Class #775 - Private #026
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 23/10/2016
To mark my approaching ten year anniversary in BJJ, I thought I'd book another private with Kev. Open guard has continued to be the weakest area for me, so we focused on that. Kev started off by sharing a few guard retention drills he's found useful (both to practice and to teach). They're related to the series he taught a long while back, but I think this version encourages more hip rotation, which is useful.
You've established a basic open guard, feet on their hips. They grab your ankle and pull it across, the beginning of a leg drag. Turn your hips in order to bring your other leg across, then push off that to recover square on. Then they go a bit further, so you push into the knot of their belt, again recovering to guard. The reason you go for the knot is that too far in either direction could lead to footlocks, them dislodging your foot and passing, or the Estima footlock (there's still a risk of that, but it's less). As you swivel, you yank your other leg free by pulling your knee to your chest.
If they manage to get to the knee cut pass, there is a counter you can try (a little like the ones from Leuven). Ideally you want to get your knee shield in, that's the most powerful defence. If you've missed that, first grab their gi collar, your fist into their neck. It's important your palm is facing down, that makes it harder for them to knock that hand out of the way. Your other elbow goes behind, to give you enough base to scoot away and get your knee shield in, then recover guard.
Playing open guard generally, Kev recommends getting a grip on their same side trouser leg first, as that tends to be the hard one to get. Shin-on-shin is the quickest guard to establish, making sure you keep your shin engaged. If you aren't actively pushing that into their shin, they can simply whip their leg around. Similarly, you need to keep your other leg pressed into their knee, constantly pressurising them.
Kev prefers sitting guard. Again, after you've wrapped your leg and arm around, keeping the pressure on their other leg with your free leg. If you don't, they'll squish you with their knee. From here, you can kick up to knock them past your head, or sweep your leg back to go into a single leg. There's de la Riva and x-guard entries from here too, but as neither of those are main guards for me, I can save those for a later date.
If they get strong sleeve grips, Kev suggested moving into spider guard to help reduce the power of those grips. He doesn't tend to sweep much with that (apart from the push on the floor one to knock them towards his head and then sweep), instead using it to set up closed guard.
From closed guard, there was another handy tip. The first thing Kev does is grab the meat of their hands by the thumb side, twisting both of their hands so they face upwards. That makes it really hard for them to get any kind of grips. Their reaction will indicate the next move. Kev likes to move an arm across and pull them in with the knees, to get that strong position where they are collapsed over their own arm.
That leads into what Nic Gregoriades randomly (but memorably) calls the 'chimp, chump, champ' series. The words don't entirely fit, but the idea here is that a 'chimp' won't react, so they just sit there in that position. Grabbing their lat, you can move into a back take. A 'chump' will make the mistake of putting up their leg on the non-trapped arm side. You can then hook that with your same side leg and sweep them. A 'champ' puts up their leg on the other side: that gives you the opportunity to move into an armbar.
My preference is the shoulder clamp grip, which Kev noted would be something to move into if they try to move their arms out to recover their hands. You can capitalise on their focus on their hands to pull them in and thread into a shoulder clamp.
Finally, in terms of passing open guard, there is another hand grip that's handy: you're also grabbing the meat of the hand, but the other side (i.e., under the little finger), forcing their palms down. As with the closed guard option, that makes it hard for them to establish grips. You can then step your same side leg behind their knee, moving around to a perpendicular angle.
Once you've got that angle and can drive your knee in behind theirs (into a sort of knee-led leg drag), you 'land the airplane', coming in low to lock up the pass. I think that was the last technique, hopefully I didn't forget anything on my way to the train. Before I left, Kev popped a fourth stripe on my purple belt, which is always nice.
Showing posts with label open guard sweep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label open guard sweep. Show all posts
23 October 2016
09 April 2016
09/04/2016 - Private with Kev | Open Guard | Leg Lock Defence, Calf Crush & Open Guard
Class #708 - Private #022
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 09/04/2016
I know very little about leglocks. I don't really care about being able to attack with them, but I am keen to nail down the defence. Rolling with Seymour at the GrappleThon, I kept ending up in 50/50 without much idea of how to get out, while he went for my feet. The last proper look I had at leglock defence was when John Palmer went through a few options with me, way back during my awesome 2012 Texas trip. Leglocks aren't something that feature in the vast majority of my training, so rolling with Seymour was an eye-opener. I had been planning to work on leglock defence in this private anyway, but that confirmed why it was important. ;)
Fortunately, it wasn't as complex as you might think. There are three basic principles that run through most defences, which I knew already, so that's good. First, 'put on the boot': pull your toes back and straighten out the leg that's being attacked, as if you were struggling to get on a boot. Second, you need to pull them towards you (e.g., grab their gi or head), as they need to drop back to apply most footlocks. Finally, stand up, because they're going to have a really tough time getting anything once you get the sole of your foot on the ground and can bring gravity to bear.
That applies to both orthodox footlock set-ups and stuff like 50/50. Kev added in some more specifics for 50/50 defence, which starts off with the usual putting on the boot, grabbing the gi and standing up. After you've done that, 'hula hoop' to put their locking leg in front of you, then grasp their knee and the bottom of their trouser leg. You can then shove that leg down and begin your pass. If the 50/50 is too tight, Kev suggested grabbing the locking knee, stiff-arming then shifting your hips away. I think I must have missed some details though, so I'll double check that with him next time.
You can also get in some early defence, such as getting a spider guard push into the arm they want to use to underhook your leg. Grab their same side arm, push into the crook of the elbow and use that to free your elbow. Sometimes you might need to hook under their leg as you're escaping, such as when you push their foot down and pop your hips over (I don't remember all the details on that, so will need to drill it some more).
As much as I don't intend to attack with footlocks, it is useful to know a few. Kev shared a nasty calf crush with me, interestingly entirely legal for white belts under IBJJF rules (as ever, that is just one rule set, but it's relatively widespread these days). From your usual straight ankle lock position, drag the arm you have underneath across the middle of their calf, aiming to pull as much calf up on the side as you can. Maintaining the tension, bring your other arm under, pushing the calf even higher. Lock that hand (thumb up) against the calf, then bring your other arm around the first, like you were trying to rear naked choke their calf. Squeeze, while also turning your shoulders away from the leg (i.e., towards their other leg). This comes on quick, so do it with control.
We also ran through some open guard maintenance again, as that's still my weak point. Kev did some light sparring, after which he said my approach is ok, but added that I should be pulling them into closed guard (because I said that's where I want to end up, progressing from the shoulder clamp etc). To do that is simple, you just need to yank them towards you when you feel their weight coming forwards. You can also do it like a guard pull, with a foot on the hip, grip on the collar, then pulling and swivelling from the floor. I'm also not setting up my ankle pick sweeps as effectively as I could. Kev suggested coming in closer and hooking the leg, IIRC.
There was a funky worm guard sweep too. In closed guard (or open, but closed was how we started), pull out their lapel. Get that underneath your same side leg, for which you'll need to open your guard, but keep your foot on their hip. Feed the lapel to your other hand. They will probably stand up at this point. Continuing pulling the lapel, yanking it behind their leg and again feeding to your other hand.
You're now going to do a final hand switch, so that you're grabbing the lapel with your same side hand, palm down. Bring your free leg on the outside of their wrapped shin. To finish, do a technical stand-up. That should knock them over, whereupon you can move through to pass or possibly even mount (you'll need to let go of the lapel for that).
Finally, Kev also got back to me on something I mentioned a few years ago (I was impressed he remembered!) about the 'cat' and 'dog' position with the back when inside somebody's closed guard. When you pop out your back ('dog'), that enhances your posture. It also makes it tough for them to climb their legs higher up your back. When he demonstrated, it put me in mind of Jason Scully's 'eat the belt' guard break: I should use that posture more. Good reminder. :)
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 09/04/2016
I know very little about leglocks. I don't really care about being able to attack with them, but I am keen to nail down the defence. Rolling with Seymour at the GrappleThon, I kept ending up in 50/50 without much idea of how to get out, while he went for my feet. The last proper look I had at leglock defence was when John Palmer went through a few options with me, way back during my awesome 2012 Texas trip. Leglocks aren't something that feature in the vast majority of my training, so rolling with Seymour was an eye-opener. I had been planning to work on leglock defence in this private anyway, but that confirmed why it was important. ;)
Fortunately, it wasn't as complex as you might think. There are three basic principles that run through most defences, which I knew already, so that's good. First, 'put on the boot': pull your toes back and straighten out the leg that's being attacked, as if you were struggling to get on a boot. Second, you need to pull them towards you (e.g., grab their gi or head), as they need to drop back to apply most footlocks. Finally, stand up, because they're going to have a really tough time getting anything once you get the sole of your foot on the ground and can bring gravity to bear.
That applies to both orthodox footlock set-ups and stuff like 50/50. Kev added in some more specifics for 50/50 defence, which starts off with the usual putting on the boot, grabbing the gi and standing up. After you've done that, 'hula hoop' to put their locking leg in front of you, then grasp their knee and the bottom of their trouser leg. You can then shove that leg down and begin your pass. If the 50/50 is too tight, Kev suggested grabbing the locking knee, stiff-arming then shifting your hips away. I think I must have missed some details though, so I'll double check that with him next time.
You can also get in some early defence, such as getting a spider guard push into the arm they want to use to underhook your leg. Grab their same side arm, push into the crook of the elbow and use that to free your elbow. Sometimes you might need to hook under their leg as you're escaping, such as when you push their foot down and pop your hips over (I don't remember all the details on that, so will need to drill it some more).
As much as I don't intend to attack with footlocks, it is useful to know a few. Kev shared a nasty calf crush with me, interestingly entirely legal for white belts under IBJJF rules (as ever, that is just one rule set, but it's relatively widespread these days). From your usual straight ankle lock position, drag the arm you have underneath across the middle of their calf, aiming to pull as much calf up on the side as you can. Maintaining the tension, bring your other arm under, pushing the calf even higher. Lock that hand (thumb up) against the calf, then bring your other arm around the first, like you were trying to rear naked choke their calf. Squeeze, while also turning your shoulders away from the leg (i.e., towards their other leg). This comes on quick, so do it with control.
We also ran through some open guard maintenance again, as that's still my weak point. Kev did some light sparring, after which he said my approach is ok, but added that I should be pulling them into closed guard (because I said that's where I want to end up, progressing from the shoulder clamp etc). To do that is simple, you just need to yank them towards you when you feel their weight coming forwards. You can also do it like a guard pull, with a foot on the hip, grip on the collar, then pulling and swivelling from the floor. I'm also not setting up my ankle pick sweeps as effectively as I could. Kev suggested coming in closer and hooking the leg, IIRC.
There was a funky worm guard sweep too. In closed guard (or open, but closed was how we started), pull out their lapel. Get that underneath your same side leg, for which you'll need to open your guard, but keep your foot on their hip. Feed the lapel to your other hand. They will probably stand up at this point. Continuing pulling the lapel, yanking it behind their leg and again feeding to your other hand.
You're now going to do a final hand switch, so that you're grabbing the lapel with your same side hand, palm down. Bring your free leg on the outside of their wrapped shin. To finish, do a technical stand-up. That should knock them over, whereupon you can move through to pass or possibly even mount (you'll need to let go of the lapel for that).
Finally, Kev also got back to me on something I mentioned a few years ago (I was impressed he remembered!) about the 'cat' and 'dog' position with the back when inside somebody's closed guard. When you pop out your back ('dog'), that enhances your posture. It also makes it tough for them to climb their legs higher up your back. When he demonstrated, it put me in mind of Jason Scully's 'eat the belt' guard break: I should use that posture more. Good reminder. :)
27 October 2015
27/10/2015 - Open Mat | Comp Prep & Marcelo Sweep
Class #675
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 27/10/2015
I've been trying to give my ankle a rest, as it still has that annoying cut that isn't healing (because I keep reopening it due to training). Today's plan with shoving a Compeed blister plaster on it, which may or may not turn out to be a good anyway. Mostly drilling for me today, helping Simon work on his triangle, with the usual tips on shoulder-walking back, highlighting head control and angling off. We also quickly ran through the technical mount escapes I taught last week, as Simon was away.
Once Chris arrived, that meant we could do some comp prep for Hereford. Simon was a good person for that, as while he's not a blue belt, he's relatively experienced now and in great shape. I'm hoping to do lots of this for all the people competing in December, to get them used to that higher intensity (especially the blue belts, as we haven't had any blues compete from Artemis BJJ yet).
Chris also had some interesting stuff to share on those cheeky open guard sweeps? Marcelo Garcia does, where he just hooks your ankles and pushes you over. That gets even more effective if rather than just hooking, you circle you legs back as you push. As well as knocking them backwards, you're then taking out their sideways balance too. It's not something I've tried from sparring, as my go-to when I don't have grips is koala guard at the moment, but this looks good too (maybe even combine it somehow?)
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 27/10/2015
I've been trying to give my ankle a rest, as it still has that annoying cut that isn't healing (because I keep reopening it due to training). Today's plan with shoving a Compeed blister plaster on it, which may or may not turn out to be a good anyway. Mostly drilling for me today, helping Simon work on his triangle, with the usual tips on shoulder-walking back, highlighting head control and angling off. We also quickly ran through the technical mount escapes I taught last week, as Simon was away.
Once Chris arrived, that meant we could do some comp prep for Hereford. Simon was a good person for that, as while he's not a blue belt, he's relatively experienced now and in great shape. I'm hoping to do lots of this for all the people competing in December, to get them used to that higher intensity (especially the blue belts, as we haven't had any blues compete from Artemis BJJ yet).
Chris also had some interesting stuff to share on those cheeky open guard sweeps? Marcelo Garcia does, where he just hooks your ankles and pushes you over. That gets even more effective if rather than just hooking, you circle you legs back as you push. As well as knocking them backwards, you're then taking out their sideways balance too. It's not something I've tried from sparring, as my go-to when I don't have grips is koala guard at the moment, but this looks good too (maybe even combine it somehow?)
26 September 2015
26/09/2015 - RGA Bucks | Open Guard | Koala Guard Sweeps
Class #667
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 26/09/2015
Kev began with a takedown off the usual grips. From there, press down on the arm that's gripping your collar, leaning on it until you can reach for the leg. Grab that leg and pick it up, which they will normally defend by certainly their leg to the outside (if they don't do that, take them down with a single). When they circle to the outside, step your other leg inside, posting it behind their non-circling leg. Drive and trip them, moving into your pass. As with the ankle pick sweep, keep your weight back so you don't fall forwards into a guillotine.
We then progressed into the main part of the lesson, covering various options from what Mackenzie Dern calls koala guard. It was the same sequence I taught during open guard month recently. I can therefore copy and paste most of that.
From sitting guard, immediately scoot in, hooking the leg you have on the ground around the back of their leg. Your collar-gripping arm goes around the back of their leg. Jam your head in tight against their leg, on the inside (or you're at risk of guillotines). You don't have any grips on their sleeves, meaning your sweeping options are slightly reduced.
There are plenty of strong options remaining though. Perhaps the simplest is a mini technical stand-up, basing off your free hand and other foot. Posting on your outside leg and your basing hand, lift your bum slightly off the ground, then scoop their leg with the leg you have behind theirs. Maintain a tight grip, then move into side control.
For even more control, it's useful to grip their sleeve with the arm you have behind their leg. Failing that, you can also grab their belt or their gi lapel. If none of that is available, you can just grab your own gi. Be aware of their knee positioning. You want to try and stay on the side of that knee. If they are able to drive their knee into your chest, that gives them a chance to set up a pass, crushing your back down onto the mat.
If you can get a grip on their sleeve, then you can feed that to the hand you have behind their leg. Get your free arm high around their back (you may well have to pull down on their collar first to put them in range), reaching around the outside of their head so you are 'pre-establishing' your cross-face. Roll them over, knock them down and go straight into side control, or mount (if you can angle your foot positioning to step straight through).
Finally, there was the roll under sweep, from the same starting position with a grip on the arm. Note this will be hard if their leg is far away from you, time it appropriately. Push with your foot into their thigh, they grab your foot and step through to pass. That puts them in position for you to dive underneath, reaching with your arm for their thigh and roll through.
