid high mount and was in the process of locking in the triangle. I put my hand on my head as he rolled to guard in order to finish, hoping to wriggle my elbow back and slip my arm free. Instead, he simply twisted my arm to the side for a submission.
Dan suggested that instead, I should have grabbed his knee, driven it to the floor and then worked from there to get free. Alternatively, I could have tucked my chin to make some space, stand up, then use my knee to pry my head and arm free.
My training partner from the earlier drilling was next, Cho, a friendly white belt. Yet again, I went to the Xande open guard to avoid using my injured leg, which is mostly where we stayed (especially as, like everyone else, Cho was being careful of my left knee). Last up was a tall blue belt, who also stayed light. I got stuck in z-guard a few times, and was trying to push his knees together and to the mat. However, that mostly seemed to just present a chance for them to attack my neck, so I still need lots of work to get that pass right.
De la Riva was teaching a private at the time, before moving into a photoshoot with fellow blogger Meerkatsu, who trains at Mill Hill. It is always cool to meet internet friends in the real world: I've trained with Seymour a number of times now, but it's been a while. Once Seymour had finished off his camerawork, it was my turn to put that dictaphone to use.
Thanks to David Soares kindly acting as translator, I was able to have a forty minute chat with de la Riva (I checked on the capitalisation with the man himself, in case you've ever wondered how to write his surname). Our conversation should be popping up in Issue 3 of Jiu Jitsu Style, once I've typed it up and edited it down to the requisite length.
Clint was also there: I first met him last time I trained at Mill Hill. He is in the process of raising some money for charity, as part of the fight against cancer. Clint is planning to wear a bright pink gi, also sporting a fetching pink mohawk: if you'd like to sponsor him, check out his page.
RGA Mill Hill, (BJJ), Nick Brooks, Mill Hill, UK - 08/04/2011
I had intended to train in Bristol last week, but annoyingly I picked up some kind of virus. So, that ruled out BJJ, as I didn't want to pass that around the rest of the academy (it irritates me when people come in sniffling and coughing: if you know you're ill with something infectious, don't train!)
That meant I would have to wait until April to get back on the mats. For an upcoming issue of Jiu Jitsu Style, Nick Brooks generously arranged an interview with Ricardo de la Riva, who is visiting the UK for a couple of seminars. Even more generously, Nick also invited me down to train beforehand at the Mill Hill academy. Packing my dictaphone (or rather, my gf's dictaphone), I jumped on the train to London.It has been almost three months since I hurt my knee, so I decided it was time to see if it could cope with a warm-up. The knee didn't complain during running round the room or shrimping, so it must be on the road to recovery. I'm still wary of sparring, but that's not a problem as long as I have sensible, considerate training partners.
Technique today was based around the flower sweep. Nick began with a straightforward method, beginning by grabbing both their sleeves. Release one of your grips and grab their same side trouser leg. Still on that side, kick your leg up into their armpit, aiming to break their posture and knock them diagonally forwards.
Continue pushing with your leg, pulling on their sleeve and lifting with that grip on their pant leg. That should enable you to roll through into mount. If they base out with a hand, you can take the opportunity to move into a triangle, bringing the leg on their basing side to curl around their head. Push them to the other side with that leg, then lock up the triangle.
You can also use different grips when you start. The orthodox version is to grab one sleeve (stopping their attempt to base out), then with your other hand, grab the opposite pant leg. However, you can also grab a sleeve, using your elbow and forearm to clamp down on their other wrist, trapping it in place (which again stops them using it to base out). On the same side as your grip, grab their pant leg, then proceed with the technique as before.
Finally, you can try a slightly different tactic from the same position. Establish your grips and go for the flower sweep. However, after you've kicked up into their armpit, you're going to swivel 180 degrees, then straighten that leg. At the same time, pull on their trouser leg straight backwards (rather than lifting up, as before).
This should flatten them out, so you end up alongside them, reaching over their body to immobilise their torso, ready to move into an omoplata. Normally, you would lean over to their opposite shoulder as if whispering in their ear to apply the submission. Nick showed a slightly different variation, where making sure your leg is over their shoulder, your head goes to their opposite hip instead. Twist your hips up for the shoulder lock.
Sparring was down to Nick, who like Kev pairs people up. As he knew about my knee, he started me off with a green belt. Children are useful if you've got an injury, as they're so light that it is unlikely they're going to power into some awkward movement that jars whatever joint you've hurt. It also meant I could stay very relaxed, leaving openings to see what he did, while also looking to concentrate purely on technique.
Next up was an entirely different prospect, the mighty Dan Strauss, fresh off his impressive victory at Submission 1000 (despite the fact that the tournament included several black and brown belts, purple belt Dan was able to win the whole thing). He took it easy on my knee, but given he is such a high level purple, that still meant he totally dominated me. I couldn't do anything except flop around defending.
No doubt if he'd been going full force, I would have spent the whole time tapping. However, as Dan was being nice, I mainly got a good work out due to all the spinning and twisting of my escape attempts. He also had some advice on escaping triangles, after he caught me with an americana from his guard.
I had been looking to create some kind of frame with my arm, as he had established a solid high mount and was in the process of locking in the triangle. I put my hand on my head as he rolled to guard in order to finish, hoping to wriggle my elbow back and slip my arm free. Instead, he simply twisted my arm to the side for a submission.
Dan suggested that instead, I should have grabbed his knee, driven it to the floor and then worked from there to get free. Alternatively, I could have tucked my chin to make some space, stand up, then use my knee to pry my head and arm free.
My training partner from the earlier drilling was next, Cho, a friendly white belt. Yet again, I went to the Xande open guard to avoid using my injured leg, which is mostly where we stayed (especially as, like everyone else, Cho was being careful of my left knee). Last up was a tall blue belt, who also stayed light. I got stuck in z-guard a few times, and was trying to push his knees together and to the mat. However, that mostly seemed to just present a chance for them to attack my neck, so I still need lots of work to get that pass right.
De la Riva was teaching a private at the time, before moving into a photoshoot with fellow blogger Meerkatsu, who trains at Mill Hill. It is always cool to meet internet friends in the real world: I've trained with Seymour a number of times now, but it's been a while. Once Seymour had finished off his camerawork, it was my turn to put that dictaphone to use.
Thanks to David Soares kindly acting as translator, I was able to have a forty minute chat with de la Riva (I checked on the capitalisation with the man himself, in case you've ever wondered how to write his surname). Our conversation should be popping up in Issue 3 of Jiu Jitsu Style, once I've typed it up and edited it down to the requisite length.Clint was also there: I first met him last time I trained at Mill Hill. He is in the process of raising some money for charity, as part of the fight against cancer. Clint is planning to wear a bright pink gi, also sporting a fetching pink mohawk: if you'd like to sponsor him, check out his page.
23 December 2010
23/12/2010 - Mill Hill BJJ
Class #370
RGA Mill Hill, (BJJ), Nick Brooks, Mill Hill, UK - 23/12/2010
Kev has recently set up a blog for RGA Buckinghamshire (the place I train: I refer to it as RGA High Wycombe, because that's the location I go to. The main club is in Aylesbury, with another branch in Bletchley). Check it out here. Kev is planning to keep it regularly updated with the latest news about RGA Bucks.
Due to the bad weather, Kev closed down for the Christmas break a few days early. So, I decided to take the opportunity to check out another RGA affiliate, in Mill Hill. Nick Brooks' club is the first RGA affiliate, as far as I'm aware, which was later followed by Farringdon, Kilburn and the rest of the growing RGA family. I've trained with Nick before, having been taught by him a couple of times back when he was a purple belt, and also rolled with him (I remember getting footlocked. A lot.)
This was the first time I'd experienced a Nick Brooks class at his own school. It is relatively easy to get to: I hopped on the underground, going from Marylebone to Oxford Circus on the Bakerloo, then the Victoria line through to Kings Cross, and finally an overground train to Mill Hill Broadway. If you head out of the station, down the stairs and past the buses (bearing to your left), you will eventually turn onto a street called The Broadway.
Follow that round to the left until you hit Bunns Lane. Keep on going down that road (you'll have to cross over a couple of times as the footpath appears and disappears) until you see a little industrial looking complex, with a music centre and a car wash. If you go in there and walk past the units with music blaring out of them, you'll eventually see the distinctive Mill Hill logo, with two big tyres outside (presumably for the strength and conditioning sessions).
There was a pretty good turnout for the day before Christmas Eve, mostly white belts, but also a blue and a purple belt present too. Nick was very welcoming to both me and another guy who was visiting from Gracie Barra Essex. After getting changed upstairs in the lounge (bunch of sofas, heaters, a big TV, grappling magazines and a copy of The Gracie Way: you couldn't ask for much more), it was time for class.
