23/05/2013 - No-Gi (Side Control Figure-Four Lockflow)

Class #501
Gracie Barra Bristol, (No-Gi), Miles Pearson, Bristol, UK - 23/05/2013

I'm continuing to struggle to fit in regular training. I've been teaching consistently every week, but I haven't been getting as much time as I'd like as a student. The private lessons have been on hiatus while Dónal gets his exams sorted, which leaves Thursdays as my main option. That's therefore what I've been aiming to make, finally managing it again this week.

Tonight, Miles was demonstrating some attacks from the top of side control. He kicked off with a handy drill, where they are escaping and about to establish an underhook. You whizzer in return, reaching further until you can put the back of your hand on their neck, then swivel around to the other side, where you repeat the process.

The first technique of the night was a kimura from side control, predicated off a similar scenario. They are going for the underhook, whereupon you switch your base, into a sort of scarf hold facing their legs. Your foot is back for base, looking to lock up the kimura position as quickly as you can, to avoid being bridged off. The first part of that is slipping your arm underneath theirs, which further stops their bridging potential.

Push the arm back down to the mat, switch your base back the other way, facing their head. Step over their head, then twist so that you're sitting on their head, like you had gone for the kimura off the north-south transition. Ideally, you want to scoop up their other arm with your leg, further securing your position and also preventing their ability to turn and escape. From there, turn your body and apply the submission.

That lends itself to a lockflow from side control, which I first learned from Roy Dean. This flows from a kimura to a straight armbar to americana, then back again: I think Miles taught it pretty much the same way I've learned it in the past. The main thing Miles added was blocking off the other arm, either with the knee, or even better, fishtailing and trapping that arm with your shin. There was another nice point he mentioned, relating to the americana: get your elbow into the armpit gap, stopping them from bringing their elbow and initiating and escape.

With sparring, I was looking to try Levo's control from closed guard again, grabbing the head and underhooking, which I'm still not doing very well. Along with that I wanted to attempt to work on butterfly, particularly as I'm reviewing a really good Carlos Machado instructional for JJS at the moment. That didn't go well either, as instead of establishing guard, I was getting passed, then working from under side control.

It's interesting when they don't have that friction, which makes escapes easier. I was pushing on the head, messing around with the arm, and of course didn't have to worry so much about chokes and all the fun stuff you can do with a gi lapel. Final roll wasn't really a roll, as AJ was leaving for the army so had the dubious pleasure of a 'shark tank', where fresh people are jumping in every couple of minutes.

I went straight to mount and looked to see if I could isolate the arm, either for an americana or a head and arm choke. Neither got anywhere close, though I suppose I at least managed to hold mount, so that's something. ;)

02/10/2012 - Gracie Barra Bristol (Side Control Americana with Lapel)

Class #472
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 02/10/2012

Tonight's technique was an americana from side control, a favourite of mine. Rather than the typical set-up, Dónal showed a variation where you used the lapel. You are in side control, with their arm under your throat in the typical side control escape frame. Trap that arm in place with your head. On the same side as their neck-framing arm, grab their lapel and pull it firmly towards the space between their knees. You may need to yank on that lapel two or three times, in order to get as much lapel available as possible.

Next, quickly bring that lapel over their same side arm and feed it to the hand you have under their arm. This should end up looking like a sling: in other words, you're bringing a significant amount of their jacket over their arm, rather than just securing a grip with a slender strip of lapel. Get that grip really tight. Pull their elbow in, then move your body back slightly, and push on their trapped arm with your head, bringing the arm to the floor. Switch the lapel to your other hand, then swing your arm out from under their head.

If you're having trouble getting your arm out from under their head, start to raise their elbow, as that will probably make them crunch their body and automatically lift their head. To finish, you can simply lift the elbow while pushing on their wrist, or establish a standard figure-four. It's important that you get your weight into their hips and shoulders, as otherwise then can raise their hips and turn to try and relieve the pressure on their shoulder.

My thigh/groin is still giving me trouble, so I was taking it easy in sparring again. I've booked an appointment with the physio for next Wednesday, which will hopefully sort that out. I had a fairly relaxed roll with one of the white belts, where I wanted to practice stuff from LSG seminar. I forced closed guard a few times to try and do that, which was obviously bad technique on my part so I should avoid that temptation. Still, it didn't help me in the end as I didn't get to play with the position I wanted anyway. They leaned back, having noticed I obviously wanted to pull them in towards me, so I took the sit-up sweep instead. I also had a go at the Marcelotine, but didn't get my hand in deep enough.

