Website Review - The Grapplers Guide (Jason Scully)

Short Review: At the time of writing, The Grapplers Guide operates through a fee, $127 for lifetime access. That gets you a huge range of instructional videos, which you can also download, covering numerous techniques and positions, both gi and nogi. There are also competition videos, with insightful commentary, a range of useful articles, plus a mature discussion forum frequented by a helpful membership (there are also various black belts posting on the site).

The profile system, if you like that kind of thing, has the most options out of any I've seen to date, and I am an internet geek, so spend lots of time on forums. If you have plenty of time to look through tonnes of great information and can afford the fee, then The Grapplers Guide is a worthy investment.

Full Review: I was upgraded by the owner to premium membership in June 2008, so as with Roy Dean, the least I can do is provide a review. I first came across the Grapplers Guide when Scully posted about his new site (IIRC, founded in May 2007) over on Bullshido. Since then, the Grapplers Guide has steadily moved over to a pay-to-access model, where your fee gets you a subscription: previously it was an annual cost, then a monthly fee and now a lifetime membership. There are also regular offers on membership, with a variety of discounts, in keeping with the shifts in pricing metrics.

At present, there is a huge contest running (a member benefit Scully sets up intermittently, so this is merely the latest of many previous competitions), where the first place rewards are pretty impressive, netting you over $800 worth of prizes. That includes your choice of gi, cash, grappling shorts, various instructional DVDs, amongst an assortment of other equipment. Second and third prizes aren't bad either, worth $300 and $120 respectively.

Update June 2014: The Grapplers Guide has continued to get better and better. Scully has really beefed up the video section, with a wide range of videos covering numerous positions, especially guard. Since I began teaching in 2011, I've often used Scully's videos as reference material, such as when I taught his version of the half guard staple pass and most recently when I drew upon Scully's approach to the toe grab/old school sweep. The range of videos is comparable to some of the other online instructional sites, like BJJ Library, though Scully doesn't update quite as often (unsurprising, as it is just him working on it, as far as I'm aware).

Update Sep 2016: Since I first wrote this review, there have been lots of updates (around 4,000 new videos, for a start!). I got a long list of them from Scully, so will summarise those here. The layout has changed, with a category tree and clearer subdivisions of the various programs and areas. Scully has also been bringing in guest instructors, including Vlad Koulikov, Reilly Bodycomb, Jared Weiner and 10th planet experts. He has a new flow chart tool, GrappleFlow, with some changes to pricing too. Right now, membership cost is:

- $297 for lifetime membership
- $79 for 4 payment plan

If all that wasn't enough, there are gear discounts too. It's impressive how much Scully continues to work on his site, a lot of these kind of web projects either fizzle out after a few years, or coast along without changing anything. The Grappler's Guide definitely isn't one of those sites.

The big draw of this site is the video section. Both gi and nogi are included, with detailed coverage of techniques, position and grappling drills, both with and without a partner, as well as technique combinations. The section is divided up into articles, which will contain one or more videos. Often Scully has a sequence of videos in a single article, such as the 45 minute 'Dealing With and Breaking Grips' series. In others, it is more specific.

Update May 2020: You also get numerous other instructors on the site, which has been perhaps the biggest change since I first wrote this review. For example, here's the excellent Emily Kwok teaching:



While it is only one part of the site, this is where your money is justified, as Scully covers numerous positions with detailed instruction, both gi and nogi. To compare that with an instructional DVD, like Blue Belt Requirements ($44.95), Roy Dean gives you high quality teaching from an experienced black belt, taking you through the basics, position by position. With The Grapplers Guide, you also have an experienced, technical teacher (Scully is a brown belt at present), but there is a lot more instructional material. It isn't as methodical and immediately applicable to beginners as Dean's DVD, but in terms of sheer quantity of instruction, you get much more for your money from The Grapplers Guide.

Two significant differences are video quality, which you'd expect to be superior on a DVD, along with online content as opposed to physical merchandise. If you buy Blue Belt Requirements, you can then watch it on your DVD plauyer, whereas The Grapplers Guide hosts its videos on the site.

Having said that, if you click the arrow pointing downwards (near the volume control), you can download Grapplers Guide videos onto your computer, yours to keep: personally, I prefer having something I can access through my computer rather than having to bother with a DVD player (though naturally, you can watch DVDs on most computers anyway). This is the biggest plus point of the site for me, as that means I can then review the techniques whenever I want, whether or not I have access to the internet. The videos are all in flv format (same as YouTube and various other sites), which is small and compact, but might have compatibility issues with some media players. Personally I use Winamp, though I'd imagine you can either get codecs for your current player, or download something with inbuilt flv capability.

I especially enjoyed the competition videos with commentary: having that informed perspective massively added to the experience of watching top grapplers compete. Not only does Scully explain the events as they unfold and what the grappler in question is going for, he also carefully edits the video so you can see exactly what he is talking about through slow motion replays. Here's an example of Scully's teaching posted up on the Grapplers Guide YouTube:



You also have an impressive range of options for playing with your profile, if that kind of thing appeals to you. There is the possibility to customise the background, text, colours, borders etc, which also applies across into other areas, like the photo albums section. Interestingly, you can't link to offsite pictures, but have to go through your Grapplers Guide album (which naturally you can also just use as online storage for your photographs). It’s a fairly intuitive system, as once you've uploaded your picture into an album, you can select it from a submenu which pops up in the custom options.

The BBcode is comprehensive, with built-in embedding script for a large number of video sharing sites, as well as iframe support. You can even make a YouTube video into your avatar: I've never seen that anywhere else, so when I first joined as a free member, that really stood out as unusually swish. The video option extends to your profile too, so you can, for example, stick up a recent competition video to show people your abilities.

On top of all of this, The Grapplers Guide has a discussion forum, which is the part that used to be public access in the past. Due to the fee, there is a refreshing absence of trolls (most people, fortunately, aren't willing to pay that much just to fuck around and piss people off), which raises the tone of the site considerably. All of the members are looking to improve their grappling, which leads to informative, helpful threads. The large number of black belt posters also makes a major positive impact on the level of insight, although quite a few of the black belts on the site don't post all that often.

One mitigating circumstance that should be mentioned is Scully recently opened The Grapplers Guide Academy, meaning that not only does he have an online source of instruction, but a physical location where he teaches as well. This must take up a great deal of his time, with the result (I assume) that in the period I've been a premium member so far, there have been less updates than there normally would be.

So keeping that in mind, threads in the 'Questions and Answers Through Video' forum are normally answered quickly and thoroughly. Many of the current videos were generated by questions in that forum. More recently, its been a bit slower, but that's explained by Scully's busy offline life. Not long before I polished off this review, he promptly responded to a PM I sent about a thread I'd put up in that subforum, asking if he had any thoughts (because nobody had responded yet, which is rare in the 'Questions and Answers Through Video' section). Hopefully I'll get to see a video dealing with open guard against a standing opponent in the future, because as anyone who reads my blog regularly will know, that's one of my major problems at the moment.