The warm-up was interesting, as Nick had us do what he called 'jiu jitsu chess'. I've heard about that in the context of Hélio Gracie before, where the idea is to take it in turns getting into different positions. You don't offer up any resistance, just let your partner test something out, then you respond from whatever position you end up in. Not something I've done before: essentially, it felt like the step before flow-rolling.
Nick then asked the class what they wanted to do, settling on the purple belt's suggestion of practicing some half guard sweeps. The initial two were from a knee shield/z-guard, while the third switched to half butterfly. I particularly liked the last one, as that works from when you're stuck under a dominant half guard.
The first half guard sweep begins in typical half guard, with the modification that you insert the knee of your outside leg into their hip. If you can, you want to get the shin across, but you also need to be able to lock your feet, or at least wrap your instep by your heel. If you leave your legs open, they can simply raise their trapped leg and pivot, bringing their lower leg through the gap between your feet.
Nick said that the far underhook was less of an issue than the cross-face, so having got onto your side with that knee braced against them, put both hands on their cross-facing arm to block their attempt to get their shoulder into your face. Get a strong grip on their sleeve with your top hand (which will therefore be a cross-grip, as that will be the opposite arm).
Your other hand reaches under their same side leg, grabbing the bottom of their trousers (not inside the cuff though, as that is illegal). Pull their sleeve and drive your knee into them, so that you're basically doing a scissor sweep, but from half guard. It is integral to the technique that you don't let go of those grips.
Also, don't get over-excited and try and jump right into side control. Instead, you're just going to roll your hips, staying low and pressed into them the whole time, hip to hip. As you are still holding their leg, they can't re-lock their half guard. You can simply move your trapped leg backwards to stretch out their leg, then loop it around, moving into side control.
You also still have that grip on the sleeve, which sets you up immediately for an americana. You have a number of options to secure the figure four, depending on how you're holding that sleeve. One way is to control their arm with the other hand to then re-establish a better grip on the wrist with your first hand. Another is to roll your hand forward or backwards to change from the sleeve to the wrist. Or you could try pressing your head into their arm, and use that to hold it in place while you get the proper grips.
That was followed by a variation on the same half guard sweep. This time, you've gone for the scissor motion, but they have moved their head in the opposite direction your knee shield is pointing, which shifts their base. You can no longer get the half guard scissor, but in changing their weight distribution, they have opened up an alternative.
Open up their arm with the sleeve grip, so that they move perpendicular to your body. This also means you can shift your knee shield so that they are balanced on the shin. If you get this right, they should feel fairly weightless. All you need to do now is roll backwards over your shoulder, still holding on to that sleeve grip. As before, you'll end up in side control with the americana ready to be applied.
Finally, Nick demonstrated how even when you've messed up and are stuck underneath half guard, and they have a strong cross-face and far underhook, you can still get a sweep. Start by opening up their lapel with your free hand, on the opposite side to the leg you've trapped. Bring that gi material over their back and feed it to your other hand: this grip needs to be tight, so you want to work your hand as close to the armpit as you can.
Shrimp out towards the trapped side (you'll have to release your locking leg to do this, so keep the inside leg heavy on their calf to stop them passing). You may need to do this a couple of times, until you can insert your outside foot under their inner thigh. This means you are now in half-butterfly.
With your free hand, pin the arm they have under your head to your skull: note that you want to avoid them bringing their knee up into your armpit, as that gives them better control. You can now lift with your butterfly hook, stepping in with your other leg if you need additional leverage (same as with the orthodox sweep from full butterfly guard).
Don't get greedy and try to go straight to mount, as they will probably snatch half guard. Instead, as soon as your knee hits the mat, switch your hips so that your other legs swings over, putting you in side control. This is much safer. Of course, it is not a bad thing to get mount, but due to that high risk of getting caught in half, it makes more sense to go for side control in this situation.
Nick had everyone who wanted to spar line up against the wall, whereupon he matched us up. I started off with a white belt, which gave me a chance to work my offence. I played around with that same spider guard attack where you're pressing into one arm with both feet, but didn't quite get what I wanted, as I think my posture was a bit off: I was falling off to one side. I also went for a handstand sweep, although I think a higher belt would have punished me for my sloppy transition from there.
Next was the purple belt, which of course made for a tougher roll. It also meant I could test out the running escape again, which seemed to work fairly well in terms of defending myself, but not much more than that (though of course hard to know if they were taking it easy on me or something like that). I concentrated on preventing their arm from getting around my torso, or if they did, locking that up with the intention of using the space they want to attack in order to effect my escape (although we didn't get that far: mostly just stayed in a 'survival' position, attempting to feel if there was any space opening up).
For the rest of the class, I went with Nick. As with Kev, he is so much better than me that he took it very easy, leaving openings to see what I'd do. Also as with Kev, that resulted in me mostly staring at him from open guard. I was trying to go for a couple of things, like the spider guard attack again, but got nowhere with that. I also wanted to try sitting guard, but couldn't break his grips.
Again like Kev, he mentioned I wasn't doing enough to break his grips, letting him get a dominant hold. However, what make Kev and Nick good instructors is that they don't just say "be more assertive," they add in plenty of technical pointers too. This time, they mostly came as a result of the next round of sparring, where upon being given the choice I asked to work on passing.
First important detail was thrusting my hips forward. However, that wasn't as simple as I thought, as you don't want to be able to see your feet. I was thrusting my hips, but with my feet splayed out, so that I wasn't creating a convex shape with my body. You need to make sure you are really driving those hips forward, so that bend becomes pronounced.
Secondly, basic posture when looking to pass the De La Riva. Turn the foot of your hooked leg outwards, so that you can then drive your shin into the back of their leg. This will make it very difficult for them to maintain a hook. You can then continue your De La Riva pass, normally grabbing the other leg to start.
Third, for when you're on the bottom in reverse De La Riva, grab the trouser leg rather than the ankle. If you grab the ankle, it is easier for them to kick their leg free, or drive through to collapse your knees and slide into side control. I think that also may have been happening with the purple belt, as I kept getting into quarter guard, holding him off for a moment, then getting stuck in either knee on belly or side control (the running escape seemed to come in handy for both).
Thanks again to Nick for his generosity, not only in having me down to train, but also because he spent a good thirty minutes or so sparring with me and providing lots of excellent advice. That wraps up this year's training. My next session should be at Gracie Barra Bristol at the start of the next year: I'm currently intending to head along for the Sunday sparring session on the 2nd January 2011 (I would aim for Friday, but that's New Year's Eve, so I'll most likely be deep in drunken conversation at a house party).
RGA Mill Hill, (BJJ), Nick Brooks, Mill Hill, UK - 23/12/2010
Kev has recently set up a blog for RGA Buckinghamshire (the place I train: I refer to it as RGA High Wycombe, because that's the location I go to. The main club is in Aylesbury, with another branch in Bletchley). Check it out here. Kev is planning to keep it regularly updated with the latest news about RGA Bucks.
Due to the bad weather, Kev closed down for the Christmas break a few days early. So, I decided to take the opportunity to check out another RGA affiliate, in Mill Hill. Nick Brooks' club is the first RGA affiliate, as far as I'm aware, which was later followed by Farringdon, Kilburn and the rest of the growing RGA family. I've trained with Nick before, having been taught by him a couple of times back when he was a purple belt, and also rolled with him (I remember getting footlocked. A lot.)This was the first time I'd experienced a Nick Brooks class at his own school. It is relatively easy to get to: I hopped on the underground, going from Marylebone to Oxford Circus on the Bakerloo, then the Victoria line through to Kings Cross, and finally an overground train to Mill Hill Broadway. If you head out of the station, down the stairs and past the buses (bearing to your left), you will eventually turn onto a street called The Broadway.
Follow that round to the left until you hit Bunns Lane. Keep on going down that road (you'll have to cross over a couple of times as the footpath appears and disappears) until you see a little industrial looking complex, with a music centre and a car wash. If you go in there and walk past the units with music blaring out of them, you'll eventually see the distinctive Mill Hill logo, with two big tyres outside (presumably for the strength and conditioning sessions).
There was a pretty good turnout for the day before Christmas Eve, mostly white belts, but also a blue and a purple belt present too. Nick was very welcoming to both me and another guy who was visiting from Gracie Barra Essex. After getting changed upstairs in the lounge (bunch of sofas, heaters, a big TV, grappling magazines and a copy of The Gracie Way: you couldn't ask for much more), it was time for class.
The warm-up was interesting, as Nick had us do what he called 'jiu jitsu chess'. I've heard about that in the context of Hélio Gracie before, where the idea is to take it in turns getting into different positions. You don't offer up any resistance, just let your partner test something out, then you respond from whatever position you end up in. Not something I've done before: essentially, it felt like the step before flow-rolling.
