20/10/2013 - Study Hall (Closed Guard Passing & Side Control Chokes)

Class #530
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Study Hall, Bristol, UK - 20/10/2013

Dónal wasn't able to make it to Hit Fit this week, so study hall was my only bit of training, aside from teaching on Tuesday. That only happens once a month though, so hopefully I'll be able to work something out so I'm at least getting in two classes rather than just the one.

I continued working on the closed guard, this time passing rather than from the bottom, trying to maintain my posture and practice grip breaks. I'm teaching them next week, so I'm still attempting to work out the best combination of techniques. I will probably put grip breaks and posture in the first section, then opening the guard from the knees. The question is whether to also add in a pass: I think what I'll do is show the guard break, then tell people they can drill that, or stick around for a passing option.

Practicing the grip breaks is useful, though I still feel with the two-handed sleeve grip break I'm not ending up with their sleeve in the optimum hand. Something I can keep playing with. The one-handed 'y' grip break doesn't work too well for me, but I'll continue playing with it anyway. I'm also not sure about the hierarchy of grip breaks: e.g., if they are holding both my collar and my sleeve, I am tending to break the collar grip first, but perhaps I should be dealing with the sleeve first.

Moving into the guard break, the kneeling option works fine in drilling, but in sparring I will often get knocked off balance or my grips get stripped. However, getting in reps is valuable: I don't want to get into the resistance part too early, as simply doing lots of reps is productive too. I feel fairly confident once I can get a grip around the head, but at the same time, I don't want to get sloppy about the legs and try to crush through.

With regards to the side control chokes, I'm continuing on with the options from that private a while ago. The breadcutter puts a lot of pressure on the neck, so I want to work on that being a blood choke, not a simple pain compliance type thing. Interestingly, it worked better as a choke when I was practicing on somebody bigger, but that might have just been a more careful application on my part.

I struggle with the second grip for the baseball bat choke, which was too shallow a number of times today. I also tried using their gi lapel for the first grip, then for both grips. It was more effective when I used it for both grips, acting as a anchor so I could squeeze into the neck with my forearms. Apparently I was easing off at one point, so I'll need to be careful I'm not letting off the pressure.

After that, I ended up doing a bunch of teaching, but that's cool as I enjoy practicing that too. It's useful to try and work through problems people are having and see if I can come up with something of use. Speaking of which, Geraldine told me that she managed to get the step-over triangle twice in nogi, which is awesome as that's what we were working on last week. :D

01/09/2013 - Study Hall (Breaking & Passing Closed Guard, Side Control)

Class #520
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Study Hall, Bristol, UK - 01/09/2013

I was intending to train on Thursday, but as my gf had a bad day at work, I stayed at home so we could go out for a meal (as I've said many times before, BJJ is great fun, but I think your loved ones should always be the priority :D). Today I was looking to get in more work on passing the guard, continuing with the kneeling break. I'll also normally use study hall to practice the techniques I teach, which next week is side control escapes. Fortunately for me, those two things are exactly what my training partner Geraldine wanted to work as well.

I started off with the same guard break, encountering the old problems: keeping that lead hand in place, then getting enough distance to pop the ankles open. It also brought up a common issue that crops up after you've opened the legs, as they will frequently get their knee in their way. This happened to Geraldine in a competition a while ago, IIRC, so I showed her my preferred options for passing the knee shield.

I continued kneeling guard breaks with Berry, whose approach to countering them provided useful pressure-testing. He likes to bounce his hips out the way, as well as trying to break your grip on the hip, rather than the forward arm by their chest. That makes it tough to create the necessary tension to open their ankles, because their hips are free. On the plus side, I can still maintain my posture, because I have the arm on the chest: that gives me the opportunity to reset.

Therefore a key aspect I want to improve is maximising the weight I can drive through their hips. I'll need to experiment with arms positions, grips and also where I'm putting my head. It's possible I'm leaning too far forward or back, so I will keep a closer eye on that next time, to see if it is reducing the efficacy of my hip control when attempting to open the guard.

Through some light resistance, we worked out that switching my arms to the other side can be effective, although that gets a bit tiring. Having said that, the person on the bottom has to work harder, so they will probably get tired before you do. Either way, I don't like getting into battles of attrition, because that comes down to stamina rather than technique. I'll keep trying it, along with working out the right point to switch from kneeling to standing.

Sparring with Geeza helped that further, as he was mainly looking to see if I would flop to my back. I was keen to work on my passing, attempting to return to either combat base or some kind of open guard passing posture whenever I got knocked off balance. Geeza noted that I was using lateral motion, but need to combine that with more forward motion. I was getting stuck on his leg a few times, trying to do a big step over the top, but not pushing forward enough.

Arm control is something important to keep in mind as well. I played around with trying to get them to give me an arm from the kneeling break, which I could then try and pin to their hip. Geeza stopped me at that point to share a handy controlling position. He says cross-grip the arm you want to pin to the hip, then put your other arm across the top, clamping the knuckles of your pinning hand against the wrist that's over the top.

When I was underneath with Berry, I attempted to create angles to slip around the strong pressure of their arms. I also played around with different grips to prevent them posturing back up, which helped slow that process, but didn't open much in the way of submission opportunities, taking the back or sweeping. Or rather, I didn't combine my guard offence well enough.

Finally, I also worked on side control with Geraldine, keeping in mind what I wanted to teach next week. On top, I was focusing on connection with hips and control of their far elbow if they turn away (at one point I failed to control that far elbow, enabling her to spin to turtle). When she turned towards me, I switched to a cross-face, both my normal method and the version Donal suggested, where you just bring the arm in place and turn the elbow upwards.