Speaking of blogs, there is a part of the website you can use for blogging, with the usual vbBulletin options (as far as I'm aware: seen a similar set-up on other forums, like the Heathen Hangout). Much to my pleasure, you again have the option of using iframes in that section, which means I could put up my main blogspot: using RSS or iframes is far preferable to copy and pasting the same thing all over the place.

There is a helpful product review section too, where the mature, thoughtful tone of the site shines through. A few are ones Scully has simply copied over from other sites, especially when you look through older threads, but certainly now they are provided by the Grapplers Guide membership.

My overall impression up to this point is that the wealth of grappling resources available to you on The Grapplers Guide is probably worth your time and money, if you compare it with a DVD set like Saulo Riberio's BJJ Revolution ($130). The Grapplers Guide covers a comparable range of positions and techniques, with a continually expanding resource library. Your fee goes a long way, giving you full access to a large (and increasing) number of detailed instructional videos, along with all the excellent advice spread throughout the forum, the high quality presentation, numerous interactive options and frequent competitions for members. I'm not sure what incentives Scully will develop in order to grow his membership, though he does regularly add more videos and content. It will be interesting to see how this site progresses in coming years.

To finish, here's an advert for The Grapplers Guide Scully has up on YouTube:

25/09/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #182



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 25/09/2008 - Advanced

No technique tonight, just sparring. I didn't manage to stand up so much as yesterday in guard passage, getting into a defensive mode again. So, will have to make sure I don't allow myself to slip into the comfort zone of sitting back and keeping my elbows by my knees, shifting around to free my arms if and when they get yanked out of position.

Underneath, I'm still trying to get into that two-on-one position for the sweep, but continue to have trouble stretching my partner out. I felt slightly increased control when attempting to hook their legs, but generally they either passed, or I ended up in half-guard. In that position, I'm aiming to get up on my side, with my torso on the trapped leg side so I can try to take their back. I've sort of got to the right place a few times now, but can't quite make that final step to popping up onto their back. However, better than just squirming ineffectually under half guard until they pass.

Under side control I also wasn't being too active, though I did at least make an attempt to go to my knees (which merely resulted in Helen passing to mount fairly easily). I was trying to concentrate on tucking my elbow into their armpit to stop it being so vulnerable, as well as developing the habit of gripping their shoulder. However, the arm wasn't the problem today, as instead I was having to escape lots of choke attempts, particularly Helen and Bruno. I need to pay greater attention when my gi is being pulled across my neck, as at present I think I'm too complacent in preventing my partner from getting that hold on the fabric.

On top of side control, I'm continuing to work for scarf hold. Again, while I could get to scarf hold, I had trouble properly controlling the arm, which I wanted to trap with my legs so I could step over for a triangle position. I felt as though I was able to at least hold scarf for a while, but I'm sure a lot of that is down to size difference.

Various things I need to keep in mind, like keeping my head and shoulder down close, which also applied to when I got stuck in half-guard. Couldn't manage to pass, though I did almost get my foot through: I'm still pretty bad at freeing the leg, even when the other person is going relatively light (Helen was actively telling me to just point my toes and pull the foot through, but even with coaching I couldn't release my limb).

Rear mount, as ever, is not a good position for me. I implemented tips like keeping my head close to theirs, but even so Helen didn't have much difficulty spinning out. I also went for the body triangle, but immediately got leg locked. Helen gave me a useful tip on avoiding that, which is to tuck your foot underneath their leg, rather than leaving it dangling for them to trap and submit. I was able to get round to mount a couple of times, but got absolutely nowhere with the choke from the back, and also failed miserably to move into armbar position. Again, I'm assuming the size difference was a factor too, as otherwise I doubt I would have been able to get on top in such a sloppy fashion.

I had a long chat with Helen before free sparring, which was cool, as I've been wanting to ask her more about her PhD. She'll soon begin teaching a course at university. On a BJJ note, I was also interested in why she held her hands out in front of her with the elbows tucked in while we did side-stepping during the warm-up. The reason was a sensible one: its to ingrain good habits like keeping your hands up and elbows tight. I very much like the idea of making every movement in class directly beneficial to BJJ, so that's something I think I'll start doing myself. Maybe we could start a trend?

Sparring with Bruno was mostly from underneath, though as usual he went light and eventually let his instructor instinct take over, coaching me through an arm triangle. He emphasised getting your shoulder near theirs and pressing down, using your weight to effect the submission.

With Tanvir, I spent a lot of time in half-guard, again attempting to get to one side and move round to the back. I have to be careful of bad habits, like using the wrong arm, which could lead to getting my own back taken or some kind of submission. I also tried to sweep, but didn't get too far. Annoyingly, my calf cramped up again when I was trying to adjust my half-guard: still not sure if that's lack of sleep, crap diet, too much force through one muscle, or a combination of all three.

Back in October 2006, when I was getting the initial sales pitch from then-secretary Pippa, she gave me a piece of paper detailing all the benefits of signing up to the 'Blue Belt Package'. Included in that list was a Roger Gracie Academy handbook: unfortunately when I did put down my signature, they didn't have any in stock, so Pippa said I could wait for the next batch. Tonight, I at last got my hands on one, which I've been looking forward to a while: interesting to see what kind of things are emphasised in the manual.

There is a lot of emphasis on ethical conduct, with several parts that I assume are directly influenced by Carlos Gracie Jr's philosophy. For example, there is a clearly laid out minimum time for belt progression, which looks similar to the one up on various Gracie Barra websites. Also, there are some clear elements of judo tenets, going right back to Kano's original precepts: maximum efficiency and mutual welfare (Ray Stevens influence, perhaps?). Excellent principles, so it was nice to see them cropping up throughout the handbook.

Particular quotes that jumped out at me were "there is no winning and losing in randori", which was great to read as that's been my mantra since I started. At the same time, a couple of points which I haven't quite taken to heart: "act now, think and analyze later" (I doubt I could ever shake off my tendency to analyze everything, even if I wanted to), "never refuse a training partner" (I do that all the time, either because I'm tired or I'm not convinced of their control) and "never adopt a defensive posture." Food for thought.

There's also a brief historical chunk included towards the start, which will provide me with another source for my BJJ history. Always looking for more reputable sources, no matter how small.

24/09/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #181



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 24/09/2008 - Advanced

I'll be spending all of next week near Warwick Uni, in order to help my girlfriend settle in both to our new place near campus, as well as her return to education. So, that means I won't be getting in any training at the Roger Gracie Academy that week, but I should hopefully be heading back to Warwick Judo, after three years away.

In 2005, I picked up a shoulder injury in my third judo class, which took months to heal: that has made me wary of returning until now. I'm hopeful that my greater experience with grappling should mean I'll be ok this time round, but we shall see. I'll also get the chance to finally return to fencing, which I've been away from for much longer: my last lesson was at school in about 1994, I think. Should be fun. Might give archery a go too, but not sure if the times will match up.