Nick then asked the class what they wanted to do, settling on the purple belt's suggestion of practicing some half guard sweeps. The initial two were from a knee shield/z-guard, while the third switched to half butterfly. I particularly liked the last one, as that works from when you're stuck under a dominant half guard.
The first half guard sweep begins in typical half guard, with the modification that you insert the knee of your outside leg into their hip. If you can, you want to get the shin across, but you also need to be able to lock your feet, or at least wrap your instep by your heel. If you leave your legs open, they can simply raise their trapped leg and pivot, bringing their lower leg through the gap between your feet.
Nick said that the far underhook was less of an issue than the cross-face, so having got onto your side with that knee braced against them, put both hands on their cross-facing arm to block their attempt to get their shoulder into your face. Get a strong grip on their sleeve with your top hand (which will therefore be a cross-grip, as that will be the opposite arm).
Your other hand reaches under their same side leg, grabbing the bottom of their trousers (not inside the cuff though, as that is illegal). Pull their sleeve and drive your knee into them, so that you're basically doing a scissor sweep, but from half guard. It is integral to the technique that you don't let go of those grips.
Also, don't get over-excited and try and jump right into side control. Instead, you're just going to roll your hips, staying low and pressed into them the whole time, hip to hip. As you are still holding their leg, they can't re-lock their half guard. You can simply move your trapped leg backwards to stretch out their leg, then loop it around, moving into side control.
You also still have that grip on the sleeve, which sets you up immediately for an americana. You have a number of options to secure the figure four, depending on how you're holding that sleeve. One way is to control their arm with the other hand to then re-establish a better grip on the wrist with your first hand. Another is to roll your hand forward or backwards to change from the sleeve to the wrist. Or you could try pressing your head into their arm, and use that to hold it in place while you get the proper grips.
That was followed by a variation on the same half guard sweep. This time, you've gone for the scissor motion, but they have moved their head in the opposite direction your knee shield is pointing, which shifts their base. You can no longer get the half guard scissor, but in changing their weight distribution, they have opened up an alternative.
Open up their arm with the sleeve grip, so that they move perpendicular to your body. This also means you can shift your knee shield so that they are balanced on the shin. If you get this right, they should feel fairly weightless. All you need to do now is roll backwards over your shoulder, still holding on to that sleeve grip. As before, you'll end up in side control with the americana ready to be applied.
Finally, Nick demonstrated how even when you've messed up and are stuck underneath half guard, and they have a strong cross-face and far underhook, you can still get a sweep. Start by opening up their lapel with your free hand, on the opposite side to the leg you've trapped. Bring that gi material over their back and feed it to your other hand: this grip needs to be tight, so you want to work your hand as close to the armpit as you can.
Shrimp out towards the trapped side (you'll have to release your locking leg to do this, so keep the inside leg heavy on their calf to stop them passing). You may need to do this a couple of times, until you can insert your outside foot under their inner thigh. This means you are now in half-butterfly.
With your free hand, pin the arm they have under your head to your skull: note that you want to avoid them bringing their knee up into your armpit, as that gives them better control. You can now lift with your butterfly hook, stepping in with your other leg if you need additional leverage (same as with the orthodox sweep from full butterfly guard).
Don't get greedy and try to go straight to mount, as they will probably snatch half guard. Instead, as soon as your knee hits the mat, switch your hips so that your other legs swings over, putting you in side control. This is much safer. Of course, it is not a bad thing to get mount, but due to that high risk of getting caught in half, it makes more sense to go for side control in this situation.
Nick had everyone who wanted to spar line up against the wall, whereupon he matched us up. I started off with a white belt, which gave me a chance to work my offence. I played around with that same spider guard attack where you're pressing into one arm with both feet, but didn't quite get what I wanted, as I think my posture was a bit off: I was falling off to one side. I also went for a handstand sweep, although I think a higher belt would have punished me for my sloppy transition from there.
Next was the purple belt, which of course made for a tougher roll. It also meant I could test out the running escape again, which seemed to work fairly well in terms of defending myself, but not much more than that (though of course hard to know if they were taking it easy on me or something like that). I concentrated on preventing their arm from getting around my torso, or if they did, locking that up with the intention of using the space they want to attack in order to effect my escape (although we didn't get that far: mostly just stayed in a 'survival' position, attempting to feel if there was any space opening up).For the rest of the class, I went with Nick. As with Kev, he is so much better than me that he took it very easy, leaving openings to see what I'd do. Also as with Kev, that resulted in me mostly staring at him from open guard. I was trying to go for a couple of things, like the spider guard attack again, but got nowhere with that. I also wanted to try sitting guard, but couldn't break his grips.
Again like Kev, he mentioned I wasn't doing enough to break his grips, letting him get a dominant hold. However, what make Kev and Nick good instructors is that they don't just say "be more assertive," they add in plenty of technical pointers too. This time, they mostly came as a result of the next round of sparring, where upon being given the choice I asked to work on passing.
First important detail was thrusting my hips forward. However, that wasn't as simple as I thought, as you don't want to be able to see your feet. I was thrusting my hips, but with my feet splayed out, so that I wasn't creating a convex shape with my body. You need to make sure you are really driving those hips forward, so that bend becomes pronounced.
Secondly, basic posture when looking to pass the De La Riva. Turn the foot of your hooked leg outwards, so that you can then drive your shin into the back of their leg. This will make it very difficult for them to maintain a hook. You can then continue your De La Riva pass, normally grabbing the other leg to start.
Third, for when you're on the bottom in reverse De La Riva, grab the trouser leg rather than the ankle. If you grab the ankle, it is easier for them to kick their leg free, or drive through to collapse your knees and slide into side control. I think that also may have been happening with the purple belt, as I kept getting into quarter guard, holding him off for a moment, then getting stuck in either knee on belly or side control (the running escape seemed to come in handy for both).
Thanks again to Nick for his generosity, not only in having me down to train, but also because he spent a good thirty minutes or so sparring with me and providing lots of excellent advice. That wraps up this year's training. My next session should be at Gracie Barra Bristol at the start of the next year: I'm currently intending to head along for the Sunday sparring session on the 2nd January 2011 (I would aim for Friday, but that's New Year's Eve, so I'll most likely be deep in drunken conversation at a house party).
27 April 2009
27/04/2009 - BJJ (RGA Kilburn)
Class #222
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 27/04/2009 - Beginner
Almost forgot to mention: there is a throwdown in Farnborough this Sunday, with a nominal £5 mat fee. So, if anybody fancies meeting up for a roll, now's your chance. Would be great to see people, if there's anyone reading this blog who can make it down to spar (or just drill: I normally spend a good chunk of throwdowns drilling stuff I've not had a chance to practice much in class). Full details on Jadon's Bullshido thread.
This will be my last week training at Kilburn, so I plan to train Monday and Wednesday (tomorrow I've got some work I need to get sorted). I'll be sad to leave, as its been a great few months continuing to learn from Jude. Hopefully I'll get back to London at some point in the future, but no idea when that will be, especially as my gf hates the idea of living in the capital (expensive, dangerous, commuting on the Tube is horrible, etc).
During guard passage, I was having a play with the triangle, thought my set-ups remain terrible and my execution sufficiently sloppy that I can never secure the submission. With my first training partner, a white belt called Ben, I had my legs up and crossed, but didn't underhook the leg, so he could happily stand up with me sitting by his head. Fortunately he's one of the more sensible white belts, so didn't Rampage-slam me, instead carefully kneeling back down.
Similarly with Rodrigo, I again couldn't lock the triangle properly. I got a bit further this time, having managed to get into position with my legs secured by his head and arm through, but still couldn't finish. Of course he's much bigger than me, but there was clearly something wrong with my mechanics given how easily he escaped.
Finally, I went with Rich, but was thinking too much about trying out the reverse De La Riva I'd wanted to attempt last lesson. What I should have been concentrating on instead was making sure I pushed his hips away with my legs as soon as my guard was open, as otherwise its a simple matter for him to pass.
Jude then went through the same underhook cross choke and triangle combination from last week, then moved on to a triangle from spider guard. From closed guard, you uncross your legs and put your feet on their hips. Grab their sleeves, then shrimp out to make enough space for your foot onto their same side bicep. The other foot stays on their hip.
You're now going to pull them in, kicking the foot on their bicep through to instead go over the back of their neck. You can now bring your other leg up for the triangle position, keeping their other arm by your chest and inside your leg.
That's what I should have been doing when sparring Rodrigo and Ben earlier, so its handy to see the set-up. I also think I may be too bunched up, meaning I'm already half-stacked, whereas I should be scooting back and swivelling for better leverage. I'm keen to improve submissions that use my legs rather than my arms, given that my arms are puny (not that my legs are much better, but still much stronger than my upper body).