Underneath I looked to reverse engineer what I'd done on top. I want to break the hip connection, starting with a bridge to make space, then wedge a frame in place (in my case, that's generally getting an elbow to their hip). I managed to partially turn away a few times, but Geraldine did a good job of keeping me under control. The stiff arm escape worked once (Braulio's version, shoving into the armpit and rolling them over), which was cool as I normally mess that up. So, I'll emphasise bridging and frames next week when I'm teaching side control escapes again, as well as the importance of staying tight and remaining calm.

25/08/2013 - Study Hall (Breaking & Passing Closed Guard)

Class #519
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Study Hall, Bristol, UK - 25/08/2013

Fairly small turn-out today, but still enough for me to get in plenty of drilling on passing the closed guard with a couple of different training partners. The first thing I did was that grip break I saw on BJJ Library, which I think Dave has also put onto YouTube so everyone can see it. When they grab your sleeve, circle your hand underneath theirs. Spread your thumb and index finger, then jam the 'v' shape that creates by the bottom of their hand (just by the start of their palm). Being with your arm bent, then thrust it forward firmly to knock off their grip.

That seemed to work quite well, though sometimes I didn't thrust my hand forward firmly enough, meaning they still had their grip. I'm also not entirely sure I'm putting the 'v' of my hand in the optimum place to generate leverage. I'll keep playing with it, but I think I'm now confident enough that it's functional to add it to the 'preparing the pass' class I'll teach next week. I've taught it before, but will reduce the content a bit, so it becomes just pointers on posture and staying safe in somebody's closed guard, along with some grip breaks.

I then ran through the sequence from the closed guard break and pass private with Dónal earlier this week. It was useful to not just drill it with light resistance, but then also have them try to resist, until finally they did it on me. Especially with Jamie, that brought up several details for me to consider. Drilling with both Luke and Jamie, I felt relatively secure once I had opened the guard and got the cross-face (I just need to make sure I control the far elbow as I pass, so they can't turn away). The danger is mainly earlier on.

To initially get that tight grip on both collars makes it difficult to break their grips, because my hands are already engaged. However, if I have that arm in place near their chest, then their grips aren't as important, because it becomes much harder for them to break my posture. Wriggling back to get the guard open can be difficult, but when I've got it open, I need to kick my foot forward immediately and also watch out for their knee coming across (you can still pass if it does, but it means you need a different pass).

Controlling the hips is an area I've found hard whenever I've tried this pass in the past. The idea is that the hand you have pressing down into their hip helps on that front. Perhaps I just need to focus more on maximising my downwards pressure? That would still seem to leave the other hip open, which I could block with my knee, but I need my need for driving into the tailbone. Again, something to keep practicing in drilling.

With Jamie, he tends to open his guard when he senses you've got into a good guard breaking position. That's a good idea, as you always want to open your guard on your terms. It means I need to react before he does, but also be ready to switch to an open guard pass rather than closed. Jamie's preferred method is probably what I'd do: he aims to break open the closed guard, then immediately pop back and grab the knees, moving into a bullfighter style of pass.

Something else he mentioned, when showing me how he likes to do the break, is that rather than the collars he grabs the belt. The reason I don't normally go for the belt is that if it comes untied you're stuck, but it remains a handy grip when it is tied. That way I don't spend any time fiddling with collars: I'll be giving the belt grip a try too, rather than dismissing it out of hand like I was previously.

21/08/2013 - Private (Closed Guard Break & Leg Pin Pass)

Class #518 - Private #014
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Dónal Carmody, Bristol, UK - 21/08/2013

I originally was considering doing some more work on closed guard sweeps for today's private lesson, but yesterday's sparring reminded me that my ability to open the closed guard remains really pants. I therefore went for that instead, getting in some basic closed guard breaks. I could have quite happily spent the entire lesson on just that, but as this was a dual private lesson, Liam naturally had some input too. Fortunately, he wanted to work on something closely related, which was passing after you had opened the guard.

The closed guard break from the knees is among the first techniques I ever learned, back in 2006, but I've been struggling with it ever since. Indeed, it was the topic of my first private lesson in 2010, so I've come full circle. The basic method starts by setting up your grips, grabbing both collars with one hand, by their chest, your other hand by their hip. Put your knee under the tailbone, then wriggle back until you can pop their ankles apart. Saulo's version, as per that picture, has the knee off to the side with the leg stretched out, using a sort of dip rather than relying on scooting back.

Dónal added in some small but important details (which he's taught before, but clearly I did not fully understand them). I think the main thing I've been missing is twisting up their collars so that there is no slack when you grip, along with jamming your palm or fist into their sternum to lock it in place. Normally what happens is that I find my arm gets stretched out and lose my posture: by securing it more firmly, that should be avoided. With your hand on the hip, measure it by bringing your elbow back to their knee, then grabbing the material that puts next to your hand.

From there, get your knee underneath their tailbone, meaning they are raised up onto your leg. Curve your back, then slowly wriggling backwards, with your other knee out to the side. In drilling, this was effective, but I suspect I'm going to run into problems when adding in more resistance. Still, both Dónal and Liam were commenting how this is their go-to guard break: I'm hopeful that after today I can finally get it working for me regularly. ;)

The main part of the lesson focused on then passing the closed guard, directly from that guard break: I refer to this one as the leg pin pass. This particular version is one I think I've also seen before, back in 2010 when I was at GB Birmingham, but I didn't understand all the details at the time.