Rolling with Dónal was again quite light as he took it easy with me. We managed to stay fairly flowing, although at one point I did knock him over with my leg basically just using strength, which was crappy given how light he was going. I often get stuck with my knees clamped to the floor against Dónal, which results in much sloppier escape attempts on my part.

15/04/2011 - RGA Aylesbury

Class #388
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, UK - 15/04/2011

I'm slowly getting back to normal training, as I again did most of the warm-up, except for the breakfalls and shrimping: I'm still not sure my knee is up to that. Tonight we were still working side control, which seems to be something I can mostly do as normal, especially on top (though my favoured step-over triangle is out for the moment, as that could definitely put strain on the knee).

Yas was off competing in the Abu Dhabi Pro today, having won the UK trials: from what I heard at class (though Kev still needs to confirm it), Yas managed to submit a black belt in her first match, then lost to another black belt in her second match. Pretty damn good going, considering that second black belt was already a purple belt Mundials medallist back when Yas had just started training. Hopefully there will be some videos later.

Technique from side control was the counterpoint to Yas' class on Sunday, as this time it was all attacks. Kev began with a kimura from side control, or at least that starts in side control: you generally finish it in north-south. Start in the orthodox side control, with an arm under their head, the other scooping up their far arm.

Remove the arm that was under their head, instead threading it through their far arm. It is important that you go under their wrist: if you somehow manage to get their hand stuck in your armpit or something like that, you're going to struggle to get this technique to function. To secure your grip, feed your gi collar to the threaded hand, cinching it in tight so their arm is stuck.

Next, move around to north-south, sitting on their head. Their trapped arm should be clamped to your shoulder, so that you can pull them up onto their side. Also be sure to slide your knee over their free arm, to stop them being able to create any kind of space. Put your own free hand in place by their wrist, ready to grab it.

However, don't let go yet, or they may wriggle out. Instead, turn your head: this will push your shoulder forward, and therefore also pry their arm forward too. Your hand is already there waiting, so now you can grab their wrist and establish the figure four. Making sure that you keep that arm stuck to your body throughout, apply the kimura by pushing on their wrist and turning.

Alternatively, you can also bring the elbow of your non-clamping arm to their trapped arm side. Turn your body towards their head, then apply the kimura from that lower position. I like to stay upright while sitting on their head, but the second option is equally viable. As Kev said, it comes down to preference.

If you make a mistake while looking to apply the kimura from that upright position, or they simply defend well, you might find that they are able to grab their own belt or gi. This will make it tough to complete the submission. So instead, you can switch to an armbar.

Bring your knee up on their trapped arm side. This will enable you to put your whole body into it when you turn towards their other side, which should break their grip. Make sure you keep that figure four grip, as it is about to prove useful. If possible, you also want to try and slip your foot into the armpit of their free arm, which again is to make it more difficult to stop their escape attempt.

Pinch your knees together to control their arm, in what is sometimes called a 'Japanese armbar' position (I'm not sure why: something from Japan, I guess? Or maybe Pancrase? Leave a comment if you know.) You don't have both your legs over their body, which means that the hitchhiker escape is a possibility. It's called that because they lead with their thumb pointing the way out, turning their body and walking around.

However, because you have that figure-four grip, they can't do that anymore. If they try to turn away, you can just apply the kimura. In order to relieve the pressure, they'll have to turn back. You can then drop back, switching your grip to finish the armbar as normal.

Specific sparring was with one of my fellow purple belts and long-time RGA Bucks training partner, Howard. Feels like a good while since I last sparred him, so it was good to experience his steady pressure game again (which is also the game I attempt to use as well). That means that he is an ideal person to spar when you're injured, because his style is always controlled.

On top, I was looking to stay tight, keeping my movements gradual and small. I was paying close attention to grips, where to shift my hand, and also see if I could isolate the far arm. At the same time, I was hoping to distract him by pressuring my weight on his arm and head, so that I could try and sneak a knee through into mount while he was thinking about that. However, Howard wasn't about to fall for that, so it ended up being a slow, tactical roll. Just the kind of thing I enjoy. :)

Underneath, I was missing the full use of my other leg, so bridging wasn't quite so easy, and I also found my usual efforts to hook and leg into half-guard was a little hampered too. Still, it wouldn't have made all that much difference, as most of the time I slipped into the running escape posture yet again. I need to be more careful of their arm getting through: Saulo does show a way of sitting up and swivelling out of that, but I couldn't remember the exact details.

