For BJJ, I picked up where we left off on Saturday, working on the entries and some basic X-Guard sweep. I did several basic chokes from the butterfly position to get a sub obviously, but also to disrupt the base of the uke. Assuming they avoid the choke, I did the sweep where I break their base backwards and pick the knee. I did the basic entry I use of breaking their base and then pulling the uke up the body, while blocking them with the right knee and pulling their right knee to tori's ear with tori getting the underhook. Then pressuring the blocked leg and inserting the second hook to complete the X-Guard entry. The actual sweeps will have to be covered in greater detail in another class. We did three sets of training and then ended class to transition to Judo.Some high lights of the Ne Waza between Lex and myself and his set with Eric are here.
I hit a jump pass over Lex's butterfly guard that was cool to see at the 11:15 minute of the video. I was happy with everyone's training. Lex did well with Eric and myself, two bigger more experienced players. Sarah fought hard ina room full of bigger guys and scored some good techniques. Peter and Mike P trained twice and had a couple hard fought sets. Mike hit a triangle sweep to a mount and blew me away with how flexible he is. His triangle armlock game with be exceptional if he keeps up the hard work.
Judo - I did some Uchi Mata practice. I focused on the entry and execution of the outside Uchi Mata which I don't practice as often. I focused on the downward movement of the hands and then hopping either towards the opponent or in a tight reverse circle. I didn't think about it but this actually bother the sprained ankle more than I would have liked. I think they got the technique and improved but I don't like executing anything sloppily.
For Ne Waza, we revisited the front sankaku turtle turnover where you don't insert the heel, but, rather block the far knee and spin the uke to his back to create a scramble.
We then did the 1 minute top and bottom turtle turning drill. The class seemed to have a lot of fun with this everyone was cutting up but playing hard and getting there work dont. This is a good result when you are talking about an advanced group.
Here is a very cool video of some high lights from the randori and then some of the turtle turnover high lights. One thing we seemed to have learned is that for the partner system the anchor must be on a corner. I also saw something very cool about the Tomoe Nage used by allesandro in this video that I need to explore. It could be a great help to Kake of the technique after it has been somewhat blocked and defeated by the uke.
Monday, November 29, 2010
11/21/2010
I had a sprained ankle and baby duties, Alma covered Judo. New student in today who did well. He has some prior experience in Aiki Jitsu styles. So he falls well and was great in class. Big guy so he will mix well with some of my heavyweights in the Kyu ranks.
11/20/2010 - BJJ at Osagame
BJJ class at 11 - We had three people plus me, but they were the core of the BJJ program i am hoping to build. Eric S., Lex and Sarah came to the class. We worked on passing the half guard. We worked on the Head control pass, the underhook pass and using the free foot to pry open the half guard and pass to the mount or jump to the side. I then took a question that i intended to cover briefly, bu it took on a bit of a life of it's own. I covered a lot of the elements of my X-Guard entry series. First starting in a butterfly position, then going for a choke to get them off of their base and then pulling the knee forward to slide to the X-Guard. There was more to it than that and it took a more time than I intended. As a result we did just 2 sets of training and I'm afraid I sent them away (at least the blue and white belts) with a bit of information overload. I find that i am enjoying teaching BJJ again and sometimes I get excited about a topic and lose track of time. i also need to teach less and have them drill more. even the more experienced students will be better served with more reps and fewer techniques. I see things I think they should know and try to rectify too much of it at once.
We just had time for two sets of training. I had sets with Eric who got to a good intial positiona nd had me on the run for the balance of the set. I think the practice and teaching he is doing is very good for his technique. I know he has never been ahead of me for the whole set like he was in this one. The other set was with Sarah, who continues to impress me with her spirit and most importantly her back game. I wold like to see her get physically stronger. For years Ronnie and I avoided outside strength and cardio training, devoting ourselves to improving technique. it took us a long time to accept that being as strong or stronger than the other guy is a good idea and nearly as important as technical training. While I hate this idea because I don't really enjoy the outside kettlebell/weight lifting/running etc., I have become reconciled that it's true. Hopefully as she has more time in her schedule she will be able to add some outside training time which will help her reach her very high ceiling.
I have to keep it in my head to cut back on the technique, raise the reps, and get more positional training in BJJ.
We just had time for two sets of training. I had sets with Eric who got to a good intial positiona nd had me on the run for the balance of the set. I think the practice and teaching he is doing is very good for his technique. I know he has never been ahead of me for the whole set like he was in this one. The other set was with Sarah, who continues to impress me with her spirit and most importantly her back game. I wold like to see her get physically stronger. For years Ronnie and I avoided outside strength and cardio training, devoting ourselves to improving technique. it took us a long time to accept that being as strong or stronger than the other guy is a good idea and nearly as important as technical training. While I hate this idea because I don't really enjoy the outside kettlebell/weight lifting/running etc., I have become reconciled that it's true. Hopefully as she has more time in her schedule she will be able to add some outside training time which will help her reach her very high ceiling.
I have to keep it in my head to cut back on the technique, raise the reps, and get more positional training in BJJ.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
11/18/2010 - Judo and BJJ
Judo at 6 on Thursday and BJJ at 7:30.
I was a little disappointed in the Judo class from my own perspective. I had an idea of working on some Tomoe Nage entries and then following up with some drop seoi nage. The class was mostly relatively inexperienced. When i saw the composition of the group I should have called an audible, as I usually do when the plan in my head doesn't match the class. instead I went with it. It proved to be a little too much and I felt they struggled with the technique. I covered the traditional Tomoe Nage over the length of the body and then why it isn't as effective as the Yoko Tomoe Nage, we practiced next. To be honest, they tride it and got better on it, but, i am always nervous teaching this technique to relative novices. it seems easy in practice but proves difficult in application with a resisting opponent. The drop was OK, but in this group Sarah was the only one who was as tight on the drop as I wanted. The rest did improve. If the students leave better than when they arrived its a good result. But, I should have audibled to more conventional technique. The randori was good. The body types and experience levels were all over the board, but they played well together and I worked into the sets to get time with everyone. I am still waiting for the intensity level to rise. Between the same number of students spread over more classes and the holiday blahs beginning to appear, I think it will be a battle to raise the intensity to a level that will make me happy. I think I will intensify the warm-ups and make them more directly Judo focused. Perhaps throw some push ups as incentive in to the mix as well.
