23/06/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #321
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Rob Stevens, Birmingham, UK - 23/06/2010

The bus was almost late again, but just made the train connection from Leamington in time. That’s going to be more difficult after the end of term, as buses change their times. So, I’ll be lucky to get the bus I need in time, which may make training a little awkward until term starts up again in October. So, hopefully that timing won’t work out as badly as I’m expecting, or I’ll be able to catch the bus from the other company (I’ve got a Stagecoach bus pass, but that runs out in August. So, I could then switch to Travel West Midlands, or whatever they’re called now) that does the route, presuming their times are any better.

I was very keen to make tonight, because I suspected that the crucial England versus Slovenia world cup game would mean attendance would be low. That tends to result in closer attention from the instructor, which was especially good today. Rob asked the people waiting before class started if there was anything we wanted to work on. As ‘the people waiting’ at that point consisted of me and Tom, I had a chance to request some escapes from modified scarf hold, which has been causing me problems for a while now.

More people turned up later, including Chris with a shiny new purple belt, so congrats to him: he got promoted about two weeks ago. Still, it was a fairly small class, and not many big guys there, which meant I had plenty of training partners around my size. After some drilling and work on takedowns, Rob moved into a detailed explanation of the technique, which had some cross-over with the escape Norby showed a little while ago.

To escape modified scarf hold you first need to free your trapped elbow. As Rob emphasised, this is often the hardest part. He suggested using your free hand to press firmly into their arm, creating a brace by straightening your limb. Bridge off both feet and shrimp. You may well need to do this multiple times to get the elbow loose, especially if your partner has good top control. You can also try grabbing around their elbow and pulling it towards you: mix and match to wiggle your arm free.

Once your arm is out, both your hands go to their lapel (the one nearest to you). Push that straight up and into their neck, straightening both your arms. Shrimp out, until you can wedge your near knee into their side. From there, you should have enough space to recover guard, or possibly even go for a submission if they leave their arm there (which is unlikely: people will probably move around, ending up in your open guard).

To drive this home, Rob then had us do specific sparring from that same modified scarf hold position. On top, I was looking to time my hip switch back and forth to side control, like yesterday. Of course, when your opponents aren’t white belts, this is much harder. It also reminded me to use north-south more often, and try to distract people by attacking their arm.

Underneath, I was looking to practice what we were just taught, but probably because everyone had just seen the scarf hold escape, people were tending to quickly switch to side control before I had much of a chance. Still, it did seem to help me get my knees in place quicker, and be more aware of my arm placement.

Free sparring was even more painful than usual, because unusually for England, it was hot and humid. I was sweating just standing around doing nothing, so once it got into the flow of sparring, everybody’s gi was soaked. As somebody mentioned, it makes you wonder how they manage in a climate like Brazil: I’m easily knackered at the best of times, so I can’t imagine how I’d cope training in those conditions every day

I went with five people, IIRC. Norby stayed very light, so was presumably looking to let me try things out. Nathan tapped me all over the place, but did mention that I was basically doing the right thing: however, I need to move from delaying the inevitable to a more proactive defence. I also need to watch out for footlocks, which I sometimes forget about because I avoid using them myself.

I was generally under side control, with the odd moment of scarf hold too. I looked to try Rob’s technique, but struggled to get myself into the straight arm position holding onto their lapel. I think I was probably failing to shrimp out properly, and perhaps going for it too late, when they were already switching their weight back to side control. Getting that transition from a scarf hold to a side control escape is something to keep in mind, and watching my arms don’t get harvested in the process.

I also found myself in top half guard a couple of times, on both occasions in an effort to drive through out of their attempt to take the back. I had trouble each time, but got closer than I normally do, as I tried to really focus on getting my weight into their neck and shoulder, and also yanking on their arm to stop them turning. My base could do with some work there, and I probably wasn’t being careful enough with my hips.