Instead, I was working on wedging my elbow to remove the arm. That sort of worked, as Howard shifted to knee on belly, where again I wanted to keep driving with the elbow to make space. I should have walked forward more, to knock his knee off my side. I also needed to pop up my hips and swing through, as in the open guard drill we did last week, but I was nervous about my leg.

Another thing I must watch more carefully is when they pull out my gi or theirs in order to set up a choke. I could sense Howard was trying something, but my defence was a bit awkward, as I was mostly just shoving my arms in the way and trying to wriggle free.

Free sparring was similar, as I went with Howard for a further two rounds. Again, I kept getting into that running escape position. I also attempted to go for Braulio's escape a few times, where they have both arms over the far side. I still can't get that arm locked out and their balance disrupted. Chatting to Howard about it afterwards, I think I need to break their posture down more, so that they are not only being driven towards my legs, but also towards the floor. That Braulio video is another one I want to re-watch.

Howard was looking to take my back a few times when I was in the running escape or side control, especially when he managed to get some kind of twisting arm control (I think: can be hard to tell when you're on the receiving end). I made sure to hop over his second hook before he could establish it, though I feel like I'm missing something there. My hop was mostly just delaying things, rather than getting me fully out of danger.

My last roll was a relaxed spar with Stuart, my training partner from last week. That gave me a chance to play around with guard a bit, some practice holding mount and the inevitable chunk of time escaping side control. It is reassuring to know that there are plenty of people at RGA Bucks that can be trusted not to make things worse when you're coming back from an injury.

On a random note, the purple from either my belt or Howard's was running, so got a bit smeared across the bottom of my trousers due to sweat. I threw my gi straight in the washing machine after training (normally I hang it up and let the sweat dry out a bit, putting it in the wash the next day), so hopefully that will be enough to get rid of any smudges. After all, I only wear white gis, definitely not semi-purple ones! ;)

In media news, the second issue of Jiu Jitsu Style magazine is due to be released on the 21st of April. You can either order a print issue through the site, or the digital version on iTunes. That means wherever you are in the world, you can get your copy of JJS. As ever, lots of great stuff in there (I've read an advance copy), with Seymour, Meg and I all contributing pieces again. Cover features are interviews with Kyra Gracie and the mighty Jude Samuel, who happens to be the guy who promoted me to blue belt a few years back. :D

08/04/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #300
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 08/04/2010

It took rather longer than I expected, but I've finally got a new job. It is up in the Midlands, so I'll be relocating to Leamington shortly. That naturally means I'll be looking to train at Gracie Barra Birmingham, which is where I originally intended to train back when I started BJJ in 2006.

I'll definitely miss training at RGA High Wycombe, as Kev has without any doubt been the most approachable instructor I've ever trained with, always ready to answer my questions (of which there are always a lot!), no matter how silly. Still, this wasn't my last lesson at Wycombe, as I still have to find a place in Leamington, and I also don't start work for a couple of weeks.

Class tonight was very similar to the one Sahid taught last week when Kev wasn't here. However, rather than show two attacks, Kev demonstrated both offence and defence. He started with a basic escape to the knees from side control. There were a couple of tweaks on how I normally try this in sparring, which are very welcome as I suck at going to the knees.

First, you need to make sure you don't end up flat, with your legs straight out behind you. Instead, as you swim through to turn to your knees, have one knee up by theirs already, with your opposite elbow by the floor. That provides you both with a frame to prevent them pressing you down, and it also means you only have to bring in one knee, rather than both at once.

Second, you don't have to expend so much energy with the takedown. Generally, I bring my outside leg up, my head on the same side pressing into them, then drive with my head and leg to push them down into side control. That isn't necessary: instead, you can just walk round towards their back. If they don't do anything, you can take their back, and if they do, you can normally just follow them and end in side control, or at least half guard.

I kept instinctually walking around to the head side, when I should have been moving in the opposite direction (it is much easier to pop into side control there, as otherwise you end up having to go all the way past their legs. That can work too, but it is adding unnecessary extra obstacles).