Immediately get a grip as you come up, hooking your hands around the top of their belt and pulling it in tight (like Kev showed in my private lesson earlier). With your other hand, you're pushing their knee back to help the pass. If for whatever reason they are able to post (i.e., you haven't got control of their sleeve), you might find it easier to go for the back instead.
In sparring I worked on koala first, but wasn't getting far enough around the leg. That meant they could crush their knee down and flatten me out, starting their pass. The 'present the dish' cross-face concept was fun to play with, as well as trying to pull the gi across the mat to get their shoulders to the mat. That proved to be difficult, but still, felt good when Kev did it to me so I'll keep trying it.
Rolling with a fellow purple, I was looking to get on top with those new cross-facing ideas. Pulled out his gi, but I waited too longer and he was able to wriggle back into half guard. I kept trying the knee slide, then each time he adjusted his foot position with a kind of 'reverse lockdown', enabling him to turn whenever I attempted to push through for the knee slide. Bit like shin-on-shin, I think? I'll have to try it: effective on me! ;)
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 26/09/2015
Kev began with a takedown off the usual grips. From there, press down on the arm that's gripping your collar, leaning on it until you can reach for the leg. Grab that leg and pick it up, which they will normally defend by certainly their leg to the outside (if they don't do that, take them down with a single). When they circle to the outside, step your other leg inside, posting it behind their non-circling leg. Drive and trip them, moving into your pass. As with the ankle pick sweep, keep your weight back so you don't fall forwards into a guillotine.
We then progressed into the main part of the lesson, covering various options from what Mackenzie Dern calls koala guard. It was the same sequence I taught during open guard month recently. I can therefore copy and paste most of that.
From sitting guard, immediately scoot in, hooking the leg you have on the ground around the back of their leg. Your collar-gripping arm goes around the back of their leg. Jam your head in tight against their leg, on the inside (or you're at risk of guillotines). You don't have any grips on their sleeves, meaning your sweeping options are slightly reduced.
There are plenty of strong options remaining though. Perhaps the simplest is a mini technical stand-up, basing off your free hand and other foot. Posting on your outside leg and your basing hand, lift your bum slightly off the ground, then scoop their leg with the leg you have behind theirs. Maintain a tight grip, then move into side control.
For even more control, it's useful to grip their sleeve with the arm you have behind their leg. Failing that, you can also grab their belt or their gi lapel. If none of that is available, you can just grab your own gi. Be aware of their knee positioning. You want to try and stay on the side of that knee. If they are able to drive their knee into your chest, that gives them a chance to set up a pass, crushing your back down onto the mat.
If you can get a grip on their sleeve, then you can feed that to the hand you have behind their leg. Get your free arm high around their back (you may well have to pull down on their collar first to put them in range), reaching around the outside of their head so you are 'pre-establishing' your cross-face. Roll them over, knock them down and go straight into side control, or mount (if you can angle your foot positioning to step straight through).
Finally, there was the roll under sweep, from the same starting position with a grip on the arm. Note this will be hard if their leg is far away from you, time it appropriately. Push with your foot into their thigh, they grab your foot and step through to pass. That puts them in position for you to dive underneath, reaching with your arm for their thigh and roll through.
Immediately get a grip as you come up, hooking your hands around the top of their belt and pulling it in tight (like Kev showed in my private lesson earlier). With your other hand, you're pushing their knee back to help the pass. If for whatever reason they are able to post (i.e., you haven't got control of their sleeve), you might find it easier to go for the back instead.
In sparring I worked on koala first, but wasn't getting far enough around the leg. That meant they could crush their knee down and flatten me out, starting their pass. The 'present the dish' cross-face concept was fun to play with, as well as trying to pull the gi across the mat to get their shoulders to the mat. That proved to be difficult, but still, felt good when Kev did it to me so I'll keep trying it.
Rolling with a fellow purple, I was looking to get on top with those new cross-facing ideas. Pulled out his gi, but I waited too longer and he was able to wriggle back into half guard. I kept trying the knee slide, then each time he adjusted his foot position with a kind of 'reverse lockdown', enabling him to turn whenever I attempted to push through for the knee slide. Bit like shin-on-shin, I think? I'll have to try it: effective on me! ;)
02 August 2014
02/08/2014 - Open Mat | Butterfly Guard | Butterfly Sweep
Class #585
Artemis BJJ (Impact Gym), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 02/08/2014
After teaching the nogi class, it was time for open mat. Like I do every week, I wanted to practice the techniques I'm intending to teach over the next few lessons, in this case butterfly guard (or at least, that's what I'll be teaching at Bristol Sports Centre.) I have never been a big butterfly guard players, but I have always wanted to get better at it. The main sweep is among the most powerful in all of BJJ, as ably demonstrated on Carlos Machado's awesome DVD on the topic from a while ago.
After running through the basic sweep a few times, I added in the technique I'm considering teaching on Wednesday, where you follow up a failed sweep with a back take. If you're using the orthodox grip for the butterfly sweep, where you have an underhook reaching around the back to grab their belt, you can do basically the same thing as if it was half guard. Shuck their arm by knocking it with your underhook, using the momentum to duck under the arm and spin to the back.
Mark mentioned a handy pointer when I was drilling this with him. If you have the underhook deep to your shoulder, then knocking them is simple. But if you don't have that deep a grip, they can exploit that space if you try to take the back. So, in that situation, flaring your elbow out when you're knocking their arm can increase the efficacy of your back take attempt.
Having a look through the butterfly sweeps on my favourite online training site, BJJ Library. Saulo has an interesting option he calls the 'switchback sweep'. Rather than underhooking or grabbing somewhere on the sleeve, he grabs over the top of each arm, locking that in by grasping the gi. That means he can sweep his opponent in either direction, because he's got both arms trapped. The difficulty I had when drilling this was that I'm not able to trap them very effectively, as they can normally swivel their arms free. If I do trap the arm really tightly, I have to get in close and drive my shoulder to do it, making the other grip harder to secure.
Anyway, the switch to sweep the other way certainly works, it's that initial sweep which is hard. If the first sweep is mainly a feint, that would make sense, though I assume I just need to drill this more to refine my understanding. The principle is a good one, so I'll be playing with this over the next week if I get the chance. Mark tried grabbing their arm with both of his: that works too, but then you don't have an arm free to try and trap their same side arm.
Mark wanted to drill reverse triangles under side control. I do use that technique, but most of the time just to recover guard. I rarely try to actually submit someone with it, but Mark had some cool concepts on the position from a Braulio seminar he'd been to a while ago. He also mentioned how Braulio had said that if you're going for the triangle from guard, but don't have it locked in properly, you can try grabbing their head and twisting it at an angle. This may put the carotid arteries into the right configuration that you can then tap them just by squeezing your legs, even if you haven't got a 'proper' triangle secured.
The last thing I wanted to note from open mat was what Mark said about defending the knee cut pass. Apparently, Dónal and Mark's brother Chris both reach under their own leg and grab the passer's ankle, stuffing the sweep. Dónal then attempts to hook his free foot under the passer's foot, moving into a sweep. I haven't tried that before: it feels a bit like knee shield. Mostly I've been trying to use the mawashi grip from that Kev private a while back, but this looks a bit more intuitive. Both worth investigating some more in the future. :)
Artemis BJJ (Impact Gym), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 02/08/2014
After teaching the nogi class, it was time for open mat. Like I do every week, I wanted to practice the techniques I'm intending to teach over the next few lessons, in this case butterfly guard (or at least, that's what I'll be teaching at Bristol Sports Centre.) I have never been a big butterfly guard players, but I have always wanted to get better at it. The main sweep is among the most powerful in all of BJJ, as ably demonstrated on Carlos Machado's awesome DVD on the topic from a while ago.
After running through the basic sweep a few times, I added in the technique I'm considering teaching on Wednesday, where you follow up a failed sweep with a back take. If you're using the orthodox grip for the butterfly sweep, where you have an underhook reaching around the back to grab their belt, you can do basically the same thing as if it was half guard. Shuck their arm by knocking it with your underhook, using the momentum to duck under the arm and spin to the back.
Mark mentioned a handy pointer when I was drilling this with him. If you have the underhook deep to your shoulder, then knocking them is simple. But if you don't have that deep a grip, they can exploit that space if you try to take the back. So, in that situation, flaring your elbow out when you're knocking their arm can increase the efficacy of your back take attempt.
Having a look through the butterfly sweeps on my favourite online training site, BJJ Library. Saulo has an interesting option he calls the 'switchback sweep'. Rather than underhooking or grabbing somewhere on the sleeve, he grabs over the top of each arm, locking that in by grasping the gi. That means he can sweep his opponent in either direction, because he's got both arms trapped. The difficulty I had when drilling this was that I'm not able to trap them very effectively, as they can normally swivel their arms free. If I do trap the arm really tightly, I have to get in close and drive my shoulder to do it, making the other grip harder to secure.Anyway, the switch to sweep the other way certainly works, it's that initial sweep which is hard. If the first sweep is mainly a feint, that would make sense, though I assume I just need to drill this more to refine my understanding. The principle is a good one, so I'll be playing with this over the next week if I get the chance. Mark tried grabbing their arm with both of his: that works too, but then you don't have an arm free to try and trap their same side arm.
Mark wanted to drill reverse triangles under side control. I do use that technique, but most of the time just to recover guard. I rarely try to actually submit someone with it, but Mark had some cool concepts on the position from a Braulio seminar he'd been to a while ago. He also mentioned how Braulio had said that if you're going for the triangle from guard, but don't have it locked in properly, you can try grabbing their head and twisting it at an angle. This may put the carotid arteries into the right configuration that you can then tap them just by squeezing your legs, even if you haven't got a 'proper' triangle secured.
The last thing I wanted to note from open mat was what Mark said about defending the knee cut pass. Apparently, Dónal and Mark's brother Chris both reach under their own leg and grab the passer's ankle, stuffing the sweep. Dónal then attempts to hook his free foot under the passer's foot, moving into a sweep. I haven't tried that before: it feels a bit like knee shield. Mostly I've been trying to use the mawashi grip from that Kev private a while back, but this looks a bit more intuitive. Both worth investigating some more in the future. :)
26 July 2014
26/07/2014 - FREE Women's Class Starts Next Week! | Open Mat | Cross Grip Guard | Ankle Pick & Collar Drag
Class #582
Artemis BJJ (Impact Gym), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 26/07/2014
The FREE women's class starts next week on Wednesday! So, I'll put up the poster on this post. If anybody wants to share that around (hey, you never know), feel free: after all it's a free class. I've stuck up a few of these posters around town, so will be looking for other places to put them. As the class has funding until the end of the year, that gives me lots of time to build it up. Hooray! All women welcome! Lots more info on this exciting new Bristol BJJ class here. :D
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As usual, I had a specific goal in mind for the open mat today, drilling the technique I wanted to teach next week in order to work out any kinks. The only downside of open mat at the moment is that because it directly follows the nogi class, the majority of class tends not to have a gi on (especially in the current hot weather). Fortunately for me, there were two others with a gi, so I had someone to drill with after they finished rolling.
I was looking at two techniques from cross grip guard (I don't know how popular that term is: I'm going off BJJ Library and Jiu Jitsu University. In other words, open guard where you have grabbed the opposite collar). I frequently get into this position in open guard, both because I always go for the tripod/sickle sweep combination and due to Kev's recommendation from that private lesson. Building on what I learned from Kev, I've also been looking at a couple of videos Xande did on BJJ Library, where he goes into considerable detail on the cross grip guard and attacks from it.
First off, keep your basing hand behind you where you can't see it. The only time it should be in view, according to Xande, is when you are shifting off to the side for a collar drag, pulling them by the collar into the space you just vacated. You can then take their back. From the same grip, you can go for the tripod and sickle combination. To enter into the guard, grab their same side collar while putting your opposite foot on their opposite hip. Open up the collar and switch to your other hand. If you're greedy and start off with the cross-grip, that may leave you vulnerable to getting passed, according to Xande.
You can also go for the ankle pick sweep I learned from Kev last year, where again Xande has a bunch of tips. If they begin to stand up when you have the cross grip guard, follow them up into a sort of combat base position, grab their leg, then use your collar grip to direct them to the mat as you pull back on their leg. You can grab the heel/ankle for an ankle pick type takedown (hence the sweep name, which Xande also calls the 'get up' sweep), or the material somewhere on their trouser leg (e.g., by their knee).
Xande emphasises that the leverage doesn't come from trying to muscle them to the ground. It comes from your action of standing up. So, concentrate on getting the grips and then getting up, rather than getting the grips and driving forward before you've stood up. Xande also notes that you want to be careful of your momentum, as it's easy to fall forwards if you aren't careful of posture. Lean back slightly instead as you knock them down, getting into a secure guard passing posture, then do a knee cut. Your knee should already be forward and in place, making this straightforward.
It was very useful drilling that with the two blue belts in gis, as that helped me practice my teaching and indeed modified my intended structure. I had thought to start off with some technical stand up drills, but actually the hip thrust may be more useful. By telling them it was like a technical stand up, that just confused one of them, whereas he found the hip thrust made much more sense. That may well vary by person, but it's extremely useful to know that the technical stand up might confuse some people in the context of this technique. I may still put it in the warm-up, but I'll now be considering how to contextualise it more carefully.
Artemis BJJ (Impact Gym), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 26/07/2014
The FREE women's class starts next week on Wednesday! So, I'll put up the poster on this post. If anybody wants to share that around (hey, you never know), feel free: after all it's a free class. I've stuck up a few of these posters around town, so will be looking for other places to put them. As the class has funding until the end of the year, that gives me lots of time to build it up. Hooray! All women welcome! Lots more info on this exciting new Bristol BJJ class here. :D_______________
As usual, I had a specific goal in mind for the open mat today, drilling the technique I wanted to teach next week in order to work out any kinks. The only downside of open mat at the moment is that because it directly follows the nogi class, the majority of class tends not to have a gi on (especially in the current hot weather). Fortunately for me, there were two others with a gi, so I had someone to drill with after they finished rolling.
I was looking at two techniques from cross grip guard (I don't know how popular that term is: I'm going off BJJ Library and Jiu Jitsu University. In other words, open guard where you have grabbed the opposite collar). I frequently get into this position in open guard, both because I always go for the tripod/sickle sweep combination and due to Kev's recommendation from that private lesson. Building on what I learned from Kev, I've also been looking at a couple of videos Xande did on BJJ Library, where he goes into considerable detail on the cross grip guard and attacks from it.
First off, keep your basing hand behind you where you can't see it. The only time it should be in view, according to Xande, is when you are shifting off to the side for a collar drag, pulling them by the collar into the space you just vacated. You can then take their back. From the same grip, you can go for the tripod and sickle combination. To enter into the guard, grab their same side collar while putting your opposite foot on their opposite hip. Open up the collar and switch to your other hand. If you're greedy and start off with the cross-grip, that may leave you vulnerable to getting passed, according to Xande.
You can also go for the ankle pick sweep I learned from Kev last year, where again Xande has a bunch of tips. If they begin to stand up when you have the cross grip guard, follow them up into a sort of combat base position, grab their leg, then use your collar grip to direct them to the mat as you pull back on their leg. You can grab the heel/ankle for an ankle pick type takedown (hence the sweep name, which Xande also calls the 'get up' sweep), or the material somewhere on their trouser leg (e.g., by their knee).
Xande emphasises that the leverage doesn't come from trying to muscle them to the ground. It comes from your action of standing up. So, concentrate on getting the grips and then getting up, rather than getting the grips and driving forward before you've stood up. Xande also notes that you want to be careful of your momentum, as it's easy to fall forwards if you aren't careful of posture. Lean back slightly instead as you knock them down, getting into a secure guard passing posture, then do a knee cut. Your knee should already be forward and in place, making this straightforward.
It was very useful drilling that with the two blue belts in gis, as that helped me practice my teaching and indeed modified my intended structure. I had thought to start off with some technical stand up drills, but actually the hip thrust may be more useful. By telling them it was like a technical stand up, that just confused one of them, whereas he found the hip thrust made much more sense. That may well vary by person, but it's extremely useful to know that the technical stand up might confuse some people in the context of this technique. I may still put it in the warm-up, but I'll now be considering how to contextualise it more carefully.
