Thankfully cooler today. And my stomach was not as full.
Good warm up, then into groups. We had a big one, 12 I think. We did 4 pairs in, then 4 people out, rotating as people improved their positions.
I had Nick, Kevin, Morgan, Gary, Alex, a couple of visiting judo kids, and some others. Good rounds with most of them. The cooler temp and better meal planning really helped.
Hottest day of the year so far, 87 when I arrived at the gym. Took about 1 lap of the warm up to realize I was in for a long night. Combination of the heat and dinner I think. Warmed up slowly.
Tim led the class, some lapel/sit up guard sweeps. Easy stuff. Nick and I drilled at a slow and steady pace.
For rounds, I had Tim (twice), Nick, Stu, Gary, and Alex. Tim was thankfully merciful. I mentioned I wasn’t 100% with Stu, and he and I flowed for our round. Ironically, my hardest round was against the lowest ranked guy, Gary. He got me in kesa, and just smashed me. Figures, for an old judo guy. I should review my escapes from there.
I’m not dead, though I felt like death for a while there. I caught some plague from one of the kids, and it just went on and on and on. Then I was on a much needed vacation.
I had the dubious distinction of leading the warm up last night. Nothing like having the oldest and most out of shape guy running it, but run it I did. Damian ran the lesson. We started with a misdirection drill from standing vs open guard. Grab their ankles, swing them one way, swing them the other, then step up next to them. We then build upon that, after the step you use your shin to turn their hips away from you as you settle down on top. Then they can either roll, and you take their back (which we didn’t drill), or you can secure the position, and they try to turn into you, and you arm triangle them. Or, they stay on their side, and you ezikal them instead. Or, you can kick your leg over, mount, then sit into them and do a psudeo-back take, then choke them from there. Wade and I drilled away. Nice pace.
For rounds, we only did one, 20 minutes. Wade and I went about 10 minutes pretty evenly, but I ran out of gas after that. My defense was okay, but it was a grind. Embrace the suck.
It’s snowing like crazy and the roads are crap, but we still had 40 people in class.
Warm up, mixed groups, and we played advance your position again. I had Alex, Wade, Bob, Nick, Dennis and a few white belts. It was a good group for me, though I apparently can’t maintain mount for the life of me. I’m focusing on being heavy on their chest and head…which leaves my hips light to elevate.
I haven’t been able to train much lately. My usual fall cold is stretching on. Work & family have kept me busy.
Saturday, Damian promoted Mason, Gil, and Oscar to black belt. A special day for them to be sure. We had a big crowd turn out for it too, I got to see many people I haven’t run into in a while.
Yesterday I was able to sneak off for a noon fundamental class. Strangely, it was the same lesson as another one I went to recently. Standing bear hug into knee bar, then breaking them down in closed guard into straight armlock from the clamp position.
Kid’s football & soccer has ended…so back to Saturday class again.
Regular warm up, then into groups. I had a group of 9 I think, so we did in for 6 minutes, out for 3. I had Morgan, Wade, and a bunch of new faces.
My first round was interesting. Guy I’ve never seen before, with a blue/white striped belt. Starts slow, then bam, he’s going 100 mph. Pass, mount, choke/neck crank. Okay then. More of the same for the rest of the round. Turns out he’s a multi All American wrestler. I watched his other rounds, and he’s going to be a terror.
Nooner.
Double attack from mount. The traditional version is that you go for a cross choke, they upa, and then you can attack the arm. Today’s version was a loop around variation of the cross choke, and if they defend that, you can switch up to a regular rear choke and roll to take the back and finish it.
For rounds, I had two quick ones. One with Marcus and one with Blue Belt Tyler. Did good, though drew, with Marcus. Tyler was sharp and got me mounted and attacked over and over. Ended up getting the rear choke right at the buzzer.
Nooner. Tim led. Just a quickie lesson today.
We drilled grip breaks from when our standing opponent grabs our knees. We regrip his sleeves, swing out wide, and kick to break the grip. Do the same on the other side, and come in with our knees on the inside and flared to prevent him from regripping.
Or, if he’s got a strong grip, and the kick doesn’t break it, we rock up and grab him at the elbow, pull him down, trap his hand in our armpit, and then squeeze his arm with our knees while elevating our hips for an armlock.
For rounds, I had two 5 minute ones. One with Darren and one with Old Mike. Did good with Darren. Went slow with Mike, but moved well.
I got to lead the warm up again, woo. Tim led class. We covered the bear hug from behind into a knee bar, the clamp into the reverse armlock from closed guard, and arm lock from when they stand up incorrectly and leave their head and arms down.
To round out class, we did the chipper. Top has to pass. Bottom has to sweep or submit. Good stuff!
Another Saturday. Some mat time is better than no mat time, right?
We warmed up, then split into two groups. White belts, and everyone else. Colored belts were self paired this week, so I got Harris, Sarah, JR, Popsicle, and a special treat, Renato. He was back in town for a bit. Nice to see him again.
I did pretty good with Popsicle, holding him at bay for a long time before he got me with a combination arm crush/omoplata/triangle. Once you’re in that frying pan, it’s tough to get out.
Damian stopped class for a round to let JR and Renato have a “super fight” match. Renato won by DQ, as JR went for a toe hold, which is illegal at purple. Might be my fault, as JR and I just had finished a round, where I was attempting to toe hold him!