The next technique was, like Sahid showed, a kimura from side control. Kev's method was a little different, and also simpler. You have you arm hooked under their far arm, the other under their head, in a classic side control position. Wedge your head past their arm so that it is trapped against one side (the technique can still work if you don't or can't do this, but there is more danger of there arm slipping free), then pull up on that arm, so they're on their side.

With your other arm, push their head down and step over. You can either keep your knee raised, or put your knees on the floor, so long as your knees are pinched into them to maintain control. Finally, keeping control of their limb throughout, switch your arms, then establish a figure four grip, locking their elbow to your chest. You can then complete the kimura as normal.

Sparring with Callum from side control, I noticed he was frequently putting both arms on the near side. That kills the typical bridge and shrimp escape, as you can't bridge into them. However, it is perfect for what Saulo calls the 'running man', where you make some space by pressing on their shoulder, then spin away from them. That shoulder push should mean you outrun their attempt to take your back.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the space, so just ended up scooting around on my back. I did manage to avoid a number of submissions, but it felt very much like I was only just keeping ahead of the attacks. On the plus side, I did sort of manage Gustavo Machado's escape from north-south again, though also as before, Callum would have been able to take my back if this had been full sparring (though admittedly he was expecting me to try that, as I've been attempting it a lot when rolling with him).

On top, I didn't feel as secure as last time. My weight distribution might have been off, or Callum was simply sharper with getting his legs tucked in and making space. I had real trouble stopping him curling up and jamming his knees underneath me, which would normally indicate I wasn't keeping my weight down enough, or perhaps trying to transition into side control variations too quickly and sloppily.

I killed the near elbow at one point, but wasn't able to capitalise. I probably got too fixated on looking to push back to make space and mount, which is of course exactly what everyone is waiting for you to try. More offence on my part would have helped, as I think I was overly focused on transitions, without the helpful distraction of a submission attempt.

03/10/2007 - BJJ (Beginners)

Class #92



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Roger Gracie, London, UK - 03/10/2007 – Beginner

Someone from Gracie Barra Calgary bumped into my blog earlier this week, presumably while Googling BJJ terms, as my glossary has appeared on their site. Cool. :D

However, that does remind me to ask that if anyone notices I’m talking rubbish anywhere in the glossary, please stick up a comment correcting me. The instructor over at GB Calgary mentioned that he’s cast an eye over it and it seems ok (very helpful to have someone of that level check for errors), but as I intermittently update that glossary, I’m always grateful for constructive advice. I’m merely a white belt, after all!

I wasn’t able to train last Thursday as I’d intended, because the trains messed up yet again. Not only did they screw my journey back on the Wednesday, but when I arrived at Farringdon on the Thursday ready to go train, I was greeted by a sign telling me there was no Hammersmith & City line service. What was especially annoying was that I hadn’t had any warning – if this had been a strike, then it would have been announced in advance. However, because this was apparently due to concerns over ‘safety issues’, the line shut down rather more suddenly. On the other hand, I should have checked for disruption before leaving anyway, so will have to remember to do that next time.

Like I said, this October is largely devoted to teaching (Excel and academic stuff), so training is going to suffer. Normally, I would have come down late tonight, if at all, so I could fit in some more work, but as my gf is visiting her parents this weekend, I can spend the Saturday getting my seminars prepared instead. That’s especially handy, because that gave me the hope I could make four sessions this week, which would make up for potentially missing BJJ entirely next week due to a conference my department is attending and at which I’ll be presenting.

Anyway, on to the training: tonight we kicked off with the osoto-gari trip as is fairly common, this time Roger showing us a set up in which you aimed to sweep the leg with your foot first. When they step back to stop you doing that, you then keep your sweeping foot in the same place, step forward, then swing the other leg forward for the osoto-gari. If they don’t move their foot, you can continue with the foot sweep.

Next up, Roger showed us some useful things to do in closed guard. First of all, he demonstrated that the best position you could be in on the bottom was with your opponent pulled in tight. In order to get them there, bump them forward with your hips and wrap up their head. Alternately, you can lift up with your legs until you can break their posture. Once you’ve got them down close, they have to somehow push themselves back up. Generally, that’s going to involve pushing on your chest, meaning that you can grab their arm. As they then try to raise up by basing off your chest, you can swing into an armbar.