Once you've split the ankles apart, use your elbow or hand to push their knee to the mat. Immediately kick your foot forward into the crook of their knee, then drive your knee to the mat next to their hip. That initial kick, combined with keeping your foot engaged, should twist their leg away from you in such a way that they will find it hard to adjust into a defensive posture.

Your other knee raises up, then pushes forward, so their other leg ends up on your hip. Push your hips in that direction, so that they can't lock their legs back together. Get a cross-face on the grounded leg side, while swimming your arm under their raised leg. From there, do a back-step so you're sat next to them, then drive forward into side control, pushing your knees under their legs so they can't sneak a knee through. You also may need to secure their far elbow, so they can't turn.

Quite often when you are in the middle of that pass, they will try to block your hip with their hand: I certainly do. However, that also means that their elbow is away from their side, which provides you with the opportunity to bring your same side arm (i.e., the one you would have used to cross-face) underneath their arm. Twist your arm so the palm is facing up, scooping under their arm to push it over their face.

Back-step as before, this time bringing your body around so that you're pressuring by their shoulder. Again be sure to also secure their far elbow to stop them turning. From this position, you may well be able to move straight into a gift-wrap and take the back. Alternatively, you may be able to feed their collar to your arm under their head and apply a variety of chokes.

21/05/2012 - USA Training Trip in November & GB Bristol (Opening the Guard)

Class #457
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Nicolai 'Geeza' Holt, Bristol, UK - 21/05/2012

For years now, I've been saying I want to go to the USA and meet up with some of the many awesome BJJers I've got to know online. I've always had five states in mind: California, Florida, Texas, Virginia and Oregon, based on the people I want to train with in each of those states. Canada is also somewhere I want to go (or rather, return to, as I went way back in 2002). I'm intending to visit all of them over the next few years, though I've no idea how long that's going to take. My girlfriend wasn't keen on doing a long haul flight this year, so I'm saving California and Florida: I think those are the two states she would most enjoy, possibly Virginia too, due to the landscape, sunshine and beaches (well, not so much Virginia on the latter two ;p).

That meant that this year, I've decided to go to Texas. My flights are booked, so I'm leaving on the 17th November, then coming back on the 30th November. At the moment, the only two places I'm definitely going are Dallas and Austin, with Houston being a likely third destination. So, if there are any BJJers from Texas reading this, let me know your suggestions. Though I should note I'm a bit weird in that while it would be fun to train with big names (Carlos Machado is the main one I'd like to check out), I'm a lot more interested in meeting fellow bloggers. :D

Speaking of big names, well-known BJJ film maker Hywel Teague is looking for contributions to his first full-length project, where he will be interviewing several red belts. The amount of first hand historical knowledge these guys possess is unmatched, so if you want to help out (the film will be freely available online, by the way, so this isn't a profit-driven project), go here.

____________________

Getting back to training, tonight will be the only session I get in this week. That's because it's my girlfriend's 30th. Every other evening is going to be dedicated to her instead. Should be fun, as I have a short trip planned, along with an outing to Phantom of the Opera (she's a big fan, so this will be the fourth or fifth time I've been with her in the eleven years we've been together). Hopefully I'll be able to get back into my Tuesday training pattern after that: there has been a lot more teaching recently rather than training. Of course, I do enjoy teaching, but it's important to still get in some drilling and sparring time for myself too. At least I'm not feeling as run down as last week, meaning I should be back to normal soon.

Geeza focused on guard passing basics tonight, specifically opening the guard. He began with a drill he's taught before, which tends to get a few laughs as it looks a little odd. The idea is to use cats and dogs as a guide for your back positioning. You're on your hands and knees, starting in the 'dog' position: head raised, back curved down, chest up. From there shift into the 'cat', where you arch your back and dip your head slightly.

The application is posturing in somebody's guard. Your back should be in the 'cat' position, though not too pronounced. One hand is in front of the other, with each hand gripping both collars. Twist your hands so your palms face up, also using your skeletal structure to make a solid rod of your forward arm. If they try to grab your elbows and pull you forward, that forward hand can brace against the ridge of their sternum. If they keep trying to drag you towards them, they're merely going to rub a raw red mark on their chest where your knuckles dig in. Which incidentally can make this a bit painful to drill more than a few times. ;)

You also want to make sure your head position does not shift further forward that your lead hand. Otherwise, they'll have an easier time breaking your posture. They are eventually going to get frustrated and stop trying to yank you forwards by your elbow. This is when you shift to the more orthodox posture, turning your lead hand palm down, but still gripping both collars and keeping that skeletal structure in play. Your other hand presses into their same side hip: although this is difficult in practice, you want to use that to prevent them moving their hips.

Next, put your knee into their tailbone, then step back with your other foot. Aim to slide your hip into their linked feet, until you can break them open. As anyone experienced will know, this is tough, especially if they have long legs or are simply stronger than you. However, passing from the knees is 'safer', in that you're less vulnerable to sweeps, though arguably you're more vulnerable to submissions.

So, most likely you're going to have to stand up. First you need to trap one of their arms, pressing it into their stomach. If you don't, then there is a much higher danger of them controlling your legs and getting a sweep. Geeza likes to use his head as a pendulum, so he swings it one way in order to lift his leg on the other side. Twist your other leg and stand. From there, simply shake up and down until gravity forces them to open their guard. Geeza used the metaphor of shaking a ketchup bottle to get the contents out, which is apt.

We did a bit of specific sparring at the end, which this time was very specific. Starting in the guard, all the person on top had to do was open the legs, while the person on the bottom was supposed to just maintain their position, no subs or sweeps. It's a good drill, as that enables the top person to really focus in on balance and the mechanics of popping open the legs. On top, I was generally able to open the legs by standing up and shaking, but I doubt I would have been successful if subs and sweeps were in play. I'm still leaning too far forward and I'm also continuing to grip too long on their collar, meaning my posture is hunched and weak.