Also, I came across two especially interesting from my usual lunchtime wander through my Google Reader. Firstly, Al from Chasing the Blue put up this interesting post on Rickson. Secondly, BJJ Asia embedded a YouTube trailer for a Renzo documentary that looks really awesome:



Tonight Jude again went through spider guard sweeps, though different from the last set we did. For the first spider guard sweep, you start in the usual position of one foot straightened into their bicep, gripping the sleeve, while the other foot presses into the other bicep, but with a bent leg. As before, switch position on the legs then kick out the bent leg to break their grip on your trouser leg. With your now free foot, bring that underneath their opposite thigh, swivelling your body round.

Push the leg that you still have straightened into their other bicep, aiming to bring your own foot past your head: this should off-balance them and force them to step forward. That will bring their same side leg in range of your other hand, which you can then wrap around their knee, gripping slightly above the kneecap. Your other foot disengages from the bicep, joining your first shin under their thigh, while using your sleeve grip, you pull that same arm across their body.

Feed the sleeve to your other hand, so that you can then grab their same side heel with your now free hand. Press forwards with your legs, also lifting their other knee and pulling back on the heel, which should knock them down. Make sure you drive forward with your hips as you follow them up, sliding your knee over their leg to move into half guard.

Get your weight forward, wrapping one arm behind their head, then move your other hand to link up with the first (still maintain your hold around their leg: they will be stretched out uncomfortably as you press forward). Finally, use your free leg to push on their leg, which will enable you to release your trapped foot, securing side control.

The next spider guard sweep proceeds in the same way as before, but this time they drop their knee before you can get both feet underneath that thigh. You can still sweep them: like last time, bring the foot of the leg you have straightened into their bicep over your head in order to force them to step forward.

Wrap up that leg with your same side arm, then shift onto your side. Also as before, bring their arm across their body by pulling on their sleeve, then switch it to the hand around their leg. Your non-hooked leg is going to chop their knee, like you were doing a scissor sweep, while you use your free hand to grab a handful of gi material near their same side armpit. Lift their leg with your arm, bring your free leg chopping into their knee and pull on that gi material, sweeping them to your side whereupon you can move into side control.

In guard passage today I made a concerted effort to try and stand up with all my sparring partners. Definitely did better on that score than normal, as I didn't just sit there in guard, though I did of course get either swept, armbarred or triangle swiftly after getting to my feet. I'm probably leaving my arm out too much, but either way, the only way I'm going to finally overcome my awful guard passage is by failing repeatedly, making small improvements until I get it right.

I did start on my back, but was soon passed by Ted, a guy not too far off my size who I think trains at the Budokwai as well. I was attempting to pull on the sleeve with both my hands and get my foot into the same side hip, so I could effect that sweep sequence Nick showed us recently, but I'm not keeping my elbows tight enough. I'm also not managing to really push with that foot to bend them at the waist, which would break their posture and make them easier to sweep.

Same thing happened in free sparring with Helen, where I spent much of my time in half-guard. I was attempting to get my torso to the same side as the leg I'd trapped, which I did eventually manage, but then couldn't capitalise once I'd gotten onto my arm and legs, simply getting stuffed underneath Helen. I then had a go at a triangle, trying to move to an armbar when I failed to cinch it on right, but Helen walked right through it, rolling me underneath her. I still had a sort-of reverse triangle vaguely in place by her head, but she was in no danger of being choked, taking little trouble to shrug it off.

With Yas, I was mainly in scarf hold. My aim there was to trap her arm under my leg, then step over her head to wrap up a triangle, after which I could attack the far arm, squeezing for a choke if that didn't work. While I could trap the arm, I couldn't seem to step over: Yas' other arm defended, and I couldn't seem to work out how to get my leg into position. I also had trouble switching to back to side control, generally going immediately back to scarf hold as I could feel her escaping. After several switches, I then had a go at moving into reverse scarf hold, but messed it up, landing me under Yas' side control instead.

Kev was my final sparring partner, where this time I was the one under scarf hold. I struggled to escape, almost getting locked into a kimura (I pushed on the arm to knock him forward to get out, but he was going light anyway), then eventually got stuck in an Ezekiel choke (I think). Tried to bridge out of that, but it was too tight. I need to watch my arms under side control, as Kev was able to shift one across my throat, which made escaping difficult, and I also need to keep a shoulder off the ground, then bridge and shrimp more.

Roger was sitting on the sidelines, but wasn't training: possibly due that injury that unfortunately scuppered the MMA fight he was going to do? Christina's arm is still a bit tender, but she was training today anyway, though being careful not to make it any worse. Hopefully she'll make a full recovery soon, so she can get back to mercilessly crushing me with her guard passes. ;)

19/09/2008 - BJJ (No-Gi)

Class #180



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 19/09/2008 - No-Gi

Elastoplast spray-on plaster definitely isn't suitable for the kind of mat and gi burns you get in BJJ, at least on the fingers. The liquid dribbles off your finger, so you can't get a sufficiently thick film to cover your exposed skin. Tried it again before training, but without positive results. So that means its back to zinc oxide tape for me, although I'll give the spray-on plaster another chance if I get mat burn on my feet (might find better purchase on a broader area like that).

I will be making it to that friend's party on Saturday, so that meant I could make the Friday no-gi class. As is often the case at no-gi, the focus was on takedowns, all from a clinch. Before we got started on technique, Jude emphasised that you should get into the habit of defending your front leg with the same side arm, which helps when blocking your partner's shoot.

For the first takedown, you have a hand on their tricep and a hand on their head, while they have the same grip on you. Cup their elbow with your tricep hand, lifting it up and over your head (the motion is like you're brushing something off your hair, as you want their arm all the way past your head). At the same time drop your opposite knee to the outside of their leg (again, on the side you gripped their tricep).

From there, you'll move round to their side, switching to your other knee to get around their leg, then shooting your same side arm around their leg. Get the crook of your elbow right up against the back of their knee, then gable grip your other hand. Stand up, raising their leg, making sure that your head is on the inside of their leg: otherwise, your head is vulnerable. Press your forehead just below their chest and into the rib, driving forward to knock them down.

The next takedown is from a slightly different position. This time, you have a grip on their tricep, but your other arm is defending your same side leg: they are facing you in the same position, mirroring your stance. Again pull their tricep arm over your head, then knock their defending arm to the side.

Drop your knee, then immediately switch and move around their back. Grab around one arm and their torso, securing a gable grip: your head will also be pressed into their side. Drive with your head and pull in with your gable grip, also pushing with your hip, breaking their posture so you can bring them to the floor.

If when you drive forward they wrap up your head for a guillotine, you can still do a takedown. Switch your grips so that you have arms around the backs of their knees, then take them down with a double leg, stepping out with your leg to facilitate the takedown.

