Seems like forever since I've gotten the chance to post up one of these logs. Thanks to the big move were all making over here at Terra Firma HQ things have been a bit hectic to say the least. But somehow we manage. So I dedicate this post to everyone who's made the time for BJJ, no matter the circumstances. To all of you that have put certain responsibilities on hold for the sake of your passion, ossss!
We show up to class earlier than usual so me, and Emmanuel decide to hang out in the front with some of our teammates. Mike's there, along with another blue belt that helps out in class named Joe. We shoot the breeze while the self defense class finishes up with the mat room, then Rivera shows up and lets us in. The room is awesomely warm compared to the cold of outside and I can feel a surge of excitement from my bowls as I step on the mat (or maybe that was gas?).
We start of with the usual jog around the mat, every now and then Rivera throws in a couple of drills, nothing too fancy, just enough to get the sweat pumping. That is until he he yells out the two worst words in the English language...BEAR CRAWL!! What followed next was an agonizing 2 minutes of running on all fours trying your best not to run someone down (or be run down). After that we did some more calisthenics, a little skipping here, a little high knees there, and a dash of sprinting from one end of the room to the other. Then came the line drills. The class gets into 6 lines and each line simultaneously drills a specific technique. First were hip escapes, which everyone has down by now, then came reverse hip escapes, which some still cheat on (you know who you are!!) then we hit some shoulder rolls, and reverse shoulder rolls. Followed by pull throughs, which if you can picture, looks like a zombie with no legs crawling towards you(yes it is as fun as it sounds). After the line drills Rivera gives us a "breather" which consisted of 35 push ups/20 judo push ups/5 zipper pushups/ and 5 half pushups. You can tell our instructor really cares about us -__-
After our warm up were told to partner up and form a giant circle around the room. Most look confused but the vets know whats up..ROLL WHEEL!!! The exercise is simple, the people on the outside of the circle are labeled as #1, while the inside grapplers are #2. #1 must roll with #2 for 1 minute, when the minute is up, he/she moves clockwise to the next person. While #2 stays in the same spot and awaits for the next #1. To clarify: #1 moves, and #2 stays, that way everyone gets to roll with someone new, and it removes the thought process of having to pick your partner. Ta da!!
I can't remember every person's name, though not for lack of trying, but here goes.
Roll #1
I'm partnered with my good ol' little brother, who knows my game inside and out. So what do I do? I pull out my trusty Turtle guard, which iv been discussing with him at length. Suffice it to say he knew I was trying to bait him. He attacks with a d'arce chock but I'm able to defend it. I feel that he's not looking to transition to my back, and I notice his leg so I go for the single. He defends it and I pull guard a work for a sweep. Unfortunately time was up, so we slap hands and move on.
Roll #2
This time against Sergio (aka PowerSerg)
I pull guard, and work the open guard, transitioning into spider guard looking for a triangle. Before I can set it up I see his knee planted on the mat and instead go for a kind of scissor/spider sweep by planting my right foot on his bicep, while controlling both his sleeves, and pushing on his right knee with my left foot. Once his base is broken I push on his bicep with my foot, and kick out his knee with my left, and complete the sweep in mount. From there I trap his right arm and hit the americana.
Roll #3
I don't remember this guys name, but I believe he mentioned he had a wrestling background, and was a fan of Gray Maynard. Cool dude, with a nice gi. Anywho, I pull guard to start off the roll, he looks to stand up and by doing so gives me enough space to reach my right arm under and hook his left leg, while at he same time controlling his right sleeve with my left arm. I then hip out as if I'm going for an armbar, (don't forget to readjust your right leg higher onto his back) but instead of throwing my left leg over I swing it like a pendulum while simultaneously kicking his body with my right leg, and pulling up with my right arm. It's called a pendulum sweep and you should end in full mount, where I did. From there I look for an americana, he brings his opposite arm over looking to grab the arm that's in danger, and I look to attack that arm with an armbar. In the transition for the arm lock I lose the grip and go into side control. He hips out and we wind up in the sprawl position. From there I transition to his back and hunt for the RNC (rear naked choke). He defends it well but leaves his arm in a bad spot, as I'm able to take control of it and transition into the arm bar for the tap.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
9/22
Another day goes by and I'm happy to report about a great time in class today. Why is it so great you ask? (well your not asking, but I'm still gonna tell you why!) Well today marks the day that I know my game is taking another step towards improvement. I was able to shut my mind off and not think so much about what I was doing. In the process I was able to just move and react a lot better. Instead of thinking about what I wanted to do I just did it. I'm very happy with myself to say the least lol. Maybe in the coming years I can perfect this so I can constantly be in that state of mind instead of just some of the time.
Anyway I got a little side tracked with ego there so let me start over: We begin class of with a bit of light jogging for about 5-10 minutes before Castillo has us sitting in front of him like good little students. He begins by separating our class into 2 groups. The one's competing in the tourney to the right, with the one's not competing to the left. There's a surprising amount of people not participating but most have work or church they have to go to. Being as our competition is this Sunday, we've halted learning any new techniques and are focusing on sharpening the ones we already have so Castillo gives us a short speech on the importance of knowing how to keep score in your own match and then it's off to rolling!
I start off with my usual partner Mr. Ryan. He mentions that he has an upset stomach today and I'm relieved to hear that I'm not the only one (I had another chicken sandwich before class. Damn you Carl's Jr for being so tasty!) We decide to take it easy on each other and not go for any chokes for fear of upchucking our breakfast. We slap hands and I can't help but think of a quote I once heard. I believe it goes something like this "Jiu-Jitsu. Every time you slap hands it's like sitting at the canvas. What will you paint today?" haha but of course I'm no Picasso at this point, more of a finger painter. Anyway clinch up, with me getting control of his collar and fighting to get to his sleeve. I do my best to keep him close to me and not give him any space to maneuver past my guard. I eventually get control of his right sleeve and settle into my guard. Once there I put my left foot on his hip and went for the traditional arm bar but he saw it coming and reacted pulling his right arm out of danger but giving me the opportunity to lock up his shoulder. I think he knew he was in danger of a triangle because he started to stack me, but I kept control of his trapped arm, reached my right hand under his leg to keep me secure, switched my hips, and switched the triangle into an arm bar. After the roll he asks me if I'd like to be his corner man for the tournament and I agree (I'm Honored!).
