Larptastic

Did 15 min of jump rope, a bit of shadow boxing and then hit the bags. I rotated between the distance, speed and thai bags for 3 minute rounds and tried to really focus on my range issues. I'm also trying to tighten up my kicks and slowly trying to raise them up higher. Currently about the highest I can get is armpit level. I then paired up with someone and just worked jab/cross on mitts.

I've noticed that my cross gets very sloppy when I try to do it quickly off a combo. I tend to drop my hand before I throw it and I also throw more from the arm than from the hip. When I catch myself doing it, I need to slow down, get the technique right and then speed it back up.

Drilled the guard with a newer guy around my size and we would alternate with one person in guard trying to submit and the other trying to pass. Towards the end he was going for a pass and my butt slipped and his knee rammed me right in the ass-bone. It hurt like hell, I saw red, and the next thing I knew I pulled him down, came out on the side, got his back and locked down on a RNC. Strangely enough, this is something I haven't been able to do before.

This made me realize was that I do have some strength that I don't normally use. Because most folks I roll with are stronger than me, I've gotten in the habit of always using leverage to get anywhere and never try to push them into something. If I can apply it correctly, maybe I can use this energy to improve my game.

I apologized but he took it all in stride, then jumped on my back and made me work my way out, lol.

In other news, coach showed me some cool ideas to work with the way I normally try to control someone in guard. When I've got an overhook on their arm and tight control on their head, shrimp out to the side of the controlled arm. This makes them carry the weight of my legs and body without being able to put their weight on me, and lets me get all sorts of cool shit like a kimura or an omoplata.

Started out by reviewing the guard passes from the previous week, then we moved into Kesa Gatame Escapes

Frame and Foot
* If their head is back
* Put Outside forearm against their jaw
* Grab wrist with other hand to make a frame
* Push their head back while bringing top leg up
* Get leg around their head
* Shrimp out and take side control

Under and Over
* Get both arms around their waist, under ribs - Gable Grip
* Get body up tight against them
* Bump hips while lifting upwards (towards head) with arms
* Slip bottom leg under them
* Roll and take side control

Out and Over
* Same grip as previous (gable around waist, under ribs)
* Get inside elbow down on the ground
* Shrimp body away till perpendicular
* Get body up onto knees
* Continue to rotate out to clear head and put them into side control

Things to Remember
* Gable grip - grab wrist, not hand
* Kesa Gatame
- Weight should be on their ribs
- Stay up on feet toes to keep weight on them and to allow fast movement
- Keep weight off butt

We worked on pummeling, with several different swimming drills designed to get us used to the movement in clinch. Then we worked on guard passes, drilling several different techniques.

Today's class was a little different than normal. After skipping, coach had us pair up and drill without gloves. This is the first time I've actually tried to hit someone with a bare fist, so it was a new thing for me. He had us do jab, cross, hook & uppercut (both sides).

We then worked on some clinching & pummeling, moving into a body lock.

Pummeling - The process of attempting to advance into more dominant clinch positions.

Drill 1 - Lead Side
* One hand on head, other on arm
* If they slide back, rotate hand on their arm inwards to grab back
* Rotate hand on head inwards to grab back
* Gable grip behind back
* At the same time, lower body and lift in a relaxed arc
* Head goes to lead side

Drill 2 - Rear Side
* One hand on head, other on arm
* If they step back, rotate hand on their arm inwards to grab back
* Rotate hand on head inwards to grab back
* Gable grip behind back
* At the same time, lower body and lift in a relaxed arc
* Head goes to rear side

Drill 3 - Jab Defense
* When opponent comes in for a jab
* Bat it away like we do in offensive drills
* Continue movement to bring hand inside his jabbing arm
* Change level and move in
* Cover your damn face and try to avoid a cross (got to be fast to pull this off)

Jumped rope for 15 min then started drilling what we covered on Wednesday, beginning with bare-fisted punching drills. We just did jab, cross and jab/cross and then started working some of the pummeling and body locks.

Drilled the Kesa Gatame escapes that we learned on Monday. Started out just doing them one at a time, but then moved on to using whichever worked. It was really interesting to see how it worked out, since if my partner tried specifically to defend against one of the escapes he opened himself up for another.

Coach also discussed the importance of going slow on technique and giving your partner the opportunity to escape. By allowing them to fight their way out, you strengthen both your ability to lock it in on a resisting opponent and their knowledge of escaping. He also showed us the difference between sport jiu-jitsu and what he referred to as the old-school "hooking" , which was more street or mma oriented (leading right into strikes, head cranks, etc).