At the end of class it was announced that there would be a charity seminar at Victor’s new club in Mansfield. Brazil has been subject to some severe flooding recently, and many people have been put under great financial strain as a result, including people close to Braulio. So, if you’re willing to spend £30 and make it down to Gracie Barra Midlands, you’ll be rewarded with a top-notch seminar on Saturday 3rd July.

09/06/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #317
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Rob Stevens, Birmingham, UK - 09/06/2010

Rob continued where he left off last week, moving from maintaining the mount to taking the back from technical mount. There was a quick recap of last week, where you’re in mount and they turn towards you to start the elbow escape. Immediately bring the heel pressing on their front to their hip, while the knee next to their back shifts up towards their head. Make sure you lean forward and press your weight into their top arm.

The situation for this technique is that they’re defending their neck, with their hand near to their opposite shoulder. With your top arm, press on the back of their top elbow, to make sure they can’t turn towards you. Your other arm will reach behind and around their head, grabbing the wrist they have near their shoulder.

Rolling them over the knee you have behind their head, roll in the direction away from their back, still holding them in tight. This should enable you to take their back. If they somehow manage to turn and you’re about to lose the position, simply yank up on their arm and return to full mount.

This also works in half guard, in exactly the same way. The only real difference is that they might be able to block your second hook with their knee. That isn’t a problem, as you can lock your feet anyway, into a sort of half-back take. Apparently, this can get you two points in a competition, though I’m not too up on rules, so not sure of the specifics.

We did lots of drilling on that, which was good. That proved to be the only technique, however, as we then progressed to specific sparring from mount, in Rob’s preferred groups of ones, twos and threes. Also like last week, the person whose turn it was stayed on top, not the bottom.

I was generally able to escape from the bottom, either by sneaking my knee in, or somehow creating space then popping out either the back door or getting to guard. Bradley very nearly caught me with a nice triangle attempt when I went for a bridge and roll, which left me wondering if he would have had it if he was bigger.

On top, it was a mixed bag. Some people bumped me off quickly, while one or two I managed to hold on for a good while. As before, I was taking Rob’s earlier advice about reaching under their head and then grabbing the collar, from a low grapevine mount. That’s been working well for me, so I tried to progress into attacking for the Ezequiel. Unfortunately, I wasn’t combining the choke attack with a shift to technical mount well enough, so after the third or so attempt on one partner, I got rolled. With the second partner, I was at least able to adjust into a higher mount, so that was an improvement.

For free sparring, I started off with Rosie. I was looking to practice Braulio’s spider guard again, but failed to keep the necessary tight spider hook on her arm. I later went for an attack I’ve been playing with for a bit longer, the overhook from guard. This went a bit better, as I was able to switch to an omoplata. However, I didn’t secure an arm over her back very well, leaving it a bit late in the technique. So, like Bradley, I suspect that had she been bigger, she would have completed her attempts to escape.

I also had a chance to put Kev W’s passing principles into practice, though I think I may not be pushing on the hip enough. I can’t be certain I had the right positioning on her knee either. I did manage to cut under the arm with my hips, but again, I’m not sure how much size was a factor.

I then had an active roll with Christian, who is always good to roll with. We’re a similar size, so that means we can both be energetic, because we’re both still able to move each other around. So, when I grab his leg and try to use that to break his balance and escape, it at least has a chance of working, which I find is very rarely the case with somebody bigger. It also helps with submission escapes and the like.

Next up was a bigger guy, who I think was called Ian, but might be misremembering. By this point I was knackered, so it proved a good test of my defences when I didn’t have any strength left (not that it would have helped much with the size difference anyway). He eventually caught me in a choke, which I was trying to defend by getting my fingers into my gi, never a great option.

Really, really knackered, especially with the humidity, I was then with the instructor, Rob, who naturally got me in all sorts of submissions. He even stopped at one point and went for something else, noting he’d already got that choke earlier! ;)

Rob also gave me some good advice on pulling butterfly guard, which adds to what Kintanon has already suggested (as per his handy video). As you move in, grabbing their collar, have the knee of your hooking leg out wide, so not so high up that they can easily push it to one side and pass. Your other foot shouldn’t be too close, so that it is ready to either establish another hook, or potentially kick out their knee.