For my next roll I ended up with a good friend who I have a hard time remembering his name. So we will call him GoodShit for now. Omar is a very cool guy, who always ends a roll with his patented "good shit dude". So it begins with Omar pulling guard while only having control of my sleeves. I manage to get control of his ankle and prevent him from closing it, I slice my knee across his leg and get to side control, and shortly after that to mount. He is notorious for being able to escape my mount, I don't know what it is about him, but he always manages to bridge and roll me right over haha This time I was looking to play a sneaky attack on him. Usually I play my mount 2 ways. Either my ankles are crossed under his hips or I'm up high with my knees in the armpit area. Both have there advantages (crossing ankles keeps me tighter and avoids me being rolled over, while having a high mount opens up submissions). So today I decided on a high mount, which worked great. I began by attacking his right arm, threatening with an American until he managed to slip his arm free. Upon freeing his right arm, he uses his left arm to over hook my right arm and tries to bridge and roll (NO, MUST MAINTAIN MOUNT!) I keep my base solid and keep the mount and in the struggle I gain control of his left arm and attack for a kimura. While I'm working the arm I remember watching videos of Rayron and Rener Gracie discussing the fundamentals of a mounted triangle and I decide "what the heck, I've been practicing it for a week, just go for it". So I tuck his trapped arm to his body and lift my right leg over it and behind his head. I lock it up and squeeze, while at the same time attacking his trapped arm with a kimura until I feel the tap. I stopped to ask him which it was that he tapped to, the kimura or the triangle? And he simply replies "I couldn't breathe" (ah so the triangle then!). After that I decide that I'd like to show him how I pulled it off (or at least do my best to show him). So maybe in the future if someone ever tries that on him again he'll know whats coming. Good roll and conversation after wards with a good guy. Good shit indeed! (note to self, take note pad for names).
My next partner was someone that I had been planning on rolling with for some time. I don't know why but he reminds me of me (he's got a beard, I've got a beard lol). I don't know his name but we'll call him Hiram2.0 for now =D Our roll starts as many of mine do, we clinch up and I pull guard, and manage to sweep him into the mount, but he rolls with it and ends up back in my guard, then 2 seconds later I seep him again and end up with a solid mount...very strange sequence O_0 From there he goes to bridge but leaves his arm extended and I jump on it for the arm bar finish. We reset and repeat as I sweep him into mount and get an arm bar.
Next up is a dude named Angel. Cool guy, but I kid you not he's another clone of me! Maybe Hiram 2.5?? Anyway I pull guard but I don't get control of his body and he proceeds to try to pass my guard, but he leaves me too much space and I get a scissor sweep to mount on him. From there I pull off my smoothest transition/submission of my short career. OK so as he's bridging to roll me off I switch my hips and get into the arm bar position. From there I usually put my outside foot into his bicep and do a push pull motion to break his grip, but he was disrupting me by throwing his legs up and attempting to lock my head up. So instead of pushing my luck for the arm bar I slide my outside leg in between his arm and neck, then reposition my inside leg from on his head to underneath it. It worked to perfection as he see's the opening and goes to get on top he sinks himself into my triangle and I get the tap. This is my favorite submission Ive ever gotten solely on the fact that it needed no thinking. My body just moved and reacted on its own. It excites me to think that after years and years of hard work and training, that ill be able to tap into this state of no mind at will, and work my game as smoothly, technically, and precisely as the black belts that I look up to.
Anyway I got a little side tracked with ego there so let me start over: We begin class of with a bit of light jogging for about 5-10 minutes before Castillo has us sitting in front of him like good little students. He begins by separating our class into 2 groups. The one's competing in the tourney to the right, with the one's not competing to the left. There's a surprising amount of people not participating but most have work or church they have to go to. Being as our competition is this Sunday, we've halted learning any new techniques and are focusing on sharpening the ones we already have so Castillo gives us a short speech on the importance of knowing how to keep score in your own match and then it's off to rolling!
I start off with my usual partner Mr. Ryan. He mentions that he has an upset stomach today and I'm relieved to hear that I'm not the only one (I had another chicken sandwich before class. Damn you Carl's Jr for being so tasty!) We decide to take it easy on each other and not go for any chokes for fear of upchucking our breakfast. We slap hands and I can't help but think of a quote I once heard. I believe it goes something like this "Jiu-Jitsu. Every time you slap hands it's like sitting at the canvas. What will you paint today?" haha but of course I'm no Picasso at this point, more of a finger painter. Anyway clinch up, with me getting control of his collar and fighting to get to his sleeve. I do my best to keep him close to me and not give him any space to maneuver past my guard. I eventually get control of his right sleeve and settle into my guard. Once there I put my left foot on his hip and went for the traditional arm bar but he saw it coming and reacted pulling his right arm out of danger but giving me the opportunity to lock up his shoulder. I think he knew he was in danger of a triangle because he started to stack me, but I kept control of his trapped arm, reached my right hand under his leg to keep me secure, switched my hips, and switched the triangle into an arm bar. After the roll he asks me if I'd like to be his corner man for the tournament and I agree (I'm Honored!).