On the bottom, I mainly just bounced my hips over each time they tried to insert their tailbone. I also took the opportunity to practice bringing them down as soon as they tried to stand up, by sucking my knees into my chest. Each time I did eventually get my guard opened, but it was as ever a good exercise. The more specific sparring, the better. :)

30/05/2011 - Gracie Barra Fundamentals

Class #400
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Nicolai 'Geeza' Holt, Bristol, UK - 30/05/2011

Mondays start with Gracie Barra Fundamentals, so there is often some kind of self defence element. Tonight, that was how to enter a safe clinch, stepping to one side and slightly forward, then stepping around to their side. Hug around their hips, pressing the side of your head into their chest. Put your leg behind them slightly forward, pull their hips towards you, then using your head and leg, bend their body over your leg and down to the mat.

There was another woman in class tonight, which was great to see: it would be great to have a strong female presence at Gracie Barra Bristol, so hopefully the club will continue to build up the numbers. Monica was already wearing a Zero G gi, as she had done a few months of BJJ in the past. Brand new members tend to be in the Gracie Barra gi they get with membership (must review that gi at some point, after I've spent a bit longer training in it).

The main technique tonight was opening the closed guard. Geeza had us start from a weak position, so they have already managed to get a hold of your head and pull it down to their stomach. Put your knee in the middle of their bum, moving your other knee slightly to the side. That should give you the base to move your head out sideways, though it can be easier said than done if they have a really firm hold. Return to good posture, sitting upright, straight back, one arm grabbing both their collars, the other pressing into their hip.

To open the guard, it was the classic option from the knees. Again, put your knee in the middle of their bum, then step up with the other leg. Drive all your weight through the arm you have into their hips, so that they can't adjust in either direction: if they have the ability to move, they'll be able to hold on to their closed guard. The other arm is by their chest, but only engage that fully if they try to sit up.

From here, aim to slide your hip bone along their shin, turning so that you end up becoming too wide for their feet to remain locked. Push on their knee or leg, then eventually you should be able to shift their leg off yours, pushing it to the ground ready for your pass.

Of course, this is also much easier said than done: I've been trying unsuccessfully to pass from the knees for years. My continuing inability to get this technique was borne out by the brief progressive resistance Geeza added, where from that held down position, we were to try and escape our heads and pass. We only had thirty seconds: with Monica, I couldn't even get my head free. I was then with one of the teenagers, and though I could at least free my head, I still couldn't get the guard open. I was trying Saulo’s method of stepping back in a circle, but I’m still not pinning their hips enough to create a suitable point around which to pivot.

Unfortunately I had to leave before the following advanced class, so I'm not sure if there were further guard passing insights to be had. Something I'll have to ask Geeza, as I've wanted to work out this guard pass for a long time now, especially as I'm far happier going from the knees rather than standing (although on the other hand, that's also a bad habit, as I still need to be more confident standing up to open). Either way, teaching guard passing in a month or two should be an interesting and productive challenge.

Geeza also made an interesting point about the closed guard in general. He said that you don't want to be using closed guard too much in training, as it will eventually get opened, so you might as well get familiar with open guard. There's also the point that you'll normally need to open your guard in order to attack or sweep. Geeza suggested that only time you want to hold the closed guard is when you're setting something up, or if you're competing.

Lesson finished on a very good note for me. As we were walking out, Clayton mentioned that he had some success using the americana set-up I went through last Thursday, where you switch your base and lean back as they push into your neck, then twist back to drive their hand to the mat. Really cool to hear that a student was able to apply something I taught the day before. :D

15/10/2009 - BJJ

Class #252



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 15/10/2009

Now it turns out I won't be teaching that seminar, as there was a whole one person booked. I guess Michael Donaghy isn't as popular as the organiser was hoping, which is a shame. I would have enjoyed both the teaching experience, and the chance to explore a poet I haven't read much in the past. Ah well: I still have another one to teach next month, for Sexual Health Week at Warwick Uni. Unlike Donaghy, that one is directly related to my interests, so looking forward to it.

For class tonight, I knew it was all about the guard this week. So, I sought out a few videos to try and refine what I know about guard passing. First up was a clip by Michael Jen, from one of his various instructionals. Lots of interesting points on opening the legs from the knees, such as turning your hands slightly outwards rather than completely straightening your arms, and also driving the ridge of your palm into their rib cage.

Jen also talks about humping your lower back to pop the ankles open, and emphasises the principle of never putting your head in front of your hands. To that end, when you're initially getting into position, you should first bring your knee out, rather than shove your knee into their butt.

That's because you may well have to raise up and move forward if you shove the knee in without first bringing the other knee out to the side. Your partner can then knock you off balance.

The second video featured Braulio, covering closed guard and passing. This time, I found the other side of the equation more interesting, as Braulio showed how you can keep shifting your hips square on to mess up their passing attempt.

He also had an interesting option for when they stand up: with a grip on their sleeve, you bring your hips to their other leg. Brace your same side arm against their other leg and pull them towards you. You've blocked both of their avenues for stepping to catch to balance, so they end up falling forwards.

All of that was immediately applicable to tonight's class. Kev showed us two basic ways to open the guard, both from standing and kneeling, then two passes from combat base.

The kneeling guard break began in the classic posture. Back straight, one hand gripping both collars, the other back by their hip. Slide one knee out to the side, then place the other knee right into their tailbone. You'll now pressure backwards with your arms until you can pop open the hips to open the guard, moving into combat base.