You can also switch sides if they look like they’re about to initiate a pass, bring the other knee out wide while the original hook becomes your base. That may also give you a chance to control their other arm, as you may now have an arm over the top of it.

The class overran a little, so I had to leave before the warm down in order to catch my train. Or so I thought: it got cancelled, meaning I had an hour wait for the next one. Sod’s law: should have stayed after all!

02/06/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #316
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Rob Stevens, Birmingham, UK - 02/06/2010

I was talking about old training partners yesterday, and that trend continued today, although this time in person. Rosie is somebody who used to study at Warwick last year (where she turned up to a few Warwick Uni BJJ meet-ups), and has just returned to Leamington: she trained at GB Brum before, so I wasn't the only one welcoming her back.

Rob was taking class again tonight, and like he did a while back, he was looking at maintaining the mount (although this time, it wasn’t from a low grapevine, starting higher up instead). For this technique, they are trying to dig their elbow under your knee and begin an escape. As soon as they move to get that elbow under, you grab their sleeve with your opposite hand.

Don't yank their arm across, but instead move your weight forward and come down with your elbow on the other side of their head. That should bring their arm across their neck. As soon as their arm moves, immediately shift your knee up to fill the space left by their arm, and push their elbow if you need extra help to stop them replacing their position.

Putting your feet into their hips, move up their body, and keep going until you get right up under their armpits. Squeeze your knees together, staying tight. You're then going to push on the top of their head, alternating between squeezing your knees and thrusting your hips forward, to get into a solid high mount with their arms right out of position.

If you're a little late removing their elbow from your knee, you can shift to technical mount. They've got their elbow under your knee and have begun to make space. Grabbing a sleeve with each arm, pull up on their digging elbow arm and push down on their other sleeve. At the same time, twist towards the side they're digging and bring your foot right into their hip. Your other knee slides up behind their head, into technical mount.

What you do next depends on their reaction. You could potentially go back to mount if you start losing your grips, or you could bring your arm under and go for a choke (e.g, wrap around to grab their collar, bring your knee right behind their head, grab their knee on the same side with your free head, then pressure for the choke). Alternatively, there is an armbar available, or the option to take the back.

Specific sparring was from the mount, and again we were split into ones, twos and threes. However, as opposed to the normal drill, where one person stays on the bottom the whole time, here you remained on top. That was an interesting variation, because what tends to happen to me with this kind of king of the hill is I'll wander up, get thrown off quickly, then to the back of the queue. Staying on top meant I had more of a chance to experiment and work on mistakes.

That was only towards the end through, as I was a three. Underneath, I as usual relied largely on digging an elbow under and either making enough space to slide free, or move into half guard. I managed a sole bridge and roll, but that tends to be rare in the advanced class, as people will often be wise to it and prepare their base accordingly.

On top, I was getting one arm under the head and grabbing their opposite shoulder, as Rob had taught previously. Definitely helps maintain the mount, with the other arm out to post. I was able to hold that for a good while on one person, but they eventually rolled free by grabbing my posting arm and straight arming it so I couldn't get my hand to the floor. My other rolls tended to be variations on that theme, with people finding various ways to eventually get free (I never manage to submit anyone from mount, unless they're a good bit smaller), like a tall flexible guy bringing his legs through.

Free sparring started with Rosie, and Rob announced that this first round would start from standing. Normally I'll pull guard fairly quickly, but Rosie made good use of her arms to stop me easily establishing grips. Eventually she went for a leg and I sprawled, then moved to take the back. I couldn't really do much from there, attempting various chokes.

I particularly wanted to give the bow and arrow a go again, but still struggle getting the legs in the right place. At some other point I ended up in spider guard, but failed to get the grip I wanted. I made an attempt to straighten out that arm by pushing into the other bicep, but couldn't manage to wrap up the arm and pull the sleeve across my thigh.