In free sparring I ended up against Ben twice. The first time I spent most of it in an Americana, but fortunately for me, Ben was trying to apply it with one of his arms still under my head. I felt fairly safe, as he didn't have the leverage from there, but a good reminder to be more careful with my arm when I'm under half guard or side control. I made sure to tell him, so I doubt I'll get off that lightly if there's a next time. ;)
Our second spar was the other way round, where instead I was in top half-guard for much of the time. I was looking for the kimura, but couldn't get into position. I then saw a possible opportunity for that whizzer armbar I saw Saulo do on his DVD, but again I didn't quite get in the proper place. Still, as I often find myself with a whizzer in top half guard, its something I'd like to try again.
Same thing happened with Rich, with the difference that it happened right at the end of the spar. Previously, he'd got me into high mount yet again, and I'd also been under side control for a while. As he was passing I threw my legs up by his legs, but while I was able to triangle them, I don't think I had anything so soon let go. Like always, basics must remain the focus: I definitely need to follow my own advice on that in guard, making sure I'm using my legs a lot more to off-balance and break posture.
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 27/04/2009 - Beginner
Almost forgot to mention: there is a throwdown in Farnborough this Sunday, with a nominal £5 mat fee. So, if anybody fancies meeting up for a roll, now's your chance. Would be great to see people, if there's anyone reading this blog who can make it down to spar (or just drill: I normally spend a good chunk of throwdowns drilling stuff I've not had a chance to practice much in class). Full details on Jadon's Bullshido thread.
This will be my last week training at Kilburn, so I plan to train Monday and Wednesday (tomorrow I've got some work I need to get sorted). I'll be sad to leave, as its been a great few months continuing to learn from Jude. Hopefully I'll get back to London at some point in the future, but no idea when that will be, especially as my gf hates the idea of living in the capital (expensive, dangerous, commuting on the Tube is horrible, etc).
During guard passage, I was having a play with the triangle, thought my set-ups remain terrible and my execution sufficiently sloppy that I can never secure the submission. With my first training partner, a white belt called Ben, I had my legs up and crossed, but didn't underhook the leg, so he could happily stand up with me sitting by his head. Fortunately he's one of the more sensible white belts, so didn't Rampage-slam me, instead carefully kneeling back down.
Similarly with Rodrigo, I again couldn't lock the triangle properly. I got a bit further this time, having managed to get into position with my legs secured by his head and arm through, but still couldn't finish. Of course he's much bigger than me, but there was clearly something wrong with my mechanics given how easily he escaped.
Finally, I went with Rich, but was thinking too much about trying out the reverse De La Riva I'd wanted to attempt last lesson. What I should have been concentrating on instead was making sure I pushed his hips away with my legs as soon as my guard was open, as otherwise its a simple matter for him to pass.
Jude then went through the same underhook cross choke and triangle combination from last week, then moved on to a triangle from spider guard. From closed guard, you uncross your legs and put your feet on their hips. Grab their sleeves, then shrimp out to make enough space for your foot onto their same side bicep. The other foot stays on their hip.
You're now going to pull them in, kicking the foot on their bicep through to instead go over the back of their neck. You can now bring your other leg up for the triangle position, keeping their other arm by your chest and inside your leg.
That's what I should have been doing when sparring Rodrigo and Ben earlier, so its handy to see the set-up. I also think I may be too bunched up, meaning I'm already half-stacked, whereas I should be scooting back and swivelling for better leverage. I'm keen to improve submissions that use my legs rather than my arms, given that my arms are puny (not that my legs are much better, but still much stronger than my upper body).
In free sparring I ended up against Ben twice. The first time I spent most of it in an Americana, but fortunately for me, Ben was trying to apply it with one of his arms still under my head. I felt fairly safe, as he didn't have the leverage from there, but a good reminder to be more careful with my arm when I'm under half guard or side control. I made sure to tell him, so I doubt I'll get off that lightly if there's a next time. ;)
Our second spar was the other way round, where instead I was in top half-guard for much of the time. I was looking for the kimura, but couldn't get into position. I then saw a possible opportunity for that whizzer armbar I saw Saulo do on his DVD, but again I didn't quite get in the proper place. Still, as I often find myself with a whizzer in top half guard, its something I'd like to try again.
Same thing happened with Rich, with the difference that it happened right at the end of the spar. Previously, he'd got me into high mount yet again, and I'd also been under side control for a while. As he was passing I threw my legs up by his legs, but while I was able to triangle them, I don't think I had anything so soon let go. Like always, basics must remain the focus: I definitely need to follow my own advice on that in guard, making sure I'm using my legs a lot more to off-balance and break posture.
22 April 2009
22/04/2009 - BJJ (RGA Kilburn)
Class #221
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 22/04/2009 - Beginner
There wasn't a lot of technique today, just the half-guard choke from yesterday. Sparring started with guard passage, where I had the interesting experience of rolling with somebody smaller than me, which doesn't happen often. As ever, I spent most of my time on the bottom in half guard, aiming to shrimp in order to recover full guard.
I'm trying to rely less on having my legs closed all the time, instead just hooking their outside leg and using that as a base to shrimp. Got back to full guard a few times that way, but as my partner wasn't locking my upper body, that was probably less difficult than it would normally be.
My next partner was a high level blue belt, who is always really helpful. This time, they gave me various tips based on what they've observed from rolling with me, which is awesome: I don't think anyone has done that for me before.
Main thing was to react to what they were doing, rather than have something in mind that I then constantly look to apply. Related to that, I need to use my legs a lot more when in guard, pulling them in, and also pushing them away once my guard is opened.
Finally for guard passage, I went with the teenager again, so this time I was the one giving advice. As with most people who are still fairly new, that was largely related to not leaving space when on top, using your hips and making sure that you trap the leg all the way through the knee pin pass. She was repeatedly easing the pressure midway through her passing, which meant my knee was free. Its something I do too: that's one of the great things about helping others, as it helps you realise your mistakes in turn.
Free sparring was up next, where I return to spar with the blue belt from earlier. That proved to be a continuation of guard passage, as they urged me to react to their positioning. For example, when they're crouched in front of you without good base, simply push them over with your legs and pop up to mount. I'm prone to staying on my back and waiting, rather than seizing opportunities like that.
Class finished with another spar with the teenager, after which I got a load of useful advice from the blue belt. I'd said I was having trouble with passing the spider guard, so they showed me three ways of passing, depending on what the leg is doing.
If its completely straight – a mistake – your hand circles underneath to break the grip, then you drive your hips into the leg and slide down to side control. If its bent, you again circle your arm to break the grip, then bring your same side knee into the back of their leg. Use that to press down and trap the limb, after which you can initiate your pass.
Finally, there was a reminder of Jude's pass, where you get both hands on the leg, yank up, then slide your knee into their ribs. Very helpful to have a reminder on all of those, so now I just need to make sure I remember to try them when I'm caught in spider guard.
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 22/04/2009 - Beginner
There wasn't a lot of technique today, just the half-guard choke from yesterday. Sparring started with guard passage, where I had the interesting experience of rolling with somebody smaller than me, which doesn't happen often. As ever, I spent most of my time on the bottom in half guard, aiming to shrimp in order to recover full guard.
I'm trying to rely less on having my legs closed all the time, instead just hooking their outside leg and using that as a base to shrimp. Got back to full guard a few times that way, but as my partner wasn't locking my upper body, that was probably less difficult than it would normally be.
My next partner was a high level blue belt, who is always really helpful. This time, they gave me various tips based on what they've observed from rolling with me, which is awesome: I don't think anyone has done that for me before.
Main thing was to react to what they were doing, rather than have something in mind that I then constantly look to apply. Related to that, I need to use my legs a lot more when in guard, pulling them in, and also pushing them away once my guard is opened.
Finally for guard passage, I went with the teenager again, so this time I was the one giving advice. As with most people who are still fairly new, that was largely related to not leaving space when on top, using your hips and making sure that you trap the leg all the way through the knee pin pass. She was repeatedly easing the pressure midway through her passing, which meant my knee was free. Its something I do too: that's one of the great things about helping others, as it helps you realise your mistakes in turn.
Free sparring was up next, where I return to spar with the blue belt from earlier. That proved to be a continuation of guard passage, as they urged me to react to their positioning. For example, when they're crouched in front of you without good base, simply push them over with your legs and pop up to mount. I'm prone to staying on my back and waiting, rather than seizing opportunities like that.
Class finished with another spar with the teenager, after which I got a load of useful advice from the blue belt. I'd said I was having trouble with passing the spider guard, so they showed me three ways of passing, depending on what the leg is doing.
If its completely straight – a mistake – your hand circles underneath to break the grip, then you drive your hips into the leg and slide down to side control. If its bent, you again circle your arm to break the grip, then bring your same side knee into the back of their leg. Use that to press down and trap the limb, after which you can initiate your pass.