BJJ - Marco stayed but didn't dress. He gave some good advice and suggestions on the techniques we practiced. I worked on pulling guard from turtle which i use more in response to the Uke trying to attack the turtle. He dropped the hand to the outside of leg that I usually block with the knee and sit into the guard. He grabbed behind the knee with hand and pulled them into guard (most often half-guard). I twas a little different than how I normally do it but made the technique more aggressive and less reactionary. We also worked on the basic half guard sweeps once we pulled them into the position. We came up and shucked them forward with the underhooked arm. this let's you take your head out and leaves you behind the person for 2 points. From the underhook position my favorite is to control the far knee of the uke and dive him down. Marco also suggested using the far hand/elbow if you can't reach the knee. I usually have good success with the knee but this helped a couple of people who were having trouble controlling the knee quite a bit. It might be a function of size and the ability to bulldoze them over (which I do pretty well) making it easier to grab the knee, so this was a good addition to the technique chain. We also swept the uke who wizzered the underhooked arm by using the Power To The People grip and sweeping them across the body.
I had some excellent training with allessandro and Sarah. Allesandro continues to impress me. He will be a terror against white and blue belts. I think it will take good blue and purple belts to slow his game down enough to capitalize on a few positions he still needs to see.
Sarah continues to play well. She has a nice flair for the triangle and has the physical skill set to do well with it. We moved through positions until I ended in her guard after a sweep. I gave her a small window to attack the triangle and she swarmed all over it. against me at least her left sided is more dangerous. she still can't finish it, but she was attacking my posture and had it locked tight enough so I was a little sore in my neck and shoulder from fighting it off. The small classes irk me but, I think the the people in them are going to reap some excellent benefits form the focused attention.
I was a little disappointed in the Judo class from my own perspective. I had an idea of working on some Tomoe Nage entries and then following up with some drop seoi nage. The class was mostly relatively inexperienced. When i saw the composition of the group I should have called an audible, as I usually do when the plan in my head doesn't match the class. instead I went with it. It proved to be a little too much and I felt they struggled with the technique. I covered the traditional Tomoe Nage over the length of the body and then why it isn't as effective as the Yoko Tomoe Nage, we practiced next. To be honest, they tride it and got better on it, but, i am always nervous teaching this technique to relative novices. it seems easy in practice but proves difficult in application with a resisting opponent. The drop was OK, but in this group Sarah was the only one who was as tight on the drop as I wanted. The rest did improve. If the students leave better than when they arrived its a good result. But, I should have audibled to more conventional technique. The randori was good. The body types and experience levels were all over the board, but they played well together and I worked into the sets to get time with everyone. I am still waiting for the intensity level to rise. Between the same number of students spread over more classes and the holiday blahs beginning to appear, I think it will be a battle to raise the intensity to a level that will make me happy. I think I will intensify the warm-ups and make them more directly Judo focused. Perhaps throw some push ups as incentive in to the mix as well.
BJJ - Marco stayed but didn't dress. He gave some good advice and suggestions on the techniques we practiced. I worked on pulling guard from turtle which i use more in response to the Uke trying to attack the turtle. He dropped the hand to the outside of leg that I usually block with the knee and sit into the guard. He grabbed behind the knee with hand and pulled them into guard (most often half-guard). I twas a little different than how I normally do it but made the technique more aggressive and less reactionary. We also worked on the basic half guard sweeps once we pulled them into the position. We came up and shucked them forward with the underhooked arm. this let's you take your head out and leaves you behind the person for 2 points. From the underhook position my favorite is to control the far knee of the uke and dive him down. Marco also suggested using the far hand/elbow if you can't reach the knee. I usually have good success with the knee but this helped a couple of people who were having trouble controlling the knee quite a bit. It might be a function of size and the ability to bulldoze them over (which I do pretty well) making it easier to grab the knee, so this was a good addition to the technique chain. We also swept the uke who wizzered the underhooked arm by using the Power To The People grip and sweeping them across the body.
I had some excellent training with allessandro and Sarah. Allesandro continues to impress me. He will be a terror against white and blue belts. I think it will take good blue and purple belts to slow his game down enough to capitalize on a few positions he still needs to see.
Sarah continues to play well. She has a nice flair for the triangle and has the physical skill set to do well with it. We moved through positions until I ended in her guard after a sweep. I gave her a small window to attack the triangle and she swarmed all over it. against me at least her left sided is more dangerous. she still can't finish it, but she was attacking my posture and had it locked tight enough so I was a little sore in my neck and shoulder from fighting it off. The small classes irk me but, I think the the people in them are going to reap some excellent benefits form the focused attention.
Monday, November 22, 2010
11/15/2010 - Monday BJJ and Judo.
I made it in time for Kettlebells. I was able to get Alma to focus on the strength component that I wanted, so it was a good workout.
BJJ was me, Eric, mike, Sarah and Lex. We worked on pulling guard from the turtle again. I like this class and thingk they did a good job. getting from the turtle and back to guard, either by pulling directly to it, or sitting back when the uke pressures your turtle. We did a few variations o it then did several sets of training.
In Judo we did more ashi waza techniques. We did some Harai Tsurikomi Ashi and Kosoto Gari. Then we did the ashi waza drill where you attack on every step. It went well and they seemed to improve and enjoy it. We did some randori sets. and then did Ne Waza. For Ne Waza we did the snakaku entry where you can't get your heel into the entry. Instead, blocking the knee and pulling to create the scramble when the Uke is pulled over. I emphasized using the grips on the belt and elbow to control the scramble and then come to the top. We several Ne Waza sets. I rolled with Drew and he did a nioce job of blocking the sweep and then forcing me to bail to a turtle. He got his hooks in and it took me a while to pry him off and come to the top. By then time was expiring. He has a nice pass and back attack. It wouldn't have been any score in Judo but for BJJ scoring he woudl have won 4-0.