After a bit of specific sparring which mainly involved Oli going into instructor mode (always very much appreciated, as I don't know what the hell I'm doing with takedown sparring), it was time for free sparring. I got in three rolls, all relatively similar. I spent much of it trying to escape side control, where like yesterday, I wanted to go to my knees more often. Swivelling into position is much easier in no-gi, as there is far less friction, and it makes escapes generally easier.

I also spent a lot of time in half-guard with all three of my training partners, where I tried to get my body all on one side so I could go for the back. Almost got there on Zaf, but he was able to counter. When on top, I found it impossible to get past Zaf's half-guard, as I couldn't free my leg. I tried to drive my head and shoulder into his head and raise my trapped knee, but to no avail.

With Richard, I noticed that I found it equally impossible to secure any kind of grip. While my training partners were all strong enough to basically grab a wrist and drag my arm around, I'm too weedy to attempt the same. I did try overhooking arms and pulling them in, but couldn't get it tight enough, so they slipped right out.

Then there is the problem of leglocks. I'd forgotten about those, as it doesn't happen much in gi, but as usual tapped immediately. I'm not taking any risks with dangerous submissions like that, so I'd rather restart than potentially fuck up my lower body. Of course, if there is a chance I can escape, like the hold is loose and I could push on their bum, then I'll give that a go, but I'm very trigger happy on tapping to leglocks.

Some potentially awesome news for Warwick Uni students: one of the guys on Facebook is planning to ask Braulio to see if he could start a BJJ club at the University of Warwick. If you're a student at Warwick, register your interest here. I enjoy the Warwick Uni BJJ group we've been running so far, but that's very intermittent: a proper class would obviously be way better. So, hopefully Braulio is up for it, but we'll wait and see. If not, then I was planning to go back to judo for the first time in three years anyway, so that should be a big help to my grappling, particularly stand-up.

18/09/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #179



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 18/09/2008 - Advanced

As all that open guard yesterday once again ripped the skin off my finger knuckle, I finally had a chance to use the Elastoplast spray-on plaster I bought a while back, after Zaf recommended it. Unfortunately, I don't think I applied it correctly: first time a bit dribbled vaguely onto my finger, while my two attempts to do it properly just fizzed a slightly larger puddle onto the finger joint. I need to try it again, with a more forceful, prolonged spray, to give it a proper test.

Jude's session would provide plenty of opportunity for abrasion, as it was all about spider guard. I can feel the soreness in the tips of my fingers as I type this from all the gripping. All techniques tonight, as yesterday, were sweeps, which is great as my open guard remains almost entirely useless (though not as bad as my even more terrible guard passing: more on that later).

After giving out a general tip on spider guard (always have one leg pushed straight into their arm and the other back: if they're both back, you're asking to be stacked and passed, if they're both forward, your partner will simply pull your legs to the floor then pass that way), we moved on to the first sweep.

This initial spider guard sweep is for when the other person hasn't yet stood up, but has one knee raised. They have a grip on your trouser legs, while you have one leg straightened out and pressing into their arm (on the same side as the leg they have raised up), while the other is pulled back. First thing you need to do is free your straightened leg. To do that, bring your straight leg back and your other leg straight, then kick out the first leg, breaking their grip. That means you can then use the momentum of swivelling the legs, to immediately bring your free leg and wrap it around their raised leg.

Your other leg will now be pressing on their hip, while you maintain a firm grip on their same side arm. Raise up, then bring their same side arm underneath their raised leg, feeding the sleeve through to your opposite arm. Use that hold to drag their arm right across their body, while with your other arm you'll grip over their back (make sure you bring the arm around the far side of their head, or they can resist the sweep) and pull there too. Then with your free leg push on their knee, while at the same side raising their hooked knee up with your foot. This will roll them to one side, whereupon you can move into side control.

The same principle works when they stand up. The spider guard sweep will operate in a similar fashion, again freeing your foot by kicking out of their grip. As before, use the same leg to hook behind their knee, feeding the same side sleeve underneath their knee and through to your other hand. You will also need to push with your other foot against their knee, breaking their posture.

Drag their arm right across their body, as before: as you're pulling them down, that will also make it easier to get the same grip across their back. Keep pushing on their other knee, then like the first sweep, pull on the arm and back of their gi while lifting their knee for the sweep.

A more basic spider guard sweep leads into the final variation. The basic version is to first free a foot from your partner's grip, then push your other leg as straight and high as possible into their arm. Drag their opposite arm firmly across their body, using the leg you just released to chop against their knee to sweep them over.

The complicated version switches the legs around. They have a raised knee, but this time, you are going to free the opposite foot. Hook that under the raised knee, then as with the basic sweep, get the remaining foot you have in their bicep as straight and high as possible, dragging their opposite arm right across their body. Lift up on the knee and sweep them over, then you have to kind of kick across their body to land in side control, with a rather acrobatic motion compared to previously.

I had difficulty generating the momentum to roll them over, and also ended up falling into half guard when trying to complete the sweep. Still, very useful to have some more open guard options, as judging by my woeful specific sparring yesterday, something I very much need.

Equally woeful was my guard passing today, though that's nothing new. The problem is the usual one of not confidently standing up and pushing forward. Instead, I kept going into defensive mode, effectively waiting to be swept. Like Jude said when I sparred him, you do need to actually try and pass. I made some half-hearted attempts at standing up, but inevitably collapsed back to my knees if I wasn't immediately swept. Main thing is to force myself to stand: whether I then get swept or not, I'll never develop good guard passing if I don’t feel comfortable getting to my feet, so needs to be done.

Free sparring revolved around my favoured escapes, sitting under side control looking to better my forearm position, then work to extricate myself or move on top. I tried to go to my knees a few times, which sort of worked, but it was rather sloppy, and I never got sufficient purchase on a knee to drive forward (though I should have been driving forward with greater force anyway). That was the case for smaller partners like Helen and for bigger people like Owen. Still, I'm glad I'm at least starting to make the attempt to go to knees more often, rather than spending the entire spar lying under side control waiting for something to happen.

Tran's side control escape worked a couple of times on Joanna, but generally I was shrimping away or trying to get to knees, which led to some awkward positions with Owen (such as where I almost neck-cranked myself as he briefly had me in a sort of crucifix type thing, I think. Not entirely sure on the terminology), whereas Helen simply took my back. I also, again as usual, spent plenty of time in half guard, though Owen released my grip by effectively attacking the foot, meaning I couldn't hold the position.

My spray-on plaster didn't make it past drilling, have already come off after we'd gone through spider guard. I'm hoping that was just because both quantity and accuracy were lacking, but will see if spraying for longer and with greater care makes a difference next time. The headguard, on the other hand, held up well, and again I didn't find it especially uncomfortable. At one point, when Owen had my head between his knees in north-south, it saved my ears from a crushing (though then again, that might have meant I would have responded differently had I been bereft of the plastic armour round my head).