Finally, there was a reminder of Jude's pass, where you get both hands on the leg, yank up, then slide your knee into their ribs. Very helpful to have a reminder on all of those, so now I just need to make sure I remember to try them when I'm caught in spider guard.
21 April 2009
21/04/2009 - BJJ (RGA Kilburn)
Class #220
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 21/04/2009 - Beginner
Opening technique tonight was a cross choke from half guard, when they're in the process of passing. You have a grip on their collar, but then they get past one of your legs. The choke is still an option, so switch to half guard, then put your other thumb under the back of their collar. Swivel to their knee, looping your arm over their head as you do now. Move back to the centre and squeeze for the submission.
I mentioned yesterday that I was having trouble getting into a good controlling position from guard. Luckily for me, that is exactly what followed: awesome!
Jude started by demonstrating how to remove their grip when they've grabbed your gi. There are numerous options, the simplest of which is to grab the end of their sleeve, fingers on top, then put your thumbs under their wrist. You could also use a pistol grip (grasping a handful of their gi in your fist). Either way, drive straight up to remove their hand.
Alternatively, you can figure-four their wrist, by putting one hand on top, then feeding your other hand underneath and grabbing your own wrist. Again, push up from here.
Two traditional ways to get rid of that grip are to hold your own collars and pull them apart (if they are grasping both your collars with one hand), or a more complicated process. That begins by grabbing their sleeve again with your opposite hand, then bringing your other arm underneath. Reach right through with that arm, aiming to prise off their grip that way.
Now that the arm is loose, Jude's next technique can come into play, a variation on the cross choke from guard. First of all, you need to get an overhook on their arm. As soon as you remove their grip, pull their arm down to your armpit and also bring your knees back (don't just rely on your arms to get them in close).
You can now bring your arm over theirs, then reach underneath and through to grab their far collar. With your free hand, grip the back of their collar, then bring your arm past their face. Bring the forearm against their throat, then complete the choke.
Best of all, you can follow this technique up with another, the triangle. If they realise what you're doing after your first grip, its likely they will defend by putting their free hand against the side of their face. While that blocks the cross-choke, the position of their arm means you can now push their elbow back, then bring your same side leg over their head.
Make sure you get that leg past their arm: if they still have their hand on your leg, they may be able to defend the submission. Once the leg is in place, bring your other leg up and lock (just cross your ankles: don't worry about triangling your legs yet). As soon as its secure, you can let go with your hands, then raise your hips. This will bring their arm up, making it easier to push it across their body.
Now you can get into position for the triangle. Grab the shin you have across their neck to hold them in place, then put your other foot on their hip. Swivel until you have the right angle to bring your free leg over your other shin, then lock on the triangle. Squeeze for the submission, pulling down on your shin if you need extra leverage.
Class is thirty minutes shorter on Tuesday, so there wasn't quite so much sparring. However, I did get in three free spars, the first and last with the same blue belt. I was mostly looking to play with reverse De La Riva, as I'd seen Saulo recommend it as a holding position in both his DVD and book. Didn't get as much of a chance to practice as I'd hoped, because my partner stayed low rather than standing up, but still helpful to work out the grips.
In between those two rolls, I had a relaxed spar with a teenager that was there: because I'm the smallest person in class, I offered to train with her. I tried to give some helpful tips, mainly on keeping her hips down when on top, and also walked her through the knee pin pass. Hopefully it was of some use to her: certainly of use to me, as I always relish the opportunity to practice teaching (not only would I love to teach BJJ some day, but its also a skill I'm looking to develop generally for my career options too).
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 21/04/2009 - Beginner
Opening technique tonight was a cross choke from half guard, when they're in the process of passing. You have a grip on their collar, but then they get past one of your legs. The choke is still an option, so switch to half guard, then put your other thumb under the back of their collar. Swivel to their knee, looping your arm over their head as you do now. Move back to the centre and squeeze for the submission.
I mentioned yesterday that I was having trouble getting into a good controlling position from guard. Luckily for me, that is exactly what followed: awesome!
Jude started by demonstrating how to remove their grip when they've grabbed your gi. There are numerous options, the simplest of which is to grab the end of their sleeve, fingers on top, then put your thumbs under their wrist. You could also use a pistol grip (grasping a handful of their gi in your fist). Either way, drive straight up to remove their hand.
Alternatively, you can figure-four their wrist, by putting one hand on top, then feeding your other hand underneath and grabbing your own wrist. Again, push up from here.
Two traditional ways to get rid of that grip are to hold your own collars and pull them apart (if they are grasping both your collars with one hand), or a more complicated process. That begins by grabbing their sleeve again with your opposite hand, then bringing your other arm underneath. Reach right through with that arm, aiming to prise off their grip that way.
Now that the arm is loose, Jude's next technique can come into play, a variation on the cross choke from guard. First of all, you need to get an overhook on their arm. As soon as you remove their grip, pull their arm down to your armpit and also bring your knees back (don't just rely on your arms to get them in close).
You can now bring your arm over theirs, then reach underneath and through to grab their far collar. With your free hand, grip the back of their collar, then bring your arm past their face. Bring the forearm against their throat, then complete the choke.
Best of all, you can follow this technique up with another, the triangle. If they realise what you're doing after your first grip, its likely they will defend by putting their free hand against the side of their face. While that blocks the cross-choke, the position of their arm means you can now push their elbow back, then bring your same side leg over their head.
Make sure you get that leg past their arm: if they still have their hand on your leg, they may be able to defend the submission. Once the leg is in place, bring your other leg up and lock (just cross your ankles: don't worry about triangling your legs yet). As soon as its secure, you can let go with your hands, then raise your hips. This will bring their arm up, making it easier to push it across their body.
Now you can get into position for the triangle. Grab the shin you have across their neck to hold them in place, then put your other foot on their hip. Swivel until you have the right angle to bring your free leg over your other shin, then lock on the triangle. Squeeze for the submission, pulling down on your shin if you need extra leverage.
Class is thirty minutes shorter on Tuesday, so there wasn't quite so much sparring. However, I did get in three free spars, the first and last with the same blue belt. I was mostly looking to play with reverse De La Riva, as I'd seen Saulo recommend it as a holding position in both his DVD and book. Didn't get as much of a chance to practice as I'd hoped, because my partner stayed low rather than standing up, but still helpful to work out the grips.
In between those two rolls, I had a relaxed spar with a teenager that was there: because I'm the smallest person in class, I offered to train with her. I tried to give some helpful tips, mainly on keeping her hips down when on top, and also walked her through the knee pin pass. Hopefully it was of some use to her: certainly of use to me, as I always relish the opportunity to practice teaching (not only would I love to teach BJJ some day, but its also a skill I'm looking to develop generally for my career options too).
20 April 2009
20/04/2009 - BJJ (RGA Kilburn)
Class #219
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 20/04/2009 - Beginner
Tonight's class focused on takedowns: as most of the people training had little familiarity with bringing someone down to the mat, Jude introduced various drills to ingrain the concept of getting underneath. First it was basic wrestling, shooting in and going for the legs, then shuttle runs in groups of three, where the person in the middle did ten hip throws on each of their partners before swapping.
Rest of class was given over to sparring, beginning with guard passage. I started on my back, which isn't often the case, so that gave me a chance to try and work some attacks and sweeps. Emphasis on 'try': I keep letting myself get into the old passive mentality and wait for my partner to do something. That can be of some use with the blue belts, but with a white belt, they're liable to sit there straining.
Also, I'm not capitalising on what I'm being given by my partner. The first white belt I went with was pushing as hard as he could with his arms, leaning back at various points, then standing and leaning all the way forward. I'm sure I'm supposed to be able to use that, but I'm still bad at reacting to force.
When I try for the sit up sweep, the arms are there shoving me back. It is also probably that I'm not being proactive enough, and attempting something like putting my foot on their hip to swivel to a better attacking angle. Definitely need to open my guard more, rather than just lying there in closed guard waiting to see what happens. Kintanon had some ideas a while back, which I think I've also seen on Saulo's set, so will take another look at the attacks on there.
As ever, I'm also stalling a lot in half guard. Like with closed guard, I need to open up more, using one foot to lock their leg and then shrimping onto my side. Getting the diagonal half guard recovery back to full guard would be good too, but I've been struggling with that so far. Rich got it perfectly when I was watching him spar later on, which reminds me I should be going for it more.
That white belt eventually passed, meaning I was back on top with my next partner, John. For once, it was pretty straightforward, as he went for an armbar but left too much space. That meant I could just move around to the side, pressuring with my hips and shoulders to drive into side control. Rare I get that opportunity, but good to practice taking it when somebody presents it to me.
Finally for guard passage, I was with one of the big guys, about the same size as Rodrigo. Also like Rodrigo, he was careful not to use his considerable strength: always great to see a white belt who understands that its about technique, not power.
