Larptastic

I really suck at taking pictures. I tried to also get some shots of the blade + tsuba together, but the battery has died on my camera and I have yet to find the charger.

I had an entirely new tsuba constructed by the Fred Lohman Company. While it took a while to get it back, it was definately worth the wait. Fred did a fantastic job and exceeded even my high expectations.

If you can't tell from the pictures, I continued with the bamboo theme with bamboo fuchi/kashira, gold bamboo leaf menuki, a bamboo leaf tsuba and a green silk tsuka-ito.

Did some varying punching drills like 1-3, 2-6, 1-3-4-6-2. Also worked on a defensive drill where my opponent would jab and I'd block and jab underneath into their ribs. I learned that I need a lot of work on my distance and my reaction time.

* Head movement is very important
* Get the body shot then back out before they can follow with a cross

First time actually getting hit, even though we were going light I can tell it'll take some getting used to.

Did some basic punching and movement drills. I'd do a 1-2, they'd move and I'd have to reposition before striking again.

Always get into position first, then strike - don't rush it. Footwork is paramount, if my rear leg drags too far behind it saps the power from my Cross. Hip rotation on Jab is important as well.

Worked with a buddy on some new mount escapes. My normal tactic of tying up an arm and leg on one side and flipping them over (putting me in their guard) doesn't work when my opponent ties my legs up and prevents me from getting any leverage.

If they're high up on my chest
* Get underhook
* Push myself out behind them

If they're lower
* Shrimp to a side
* Get hands on their knee
* Push out

Almost got a triangle on someone when rolling but I didn't get it high enough. I was able to move when I realized I had an opening, but I flubbed it when I didn't put my leg far enough on his shoulder to get it around his neck. When my other leg went up to lock it, I just ended up with my ankles locked behind his neck.

Rather than our typical warm-up, coach had us go straight into light rolling - 3 minutes (I think) then rotate to a new parter. I ended up rolling with all folks bigger than me, one of them being coach himself. He said I've got good flexibility and that I'm doing well.

We then paired up with someone and worked on some defense from side control. Partner would try to push my shoulder down and I'd have to prevent him.
* Push out with top arm, naturally helps you to stay on side
* Keep one leg up and loaded, if foot goes flat or leg goes down, they've got you

This worked directly into the half guard.
* Keep their leg tied up
* Keep shoulder up
* Get and underhook as soon as possible
- arch and push arm straight out above my head
- curl head down and use that space to slip arm in
* This is a good defensible position

Now I need to learn where to go from there. :D

Towards the end of class I rolled with a new guy, 170 or so. Due to his build and the way he rolls, I think he has a bit of a wrestling background, but can't be too much since he didn't dominate me. He stayed really defensive, and I had trouble getting past his legs to even get him in guard. I felt a lot more comfortable when I had him in my guard and tried to shoot a triangle but didn't quite get it. At one point he got my back but I was able to defend and eventually work my way out. He also got the mount on me but I was able to flip him immediately and get into his guard.

I'm going to keep working on the triangle till I get it. Every time I try and miss I get more of an idea of what I'm doing wrong. I believe I need to set it up better, some things to remember for next time :
* Trap their arm with my opposite arm and with knee (to keep them from moving out of range)
* When I shoot the leg, bring it directly down on their back to make it harder for them to stand out of it
* Make sure to pivot body when I lock it in, I should be looking at their ear.

Worked with Brandon doing basic movement drills. He'd move and present a target, I'd have to move into range and jab. After doing this a while, expanded it into a jab/cross combo, which made it pretty obvious when my footwork wasn't right. If I let my rear foot trail too far, it steals range and power from my cross. Move first, then hit.

Coach also gave me some tips on my stance
* Chin down
* Knees bent
* Stay on balls of feet

Rolled with a classmate who's around my size but a lot more experienced. I wouldn't say I held my own, but I was able to fend him off for probably 5 minutes before he finally locked a choke on me. I might have been able to get out of it, but by that time I was running on empty and didn't have the energy to move fast enough.