BJJ was me, Eric, mike, Sarah and Lex. We worked on pulling guard from the turtle again. I like this class and thingk they did a good job. getting from the turtle and back to guard, either by pulling directly to it, or sitting back when the uke pressures your turtle. We did a few variations o it then did several sets of training.
In Judo we did more ashi waza techniques. We did some Harai Tsurikomi Ashi and Kosoto Gari. Then we did the ashi waza drill where you attack on every step. It went well and they seemed to improve and enjoy it. We did some randori sets. and then did Ne Waza. For Ne Waza we did the snakaku entry where you can't get your heel into the entry. Instead, blocking the knee and pulling to create the scramble when the Uke is pulled over. I emphasized using the grips on the belt and elbow to control the scramble and then come to the top. We several Ne Waza sets. I rolled with Drew and he did a nioce job of blocking the sweep and then forcing me to bail to a turtle. He got his hooks in and it took me a while to pry him off and come to the top. By then time was expiring. He has a nice pass and back attack. It wouldn't have been any score in Judo but for BJJ scoring he woudl have won 4-0.
11/14/2010 Sunday Judo class
Sunday Judo class. Smallish group but we good class. One note, I did top and bottom turtle turns with this group and I think it went well. I need to remember to do this more as it is very Judo specific and improved and important skill. Ihave to catch up a bit so I will have to minimize some entries.
11/12/2010
BJJ at the Weston - Just noting that I made the open mat. There 6 of us there and we did 5 sets. 35 minutes of training.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
11/13/2010 Saturday 1 on 1
I will officially begin the Saturday classes for BJJ next week, but this week, to see how the felt, Lex and I went to Osagame and trained. I also did some work on the club as we are still settling into the space. We had a productive session. I like the quality of work that you can get in small or 1 on 1 sessions. They are particularly useful to try to address particular problems a student may be having. Lex and I worked on some ways to attack and pass the De La Riva position. It was some fairly fundamental ideas, but they seemed to help him. We also talked about pulling guard from a turtle position. I think this will be particularly useful for him in BJJ. It will take a little time for him to get his flexibility to the point where it really is easy for him, but the drills and practice on this technique will make that happen quickly.
We trained for awhile next. it was a good workout and it's good to see how fast his BJJ is improving. Like most Judo people his top game is ahead of his bottom, but he has committed himself to pulling guard so that will make him better. It took me a lot longer to commit to improving my bottom game. I had to be forced to do it and it totally changed my skills and style of play. The commitment to using the techniques, trying and failing as well as succeeding is the way to improve. Hiding from the bottom byu assuming you will just always be on top is a sure way to limit your skills.
The training was good, and I had to work pretty hard. He has a few habits that will improve. I would catch him in chokes from the top partially because he relaxed after the transitions and change of positions. When I attacked before he began playing from the next position, it gave me a huge advantage as I was way ahead. I also thought about it and noticed on the video he took of some of the training he tends to allow too easy access to his neck for the choke. I think this part of the moment of relaxation he had after the transition and before he went into the next exchange of techniques gave me a head start and grabbed a deep bite on the choke a few times. We also talked about how to apply a one handed choke and use the body and hip position to make the uke unable to turn and unwind the choke position. this also works because the uke often doesn't expect the choke to be able to work until it's too late.
Lex was taking some video while we worked. We didn't pay much attention to it, and, therefore didn't stay centered at all, but here are a few scenes.
We trained for awhile next. it was a good workout and it's good to see how fast his BJJ is improving. Like most Judo people his top game is ahead of his bottom, but he has committed himself to pulling guard so that will make him better. It took me a lot longer to commit to improving my bottom game. I had to be forced to do it and it totally changed my skills and style of play. The commitment to using the techniques, trying and failing as well as succeeding is the way to improve. Hiding from the bottom byu assuming you will just always be on top is a sure way to limit your skills.
The training was good, and I had to work pretty hard. He has a few habits that will improve. I would catch him in chokes from the top partially because he relaxed after the transitions and change of positions. When I attacked before he began playing from the next position, it gave me a huge advantage as I was way ahead. I also thought about it and noticed on the video he took of some of the training he tends to allow too easy access to his neck for the choke. I think this part of the moment of relaxation he had after the transition and before he went into the next exchange of techniques gave me a head start and grabbed a deep bite on the choke a few times. We also talked about how to apply a one handed choke and use the body and hip position to make the uke unable to turn and unwind the choke position. this also works because the uke often doesn't expect the choke to be able to work until it's too late.
Lex was taking some video while we worked. We didn't pay much attention to it, and, therefore didn't stay centered at all, but here are a few scenes.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Thursday 11/11/2010 - Tonight's Special Guest Star...
Judo - The movement of the judo class to 6 and the BJJ class to 7:30 continues to be a little shaky as people are getting used to the new time and the BJJ class is being rebuilt. People are a little slow getting to the Judo class, but I did kettlebells at 5:30 (really 5:40). it was an abbreviated work out focusing almost exclusively on a strength component though the cardio was there as well. i warmed up while Alma signed people in at the desk. Then we did 3 sets of Clean and press, Rows and Squats. All were done with the 24kg. I have been shirking the Kettlebell workouts as things have been so busy and I have to admit I felt soreness from the workout for several days. But, it feels good to be sore and know that its productive soreness. Need to stay with it and get back in better shape. Hopefully i will be a good example to everyone who comes and stretches. All of us, particularly the light people we have right now need to be stronger. The kettlebell work out will be huge for improving their Judo and cutting down on injuries. Technique is paramount, but being stronger and better conditioned than your opponent is also crucial.