01 July 2014
01/07/2014 - Artemis BJJ | de la Riva Guard | Omoplata & Threaded Arm Sweep
Class #577
Artemis BJJ (Impact Gym), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 01/07/2014
Having already covered closed and half, in July we're moving on to open guard at Artemis BJJ. Dónal started things off with de la Riva, as most of the students at Impact Gym now have a gi. Wearing a gi is not absolutely essential for de la Riva, but it certainly makes things easier. Dónal started with a few drills, first the one where you spin around their legs using only your legs, then practicing having at least three points of contact (e.g., hook behind the leg, push on the hip, grab a sleeve).
Next up, we moved into the entry for various de la Riva attacks. You've got your de la Riva hook (wrapping around the outside of their leg, hooking inside with your instep), grabbing their trouser leg with your same side hand. Your other hand is going to grab their opposite arm (called a 'cross-grip'). The first drill was to practice grabbing their opposite arm as they reached forward to get a grip, then push into the knee of their non-hooked leg to disrupt their balance. Sit up at the same time.
From that position, you can go for an omoplata. Pull their gripped sleeve back, by bringing your own elbow back towards your head. That exposes their elbow. Push off their knee with your non-hooking foot, raising your hips. You can then release your de la Riva hook, swinging that leg just behind their elbow. Bend their arm around your leg as you bring them down to the mat. You can then process to the submission as normal, although Dónal kept things simple and just stuck with the entry.
He also added in a second technique, which is the first de la Riva sweep I learned back at Gracie Barra Birmingham. You're in a similar position as before, diverging when you get to the part when you push into their knee and sit up. Shove the arm you've gripped down and behind their hooked leg. If you use a pocket grip, pointing your knuckles at the floor, it should be harder for them to disengage. Release your grip on their trouser leg and put that hand behind their leg. They will probably try to pull up, whereupon you feed their sleeve to that hand waiting behind their leg.
You can now grab the back of their collar with your free hand. Pull down with that hand, while lifting slightly with your de la Riva hook. That should roll them over their shoulder, meaning you can switch to side control. You will probably end up in top half guard first, so don't release your grips until you've cleared their leg.
I didn't do any drilling, as it was odd numbers (including me), so I was mostly wandering around helping people out. A few people were doing some interesting variations, like backstepping into mount when they swept rather than turning to side control. As Dónal pointed out, the reason for that was when they sat up and brought their trouser-hand to grip around the back of the leg, their arm was going around their own leg rather than above it. That tangled up their arm in such a way that they couldn't easily swivel into top half guard/side control, presenting the backstep into mount instead.
There was some sparring at the end, where I was with a few beginners. In specifics, I was looking for the tripod/sickle sweep combination, but they kept going to combat base. I thought about trying Josh's tactic of knocking out the leg, but didn't manage to quite get in position: I think my grips were getting in the way of that particular technique. Another reminder I should get more comfortable with butterfly, perhaps better suited for that position. I'm still not great at attacking when they are crouching down with a knee up.
Artemis BJJ (Impact Gym), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 01/07/2014
Having already covered closed and half, in July we're moving on to open guard at Artemis BJJ. Dónal started things off with de la Riva, as most of the students at Impact Gym now have a gi. Wearing a gi is not absolutely essential for de la Riva, but it certainly makes things easier. Dónal started with a few drills, first the one where you spin around their legs using only your legs, then practicing having at least three points of contact (e.g., hook behind the leg, push on the hip, grab a sleeve).
Next up, we moved into the entry for various de la Riva attacks. You've got your de la Riva hook (wrapping around the outside of their leg, hooking inside with your instep), grabbing their trouser leg with your same side hand. Your other hand is going to grab their opposite arm (called a 'cross-grip'). The first drill was to practice grabbing their opposite arm as they reached forward to get a grip, then push into the knee of their non-hooked leg to disrupt their balance. Sit up at the same time.
From that position, you can go for an omoplata. Pull their gripped sleeve back, by bringing your own elbow back towards your head. That exposes their elbow. Push off their knee with your non-hooking foot, raising your hips. You can then release your de la Riva hook, swinging that leg just behind their elbow. Bend their arm around your leg as you bring them down to the mat. You can then process to the submission as normal, although Dónal kept things simple and just stuck with the entry.
He also added in a second technique, which is the first de la Riva sweep I learned back at Gracie Barra Birmingham. You're in a similar position as before, diverging when you get to the part when you push into their knee and sit up. Shove the arm you've gripped down and behind their hooked leg. If you use a pocket grip, pointing your knuckles at the floor, it should be harder for them to disengage. Release your grip on their trouser leg and put that hand behind their leg. They will probably try to pull up, whereupon you feed their sleeve to that hand waiting behind their leg. You can now grab the back of their collar with your free hand. Pull down with that hand, while lifting slightly with your de la Riva hook. That should roll them over their shoulder, meaning you can switch to side control. You will probably end up in top half guard first, so don't release your grips until you've cleared their leg.
I didn't do any drilling, as it was odd numbers (including me), so I was mostly wandering around helping people out. A few people were doing some interesting variations, like backstepping into mount when they swept rather than turning to side control. As Dónal pointed out, the reason for that was when they sat up and brought their trouser-hand to grip around the back of the leg, their arm was going around their own leg rather than above it. That tangled up their arm in such a way that they couldn't easily swivel into top half guard/side control, presenting the backstep into mount instead.
There was some sparring at the end, where I was with a few beginners. In specifics, I was looking for the tripod/sickle sweep combination, but they kept going to combat base. I thought about trying Josh's tactic of knocking out the leg, but didn't manage to quite get in position: I think my grips were getting in the way of that particular technique. Another reminder I should get more comfortable with butterfly, perhaps better suited for that position. I'm still not great at attacking when they are crouching down with a knee up.
28 February 2014
28/02/2014 - Private with Kev (Running Escape & Lasso Spider Guard Sweeps)
Class #546 - Private #018
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 28/02/2013
This is a technique I've used many times, I've learned it from several instructors, I've studied DVDs, I've had private lessons on it before and I've taught lessons on it myself. However, I've never had a private lesson on the running escape with my black belt instructor, Kev Capel. I was therefore looking forward to the tweaks he could add, hopefully enabling me to finally break through some of my problems with that technique.
My biggest problem, a long-term issue I've mentioned frequently over the years on this blog, is that I stall in what Saulo calls the running escape 'survival posture'. I'm aware of the escape from there, having taught both Saulo's original turn to guard and hip swing in multiple lessons, but I am still failing to do it enough myself. Dónal's tips in my previous private lesson on the topic helped, where he recommend shoving with your elbow and arm to make space before the swing, but my technique remains inefficient and overly passive.
More practice is one obvious solution: since late last year I haven't been getting as much sparring time as I would like, though now that Artemis BJJ is up and running, I'm at least getting regular training again. That should improve further once we open up our second location in a month or two. In preparation for this lesson, I re-read my old notes and had a look at some more videos. Jason Scully has a quite different version on the Grapplers Guide, which has really expanded its video content since I reviewed it way back in 2008. Scully has one video on the running escape that particularly caught my attention, as it deals with the common situation that they have got their arm past your hip. This is something Jeff Rockwell covered during his lesson on the technique too, but Scully's variation is one I haven't seen before.
The main difference is how Scully uses his elbows against the person on top. He digs one into their armpit, so that the point of the elbow is poking out, the other elbow in a parallel position on the other side. With that elbow in place, Scully can pop free, pressuring them downwards, putting him in position to attack the turtle. That's an option I intend to play with in the future and mentioned briefly to Kev in this private, but more important is building on what I already know.
On that score, Kev provided me with some excellent tips. From the standard running escape survival position, Kev noted firstly that you must keep in mind it is a bad position to be in: from his perspective, that's actually where he wants you to be during his leg drag pass. Still, if you can prevent them securing a good grip with their arms and trapping your legs with their knee, you have a number of escapes from here.
That begins with the leg swing escape I normally do (and should be doing more often). Make some space by shoving them with your elbow, then push off your feet to fire your hips into them as well, swinging your legs through to establish guard. This is ideal for when their weight is high on your body. If their weight is low, then you won't have the space to get your hips up.
However, to get their weight lower on your body, it is likely that one of their legs will be in range for your next escape, empty half (among Eddie Bravo's least silly bits of terminology). In the running escape, I raise the knee of the leg I've stepped over. With that same leg, reach back and hook their leg: this should be especially easy to do if they are looking for that leg drag and therefore have their leg close to yours. Hook and pull it towards you, switching it to your bottom leg once it becomes feasible. You can then transition into butterfly guard and may even be able to go right into a sweep.
If that fails, it will probably mean they have moved up your body to avoid their leg getting trapped. To do so will hopefully leave enough space to return to the previous escape, swinging your legs and hips. Be ready to make that transition if the empty half moves out of reach. Yet another option is to go for their arm instead, which will be looking to get past your hip.
Grabbing the sleeve of that arm and stiff-arming it away from you is a surprisingly powerful control. This works when escaping the back too, as they will find it tough to maintain control if that arm is stuck out away from their body like that. You can use that grip as leverage to recover guard, or in a similar motion to the stiff arm escape I've discussed before, except it is on the far arm rather than the one near your head. Should they manage to bend their arm, you still have the option of Beneville's 'shin in elbow' trick from Strategic Guard. Pressing your knee into the crook of their trapped arm can act as another leverage point to walk your way back into guard.
A more unorthodox approach, which Kev has been taught by Roger in the past, is to wrap your arm around the outside of your leg. Doing this to both legs makes it more difficult that you'd expect for them to pass, as they are almost certainly going to put their arms in range to be gripped. Finally on side control, Kev uses a simple escape for when they are moving to north-south, so essentially it's a transitional side control escape. As soon as you feel them moving around and putting their arm by your hip, bridge and turn in the direction of your hip bracing arm.
This is from the usual side control bottom frame of an arm into the neck and the other by the hip. If they are moving towards your head, that arm into the hip ends up taking a bit of weight. Nevertheless, you shouldn't need to shove to get this turn. It feels very smooth when you practice it, turning and then slipping that hip bracing arm down and around their leg or back. You can then move directly into the usual side control escape to your knees, grabbing their far knee and moving into side control top yourself.
We finished off the private lesson with a couple of techniques from my favoured lasso spider guard, as I mentioned that's somewhere else I often stall. Although I'm aware of the basic sweep where you bait them to try and pass to the opposite side of the lasso and roll them over, I rarely land it. I tend to look for a tripod/sickle sweep combination when they stand up. However, if they are on their knees I don't have a go-to option: thanks to Kev, now I do.
Start off with the classic option of kicking your leg up into their non-lassoed bicep, looking to knock them over. To resist they will probably stand up. From here, if you're not going for that tripod/sickle combination, unwrap the lasso and put that foot on the floor between their legs. Kick the other leg up in their bicep and pull on both their arms, with the intention of making them take a big step forward. That should put their legs in range of your arms: wrap them both up tightly. Put one foot into their hip (or just use your calf on their thigh), the other pressing into their other leg.
From here you can knock them backwards like the double ankle sweep, then come up into a straight footlock (you already have your arm in position to attack their achilles tendon) or pass. I would most likely opt for the pass as I remain uncomfortable with leg locks (mainly because it seems too easy for the other person to injure themselves if they try to explode free in the wrong direction, plus it often seems to leave my foot in an equally vulnerable position), but I should probably get comfortable with at least the 'safer' options like a straight ankle lock. There is a bicep slicer from the lasso grip too, which makes me uncomfortable for the same reason, especially as it is mainly pain compliance.
Another sweep option from the lasso spider guard also involves tempting them to stand up, but this time you keep the lasso. I initially thought it looked complicated (as any long-time reader of this blog will know, I find anything complex off-putting), but the application is fairly simple. I never use x-guard (my own personal hang-up about only focusing on techniques that feel mechanically simple), but this version made sense. Put the foot of your lasso leg behind their same side knee, then bring your other leg in front of their ankle. From that position, you can roll them over and pass.
We did a brief spar at the end (there was some light specific sparring in side control to work on those escapes, which was useful). Just like the last time I sparred Kev, he totally dominated with his grips on my legs by grabbing near the ankles. I struggled to do anything from there (not that I was expecting to, given Kev is not just a black belt, but the 2014 European Champion in his division), so I need to remember to be more vigilant about breaking grips.
Next time I'll think a bit more carefully about timing the theme of the private lesson with the position of the month at Artemis BJJ. Guard attacks and the running escape were two of the big topics I wanted to cover, but now I can match up the private with whatever position is being covered in Bristol the rest of the month. I'll most likely head up again in April, when we'll be looking at the back at Artemis BJJ. I still want to do more work on back escapes, which will fit nicely (and follows on from the running escape, as if I mess up I'll often then need to escape the back).
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 28/02/2013
This is a technique I've used many times, I've learned it from several instructors, I've studied DVDs, I've had private lessons on it before and I've taught lessons on it myself. However, I've never had a private lesson on the running escape with my black belt instructor, Kev Capel. I was therefore looking forward to the tweaks he could add, hopefully enabling me to finally break through some of my problems with that technique.
My biggest problem, a long-term issue I've mentioned frequently over the years on this blog, is that I stall in what Saulo calls the running escape 'survival posture'. I'm aware of the escape from there, having taught both Saulo's original turn to guard and hip swing in multiple lessons, but I am still failing to do it enough myself. Dónal's tips in my previous private lesson on the topic helped, where he recommend shoving with your elbow and arm to make space before the swing, but my technique remains inefficient and overly passive.More practice is one obvious solution: since late last year I haven't been getting as much sparring time as I would like, though now that Artemis BJJ is up and running, I'm at least getting regular training again. That should improve further once we open up our second location in a month or two. In preparation for this lesson, I re-read my old notes and had a look at some more videos. Jason Scully has a quite different version on the Grapplers Guide, which has really expanded its video content since I reviewed it way back in 2008. Scully has one video on the running escape that particularly caught my attention, as it deals with the common situation that they have got their arm past your hip. This is something Jeff Rockwell covered during his lesson on the technique too, but Scully's variation is one I haven't seen before.
The main difference is how Scully uses his elbows against the person on top. He digs one into their armpit, so that the point of the elbow is poking out, the other elbow in a parallel position on the other side. With that elbow in place, Scully can pop free, pressuring them downwards, putting him in position to attack the turtle. That's an option I intend to play with in the future and mentioned briefly to Kev in this private, but more important is building on what I already know.
On that score, Kev provided me with some excellent tips. From the standard running escape survival position, Kev noted firstly that you must keep in mind it is a bad position to be in: from his perspective, that's actually where he wants you to be during his leg drag pass. Still, if you can prevent them securing a good grip with their arms and trapping your legs with their knee, you have a number of escapes from here.
That begins with the leg swing escape I normally do (and should be doing more often). Make some space by shoving them with your elbow, then push off your feet to fire your hips into them as well, swinging your legs through to establish guard. This is ideal for when their weight is high on your body. If their weight is low, then you won't have the space to get your hips up.However, to get their weight lower on your body, it is likely that one of their legs will be in range for your next escape, empty half (among Eddie Bravo's least silly bits of terminology). In the running escape, I raise the knee of the leg I've stepped over. With that same leg, reach back and hook their leg: this should be especially easy to do if they are looking for that leg drag and therefore have their leg close to yours. Hook and pull it towards you, switching it to your bottom leg once it becomes feasible. You can then transition into butterfly guard and may even be able to go right into a sweep.
If that fails, it will probably mean they have moved up your body to avoid their leg getting trapped. To do so will hopefully leave enough space to return to the previous escape, swinging your legs and hips. Be ready to make that transition if the empty half moves out of reach. Yet another option is to go for their arm instead, which will be looking to get past your hip.
Grabbing the sleeve of that arm and stiff-arming it away from you is a surprisingly powerful control. This works when escaping the back too, as they will find it tough to maintain control if that arm is stuck out away from their body like that. You can use that grip as leverage to recover guard, or in a similar motion to the stiff arm escape I've discussed before, except it is on the far arm rather than the one near your head. Should they manage to bend their arm, you still have the option of Beneville's 'shin in elbow' trick from Strategic Guard. Pressing your knee into the crook of their trapped arm can act as another leverage point to walk your way back into guard.