For my next roll I ended up with a good friend who I have a hard time remembering his name. So we will call him GoodShit for now. Omar is a very cool guy, who always ends a roll with his patented "good shit dude". So it begins with Omar pulling guard while only having control of my sleeves. I manage to get control of his ankle and prevent him from closing it, I slice my knee across his leg and get to side control, and shortly after that to mount. He is notorious for being able to escape my mount, I don't know what it is about him, but he always manages to bridge and roll me right over haha This time I was looking to play a sneaky attack on him. Usually I play my mount 2 ways. Either my ankles are crossed under his hips or I'm up high with my knees in the armpit area. Both have there advantages (crossing ankles keeps me tighter and avoids me being rolled over, while having a high mount opens up submissions). So today I decided on a high mount, which worked great. I began by attacking his right arm, threatening with an American until he managed to slip his arm free. Upon freeing his right arm, he uses his left arm to over hook my right arm and tries to bridge and roll (NO, MUST MAINTAIN MOUNT!) I keep my base solid and keep the mount and in the struggle I gain control of his left arm and attack for a kimura. While I'm working the arm I remember watching videos of Rayron and Rener Gracie discussing the fundamentals of a mounted triangle and I decide "what the heck, I've been practicing it for a week, just go for it". So I tuck his trapped arm to his body and lift my right leg over it and behind his head. I lock it up and squeeze, while at the same time attacking his trapped arm with a kimura until I feel the tap. I stopped to ask him which it was that he tapped to, the kimura or the triangle? And he simply replies "I couldn't breathe" (ah so the triangle then!). After that I decide that I'd like to show him how I pulled it off (or at least do my best to show him). So maybe in the future if someone ever tries that on him again he'll know whats coming. Good roll and conversation after wards with a good guy. Good shit indeed! (note to self, take note pad for names).
My next partner was someone that I had been planning on rolling with for some time. I don't know why but he reminds me of me (he's got a beard, I've got a beard lol). I don't know his name but we'll call him Hiram2.0 for now =D Our roll starts as many of mine do, we clinch up and I pull guard, and manage to sweep him into the mount, but he rolls with it and ends up back in my guard, then 2 seconds later I seep him again and end up with a solid mount...very strange sequence O_0 From there he goes to bridge but leaves his arm extended and I jump on it for the arm bar finish. We reset and repeat as I sweep him into mount and get an arm bar.
Next up is a dude named Angel. Cool guy, but I kid you not he's another clone of me! Maybe Hiram 2.5?? Anyway I pull guard but I don't get control of his body and he proceeds to try to pass my guard, but he leaves me too much space and I get a scissor sweep to mount on him. From there I pull off my smoothest transition/submission of my short career. OK so as he's bridging to roll me off I switch my hips and get into the arm bar position. From there I usually put my outside foot into his bicep and do a push pull motion to break his grip, but he was disrupting me by throwing his legs up and attempting to lock my head up. So instead of pushing my luck for the arm bar I slide my outside leg in between his arm and neck, then reposition my inside leg from on his head to underneath it. It worked to perfection as he see's the opening and goes to get on top he sinks himself into my triangle and I get the tap. This is my favorite submission Ive ever gotten solely on the fact that it needed no thinking. My body just moved and reacted on its own. It excites me to think that after years and years of hard work and training, that ill be able to tap into this state of no mind at will, and work my game as smoothly, technically, and precisely as the black belts that I look up to.
9/20
I just got back from class and man do I have to blog about this day! Fun, fun, fun! I rolled with about 6 of my teammates about 2 rolls per person for approximately 3 minutes a match (were preparing for a tournament 2 weeks away) and I've got to say each one was really exciting in it's own way. Nothing but scrambles, transitions, reversals, and submissions! And did I mention sweeps!!
The class starts with our instructor Steve Del Castillo getting us started with a bit of a warm-up. We jogged for a while till he noticed some of my teammates were slacking off. (I won't name names!) So he decided to just jump straight into the rolling. I was pumped to skip the warm ups today since I had eaten a chicken sandwich a few minutes earlier and I could feel that it was not agreeing with me. Not my best decision, but I blame the establishment. They should know better than to build a Carl's Jr. right down the street from the gym! Any-who he went into an explanation of the importance of keeping score. Apparently last year a couple of his students didn't know how to keep score and lost because of that (don't know why the judges didn't keep score 0_0). So he aims to change that this time around. We drilled self point keeping in case of that same situation happening again.
The class starts with our instructor Steve Del Castillo getting us started with a bit of a warm-up. We jogged for a while till he noticed some of my teammates were slacking off. (I won't name names!) So he decided to just jump straight into the rolling. I was pumped to skip the warm ups today since I had eaten a chicken sandwich a few minutes earlier and I could feel that it was not agreeing with me. Not my best decision, but I blame the establishment. They should know better than to build a Carl's Jr. right down the street from the gym! Any-who he went into an explanation of the importance of keeping score. Apparently last year a couple of his students didn't know how to keep score and lost because of that (don't know why the judges didn't keep score 0_0). So he aims to change that this time around. We drilled self point keeping in case of that same situation happening again.
2pts-
3pts-
4pts-
- Take downs
- Sweeps
- Knee On Belly
3pts-
- Passing The Guard
4pts-
- Mount
- Taking The Back
Now that were all up to speed let me explain what happened already before I start giggling like a school girl from excitement again.
My first roll was with a friend of mine named Ryan. So we started off a little slow as we always do. I got a deep bite on his collar and managed to get control of his sleeve. We roll often so he knew that I was going to pull guard so instead I went with the half guard (need to practice this position) from there I kept control of his right sleeve, then shot my right arm and under hooked his left leg, and from there I worked a little jitz magic and got the sweep. I kept my shin on his leg because I didn't want to get tied up in his half guard. Keeping heavy in side control I went to knee on belly, then mount from there. I wanted to get him with a cross collar choke but he defended well and kept me uncomfortable with a bit of his patented thrashing so I hooked my feet under his hips to keep me in place and decided to bait him with an Ezekiel choke (which is probably my worst submission in my arsenal). As he brought his right arm to defend his neck I got a grip on his sleeve and whipped on an arm-bar for the tap (reminder: buy cup!). We reset on our knees and I tell myself that I need to work on my double leg but good ol' habits are hard to break haha I end up pulling guard. He see's it coming and goes to stand but I get a grip on his collar and get him down into my butterfly guard, and as he put it "No, your not flipping me over this time!"and he was right lol I went for the sweep and he defended it well so I opted to dump him to his side instead of the usual over the top toss. We had a mad scramble for the top position and i end up in side control as Castillo sounds the end of the match. I'm feeling surprisingly fresh after that roll so maybe I should eat chicken sandwiches more often!