It's taken some time for things to start feeling at home at the new place. the smaller class sizes and missing faces as well as the unfinished feel of things just the sense of being uprooted has been impacting the relaxed feel of being home. Just like it takes time to feel at home in a new apartment it is taking time to feel at home here. I think this will happen and it will happen pretty soon. We have had some volunteers offering to help complete a few of the remaining projects and that will help. Plus just settling in to the new space and getting used to the schedule and who is in the different classes is the biggest thing.
The Judo class had a solid number of people in it. The numbers includes another appearance from Drew, who is doing great. He will be an excellent addition to class and will progress both technically and in rank quickly if he is reasonably consistent in attendance. I would love to see him become a regular competitor for us. We also had one of my oldest friends in Philadelphia as well as the Martial Arts come in with us. Marco Perazzo who is the head instructor at two successful schools in New Jersey stopped in for the class. I met Marco back when I first came to the Philadelphia Judo club in 1996 as well as when I first went to Maxercise around the same time. He mostly committed to BJJ and I focused on judo, though I cam back to BJJ in 1999. He has had his BJJ black belt for over three years as I recall and has always threatened to return to Judo. Now that we have opened a new space in South Philadelphia, the stars are aligning and we have had a Marco sighting.
We covered several variations on Ouchi Gari in the Tachi Waza portion of class. We covered the basic traditional version, the version of the drop knee Ouchi Gari that I use and the circling version. The class did well and I think this is one of the best technique selections for BJJ. The most difficult one, as you wold expect, was the circling version that requires quite a bit more timing than the first two versions.
We did some randori and I jumped in to fill out the sets. Everyone seemed to have good sets and stayed safe. I think just encouraging Drew to engage in more grip fighting improved his Judo by several 100%. When he was giving up perfect grips to his opponent it was making things way too easy, but, the grip fighting made it much more difficult. Marco felt good in his movement. He switches and reacts to what his opponent is doing more than I would like but, his style tends to be reactionary and opportunistic. My preference is to dictate the technique to my opponent, but he was grip fighting and launching attacks. I could tell he was a little reluctant to attack with reckless abandon but, that is something this club does well, so I think he will have fun when he lets his attacks really fly.
The rest of the randori sets were good and despite being a little smaller than I prefer the vibe on the mat was good.
In BJJ Marco offered to teach the class. It's great to feel supported by him and a lot of other old friends and training partners. who have stopped by and emailed and called with support and encouragement. He covered some side control and submission attacks. The first was similar to the way i walked around the head to attack the underhooked arm with a straight arm lock. he emphasized using it when you get the Uke to react by trying to pull his arm free and staying tighter to the head with your hips than i normally do. This was good for me to see as it was a better entry than I normally use. I also like using it opportunistically rather than forcing it. He also walked around the head and used the elbow on the ribs to step up and attack the juji gatame on the underhooked arm. I like this as it was a good transition and I like anything that allows me to put an elbow into the ribs. (I would say that I was just kidding about this but, people who train with me know I actually do like to do that). Then if Uke defends or fails to react you turn back and control the hips for side control again.
He also, in response to a question from Alma, did a half guard sweep. He used the power to the people grip (or as he called it the soul brother grip) which is thumb grip to thumb grip instead of the cats paw grip on the sleeve to attack the whizzer grip from the top guy who is responding to the bottom player having the underhook.
Marco and I rolled a couple of time. Lots of movement and exchanges of position for both of us. We had some points scored on passes and sweeps, high lights included me hitting the hook sweep I like and Marco doing a nice back escape that forced me to give up the top position and force myself to roll over to avoid the arm lock as the second set expired.
I also rolled with Allesandro who has a few technical flaws from some positions he hasn't seen that often but whose ceiling is so much higher than my own its depressing. His stand up is excellent, his fundamentals are very good, he is competitive and athletic. all he needs is some time and he will wreck guys in BJJ. I would be shocked for him not to win nearly any white belt division right now.
Had a very productive set with Sarah. I don't always get to roll with her as I often have to take some of the potentially dangerous people. I swept and and pressured her she attacked a triangle and I nearly passed a few times giving her pressure but not overdoing it. she was actually quite difficult to complete the pass against her because she used her flexibility and competitiveness so well. I was passing again when she switched to a left sided triangle and surprised me. I defended but she locked it in tight. I think it was the first time someone has been able to successfully lock a triangle since Urso left. I had to legitimately defend and fight my way free from it. It was a tight bite. If I wasn't so stupidly much bigger than her I would have been in even more trouble when time expired.
Good night of classes.
It's taken some time for things to start feeling at home at the new place. the smaller class sizes and missing faces as well as the unfinished feel of things just the sense of being uprooted has been impacting the relaxed feel of being home. Just like it takes time to feel at home in a new apartment it is taking time to feel at home here. I think this will happen and it will happen pretty soon. We have had some volunteers offering to help complete a few of the remaining projects and that will help. Plus just settling in to the new space and getting used to the schedule and who is in the different classes is the biggest thing.
The Judo class had a solid number of people in it. The numbers includes another appearance from Drew, who is doing great. He will be an excellent addition to class and will progress both technically and in rank quickly if he is reasonably consistent in attendance. I would love to see him become a regular competitor for us. We also had one of my oldest friends in Philadelphia as well as the Martial Arts come in with us. Marco Perazzo who is the head instructor at two successful schools in New Jersey stopped in for the class. I met Marco back when I first came to the Philadelphia Judo club in 1996 as well as when I first went to Maxercise around the same time. He mostly committed to BJJ and I focused on judo, though I cam back to BJJ in 1999. He has had his BJJ black belt for over three years as I recall and has always threatened to return to Judo. Now that we have opened a new space in South Philadelphia, the stars are aligning and we have had a Marco sighting.
We covered several variations on Ouchi Gari in the Tachi Waza portion of class. We covered the basic traditional version, the version of the drop knee Ouchi Gari that I use and the circling version. The class did well and I think this is one of the best technique selections for BJJ. The most difficult one, as you wold expect, was the circling version that requires quite a bit more timing than the first two versions.