A more unorthodox approach, which Kev has been taught by Roger in the past, is to wrap your arm around the outside of your leg. Doing this to both legs makes it more difficult that you'd expect for them to pass, as they are almost certainly going to put their arms in range to be gripped. Finally on side control, Kev uses a simple escape for when they are moving to north-south, so essentially it's a transitional side control escape. As soon as you feel them moving around and putting their arm by your hip, bridge and turn in the direction of your hip bracing arm.
This is from the usual side control bottom frame of an arm into the neck and the other by the hip. If they are moving towards your head, that arm into the hip ends up taking a bit of weight. Nevertheless, you shouldn't need to shove to get this turn. It feels very smooth when you practice it, turning and then slipping that hip bracing arm down and around their leg or back. You can then move directly into the usual side control escape to your knees, grabbing their far knee and moving into side control top yourself.
We finished off the private lesson with a couple of techniques from my favoured lasso spider guard, as I mentioned that's somewhere else I often stall. Although I'm aware of the basic sweep where you bait them to try and pass to the opposite side of the lasso and roll them over, I rarely land it. I tend to look for a tripod/sickle sweep combination when they stand up. However, if they are on their knees I don't have a go-to option: thanks to Kev, now I do.Start off with the classic option of kicking your leg up into their non-lassoed bicep, looking to knock them over. To resist they will probably stand up. From here, if you're not going for that tripod/sickle combination, unwrap the lasso and put that foot on the floor between their legs. Kick the other leg up in their bicep and pull on both their arms, with the intention of making them take a big step forward. That should put their legs in range of your arms: wrap them both up tightly. Put one foot into their hip (or just use your calf on their thigh), the other pressing into their other leg.
From here you can knock them backwards like the double ankle sweep, then come up into a straight footlock (you already have your arm in position to attack their achilles tendon) or pass. I would most likely opt for the pass as I remain uncomfortable with leg locks (mainly because it seems too easy for the other person to injure themselves if they try to explode free in the wrong direction, plus it often seems to leave my foot in an equally vulnerable position), but I should probably get comfortable with at least the 'safer' options like a straight ankle lock. There is a bicep slicer from the lasso grip too, which makes me uncomfortable for the same reason, especially as it is mainly pain compliance.
Another sweep option from the lasso spider guard also involves tempting them to stand up, but this time you keep the lasso. I initially thought it looked complicated (as any long-time reader of this blog will know, I find anything complex off-putting), but the application is fairly simple. I never use x-guard (my own personal hang-up about only focusing on techniques that feel mechanically simple), but this version made sense. Put the foot of your lasso leg behind their same side knee, then bring your other leg in front of their ankle. From that position, you can roll them over and pass.
We did a brief spar at the end (there was some light specific sparring in side control to work on those escapes, which was useful). Just like the last time I sparred Kev, he totally dominated with his grips on my legs by grabbing near the ankles. I struggled to do anything from there (not that I was expecting to, given Kev is not just a black belt, but the 2014 European Champion in his division), so I need to remember to be more vigilant about breaking grips.
Next time I'll think a bit more carefully about timing the theme of the private lesson with the position of the month at Artemis BJJ. Guard attacks and the running escape were two of the big topics I wanted to cover, but now I can match up the private with whatever position is being covered in Bristol the rest of the month. I'll most likely head up again in April, when we'll be looking at the back at Artemis BJJ. I still want to do more work on back escapes, which will fit nicely (and follows on from the running escape, as if I mess up I'll often then need to escape the back).
30 November 2013
30/11/2013 - Private with Kev (Closed & Open Guard)
Class #538 - Private #017
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 30/11/2013
I've taken a private lesson with Kev before, three years ago. Since I started training at the Wycombe branch in 2009, RGA Bucks has remained a home base for me, even though I have moved to various bits of the country in the ensuing years. Kev is still the black belt overseeing my rank, which also hasn't changed since 2009.
I wasn't making it back as often as I'd like in 2012 and 2013, so I decided in October this year that I was going to get down to RGA Bucks more regularly. I can combine that with visiting my parents in Aylesbury for birthdays, which I try to set aside for family time. I've got two nieces with a third on the way, so in addition to the rest of my immediate family that makes for eight birthdays a year plus xmas. So, at worst that should average out to a trip to the RGA Bucks mats about every two months.
A long-distance instructor/student relationship isn't all that common in BJJ, but with regular contact I think it can work. For the first of what should be many private lessons over the next few years, Kev and I started off by talking about where I'm at in my jiu jitsu game, as well as how things went in sparring during the preceding lesson. As any reader of this blog will know, I am an inveterate self-analyser, so I've got a reasonable idea of my weak areas. That means it's extremely useful to run through them with a black belt (especially a black belt close to my size who also happens to be a very good teacher, like Kev).
The main problem I've always had is my passivity, which in large part is down to my personality. What I need to start doing more is 'pulling the trigger' on techniques, rather than getting stuck thinking about the ten different options from that position, or going for it but then backing off when it doesn't seem to be as immediately effective as I'd hoped. That old "if you think, you're late" Saulo quote is relevant, so although I'm wary of anything that implies thinking is ever negative, I do need to try and be more streamlined in my reactions.
Kev went through a number of principles and technical tweaks that would help me with that, focusing on one of the biggest gaps in my jiu jitsu: an effective offence from open guard. Most of the time, I use open guard to simply keep people at bay, but as I just stay defensive, it becomes a matter of when rather than if they pass. I can manage to tie people up in spider guard for a while, pushing against their hips, but rarely move into any sweeps or attacks.
Similar to how I worked with Donal on improving what I already know and use, the main attack from open guard remains the tripod to sickle sweep combination. Kev suggested that I should be approaching open guard from an upright starting position, basing behind with one arm. That's more mobile and also less vulnerable than lying on your back with your feet flailing at them. From that seated position, grab their collar with one arm.
If you do the collar grip, be aware that there is a potential attack they can do here, if you're not careful. By basing on the floor with an arm, they can jump up into a armbar on your outstretched arm. Kev noted that Dan Strauss is a big fan of that. If you see them base on the floor with an arm when you have the collar grip, be prepared (e.g., elbow back, shift the grip, go for your attack, etc).
Presuming you aren't getting flying armbarred, with that collar grip, you can do a collar drag and take the back. You can also use it to swing in for their ankle with your other hand. That sets you up for either an ankle pick (a bit like last month at RGA Bucks), or moving into the tripod sweep. Interestingly, Kev advocates the heel grip, not the trouser grip. This isn't loose though: pull that heel up onto your hip, which both puts them off balance and makes it harder for them to kick free.
Particularly if they are futher away, you also want to follow the Roy Harris advice (Kev pointed to Michael Langhi, who says the same thing) about always keeping your feet on your opponent: that could be hooking behind their knees or leg, pushing on the hip, the chest, the biceps or their shoulder. To counter a leg drag and certain other passes, push off their opposite shoulder with your foot.
If you mess up and they get further along, there are two options Kev noted. The first one is when they drop their weight onto you. Shove their hand towards your legs (to prevent them turning towards your head and securing a cross face), bringing your other arm around their hip. From there, you can roll them over.
The second one was something Kev said he's been having a lot of success with. He calls it the nappy grip, which is an odd name but makes perfect sense when you see it. I've been told that the same grip is used in a number of guards, such as what gets called 'lapel guard' (specifically the grip switch Keenan does here at 01:18 or so). Kev also mentioned it has been used by Bernardo Faria at the highest level (some people apparently refer to it as the 'Faria grip', which would make sense).
As there doesn't seem to be a widely used standard term, I think I'll use mawashi grip: that's the thing sumo wrestlers wear and should help me remember what it looks like. The position reminds me of the de la Riva sweep position I learned at Gracie Barra Birmingham back in 2010, where you feed their sleeve between their legs to your other hand, then knock them over. If you can't get their hand, you can use their belt or lapel, which is what Kev does for this grip.
However, he takes it a step further. You've pushed their belt or lapel past their leg, then fed that to your other hand, which is reaching around the outside. You're then going to switch grips around, bringing your first hand around the outside and re-gripping. This clamps the lapel or belt tightly around their leg and bum, hence the name. It's the same kind of grip as the Roy Dean/brabo/lapel from closed guard, taught to me by Donal a few months ago.
Once you have that grip, you can then grab their hip and sweep if they put their weight on you like the earlier technique. If they don't have their weight on you, it's possible to move around and sort of old school sweep them. It also makes it very hard for them to push the knee through for a knee slide. I found that last time I visited RGA Bucks in October, as Kev did it to me repeatedly. The defence is to do a crescent kick, TKD style, as soon as they get that belt grip (be careful you don't smack them in the face, though).
In this private lesson, we had a brief spar at the start and end to first work out some weak areas and then to shore them up: again, Kev used that mawashi/nappy grip to great effect. The same principle can work in side control, like Roy Dean shows, as well as when passing, especially passing butterfly guard. When there is any clearance under their back, pull their gi lapel under their body, then do the same outside switch grip.
Donal's closed guard grip functions well too, of course. Kev has a tweak on that closed guard option, as he grips the same way, but deeper, securing his final grip by the armpit, not the neck. That also leads into the final bit of this write-up, where again it is something I've already been working on for a while now (Kev's lesson kept perfectly addressing those questions I've been raising with myself over the last year or two, possibly longer).
The general principle is that if your open guard isn't that strong, then why open your closed guard in the first place? Another way of putting it (I'm not sure who first said this: might have been Carlson?) is that they should be have to struggle to open your closed guard, don't give it to them. Either way, I have wanted to improve my closed guard for a good while, having taken several privates with Donal for that purpose.
I have been playing with chokes and sweeps. Kev prefers to take the back, an area I have considered but not concentrated on to the same extent. Break the grip on their left side, as most people are weaker there. Drag the arm across, then stiff arm, making sure you stay on top of their wrist rather than letting your grip slip underneath. With your other arm, reach around to their hip or their armpit.
Ideally, you want to be able to rotate them into your back control, relying on leverage rather than force or lots of agile scrambling (again, this builds on something I have already covered with Donal). That combines nicely with what Kev calls the kimura sweep, essentially a variation on the sit up sweep.
When you break their grip and drag their arm across for the back take, they will most likely resist, trying to pull their arm away. At that point, switch to a sit-up sweep, but keep hold of their arm, rather than posting behind for base. Knock into their opposite hip, then pull your gripping hand back to your armpit.
This will mean they can't post, so there is no barrier to knocking them to the mat apart from the knees and posture. That could potentially also fit into the windscreen wiper sweep, unsurprising because Donal's private lesson on that technique combined it with another sit up sweep variation where you grab their sleeve.
All in all a very helpful private: I'm looking forward to trying to implement this into my jiu jitsu. I am not training as much as I would like at the moment, but that should hopefully resolve itself soon, meaning I'll finally be in a long-term position where I can train as much as I'd like in a conducive atmosphere . :)
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK - 30/11/2013
I've taken a private lesson with Kev before, three years ago. Since I started training at the Wycombe branch in 2009, RGA Bucks has remained a home base for me, even though I have moved to various bits of the country in the ensuing years. Kev is still the black belt overseeing my rank, which also hasn't changed since 2009. I wasn't making it back as often as I'd like in 2012 and 2013, so I decided in October this year that I was going to get down to RGA Bucks more regularly. I can combine that with visiting my parents in Aylesbury for birthdays, which I try to set aside for family time. I've got two nieces with a third on the way, so in addition to the rest of my immediate family that makes for eight birthdays a year plus xmas. So, at worst that should average out to a trip to the RGA Bucks mats about every two months.
A long-distance instructor/student relationship isn't all that common in BJJ, but with regular contact I think it can work. For the first of what should be many private lessons over the next few years, Kev and I started off by talking about where I'm at in my jiu jitsu game, as well as how things went in sparring during the preceding lesson. As any reader of this blog will know, I am an inveterate self-analyser, so I've got a reasonable idea of my weak areas. That means it's extremely useful to run through them with a black belt (especially a black belt close to my size who also happens to be a very good teacher, like Kev).
The main problem I've always had is my passivity, which in large part is down to my personality. What I need to start doing more is 'pulling the trigger' on techniques, rather than getting stuck thinking about the ten different options from that position, or going for it but then backing off when it doesn't seem to be as immediately effective as I'd hoped. That old "if you think, you're late" Saulo quote is relevant, so although I'm wary of anything that implies thinking is ever negative, I do need to try and be more streamlined in my reactions.
Kev went through a number of principles and technical tweaks that would help me with that, focusing on one of the biggest gaps in my jiu jitsu: an effective offence from open guard. Most of the time, I use open guard to simply keep people at bay, but as I just stay defensive, it becomes a matter of when rather than if they pass. I can manage to tie people up in spider guard for a while, pushing against their hips, but rarely move into any sweeps or attacks.
Similar to how I worked with Donal on improving what I already know and use, the main attack from open guard remains the tripod to sickle sweep combination. Kev suggested that I should be approaching open guard from an upright starting position, basing behind with one arm. That's more mobile and also less vulnerable than lying on your back with your feet flailing at them. From that seated position, grab their collar with one arm.
If you do the collar grip, be aware that there is a potential attack they can do here, if you're not careful. By basing on the floor with an arm, they can jump up into a armbar on your outstretched arm. Kev noted that Dan Strauss is a big fan of that. If you see them base on the floor with an arm when you have the collar grip, be prepared (e.g., elbow back, shift the grip, go for your attack, etc).
Presuming you aren't getting flying armbarred, with that collar grip, you can do a collar drag and take the back. You can also use it to swing in for their ankle with your other hand. That sets you up for either an ankle pick (a bit like last month at RGA Bucks), or moving into the tripod sweep. Interestingly, Kev advocates the heel grip, not the trouser grip. This isn't loose though: pull that heel up onto your hip, which both puts them off balance and makes it harder for them to kick free.
Particularly if they are futher away, you also want to follow the Roy Harris advice (Kev pointed to Michael Langhi, who says the same thing) about always keeping your feet on your opponent: that could be hooking behind their knees or leg, pushing on the hip, the chest, the biceps or their shoulder. To counter a leg drag and certain other passes, push off their opposite shoulder with your foot.
If you mess up and they get further along, there are two options Kev noted. The first one is when they drop their weight onto you. Shove their hand towards your legs (to prevent them turning towards your head and securing a cross face), bringing your other arm around their hip. From there, you can roll them over.
The second one was something Kev said he's been having a lot of success with. He calls it the nappy grip, which is an odd name but makes perfect sense when you see it. I've been told that the same grip is used in a number of guards, such as what gets called 'lapel guard' (specifically the grip switch Keenan does here at 01:18 or so). Kev also mentioned it has been used by Bernardo Faria at the highest level (some people apparently refer to it as the 'Faria grip', which would make sense).As there doesn't seem to be a widely used standard term, I think I'll use mawashi grip: that's the thing sumo wrestlers wear and should help me remember what it looks like. The position reminds me of the de la Riva sweep position I learned at Gracie Barra Birmingham back in 2010, where you feed their sleeve between their legs to your other hand, then knock them over. If you can't get their hand, you can use their belt or lapel, which is what Kev does for this grip.
Once you have that grip, you can then grab their hip and sweep if they put their weight on you like the earlier technique. If they don't have their weight on you, it's possible to move around and sort of old school sweep them. It also makes it very hard for them to push the knee through for a knee slide. I found that last time I visited RGA Bucks in October, as Kev did it to me repeatedly. The defence is to do a crescent kick, TKD style, as soon as they get that belt grip (be careful you don't smack them in the face, though).
In this private lesson, we had a brief spar at the start and end to first work out some weak areas and then to shore them up: again, Kev used that mawashi/nappy grip to great effect. The same principle can work in side control, like Roy Dean shows, as well as when passing, especially passing butterfly guard. When there is any clearance under their back, pull their gi lapel under their body, then do the same outside switch grip.