Next was Pete, another blue belt I like rolling with. I was aiming to move into butterfly, but he was aware of it and almost passed immediately. I just about got my legs into some vague semblance of open guard, with him pressing down looking to pass. Not very effective on my part, as it proved only a matter of time before he slid round.

As ever, I'm still too complacent under side control. I need to bridge and shrimp more regularly, but also more carefully, rather than just bumping to knock them off their offence. I seem to have gotten out of the habit of threading an arm under the neck and prising them upwards: I'm not sure if that is some latent worry about the americana (something Christina used to do to me every time I tried that), but either way, something I should be practicing.

I got to half guard a couple of times, but too flat, so again as ever, need to work to get up on my side. A few times I found myself in open guard and looked for reverse De La Riva: I have to admit, I'm always tempted by Saulo's depiction of this as basically a place to rest. Unfortunately for me, my reverse De La Riva isn't at that secure a stage yet, though I did finally remember to try the sweep, where you press into their leg. However, I keep forgetting that you need to hook their other leg too for that to work properly.

My last roll was with Christian, which started off with a chance at the triangle. I got distracted by the prospect of using an armbar to tempt him forward into a triangle, when as Rob said, I should instead have been focusing on controlling the head. Rob stepped in to demonstrate, showing how to use both head control and also stretching out the legs to stop them escaping (he called it scissoring the legs, so presumably that means you also squeeze them together). From there, you can then work for the triangle.

What I did was try for the armbar, wiggle around a bit, then eventually lose the position. After Rob's handy demo, we restarted from the knees, where I think I might have been in guard, but can't quite remember. Either way, we weren't there long, because another pair sparring almost crashed into us, so we had to move back, starting from open guard.

This time, I soon found myself under side control. Again I was being too flat on my back and immobile, though I did try to use the north-south escape a couple of times (which reminds me, that semi-worked with Rosie earlier). It didn't do much good, and also reminds me to try Roy Dean's suggestion from his recent UK seminar.

Next week I'll hopefully make the Monday and Wednesday again, although my gf is busy that weekend so I could potentially train on the Friday or Saturday too.

05/05/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #308
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Rob Stevens, Birmingham, UK - 05/05/2010

I spent my bank holiday with my girlfriend, up in Louth visiting our friends' new house: lovely place. Its also the big election tomorrow, so should be interesting to see who comes out on top. I'll vote Lib Dem as always, but this time it might actually count for something, which would be novel.

Another session with Rob tonight, this time looking at mount. It was especially good for me, as it was low mount with grapevines, my preferred option from there. Rob began by showing how to maintain the mount. Your hips should be pressing into them, while your feet go back under their legs. You can hook in conventional grapevines if you want, or cross your feet (as Kev recommended at RGA Wycombe). Rob's favoured method is to press the soles of his feet together, knees off the floor, making sure that all your weight it really driving through your partner.

Rob then demonstrated how to properly slip your arm under their head: again, this is something I like to do from mount, so should prove very useful. The key is to not simply hook under their head, but to reach right to the opposite shoulder, grabbing a handful of gi (alternatively, you can hook your fingers under the armpit, which also works for nogi). Your other hand is out for base.

So, if they try and bridge towards the elbow of your wrapping arm (very likely), you can bring your free arm to that side for base. Another advantage of gripping that shoulder is the ability to yank that back underneath you, especially if they bridge so explosively that you find your weight shifting off them.

That position with the knees off the ground also helps when it comes to moving into high mount, to secure an armbar. Lean to your basing arm side, providing you with the room to bring your other knee up. Gradually walk your knees into high mount, pressing your feet into their sides, squeezing in with your legs to suck up any space. Once you've got right up into their armpits, you can raise up and drive your hips forward. In this position, they can't easily bridge, and they also don't have any power with their arms.