Another option is once you’ve got them in tight, slip one of your hands deep into their opposite collar. Bring your other hand around the back of their gi, getting a thumb in. As they raise up this time, bring that other hand around their head and across their throat, setting you up for the cross choke. I found I had some trouble with the thumb grip, as first of all I found it difficult to dig that thumb in, then secondly when I had it, the grip was often loose. I think a way to rectify this would be get that thumb in deep as soon as you’ve pulled them in tight: that becomes easier if they have a particularly stiff gi, meaning it would stand away from their neck if you pull their head down.

Roger followed this up with some work from side control. To begin with, he ran through the kimura from side control, which Jude apparently taught earlier in the week. From side control, you need to get their far arm by your head, trapped against your shoulder (which I guess you’d either do by grabbing, or when they try and get their forearm into your throat). Keeping one hand by their near hip, move round to their head until you’re in north-south (i.e., facing their knees). Pull them onto their side, bringing a knee up tight against their back, also shifting your grip on their arm to a figure four (not sure if that step comes earlier?). If they grab onto their gi, tug in the direction your elbow is pointing behind you, then pull them arm back into position, where you can apply the sub.

If they manage to get a firm hold by wrapping their hands together, preventing your kimura, you can instead go for an armbar. Bring the knee that is against their back in tight, dropping back into the armbar position with your other knee over their neck. Switch an arm under their wrist, then lean towards their head in order to loosen their grip. Finally, complete the semi-circle by moving back into position, dropping back for the sub.

Sparring I wasn’t managing to get anywhere in particular. I started off with Nathan in closed guard. On top, I persevered with my usual tailbone break, which did eventually loosen his guard, but I was constantly leaving too much space to close in and move to side control. Like Chris, Nathan simply went to his knees. I had a stack pass secured at one point, but couldn’t close in tight enough to stop Nathan again escaping to his knees.

In my guard, I had a quick go at the sit-up sweep, where I yet again forgot to try the kimura from guard after it failed. MUST remember to attempt that sub! As has been happening repeatedly for the past two months or so, I ended up moving between open and half guard, but Nathan was simply too mobile for me to stop him passing. I need to move my hips more, and faster, as well as get those legs into position to prevent the pass. I still don’t want to get into a situation where I’m expending lots of energy and straining away in a macho battle of pride, but I should at least be using my small size to get up a bit of speed.

I had a similar spar with Seon, this time from side control. On top, I went to scarf hold a few times as I could feel him escaping, but couldn’t keep him down, and also couldn’t stop him getting his legs over and rolling me into his side control. Underneath, I managed to get to half guard, but then kinda sat there while he attempted chokes and then eventually passed. Oli was telling me to move my hips out and shrimp more, which is good advice: I should focus on doing that when in half guard. I tried moving to rubber guard to help get the knee through, as worked a while back, but this time to no success.

So, key things are the old problem of closing the distance so that I’m not leaving them space to escape, and to capitalise on my small size and speed. I have to move my hips more, and I also need to come into sparring with a clear idea of how I’m going to shrimp and escape from half guard, rather than just clinging on pointlessly.

I felt absolutely terrible after sparring, but I’d set out from Birmingham determined to make two classes. I was all ready to go, sitting by the mat writing down my notes so I could get on to the advanced, but continued to feel crap. So yet again, I left before the advanced, repeating my Wednesday pattern of coming in all keen then failing miserably to make two classes. I think I’m just going to have to accept the fact that fitness or willpower is going to let me down every time I want to double up on Wednesdays, so instead I should skip the beginners and only do the advanced. Otherwise I’m going to continue this pattern of one or two beginner classes along with no-gi each week, whereas I should be making two advanced and one beginner. Not that I don’t get my arse kicked enough by the other white belts (as happened today), but the more comprehensive arse-kicking I’ll receive from advanced should hopefully result in greater improvement. So: no more ambitious attempts to double up on Wednesdays until I feel a shitload fitter!

Something else I should start doing is make a sandwich for the train on the way down. Nathan suggested, as I told him I was wimping out for the millionth time, that I should probably eat more, and he’s absolutely right: clearly the two cereal bars I munch on the Chiltern Line aren’t enough to fuel my weedy frame. To finish on a somewhat random note, I went to the doctors today for the introductory health check, and apparently I'm 5'8. Always thought I was 5'7 - maybe I'm just under? Either way: meh.