Just as the warm-down finished, Jude decided to extend the session by having the white belts from the beginners class do guard passage with us. I got a big guy who (judging by the name on his gi) was called Rami. Fortunately, he was relatively controlled: I didn't get much on him except a scissor sweep. I was able to stick him in half-guard for much of the specific spar, but I don't think he's had much experience with it yet, so that's presumably why he found it difficult to pass (my leg cramped up part-way through again, but recovered enough that I could hold a loose triangle on the leg).

Also gave me a chance to try and work for that two-on-one grip Nick spoke about yesterday, then attempt to break their posture by pulling forward, elbows in tight, and pushing on the hip. I couldn't quite get into position, but if I at least develop the habit of trying the two-on-one, should be beneficial in the long run.

On top, I again was completely unable to do anything. He swept me with an elevator, I think, and reversed me some other way later on, IIRC. I sat in defensive posture for a while too, which perplexed him: he asked what I was doing with my hands (which were on my head, ready to defend against chokes), so I guess the beginners tend to stick with offence.

Might train tomorrow in the Friday nogi (though I'll have to wear a t-shirt, as my rash guard is up in Birmingham), but depends on weekend arrangements. I'm hoping to go to a friend's party on Saturday – therefore leaving the Friday free for training - but bureaucratic annoyances with moving house may scupper those plans.

17/09/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #178



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 17/09/2008 - Advanced

I came down with some kind of illness last week, which annoyingly meant I didn't get any training in. On the other hand, that's the first week I've had off training since getting my blue belt in February, so could be worse. Shame though, as I was looking forward to trying out my new headguard (earguard? Still not sure what the proper term is: I've seen both, though the latter probably makes more sense as its for protecting the ears rather than the head).

On a random technical note, I noticed recently that this blog looks horrible in Internet Explorer. As it’s a generally crappy browser, I avoid IE, but I'm forced to use it at work (presumably they have to code in various blocks and the like to annoy people trying to read Bullshido, who instead get a Websense page because apparently Bullshido is 'violent'. Grr). If you have the choice, you should really be browsing with Firefox: way better, and the tables don't all get whacked out of place like in IE.

I love listening to podcasts, and had a new one to check out recently (or at least one episode: I don't think this particular podcast is generally focused on martial arts). Well-known internet poster and SAMBO instructor SamboSteve appeared on LA Talk Radio a little while ago. Check out the show here. He's one of a number of guests, who also discuss topics like MMA, competition and martial arts cinema.

Tonight Nick showed us two open guard sweeps, helpfully strung together off the same position. I think the first one is called the tripod sweep, but I'm not completely sure on that. You start from closed guard, immediately getting both your hands gripping one of their sleeves, bringing your elbows in tight. Then your partner stands up, while you stay clinging on: finding that they have a strong base you can't break down, you bail to open guard, still maintaining that two-on-one grip, immediately pressed a foot firmly into their hip. Combined with your sleeve grip, this should bend them in half, making it more difficult for them to prepare a pass.

Hook your other foot behind their same side knee, then switch your other hand to grip their free leg, by the heel. You can now complete the sweep by simultaneously pushing on their hip, pulling on their heel and yanking back on their knee. As they fall back, make sure you keep that hold on their sleeve, pulling it tight: this will stop them posting on that hand or elbow. You can also use it to bring yourself forward. To further aid passing through to mount or half-guard, bring your pushing leg back to trap their shin, then slide into position on top.

If that doesn't work, you can try another open guard sweep. You're in position, ready to pull/push/pull with your three limbs, but their base is too strong. That is the time to try a different tactic, removing your hold on their heel, so you can switch your grip on their sleeve to that hand. You're then going to swing the leg you had behind their knee all the way to their other foot, keeping it close to the floor: your aim is to chop their leg out from under them. At the same time, you're going to push with your other foot (which is still on their hip), while using your other hand to yank on their same side foot (note: don't fling that foot straight into your face, which is what I did the first time round. Hurts!)

We followed that up with sparring from open guard, a position I'm still struggling with. I think my big problem continues to be a lack of proactivity and clear goals. I'm much happier when I can settle, establish grips and limb positioning, like under side control. Open guard doesn't allow that, as you have to keep moving, which is difficult for a person of my temperament, who likes to slow things down, analyse and plan the next move.

Instead, I should be immediately establishing a grip (e.g., the two-on-one we were shown tonight), then working for a sweep, not allowing my partner to get a good base, constantly trying to break them down. My first goal should be to get that grip, then I can build on top of that. This would at least give me a sweep to aim for, so I'm going to try and approach open guard like that next time.

The same is true on top, as again I'm trying to settle into a position and think about my next move, while my partner keeps working and sweeps me. My guard passing is terrible in general, but its even worse from open guard: in closed guard, I can at least fall back into defensive mode, but that option is taken away in open guard.

Yasmine and Christina provided an interesting contrast, as while Christina stays really tight and applies lots of pressure, Yas is relatively, staying very mobile, shifting round quickly to exploit any openings. They both had no trouble passing my guard, whereas the same could not be said for me when the situation was reversed. I did manage to sweep Yas with an elevator (I think) at one point, hooking her leg and lifting it up while dragging her arm down and trapping the other leg, but it was rather lucky in that I happened to catch her off-balance, and there is also the weight discrepancy to consider.

Free sparring started with Herman, who has definitely gotten much tougher to roll with over the last few months. He felt a lot tighter, and I had more trouble escaping. I also couldn't suck him into my guard and work for the kimura, which is what I used to frequently do in previous spars. I did eventually get on top and try to pass half-guard, trying to use my shoulder and skull to limit his head movement, but wasn't able to get my leg free. However, I'm glad I have those technical tips from Bruno and Helen to aim for when in top half-guard.

Helen was up next, but like me she's just come back from an illness, so we kept things fairly light. That would probably explain why I was able to spin out of side control back to guard: normally the side control would be far too tight for that. Indeed, that proved to be the case later on, when I found that she trapped me securely between her elbows and knees, so that it was difficult for me to make enough space to escape.

I put the forearm positioning tips from Christina, Kev and Bruno to use, trying to keep my elbow out of danger by tucking it under their armpit, but still needs some work to reduce the vulnerability to kimuras and Americanas.

The class finished on both a good and bad note. Christina unfortunately got injured in her last roll, possibly dislocating her elbow due to getting her arm stuck behind her at an awkward angle. Hopefully she recovers soon: she seemed in less pain at the end of class, so will have to see how the injury responds to the usual RICE (rest, ice, compress, elevate) method of recuperation.

The good news was that a much deserved blue belt was finally awarded. After over two years of training, Herman at long last got to move up from white belt, which was really great to see. His job involves extended periods of travel, which makes consistent training difficult, so cool that even with those obstacles, he has still managed to develop the skill to earn a blue belt.