He was so big I could only just get my guard closed, so almost immediately went to open guard instead. Although Jude tried coaching me through proper spider guard control, I wasn't able to keep the white belt at bay, so they eventually passed. Again, I need to actually go for something from open guard, as I can't afford to be as passive as in closed guard. It becomes a far more dynamic position when your ankles aren't locked together.
First free spar was with John, where yet again I was in half-guard most of the time, occasionally recovering back to half-guard if he managed to get to side control or mount. Same points as earlier, which is that I need to be a bit more open and get onto my side, rather than using a lockdown to push their leg back, adjust to a more secure half-guard, they get a bit forward, lockdown, adjust...over and over again.
Last spar of the class was with Rich. He keeps catching me in Ezequiel chokes: I asked if I was doing something to make that easier, and Rich said I've been lifting my head when under mount. That gives him plenty of space to get an arm underneath to set up the choke.
So, obvious lesson there is to keep my head glued to the floor to leave no room for the cross face. I remembered to do that under side control, as per Saulo's advice on his DVD, but clearly forgot when it came to mount.
I'm also constantly finding myself under high mount with Rich, which is definitely not a good place to be. Its useful to work my escapes from there, but there must also be some mistake I'm making which enables him to keep getting there. I'll have to pay more attention next time, and defend more carefully from mount.
In the changing rooms after class, the aforementioned big guy gave me a nice compliment: he commented how Rodrigo had said I'm a good person to roll with, because I stay relaxed and don't use strength. That was great to hear, as being a person people want to spar is a major goal for me. Of course, I don't have the option of using strength anyway, but its still gratifying to hear that somebody finds me a useful training partner.
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 20/04/2009 - Beginner
Tonight's class focused on takedowns: as most of the people training had little familiarity with bringing someone down to the mat, Jude introduced various drills to ingrain the concept of getting underneath. First it was basic wrestling, shooting in and going for the legs, then shuttle runs in groups of three, where the person in the middle did ten hip throws on each of their partners before swapping.
Rest of class was given over to sparring, beginning with guard passage. I started on my back, which isn't often the case, so that gave me a chance to try and work some attacks and sweeps. Emphasis on 'try': I keep letting myself get into the old passive mentality and wait for my partner to do something. That can be of some use with the blue belts, but with a white belt, they're liable to sit there straining.
Also, I'm not capitalising on what I'm being given by my partner. The first white belt I went with was pushing as hard as he could with his arms, leaning back at various points, then standing and leaning all the way forward. I'm sure I'm supposed to be able to use that, but I'm still bad at reacting to force.
When I try for the sit up sweep, the arms are there shoving me back. It is also probably that I'm not being proactive enough, and attempting something like putting my foot on their hip to swivel to a better attacking angle. Definitely need to open my guard more, rather than just lying there in closed guard waiting to see what happens. Kintanon had some ideas a while back, which I think I've also seen on Saulo's set, so will take another look at the attacks on there.
As ever, I'm also stalling a lot in half guard. Like with closed guard, I need to open up more, using one foot to lock their leg and then shrimping onto my side. Getting the diagonal half guard recovery back to full guard would be good too, but I've been struggling with that so far. Rich got it perfectly when I was watching him spar later on, which reminds me I should be going for it more.
That white belt eventually passed, meaning I was back on top with my next partner, John. For once, it was pretty straightforward, as he went for an armbar but left too much space. That meant I could just move around to the side, pressuring with my hips and shoulders to drive into side control. Rare I get that opportunity, but good to practice taking it when somebody presents it to me.
Finally for guard passage, I was with one of the big guys, about the same size as Rodrigo. Also like Rodrigo, he was careful not to use his considerable strength: always great to see a white belt who understands that its about technique, not power.
He was so big I could only just get my guard closed, so almost immediately went to open guard instead. Although Jude tried coaching me through proper spider guard control, I wasn't able to keep the white belt at bay, so they eventually passed. Again, I need to actually go for something from open guard, as I can't afford to be as passive as in closed guard. It becomes a far more dynamic position when your ankles aren't locked together.
First free spar was with John, where yet again I was in half-guard most of the time, occasionally recovering back to half-guard if he managed to get to side control or mount. Same points as earlier, which is that I need to be a bit more open and get onto my side, rather than using a lockdown to push their leg back, adjust to a more secure half-guard, they get a bit forward, lockdown, adjust...over and over again.
Last spar of the class was with Rich. He keeps catching me in Ezequiel chokes: I asked if I was doing something to make that easier, and Rich said I've been lifting my head when under mount. That gives him plenty of space to get an arm underneath to set up the choke.
So, obvious lesson there is to keep my head glued to the floor to leave no room for the cross face. I remembered to do that under side control, as per Saulo's advice on his DVD, but clearly forgot when it came to mount.
I'm also constantly finding myself under high mount with Rich, which is definitely not a good place to be. Its useful to work my escapes from there, but there must also be some mistake I'm making which enables him to keep getting there. I'll have to pay more attention next time, and defend more carefully from mount.
In the changing rooms after class, the aforementioned big guy gave me a nice compliment: he commented how Rodrigo had said I'm a good person to roll with, because I stay relaxed and don't use strength. That was great to hear, as being a person people want to spar is a major goal for me. Of course, I don't have the option of using strength anyway, but its still gratifying to hear that somebody finds me a useful training partner.
15 April 2009
15/04/2009 - BJJ (Beginner)
Class #218
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 15/04/2009 - Beginner
The weather in Looe turned out to be pretty good, at least for the first three days. Lots of sunshine and no rain, though unfortunately that also meant it was busy. Swarming with chavs too, for some reason: I guess they like Cornwall. Despite that, Looe is a beautiful place, with a gorgeous harbour and plenty of pleasant walks around the area. There is also a Rail Ale Trail you can do, where you pop into various pubs near the train line to get your leaflet stamped, sampling real ale along the way. I'm not generally a big beer drinker (I prefer wine, and sherry if I can get it), but fun nonetheless.
While I was away, Oli G very helpfully annotated one of his videos: hopefully that's going to be the start of a trend. Best of all would be audio commentaries, but not sure how easy that is to do. Either way, here's the vid:
I'd been ill last Wednesday, so as I only got back to London this Wednesday, that meant I only made the one session. Class tonight kicked off with guard passing, both from the same standing break. First secure the usual grip on both their lapels with one hand, pressing the other into their hip, aiming to hinder their movement. Step up the knee opposite to the hand on the hip, then stand up, switching your double lapel grip to a single lapel you can yank up with you.
Next, reach back with the other hand, wedge it between your back and their crossed ankles, then twist forward to break their legs open. Jude covered two options from here: first, you can reach to grab their collar and press your forearm into their neck, keeping the other elbow back as you drive your hips forward, pushing their legs out of the way for side control. Second possibility is a stack pass, so once you've opened their guard, hook round their legs and clasp your hands, stack them and gradually walk round to side control.
Jude had a slight variation on that stack pass, which was to do with the position of your knees. Once you've got a hold around both their legs and pulled them towards you, go to one knee. As you pass, ram that knee into their side, bringing the other knee up as you do so. This keeps you tight, and also adds greater pressure, which should aid your transition to side control.
Finally, Jude showed a baseball bat choke from knee-on-belly. At least I think it was a baseball bat choke, going by the grip, but then I've never done that choke before. Anyway, starts as normal: hop up to knee-on-belly from side control, using a grip on their collar and hip then doing a push up.
From here, you want to get your far hand into their far collar, thumb on top and palm up. The other grabs their near collar, this time palm down: this is where the baseball bat reference comes in, as your hands are now in the same position as if you were grasping a bat.
Sprawl back from knee-on-belly, dropping the elbow of your far arm across their throat. Walk round towards north-south, which should cause the choke to tighten and result in a tap.
Guard passing was the same old story, where I went with a couple of white belts and relaxed, waiting for them to do something. Both of them were gripping as hard as they could, meaning that the first one still held on to a sleeve he'd managed to get under my leg as I passed to top half guard. Easy enough to just pause until they got tired, putting my weight onto their face.
While it was certainly restful, it didn't help me to secure side control. As ever, I left too much space when attempting to secure a kimura, and they managed to reverse and go into my guard. I had thought that bringing my knee to the head might help, but I must have left too little pressure on their hips.
The second white belt was a little faster, as this time I made some other mistake that resulted in them being able to sit right up and go for a single leg. Again, not controlling the hips properly: I should have just stood up to try and work the standing pass, rather than going into defensive mode.
Having said that, not expending much energy meant I wasn't too tired before free sparring, which was useful as I ended up doing four in a row. That isn't normally the case, as I'll almost always sit out a few, but I kept being asked by people I wanted to spar, so that resulted in only one rest. Very rare for a wimp like me! ;p
Started with one of the blue belts, where I had a play with spider guard, but wasn't able to control them all that well. They had a knee up, so I found it difficult to off-balance them. Or rather, more difficult than usual, as my spider guard is pretty bad. My main problem with it, I think, is that I don't normally have a clear aim, as I always forget the basic sweep from there.