Donal's closed guard grip functions well too, of course. Kev has a tweak on that closed guard option, as he grips the same way, but deeper, securing his final grip by the armpit, not the neck. That also leads into the final bit of this write-up, where again it is something I've already been working on for a while now (Kev's lesson kept perfectly addressing those questions I've been raising with myself over the last year or two, possibly longer).
The general principle is that if your open guard isn't that strong, then why open your closed guard in the first place? Another way of putting it (I'm not sure who first said this: might have been Carlson?) is that they should be have to struggle to open your closed guard, don't give it to them. Either way, I have wanted to improve my closed guard for a good while, having taken several privates with Donal for that purpose.
I have been playing with chokes and sweeps. Kev prefers to take the back, an area I have considered but not concentrated on to the same extent. Break the grip on their left side, as most people are weaker there. Drag the arm across, then stiff arm, making sure you stay on top of their wrist rather than letting your grip slip underneath. With your other arm, reach around to their hip or their armpit. Ideally, you want to be able to rotate them into your back control, relying on leverage rather than force or lots of agile scrambling (again, this builds on something I have already covered with Donal). That combines nicely with what Kev calls the kimura sweep, essentially a variation on the sit up sweep.
When you break their grip and drag their arm across for the back take, they will most likely resist, trying to pull their arm away. At that point, switch to a sit-up sweep, but keep hold of their arm, rather than posting behind for base. Knock into their opposite hip, then pull your gripping hand back to your armpit.
This will mean they can't post, so there is no barrier to knocking them to the mat apart from the knees and posture. That could potentially also fit into the windscreen wiper sweep, unsurprising because Donal's private lesson on that technique combined it with another sit up sweep variation where you grab their sleeve.
All in all a very helpful private: I'm looking forward to trying to implement this into my jiu jitsu. I am not training as much as I would like at the moment, but that should hopefully resolve itself soon, meaning I'll finally be in a long-term position where I can train as much as I'd like in a conducive atmosphere . :)
06 March 2013
06/03/2013 - Gracie Barra Bristol (Tripod Sweep & Closed Guard Back Take)
Update Jan 2014: I've since moved to Artemis BJJ in the centre of Bristol. Artemis BJJ currently has classes on Mondays and Wednesdays from 19:30-20:30 at Bristol Sports Centre: for full details, head over to the Locations page.
Class #492
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Nicolai 'Geeza' Holt, Bristol, UK - 06/03/2013
I headed down to Geeza's class straight from the private lesson. I was especially keen to attend to today, as Geeza said in his text message he was covering one of my favourite techniques, the tripod sweep. I'm always interested to glean more details on techniques I teach in my own classes, so was hoping Geeza would have a different take (which he did). Which means I can add that into the class I'll teach tomorrow.
The 'self defence' bit was basically a double leg takedown, driving straight forward. Due to being positioned as 'self defence', this was off ducking a looping overhand punch. I'm more familiar with slipping round to the back, as that's something I've drilled more often: in tonight's version, you drive straight forward, putting yourself in their guard. I had to be careful when it was my partner's turn, as heavy impact on the ground is exactly what my injury doesn't need. Hence why I was completely ignoring the proper way to breakfall, instead putting my hand behind me and lowering myself down slowly.
Getting on to the tripod sweep, grab their sleeve with both hands, putting your feet on the hips. This helps control the distance. From there, leave one foot on the hip while the other drops down behind their other heel (I prefer behind the knee, so that already reminded me of a variation I can add when I teach it). Leaving a hand on the sleeve, use your same side hand on the hip-foot side to grab their ankle.
Geeza prefers to cup their ankle, which requires good timing: the other option is to get a grasp of their trouser cuff. There appears to be some disagreement between black belts as to which is the better grip, but the latter makes most sense to me. First time I learned it 2008, Nic G advised cupping the ankle, which looking back seems to be true every time I've learned this sweep so far. If Geeza is reading this, you're right: Roger has always emphasised grabbing the trouser leg rather than cupping the ankle, as this is the post I was thinking of. ;)
From here, you're going to push with your hip foot, pull with your other foot and block with your ankle gripping hand. That should knock them over, meaning you can come on top. Again, Geeza does this differently to the method I normally use, as he moves back rather than forwards. After you've knocked them down, put your hooking foot on the floor, bring your other leg behind you. Let go of their sleeve.
Stand up, holding on to their trouser leg, pulling up and then pushing the leg towards them. That will make it difficult for them to recover, as you move around to a dominant position like side control or knee on belly. Standing up when someone has your foot in the air is hard. My instructor at RGA Bucks, Kev Capel, teaches the technique the same way in this video:
I was expecting Geeza to follow up with the sickle sweep, but instead he showed a back take, presumably in keeping with the Gracie Barra Fundamentals syllabus. They have the standard grips inside your closed guard. Grab the hand by your chest with both hands, gripping the sleeve on either side of their wrist. Thrust that hand away from you (same direction as the side their arm is on), also turning slightly and moving your shoulder back for increased leverage.
Maintaining your grip, pull their arm back across the other way as far as you can. Let go with your near arm and reach around their back, aiming to lock them to your body in an awkward position turned on their side. Clamp your chest to your back, so that you can then release the grip on their sleeve and use that hand for base. Slide your knee out, then swing the other leg over to establish your first hook. From there, you can roll them into back control.
Specific sparring was from open guard, with the proviso that the person standing can't kneel. This was a perfect follow-up to my private lesson earlier, as now I could practice my passing. It was all white belts and none of them were significantly heavier than me, which is a good environment for testing out techniques you haven't used often. The first hurdle to overcome was reaching the starting position for the pass. Which I didn't.
The difficulty was getting in tight enough to then step my leg forward, driving into the back of their knee, in order to get a grip on the collar and pull their shoulders off the mat. I wasn't able to stop them pushing me back with their legs, though I did still get the knee cut several times more sloppily. However, it seemed that when they push you away with their legs like that, it can set up the bullfighter pass quite nicely. That's something I'll ask Dónal about.
I could perhaps use the knuckles into the shin grip more: my natural grip is inside the knees, as that also means I can pop their foot off my hip with my elbow and then punch my hands into the mat for the bullfighter. I was also using my back-up half guard grip a lot, where you have an elbow behind their head, gripping their back, facing their legs. I used that to force half guard and pass from there a few times. However, I was clearly using too much strength, as I was breathing heavily afterwards (I didn't get a break during king of the hill, which obviously contributed, but still, I shouldn't have been using that much energy).
On the bottom, I went for the tripod and sickle over and over again, which generally proved successful, but then it was small white belts. I was pleased that my leg appeared to hold up ok, meaning that is the first bit of sparring I've been able to do without feeling crippled since September, which is cool.
Class #492
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Nicolai 'Geeza' Holt, Bristol, UK - 06/03/2013
I headed down to Geeza's class straight from the private lesson. I was especially keen to attend to today, as Geeza said in his text message he was covering one of my favourite techniques, the tripod sweep. I'm always interested to glean more details on techniques I teach in my own classes, so was hoping Geeza would have a different take (which he did). Which means I can add that into the class I'll teach tomorrow.The 'self defence' bit was basically a double leg takedown, driving straight forward. Due to being positioned as 'self defence', this was off ducking a looping overhand punch. I'm more familiar with slipping round to the back, as that's something I've drilled more often: in tonight's version, you drive straight forward, putting yourself in their guard. I had to be careful when it was my partner's turn, as heavy impact on the ground is exactly what my injury doesn't need. Hence why I was completely ignoring the proper way to breakfall, instead putting my hand behind me and lowering myself down slowly.
Getting on to the tripod sweep, grab their sleeve with both hands, putting your feet on the hips. This helps control the distance. From there, leave one foot on the hip while the other drops down behind their other heel (I prefer behind the knee, so that already reminded me of a variation I can add when I teach it). Leaving a hand on the sleeve, use your same side hand on the hip-foot side to grab their ankle.
Geeza prefers to cup their ankle, which requires good timing: the other option is to get a grasp of their trouser cuff. There appears to be some disagreement between black belts as to which is the better grip, but the latter makes most sense to me. First time I learned it 2008, Nic G advised cupping the ankle, which looking back seems to be true every time I've learned this sweep so far. If Geeza is reading this, you're right: Roger has always emphasised grabbing the trouser leg rather than cupping the ankle, as this is the post I was thinking of. ;)
From here, you're going to push with your hip foot, pull with your other foot and block with your ankle gripping hand. That should knock them over, meaning you can come on top. Again, Geeza does this differently to the method I normally use, as he moves back rather than forwards. After you've knocked them down, put your hooking foot on the floor, bring your other leg behind you. Let go of their sleeve.
Stand up, holding on to their trouser leg, pulling up and then pushing the leg towards them. That will make it difficult for them to recover, as you move around to a dominant position like side control or knee on belly. Standing up when someone has your foot in the air is hard. My instructor at RGA Bucks, Kev Capel, teaches the technique the same way in this video:
I was expecting Geeza to follow up with the sickle sweep, but instead he showed a back take, presumably in keeping with the Gracie Barra Fundamentals syllabus. They have the standard grips inside your closed guard. Grab the hand by your chest with both hands, gripping the sleeve on either side of their wrist. Thrust that hand away from you (same direction as the side their arm is on), also turning slightly and moving your shoulder back for increased leverage.
Maintaining your grip, pull their arm back across the other way as far as you can. Let go with your near arm and reach around their back, aiming to lock them to your body in an awkward position turned on their side. Clamp your chest to your back, so that you can then release the grip on their sleeve and use that hand for base. Slide your knee out, then swing the other leg over to establish your first hook. From there, you can roll them into back control.
Specific sparring was from open guard, with the proviso that the person standing can't kneel. This was a perfect follow-up to my private lesson earlier, as now I could practice my passing. It was all white belts and none of them were significantly heavier than me, which is a good environment for testing out techniques you haven't used often. The first hurdle to overcome was reaching the starting position for the pass. Which I didn't.
The difficulty was getting in tight enough to then step my leg forward, driving into the back of their knee, in order to get a grip on the collar and pull their shoulders off the mat. I wasn't able to stop them pushing me back with their legs, though I did still get the knee cut several times more sloppily. However, it seemed that when they push you away with their legs like that, it can set up the bullfighter pass quite nicely. That's something I'll ask Dónal about.
I could perhaps use the knuckles into the shin grip more: my natural grip is inside the knees, as that also means I can pop their foot off my hip with my elbow and then punch my hands into the mat for the bullfighter. I was also using my back-up half guard grip a lot, where you have an elbow behind their head, gripping their back, facing their legs. I used that to force half guard and pass from there a few times. However, I was clearly using too much strength, as I was breathing heavily afterwards (I didn't get a break during king of the hill, which obviously contributed, but still, I shouldn't have been using that much energy).
On the bottom, I went for the tripod and sickle over and over again, which generally proved successful, but then it was small white belts. I was pleased that my leg appeared to hold up ok, meaning that is the first bit of sparring I've been able to do without feeling crippled since September, which is cool.
13 July 2011
13/07/2011 - Gracie Barra Bristol
Class #408
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Nicolai 'Geeza' Holt, Bristol, UK - 13/07/2011
I came down with some kind of cold or flu a couple of weeks ago, which I'm only just starting to shake off now. Annoyingly, that meant I was out of training properly for a while (although I did still teach, so not completely away from BJJ). I'm still a little sniffly, but finally made it back to class.
As I've mentioned before, Geeza handily sends out a text message to all club members before each class, saying what is going to be taught that night. I was intrigued by the message today, which described it as 'Terra guard'. I guessed that was something from Caio Terra, but had no idea what.
It turned out to be an open guard, which was essentially a variation on de la Riva. The first sweep started in de la Riva, where they are either standing, or have one knee up. Your leg goes behind their knee, then the foot of that leg wraps around their opposite hip (to put it another way, under then over, from the outside). You're also grabbing a sleeve on the hip side, while your other hand grabs their same side heel.
To switch to what Geeza called Terra guard (googling that, I see it isn't just him), take your hand off their sleeve and instead reach underneath your hooking leg. Thread your arm through, so that it not only goes under your leg, but also over their shin, until your can grab the bottom of your gi trousers. Their heel should now be in the crook of your elbow.
Kick your other leg out away from them, so they can't attack it for a footlock. With your free hand, reach over to grab their other leg. You're then going to roll over your shoulder, moving sideways (this is a motion Geeza refers to as the 'grandma roll', which we drilled during the warm-up). The aim is to bring the knee of your non-wrapped leg between their legs.
This should enable you to establish x-guard. As you do, bring your ankle-wrapping arm up towards your shoulder, so that you will also knock their leg onto your shoulder. From there, you can execute the classic x-guard sweep, where you push them away with one foot, then do a technical stand up to put them on their back.
The next open guard sweep was from a similar position. This time, you're in de la Riva the opposite way. Now your foot is going behind their leg, but from the inside, then hooking around the same side hip or thigh. From here, you again establish Terra guard by reaching under your leg, over their shin, then grabbing the bottom of your gi pants.
Grab their opposite sleeve or gi lapel with your same side hand. You can use that to help you swivel, again in a grandma roll type motion over your shoulders. With the leg you have hooked around theirs, kick them forward. Use their motion to scoot behind them, then readjust to grab their belt and move your feet to hook behind both knees. From here, you can kick into both knees and pull on their belt, then take the back.
After a bit of progressive resistance to play with the position, it was time for free sparring. I was mainly looking to work open guard, as that is what I'll be teaching for the next few weeks, but I did manage to fit in a few attempts at Terra guard. I found that I wasn't necessarily getting the right position, but it nevertheless encouraged me to use that swivelling motion more often, which is beneficial.
Most of the time, we were ending up in half guard: either I was trying to pass, or I was moving into the position from the bottom. Refreshingly I wasn't getting stuck underneath in a long stalemate. Instead, I was twice able to move from half guard to the back, as there was an exposed neck for me to attack. Normally I struggle to get past their chin on the rear naked choke, as that blocks the submission.
That wasn't the issue on this occasion, as I was able to fully lock in the first arm. Unfortunately, I couldn't maintain the second arm, as they were able to reach back and dislodge it. Same thing was happening the second time just as the bell went for the end of the round and the end of class.
Next time, I'll be looking to use my head and chest more to take away their space to escape, and also be more careful of them reaching back to remove my arms. Alternatively, I could move into something else: I was vaguely looking at the Ezequiel from the back and armbar, but couldn't switch into either of them effectively.
The visiting black belt turned up again at the end of class, ready for nogi. I never stay for that class (and at the moment can't anyway, as I still have to cycle back to Downend), but hopefully I'll get a chance to train with him again either later in the week or next week, if he's still there. Out of interest I popped 'Paul' 'black belt' and 'Traven' into google, which brought up a picture of him working his day job at Fight! magazine, in case you're wondering who he is. :)
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Nicolai 'Geeza' Holt, Bristol, UK - 13/07/2011
I came down with some kind of cold or flu a couple of weeks ago, which I'm only just starting to shake off now. Annoyingly, that meant I was out of training properly for a while (although I did still teach, so not completely away from BJJ). I'm still a little sniffly, but finally made it back to class.
As I've mentioned before, Geeza handily sends out a text message to all club members before each class, saying what is going to be taught that night. I was intrigued by the message today, which described it as 'Terra guard'. I guessed that was something from Caio Terra, but had no idea what.
It turned out to be an open guard, which was essentially a variation on de la Riva. The first sweep started in de la Riva, where they are either standing, or have one knee up. Your leg goes behind their knee, then the foot of that leg wraps around their opposite hip (to put it another way, under then over, from the outside). You're also grabbing a sleeve on the hip side, while your other hand grabs their same side heel.
To switch to what Geeza called Terra guard (googling that, I see it isn't just him), take your hand off their sleeve and instead reach underneath your hooking leg. Thread your arm through, so that it not only goes under your leg, but also over their shin, until your can grab the bottom of your gi trousers. Their heel should now be in the crook of your elbow. Kick your other leg out away from them, so they can't attack it for a footlock. With your free hand, reach over to grab their other leg. You're then going to roll over your shoulder, moving sideways (this is a motion Geeza refers to as the 'grandma roll', which we drilled during the warm-up). The aim is to bring the knee of your non-wrapped leg between their legs.