My headguard felt ok rolling and drilling, though it does make your head a little hot, reduce hearing and you also have to watch how much you tighten the chin strap. I think it got loosened during rolling, but not entirely sure. Still, I was pretty happy with how comfortable it felt, as I didn't find myself desperate to fling it off. Once I've rolled with it for another month or two, I'll be able to stick up a review. I also need to stick some masking tape or something on it, as quite a few people have the same Brute Shockwave earguard: need to distinguish mine so I don't accidentally pick up somebody else's.

Roy Dean fans will be interested to hear that his next DVD, about wristlocks, is getting towards completion. He put up a post about the cover here: should be interesting, as I can't think of other DVDs which try to incorporate aikido into BJJ.

Skiing Lesson

SnowDome (Skiing), Andy, Tamworth, UK – 13/09/2008

I came down with some kind of flu this week, so wasn't able to make it to BJJ class (meaning that the below has absolutely nothing to do with BJJ: ignore if you're not interested in skiing ;p). However, I did still get some physical activity, as my girlfriend booked us in for a skiing lesson at the SnowDome in Tamworth. Normally that would be a hefty £57 each, but thanks to a voucher, it was a rather more affordable £15. As ever, I approached it like BJJ, so took plenty of notes (hence why I've written up this post). Also, given the normal cost, I wasn't sure when I was next going to get on a pair of skis, so I wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything.

Getting to the Snow Dome itself is fairly straightforward for Birmingham, as there is a train to Tamworth from Birmingham New Street. After that you head to the castle Pleasure Grounds, where there are signs to the SnowDome: huge leisure complex, over a bridge. Of course, the map I printed out took us on a completely different and much less scenic route: clearly going by the postcode wasn't the best plan! If I hadn't done that, probably would have only taken us about 15 minutes or so by foot.

Heading downstairs, I was immediately grateful my girlfriend had warned me about dressing up warm: there is an instant and steep drop in temperature (unsurprising given that the SnowDome gets its name from the actual snow slope in the middle). You pick up your skis and boots (no poles: I presume those are for more advanced skiiers?) from a desk, after which we waited for Andy, our instructor. There were six other people in the group, which Andy seemed to think was pretty small: however, any bigger and we wouldn't have had much time to all have a go. You can do private lessons, but they're obviously much more expensive.

Our session (lessons one and two, combined into a two hour chunk) was for absolute beginners: while my girlfriend had been skiing before (although that was a good ten years ago), this was my first time. That meant Andy went from the very basics, starting with how to put on a ski. There is a little contraption in the middle of the ski, which you slot your boot into, starting with the toe, then stamping down with your heel to fix it in place. There is an automatic release – apparently adjusted to the height and weight measurements you gave when you picked up the ski from the desk – or you can press down on a lever to free your boot.

Our two hours were mainly spent on a small corner of the slope, cordoned off by some foam barriers, learning about posture, balance and braking. The bottom of the ski is smooth, but around the edge there is a metal rim, which is used for grip. Pressing either the outer or inner edge (which Andy also referred to as "little toe" and "big toe" respectively") into the snow meant you could crab-walk sideways.

We did a great deal of crab-walking, as the format of the lesson was that the eight students lined up on the slope, with the one at the top walking forwards then skiing back down to the end of the line. It’s a bit hard on your knees standing with your feet slanted inwards and knee leaning to the side, so something my legs would need to get used to. Also, I assume that normally you don't do that sideways walk quite so much, as you'd be using ski lifts and the like to go higher up.

Once you're at the top of the line and have shuffled forward into place, pressing an edge into the snow to stop slipping, you take a sidestep with your right. This gives you the room to then take a big step with your left, swivelling your heel out and toes in: your left ski will now be perpendicular to your right. Then take a much smaller step with your right heel (towards your left), followed by another large step with your left.

The aim is to get your skis into a triangular position, with about a fist's width of space between the tips. This is called the 'snow-plough' (or snow plow, depending on your spelling), and is used for braking. Having got into the snow-plough, lean forward so that your nose is in front of your toes, with your hands on your knees, then shuffled forward until you start to slide down the slope. Make sure you keep the tips parallel: if one goes in front, you're liable to start spinning in that direction and veer off to the side.

To slow down, make a bigger triangle by moving your heels out. Don't give in to the natural inclination, which is leaning your body backwards: this will actually make you go faster. Keep leaning forward and slightly bend your knees, so you have some flex in your legs. You can also use the edges again for grip, pressing with either the inside or outside of your foot.

After we had practiced that a few times in our line up, also doing things like jumping up and down, or trying not to crash into Andy as he walked in front of us to practice braking, we went on to the main slope. There is a rope you hold onto which pulls you up the slope. However, as I discovered later, you need to be careful when turning off that slope to the point you want to exit. If your skis aren't completely facing towards the other side of the slope, you'll start sliding backwards.

By that point, I think I'd got the hang of sliding down the slope very slowly in a straight line, widening and narrowing the triangle of my skis to adjust my speed. If I want to ski without supervision, I'll need to attend lessons three and four, where they show you how to turn, improve your control and let you go from the top of the slope. I don't fancy spending £57, however, so may be waiting for the next voucher, or possibly look into options at university. Maybe they have a subsidised winter sports club or something?

06/09/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #177



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 06/09/2008 - Advanced

I got a bit wet last night walking home from the station (about 50 minutes or: no lift, meaning I had to rely on my legs instead), so my shoes and bag hadn't quite dried out by this morning. I'm not sure if that was why my gi was also slightly damp: annoying, as I washed that back on Wednesday and hung it up, so should have been fine by now. On top of that, there was no food in the house: that had to wait until after my return journey to the station. Once I finally got there (fortunately it didn't rain this time round), I scoffed a less-than-extensive breakfast consisting of an apple and a banana. Few hours later, managed to grab a chicken baguette and a Nutrigrain bar.

All in all, not the best way to prepare for a load of BJJ sparring. No technique tonight, just rolling straight after the warm-up. Things kicked off for me with Tanvir, where I again worked towards what is becoming a favoured top position for me, the scarf hold. Nick G was watching, and mentioned afterwards that I was leaving my rear leg too far back, putting it at risk of being hooked by my partner's leg.

However, Tanvir wasn't aware of that escape, so I was able to push his arm down then step over his head to lock in a triangle (which I learned a while ago during a nogi class). I had intended to use that mainly as a distraction, working for an Americana, but didn't have Tanvir's arm in the right position. He managed to keep his elbow in towards his side, and I couldn't seem to work out how to put the arm into the required right-angle. That brings me to the obvious advantage of the step-over triangle position: if you can't get the arm, then you can always try squeezing for the submission instead.

At another point, I saw an opportunity to attempt the triangle from guard Jude showed on Thursday. I got the cross-grip and put my knee through, but I think the part I missed was properly stretching Tanvir out. While I managed to get my legs into place for the triangle, it wasn't at all tight, and my knee wasn't close to his head, leaving him some space. Probably should have raised my hips more too. I also couldn't transition to the armbar, so ended up switching back to closed guard before he escaped completely (a sequence that happens quite often on the rare occasions when I actually attempt a triangle).