Alternately, you can use a standing guard break. This time, you have a hold of their sleeve and their hip. On the sleeve side, step your leg up: you have control of their arm, so can prevent them hooking your leg and going for a sweep. Stand up, keeping the other leg back so they can't hook that one (if they do, you may need to sit back down again). Finally, use your free arm to push their same side leg off your hip, then settle down into combat base.

If you want to pass over the leg closest to your raise knee, then Kev suggested using the leg pin I've seen a few times before. This is the one I've used most often in the past, although my guard passing is absolutely terrible, so I do it in a very sloppy fashion.

Should you instead want to pass over the leg opposite to your raised knee, you have another guard pass open to you (and incidentally, this is also something I've seen Michael Jen demonstrate, although he does it slightly differently). Begin by pinning that opposite leg with the shin of your raised leg, making sure you keep it trapped.

Use your arm on the other side to hook around their armpit, so that you can use your upper body to pin their torso, preventing them from taking your back. Your free leg will walk over, enabling you to then slide your knee through, bringing your hips to the floor. Readjust and switch into side control.

Kev is very approachable as an instructor, which combined with the comparatively small class size makes it easy to ask him questions. His response exemplifies the biggest weakness of tapes, which is that they can't correct errors and gear techniques to specific body types.

During specific sparring, I had been focusing on getting that grasp on the ribcage Jen talks about. However, I was attempting that against someone well over six foot, so unsurprisingly his legs were far too long for that to have any effect. As Kev said, what I needed to do was shift my grip further back, grabbing the top of the trousers, or even further up on the leg (Jen does mention this, but I'd forgotten that important detail).

Kev also spoke about how you want to make a really wide gap between your knees, rather than trying to shift back lots or even leaning forward to try and increase the leverage from your arms. You want to create an angle, rather than staying square on: if you stay square, its easy for your partner to break your posture.

Finally, Kev had some handy advice about trapping their arm underneath their back, which I've seen a few people do (and had done to me, which proved very effective). During sparring, I had no idea how to do this, so was trying to bait my partner into giving me both their arm and space by snatching at it after I stood up.

Kev's suggestion was much better and more effective. You have a grasp on their bicep and manoeuvre the arm down. Place your head next to it, using that as a wedge. To get their arm under their back, either raise up a leg to make some space underneath them and feed their sleeve to your other hand, or you can be more cunning.

If you raise your leg up, the person on the bottom is likely to try and hook it with their hand. As soon as they do that, sit back down, trapping their arm in the process. You can now shove your head against it, then proceed to bring it under their back.

That wasn't something I was going to be able to easily practice in nogi, due to the lack of sleeves. Indeed, I wasn't going to be able to practice most of the techniques I'm interested in due to that lack of grips, not to mention I was a little wary of the almost complete lack of other blue belts. So, I decided against the hour of nogi sparring tonight (such shameless wimping out would no doubt be frowned upon at Carlson's ;p), as I already had lots to think about after Kev's excellent advice.

08/08/2007 - BJJ (Beginners)

Class #78



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Maurição Gomes, London, UK - 08/08/2007 – Beginners

I was still feeling a bit under the weather today, but decided that I should at the very least be able to do the beginners. If I felt ok at the end of that, I’d do the advanced as well, but I wasn’t about to force myself. Not to mention an excuse to wimp out is always welcome. :p

Maurição took class today, which automatically means an interesting session. We started off with the basic trip (pull them to one side, step through, sweep the leg), something which I really should have tried at the Bristol Open. Instead of attempting anything, I just clung on to my opponent: if only everything was as easy as drilling. Judo would be the obvious way to improve my stand-up, but that bad experience with an injury last time I tried the sport continues to put me off for the moment.

Maurição then moved on to some fundamental techniques from the guard. First off, the tailbone break he’s showed us before. I’m not sure I’ve been pushing backwards enough on this, and I also need to think more about slicing their feet apart with my hip. As its my favourite guard break, this is what I tried at Bristol, but that merely resulted in getting swept (I think: can’t quite remember exactly how I ended up on the bottom in the first part of that fight).

That was followed by the leg pin pass. Maurição did this a little differently to how I thought it was done, as after opening the guard and pushing his knee onto the leg, he slipped that knee down the leg and then slid into position. That way leaves much less space then what I’ve attempted previously, so this should hopefully make my leg pin pass much tighter. Chris always gets to his knees when I try it on him, so perhaps Maurição’s method is the route to correcting my sloppy technique.

Next up we went through the armbar from guard, moving on to the triangle. Although that choke is a basic submission, I haven’t seen demonstrated that often, especially in comparison with the armbar. Maurição showed it off your opponent’s attempted guard pass. First, you grab their arm and pull it right across your body and close to your leg, swivelling as if your going for an armbar. Your calf then moves up behind their neck, using your heel to push the leg right across (as opposed to your toes: the heel tenses your calf muscle, which in turn makes the grip tighter). Grabbing your ankle (again, not your foot, as that could result in injuring yourself), pull it towards you until you can slip the other leg on top, locking that ankle into the back of your knee. Squeeze your legs and raise your hips for the choke.

Interestingly, Maurição expressly stated that you shouldn’t grab their head and pull down, which I had thought was a standard way of finishing the technique. The triangle was tight enough that I found I didn’t need to pull on the head: then again, my triangle has always been terrible. I’ve got armbars, kimuras and Americanas in sparring before, but never managed to finish a triangle. Maurição’s detailed demonstration today should hopefully result in improvement on my part.