That also means you can reach through with an arm, grasping their opposite shoulder (or indeed their gi, which enables you to switch to a choke if you want). Push the arm they have on that side across their body, then lean forward to trap it with your upper body. You can now slide your knee on the shoulder grip side right up to their head, staying tight.

With your free arm, grab below the elbow of their opposite arm and pull it across. You want to make sure they can't use this arm to defend, so if you can squish that arm against you and put their hand well away from any possible blocking positions, so much the better. Pulling that arm in also gives you room to bring your other foot to their head on that side, doglegging as with the usual armbar setup (your leg is curled in towards them, so you're leaving as little space as possible).

Gradually bring your shoulder grip side leg past their head, keeping it tight, until you can cross your feet and drop back for the armbar. If they put up any resistance, you can always move in a semi circle towards their head and then to their legs, which should pop their arm free into position for a submission.

Sparring started off specific again, from mount, with people numbered one, two and three as before. That is preferable to the usual king of the hill, as it means everyone is guaranteed at least five minutes underneath mount, because each number does a round in that position. I went with about four or five people I think when I was on my back, generally managing to bounce them enough to make space, then shoving a knee through. That works especially well when people are going for an attack.

The last person was quite big, so that was a little more difficult, although he was also less experienced. I tried Rob's suggestion from last lesson, where you block their stomach with a forearm and then use your other arm to lift their leg into half guard. I couldn't quite get my arm into place to lift the leg, so I'll need to work on that technique some more.

I later made a mistake when bridging, as I thought I'd managed to bump him forward enough to make space and get a knee through. Instead, I basically just helped him shift into high mount. Time ran out before he could get into place for a submission, but I suspect I may well have found myself tapping if that had gone on longer.

On top, I was getting put back into half guard most of the time, although at least I wasn't getting shunted off as sometimes happens all too frequently. Still, it was good to have Rob's technique to practice, but I struggled to get my knees up into their armpits. Possibly I was being too impatient and not securing a sufficiently solid mount first: my grapevines weren't as solid as I'd have liked, and I had trouble getting into Rob's preferred position with the soles of my feet touching. Driving more weight through my hips would have helped too.

I was again looking for butterfly during free sparring, scooting forward and looking to get an under and overhook. I could get the hooks on the legs, and finally remembered to press my forehead into their chest, but had much less success getting control of their arms. I also need to watch my knee position, and being more careful with my legs, as my partners were managing to back out too easily.

As a result I kept ending up in open guard when trying that, where I sought to secure that spider guard grip. Same old problem of not really doing anything once I'd got it, which was also the case with De La Riva (though I did briefly look to spin around to their back, but couldn't get my leg in place to start the process).

There was a female BJJer present for the first time since I've been at GB Brum (at least in the advanced class: I've seen a few in the beginners class which runs beforehand), but unfortunately she was only visiting. Still, it was nice to finally roll with a woman again, and also gave me a chance to practice my closed guard. I got into the overhook grip I tend to look for, but couldn't quite move into a triangle properly: I need to get a better angle.

On top of that, I should be a little less eager to immediately try and lock the triangle, instead just having the ankles crossed, then wriggling back on my shoulders until I've made enough space. Head control is something I keep forgetting too, though I sort of snatched at it this time. I think she had some kind of neck injury, as what I thought was an attempt to escape was actually an indication to stop (fortunately I realised in time!)

Obviously I also spent plenty of time under side control too. I got the running man escape, which was good, although the second time I tried it with someone else, I did it wrong and ended up giving my back. Not so good. That did give me some practice at escaping chokes, although I think my partner was going fairly easy on me (as he's a little bigger). I was trying to ease the pressure of the collar grip by gripping low on the same lapel then wrapping it under my leg. However, I'm not sure that was the right time to use that particular defence, as it is something Kev showed specifically against the bow and arrow choke.

Also like last time, I kept finding myself stepping over my leg with the knee up, from a half-remembered picture in Jiu Jitsu University. I really need to double check the survival section, to check if I'm doing it right.