He said I that I did a good job moving.

Worked on escapes from mount, this brings the total that I know up to 4 :

roll into guard
* use a leg to tie up one of their legs
* tie up their arm on the same side by grabbing my hip
* bridge and roll

roll into guard (variation)
* use a leg to tie up one of their legs
* trap arm by holding on to their bicep
* use other arm to hold on to their hip
* bridge and roll

hook and slip
* if they're high up on chest
* slip a arm hook under their leg
* shoot out underneath them

shrimp
* roll to side
* both arms pushing on their knee to escape

bridge & post
* upa
* leave arms braced after dropping hips to create space
* move 1 or 2 knees into open space

new term - upa : A bridging movement where you lie on your back and lift your hips off of the ground. Used in the basic bridge-and-roll mount escape.

Coach said I have that "big toe strength" and that once I know what I'm doing I could be dangerous. I wonder if it's just because they underestimate what my actual weight is? I almost caught a classmate in a triangle twice, but both times he was able to escape. Another classmate who was watching said I need to grab the head and pull down to keep him from getting out.

Did some mitt work. Jab & move, Jab/Cross and move. Jab, Uppercut, Hook, Cross. Also worked some kicks and knees.

Things to remember :
* Don't adjust the height of punch targets for a shorter partner, keep target for jab/cross at my head level, uppercut target at chin
* For knee target, place one on top of the other to brace
* When rear leg kicking, make sure to step out to the left in order to keep my kick from getting jammed

I also got to spar at the end of class. My partner was shorter and lighter than me, but a little more experienced. We went pretty light, but I don't think either of us made and solid hits. I kept jabbing to keep her out of range and she kept her head covered so the few crosses I threw didn't really connect. It was hela fun though, I can't wait to do it again.

It's the strangest thing. I feel the most inept and stupid looking at the start of class, when we're warming up with a jump rope. I'm not the only one who trips, gets it caught on a toe, etc but it still sucks. I need to find some videos of how to do it properly.

Did the regular suburi warm up, then striking drills on a shinai. Did some kiri kaeshi and I think I did allright. Finally finished up with 2 min Shiai. I think my form was much better than the guy I was fighting, but I had trouble getting any good hits in because he was flailing his shinai all over the fucking place making it hard to get a target.

Some things :
* Need to work on my distance, especially for kote/men
* Move with legs, not with waist
* Don't leave my do open for hits

Open gym. Jumped rope for about 10 minutes, need to figure out how to do it correctly. I never feel as much like a newb as when I trip on a jump rope 5 times in a row.

Did a bit of bag work & shadow boxing, then worked mitts with a classmate. Started with some building blocks, basic movement drills with jab/cross, then up to a jab/cross/hook/uppercut. Partner wanted to do some defensive drills so I got to punch on him for a while. I returned the favor and he showed me the basics of crazy monkey. After taking a break, I did some light sparring with another classmate and one of our seniors class members came over and broke it down for me.

Crazy Monkey
* Hands stay in contact with the head
* Move hand up across scalp, like you're wiping the sweat off
* Use both arms, not just one
* Stay centered, should be able to see opponent's chest at all times

Other things to remember
* Knees bent
* Hands up
* Chin down
* Stay low

Rolled with a guy I hadn't wrestled before. Started out as light, but got heavier as it went along. Not sure how long we went, but a classmate finally came over and said we had been going at it for a while. It seemed like 10 minutes, but time does seem to drag when you're getting crushed.

Afterwards he asked how much I weighed. When I told him 125, several folks remarked that they thought I was heavier, at least 140. The guy I was rolling with was 205. In cross body he felt like a fucking ton of bricks.

I really need to work on my escape from cross body. I do alright escaping the mount, but when I get flattened out on my side I'm finding it hard to do anything but wait for them to make a move and then try to escape, and I seem to waste a lot of energy doing that.