Sparring started with guard passage. I was about to start a stack pass on Chet, when Maurição motioned me to stand up. At first I thought I’d done something wrong (Maurição will quite often stop you to correct technique), but turned out one of the recent female beginners needed someone lighter to roll with.

I’m not sure how to spell her name, but it sounded like ‘Joy-amma’, or possibly ‘Joy-emma’: either way, Brazilian, as Maurição was talking to her in Portuguese. As she’s still fairly new, I was able to try a few different sweeps, mainly the elevator. I also went for a flower sweep at one point, but still not quite landing that one: can but keep trying. I think she’s having similar problems to what has hindered my passing, in particular not leaving space (although she did manage to get round to side control a couple of times).

On top, I went for my normal tailbone break and stack pass routine, also trying the leg pin Maurição had demonstrated earlier. I think like my training partner, I was leaving a bit too much space: getting used to sliding into position is going to take some practice, but should eventually result in better technique. I also tried a standing pass later on, something I need to attempt more often. I’d especially like to perfect that standing tailbone thing Maurição showed a while ago, as that looked like a particularly effective way of opening the guard. However, this time I went for the basic step back slightly and push their knee off your leg method, which seemed to work ok, though I need to be careful to maintain my base.

Class finished with sparring under side control. I don’t think Joyama (must look up the spelling for that) was too familiar with side control (though she still got mount a couple of times), as she was leaving enough space for me to either shrimp back to guard or roll her right over, as she also tended to put her weight too far forward. I was reminded again that I need to bridge more in order to make space (another lesson from Bristol), rather than just getting into position and not doing anything with it. I had a go at getting double underhooks then rolling my partner over, but I forgot to bridge and rock first, meaning I didn’t have sufficient leverage.

The rolling wasn’t too intensive, but I wasn’t feeling 100% at the end of the session, so decided to leave the advanced class until tomorrow (presuming I feel better by Thursday). Nathan got his third stripe today, which was cool as he’s another of my regular sparring partners: will be good to have more fellow white belts in the advanced class.

I had meant to pick up my bronze medal from Pippa today, but left it too late as she’d already gone to join the class. Will have to remember to get it tomorrow. Its amusing that I got a medal for losing, but nevertheless a good way to commemorate my first competition, and also motivate me to do better next time. I may put my name down for the gi tournament in Reading this September, but I want to be certain of transport to and from the venue. Also, need to check my gf doesn’t mind me popping off to another comp: I don’t think she’d mind too much if it’s a while off, but 30th September is kinda near, and weekends are the main time we get together.

25/07/2007 - BJJ (Beginners)

Class #75



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Roger Gracie, London, UK - 25/07/2007 – Beginners

There was a lot of talent in the room when I walked in, as a bunch of black belts – including both Felipe and Roger - grappled on the mats, while Maurição looked on. I recognised Leo, who I’m still sure must have some kind of judo in his background: he landed a number of throws on his sparring partners. The other Brazilian I’ve noticed over the past few weeks with blonde hair was also on the mats, and as I’d suspected is yet another black belt.

Roger took the class today, and kicked off with the basic trip, osoto gari. He taught it slightly differently to how I’ve seen before, as normally the process is to step past your opponent, then drag them in that direction, pulling down on their arm and up on their shoulder. Roger’s version was to step through and then pull your partner tight into your chest, so you end up standing parallel, before sweeping the leg to take them down. Always good to have a few variations, even if I continue to be less than keen on throws.

That was followed by the usual armbar from guard. Although I’ve been shown the submission plenty of times, there were plenty of useful reminders. Keep the knee tight as you post off the other hip, and make sure you really push out your own hips. If you don’t shrimp enough, then it’s going to be difficult to break their posture. Also, use your hand to push their head into place, which makes it easier to get your leg over the top.

Roger then demonstrated my favoured tailbone guard break, following the same pattern as BJ Penn: very cool, as I’ve been hoping we’d get to see this sequence in class. Get a firm hold on their belt, put a knee into their tailbone, then straighten your arms and push up and back. At the same time, your should have your other leg as far back as possible, in order to drive your hip into their crossed feet, breaking their guard.

As soon as their guard opens, you can then perform a stack pass. Slip your arms underneath both legs (I think one at a time, but not sure), get a secure gable grip then drag them towards you. Stack your opponent, aiming to push their knee right into their face (or alternately, use your shoulder). Once you’ve decided which way to pass, grab their collar with the same side hand. Move round, and with the other hand lift their hips, maintaining heavy downwards pressure. Keep pushing until eventually you drive past their leg and transition to side control.

Specific sparring from guard started off with Nathan, who I haven’t seen in a while as he’s been off doing voluntary work abroad. He’s about my weight, so always a handy training partner. His guard has definitely got tougher to pass, as I had some trouble getting through, though I think I managed to get the stack once or twice. I’m keep leaving my arm vulnerable when attempting to break the guard, so need to pay closer attention to the positioning of my elbow. Nathan was able to break my posture a few times, so that’s also somewhere I need to be careful: keep back straight and look up, with a wide base.

I managed to get a sit-up sweep when Nathan was in my guard, but it was rather sloppy – I drove my own elbow into the floor in the process. I need to be smoother on that sweep, pulling their arm in tighter, and also keep in mind the possibility of switching to a kimura, which I often forget if I fail to get the sit-up. I also must remember to go to my knees if I find myself underneath with plenty of space. The only reason I did so against Nathan was due to a reminder from Roger, so that’s something to ingrain.