Next up was a guy I'd seen around but never talked to. His name was Danny, and he had a very nice, slightly faded black Koral, which I find awesome. Something about a faded gi that makes you feel grizzled and tough. I was officially jealous! So we start off with us clinching up and bumping heads a bit, I think he wanted to shoot which was fine with me since I was aiming to pull guard...again (REALLY gotta work on my double). He's looking to pass but I keep my hand on his knee to prevent it. Eventually he get's into my half-guard and works to pass. I feel his weight shift slightly to my left and use the momentum to flip him over and into his half-guard. We pause for a little verbal exchange "Danny: nice, Me: Thanks" From there I'd like to say it was a systematical breakdown of his defenses but alas it didn't work out that way. As I get past his half-guard he creates space with his hands and shucks his hips out so I can't reach them. I try to at least get him to turtle up on me but he's a quick little bugger and he manages to get up to his feet. Right on cue coach blows the whistle and it's the end of that round. Let's see if I'm counting right I got a sweep (+2) and i passed the guard but not long enough to gain the points so I won that one 2-0. He was nice enough to give me some instruction on a certain technique he uses that he learned from his wrestling days. Something about keeping your opponent uncomfortable by driving your head into there temple while your clinched up (so that's what he was doing..ouch) I'll be sure to try that out. Thanks for the heads up Danny!
My next roll was with a guy iv rolled with a couple of times yet i still haven't exchanged pleasantries with him so we will call him Mr. X for now. Before we started I just had to give him props on his choice of gi. He was wearing a blue Padilla & Son's gold weave! That has been on my hit list for several months now, in black of course. Anyway the roll. He's a big guy so I didn't want to play in my guard with him but i knew that he had a great double leg. So instead of letting him set the pace I took control of the situation. I pulled guard and worked for a scissor sweep, he defended and stepped his left leg over my right intending to pass but getting caught in my half guard (ending up in HG a lot today). Like before I got control of his sleeve and shot my arm under and hooked his ankle, planted my foot, and torqued my body left, using my left foot as a lever to get him over my shoulder and onto his back (can you tell I'm trying to practice this sweep lol) From there I managed to mount him and began working for an Ezekiel choke when I noticed he kept bringing his arm up to defend it so i stuck my head under his armpit and locked my arm that was under his head to my bicep, but before i could jump into side control he bridged and rolled me over and into his guard. This happened last time I tried this technique on him but this time I was a little better prepared. I kept it locked in and used my hips and feet to turn myself like a clock until he tapped. We slapped hands and went for a water break as Castillo calls time. Another fun roll with another nice teammate, with another great gi (I'm a gi whore BTW).
To shorten this up I'll skip to my favorite roll of the day. This one was with a teammate named Ivan. Another big guy that I roll with often who always manages to get me winded haha. He's a pretty technical guy who has a very heavy top game and I believe were developing a friendly rivalry, with us tied so far in wins and loses with each other. Good guy, who's always looking to give out a tip or two, much respect to him. Any who, we begin with Ivan shooting for a take down. I grab hold of his lapel and get him in my guard. He gets his elbows deep into my legs working hard to break my guard. This usually doesn't work on me since id like to think that iv got pretty strong legs =p but it opens momentarily and I try take advantage of an opening i see. I shoot my leg through the pocket between his head and should and lock up his shoulder. He postures up to avoid my triangle and instead I switch my hips and kick my leg over his head and try with the arm-bar. He defends perfectly, wedging his hand between my leg and his arm, and eventually gets his arm out of danger. Instead I try to be sneaky by trying for the triangle again but he's privy to my attempt and we end up in the guard again. I believe he was trying to break my guard again but as he did so I chose that time to hit him with a sloppy scissor sweep which of course failed but I used it to at least get him off balance which eventually lead to me sweeping him and mounting. We were both pretty tired at this point (you could hear us gasping for air from across the room lol) but being the tough white belts that we are we continued on. I wanted the arm bar but he kept threatening to sweep me if I lifted my hips even slightly. He reached down and under hooked my leg which i liked because i was practicing the triangle from the mount and i was hoping to get it. Sadly as i tried for it i felt him turn into me and almost escape my mount so instead I based out and switched my hips around (iv gotta admit, it felt pretty cool doing it) and got into side control for a moment until he went to hip escape I believe. Using a bit of athleticism i got around him and took his back. I was GASSED by now, and struggling to hold the position, i even made the mistake of crossing my ankles at one point. A big NO NO as he tried for the ankle lock but i managed to slip it out and uncross them, lucky me. Let me tell you know, just because someone's big doesn't mean they are easy to hold on to. He was slippery and eventually worked out of my back control and into my guard which he then passed and into my half guard he went. From here on it became a battle of attrition. With him trying to get his foot out of my control and working for chokes, while i worked to keep his foot stuck in there, defended his attempts to choke me, and tried to get the sweep id done all day lol Doesn't get any better than this! The round ended and I was a bit disappointed that i gassed at the end there, but a friend of mine pointed out that if i had been keeping track of the score in that match that i would have noticed that i had swept him (+2) Mounted him (+4) and had his back (+4) which meant I had won (10-2). Cool.