21/06/2007 - BJJ (No-Gi)

Class #64


Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Leonardo Leite, London, UK - 21/06/2007 – No-Gi

Recently there have been a bunch of Brazilian guys I haven’t seen before hanging around the academy, who I presumed were friends of Felipe or Roger visiting. One of them wears a black belt, and is apparently called Leo: Zaf mentioned that he was here to prepare for the Mundials. He was also helping out with teaching, and took both classes today.

Leo is clearly keen on fitness, running everyone through a load of different exercises before we got on to the main technical section. Today also marked my first no-gi class, which I was a little apprehensive about, but also excited as its something quite different from anything I’ve done before. Its also the first time I’ve really had a chance to use my rash guard – breakfalling seems a lot more painful, and there is nothing to wipe your sweat on, but it is a lot more comfortable than a bulky gi jacket.

Leo began with two takedowns, both from an over-under clinch. You start with one hand behind your partner’s head (as opposed to neck: if you grip the neck, that gives them more opportunity to resist), the other hand on the inside of their arm, gripping their bicep. Pull them down and to the side using both your holds, keeping them tight as you do so. Keep going in both directions until they try to raise up, whereupon you step a knee in between their legs, duck down, grab behind and beneath their bum, then raise up and sideways for the double leg.

Next variation is if they’ve got a hold on your wrist with their same side arm. You twist your hand out and around, coming through with your other arm to grab their tricep on their gripping arm. Pull that down and past you, simultaneously stepping in tight with your knee between their legs. Switch your grip to behind them as before, but this time move the knee that was between their legs to the outside, you head on the other side, then drop them over that knee.

Leo followed this up with ‘king of the hill’ sparring, which unusually for me was takedowns from standing. I didn’t have much of an idea what to do, so tried to observe what everyone else was doing carefully. I attempted to get a clinch and try to get my hips back, but generally got either swept by my leg, or at one point someone did some sort of sacrifice throw (I think: not sure what the right term is, but he ended up alongside me). It’s going to take a long time to get used to takedowns, but it would seem one thing of importance from today was to be more careful of my leg position.

The lesson then moved into side control. The technique was Americana from side control, followed by a kimura. You begin with the usual arm underneath their head and other one slipped past their arm. The arm under their head reaches right up into their armpit, which you then use to pull them in tight. Your shoulder then digs into their face and arm, aiming to get it down to the ground. Once its isolated – helped by their more vulnerable position on their side – switch you elbow to the other side of their head, grab the wrist, then slip your other arm underneath by their elbow joint to go for the Americana.

If they manage to overhook your arm first, you can instead go for a kimura from side control. Using your grip on the arm, pull them in even tighter, so that they go up on their side, then step round and brace your knee against their back, to stop them getting their shoulders back to the ground. Switch your hold on their arm, then twist round for the kimura.

Next we did some specific sparring from side control. I was with Zaf, who is significantly stronger than me, but proved a good training partner nonetheless. Like he’d mentioned to Ben some months ago, he gave me tips on getting my weight down in side control. Recently, I’ve been sprawling out on one leg, bringing the knee of the other into their hips. Zaf advised that instead, I should sprawl out with both legs, coming up on my toes and driving down with my hips. If I need to block their hips, I can simply twist and press my own hip downwards, or bring the knee in as necessary (though this may well remove some of the pressure from my side control, unlike using the hip).

In free sparring, I was able to mount Zaf a few times and maintain the position, but that was it. My attempts to walk up into high mount and see if I could free a limb for an Americana or armbar met with little success. I also imagine Zaf could have easily thrown me off if he’d used his considerable reserves of power. I tried to switch into knee on belly before transitioning to mount, but I think I mostly just swung my leg over, which isn’t a good habit. I attempted to open up some space with my hips first, by shunting towards his head, which seemed to help a little.

My second partner was Oli, who unsurprisingly had little trouble subbing me from various positions. I resisted his RNC attempt for a while, trying to bridge up from his back mount and pull on his choking arm, but he methodically worked his other arm into position for the choke. However, I’m glad that I at least have something to go for rather than simply flail about aimlessly: should improve over time. I’m expecting to get a lot of practice doing escapes.

Finally, I rolled with Alex, a brown belt. I don’t think I approached it as well as I could have, as I think I was a little overawed, so played it cautious. He caught me in a series of submissions, as you’d expect. Next time, I want to concentrate more carefully on what he’s doing to try and figure out how he does it, or at least pick up some tips, rather than just backing off all the time.

