“Just Another Thursday Roll Night”

531 Squats first. Hit a new personal best, 185 7 times. Also did a few heavier clean and jerks too. Long term goal is to do a body weight clean and jerk. Last night I was doing about 75%, and while it didn’t feel heavy, the movement was a little clunky.

I started off with Seth. We had a good 7 minutes going back and forth. I was on top and on the offensive most of it, which felt good. I almost got him in an omaplata, couldn’t finish it, but did use it to sweep and get on top.

Next was a couple of rounds with JR. I let him get into my half guard because I wanted to experiment with the new sweep we learned. He saw it coming and barb wired his hand in to prevent me from executing it, and then used that to pass….right into a triangle/armlock combo. We had a good laugh about it after the fact. That may be a way to prevent the sweep…but it sure isn’t a way to pass!

Purple Belt Matt was next. I felt like we had a good round together. He only armlocked me once. And while I had him on my back for a while, did eventually escape it with my neck intact.

Two rounds with the Mongoose was last on the agenda. A very good back and forth with a couple of good escapes on both of our parts. He did finally get me in a guillotine near the buzzer of our second round.

531 press work was on the agenda. Pressing is quick and easy, so I also added in 3 set of 3 cleans. I like the Olympic lifts. I think I’m getting better at them due to the increased focus on them the past few months.

I finished up with 15 minutes or so left before class began, but Damian enlisted me to hop into the beginners class because they had an odd number. So I got to do some side control escape drilling.

The advanced class covered two half guard sweeps, both new ones to me. The first was more of a technique to transition to butterfly guard and then into a sweep from there.

The second sweep was a little more complex, but was a thing of beauty. Powerlifter Matt and I were drilling together, and we were both pretty clunky to start with, but by the end we were getting better. It’s something that I think I can put to use right away while rolling!

It seems like I’ve been doing a lot more rolling than learning lately. And it’s true, just due to the change in the nights I attend class. It’s not necessarily a bad thing…I’ve long thought that I know plenty of things, it’s just the application of them that needs work.

Started off with my usual 531 squats, presses, and again threw in some clean and jerks.

Class started off with a warm up and one round of flow rolling with Ron. First up was Mongoose. Been a while since we’ve matched up, and we had a pretty good roll together. Also went with Dan, JP, Jason and Ron.

Deadlift night. It’s hard to describe, but I really enjoy lifting alone. Well, not really alone. Generally, I’m surrounded in varying degrees by the Crossfit class that’s gone on, as was the case last night. But it boils down to me and the weight. There’s no rush, it’s not going anywhere, and I don’t have anyone else waiting on me.

Finished the 531 deadlift progression, and still had some time to burn. So I did 3 sets of 3 clean and jerks. Not particularly heavy, and I included the jerks because it’s been a while since we’ve done any.

We did a quick warm up, then partnered up for 10 minutes of drilling, our pick of topics. Jason and I decided to do the punch, block, takedown, mount, submit thread.

The lesson of the night was maintaining posture from within the closed guard, the Fabio guard break, and then a simple pass. It was a pretty good class, I picked up on a couple of minor things for maintaining my posture, and a pretty big one that I’ve been struggling with the Fabio guard break. We finished things off with a couple of rounds of directed sparring. Start in the closed guard, guy on top has to break and pass, guy on bottom can only maintain, no sweeps or submissions.

After class I went a couple of rounds with JP. Once again, I proved to myself that the rule “Be On Top” is more valuable than I give it credit for.

I was sick with a cold or something earlier this week. I felt okay, but my nose wouldn’t stop dripping. I’m sure that my training partners appreciate that I stayed home rather than infect them all! Might be the weather, it’s really starting to cool off now.

My “off week” in the 531 progression has stretched into nearly a “off month” I arrived a little early to get some strength work done. I planned on squatting, but I felt pretty good while warming up, so I squatted, pressed, and threw in a few hanging cleans too.

Class was pretty low key. Quick warm up and some flow training with Derrick. Then Tim covered a couple of turtle guard techniques, one sitting out to guard, the other trapping the arm and rolling to be on top. The second one was a nice review, because it’s one that I use often…but usually end up giving up my back. Derrick and I played around with it some and I think we figured out what I’ve been doing wrong.

For the remainder of the class we just rolled. I started off with Dan and did pretty well. It was a nice back and forth five minutes, that included me having a triangle, but loosing it when I needed to adjust to finish. Next up was Jason, who resisted all my attempts to sweep or take his back, while I resisted all of his attempts to pass. Ron and I had a good roll too, with me on the defense most of the time.

I took a round to grab a drink and catch my breath, and Tim and Gina roped me into trying something. Tim was explaining an anti-turtle technique he’s been playing with, so I got to be the turtle for a few explanations.