Next I had a roll with Yas, where I spent most of my time trying to work out what to do with mount. I walked my knees up into her armpits, pushing on her head to get them as high as possible, but once there, couldn't do anything else. Being in a dominant position is very unnatural for me, as I spend the vast majority of my time attempting escapes. That means that I'm really, really bad at finishing from the top. I decided to just try something, lifting up Yas' head to see if I could slip my leg under and go for another triangle.

I left way too much space and didn't set it up at all properly, so Yas easily escape, slapping on a triangle of her own (a reverse triangle, I think). She didn't quite have it cinched in, so I could resist without too much discomfort, but at the same time I wasn't sure how best to escape. Mainly tried holding her leg and driving my weight forward, but that largely resulted in a stalemate rather than an escape.

After a nice long chat with Yas (stuff like commenting how small people like us often find it difficult from mount, how to get more women involved in BJJ, and the growing success of the club she runs with her partner Kev, the Roger Gracie Academy Aylesbury), I had a roll with Indra. Similarly to Yas, I again found myself in a top position, this time half-guard, and as before couldn't press through to pass. However, with the helpful tips I got from Helen and Bruno this week, I think I am at least understand the top half guard a bit better. Eventually ended up underneath Indra's mount, which is where time ran out.

My final sparring partner was Kev: that meant that everybody I rolled with today was around my size, which again goes to show the range of people at RGA. Definitely one of its biggest advantages, in my view. Kev took it easy on me, so I spent the roll either under side control, mount, scarf hold or his knee-on-belly. I feel ok under mount and side control, but have more trouble working out how to escape scarf hold and knee on belly. Fortunately I've been shown escapes for those positions before, so good reminder to go take another look back through the blog.

As the roll was light, we ended up carrying over in the next sparring session. Back in the changing room, I asked Kev about the positioning of the arm when trying to escape side control. This builds on Christina's advice to protect that arm better, as she kept putting me in Americanas, while Bruno suggested tucking the elbow into their armpit. Kev provided a useful approach to getting it there, starting by grabbing their near shoulder. Use that grip to then bring your elbow into position, keeping the arm as tight as possible while you do so. The grip gives you a base to work from, and also helps to protect against submissions: if they try to control your arm, that grip will assist resistance.

Back to normal again next week, hopefully, with Wednesday and Thursday. Having not eaten a whole lot today, I just enjoyed a lovely steak and kidney pie and a load of chips. Gotta love that English cuisine: pie is awesome. :D

04/09/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #176



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Jude Samuel, London, UK - 04/09/2008 - Advanced

I was a bit down earlier today, but BJJ totally lifted my mood. It’s a great sport for taking your mind off stresses in daily life, meaning you can concentrate on the finer points of a side control escape or guard pass instead. I also had an interesting chat with Helen, an English Lit PhD, which further cheered me up.

At lunchtime today I decided to buy myself a headguard (or earguard, whatever the common term is), plumping for the Brute Shockwave, as it was recommended on EFN. I considered buying it from the US, but postage meant it would still be around £30, which is what it would cost from a UK supplier. In the end, I went with good ol eBay, where it was more like £20. Will be interested to see what its like to roll with one of those on.

Jude started off with a triangle from guard I think I've seen before, but always good to get a reminder. First, cross-grip their sleeve, then on that same side, grab their knee with your free hand. Place your same side foot on their hip and shrimp out, making enough space to get your other knee through (making sure you go inside their arm, not outside: otherwise they could gain control of your leg).

Press your knee into their chest to make some more space, then push them right back with your foot (I wasn't sure if you push on the chest, shoulder or arm: I think the arm, but will have to check the last time I wrote this technique up). Pull on their cross-gripped sleeve at the same time to stretch them out, then raise your hips. This should put you in position to lock in a triangle, bringing one leg behind their neck, then locking your other leg over your ankle, squeezing and pulling on the head if necessary.

We were then shown an open guard sweep, for when they're trying to pass under your leg. They have a shoulder into your leg, with their knee up and ready to press into your other leg. Cross-grip their sleeve, grab the gi pants of the leg with the raised knee, and bring the leg they're pushing with their shoulder to the other side of their head.

Now push with the leg on their shoulder, while also pushing with the leg by their knee, pulling on their gi trouser and finally using the cross grip to knock them over. Move to their side, lifting their leg so you don't crush your own foot, then turn towards their legs to secure side control. Make sure you do not turn in the other direction, as otherwise your partner will be able to take your back.

Last technique was a sort of omoplata from open guard, but I don't think I understood it properly. It starts from that same position, where they're trying to pass under your leg. Instead of putting them on their back, you knock them to the side so that they end up on all fours. This is the first part that confused me: I'm not sure if you're suppose to yank your cross-grip to off-balance them in one direction, or use your legs.

Looking around at what other people were doing, there was definitely a point where you raised up just before knocking them over, but I'm not sure how that fit in. Anyway, once you have them on all fours, bring your leg over their arm and triangle your legs, in the omoplata position. This was the other confusing part: it wasn't a normal omoplata, but one where you locked a leg under their armpit and turned the other way. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get hold of Jude to try and clarify, so hopefully the technique will be demonstrated again at some point.

During guard passage, I got in my first spar with the female purple belt I mentioned earlier, Helen: as has been the case with every woman I've rolled and/or drilled with up until now, she turned out to be another great training partner. She's both a fair bit smaller than me and was going relatively light, so I was eventually able to get to half-guard after sitting defensively in her guard for a while. I tried to implement the tips Bruno mentioned yesterday about crushing down your upper body, then raising the knee of your trapped leg, but still had trouble getting through.

Helen took pity on me after a while, and advised that I should be moving my hips towards her head. That would help to slowly loosen her legs, meaning I could pull my leg free. Thanks to that bit of excellent advice, I did finally manage to get to side control later on: definitely a good tip to keep in mind.

Free sparring kicked off with Joanna, who is currently suffering from tonsillitis. That meant she didn't want to go too hard, which is always absolutely fine with me. Worked my open guard as usual, taking the opportunity to try and stay mobile. I also attempted to get to that half guard position Oli showed us last week, but couldn't get my legs set-up. Putting the arms in place is straightforward enough, so it’s the legs I need to work on.

Next I got to spar twice with Helen. Having already given me that tip on half guard, I got some further advice on finishing sweeps. We spent most of the spar, again, in open guard and half-guard, where I was generally just trying to wrap up her legs with mine, then attempting to break her posture and knock her to one side. Managed it towards the end, though in a rather sloppy and unplanned way, but didn't capitalise, so she had little trouble escaping.