I also spent plenty of time under knee-on-belly and side control, which along with bottom half-guard and under mount have constituted the majority of my sparring for the past couple of years. Saulo has some interesting ideas on escaping, which I've been trying to incorporate recently, but need plenty more work. Hip movement is something I want to improve, and also avoid ending up flat on my back, which I give up far too easily.
Ben, a white belt, was next. With him, it was almost entirely half-guard, using the lockdown to push his leg back, while trying to then open up slightly to shrimp and escape. I got back to closed guard a couple of times, but like my other escapes, I have to stop being so flat. Ben eventually got through to side control towards the end: I recovered half guard again, but really should be trying to go to my knees more often from under side control, especially as I'd already spent so long in half guard already.
Up next was J-Sho, somebody I think I've only done guard passage with before, so was pleased to get a chance to roll with him. Like me, he's a fellow internet BJJ geek, but unlike me, he can back that up with a high level of BJJ, given that he's an experienced purple belt. I again ran through the usual sequence of attempting to get to guard, fail, they pass to side control, then either I get into half guard or they go to knee on belly.
I presume he was taking it fairly easy, due to being way better than me. Also, if he hadn't been testing out some kind of submission that involves wrapping my gi around my arm, most likely I would have spent a lot more time under knee-on-belly. Instead, I was trying to gradually work my arm free and get back to half-guard, normally ending up under side control instead.
Finally, I was back with the earlier blue belt again, finding myself under knee-on-belly yet again. I tried to keep in mind the principle of getting my elbow to my knee when under side control to stop them getting the knee through. This helped, but they still got their knee through plenty of times, leaving me to squirm away trying to shrimp out. Saulo has some escapes for this I've been trying, but not drilled them enough yet: hopefully with more mat time I'll start to get the hang of it.
This month is unfortunately going to be my last at RGA Kilburn, as my sister is moving again at the start of May to Cobham. I've been looking around at alternatives, because Kilburn will be too far, and there appear to be three. Nova Forca is closest, at around 5.5 miles, but the timetable doesn't quite fit. I'd also very much like to stay with RGA, so I was pleased to see that contrary to what I'd thought at first, there was an affiliate not too far away.
RGA Wimbledon (which incidentally was the first club on fellow blogger Jadon’s BJJ Pilgrimage) is about 9.5 miles, so its worth the slightly longer journey to stay with the RGA family. There is also Andy Roberts' place in Farnborough, which would be cool as then I could train with Jadon, but that's more like 20 miles I think, so probably too far.
If anyone knows buses from Cobham to any of those, I'd be interested to hear what the best routes are: I'm currently going by trains, for which it looks like RGA Wimbledon would be a 10 minute walk to Cobham station, then 34 minutes to Raynes Park, and finally a 25 minute walk to Ray Stevens club. £69 unlimited sounds reasonable, as I could make three classes from Mon-Weds, same as I've been trying to do at Jude's in Kilburn.
Also, I should be doing a major overhaul of the BJJ map soon. Simon Hayes, who has been very helpful in providing information about the Carlson Gracie clubs, suggested I split it by county, as there are now so many schools. It’s a good idea, but will take a fair bit of work, particularly as I’ve always been really, really bad at geography. Fortunately for me, unlike at school, I now have Google Maps! ;)
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 15/04/2009 - Beginner
The weather in Looe turned out to be pretty good, at least for the first three days. Lots of sunshine and no rain, though unfortunately that also meant it was busy. Swarming with chavs too, for some reason: I guess they like Cornwall. Despite that, Looe is a beautiful place, with a gorgeous harbour and plenty of pleasant walks around the area. There is also a Rail Ale Trail you can do, where you pop into various pubs near the train line to get your leaflet stamped, sampling real ale along the way. I'm not generally a big beer drinker (I prefer wine, and sherry if I can get it), but fun nonetheless.
While I was away, Oli G very helpfully annotated one of his videos: hopefully that's going to be the start of a trend. Best of all would be audio commentaries, but not sure how easy that is to do. Either way, here's the vid:
I'd been ill last Wednesday, so as I only got back to London this Wednesday, that meant I only made the one session. Class tonight kicked off with guard passing, both from the same standing break. First secure the usual grip on both their lapels with one hand, pressing the other into their hip, aiming to hinder their movement. Step up the knee opposite to the hand on the hip, then stand up, switching your double lapel grip to a single lapel you can yank up with you.
Next, reach back with the other hand, wedge it between your back and their crossed ankles, then twist forward to break their legs open. Jude covered two options from here: first, you can reach to grab their collar and press your forearm into their neck, keeping the other elbow back as you drive your hips forward, pushing their legs out of the way for side control. Second possibility is a stack pass, so once you've opened their guard, hook round their legs and clasp your hands, stack them and gradually walk round to side control.
Jude had a slight variation on that stack pass, which was to do with the position of your knees. Once you've got a hold around both their legs and pulled them towards you, go to one knee. As you pass, ram that knee into their side, bringing the other knee up as you do so. This keeps you tight, and also adds greater pressure, which should aid your transition to side control.
Finally, Jude showed a baseball bat choke from knee-on-belly. At least I think it was a baseball bat choke, going by the grip, but then I've never done that choke before. Anyway, starts as normal: hop up to knee-on-belly from side control, using a grip on their collar and hip then doing a push up.
From here, you want to get your far hand into their far collar, thumb on top and palm up. The other grabs their near collar, this time palm down: this is where the baseball bat reference comes in, as your hands are now in the same position as if you were grasping a bat.
Sprawl back from knee-on-belly, dropping the elbow of your far arm across their throat. Walk round towards north-south, which should cause the choke to tighten and result in a tap.
Guard passing was the same old story, where I went with a couple of white belts and relaxed, waiting for them to do something. Both of them were gripping as hard as they could, meaning that the first one still held on to a sleeve he'd managed to get under my leg as I passed to top half guard. Easy enough to just pause until they got tired, putting my weight onto their face.
While it was certainly restful, it didn't help me to secure side control. As ever, I left too much space when attempting to secure a kimura, and they managed to reverse and go into my guard. I had thought that bringing my knee to the head might help, but I must have left too little pressure on their hips.
The second white belt was a little faster, as this time I made some other mistake that resulted in them being able to sit right up and go for a single leg. Again, not controlling the hips properly: I should have just stood up to try and work the standing pass, rather than going into defensive mode.
Having said that, not expending much energy meant I wasn't too tired before free sparring, which was useful as I ended up doing four in a row. That isn't normally the case, as I'll almost always sit out a few, but I kept being asked by people I wanted to spar, so that resulted in only one rest. Very rare for a wimp like me! ;p
Started with one of the blue belts, where I had a play with spider guard, but wasn't able to control them all that well. They had a knee up, so I found it difficult to off-balance them. Or rather, more difficult than usual, as my spider guard is pretty bad. My main problem with it, I think, is that I don't normally have a clear aim, as I always forget the basic sweep from there.
I also spent plenty of time under knee-on-belly and side control, which along with bottom half-guard and under mount have constituted the majority of my sparring for the past couple of years. Saulo has some interesting ideas on escaping, which I've been trying to incorporate recently, but need plenty more work. Hip movement is something I want to improve, and also avoid ending up flat on my back, which I give up far too easily.
Ben, a white belt, was next. With him, it was almost entirely half-guard, using the lockdown to push his leg back, while trying to then open up slightly to shrimp and escape. I got back to closed guard a couple of times, but like my other escapes, I have to stop being so flat. Ben eventually got through to side control towards the end: I recovered half guard again, but really should be trying to go to my knees more often from under side control, especially as I'd already spent so long in half guard already.
Up next was J-Sho, somebody I think I've only done guard passage with before, so was pleased to get a chance to roll with him. Like me, he's a fellow internet BJJ geek, but unlike me, he can back that up with a high level of BJJ, given that he's an experienced purple belt. I again ran through the usual sequence of attempting to get to guard, fail, they pass to side control, then either I get into half guard or they go to knee on belly.
I presume he was taking it fairly easy, due to being way better than me. Also, if he hadn't been testing out some kind of submission that involves wrapping my gi around my arm, most likely I would have spent a lot more time under knee-on-belly. Instead, I was trying to gradually work my arm free and get back to half-guard, normally ending up under side control instead.
Finally, I was back with the earlier blue belt again, finding myself under knee-on-belly yet again. I tried to keep in mind the principle of getting my elbow to my knee when under side control to stop them getting the knee through. This helped, but they still got their knee through plenty of times, leaving me to squirm away trying to shrimp out. Saulo has some escapes for this I've been trying, but not drilled them enough yet: hopefully with more mat time I'll start to get the hang of it.