We did some randori and I jumped in to fill out the sets. Everyone seemed to have good sets and stayed safe. I think just encouraging Drew to engage in more grip fighting improved his Judo by several 100%. When he was giving up perfect grips to his opponent it was making things way too easy, but, the grip fighting made it much more difficult. Marco felt good in his movement. He switches and reacts to what his opponent is doing more than I would like but, his style tends to be reactionary and opportunistic. My preference is to dictate the technique to my opponent, but he was grip fighting and launching attacks. I could tell he was a little reluctant to attack with reckless abandon but, that is something this club does well, so I think he will have fun when he lets his attacks really fly.
The rest of the randori sets were good and despite being a little smaller than I prefer the vibe on the mat was good.
In BJJ Marco offered to teach the class. It's great to feel supported by him and a lot of other old friends and training partners. who have stopped by and emailed and called with support and encouragement. He covered some side control and submission attacks. The first was similar to the way i walked around the head to attack the underhooked arm with a straight arm lock. he emphasized using it when you get the Uke to react by trying to pull his arm free and staying tighter to the head with your hips than i normally do. This was good for me to see as it was a better entry than I normally use. I also like using it opportunistically rather than forcing it. He also walked around the head and used the elbow on the ribs to step up and attack the juji gatame on the underhooked arm. I like this as it was a good transition and I like anything that allows me to put an elbow into the ribs. (I would say that I was just kidding about this but, people who train with me know I actually do like to do that). Then if Uke defends or fails to react you turn back and control the hips for side control again.
He also, in response to a question from Alma, did a half guard sweep. He used the power to the people grip (or as he called it the soul brother grip) which is thumb grip to thumb grip instead of the cats paw grip on the sleeve to attack the whizzer grip from the top guy who is responding to the bottom player having the underhook.
Marco and I rolled a couple of time. Lots of movement and exchanges of position for both of us. We had some points scored on passes and sweeps, high lights included me hitting the hook sweep I like and Marco doing a nice back escape that forced me to give up the top position and force myself to roll over to avoid the arm lock as the second set expired.
I also rolled with Allesandro who has a few technical flaws from some positions he hasn't seen that often but whose ceiling is so much higher than my own its depressing. His stand up is excellent, his fundamentals are very good, he is competitive and athletic. all he needs is some time and he will wreck guys in BJJ. I would be shocked for him not to win nearly any white belt division right now.
Had a very productive set with Sarah. I don't always get to roll with her as I often have to take some of the potentially dangerous people. I swept and and pressured her she attacked a triangle and I nearly passed a few times giving her pressure but not overdoing it. she was actually quite difficult to complete the pass against her because she used her flexibility and competitiveness so well. I was passing again when she switched to a left sided triangle and surprised me. I defended but she locked it in tight. I think it was the first time someone has been able to successfully lock a triangle since Urso left. I had to legitimately defend and fight my way free from it. It was a tight bite. If I wasn't so stupidly much bigger than her I would have been in even more trouble when time expired.
Good night of classes.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday 11/11/2010
Day class at the Weston - Me John and 4 white belts. John did some basic sweeps. I had two sets with Eric Daly and Azeez. Unremarkable, except azeez kept trying to standing pass by going into my De La Riva, which was disastrous for him. Better than not training at all, but considering the recent pressure at work, I will need to keep the T-Th weston classes down a bit.
Monday - 11/8/2010
The BJJ class began and it was again lightly attended. Sarah asked about maintaining side control, so Eric and I worked on this. More people came in as the class progressed until we filled out at 6 people. I talked about controlling opposite corners ie right shoulder and left hip and vice versa. I talked about walking higher up the body off of the hips to avoid the bump. this is particularly true of lighter/smaller people holding larger/stronger. I talked about trapping the elbow outside of the hip, because allowing it inside makes the elbow escape too easy. We then progressed to several subs from the side position. We walked around the head after starting with the underhook on the far arm. Keeping control of the arm and attacking the straight arm. we did the papercutter choke I use when i can't keep their elbow from blocking me, so I go over it and trap it with my low (right) arm and choke with the left. this is one of my most frequently used subs and I would like to make it a club staple.
My knee was still giving me some trouble but we did 3 sets of training. The vibe in the room is getting betetr as things are settling down. I think the intensity level needs to rise a bit and it will help. It will also be good as we are able to filter in a few more of the MIA folks.
Judo
Little larger group with both Erics and some of the other regulars plus a new white belt Bobby who is Eric J.s nephew who did very well. We also had a new Judo white belt Drew, who is a brown in BJJ checking it out. Both of the white belts did great. We did some seoi nage work and then switched to the underhook (seoi nage arm position) Osoto Gari. I wasn't sure how Drew would do. You never really know how people with a lot of rank will do when they put on a white belt and go to a new spot. He did great. He ukemi was very good. he had some throwing fundamentals and had a great attitude. I had him with the guys only at first, but after watching him I had him do sets with Sarah, who has a very technical throwing game. I rarely let new people go with her because you never know if a white belt guy might get too competitive and try to force something, which is dangerous. But he quickly proved to have a very egoless technical approach that is perfect for improving. Bobby did very well. considering he hasn't done anything like this he had very respectable ukemi and took some big falls during randori. i don't usually let new people do randori the first few classes, but he jumped right in a did well. we cold have used a few more of the regulars in class to roound out the sets, but I was happy with the class.
For Ne Waza we did the front sankaku. with an emphasis on staying tight rather than the open spin them as you turn version that i feel has given people trouble. The tight bversion of getting tight and staying tight from the beginning requires more adjustments after the turn, but seems to be easier to learn. The class did well with it and I think I will continue with this version.
We did a couple of sets of Ne Waza. I had Drew in the second set and he was very good to roll with him. He is a little small for me, I'm guessing 150ish. I swept and came to the top he played open and went for sweeps. I kept good pressure and maintained balance, but he did a good job avoiding the pass, until right before the end. I was able to pass and maintain top until time expired.