Class finished up with specific sparring from mount. My next partner was Ivan, who I haven’t sparred before – judging by his accent, he’s American, or possibly just learned his English from an American (there’s a French girl in my office who has an American accent for that reason). I didn’t have too many problems under mount, successfully sweeping him a few times, but found it very difficult to maintain mount when I was on top. Ivan was repeatedly able to get double underhooks and sweep me, so clearly that’s an area I need to work on. Getting better control of my opponent’s arms would help with that, and also being careful not to lean too far forward. I tend to end up in a position where I’ve got an arm under their head while using the other to base out – that’s worked for me on occasion, but here it just resulted in continuous sweeping.

The sign-up sheet for the Bristol Open is up, so I put my name down for the under 64kg. Apparently there will be a coach to take us there and back on the day, so I shouldn’t have to worry about accommodation. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble making weight, as I’ve been maintaining about 61.5kg (without a gi), which is ideally where I want to be for the competition. That would mean I should weigh in about 63.5kg, so I’m giving myself 0.5kg leeway.

19/07/2007 - BJJ (Beginners)

Class #74



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Maurição Gomes, London, UK - 19/07/2007 – Beginners

I’ve been having a very absentminded week. Started off by leaving my flip flops in Birmingham, then almost missing a bus despite leaning on the bus stop. I proceeded to sign the kids register, then today I forgot to pack my rash guard, so could only make the beginners session tonight. At least I remembered to bake that cake yesterday…although my mum did kinda take over (probably out of frustration at seeing me plod through a recipe she’s been doing long before I was even born).

Anyway, onto the BJJ. It’s a shame I had to miss the no-gi, as Maurição was teaching. However, on the other hand that did mean I was fully rested for the beginners, so could really concentrate on what he was saying. This lesson reminded me once again of Jude’s description of his teacher Maurição as a fine wine: one of the great things about training at RGA is the opportunity to learn from world-class people like Maurição.

First technique was the basic pass under the leg. I don’t think I have ever used this in sparring, as I pretty much always go over the over rather than under, which is apparently fairly common. Maurição mentioned how this was a very traditional pass which many people didn’t use because they assumed they’d get caught in a triangle. However, that’s only if you do it wrong: Maurição emphasised that its very important to first get the leg right up onto your shoulder, and secondly make sure the elbow of your other hand stays on either their inner or outer hip and does not get dragged across your opponent’s body. If your partner manages to get hold of the arm and start pulling, or is just very strong, then you can resist it by pushing through with your shoulder, meaning your whole body comes to your defence.

Another major part of the technique is to drive through and really stack them. As BJ Penn mentions on his site, the aim is to either get your shoulder right into their face, or squash their knee into their head. Staying on your toes is also essential, walking round and maintaining that downwards pressure, eventually pushing past the leg into side control.

Maurição went through this in meticulous detail: its rare that an instructor can describe a single, fundamental technique in such depth that its difficult to remember the full explanation. Just as he was about to tell us to go practice the pass, someone spoke up and asked about how to break the guard. This proved to be a fantastic question, as Maurição then, once again in fine detail, went through two breaks.

First was the one I’ve been using from BJ Penn’s site. Grab them by the belt, elbows in tight. Push back with your arms, knees coming back, with one pushing out to the side. That should eventually stretch their legs out and open the guard.

If that doesn’t work, then the second break is to stand up, then sit back down again. The integral detail here is that you shove your knee right into their cocsis before you sit down, so essentially impale them on your kneecap. Done right, that pops the legs apart straight away, leaving you with a knee in between their legs ready to start the pass.

However, I had some trouble finding the right spot, so will have to work on getting the positioning right. Still, very handy to have another option for breaking the guard, as previously I was feeling pretty limited.

Next technique followed on from the pass. Maurição noted that a lot of people were making a serious error, which was putting both hands through to the other side as soon as they got past the leg. That makes it possible for the other person to shrimp and recover guard, or potentially even take your back. Instead, you should keep a hand by the leg to stop them shifting their hips like that.

If you do find yourself in side control with both your arms over, then there is a transition to scarf hold and then back to side control you can do. First get an underhook on their arm, then switch your base and move to scarf hold, grabbing their arm and pulling it across your stomach. The leg near their head points straight out, the other is drawn up towards you, keeping your weight pressed down on them. Having secured that position, you then switch your legs back, trapping that arm that was by your stomach in the process and pushing it into their neck. One arm goes under their head, the other goes down by their hips.

Sparring was a little unusual, as often seems to be the case in Maurição’s classes. It was guard passage, but starting from open guard rather than closed. This was in order to have a chance to work that pass, which turned out to be more difficult than it looked initially. On my first attempt with Tamvin (who is close to my weight at about 63kg), I found that while I could get my shoulder to his leg, he could secure a solid grip with his legs which made it difficult to pass. I eventually got through, but what I should have done was stacked him more, coming up on my toes and pushing down, meaning that I’d be able to really put my legs into it.

On the second try, worked much better. I went a bit faster and drove hard, stacking my partner and slipping round. I still think I’m leaving too much space, however, as I should by pushing into the leg until I slip round. At the moment, I feel I’m still tending to bring my head around the leg and drop down instead, which gives my opponent the opportunity to shrimp and get to their knees. This happens pretty much every time I get in that position with Chris: his size and strength advantage no doubt helps, but the main problem is my sloppy technique.

Switching round, I had an interesting experience working open guard. I wrapped up Tamvin’s arm by getting my leg over his inner elbow and then a foot into his inner thigh, which stopped him pushing through effectively. I also went for a few elevator sweeps, getting it a couple of times the usual way (looped round the outside of one leg and the inside of the other), as well as from butterfly guard (both feet on his inner thighs). I found that I could relax in open guard and keep my partner neutralised without too much effort, but I think that was firstly because Tamvin isn’t used to open guard, and secondly because he was using his arms to try and work his way through rather than his legs. Nevertheless, was good to get a chance to play with some positions I don’t often have an opportunity to explore.