This month is unfortunately going to be my last at RGA Kilburn, as my sister is moving again at the start of May to Cobham. I've been looking around at alternatives, because Kilburn will be too far, and there appear to be three. Nova Forca is closest, at around 5.5 miles, but the timetable doesn't quite fit. I'd also very much like to stay with RGA, so I was pleased to see that contrary to what I'd thought at first, there was an affiliate not too far away.
RGA Wimbledon (which incidentally was the first club on fellow blogger Jadon’s BJJ Pilgrimage) is about 9.5 miles, so its worth the slightly longer journey to stay with the RGA family. There is also Andy Roberts' place in Farnborough, which would be cool as then I could train with Jadon, but that's more like 20 miles I think, so probably too far.
If anyone knows buses from Cobham to any of those, I'd be interested to hear what the best routes are: I'm currently going by trains, for which it looks like RGA Wimbledon would be a 10 minute walk to Cobham station, then 34 minutes to Raynes Park, and finally a 25 minute walk to Ray Stevens club. £69 unlimited sounds reasonable, as I could make three classes from Mon-Weds, same as I've been trying to do at Jude's in Kilburn.
Also, I should be doing a major overhaul of the BJJ map soon. Simon Hayes, who has been very helpful in providing information about the Carlson Gracie clubs, suggested I split it by county, as there are now so many schools. It’s a good idea, but will take a fair bit of work, particularly as I’ve always been really, really bad at geography. Fortunately for me, unlike at school, I now have Google Maps! ;)
07 April 2009
07/04/2009 - BJJ (Beginner)
Class #217
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 07/04/2009 - Beginner
I was still feeling a bit sore from yesterday, after all that half-guarding, but fortunately Tuesdays are only an hour. Technique started the same as yesterday, with a half guard pass. Jude mentioned a useful additional tip when I asked, which was to push your body forward if you're having trouble getting the shoulder under their chin. That will result in pressure on their face, which will have a similar distracting result.
Also slightly different from yesterday was the option of passing to side control rather than mount. Before passing, bring your legs towards the side you want to reach. Once you've freed your leg by prying it loose, your knee should point off to the side: you then slip through into side control.
The cross choke from mount was the same as usual, with points like bringing your head down to the same side as your top arm. Jude also demonstrated two different grips for the second hand: either palm down with the thumb in their collar, then dropping the elbow across, or alternately knife-handing your way down their face to reach the collar. There was also a third, where you lift up their head, grip behind then loop your arm over into place, but Jude noted that required a fair bit of strength.
While sparring from mount I concentrated on maintaining my position, using my feet and knees to squeeze my way up their body. Normally I wrap my arm under their head and then cling on there, so I wanted to try a more upright posture this time, working my knees under their armpits.
I still couldn't get anything, as I wasn't able to dig my way past Rich's clamped arms. There was the option of shoving my gi in his face, which Rich suggested, but that is purely about causing your partner pain, with the coarse gi material acting as sandpaper. Not very pleasant, and not something I'm willing to do to a training partner. I'd much rather develop a 'clean' method of getting past the arms, rather than relying on their pain tolerance being low.
To that end, I tried Roger's technique, where you put your hand in front of the arms, then drive it through with your hip on the elbow. That sort of worked, though I generally either got swept, couldn't get a deep enough hold, or wasn't able to secure the second grip. Spent both rounds on top, as Rich has hurt his thigh.
Next was guard passage, with one of the white belts. I was looking for collar chokes, but I'm bad at setting them. Simply grabbing a collar and hoping is not too productive, so I'll need to think carefully about how I can work the submission. Same goes for triangle chokes, though I at least have some vague idea of how I want to enter into those (e.g., spider guard, like Renzo shows).
I'm also not getting my sweeps when they stand in my guard: relying too heavily on the handstand, which they're generally avoiding by basing forward. That should mean I can then pull their torso down for chokes and armbars, but again that would require some actual submission skills on my part. ;)
On their knees, I need to be more explosive with my sit-up sweep. Back as a white belt, that used to be my highest percentage attack, but only very rarely land it these days. I could try going for the elbow rather than the shoulder, like Saulo shows it (IIRC), or just greater commitment when driving for the reversal.
My first free spar was with a white belt named Fabio, who for once is closer to my size. That meant I had a lot more options, so tried a bunch of different attacks. Still mainly looking at cross-chokes and triangles, with a brief attempt at a guillotine. As ever I spent some of it in half-guard, almost taking his back but then somehow ending up underneath him with my head by his legs. My back control remains terrible: almost always find myself on the bottom in some ridiculous position, or just guard.
Finally, there was a much bigger white belt, Rodrigo. However, he didn't use his size advantage, instead trying to stay technical, which was good to see. Though he was going very light, I still wasn't able to do all that much. I had a go at a triangle and armbar from mount, but on both occasions left way too much space, so it was a simple matter for Rodrigo to escape.
I had intended to train on Wednesday, but writing this up Wednesday morning, I feel like crap. So, won't be training again until I get back from Cornwall, next Wednesday. Shame to not make my intended three a week, but if I tried tonight, I would feel much, much worse, even assuming I made it through the session pumped up on medication.
Roger Gracie Academy Kilburn (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 07/04/2009 - Beginner
I was still feeling a bit sore from yesterday, after all that half-guarding, but fortunately Tuesdays are only an hour. Technique started the same as yesterday, with a half guard pass. Jude mentioned a useful additional tip when I asked, which was to push your body forward if you're having trouble getting the shoulder under their chin. That will result in pressure on their face, which will have a similar distracting result.
Also slightly different from yesterday was the option of passing to side control rather than mount. Before passing, bring your legs towards the side you want to reach. Once you've freed your leg by prying it loose, your knee should point off to the side: you then slip through into side control.
The cross choke from mount was the same as usual, with points like bringing your head down to the same side as your top arm. Jude also demonstrated two different grips for the second hand: either palm down with the thumb in their collar, then dropping the elbow across, or alternately knife-handing your way down their face to reach the collar. There was also a third, where you lift up their head, grip behind then loop your arm over into place, but Jude noted that required a fair bit of strength.
While sparring from mount I concentrated on maintaining my position, using my feet and knees to squeeze my way up their body. Normally I wrap my arm under their head and then cling on there, so I wanted to try a more upright posture this time, working my knees under their armpits.
I still couldn't get anything, as I wasn't able to dig my way past Rich's clamped arms. There was the option of shoving my gi in his face, which Rich suggested, but that is purely about causing your partner pain, with the coarse gi material acting as sandpaper. Not very pleasant, and not something I'm willing to do to a training partner. I'd much rather develop a 'clean' method of getting past the arms, rather than relying on their pain tolerance being low.
To that end, I tried Roger's technique, where you put your hand in front of the arms, then drive it through with your hip on the elbow. That sort of worked, though I generally either got swept, couldn't get a deep enough hold, or wasn't able to secure the second grip. Spent both rounds on top, as Rich has hurt his thigh.
Next was guard passage, with one of the white belts. I was looking for collar chokes, but I'm bad at setting them. Simply grabbing a collar and hoping is not too productive, so I'll need to think carefully about how I can work the submission. Same goes for triangle chokes, though I at least have some vague idea of how I want to enter into those (e.g., spider guard, like Renzo shows).
I'm also not getting my sweeps when they stand in my guard: relying too heavily on the handstand, which they're generally avoiding by basing forward. That should mean I can then pull their torso down for chokes and armbars, but again that would require some actual submission skills on my part. ;)
On their knees, I need to be more explosive with my sit-up sweep. Back as a white belt, that used to be my highest percentage attack, but only very rarely land it these days. I could try going for the elbow rather than the shoulder, like Saulo shows it (IIRC), or just greater commitment when driving for the reversal.
My first free spar was with a white belt named Fabio, who for once is closer to my size. That meant I had a lot more options, so tried a bunch of different attacks. Still mainly looking at cross-chokes and triangles, with a brief attempt at a guillotine. As ever I spent some of it in half-guard, almost taking his back but then somehow ending up underneath him with my head by his legs. My back control remains terrible: almost always find myself on the bottom in some ridiculous position, or just guard.
Finally, there was a much bigger white belt, Rodrigo. However, he didn't use his size advantage, instead trying to stay technical, which was good to see. Though he was going very light, I still wasn't able to do all that much. I had a go at a triangle and armbar from mount, but on both occasions left way too much space, so it was a simple matter for Rodrigo to escape.
I had intended to train on Wednesday, but writing this up Wednesday morning, I feel like crap. So, won't be training again until I get back from Cornwall, next Wednesday. Shame to not make my intended three a week, but if I tried tonight, I would feel much, much worse, even assuming I made it through the session pumped up on medication.
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