And of course Ivan was a good spirited after that great role while we chatted a bit about the competition coming up (ill post something up about that soon)
My first roll was with a friend of mine named Ryan. So we started off a little slow as we always do. I got a deep bite on his collar and managed to get control of his sleeve. We roll often so he knew that I was going to pull guard so instead I went with the half guard (need to practice this position) from there I kept control of his right sleeve, then shot my right arm and under hooked his left leg, and from there I worked a little jitz magic and got the sweep. I kept my shin on his leg because I didn't want to get tied up in his half guard. Keeping heavy in side control I went to knee on belly, then mount from there. I wanted to get him with a cross collar choke but he defended well and kept me uncomfortable with a bit of his patented thrashing so I hooked my feet under his hips to keep me in place and decided to bait him with an Ezekiel choke (which is probably my worst submission in my arsenal). As he brought his right arm to defend his neck I got a grip on his sleeve and whipped on an arm-bar for the tap (reminder: buy cup!). We reset on our knees and I tell myself that I need to work on my double leg but good ol' habits are hard to break haha I end up pulling guard. He see's it coming and goes to stand but I get a grip on his collar and get him down into my butterfly guard, and as he put it "No, your not flipping me over this time!"and he was right lol I went for the sweep and he defended it well so I opted to dump him to his side instead of the usual over the top toss. We had a mad scramble for the top position and i end up in side control as Castillo sounds the end of the match. I'm feeling surprisingly fresh after that roll so maybe I should eat chicken sandwiches more often!
Next up was a guy I'd seen around but never talked to. His name was Danny, and he had a very nice, slightly faded black Koral, which I find awesome. Something about a faded gi that makes you feel grizzled and tough. I was officially jealous! So we start off with us clinching up and bumping heads a bit, I think he wanted to shoot which was fine with me since I was aiming to pull guard...again (REALLY gotta work on my double). He's looking to pass but I keep my hand on his knee to prevent it. Eventually he get's into my half-guard and works to pass. I feel his weight shift slightly to my left and use the momentum to flip him over and into his half-guard. We pause for a little verbal exchange "Danny: nice, Me: Thanks" From there I'd like to say it was a systematical breakdown of his defenses but alas it didn't work out that way. As I get past his half-guard he creates space with his hands and shucks his hips out so I can't reach them. I try to at least get him to turtle up on me but he's a quick little bugger and he manages to get up to his feet. Right on cue coach blows the whistle and it's the end of that round. Let's see if I'm counting right I got a sweep (+2) and i passed the guard but not long enough to gain the points so I won that one 2-0. He was nice enough to give me some instruction on a certain technique he uses that he learned from his wrestling days. Something about keeping your opponent uncomfortable by driving your head into there temple while your clinched up (so that's what he was doing..ouch) I'll be sure to try that out. Thanks for the heads up Danny!
My next roll was with a guy iv rolled with a couple of times yet i still haven't exchanged pleasantries with him so we will call him Mr. X for now. Before we started I just had to give him props on his choice of gi. He was wearing a blue Padilla & Son's gold weave! That has been on my hit list for several months now, in black of course. Anyway the roll. He's a big guy so I didn't want to play in my guard with him but i knew that he had a great double leg. So instead of letting him set the pace I took control of the situation. I pulled guard and worked for a scissor sweep, he defended and stepped his left leg over my right intending to pass but getting caught in my half guard (ending up in HG a lot today). Like before I got control of his sleeve and shot my arm under and hooked his ankle, planted my foot, and torqued my body left, using my left foot as a lever to get him over my shoulder and onto his back (can you tell I'm trying to practice this sweep lol) From there I managed to mount him and began working for an Ezekiel choke when I noticed he kept bringing his arm up to defend it so i stuck my head under his armpit and locked my arm that was under his head to my bicep, but before i could jump into side control he bridged and rolled me over and into his guard. This happened last time I tried this technique on him but this time I was a little better prepared. I kept it locked in and used my hips and feet to turn myself like a clock until he tapped. We slapped hands and went for a water break as Castillo calls time. Another fun roll with another nice teammate, with another great gi (I'm a gi whore BTW).
To shorten this up I'll skip to my favorite roll of the day. This one was with a teammate named Ivan. Another big guy that I roll with often who always manages to get me winded haha. He's a pretty technical guy who has a very heavy top game and I believe were developing a friendly rivalry, with us tied so far in wins and loses with each other. Good guy, who's always looking to give out a tip or two, much respect to him. Any who, we begin with Ivan shooting for a take down. I grab hold of his lapel and get him in my guard. He gets his elbows deep into my legs working hard to break my guard. This usually doesn't work on me since id like to think that iv got pretty strong legs =p but it opens momentarily and I try take advantage of an opening i see. I shoot my leg through the pocket between his head and should and lock up his shoulder. He postures up to avoid my triangle and instead I switch my hips and kick my leg over his head and try with the arm-bar. He defends perfectly, wedging his hand between my leg and his arm, and eventually gets his arm out of danger. Instead I try to be sneaky by trying for the triangle again but he's privy to my attempt and we end up in the guard again. I believe he was trying to break my guard again but as he did so I chose that time to hit him with a sloppy scissor sweep which of course failed but I used it to at least get him off balance which eventually lead to me sweeping him and mounting. We were both pretty tired at this point (you could hear us gasping for air from across the room lol) but being the tough white belts that we are we continued on. I wanted the arm bar but he kept threatening to sweep me if I lifted my hips even slightly. He reached down and under hooked my leg which i liked because i was practicing the triangle from the mount and i was hoping to get it. Sadly as i tried for it i felt him turn into me and almost escape my mount so instead I based out and switched my hips around (iv gotta admit, it felt pretty cool doing it) and got into side control for a moment until he went to hip escape I believe. Using a bit of athleticism i got around him and took his back. I was GASSED by now, and struggling to hold the position, i even made the mistake of crossing my ankles at one point. A big NO NO as he tried for the ankle lock but i managed to slip it out and uncross them, lucky me. Let me tell you know, just because someone's big doesn't mean they are easy to hold on to. He was slippery and eventually worked out of my back control and into my guard which he then passed and into my half guard he went. From here on it became a battle of attrition. With him trying to get his foot out of my control and working for chokes, while i worked to keep his foot stuck in there, defended his attempts to choke me, and tried to get the sweep id done all day lol Doesn't get any better than this! The round ended and I was a bit disappointed that i gassed at the end there, but a friend of mine pointed out that if i had been keeping track of the score in that match that i would have noticed that i had swept him (+2) Mounted him (+4) and had his back (+4) which meant I had won (10-2). Cool.