This should enable you to establish x-guard. As you do, bring your ankle-wrapping arm up towards your shoulder, so that you will also knock their leg onto your shoulder. From there, you can execute the classic x-guard sweep, where you push them away with one foot, then do a technical stand up to put them on their back.
The next open guard sweep was from a similar position. This time, you're in de la Riva the opposite way. Now your foot is going behind their leg, but from the inside, then hooking around the same side hip or thigh. From here, you again establish Terra guard by reaching under your leg, over their shin, then grabbing the bottom of your gi pants.
Grab their opposite sleeve or gi lapel with your same side hand. You can use that to help you swivel, again in a grandma roll type motion over your shoulders. With the leg you have hooked around theirs, kick them forward. Use their motion to scoot behind them, then readjust to grab their belt and move your feet to hook behind both knees. From here, you can kick into both knees and pull on their belt, then take the back.
After a bit of progressive resistance to play with the position, it was time for free sparring. I was mainly looking to work open guard, as that is what I'll be teaching for the next few weeks, but I did manage to fit in a few attempts at Terra guard. I found that I wasn't necessarily getting the right position, but it nevertheless encouraged me to use that swivelling motion more often, which is beneficial.
Most of the time, we were ending up in half guard: either I was trying to pass, or I was moving into the position from the bottom. Refreshingly I wasn't getting stuck underneath in a long stalemate. Instead, I was twice able to move from half guard to the back, as there was an exposed neck for me to attack. Normally I struggle to get past their chin on the rear naked choke, as that blocks the submission.
That wasn't the issue on this occasion, as I was able to fully lock in the first arm. Unfortunately, I couldn't maintain the second arm, as they were able to reach back and dislodge it. Same thing was happening the second time just as the bell went for the end of the round and the end of class.
Next time, I'll be looking to use my head and chest more to take away their space to escape, and also be more careful of them reaching back to remove my arms. Alternatively, I could move into something else: I was vaguely looking at the Ezequiel from the back and armbar, but couldn't switch into either of them effectively.
The visiting black belt turned up again at the end of class, ready for nogi. I never stay for that class (and at the moment can't anyway, as I still have to cycle back to Downend), but hopefully I'll get a chance to train with him again either later in the week or next week, if he's still there. Out of interest I popped 'Paul' 'black belt' and 'Traven' into google, which brought up a picture of him working his day job at Fight! magazine, in case you're wondering who he is. :)
15 May 2011
15/05/2011 - RGA Aylesbury
Class #397
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, UK - 15/05/2011
I was visiting my parents and sister at the weekend, meaning my lovely nieces were there too, which is always fun. I've no plans to have kids myself, but I do enjoy being an uncle: all the fun and cuteness of small children, none of the huge financial outlay, nappy-changing or sleepless nights. Also meant I had the new experience of helping a three year old go to the toilet (I had plenty of experience changing nappies back when I looked after her for eight months in 2009, as she wasn’t potty trained then). Top tip: make sure they've pulled their knickers down before you lift them onto the toilet. Only just noticed in time, or that could have been messy. Ahem.
The new house my parents have bought in Aylesbury is a short cycle ride from RGA Bucks, which is extremely convenient. I was lazy and got a lift in the car this time, as I wanted to get maximum toddler time, which also meant I only did the beginner class, leaving before the open mat. I intend to drop in to RGA Bucks whenever I'm at my parents' house, especially as it is so nearby. Good way to stay in touch with an awesome group of training partners, as well as being on the receiving end of a guaranteed arse-kicking (given that there are people like Callum, Draz and Sahid training there).
Kev's class was as excellent as ever, particularly as he included a couple of techniques I've been planning to teach myself, for one of my Thursday GB Bristol lessons. He started off with the right way to pull guard, which without any doubt is what I'd do should I compete again for some reason.
You have the standard collar and elbow grip from standing. Put your foot up on their elbow-side hip, then drop to your back while spinning your head towards their elbow-side foot. As you maintain the grip on their collar, that will break their posture. From here, you could potentially go straight into an attack, or simply look to close your guard, or possibly enter into an open guard.
Kev went with option number one, running through two sweeps that work well together. I'll be going into more detail on these when I come to teach them myself, but the first one is called the tripod sweep (among other things: jiu jitsu has an annoying habit of many, many names for the same thing, unlike judo). From the guard pull, you're going to slide your hands down their sleeve until you reach their cuff. Grab that tightly on either side of their wrist, clamping your elbows to your side.
This is a surprisingly difficult hold to break, and keeps them bent over. Disengage your elbow-side hand, grabbing their same side foot behind the heel (or the bottom of their trousers, being careful not to reach inside the bottom of their trouser cuff: that will get you disqualified in competition, due to the danger to your own fingers). Pull their foot and stick it to your hip, so their foot is slightly off the floor.
Your other foot goes behind their same side heel. You will then simultaneously push on their hip with your foot, yank their other foot forward with your other foot, while also holding their remaining foot in position by your hip. This should knock them backwards: thanks to your sleeve grip, you should be able to follow them up as they fall down. Pass through to side control, keeping control of their foot throughout so they can't establish some sort of guard.
However, you have a problem if they turn sideways when you attempt that sweep. The pressure and leverage is no longer right for taking them down. Fortunately, you can easily solve your problem by switching to the sickle sweep. Basically, all you do is switch the position of your feet. So, the foot that was on their hip goes behind their foot. The foot you had by their heel now goes to their hip.
That also means you have twisted to face them. Push on their hip and chop back with your foot to take them down. Again, use the sleeve grip to come up, while still pulling their foot to your hip with your hand. Also remember to still control their foot on the way up, as you don't want them to put you in guard.
Sparring was from open guard. I was with Callum, meaning that as often happens with Callum, I kept thinking I'd passed, only for him to spin through and scupper the attempt. He's really good at spinning, so I must remember to pick his brain about it next time we're both at an open mat. I need to work out how to control both his hips when I pass so that he can't simply spin away from me, going into various inverted guards and the like.
Underneath, I thought that looked like fun so I'd give it a go too. Unfortunately, I'm not anywhere as good at it, so generally just got passed instead. Still, good to try it out, as I'm relatively flexible, so don't mind my legs being over my head. I wasn't able to establish my preferred open guard, which is spider guard with a deep lasso on one arm. Callum was wise to that, so made sure I couldn't get it in deep.
That meant that although he put a knee up, I couldn't attempt the sweep I'd be practicing for when people raise a knee, because it depends on having the lasso. Hence the back up plan of spinning around. Didn't prove successful, but it's essential to not rely on just one thing, even if the one thing is a series of moves. If you can't get into your starting position, you need something else to try.
The second of my two rolls that class was with a female white belt I hadn't seen before, Hayley (Haley? I think it normally has two 'y's). She was wearing a Roger Gracie Academy gi, which either means she was visiting from HQ, or Kev sells the patched up RGA gis at his club too. Either way, she was a good training partner, and doing the right thing when I was trying to pass, stopping me from getting good control of her leg.
She also gave me an opportunity to go into instructor mode, which is always nice. My purple belt, despite being A2, is kinda long for me, so the ends dangle temptingly for anyone playing guard. She asked if it was allowed to grab the belt and use it to attack. I said that it was, unless the belt actually falls off: you can't go ahead and tie a noose round somebody's neck (although this guy tried, as you might have seen linked on some forum or other).
When we switched positions shortly afterwards, I could then demonstrate, sweeping her by bringing the end of her belt behind one of her legs and passing it to my hand. It wasn't a very good sweep, but hopefully illustrated the point. I was thinking of the de la Riva sweeps I got shown at Gracie Barra Birmingham a while ago.
Also finally picked up my contributors copy of Jiu Jitsu Style issue 2, as Callum had left one with Kev for me. If you're wondering what bits I did this time round, I provided the Barbosa DVD review and the Carlson Gracie Academy history. Good review of the whole mag by Leslie over on BJJ Grrl, which I think is due to be joined by various others. If you don't fancy a print copy, remember you can pick it up through iTunes, or there is a non-Applefied digital version over on PocketMags.
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, UK - 15/05/2011
I was visiting my parents and sister at the weekend, meaning my lovely nieces were there too, which is always fun. I've no plans to have kids myself, but I do enjoy being an uncle: all the fun and cuteness of small children, none of the huge financial outlay, nappy-changing or sleepless nights. Also meant I had the new experience of helping a three year old go to the toilet (I had plenty of experience changing nappies back when I looked after her for eight months in 2009, as she wasn’t potty trained then). Top tip: make sure they've pulled their knickers down before you lift them onto the toilet. Only just noticed in time, or that could have been messy. Ahem.
The new house my parents have bought in Aylesbury is a short cycle ride from RGA Bucks, which is extremely convenient. I was lazy and got a lift in the car this time, as I wanted to get maximum toddler time, which also meant I only did the beginner class, leaving before the open mat. I intend to drop in to RGA Bucks whenever I'm at my parents' house, especially as it is so nearby. Good way to stay in touch with an awesome group of training partners, as well as being on the receiving end of a guaranteed arse-kicking (given that there are people like Callum, Draz and Sahid training there).
Kev's class was as excellent as ever, particularly as he included a couple of techniques I've been planning to teach myself, for one of my Thursday GB Bristol lessons. He started off with the right way to pull guard, which without any doubt is what I'd do should I compete again for some reason.
You have the standard collar and elbow grip from standing. Put your foot up on their elbow-side hip, then drop to your back while spinning your head towards their elbow-side foot. As you maintain the grip on their collar, that will break their posture. From here, you could potentially go straight into an attack, or simply look to close your guard, or possibly enter into an open guard.
Kev went with option number one, running through two sweeps that work well together. I'll be going into more detail on these when I come to teach them myself, but the first one is called the tripod sweep (among other things: jiu jitsu has an annoying habit of many, many names for the same thing, unlike judo). From the guard pull, you're going to slide your hands down their sleeve until you reach their cuff. Grab that tightly on either side of their wrist, clamping your elbows to your side.
This is a surprisingly difficult hold to break, and keeps them bent over. Disengage your elbow-side hand, grabbing their same side foot behind the heel (or the bottom of their trousers, being careful not to reach inside the bottom of their trouser cuff: that will get you disqualified in competition, due to the danger to your own fingers). Pull their foot and stick it to your hip, so their foot is slightly off the floor.
Your other foot goes behind their same side heel. You will then simultaneously push on their hip with your foot, yank their other foot forward with your other foot, while also holding their remaining foot in position by your hip. This should knock them backwards: thanks to your sleeve grip, you should be able to follow them up as they fall down. Pass through to side control, keeping control of their foot throughout so they can't establish some sort of guard.
However, you have a problem if they turn sideways when you attempt that sweep. The pressure and leverage is no longer right for taking them down. Fortunately, you can easily solve your problem by switching to the sickle sweep. Basically, all you do is switch the position of your feet. So, the foot that was on their hip goes behind their foot. The foot you had by their heel now goes to their hip. That also means you have twisted to face them. Push on their hip and chop back with your foot to take them down. Again, use the sleeve grip to come up, while still pulling their foot to your hip with your hand. Also remember to still control their foot on the way up, as you don't want them to put you in guard.
Sparring was from open guard. I was with Callum, meaning that as often happens with Callum, I kept thinking I'd passed, only for him to spin through and scupper the attempt. He's really good at spinning, so I must remember to pick his brain about it next time we're both at an open mat. I need to work out how to control both his hips when I pass so that he can't simply spin away from me, going into various inverted guards and the like.
Underneath, I thought that looked like fun so I'd give it a go too. Unfortunately, I'm not anywhere as good at it, so generally just got passed instead. Still, good to try it out, as I'm relatively flexible, so don't mind my legs being over my head. I wasn't able to establish my preferred open guard, which is spider guard with a deep lasso on one arm. Callum was wise to that, so made sure I couldn't get it in deep.
That meant that although he put a knee up, I couldn't attempt the sweep I'd be practicing for when people raise a knee, because it depends on having the lasso. Hence the back up plan of spinning around. Didn't prove successful, but it's essential to not rely on just one thing, even if the one thing is a series of moves. If you can't get into your starting position, you need something else to try.
The second of my two rolls that class was with a female white belt I hadn't seen before, Hayley (Haley? I think it normally has two 'y's). She was wearing a Roger Gracie Academy gi, which either means she was visiting from HQ, or Kev sells the patched up RGA gis at his club too. Either way, she was a good training partner, and doing the right thing when I was trying to pass, stopping me from getting good control of her leg.
She also gave me an opportunity to go into instructor mode, which is always nice. My purple belt, despite being A2, is kinda long for me, so the ends dangle temptingly for anyone playing guard. She asked if it was allowed to grab the belt and use it to attack. I said that it was, unless the belt actually falls off: you can't go ahead and tie a noose round somebody's neck (although this guy tried, as you might have seen linked on some forum or other).
When we switched positions shortly afterwards, I could then demonstrate, sweeping her by bringing the end of her belt behind one of her legs and passing it to my hand. It wasn't a very good sweep, but hopefully illustrated the point. I was thinking of the de la Riva sweeps I got shown at Gracie Barra Birmingham a while ago.
Also finally picked up my contributors copy of Jiu Jitsu Style issue 2, as Callum had left one with Kev for me. If you're wondering what bits I did this time round, I provided the Barbosa DVD review and the Carlson Gracie Academy history. Good review of the whole mag by Leslie over on BJJ Grrl, which I think is due to be joined by various others. If you don't fancy a print copy, remember you can pick it up through iTunes, or there is a non-Applefied digital version over on PocketMags.
14 January 2011
14/01/2011 - RGA Aylesbury (Beginner)
Class #373
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, UK - 14/01/2011
My parents have now moved to temporary accommodation near Tring while the new place in Aylesbury is being built. I certainly can't complain about the view from my laptop: should be a pleasant way to finish off my time here, before heading off to the city (unless my girlfriend buys somewhere in Bristol before then, but I can't imagine we'll have anything sorted by March).
That also means that training has shifted yet again, although I can still stick with RGA Bucks. The difference is that rather than the High Wycombe location, I'll now be going to the one in Aylesbury, which is closer (and will obviously be even more convenient once we move to Aylesbury itself). Just like the previous time I went to the Aylesbury branch, I got lost and had to phone Kev. Hopefully that won't happen again, especially now that I've got smartphone GPS map power. :)
Tonight's lesson was essentially a repeat of this one from a few months ago (a good thing, as that was an excellent class). The open guard drill I liked so much last time had a handy addition, during the third stage where you're bringing your legs past your head then pushing off your toes to roll back into guard. You can instead continue your roll and end up on your knees, ready to initiate a takedown. This is especially helpful if your opponent is larger and has already started to drive their weight into you. Attempting to roll to guard at this point may leave you stuck halfway. If you roll the other way, to your knees, that lack of space is less of an issue.
Kev added in a useful tip about the tripod sweep, in regards to establishing that grip on the ankle. If you first hook behind their leg with your same side foot, that means they can't avoid your grip by stepping back. You can then adjust your feet into the necessary positions. As before, that then shifts into a sickle sweep if they go side on, on a De La Riva back-take if they turn too far (see my earlier write-up for details).
Specific sparring with Callum from open guard was rather one-sided, particularly when I was trying to pass. I wasn't getting anywhere, though I was at least trying to use pressure and driving my hips forward. I was mainly attempting to trap one of his legs by sitting on it, then working to pass from there. However, even when I did isolate the leg, Callum was able to use a combination of his other leg and good hip movement to recover guard, or indeed sweep me. I flew past his head, got rolled from deep half and was taken down by the very same rolling to knees move we'd just learned.
Still, it is all useful in the sense that it helps me become more familiar with the pressure I need, where to control and how to balance. The only way to improve is to fail repeatedly first, making sure I think carefully about exactly where and why I'm failing. I guess BJJ wouldn't be as much fun if it was easy. ;)
Underneath I fared slightly better, as I could use my legs to hold him off. I tried the foot in bicep tactics that I'd been playing with in Bristol, which worked for a while, but I eventually got bunched up and passed. The spider guard with a deep lasso on his arm worked better, as that gives really good control, but I wasn't able to do much with it. As Kev advised before, I still need to attempt more attacks.