Next week I’ll be staying at my sisters, so I’m hoping to finally get a more hefty schedule of training. I’d also like to give the early morning class on Wednesday a go, which would make for an interesting change as it’s a mixture of beginners and advanced. Tamvin also tells me its pretty small, meaning that you get personal attention from Nick G, which would be cool.

09/12/06 - Brighton Throwdown

UK Brighton Throwdown (BJJ), Marcio Gomes, Brighton, UK – 09/12/2006

Not quite as many turned up as in Birmingham, but we still ended up with seven. In terms of Bullshido regulars, there was me (slideyfoot), Mungkorn Dam, RunningDog, Liffguard and Tcell. A friend of mine I first met about 3 years ago on the now defunct Tung-Fu also came along. He has posted on Bullshido as Jinksy, but only briefly. One of the blues from RunningDog’s club, Sam, also came along, though he left early.

Found out as I arrived that the place had been double-booked with some aikido people, which meant we only had it until 17:00 rather than 18:00, which was a shame. Still, I managed to cover just about everything I wanted in those three hours. While Marcio bumped up the cost by a tenner each, he was extremely handy to have there to ask questions. Otherwise, I would probably have ended up drilling the technique wrong, or at least not as effectively as possible. Website for his class can be found here.

After we all did a quick warm-up, I worked passes and sweeps from closed guard with Tcell. He gave me a bunch of useful tips, such as supporting myself with a bent leg rather than sprawling to resist sweep attempts and being careful not to lean too much forward or too much back. Both Tcell and the next guy I worked with, Sam, said that I was basically doing the right thing. So, now I just need the experience to see openings and perform the passes and sweeps quicker.

After taking a bunch of photos (annoyingly, the camera I had with me ran out of battery ridiculously quickly), I got down to my main drilling with Jinksy. As he didn’t have a gi, I took off my jacket and belt so I just had my t-shirt and gi trousers, meaning that I’d need a pass and sweep that worked without the gi. Only one I know is the tailbone pass (no idea what the proper name is), which Felipe had showed Mungkorn and me in class a while back. Marcio went over it again in greater detail.

Person A starts by putting their hands on Person B’s pelvis, working back up the legs. Shoving their right knee into Person B’s tailbone and pushing down with the hands to keep Person B there, Person A then attempts to push back with their arms and left knee (which I think you put to the side rather than backwards like I was doing previously), digging their elbows into Person B’s leg muscles at the same time. As soon as there is space, Person A underhooks both legs with his arms, pushes forward and sprawls round for the pass. Ideally, Person A will also get their knee up in between Person B’s legs for additional security, or break their guard open to pass that way. Main problem I had was simply lacking the strength to easily break Jinksy's guard. So, Marcio’s advice that you just needed to make space rather than necessarily break the guard proved very helpful.

Drilling that for a while with increasing resistance, I then moved on to the flower sweep, which Marcio also helped with. The way he taught it was for Person B to break Person A’s posture by pulling forward with the guard and also dragging down on Person A’s right arm, throwing it over to the right. As quickly as possible, Person B then wraps their left arm round Person A’s head, making sure to trap Person A’s right arm at the same time. If Person A manages to get their left arm into Person B’s neck, Person B needs to push on the elbow and trap that arm as well. Person B then wraps their right arm around the back of Person A’s left knee (aiming to pull it up towards Person B’s right shoulder). Person B put's their right foot up on Person A's hip, pushing off to swivel their own hips round to the left. Taking the right leg off and shoving it into Person A's side, Person B puts their left leg down by Person A's other leg. Finally, Person B pulls on the left knee and pushes with their right leg to get the sweep. If Person A manages to get their right arm free, Person B underhooks it and pulls it close to their own head to stop Person A using it to stop the sweep.

Jinksy and I drilled that to death, although only on one side – must remember to do the other side as well next time I have the chance. Jinksy got Marcio to help him with something different, as he wanted to work the kimura (if I’m using the right term for the arm lock where you figure-four the arm from guard, sitting up and twisting it past Person A’s back), along with the sweep you can do if Person A pulls back. While he was working with Marcio, RunningDog grabbed me for a roll, where I had the dubious pleasure of being shoved forcefully face-first into his crotch before he got me with some kind of shoulder-lock. Well, we were in Brighton, so I guess that’s to be expected...

I then went back to drilling with Jinksy, where I found out that escaping the mount when someone isn’t constantly going for an armbar is considerably more difficult. I wasn’t able to sweep him, though Jinksy advised trying to shrimp my way out, which did eventually work but I seemed to use a lot of energy in the process. Probably just doing it wrong, or my stamina had gone by that point. Also rolled with him at some point, which I think might have been what precipitated the mount escape drills, as I ended up stuck underneath his.

After the session finished and the aikidoka appeared (with stereotypical “skinny guy with ponytail” typifying the class), we headed off to the St. James’ Tavern for drinks. Well, at least Mungkorn and his gf did – Jinksy and I wandered aimlessly for while trying to find his sister’s house so I could dump my stuff. Once we finally got there, showered and then found the pub, Johnny had also arrived – Liffguard unfortunately had to leave earlier, Tcell having gone around 16:00. So that left five of us – shame I couldn’t get any pics.

I reckon I can legitimately put today down as 1.5hrs of BJJ in my geektastic Excel sheet: proved useful, and Marcio was well worth the fee, not to mention it’s always good to see people off the forum. Even better to get drunk with them!