Good class. glad to see the bigger numbers and the addition of Drew and Bobby will be good if they become consistent.
My knee was still giving me some trouble but we did 3 sets of training. The vibe in the room is getting betetr as things are settling down. I think the intensity level needs to rise a bit and it will help. It will also be good as we are able to filter in a few more of the MIA folks.
Judo
Little larger group with both Erics and some of the other regulars plus a new white belt Bobby who is Eric J.s nephew who did very well. We also had a new Judo white belt Drew, who is a brown in BJJ checking it out. Both of the white belts did great. We did some seoi nage work and then switched to the underhook (seoi nage arm position) Osoto Gari. I wasn't sure how Drew would do. You never really know how people with a lot of rank will do when they put on a white belt and go to a new spot. He did great. He ukemi was very good. he had some throwing fundamentals and had a great attitude. I had him with the guys only at first, but after watching him I had him do sets with Sarah, who has a very technical throwing game. I rarely let new people go with her because you never know if a white belt guy might get too competitive and try to force something, which is dangerous. But he quickly proved to have a very egoless technical approach that is perfect for improving. Bobby did very well. considering he hasn't done anything like this he had very respectable ukemi and took some big falls during randori. i don't usually let new people do randori the first few classes, but he jumped right in a did well. we cold have used a few more of the regulars in class to roound out the sets, but I was happy with the class.
For Ne Waza we did the front sankaku. with an emphasis on staying tight rather than the open spin them as you turn version that i feel has given people trouble. The tight bversion of getting tight and staying tight from the beginning requires more adjustments after the turn, but seems to be easier to learn. The class did well with it and I think I will continue with this version.
We did a couple of sets of Ne Waza. I had Drew in the second set and he was very good to roll with him. He is a little small for me, I'm guessing 150ish. I swept and came to the top he played open and went for sweeps. I kept good pressure and maintained balance, but he did a good job avoiding the pass, until right before the end. I was able to pass and maintain top until time expired.
Good class. glad to see the bigger numbers and the addition of Drew and Bobby will be good if they become consistent.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Friday 11/5/2010 - Peter and me
Tonight was the first open mat. Mainline Judo had there open mat tonight and most of the guys went there. I don't believe in canceling classes, so I went to Osagame. Peter came and he and I worked for a little more than an hour. We focused on what he was interested in doing. We worked on transitioning to avoid the pass and escape the pin by turtling. Primarily by unscrewing the shoulder and turning inside or going outside as a last resort. We also talked about hitting the trap and roll once you make it to turtle correctly and turtle properly.
Fear the turtle!
Fear the turtle!
Thursday 11/4/2010 the Thursday class switch
Today was the first time we switched the BJJ class and the Judo class. We did Judo first, at 6 and BJJ next at 7:30. I was a bit disappointed by the low turnout for the switch. I think that it's the right move long term, but, after the years of one time, it will take a bit of adjustment for the class time to change. I also think that I will have to be flexible for the start time as some people will be arriving late. That's fine as I would rather they come late than not at all. The Thursday class for Judo will be primarily stand-up because it will be followed by BJJ. Pretty standard class for me for small participants. I did throws and fits and worked people into the sets as they arrived. I think we ended with 8 or so people on the mat we finished up with randori. and then went on to BJJ.
The BJJ class was also small. I need to be a little patient as the classes rebuild. I wasn't happy with the intensity levels. I didn't feel a lot of urgency. I think the class/time switch effected it but, I need to up the intensity a little to get us back on the road. I need to get the numbers and intensity level back to what I expect. This does tend to be a quieter time of the year with the early and cold evenings and all of the holidays coming. I was disappointed by the light BJJ tonight and in general. There was a lot of purported intent to cross train and so far i haven't seen as much as I'd like.
The BJJ class was also small. I need to be a little patient as the classes rebuild. I wasn't happy with the intensity levels. I didn't feel a lot of urgency. I think the class/time switch effected it but, I need to up the intensity a little to get us back on the road. I need to get the numbers and intensity level back to what I expect. This does tend to be a quieter time of the year with the early and cold evenings and all of the holidays coming. I was disappointed by the light BJJ tonight and in general. There was a lot of purported intent to cross train and so far i haven't seen as much as I'd like.
Friday, November 05, 2010
Wednesday 11/3/2010 Judo at Osagame
I covered the Wednesday class. This class is planned to be covered by the black belts who are interested in teaching on a rotating basis. It will be normally held at 7:30, but dues to some confusion this one was held at 6. I think the newer classes on the schedule and the classes that have been moved on the schedule may take a little getting used to for the students. I am hoping that new students who join will naturally fit them into the class attendance schedule, but this may take some time. I am particularly hopeful that the black belts that will be covering the classes will make every effort to come in and support one another. Having more experienced players in the class will make teaching much simpler and make sure that there are decent numbers of participants.
This class was just Me, Lex and Zweli. Not great to have such a small class, but good for me as I was able to get some training in with them. We did Uchikomis and a little throwing for 20+ minutes. I worked on my left sided Uchi Mata. I have tried and even thrown the Left Uchi Mata but this was the first time I practicied it, which seems odd.It didn't feel comfortable or natural but, if I get some more reps, I may be willing to actually try to throw it next time. Lex and Z worked on the things that they chose. We tweaked Z's Ouchi Gari entrance. He was doing a nice version of a drip Morote Seoi Nage. He is quite strong and with good lower body strength and flexibility. I wouldn't want to have to do the Morote myself, but it was working well for him.
We did Golden score randori next. I was having pretty good success. I threw some decent scores. Z got me over by attacking a leg when i was little lazy and got me to my back. I threw some decent techniques. a few sacrifices, a Harai, and a few others. I countered the leg grab Z went for again with a belt grip osoto/harai that was good. The grip fighting was going well, untilt he last set. Lex managed to get ahead of me in the grip fight and protect the lead. I spent closer to a minute trying to get any grip at all, but he was able to deny me. When he attacked I was so far behind the gripping I mis-stepped and twisted my knee. This was unfortunate becasue of the knee problem but also because the training was going so well.