And of course Ivan was a good spirited after that great role while we chatted a bit about the competition coming up (ill post something up about that soon)
Monday, September 12, 2011
9/12/11
By: Tortuga
Today's post will go a little differently, usually I'll take the time to post about everything that happens during a training session, but thanks to the magic of a wonderful machine called a "camera" I get to be lazy and just show you what happened! You'll find the videos at the end of this post. Now where was I? Ah yes, the day starts off with the usual jog and stretch, only today we skip the line drills and go straight into drilling techniques. Rivera has us partner up and drill the guard break at 50%. We go at it for 10 minutes before he calls us back in and shows us a different way to break the guard, it's a simplified version of the last where you place both your hands (palm down) on your partners thighs grab the pant material and use it for leverage as you bring your elbows inside, and dig them into your partners legs. From there follow the same steps as the first guard break (knee on crack, turn hips away, bring knee up to stop opponent from regaining guard). After this Rivera shows us an effective guard pass that blends in perfectly with the guard break. After breaking your partners guard bring your knee up as I mentioned earlier, then stand up. After this switch your grips from the thigh to the knee. From there control both legs, keeping them together, then pin them to the left on the mat and simultaneously step to the right side, drop your lead leg onto your knee and drop your shoulder into your partners gut (never letting go of your grips). Once your shoulder touches down release your the grip of your right hand from his pants and wrap your right arm around his head while positioning yourself into side control. Then were off to drilling it for another 10 minutes. Were paired up again and this time were told to partner up and drill the guard break, pass, and guard regain sequence. Had a fun time with the bro drilling this over and over, though I did notice we would "subconsciously" move closer to a girly that the lil bro had a crush on. He may have had some fun giving the goo goo eyes to the little lady but I'm sure I brought him back to a training mentality when the side control escape drills started! I've never noticed how hard it is to escape side control on someone who isn't looking for submissions..
Well the class ends after this, but were told that we have 20 minutes before we have to go so of course we hit the mats running in anticipation for the rolls ahead! I got 2 hard rolls with Emmanuel "Macaco" Silva, and Michael "D'arce Vader" Moore. As promised here are the vids..enjoy!
Today's post will go a little differently, usually I'll take the time to post about everything that happens during a training session, but thanks to the magic of a wonderful machine called a "camera" I get to be lazy and just show you what happened! You'll find the videos at the end of this post. Now where was I? Ah yes, the day starts off with the usual jog and stretch, only today we skip the line drills and go straight into drilling techniques. Rivera has us partner up and drill the guard break at 50%. We go at it for 10 minutes before he calls us back in and shows us a different way to break the guard, it's a simplified version of the last where you place both your hands (palm down) on your partners thighs grab the pant material and use it for leverage as you bring your elbows inside, and dig them into your partners legs. From there follow the same steps as the first guard break (knee on crack, turn hips away, bring knee up to stop opponent from regaining guard). After this Rivera shows us an effective guard pass that blends in perfectly with the guard break. After breaking your partners guard bring your knee up as I mentioned earlier, then stand up. After this switch your grips from the thigh to the knee. From there control both legs, keeping them together, then pin them to the left on the mat and simultaneously step to the right side, drop your lead leg onto your knee and drop your shoulder into your partners gut (never letting go of your grips). Once your shoulder touches down release your the grip of your right hand from his pants and wrap your right arm around his head while positioning yourself into side control. Then were off to drilling it for another 10 minutes. Were paired up again and this time were told to partner up and drill the guard break, pass, and guard regain sequence. Had a fun time with the bro drilling this over and over, though I did notice we would "subconsciously" move closer to a girly that the lil bro had a crush on. He may have had some fun giving the goo goo eyes to the little lady but I'm sure I brought him back to a training mentality when the side control escape drills started! I've never noticed how hard it is to escape side control on someone who isn't looking for submissions..
Well the class ends after this, but were told that we have 20 minutes before we have to go so of course we hit the mats running in anticipation for the rolls ahead! I got 2 hard rolls with Emmanuel "Macaco" Silva, and Michael "D'arce Vader" Moore. As promised here are the vids..enjoy!
[Note: The second video gets cut off early and was finished by mike via triangle]
Friday, September 9, 2011
9/8/11
By: Tortuga
Another day goes by with more training to report on. Today's class marked the return of our teammate and my little brother. He'd missed a couple days with some family issues, but he's back now and ready to train. So today's class is just as big, if not bigger, than the first, and most have there gi's in tow as they step into they gym so to say that I was excited is an understatement. We may just get a few rolls out of today, but first, the warm up!
Rivera starts us off with a long jog around the mat. As we run we alternate between different stretches and workouts for about 20 minutes until everyone's covered with a sheen of sweat. By then Rivera stops the torture and sits us down for some neck stretches and push ups. Then it's off for our line drills, the class lines up in six rows as we start with hip escapes. Some of our teammates forgot how to do them so Rivera demonstrates them for us once more. Then were off to shrimping! The rest of the drills go smoothly so our instructor sits us down to begin the technique portion of class. He starts us off with a basic guard break. Posture up with your butt touching your heals, and your knees spread in a wide base similar to a pyramid. Then place your left hand on your opponents chest, with the same hand grip both the lapels tightly, then with your right hand grip his pants in the thigh area and bring both of your elbows to the inside of your opponents thighs. From there, position your left knee on the crack of the buttocks then reposition your right knee so as to regain your original pyramid shape. Keep your left arm stiff, and use it to keep your opponents hips pinned down then turn your hip towards the right while at the same time pushing your elbows into there thigh and driving your left knee like a stake. Once the guard is broken we were shown to bring one knee up into a combat base to keep your partner from regaining guard. Basic stuff, but essential for any grappler. We partnered up and drilled it for awhile then went on to situational drills. With the top mans job to break the guard and the man on bottom working to stop him. I was paired with my bro as usual and we stalemated for the most part, though we figured out some nifty tidbits to help with keeping your guard closed. As he brings is knee to your butt you can alleviate the pressure by scooting your hips up on top of his knee. 15 mins of that and Rivera calls us back in and has us drill our hip escapes next. We drill for a good long time and before we know it times up and class is over. Guess were not rolling till next week...or are we...