Devil's in the Details
* To tighten up a kesa gatame
* Take hand that goes under their head and latch it on to your own thigh, just below knee
* Keep tight pressure on them, restricting their head movement
* This controls their upper body and can really lock them down

We drilled all the escapes we've covered so far in the 'Grappling 101' class

Kesa Gatame escapes (3)
* Frame arm across their neck, hook head with leg and roll onto them
* Scoot up underneath them, bump and roll
* Get elbow to mat, make space (perpendicular to their body), walk up to knees and continue on to push them down with leverage

Mount Escapes (2)
* Overhook arm, hook leg on same side, upa and roll off shoulder
* Bump and shrimp, hook foot with ankle, shrimp to other side and bring knee in to butterfly guard

Cross Body Escapes (2)
* Bump, shrimp and leg in
* Underhook, bump and shoot out the back

Started out with clinch work and ended up with a sore neck.

Pummeling
* When swimming, be relaxed and learn to feel your partner
* If they resist too hard in one direction, pull their head the other way for the guillotine

Wrist Grabbing
* Don't just pull hand away, rotate body to pull away

Taking the Back
* If they grab wrist
* Go in, like for a double leg
* Once down, outside knee goes down and rotate around leg
* Stand back up to take back

Then we did some rolling to submission, starting out with a few minutes of clinchwork (on the ground). My partner disappeared the first round, so someone else volunteered to roll with me who was quite a lot bigger than me. He went easy, but was heavy as fuck. Next round my partner showed back up, and I was exhausted and just played defense the whole time.

Things I learned
* I need to roll with more heavy folks. I've been sticking to people around my size recently and it's made me lazy, muscling through things I have no business doing.
* I need to play more aggressively. I've been spending too much time getting into guard and then just holding on, allowing my opponent to set the pace. I need to impose my game on them.
* I need to stop making excuses. I really get hung up on weight because I'm so light. I need to forget that shit and try to submit everyone I roll with no matter what size they are.

Started out with some combo drills on mitts. My partner noticed that I wasn't putting my shoulder into my uppercut. After tweaking it a bit, I noticed a lot more power when I get my body turned just a little bit more.

We then both put on gloves and worked some counter-punching. One person would jab, the other would catch it and immediately jab back. We did this with jab, cross and then jab/cross.

After that we did some clinch drills, some swimming and then some knee defense. When someone throws a knee in the clinch and it goes above the waist, grab it. Then you can sweep the other leg in myriad ways. Grab it only if they bring it up above the waist, don't reach down for it. If you can't grab it, you can place a hand on their waist to create space and keep their knee away.

Came in a little late, so just jumped around a bit to warm up and then hit the bags. I worked my jab, cross and jab/cross , and did a bit of kicking here and there. Coach came by to give me some pointers, especially about the range problem I continue to have. I need to get a good distance away from it, then jab on the way in so that I'm connecting with a left-hand power shot about the time I land.

If I'm just going for a jab, move straight in. If I'm going for a jab/cross, I should come to the side so that my range stays correct.

Tried to work some submissions from guard, ended up just playing guard with someone at about 50% trying to get a better feel for openings. I told coach how I was in a bit of a rut, having trouble imposing my game on those I roll with. He showed me a new way to break someone's posture, and talked about the difference between what he called regular chess vs speed chess, in that I needed to take my time and plan ahead rather than just try to throw things in when I see an opening.

He also brought up the importance of keeping pressure on someone in order to lead them into giving an opening, such as pulling on their arm when I actually want to push, because they'll end up resisting in the direction I actually want to go.

New posture break
* If they've got both hands locked in on my hips
* Get both my arms under their arms
* Make a prayer gesture, and lift up

We reviewed our escapes and learned two new ones from north south.

Escape 1
* Make space with arms
* Spin body back into guard
* May need to rock hips one way, before bringing them back the other way

Escape 2
* If you can't get space
* Snake one arm up between their legs
* Shrimp to the side and bring other arm over to clasp hands
* Get onto knees and lift
* Move into side control

We had a small class due to the coming holiday, so coach just had us get on mats and roll all evening. I rolled 4 or 5 times and did alright, not gassing as I have been the past few times, and I was even able to shoot some subs though I didn't quite catch them. A couple tips I got from the coaches :

Kimura
* Once their hand is on the ground, I've won
* Once I've got their arm gripped, I have to get the elbow bent
- With a rowing motion, use my hips and rotate my body in order to pull their elbow up towards their head
- Shrimp out to the side and get my leg up on their back to hold them down
* Finish the sub

If someone is fighting a triangle by putting their arms behind my back :

Triangle
* Pull on their head, this will keep them from going anywhere and force them to use an arm in order to free their head.
* Don't forget to shoot an armbar if the triangle doesn't make it

Drilled the triangle and armbar from guard. Head and arm control are important.

Worked on side control transitions & taking the back.

I seem to be catching a lot of people in the guillotine, particularly after faking them with a sweep or kimura, and for some reason it feels like I'm taking the easy way out.

Coach talked about stances, and the differences between traditional boxing, muay thai and mma. So far I've been doing more of a boxing stance, for MMA we keep our level lower in order to more easily shoot for a takedown and to guard against getting taken down.

We also drilled some head movement by putting our arms down and having our partner punch at our head.