01/02/2007 - BJJ

Class #27


Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Felipe Souza, London, UK -01/02/2007

Today I had a chance to work kimura and Americana from side control, both of which I’ve failed miserably to ever get in sparring. It was also useful to get some general tips on side control, as when I’ve rolled from that position before, I’ve been at a loss what to do (except try and get mount).

For the Americana (if I’m getting it the right way round), Person A starts on top in side control, right arm underneath Person B’s arm, the other arm pressed against Person B’s head. Previously, I had thought that the idea in side control was to push a knee up against your opponent, but it would appear that its better to go up on your toes, as that pushes your weight down on top of them. Person A switches their base (so brings their right leg over their left, basing out with their right, knee raised). When doing this, you need to be careful not to let up the pressure of your weight, such as by leaning too far towards Person B’s head. Immediately after you’ve switched base and grabbed their wrist, return to the previous position. This will leave Person A with one arm still underneath Person B’s arm, with all of their bodyweight against Person B’s other arm. So, when Person A pushes it down, their other arm is already in position to grab their own wrist for the Americana. Here are a bunch of variations on the 'bent armlock' position (i.e., Americana and kimura) from side control, thanks to trusty ol YouTube.



For the kimura, it’s the other way round – their hand points down instead of up. The set-up Felipe showed us was if Person B managed to loop their hand round your neck while in side control, as opposed to having both arms beneath you. This was a slightly more awkward position, as this time when you switched base, you had to reach behind your own head to grab their wrist and push it down. I also found that I kept grabbing the wrong side of their wrist, so had to readjust my grasp in order to facilitate the kimura. Here's a vid of a rather different set-up, from Gustavo Machado's site.

Sparring was ‘winner-stays-on’ with everyone else in a line. I had no success at all underneath, my first spar (against a fairly stocky blond guy with a beard and long hair called James) ending with him easily pulling guard. I fared better against Newton, but kept going through the same process. I would drive an arm into his neck, keeping a knee up, then trying to shift round to get guard. He would go for an Americana, I would keep moving round or resist some other way (straighten out my arm, hold his collar), ending up with him bringing his legs round and me on my side. Each time I attempted to push his legs or move underneath him, but found myself returning to that same position. Eventually, while I could possibly have resisted for a fourth (fifth?) time, I relaxed as he went for the Americana (not that I ‘let’ him get it, as no doubt he could have forced his way through – I was especially knackered from being crushed, as he is considerably heavier).

Against the American guy, Jeff, I got caught in some bizarre choke, which I initially thought was a clock choke using my gi – I probably would have had to tap if he hadn’t ended up in mount while I was resisting. Turns out he was actually choking me by feeding a gi through my arm, if I understood him correctly – sounded like something Yrkoon9 mention a while back in his log. Huey was about to shift round over me when time expired: at first I thought he was going for the same thing as Jeff, but guess I’ll never know.

Generally speaking, I had trouble getting space to shrimp out and get into guard. I occasionally got half-guard, or a vague hold on a leg, but couldn’t work out how to sweep from there. Certainly much tougher than the last time we did side control sparring, where I was at least managing to get back to guard a few times. I also not sure if I’m getting the fine line between being pigheaded and working my resistance right – couple of times, especially against Newton, where I thought he was close to getting the submission on, so I could have tapped, but then I also thought I had a reasonable chance to escape.

I only went on top twice, one of which was the aforementioned brief spar against James. The second time was with Gary, who to my surprise I managed to get an Americana just as we’d drilled in class. I’m not sure how much he was resisting – seemed to go fairly smoothly – so perhaps he was tired from a previous spar. Still, was good to have at least that small bit of success.

I think I need to be more careful about where I’m putting my arms under side control. Whereas I should have been manoeuvring them to my opponent’s chest so I could push up and shrimp for guard, I was tending to slip an arm under their neck or even around their shoulder, which didn’t achieve anything except give them an opportunity for the Americana. I managed to be proactive on top, but then didn’t have much chance to work this as I spent most of rolling on the bottom.

I’m not going to make the Carlinhos seminar this time round, my option instead being some quality cheese at a university 80s night, replete with a Wham tribute band!

Well, I’m excited about it anyway. Hooray for George Michael! Or in this case, George Michael-a-like.