21/04/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #306
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Rob Stevens, Birmingham, UK - 21/04/2010

I should probably try and sync up my bus from campus better with the train to Acocks Green, as there are mainly two options from Leamington Train Station: either the 17:28 or the 17:58. I finish work at 16:30, but only managed to get to Leamington for 17:30. There must be an earlier bus than that, even given the rush hour. Still, early days, as I'm still working out the best route.

Once I got the train, it was relatively easy. Even though the 17:58 was slightly delayed, I still got to Solihull at 18:27, in time to catch the 18:30 on to Acocks Green. Of course, it is worth noting that any delays to the Leamington train should probably carry over to the connecting service at Solihull, because it is on the same line. At least that's what I'm hoping!

Either way, I got to Acocks Green at 18:39, where it was a less than five minute walk to Gracie Barra Birmingham (even though I initially went the wrong way: if you see a sign for 'The Avenue', turn around and go in the other direction. In other words, out the station and turn right). Keep going until you see Station Road (shouldn't take long), then walk down that until you see a gym peeping out from between two shops. You can see it directly on Google Maps street view, so shouldn't be any problems finding it.

Once I'd paid my £60 to the desk (though it is direct debit, you pay the first month in cash, but it doesn't have to be immediate), the lesson started in a similar way to Monday. Again, it was running round the room with variations (knees up, heel up, sprints, sideways etc), interspersed with press-ups and star jumps. That was followed by shrimping, and a few other exercises I haven't done much before, like shrimping forwards, or another one where you grab the bottom of your partner's trousers, they walk forward and stop, then you drag yourself along the floor to get level again.

However, it was mercifully shorter than Monday, and also finished with some stretching. Rob then got into the technique, starting with a single leg takedown. You feint to get them to rock back on their heel, then drop forwards onto your front knee (you're in a mirror stance to your opponent). Grab low on their leg, your head inside, shoulder on the outside, underneath their knee. Drive forward and put them on the mat.

There are clearly plenty of EFN users at GB Brum, as not only does instructor Rob post there, but I had one person ask me if I was slideyfoot, while another mentioned they posted as Tom H. Perhaps unsurprising, as it is a huge club, with an impressive number of higher belts rolling on the mat: I think there were about three brown belts tonight, which apparently isn't even that impressive by GB Brum standards. Christian was saying that some nights, there are considerably more, alongside a fair few black belts too.

The groundwork selection was right up my street, beginning with a mount escape. That went straight into deep half guard, which isn't something I've seen much before (I know Jeff Glover has a popular DVD series on the topic, but I'd generally viewed deep half guard as a bit too advanced for me up until now). I really liked Rob's clear, detailed style of instruction, going over the technique several times, emphasising major points and never rushing through his descriptions.

You are stuck under mount. If they aren't already leaning forward, bridge to make them base out forwards. Brace your forearm across their torso, so that your hand is holding their opposite hip. Your same side hand grabs their pant leg, or ankle if you can't reach it. Drop your same side leg to the floor, knee pointing towards that trouser you've grabbed. The other knee is up, pressing into their back.

Bump them forward with that knee, then immediately shove that trapped leg over the knee you have on the floor, snatching half guard and pinching your knees together. You don't want to stop there, as now you bring both hands to that hip you were holding. Push up and come underneath their leg, slipping slightly down it as well.

You want to end up in deep half guard. This means that your shoulder is underneath their leg, while your head is by their hip and belt, clamped to the leg. You have one arm wrapped under and over, holding by the knee, while the other hand stays in tight to your body, or you could possibly hide it under their leg. Either way, you want to make sure they can't attack it for an underhook, an americana or something like that.

From here, you can now go for a deep half guard sweep. Walk your feet towards them (so moving in the direction of your head). When the moment is right, pendulum your legs back the other way, aiming to roll on top of that leg. Make sure that you hold the leg very tight, with arms that should now be wrapped under the knee.