I later rolled with a new guy, probably around 160, and we stopped about halfway through and got some instruction on breaking a closed guard and triangle from guard.

Breaking Closed Guard
* Paws, not fists!
* Walk up their chest
* Once I'm far back enough, I can swat their hands off my head

Triangle From Guard
* Start with feet on their hips
* Push an arm up against their chest
* Get leg over shoulder and around neck
- Foot should be close to knee of other leg
- I should be looking into his ear
* Bring other leg up just enough to slip knee over my foot
* Get both hands on the back of their head, right beneath the slope
* Squeeze Legs, Arch Back, Pull Head

Had a new guy start the class, young, around my size. I got to roll with him in warm-up and it was really interesting to see what it's like from the other side, seeing how I went through the same experience a few months ago. He tried to muscle through everything and I let him just carry me around and waited for an opening, when I'd flip him and get mount.

After warm-up, we worked on some mount escapes.

Shimmy
* If they're high up into my armpits
* Put hands on their hips
* Use legs and shoulders to push myself up
* Arms brace rather than push

Flip
* Upa
* Get underhook
* Before they can settle back down, use arm to slip out the back
- go up on shoulder and use hook to pull yourself out
* Keep arm over opposite leg so they can't triangle
* Work up their back

After drilling a while, we did some rolling from mount. I think I did okay. Tried to get a triangle but he got out, and while fighting to hold on to it I felt a burning sensation down in the groin. At first I thought it was his elbow, I then realized that I was about to pull the damn thing again and tapped. That's what I get for not stretching before class (I was late).

In open rolling... I GOT A FUCKING TRIANGLE. Finally. Of course, she's about 30lbs lighter than me but I was finally able to lock the damn thing down. Almost got an armbar (transitioned from a triangle) on another classmate later on, he said it was a good transition and told a friend of mine that he'd have to pay more attention with me in the future. :)

Did some punching mit drills, as well as some knees and elbows.

Knee
* Lean a bit back when thrown
* Put hips into it

Elbow
* Regular, Overhand or Undercut
* Hands open and facing outward, keep one hand at head while other throws elbow
* Put hips into it
* Hit with point of elbow
* On regular elbow, keep it horizontal

Had several guys come in the door during class. One brought his girlfriend and said he wanted to be a "MMA Fighter", he smelled like he smoked a pack before he walked in the door. The other guy said he'd been looking for the gym for 3 years. A friend of mine told me this is the time of year when we get a lot of short-timers who only last a couple weeks.

Great thread on Bullshido with tips on rolling when you're a lot smaller than your opponents.

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=53849

No class Sat/Mon but I did go out to ATL this weekend for the Bullshido Mega Throwdown.

Things I learned.
* Don't go out drinking the night before you plan to fight for 3 hours.
* Gatorade sucks if you have dry mouth/
* I have a long way to go in BJJ.
* I have even farther to go in MT.

I was very impressed by the technical proficiency of everyone I rolled with. Despite being bigger/stronger than me, they never seemed to use a lot of strength because their technique was so good. It was a lot different than my typical class since I'm used to folks muscling through, and I still try to muscle through lots of shit.

Rolled multiple times with a guy from the gym we were at who was a blue belt in BJJ. He mauled me severely but it was still a lot of fun. I wish I didn't gas so quick so that I would have been able to go longer.

I did a bit of stand-up with someone from the website who was much better than me, but thankfully he went pretty light. I did get kicked in the head and, while it wasn't full power, it shocked the shit out of me. All in all I had a lot of fun and it was very educational to get to watch and roll with others outside my class.

I'm hoping someone got some video, if so I'll post links.

Worked on kicks, and catching an opponent's leg

* Turn back as you catch, to spread out the impact
* Immediately move in on them to knock them down (otherwise they can bend knee and come in for clinch)