Closest I got to that was looking for the De La Riva sweeps I'd been taught at GB Brum, but as ever I struggled to maintain any tension with the leg pressing into the knee. Callum had no trouble at all disengaging that pressure, controlling the leg and moving round for a pass. I also need to consider linking the sweep with that other one where you switch your legs and drive forward (which doesn't need the same pressure into the far knee).
Like Thursday classes at RGA Wycombe, the Friday class at RGA Aylesbury then moves into an extra hour of sparring. I started off with a blue belt, where the foot in bicep guard worked better. I was able to move into a triangle, and then somehow ended up in mount. My legs were unlocked, but it was clearly a dominant position. However, I then mostly just started at him, fiddling uselessly with his arm to see if it might magically trigger some memory of a submission.
Eventually I clumsily moved into a vaguely locked triangle, but the choke wasn't on. He tapped a bit later, but only because I was squishing his head, rather than any kind of actual submission. So, mounted triangles are clearly yet another technique I need to greatly improve: I did try rolling into a more conventional triangle from guard, but I think ended up back in mount, somehow.
My next partner was a white belt, who I think was a little bigger than me. Either way, after a bit of footsie against his arms from open guard, I found myself in some random positions. He was looking to choke me with his legs, but didn't have my arm. So, it was uncomfortable, particularly when he tried using his own arm to get the choke (which I have seen done), but I was able to squirm out to his side control. That led to the inevitable running escape posture, which is where I stayed until time ran out.
I was with a blue for the next roll, and the gods of jiu jitsu decided to punish me for stalling. I had my leg up defensively as my partner was looking to pass. He started to apply pressure, while I countered with my leg at a slightly awkward angle. I pushed to try and recover guard, which resulted in a loud ripping sound.
Having seen the numerous knee injury war stories passed around on forums, visions of months in hospital immediately sprung to mind. However, after that moment of panic, I realised that I wasn't screaming in agony clutching my knee, so it can't have been that bad. At this point I was hoping the noise originated from my trousers somewhere, although I couldn't see a rip.
After I gingerly squeezed my knee a few times and carefully tested if the leg could hold my weight, Kev advised that I should be ok to go light, but to stop if anything twinged. The rest of the roll was therefore gentle, so although I ended up in side control, I think that had a lot more to do with my partner's concern he might have just messed up my knee rather than any skill on my part. I don't think the injury was anything to do with him, as the main pressure came from my attempt to recover guard.
Either way, I'm not one to take risks (almost certainly a large part of the reason my game, if I can call it that, is so passive), so I sat out the rest of the sparring. Now that it is a few hours later and I've walked around, I can be more specific. The pain is in the right tendon on the back of my left knee, whatever that's called. It feels sore, but as I can still stand up and put weight on the leg, I'm hoping it will heal up ok in the next few days. I'll have to be careful not to crouch though: that definitely hurt when I just tried it.
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, UK - 14/01/2011
My parents have now moved to temporary accommodation near Tring while the new place in Aylesbury is being built. I certainly can't complain about the view from my laptop: should be a pleasant way to finish off my time here, before heading off to the city (unless my girlfriend buys somewhere in Bristol before then, but I can't imagine we'll have anything sorted by March).That also means that training has shifted yet again, although I can still stick with RGA Bucks. The difference is that rather than the High Wycombe location, I'll now be going to the one in Aylesbury, which is closer (and will obviously be even more convenient once we move to Aylesbury itself). Just like the previous time I went to the Aylesbury branch, I got lost and had to phone Kev. Hopefully that won't happen again, especially now that I've got smartphone GPS map power. :)
Tonight's lesson was essentially a repeat of this one from a few months ago (a good thing, as that was an excellent class). The open guard drill I liked so much last time had a handy addition, during the third stage where you're bringing your legs past your head then pushing off your toes to roll back into guard. You can instead continue your roll and end up on your knees, ready to initiate a takedown. This is especially helpful if your opponent is larger and has already started to drive their weight into you. Attempting to roll to guard at this point may leave you stuck halfway. If you roll the other way, to your knees, that lack of space is less of an issue.
Kev added in a useful tip about the tripod sweep, in regards to establishing that grip on the ankle. If you first hook behind their leg with your same side foot, that means they can't avoid your grip by stepping back. You can then adjust your feet into the necessary positions. As before, that then shifts into a sickle sweep if they go side on, on a De La Riva back-take if they turn too far (see my earlier write-up for details).
Specific sparring with Callum from open guard was rather one-sided, particularly when I was trying to pass. I wasn't getting anywhere, though I was at least trying to use pressure and driving my hips forward. I was mainly attempting to trap one of his legs by sitting on it, then working to pass from there. However, even when I did isolate the leg, Callum was able to use a combination of his other leg and good hip movement to recover guard, or indeed sweep me. I flew past his head, got rolled from deep half and was taken down by the very same rolling to knees move we'd just learned.
Still, it is all useful in the sense that it helps me become more familiar with the pressure I need, where to control and how to balance. The only way to improve is to fail repeatedly first, making sure I think carefully about exactly where and why I'm failing. I guess BJJ wouldn't be as much fun if it was easy. ;)
Underneath I fared slightly better, as I could use my legs to hold him off. I tried the foot in bicep tactics that I'd been playing with in Bristol, which worked for a while, but I eventually got bunched up and passed. The spider guard with a deep lasso on his arm worked better, as that gives really good control, but I wasn't able to do much with it. As Kev advised before, I still need to attempt more attacks.
Closest I got to that was looking for the De La Riva sweeps I'd been taught at GB Brum, but as ever I struggled to maintain any tension with the leg pressing into the knee. Callum had no trouble at all disengaging that pressure, controlling the leg and moving round for a pass. I also need to consider linking the sweep with that other one where you switch your legs and drive forward (which doesn't need the same pressure into the far knee).
Like Thursday classes at RGA Wycombe, the Friday class at RGA Aylesbury then moves into an extra hour of sparring. I started off with a blue belt, where the foot in bicep guard worked better. I was able to move into a triangle, and then somehow ended up in mount. My legs were unlocked, but it was clearly a dominant position. However, I then mostly just started at him, fiddling uselessly with his arm to see if it might magically trigger some memory of a submission.
Eventually I clumsily moved into a vaguely locked triangle, but the choke wasn't on. He tapped a bit later, but only because I was squishing his head, rather than any kind of actual submission. So, mounted triangles are clearly yet another technique I need to greatly improve: I did try rolling into a more conventional triangle from guard, but I think ended up back in mount, somehow.
My next partner was a white belt, who I think was a little bigger than me. Either way, after a bit of footsie against his arms from open guard, I found myself in some random positions. He was looking to choke me with his legs, but didn't have my arm. So, it was uncomfortable, particularly when he tried using his own arm to get the choke (which I have seen done), but I was able to squirm out to his side control. That led to the inevitable running escape posture, which is where I stayed until time ran out.
I was with a blue for the next roll, and the gods of jiu jitsu decided to punish me for stalling. I had my leg up defensively as my partner was looking to pass. He started to apply pressure, while I countered with my leg at a slightly awkward angle. I pushed to try and recover guard, which resulted in a loud ripping sound.
Having seen the numerous knee injury war stories passed around on forums, visions of months in hospital immediately sprung to mind. However, after that moment of panic, I realised that I wasn't screaming in agony clutching my knee, so it can't have been that bad. At this point I was hoping the noise originated from my trousers somewhere, although I couldn't see a rip.
After I gingerly squeezed my knee a few times and carefully tested if the leg could hold my weight, Kev advised that I should be ok to go light, but to stop if anything twinged. The rest of the roll was therefore gentle, so although I ended up in side control, I think that had a lot more to do with my partner's concern he might have just messed up my knee rather than any skill on my part. I don't think the injury was anything to do with him, as the main pressure came from my attempt to recover guard.
Either way, I'm not one to take risks (almost certainly a large part of the reason my game, if I can call it that, is so passive), so I sat out the rest of the sparring. Now that it is a few hours later and I've walked around, I can be more specific. The pain is in the right tendon on the back of my left knee, whatever that's called. It feels sore, but as I can still stand up and put weight on the leg, I'm hoping it will heal up ok in the next few days. I'll have to be careful not to crouch though: that definitely hurt when I just tried it.
30 November 2010
30/11/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)
Class #364
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 30/11/2010
I arrived back from Germany late last night, which made for a pleasant short trip, plus some very tasty food courtesy of my grandparent's Diamond Wedding Anniversary in Maastricht. Unfortunate that all the art galleries in Aachen appear to be closed on Mondays, but still, bunch of other stuff to see: write up here, if you're thinking of a trip there yourself.
If you're interested in winning some Scramble gear, check out the new competition Matt is running, in conjunction with a bunch of other sites. Also, I think I've mentioned the Robson online seminar already, but either way, they've now got a podcast up about it, here.
Kev started off with a cool open guard drill, building up through increasingly difficult positions. All of them had one person doing a basic bullfighter pass, stepping to your side, and then you readjust to recover guard. The first stage, they don't step particularly deep. So, you can bring your outside foot to the inside of their nearest leg, then use that to square back up in open guard. Make sure you hook with that foot, or they'll be able to easily step out and continue to pass. If you're got a hook secured, you'll follow them when they try to move.
The next stage, they've gone a bit deeper, so their foot is by your hip. Now, you will have to shrimp a bit before you can hook, pushing off their leg with your hands. You can then proceed as normal, again hooking and squaring up. If you're very flexible, you could try hooking without the shrimping motion, but it isn't advisable.
For the final stage, they've passed to knee on belly. This time, you hook around their knee with your near hand, then step the foot nearest their legs right over your own body. You're aiming to turn your hips, so that you end up with your bum in the air, both feet past your head. You then push off your feet and roll back into guard.
On an interesting terminological note, when I mentioned the similarity to Saulo's running escape, Kev said he'd also seen Jean Jacque Machado use the same escape, except that Machado called it the coffee grinder. Well, I found it interesting. ;p
The first full technique was the tripod sweep, which we've done a few times before (although I referred to it as a cross guard sweep last time). You can also see it on page 228 of Theory & Technique (though they use the term 'hook sweep' instead). In short, you have a cross-grip, grabbing their same side heel with your other hand. Push on that hip with your same side foot, while simultaneously hooking and pushing behind the other leg. Come up from there and slide past into side control, stepping over their leg with your other foot.
Kev moved on to another technique demonstrated in Theory & Technique, the sickle sweep (page 226): as I mention in the review, the organisation of that book is completely random, so these two basic techniques are in the brown belt section. They combine together very well, as Kev showed. You're going for the tripod sweep, but they angle themselves to the side, avoiding your hook and stepping that leg back. Rather than trying to wriggle into place to try again, you can instead switch the position of your feet.
So, you will remove the foot your had on their hip, replacing it with your hooking leg. The foot that was on their hip now goes behind their other foot. As before, you push on the hip and yank back with your hook, knocking them to the floor. The main difference is that when you come up to pass this time, your other knee will be up, so you'll need to make sure to shove their leg down and step over, enabling you to complete your knee slide.
The third option wasn't demonstrated, but said in passing, because some people were stepping too far during drilling. If your partner steps way back so they're very side on, then they've basically given you their back. You can now take their back, using the De La Riva technique I've seen previously.
Sparring was from open guard, and I started with Kev. On top, I wasn't able to do much, so tried to drive my hips forward and attempt to grab his leg with both hands, yanking it up and then sliding down to side control. Every time I tried that, he just turned to his knees. So, I'm definitely doing something wrong there, as he had loads of space.
Underneath, Kev advised that I need to break his grips, which is a relatively simple technique. Reach behind their grip with your arm, grabbing your own gi if you require additional leverage. Then kick out to strip the grip. However, don't do what I did, which was kicking out to the side: that cunningly gifts them a pass.
I also tried that spider guard grip again from Braulio, which I got, but as I was looking to move into the triangle attack, Kev had already circled his hand behind my leg and initiated his escape. Finally, I had a go at reverse De La Riva, but as Kev said when I asked him afterwards, I was forgetting the key detail of both grabbing the heel of their trapped leg and swivelling to hook the other hand behind their other leg. If you don't do that, they have all the time they need to push your knee to one side, because they're not under any threat.
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 30/11/2010
I arrived back from Germany late last night, which made for a pleasant short trip, plus some very tasty food courtesy of my grandparent's Diamond Wedding Anniversary in Maastricht. Unfortunate that all the art galleries in Aachen appear to be closed on Mondays, but still, bunch of other stuff to see: write up here, if you're thinking of a trip there yourself.
If you're interested in winning some Scramble gear, check out the new competition Matt is running, in conjunction with a bunch of other sites. Also, I think I've mentioned the Robson online seminar already, but either way, they've now got a podcast up about it, here.
Kev started off with a cool open guard drill, building up through increasingly difficult positions. All of them had one person doing a basic bullfighter pass, stepping to your side, and then you readjust to recover guard. The first stage, they don't step particularly deep. So, you can bring your outside foot to the inside of their nearest leg, then use that to square back up in open guard. Make sure you hook with that foot, or they'll be able to easily step out and continue to pass. If you're got a hook secured, you'll follow them when they try to move.
The next stage, they've gone a bit deeper, so their foot is by your hip. Now, you will have to shrimp a bit before you can hook, pushing off their leg with your hands. You can then proceed as normal, again hooking and squaring up. If you're very flexible, you could try hooking without the shrimping motion, but it isn't advisable.
For the final stage, they've passed to knee on belly. This time, you hook around their knee with your near hand, then step the foot nearest their legs right over your own body. You're aiming to turn your hips, so that you end up with your bum in the air, both feet past your head. You then push off your feet and roll back into guard.On an interesting terminological note, when I mentioned the similarity to Saulo's running escape, Kev said he'd also seen Jean Jacque Machado use the same escape, except that Machado called it the coffee grinder. Well, I found it interesting. ;p
The first full technique was the tripod sweep, which we've done a few times before (although I referred to it as a cross guard sweep last time). You can also see it on page 228 of Theory & Technique (though they use the term 'hook sweep' instead). In short, you have a cross-grip, grabbing their same side heel with your other hand. Push on that hip with your same side foot, while simultaneously hooking and pushing behind the other leg. Come up from there and slide past into side control, stepping over their leg with your other foot.
Kev moved on to another technique demonstrated in Theory & Technique, the sickle sweep (page 226): as I mention in the review, the organisation of that book is completely random, so these two basic techniques are in the brown belt section. They combine together very well, as Kev showed. You're going for the tripod sweep, but they angle themselves to the side, avoiding your hook and stepping that leg back. Rather than trying to wriggle into place to try again, you can instead switch the position of your feet.
So, you will remove the foot your had on their hip, replacing it with your hooking leg. The foot that was on their hip now goes behind their other foot. As before, you push on the hip and yank back with your hook, knocking them to the floor. The main difference is that when you come up to pass this time, your other knee will be up, so you'll need to make sure to shove their leg down and step over, enabling you to complete your knee slide.
The third option wasn't demonstrated, but said in passing, because some people were stepping too far during drilling. If your partner steps way back so they're very side on, then they've basically given you their back. You can now take their back, using the De La Riva technique I've seen previously.
Sparring was from open guard, and I started with Kev. On top, I wasn't able to do much, so tried to drive my hips forward and attempt to grab his leg with both hands, yanking it up and then sliding down to side control. Every time I tried that, he just turned to his knees. So, I'm definitely doing something wrong there, as he had loads of space.
Underneath, Kev advised that I need to break his grips, which is a relatively simple technique. Reach behind their grip with your arm, grabbing your own gi if you require additional leverage. Then kick out to strip the grip. However, don't do what I did, which was kicking out to the side: that cunningly gifts them a pass.
I also tried that spider guard grip again from Braulio, which I got, but as I was looking to move into the triangle attack, Kev had already circled his hand behind my leg and initiated his escape. Finally, I had a go at reverse De La Riva, but as Kev said when I asked him afterwards, I was forgetting the key detail of both grabbing the heel of their trapped leg and swivelling to hook the other hand behind their other leg. If you don't do that, they have all the time they need to push your knee to one side, because they're not under any threat.