If you don't, you'll be leaving yourself open for a triangle: an experienced grappler will be looking to pry your arm free in order to attack. Be patient, then using good timing (such as when they've strained away trying to break your grip in vain), move into a pass. Keep in mind the principle of either both arms in or both arms out, and also make sure that leg is controlled before your release the grip with your arms.

Sparring started with specific sparring from the mount, which was nice. I generally like to have a mixture between free and specific, as otherwise it can be difficult to work certain positions. The method wasn't quite king of the hill, but instead, everybody lined up and was counted off in groups of three. All the number ones would go on their backs, then after a while, all the number twos would do the same, finished with the threes.

I was a number one, so started on the bottom. To my surprise, I stayed there the whole time, which was a pleasant improvement on the kicking I got on Monday. I was generally just using the same leg drag to half guard, then shrimping to either get into closed guard or open guard. I didn't get a chance to use Rob's technique, but then that is going to take a while to add into my repertoire, not having used deep half guard before.

Of course, it tends to be easier to escape when specific sparring from mount rather than attack: things went much less well for me on top. I tried for my preferred low grapevine, but struggled to keep it: people were able to free their legs, dropping them flat, then quickly making space to escape. I did briefly manage to stop one guy bringing his long legs up and pulling me off mount, by staying low and scooting back to put him flat, but he managed it on the second attempt.

Free sparring followed, where I again had a roll with Christian. Unusually, this first one started from sparring, but both Christian and I were looking to pull guard: I dropped into half guard, then moved into open. Again, I wasn't able to initiate anything. If I had another private lesson, being proactive from open guard would probably be a good option, refining a few sweeps. We then moved through side control, knee on belly and at one point some kind of random reverse mount thing, during which time ran out. Entertaining stuff.

At one point, I was in Christian's guard, so was naturally keen to try out what I learned in Kev's private lesson on the twisting guard break. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get into the position I wanted, as his guard was slightly open, and he had some control of my arms. I should have just gone for it and tried something, or perhaps attempted to step back immediately like Kev showed. Hopefully there will be some specific sparring from the guard at some point, which should provide some opportunity to practice.

Sparring got back to normal after that, starting from the knees. I took Kintanon's advice about being less lazy pulling guard, sliding forward straight into butterfly rather than just flopping backwards like on Monday. I was with a white belt, who stayed very tight, stopping me from getting the butterfly grips I wanted. I managed to catch an armbar as he stood up, but mainly due to surprise: he was waiting for it, but thought I'd take the other arm. I was pleased when I later moved into a triangle, saw I wasn't going to get it, and instead took the armbar from that position. That's a transition I need to do much more often.

Finally, I had a roll with Rob, who obviously had no issues controlling me. However, he was taking an instructor role, looking to see what I did in various positions. Very helpfully, he told me afterwards that I was making some mistakes with my elbows under side control, and then when class finished, gave me some excellent advice on exactly what he meant.

When somebody is on top of side control and they scoop up your far arm, you need to bump straight away and dig that elbow free. You can also use your leg and knee to help you, looking to brush their arm away, as if you're trying to connect your elbow to your hip. Like most people, I try to make sure I always keep the other arm by their hip, digging that elbow if they start to work it free, but I've never thought about digging the far arm too. Definitely something I want to keep in mind next time, which should be a big help to my defence.

Importantly, Rob finished with a warm-down, which I don't remember happening on Monday (perhaps the assumption there was that you'd do a stretch yourself). This time I took a shower at the gym, and they're pretty good: IIRC, you have a choice of about four, along a wall sharing a partition (rather than separate cubicles). It would be handy if there were some hooks to hang towels, but I may just have not noticed them.

I should be training again on Monday, but as my gf is up on the Tuesday, that may be it for next week. I'll see if I can make it for the 18:00 basics class too, but probably unlikely given the bus and train I need to catch first (unless I manage to get a lift with Alex again). Before that, there's a throwdown in Essex, this Saturday. Feel free to pop down, as the more the merrier! :D