We wrapped it up by talking gripping and strategy for a bit. I talked about how I focus on transitions in BJJ and think that's the right approach for experienced players up to a certain point, rather than endlessly drilling techniques. I compared this to grip fighting in Judo and it seemed to make sense to both of them. I hate to get hurt or end the training early, but the conversation was very on point and useful.
This class was just Me, Lex and Zweli. Not great to have such a small class, but good for me as I was able to get some training in with them. We did Uchikomis and a little throwing for 20+ minutes. I worked on my left sided Uchi Mata. I have tried and even thrown the Left Uchi Mata but this was the first time I practicied it, which seems odd.It didn't feel comfortable or natural but, if I get some more reps, I may be willing to actually try to throw it next time. Lex and Z worked on the things that they chose. We tweaked Z's Ouchi Gari entrance. He was doing a nice version of a drip Morote Seoi Nage. He is quite strong and with good lower body strength and flexibility. I wouldn't want to have to do the Morote myself, but it was working well for him.
We did Golden score randori next. I was having pretty good success. I threw some decent scores. Z got me over by attacking a leg when i was little lazy and got me to my back. I threw some decent techniques. a few sacrifices, a Harai, and a few others. I countered the leg grab Z went for again with a belt grip osoto/harai that was good. The grip fighting was going well, untilt he last set. Lex managed to get ahead of me in the grip fight and protect the lead. I spent closer to a minute trying to get any grip at all, but he was able to deny me. When he attacked I was so far behind the gripping I mis-stepped and twisted my knee. This was unfortunate becasue of the knee problem but also because the training was going so well.
We wrapped it up by talking gripping and strategy for a bit. I talked about how I focus on transitions in BJJ and think that's the right approach for experienced players up to a certain point, rather than endlessly drilling techniques. I compared this to grip fighting in Judo and it seemed to make sense to both of them. I hate to get hurt or end the training early, but the conversation was very on point and useful.
Thursday, November 04, 2010
11/1/2010 Welcome to Osagame
Our new club web site
BJJ - The opening night at our new club began was a great experience. We had a good group of people in for the first night. The BJJ class had 10 people plus me. This included a few Drexel kids who did well and came a little late, but also included several of the judo guys who I am excited to see begin to cross train, as well as Eric S's friends Matt who did great and Eric Johnson who seems like he might be ready to jump back in to the game. They will be great to have as new additional highly ranked guys who were new to the BJJ and hopefully Judo programs. I covered the De La Riva arm hook position just because it's one of my favorites and I just wanted to do my favorite positions. I did the sweep and going to the Oma Plata and then doing the breakdown to the sub and then even showed the wrist lock finish. I was very happy to see Lori in the clas, as I think it will be good for her to get some more ground work. She will do well once she sees some more of the techniques.
I had them do 3 longer (6 min) sets. The training was good, though I had to reconfirm the rules. I intend to do the CBJJ rules. no kneelocks, no toe holds for less than brown belts. I'm looking forward to training with matt and Eric J. when I can get into the sets. If we can keep this group as a base and expand with some more additions from judo and a few new guys it will be an excellent group.
For Judo I covered Harai Goshi. I wanted to start the clubs by teaching my favorite technique and the closest thing the club has to a signature technique. 22 people in the class 15 or so of our regulars and a half dozen Drexel and other visitors. Great energy and attitude from all the participants. I was very happy with the way the Visitors were accepted and trained with the regulars. i would love to see more of them all, particularly the Drexel group of Jen, Alex, Keith and John. They were excellent fits with the group on the mat. I learned that it will be difficult to have more than 5, possibly 6 pairs doing randori at any given time. so I switched groups and everyone had good sets. I will have to do more shorter sets in large classes to keep too many people from sitting too long. Lee was there and did some grip fighting which was great to see as his knee is still a mess.
For Ne Waza I did the hardest and easiest clock chokes. Then we had time for two sets of ne waza and we called it a night. Art chose to move down the line to the right of Alma. I didn't feele entirely comfortable with this but I respected his wishes. I will revisit this when there is a smaller group. A bottle of Jack was presented and passed down the line in a true Philadelphia Judo Club tradition.
It feels great to be in our own space. I am incredibly fortunate to have the people with me in the club. The way they have volunteered and contributed their time energy and skills has made this possible. I will all feel incredibly lucky to be part of this group. I remember when I was the last white belt on the other side of the line. It's strange to be the first Black belt on this side. I feel that I have done it the right way. I earned it and while I never was and never will be the best player or even a great player. I got here by outworking everyone else. I never quit and my commitment to the club and Judo never wavered. That being said it would be impossible without the people who come to class and make this club my family.
I will post some pictures when I can do it from home.
BJJ - The opening night at our new club began was a great experience. We had a good group of people in for the first night. The BJJ class had 10 people plus me. This included a few Drexel kids who did well and came a little late, but also included several of the judo guys who I am excited to see begin to cross train, as well as Eric S's friends Matt who did great and Eric Johnson who seems like he might be ready to jump back in to the game. They will be great to have as new additional highly ranked guys who were new to the BJJ and hopefully Judo programs. I covered the De La Riva arm hook position just because it's one of my favorites and I just wanted to do my favorite positions. I did the sweep and going to the Oma Plata and then doing the breakdown to the sub and then even showed the wrist lock finish. I was very happy to see Lori in the clas, as I think it will be good for her to get some more ground work. She will do well once she sees some more of the techniques.
I had them do 3 longer (6 min) sets. The training was good, though I had to reconfirm the rules. I intend to do the CBJJ rules. no kneelocks, no toe holds for less than brown belts. I'm looking forward to training with matt and Eric J. when I can get into the sets. If we can keep this group as a base and expand with some more additions from judo and a few new guys it will be an excellent group.