I manage to sneak in a roll with Macaco, though sadly I don't remember what happened exactly, but fear not! I'll review my notes (when I find them in this mess) and update this post later..sorry!
Another day goes by with more training to report on. Today's class marked the return of our teammate and my little brother. He'd missed a couple days with some family issues, but he's back now and ready to train. So today's class is just as big, if not bigger, than the first, and most have there gi's in tow as they step into they gym so to say that I was excited is an understatement. We may just get a few rolls out of today, but first, the warm up!
Rivera starts us off with a long jog around the mat. As we run we alternate between different stretches and workouts for about 20 minutes until everyone's covered with a sheen of sweat. By then Rivera stops the torture and sits us down for some neck stretches and push ups. Then it's off for our line drills, the class lines up in six rows as we start with hip escapes. Some of our teammates forgot how to do them so Rivera demonstrates them for us once more. Then were off to shrimping! The rest of the drills go smoothly so our instructor sits us down to begin the technique portion of class. He starts us off with a basic guard break. Posture up with your butt touching your heals, and your knees spread in a wide base similar to a pyramid. Then place your left hand on your opponents chest, with the same hand grip both the lapels tightly, then with your right hand grip his pants in the thigh area and bring both of your elbows to the inside of your opponents thighs. From there, position your left knee on the crack of the buttocks then reposition your right knee so as to regain your original pyramid shape. Keep your left arm stiff, and use it to keep your opponents hips pinned down then turn your hip towards the right while at the same time pushing your elbows into there thigh and driving your left knee like a stake. Once the guard is broken we were shown to bring one knee up into a combat base to keep your partner from regaining guard. Basic stuff, but essential for any grappler. We partnered up and drilled it for awhile then went on to situational drills. With the top mans job to break the guard and the man on bottom working to stop him. I was paired with my bro as usual and we stalemated for the most part, though we figured out some nifty tidbits to help with keeping your guard closed. As he brings is knee to your butt you can alleviate the pressure by scooting your hips up on top of his knee. 15 mins of that and Rivera calls us back in and has us drill our hip escapes next. We drill for a good long time and before we know it times up and class is over. Guess were not rolling till next week...or are we...
I manage to sneak in a roll with Macaco, though sadly I don't remember what happened exactly, but fear not! I'll review my notes (when I find them in this mess) and update this post later..sorry!
Monday, September 5, 2011
9/5/11
By: Tortuga
So I'm a day or so late on posting this but what the heck. I have the distinct pleasure of writing this up while on a bus headed for the center of Los Angeles while blasting My Chemical Romance soooo yay for me. Any way, yesterdays practice felt great and was WAY overdue (was off the mats with an infection). We had a couple of familiar faces in the class, but for the most part a lot of new people. So our instructor Rivera starts us off with our usual warm up, a light jog with some calisthenics thrown in to loosen us up, then some stretching. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and it felt great to get back on the mats. Since we had so many new people today Rivera decided to show everyone some basic break fall techniques, which basically consists of you dropping backwards, and rolling onto your shoulders while simultaneously giving the mat a good smack with your palms (and yes it is as fun as it sounds). Then on to single leg break falls, which did not go quite as smoothly. Apparently dropping yourself while balancing on one leg is not a comfortable motion for most, go figure. After that little fiasco we went on to hip escapes, and understandably the newcomers struggled a bit to pick up the motions right away, but after a couple tries most were shrimping like champs. Then came the reverse hip escapes, and everything went to hell! Shoulder rolls came next, and surprisingly everyone picked up on the movements right away. Even had a couple of roll races break out (sorry e-man but you owe me a quarter, I smoked you). Reverse rolls came and went with little problems and I'm happy to report that most were really enjoying themselves. I even caught myself messing around with a training partner (every time I would drop for a hip escape he'd throw a knee to my chin) and I must say it looked pretty darn convincing. Today was strictly a beginners warm up day so Rivera ended the class there with a little speech about bringing in your gi's for next weeks class. But of course were rebels, so we decide to get a few rolls in.
It's me and Emmanuel (e-man) first, I start in his half guard, starting to work to pass by using my usual method. I drop my hips sideways, and press my lower hip to his. I then pass my bottom arm over his head to secure him then bring the knee that's trapped in half guard up like a spike and then proceed to slice said knee inward towards the mount. As space is created I shoot my hand in between and use it as a lever to pry his half guard open. I eventually get the pass into side control and transition into north/south looking for either the kimura or armbar, but e-man does a good job of hipping out and getting into a sprawl position. He then grabs the single leg and looks for the take down, and I intend to lock him up in a crucifix position, but it's sloppy and I end up draped on his shoulders staring right at his arm and I swear it's begging me to grab it for a kimura, so I happily oblige. I go to lock up from back side control but he postures and instead I switch my hips, throw my left knee over his shoulder, and switch to the arm bar instead. I'm inverted by now, so I decide to grab his pant leg and flip him over my shoulder, from there it's elementary as I stick my foot on his bicep to break his grip, then crank this way and that till he taps. After ward we slap hands and chock it up to good times. Good to be back!! Then it's time for round two!!