Last up was Justin, the little wild man. He may only be 14, but he’s tough. I started off a little slow and two seconds later, he’s on top in side control and halfway to arm locking me. I escaped the first one, fought off his triangle transition, and then he re-transitioned into the arm lock again and got me. Our next go was me mostly defending another triangle/armbar combo, and everyone else shouting instructions to Justin. I managed to get out, ended up in turtle, trapped and rolled his arm….right into giving him my back where he bow and arrow choked me. Give him a few years to finish growing and he’s going to be a monster.

Yesterday may have been the last gasp of summer. Nice, warm, and humid. Which made class lightly attended and very sweaty.

I showed up a little early and did my 531 press work quickly. I feel like my progress on the press is stalling, but I’ve just got to keep working on it. Results will come. Eventually.

Class was more of the half guard pass techniques that have been the focus for the past couple of weeks. Short Josh and I drilled together.

I did ask one question. At the start of the pass, you move you upper body away from his head, so that you’re nearly perpendicular to each other. When I do that, occasionally he’ll work his bottom elbow inside, which makes me feel uneasy. So, do I need to “beat” that elbow, get inside of it and jack it up towards his head, or can I ignore it? Turns out, the answer is dead simple. If he’s moving his elbow down to get inside…he’s not protecting his head, and I can switch to head control. The passing technique changes then, but I’m already in a better spot because of that control.

Due to a variety of factors, I’ve changed up my schedule a bit. I’ve started doing Crossfit in the afternoons, which required me to shift my jiu jitsu days from Monday and Wednesday to Tuesday and Thursday.

Apparently, many people are on the Monday & Wednesday plan…because class last night was tiny in comparison to the turnouts I’m used to recently.

I started off with the Wendler deadlifts. Working steadily towards hitting my new goal.

Tim led the class, and Luke and I paired up. We started with 5 minutes of 50% flow training. I really enjoyed it. It’s been a long while since I’ve rolled with Luke while he wasn’t crushing me, so we had a nice flow going and back and forth.

We did a few open guard drills, windmills and a spider guard sweep. Tim did show us one new and interesting technique. If your opponent has double underhooks on your legs, but isn’t attempting to pass (perhaps he’s stalling in a tournament), you can reach behind him, push his collar back some, insert your heal there and push him off to create space to do any number of things.

We rounded class out with a few 7 minute rounds of training. I started with Dan. I was on the defensive most of the time, but did survive him having my back for a couple of minutes, eventually escaping. I recall that Heilo had the philosophy that some one may “win” against him (in a sport BJJ/points scenario), but they wouldn’t “beat” (submit) him. And that’s how I felt with Dan. Sure I was loosing…but I wasn’t beaten. Until there was 15 seconds left in the round and he armlocked me. Still, I was pretty happy with the roll. Dan mentioned that I remained calm, patient, and constantly worked to escape when he had my back…which is exactly what I was attempting to do.

Next up was Tim. And this was a 7 minute long disaster. Suffice to say, he tapped me 10 or 12 times, and I did exactly the right things and the right times to help him do so. After the 3rd or 4th triangle, I was mentally beat, and really in no mood to continue. But I’m strong enough not to give into that, so I plugged on. Badly, but I didn’t quit. And with a minute left on the clock, we restarted yet again. I took a deep breath and resolved to make it through that minute tap-free….if for no other reason than to prove to myself that I could. We started, and I’m not sure how it happened, but at the buzzer we were still going, and I had partially taken his back. I was too high, and would have been shaken off in all likelihood, but I made it through that minute.

There was another round, but I sat it out. Got a drink and walked a bit to calm down. It’s not an ego thing. Tim’s younger, stronger, faster, heavier, and more experienced than I am. There’s no reason he SHOULDN’T crush me. It’s just not pleasant to experience going through it.

Dave Camarillo has a saying…”Train with everyone.” Big, small, black belt, white belt, young and old. You can learn and improve by rolling with anyone.

In a sharp contrast to last Saturday’s marathon session with Iron Mike, this weekend I did a few minutes with many different guys. I didn’t plan on it, it just started that way, and once I noticed it, I kept it going.

Kicked things off with Short Josh, who seems to be in good shape and form for the Chicago Open next week. Next was Dave. We had a pretty good roll, and afterwards Tim pointed out a mistake that I made that allowed Dave to pass and he showed us a neat guard retention technique. It involves doing a sideways roll over your shoulders.

I also rolled with Tim, JP, and Mongoose. Good times.

After class I did my 531 press work. And wow, does doing it afterwards make a big difference. The last time I pressed this weight, I maxed out at 6 reps. I struggled to hit 4 today!