For Judo I covered Harai Goshi. I wanted to start the clubs by teaching my favorite technique and the closest thing the club has to a signature technique. 22 people in the class 15 or so of our regulars and a half dozen Drexel and other visitors. Great energy and attitude from all the participants. I was very happy with the way the Visitors were accepted and trained with the regulars. i would love to see more of them all, particularly the Drexel group of Jen, Alex, Keith and John. They were excellent fits with the group on the mat. I learned that it will be difficult to have more than 5, possibly 6 pairs doing randori at any given time. so I switched groups and everyone had good sets. I will have to do more shorter sets in large classes to keep too many people from sitting too long. Lee was there and did some grip fighting which was great to see as his knee is still a mess.
For Ne Waza I did the hardest and easiest clock chokes. Then we had time for two sets of ne waza and we called it a night. Art chose to move down the line to the right of Alma. I didn't feele entirely comfortable with this but I respected his wishes. I will revisit this when there is a smaller group. A bottle of Jack was presented and passed down the line in a true Philadelphia Judo Club tradition.
It feels great to be in our own space. I am incredibly fortunate to have the people with me in the club. The way they have volunteered and contributed their time energy and skills has made this possible. I will all feel incredibly lucky to be part of this group. I remember when I was the last white belt on the other side of the line. It's strange to be the first Black belt on this side. I feel that I have done it the right way. I earned it and while I never was and never will be the best player or even a great player. I got here by outworking everyone else. I never quit and my commitment to the club and Judo never wavered. That being said it would be impossible without the people who come to class and make this club my family.
I will post some pictures when I can do it from home.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Friday 10/29/2010
Weston Open Mat - just four of us were at the Open mat. Pretty standard sets with Me, Danger, Blue John and Jack. There was one interesting exchange with Danger. Before our second set i was thinking that i should go for positions I don't usually use as much, like taking the back and thought I should go for the position. I didn't consciously work for it, but saw an opportunity and got the back with hooks. I came close to the strangle but he worked to the correct side to get his escape. Meaning I was back to the ground behind him with the right hand in a normal gi strangle position i.e. Okuri Eri Jime with him on the correct side (my left). He worked to the correct side to escape (my right). He was beginning to work out of the hooks, so I released the right hook and triangled his left leg/hip and brought him back to the correct strangling side (my left) by using the leverage of the closed triangle on his leg/hip. the the angle precluded the Okuri Eri Jimi, but, I switched to a Kata Hajime (single wing strangle) and he almost went out. It was a good response to the escape and I need to lock it into my game, but, i want to look for the chance to test it again.
Thursday 10/28/2010 An ending.
Judo - good group for the last class at Maxercise for the Judo club. I said good bye with my favorite techniques, Harai Goshi. We covered some drills on footwork and hip position. It was interesting to see Lori and Sarah working on the technique. Their emphasis and skill at Tai Otoshi was effecting their footwork for the Harai. It was interesting to work on the slightly different stepping pattern for the Harai with them. Have to be certain not to negatively impact the footwork for Tai Otoshi which is their primary technique. Tweaked a few things here and there with others as well. All in all it was a productive session.
We did 4-5 sets of randori. I wanted to give some good sets to everyone and there were enough good matchups that we had good Sets. Josh was in again and he again showed good strength and was able to counter people but, I saw the problems that you get when you are the big strong guy in class. He remained a lurker waiting to counter the other person. This can be effectrive but it tends to have a low ceiling for long term growth. I am strongly committed to not letting any of my big guys fall into that trap even if it works for them. Lex hit a good Kouchi Gari on me. I am still having fun with switching back and forth from left to right, which is kind of amusing as I was so totally against it for years. Not sure if this is an evolution in my technique and style or just laziness, most likely a bit of both. I still think the best way on the way up through the ranks is to commit to a side and a technique and make it your own. But, when you get older it might be good to be more open to other opportunities, rather than banging your head against the wall as I have done for years.
We covered the trap and roll for Ne Waza and focused on maintaining the pin. Everyone did it well after a little bit of modifying the angle. I did get them to commit to the pin as I was able to demonstrate how effective, difficult to escape and painful it can be as long as you maintain control of the trapped arm. Showed how to block most of the conventional escapes by altering the hip position and the body relationship. I also showed how much pressure I can put on the pin and how I can get submissions from it. Then we covered the escape that Ronnie and I developed back during the open mats at the Y. It's not foolproff, but, still the best one I have seen and the one I have had the most success using.
We had time for 2 sets of Ne Waza and then called it a night at the Las Vegas Lounge for one last drink. I will have to reflect on my time at Maxercise and post some thoughts.
We did 4-5 sets of randori. I wanted to give some good sets to everyone and there were enough good matchups that we had good Sets. Josh was in again and he again showed good strength and was able to counter people but, I saw the problems that you get when you are the big strong guy in class. He remained a lurker waiting to counter the other person. This can be effectrive but it tends to have a low ceiling for long term growth. I am strongly committed to not letting any of my big guys fall into that trap even if it works for them. Lex hit a good Kouchi Gari on me. I am still having fun with switching back and forth from left to right, which is kind of amusing as I was so totally against it for years. Not sure if this is an evolution in my technique and style or just laziness, most likely a bit of both. I still think the best way on the way up through the ranks is to commit to a side and a technique and make it your own. But, when you get older it might be good to be more open to other opportunities, rather than banging your head against the wall as I have done for years.
We covered the trap and roll for Ne Waza and focused on maintaining the pin. Everyone did it well after a little bit of modifying the angle. I did get them to commit to the pin as I was able to demonstrate how effective, difficult to escape and painful it can be as long as you maintain control of the trapped arm. Showed how to block most of the conventional escapes by altering the hip position and the body relationship. I also showed how much pressure I can put on the pin and how I can get submissions from it. Then we covered the escape that Ronnie and I developed back during the open mats at the Y. It's not foolproff, but, still the best one I have seen and the one I have had the most success using.
We had time for 2 sets of Ne Waza and then called it a night at the Las Vegas Lounge for one last drink. I will have to reflect on my time at Maxercise and post some thoughts.
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