Her advice was to make sure I drive my hips forwards as soon as I sweep somebody. That way I can keep the pressure and push through to side control or mount, rather than just watching them escape. It’s a problem I've had before, such as when I finally manage to open somebody's guard, ease off for a moment and lose the chance to try and pass. Same goes for sweeps, so another good tip.

Finally, had another light roll with Bruno, who is quickly becoming one of my favourite people to spar. He always eases off and lets me work, then gives helpful advice at the end. Yesterday it was about half guard, whereas today he had some thoughts on side control. As I'd been poor on escapes with Christina yesterday, I asked him a very basic question on arm position underneath. I've been sticking my arm into my partner's throat when underneath, but the point I've been missing – as explained by Bruno – is that I need to tuck my elbow under their armpit. This means that I can drive the forearm into the neck without being so vulnerable to a kimura.

Should be training on Saturday, which will also give me a chance to catch up with my sister and niece, which is always nice. She keeps on putting up loads of videos of the baby on Facebook: well on course to becoming the most filmed baby ever, though I have to admit, the videos are all very cute. I don't want children myself, so handy that I have a sister who plans to have loads. Big plus when you know you can give back the baby and leave, not having to deal with the sleepless nights, vomit down your front, constant worries etc.

Well ok, she has thrown up on me before. Lesson there is when you’re bouncing a baby to stop them crying (which generally works great: they seem to like the motion), don't shift them from shoulder to shoulder. The results are messy. :p

I've got a bunch of reviews I'd like to get done, so hopefully the house-hunting etc will be sorted soon to give me some more time. In particular I wanted to put up some thoughts on The Grapplers Guide after my first three months, though I don't think I'll be able to give a full and fair review until a year (as things like responses to video requests and the like can take a while to get sorted).

03/09/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #175



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 03/09/2008 - Advanced

As I'd expected, that damn work meeting meant I wasn't able to make Thursday. Grr. I think I may need to get my ear checked out, though, as its been sore for a good long while now. I don't think its cauliflower ear, as it doesn't look swollen, but when things hang around for more than several weeks, I tend to think its worth seeking medical advice just for peace of mind. Of course, I'm in the UK, so our healthcare system is provided by the state rather than by emptying my wallet. ;)

On a more positive note, great interview with top female competitor Penny Thomas over at the Fightworks Podcast. She had some excellent advice for women looking to progress in the sport, as well as encouraging those already in BJJ who might be getting a bit frustrated at the lack of numbers on the competition scene. Also turns out she knew Nick G back in South Africa, which is kinda cool.

Getting back to tonight's class: after the warm-up, Nick immediately moved into guard passage. I was with Christina, and started off with an attempt at the Saulo Ribeiro pass (right click and save link) UpaLumpa linked on Bullshido. While I didn't have much luck on that first try, the instruction looks good from that sample video, so will hopefully pick up the DVD set its from at some point. I then fell into the familiar pattern of defensive posture, blocking her chokes and trying to keep my base. She locked on a collar choke, but I was able to get my arms around hers, push the elbows together and posture up to ease off the pressure.

Underneath, I wanted to work my open guard. Its still really weak, but the more I do it, the better it will get. I aimed for De La Riva and trying to use all my limbs, getting at least three control points on my partner's arms and legs. Christina passed without too much trouble, but I'm hopeful there's been some small improvements on my part. A clearer focus would help, so I need to pick some solid basic sweeps, then aim for those.

Technique started with a takedown, moving from a double leg to a single leg. You've dropped and driven for the double, but they step back their leg. That makes the double difficult, but the single is still an option. Step your same side leg around their forward leg, wrapping it behind. Now shove your hips into them, knocking them to the floor. You don't need to use your arms for this: its all in that hip motion.

Next Nick showed us one of his favourite open guard passes. First, grab their gi pants at the knees, your arms inside, bringing your elbows in tight. Step back with one leg and pull their knees towards you, aiming to end up with your other leg between their legs. This should also cause them to sit up, which is where you want them to be.

Drop your outside shoulder towards their chest, swinging the foot you have inside their legs over your other leg. Make sure that this lands flat on the floor, to provide you with a point to post off should you need it. Also, as you drive into their chest, make sure you do not let go of their gi pants with your hands.

Finally, you can now switch your legs again, moving to side control. Remember to keep your head towards their knees: if you're not careful, they may be able to bring their arm up, cross-face you and roll you over.

That then led to open guard sparring. This meant that I continued in much the same vein as before, trying to secure hooks with the De La Riva and generally attempting to get some kind of control by pushing on the hips and gripping the sleeves.

When passing, I found it much more difficult, and ended up basically flopping onto their legs with both Tran and Christina. This was in an effort to keep my weight down, but just led to getting swept in both instances. Tran did so by getting a shin across my stomach, wrapping an arm under my leg and then rolling me to one side (he showed me the counter, which is to simply grab that knee by your stomach and pull it onto their other knee, making them vulnerable to a pass).

I stayed with Tran for free sparring, initially trying for that half-guard sweep Oli showed us last week. I had my arms in position, but couldn't make space to shrimp out and move to the dogfight. I also found it hard to keep the leg trapped properly, meaning that it wasn't secure enough that I could switch my legs and pull the heel back.

Instead, I found myself under Tran's mount, which happens all the time. I tried moving back to half-guard, but couldn't quite manage it, Tran taking the opportunity to move into knee on belly. From there he took my back, meaning that I spent the rest of the spar trying to defend the choke. Think I just about managed it, but wasn't able to triangle the leg and move to top half-guard, which was my intended goal.

Bruno took it easy on me, noting that I'm going to my back too readily, and also giving me some useful advice on crushing down when in top half-guard. I should be using my shoulder to press my partner's face in the other direction, also really pushing down with hips and chest. To free the trapped leg, I need to step up, making it harder for them to keep their ankles locked, then gradually work my way out and slide through.

Unusually for me, I didn't take a break, so my third spar in a row was with Christina, where I struggled helplessly as she calmly switched from side control to knee-on-belly. Again, I really, really have to keep my arms and elbows tight, as I continue to leave my arm far too vulnerable. Numerous times when in knee-on-belly, Christina could easily have dropped back for the submission, but didn't want to risk yanking the elbow (as due to the position, the armbar would have been very tight). Similarly under side control, my arm was asking for the kimura, so I need to take a good look at my posture.

Sparring tonight reminded me how it is all too easy to get demoralised in BJJ: this is a tough sport, and it takes a long time to get anywhere. Even when you feel you're progressing, it’s a matter of peaks and troughs: some of those troughs seem to stretch far off into the distance.

That means its important that you don't allow yourself the luxury of wallowing in self-pity. As with anything, the only way to improve is to pick yourself up, try to work out what you did wrong, then try again. I always try to take away at least one positive from class, be that some helpful advice, a great new technique, or just something to work on. If all else fails, then I can at the very least be happy that BJJ gives me a great work-out. ;)

Should be training again tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be able to get in the Saturday as well, to make up for only making one session last week.