I start in guard this time working my hips looking for his arm but he pulls it out in time to avoid any damage. So instead I chain my attack into the triangle, e-man's shoulder gets locked up and he decides to roll through till he ends up on his back. Now I'm on top with the triangle still in place, but for some reason I begin looking for an americana then think better of it and control the shin that's still across the back of his neck, and roll back onto my back simultaneously locking up the triangle and getting the tap from Ol' E-man. Two rolls, and two taps, and I'm feeling pretty good so of course I've got to be grounded back to Earth, and my doom comes in the form of Michael "D'arce Vader" Moore!! Good friend, sith..I mean blue belt, and destroyer of all that is white belt. Time for a whooping!
Big Mike starts with an open guard, I do my best to shuck his legs aside and pass but it's not happening so I settle for half guard. From there I work the same pass as earlier, I prop up my knee and slice, then when Mike loosens his guard I dropped my hip and swing my top leg over into side control. He then proceeds to regain guard and sweep me. Now I'm working from the bottom in half guard, Mike works from the top and I can feel the d'arces coming so I do my best impersonation of a deep half guard I shoot my head through his leg and pop out the back door. There's a scramble and I wind up on top, working to take Vader's back (note: He's allowing me to work, and get positions, I'm not a bad ass, though I like to tell myself I am sometimes lol). So I get one hook in and he turns into me, I try to mount but he blocks my knee and regains half guard, then sweeps me with "The Force", and from there it's a systematic breakdown of my defenses as he passes my guard and locks me in a crucifix then slaps on an americana. The force is strong with this one.
So this marks the end of a good session and some short but fun rolls. I'd just like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the sparring with both e-man and Mike. It just goes to show you that sometimes your the hammer and sometimes your the nail :)
So I'm a day or so late on posting this but what the heck. I have the distinct pleasure of writing this up while on a bus headed for the center of Los Angeles while blasting My Chemical Romance soooo yay for me. Any way, yesterdays practice felt great and was WAY overdue (was off the mats with an infection). We had a couple of familiar faces in the class, but for the most part a lot of new people. So our instructor Rivera starts us off with our usual warm up, a light jog with some calisthenics thrown in to loosen us up, then some stretching. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and it felt great to get back on the mats. Since we had so many new people today Rivera decided to show everyone some basic break fall techniques, which basically consists of you dropping backwards, and rolling onto your shoulders while simultaneously giving the mat a good smack with your palms (and yes it is as fun as it sounds). Then on to single leg break falls, which did not go quite as smoothly. Apparently dropping yourself while balancing on one leg is not a comfortable motion for most, go figure. After that little fiasco we went on to hip escapes, and understandably the newcomers struggled a bit to pick up the motions right away, but after a couple tries most were shrimping like champs. Then came the reverse hip escapes, and everything went to hell! Shoulder rolls came next, and surprisingly everyone picked up on the movements right away. Even had a couple of roll races break out (sorry e-man but you owe me a quarter, I smoked you). Reverse rolls came and went with little problems and I'm happy to report that most were really enjoying themselves. I even caught myself messing around with a training partner (every time I would drop for a hip escape he'd throw a knee to my chin) and I must say it looked pretty darn convincing. Today was strictly a beginners warm up day so Rivera ended the class there with a little speech about bringing in your gi's for next weeks class. But of course were rebels, so we decide to get a few rolls in.
It's me and Emmanuel (e-man) first, I start in his half guard, starting to work to pass by using my usual method. I drop my hips sideways, and press my lower hip to his. I then pass my bottom arm over his head to secure him then bring the knee that's trapped in half guard up like a spike and then proceed to slice said knee inward towards the mount. As space is created I shoot my hand in between and use it as a lever to pry his half guard open. I eventually get the pass into side control and transition into north/south looking for either the kimura or armbar, but e-man does a good job of hipping out and getting into a sprawl position. He then grabs the single leg and looks for the take down, and I intend to lock him up in a crucifix position, but it's sloppy and I end up draped on his shoulders staring right at his arm and I swear it's begging me to grab it for a kimura, so I happily oblige. I go to lock up from back side control but he postures and instead I switch my hips, throw my left knee over his shoulder, and switch to the arm bar instead. I'm inverted by now, so I decide to grab his pant leg and flip him over my shoulder, from there it's elementary as I stick my foot on his bicep to break his grip, then crank this way and that till he taps. After ward we slap hands and chock it up to good times. Good to be back!! Then it's time for round two!!
I start in guard this time working my hips looking for his arm but he pulls it out in time to avoid any damage. So instead I chain my attack into the triangle, e-man's shoulder gets locked up and he decides to roll through till he ends up on his back. Now I'm on top with the triangle still in place, but for some reason I begin looking for an americana then think better of it and control the shin that's still across the back of his neck, and roll back onto my back simultaneously locking up the triangle and getting the tap from Ol' E-man. Two rolls, and two taps, and I'm feeling pretty good so of course I've got to be grounded back to Earth, and my doom comes in the form of Michael "D'arce Vader" Moore!! Good friend, sith..I mean blue belt, and destroyer of all that is white belt. Time for a whooping!
Big Mike starts with an open guard, I do my best to shuck his legs aside and pass but it's not happening so I settle for half guard. From there I work the same pass as earlier, I prop up my knee and slice, then when Mike loosens his guard I dropped my hip and swing my top leg over into side control. He then proceeds to regain guard and sweep me. Now I'm working from the bottom in half guard, Mike works from the top and I can feel the d'arces coming so I do my best impersonation of a deep half guard I shoot my head through his leg and pop out the back door. There's a scramble and I wind up on top, working to take Vader's back (note: He's allowing me to work, and get positions, I'm not a bad ass, though I like to tell myself I am sometimes lol). So I get one hook in and he turns into me, I try to mount but he blocks my knee and regains half guard, then sweeps me with "The Force", and from there it's a systematic breakdown of my defenses as he passes my guard and locks me in a crucifix then slaps on an americana. The force is strong with this one.
So this marks the end of a good session and some short but fun rolls. I'd just like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the sparring with both e-man and Mike. It just goes to show you that sometimes your the hammer and sometimes your the nail :)
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