09 November 2010
09/11/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)
Class #357
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 09/11/2010
Kev asked everyone who was staying for the next class what they wanted to work on, and the general response was how to go from closed guard to open guard when somebody stands up. Kev suggested that moving to cross-guard was a good option, which is what you call the position where you are gripping their opposite sleeve, your same side foot on their hip, the other foot hooking behind their other leg.
In order to go from there to a cross guard sweep, use your free hand to grab their same side heel. Lock that to your hip, lifting their foot slightly off the floor. Push on their hip with your foot, while simultaneously pulling with your hook behind their other leg. If you're having trouble knocking them down, angle the direction of your push a little, in the direction you want them to fall.
Once you finally manage to get them down, you can use that hold on their sleeve to sit up, bringing your knee across their leg. You can now go straight into a knee slide pass, pulling up on their sleeve to hinder their defence. It's the same technique Kev taught at the start of this year, if you're looking for a longer explanation.
That was it for technique, though Kev did suggest that deadlifts might be a good option to help develop better base when standing up in guard (which I'm pretty pants at, hence why I asked). I'm too lazy and undisciplined for weights, but if it would be cool to get some kind of regular standing up in guard drill going with my gf.
We then moved into sparring, which was free sparring except that you had to start in guard, and you also had to pass standing rather than from the knee. I forced myself to stand up a few times and almost immediately got swept, but still, only way to get used to it (though I have been saying that for years now). It also meant that I ready to defend straight away, so was generally at least able to switch to guard rather than simply get passed after getting knocked to the mat.
With both Howard and Kev, who were the two people I sparred that class, I found myself in a position where they were going for my back, but didn't have both their hooks in yet. In both cases, I was able to grab on their arm, with the intention of pulling on that and driving into them with my shoulder to move into top half guard. That didn't go as planned, as it mainly seemed to just stall them from securing the back.
However, Kev did say that it was the right idea, so I guess I need to just keep working on that and improve my pressure and angle. It would also be worth keeping Saulo's escape in mind, where he scoops down and then slips to the side (though that seems more like a late defence, compared to the early escape using their arm).
The onset of November also means that sweaty men have been sitting on my face for the last four years. For some reason, I keep coming back for more. ;p
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 09/11/2010
Kev asked everyone who was staying for the next class what they wanted to work on, and the general response was how to go from closed guard to open guard when somebody stands up. Kev suggested that moving to cross-guard was a good option, which is what you call the position where you are gripping their opposite sleeve, your same side foot on their hip, the other foot hooking behind their other leg.
In order to go from there to a cross guard sweep, use your free hand to grab their same side heel. Lock that to your hip, lifting their foot slightly off the floor. Push on their hip with your foot, while simultaneously pulling with your hook behind their other leg. If you're having trouble knocking them down, angle the direction of your push a little, in the direction you want them to fall.
Once you finally manage to get them down, you can use that hold on their sleeve to sit up, bringing your knee across their leg. You can now go straight into a knee slide pass, pulling up on their sleeve to hinder their defence. It's the same technique Kev taught at the start of this year, if you're looking for a longer explanation.
That was it for technique, though Kev did suggest that deadlifts might be a good option to help develop better base when standing up in guard (which I'm pretty pants at, hence why I asked). I'm too lazy and undisciplined for weights, but if it would be cool to get some kind of regular standing up in guard drill going with my gf.
We then moved into sparring, which was free sparring except that you had to start in guard, and you also had to pass standing rather than from the knee. I forced myself to stand up a few times and almost immediately got swept, but still, only way to get used to it (though I have been saying that for years now). It also meant that I ready to defend straight away, so was generally at least able to switch to guard rather than simply get passed after getting knocked to the mat.
With both Howard and Kev, who were the two people I sparred that class, I found myself in a position where they were going for my back, but didn't have both their hooks in yet. In both cases, I was able to grab on their arm, with the intention of pulling on that and driving into them with my shoulder to move into top half guard. That didn't go as planned, as it mainly seemed to just stall them from securing the back.
However, Kev did say that it was the right idea, so I guess I need to just keep working on that and improve my pressure and angle. It would also be worth keeping Saulo's escape in mind, where he scoops down and then slips to the side (though that seems more like a late defence, compared to the early escape using their arm).The onset of November also means that sweaty men have been sitting on my face for the last four years. For some reason, I keep coming back for more. ;p
18 March 2010
18/03/10 - BJJ (Beginner)
Class #296
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 18/03/2010
I've already mentioned this at length on my Facebook, but for those of you not on there yet, I recommend you check out Georgette's thought-provoking post on the reasons why people blog, here. It has resulted in an intriguing discussion, also taking in the reasons why people compete.
To babble a bit about non-BJJ topics (if you don't care, skip straight to the training), I also wanted to mention three BBC series I've really enjoyed recently. First is Last Woman Standing, the third in the series (the first two, which I talked about early last year and back in 2007, featured all-male casts). Not as much wrestling as before, unfortunately, but still great stuff, augmented by the fact it was women, so less stupid machismo.
Second, BBC4 has been discussing the history of feminism in a program simply called Women. The first one was about the second wave, which inspired me to bolster my rather limited feminist library. While I've always referred to myself as a feminist, it's based on conviction rather than a grounding in the critical theory.
I've been meaning to delve into the main texts of feminism for a long time, as previously I'd only read The Female Eunuch (though I guess I've studied a bunch of relevant novels during my English BA, by authors like Angela Carter, Jeanette Winterson and Virginia Woolf. Possibly could put Marion Zimmer Bradley in there too, as we did The Mists of Avalon for my favourite undergrad module, 'Arthurian Literature and its Legacy').
So, I've started reading The Second Sex, and also picked up some books by two of the people featured in the first program, Susan Brownmiller and Kate Millett. If anyone has further recommendations (e.g., Ann Oakley looked interesting, but I wasn't sure which of her books to get, and I liked the sound of Judith Butler from a seminar I attended a few years back, as it sounded like she had some stimulating ideas on gender identity), let me know.
Finally, I love music documentaries (and comparing musical taste: as ever, mine is fully laid out over at last.fm), and BBC4 has been showcasing some brilliant examples of the genre. First was Heavy Metal Britannia, which gave me some insight into a genre I've never been able to engage with, despite numerous efforts. I'm looking forward to the second, Prog Rock Britania, and especially the third, Synth Britannia (as that covers my favourites period of music, from the mid-70s through to the mid-80s).
______________________________________
Tonight's class started off with the companion technique to Tuesday, a pendulum sweep. This is much simpler than the flower sweep, because your opponent has already done much of the work for you by stepping up their knee. Secure their opposite arm, then hook your same side hand underneath their raised knee.
Kick your leg on that side right up into their armpit, driving through, so that they get knocked off balance. Continue the motion by lifting up behind their knee with your underhook, then finally use your other leg to chop low (as you don't want them to land on it). This should result in you ending up on top in mount, still with a hold of that leg.
You can also do this off the armbar, as Roy Dean demonstrates on Blue Belt Requirements. If they tuck their head, that's when you go for the sweep. Alternatively, you can still land that armbar, by not completing the sweep. Instead, you knock them off balance as before, but this time, sit up and get them into position for an armbar from the mount. It should be easier to finish from here than the guard, because they can't stack you (though make sure you stay tight, or they might be able to escape).
Last technique was a cross-guard sweep Kev first showed us back in January. I didn't say much about the follow-up guard pass in my previous post, so I'll do that now. Once you've knocked them down, you need to use the momentum to come up and move forward, still pulling on their sleeve. You also want to slide your inside knee over their leg, leaning your body towards them.
Having reached that position, switch their sleeve to your other hand, still pulling up. That leaves your first arm free to underhook their far armpit, further dropping your bodyweight on top of them, as well as immobilising their torso. From here, you can slide through into modified scarf hold (i.e., under the armpit rather than the head), and/or into side control.
One random thing to be aware of is that I kept getting my knee entangled inside Callum's gi when I did this, which made it difficult to pull up on his arm properly. If that happens, switch to grabbing their elbow, drop your bodyweight down, then move into side control. Shouldn't cause too many problems, but it caused me a bit of confusion during drilling.
Sparring was interesting, as it wasn't just guard passage, but guard passage without submissions. That meant I could concentrate fully on passing guard without having to worry about triangles, armbars and chokes, and then underneath just think about sweeps. On top, I jumped right to my feet the first few times, to have a play around, but that generally just resulted in getting swept quicker. Callum and I had a few scrambles, where I was trying to drive my hips forward and stack him (at one point, I ended up spinning him right round, but because he kept his knees in, it didn't help me pass).
I was still looking to pull their arm under their back, and still failing to secure a grip. I couldn't isolate the sleeve for a cross-grip either: perhaps I need to be more forceful with that, or put my hips into it? A couple of times I had the sleeve and started to stand, but Callum easily freed his arm.
Generally, I'm still being too reactive when trying to pass guard, especially on top. That means I'm chasing after them, rather than imposing some kind of strategy they have to defend. My only successful passing tactic remains forcing half guard, locking in a gable grip, then using shoulder pressure to pass. Unfortunately, that doesn't often work against the blues, as unlike white belts, they aren't going to let me slide my knee through that easily.
Underneath, I wanted to go to butterfly and try to sweep, as I'd been watching a video which emphasised pressing into their chest with your forehead, something I don't tend to do enough. However, my attempt to switch to butterfly from closed was rather sloppy, so Callum took advantage and passed. I did find myself with a belt grip over his back, but wasn't sure what to do with it. I thought I'd seen a choke after you grab their belt before, but checking back through my notes, I can only see a half guard sweep and a stack pass defence, so maybe not.
I also messed up a basic principle, which is pushing their head on the side they want to pass. Instead, I was shoving Callum's head on the other side, which simply helped him to pass. I need to remember that wherever their legs are going, that's the side of the head my hands need to be.
The other thing I kept trying was the flower sweep, as I had Callum in tight a few times (like on Tuesday). However, while I could grab the trouser leg, that was about as far as I got. I couldn't isolate his arm, or get in place to kick up into the armpit properly. Still, it is good to at least get into the habit of threatening something, rather than just lying there wondering what to do.
That's me done for this week, and I'll also miss all of next week, yet again due to a girlfriend visit. There are things more important to me than BJJ, despite what the sheer nerdy obsession of this blog might lead you to believe. ;p
As usual when I know I won't be training, I plan to put up a review/article or two in the meantime.
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 18/03/2010
I've already mentioned this at length on my Facebook, but for those of you not on there yet, I recommend you check out Georgette's thought-provoking post on the reasons why people blog, here. It has resulted in an intriguing discussion, also taking in the reasons why people compete.
To babble a bit about non-BJJ topics (if you don't care, skip straight to the training), I also wanted to mention three BBC series I've really enjoyed recently. First is Last Woman Standing, the third in the series (the first two, which I talked about early last year and back in 2007, featured all-male casts). Not as much wrestling as before, unfortunately, but still great stuff, augmented by the fact it was women, so less stupid machismo.
Second, BBC4 has been discussing the history of feminism in a program simply called Women. The first one was about the second wave, which inspired me to bolster my rather limited feminist library. While I've always referred to myself as a feminist, it's based on conviction rather than a grounding in the critical theory.
I've been meaning to delve into the main texts of feminism for a long time, as previously I'd only read The Female Eunuch (though I guess I've studied a bunch of relevant novels during my English BA, by authors like Angela Carter, Jeanette Winterson and Virginia Woolf. Possibly could put Marion Zimmer Bradley in there too, as we did The Mists of Avalon for my favourite undergrad module, 'Arthurian Literature and its Legacy').
So, I've started reading The Second Sex, and also picked up some books by two of the people featured in the first program, Susan Brownmiller and Kate Millett. If anyone has further recommendations (e.g., Ann Oakley looked interesting, but I wasn't sure which of her books to get, and I liked the sound of Judith Butler from a seminar I attended a few years back, as it sounded like she had some stimulating ideas on gender identity), let me know.
Finally, I love music documentaries (and comparing musical taste: as ever, mine is fully laid out over at last.fm), and BBC4 has been showcasing some brilliant examples of the genre. First was Heavy Metal Britannia, which gave me some insight into a genre I've never been able to engage with, despite numerous efforts. I'm looking forward to the second, Prog Rock Britania, and especially the third, Synth Britannia (as that covers my favourites period of music, from the mid-70s through to the mid-80s).
______________________________________
Tonight's class started off with the companion technique to Tuesday, a pendulum sweep. This is much simpler than the flower sweep, because your opponent has already done much of the work for you by stepping up their knee. Secure their opposite arm, then hook your same side hand underneath their raised knee. Kick your leg on that side right up into their armpit, driving through, so that they get knocked off balance. Continue the motion by lifting up behind their knee with your underhook, then finally use your other leg to chop low (as you don't want them to land on it). This should result in you ending up on top in mount, still with a hold of that leg.
You can also do this off the armbar, as Roy Dean demonstrates on Blue Belt Requirements. If they tuck their head, that's when you go for the sweep. Alternatively, you can still land that armbar, by not completing the sweep. Instead, you knock them off balance as before, but this time, sit up and get them into position for an armbar from the mount. It should be easier to finish from here than the guard, because they can't stack you (though make sure you stay tight, or they might be able to escape).
Last technique was a cross-guard sweep Kev first showed us back in January. I didn't say much about the follow-up guard pass in my previous post, so I'll do that now. Once you've knocked them down, you need to use the momentum to come up and move forward, still pulling on their sleeve. You also want to slide your inside knee over their leg, leaning your body towards them.
Having reached that position, switch their sleeve to your other hand, still pulling up. That leaves your first arm free to underhook their far armpit, further dropping your bodyweight on top of them, as well as immobilising their torso. From here, you can slide through into modified scarf hold (i.e., under the armpit rather than the head), and/or into side control.
One random thing to be aware of is that I kept getting my knee entangled inside Callum's gi when I did this, which made it difficult to pull up on his arm properly. If that happens, switch to grabbing their elbow, drop your bodyweight down, then move into side control. Shouldn't cause too many problems, but it caused me a bit of confusion during drilling.
Sparring was interesting, as it wasn't just guard passage, but guard passage without submissions. That meant I could concentrate fully on passing guard without having to worry about triangles, armbars and chokes, and then underneath just think about sweeps. On top, I jumped right to my feet the first few times, to have a play around, but that generally just resulted in getting swept quicker. Callum and I had a few scrambles, where I was trying to drive my hips forward and stack him (at one point, I ended up spinning him right round, but because he kept his knees in, it didn't help me pass).
I was still looking to pull their arm under their back, and still failing to secure a grip. I couldn't isolate the sleeve for a cross-grip either: perhaps I need to be more forceful with that, or put my hips into it? A couple of times I had the sleeve and started to stand, but Callum easily freed his arm.
Generally, I'm still being too reactive when trying to pass guard, especially on top. That means I'm chasing after them, rather than imposing some kind of strategy they have to defend. My only successful passing tactic remains forcing half guard, locking in a gable grip, then using shoulder pressure to pass. Unfortunately, that doesn't often work against the blues, as unlike white belts, they aren't going to let me slide my knee through that easily.
Underneath, I wanted to go to butterfly and try to sweep, as I'd been watching a video which emphasised pressing into their chest with your forehead, something I don't tend to do enough. However, my attempt to switch to butterfly from closed was rather sloppy, so Callum took advantage and passed. I did find myself with a belt grip over his back, but wasn't sure what to do with it. I thought I'd seen a choke after you grab their belt before, but checking back through my notes, I can only see a half guard sweep and a stack pass defence, so maybe not.
I also messed up a basic principle, which is pushing their head on the side they want to pass. Instead, I was shoving Callum's head on the other side, which simply helped him to pass. I need to remember that wherever their legs are going, that's the side of the head my hands need to be.
The other thing I kept trying was the flower sweep, as I had Callum in tight a few times (like on Tuesday). However, while I could grab the trouser leg, that was about as far as I got. I couldn't isolate his arm, or get in place to kick up into the armpit properly. Still, it is good to at least get into the habit of threatening something, rather than just lying there wondering what to do.
That's me done for this week, and I'll also miss all of next week, yet again due to a girlfriend visit. There are things more important to me than BJJ, despite what the sheer nerdy obsession of this blog might lead you to believe. ;p
As usual when I know I won't be training, I plan to put up a review/article or two in the meantime.
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