30/06/2009 - Nova Força

Class #231



Nova Força Epsom (BJJ), Tim Radcliffe, Epsom, UK - 30/06/2009

I've had a few weeks off due to a bunch of job interviews (none of which came to anything, unfortunately: just have to keep plugging away, like the massive horde of other people applying for the same jobs...), so good to get back on the mats. Ricardo is in Brazil at the moment, so instead class was taken by his top student, brown belt Tim (who incidentally won yet another MMA fight recently).

Tim kicked off with a gi choke. Start by pulling one side of their gi out of their belt (if its already loose, so much the better), then feed it around their back to your other hand. Shift your torso to that side, then change hands. This frees up your first hand to grip whatever material you can on the back of their gi, still on the same side (if you try to grip on the other side, your partner is likely to see it coming and defend). Finally, bring that arm over their head whilst maintaining your grip, then bring your wrists up for the choke.

Next, Tim demonstrated a basic loop choke. Grab their opposite collar, with a deep grip. Break their posture by pulling that collar towards you, while also pushing their head down and to the side with your other hand. Next, slide that other hand across the back of their head and under your own elbow, hooking with the back of your hand. Finally, raise the elbow of your collar-gripping arm for the submission.

Rowan Cunningham, who puts out the best free BJJ videos on the net (unfortunately not the most famous, as the Abhaya vids aren't heavily publicised or flashy), has a typically excellent demonstration up on YouTube, where he calls it an 'encircled collar choke'. I first saw this choke when Aesopian put up the Abhaya vids, probably on Bullshido somewhere:



Tim mentioned as he was walking around that you need to be quick with this, so its something to spring on your opponent if you have a collar grip but see they aren't defending their neck. Even if you don't get the choke, you're likely to still manage a sweep, as in order to avoid getting submitted they'll probably have to roll out. You can simply follow them and end up in mount.

Sparring today put me mostly under side control, which is good as I always like to try and improve my escapes from there. As per Saulo's advice (both in his book and DVD), I was concentrating on keeping my head stuck to the floor to prevent the cross-face, while also blocking their arm with my hand.

While I did ok getting that far into Saulo's 'survival position', I was rather less successful getting onto my side. I also wasn't preventing the knee on belly too well, as usual, but I think I managed to use my elbow and knee as a barrier slightly better than last time. The difficulty is getting them properly locked together, with forearm to upper leg, rather than just touching elbow to knee.

From knee-on-belly, I also couldn't avoid Mark's choke, so must have done Simon's defence wrong. I know you're suppose to swim your arms in and turn towards them, but forgot which arm went where.

With one of the white belts, I managed to get to my knees from side control, but couldn't then trap an arm in order to roll them. I was thinking about the wrestler's sit-out too, but didn't feel I had the space to get free: as their arm was ready to look for chokes, my neck felt exposed. In retrospect, I probably should have been less hesitant and just gone for something, as eventually I tried to spin to guard as they left some space, which merely landed me back under side control.

My last spar was against somebody fairly new, so I had a chance to play around with triangles. I'm still missing lots of important details, like proper head control, so even as a noobie they were able to slip out, but it was nice to confirm the 'trigger' position Ryan Hall talks about. Whenever somebody is trying to open your guard by driving their elbow into your thigh, you can open your guard and cause them to lean to one side. This leaves your partner vulnerable to the triangle, as you can now fling your leg over that arm and to their neck, locking your other leg in place.

11/06/2009 - Nova Força

Class #230



Nova Força Epsom (BJJ), Ricardo Da Silva, Epsom, UK - 11/06/2009

Gf is away again this weekend, which therefore meant extra training. Class started with takedown sparring, like last time I made it to a Thursday: could mean that day is the session for throws. As usual I was terrible, staying super-passive and basically waiting to be slammed to the mat.

I definitely need to get in some more judo if I am to have any hope of being more than a throwing dummy, but at the same time judo is still a frighteningly injurious prospect. No big deal I guess, given that I don't really care about competing, but would be good to develop a least a couple of takedowns and entries.

Technique tonight was on the triangle from the guard, good and basic. Ricardo was just showing how to get your legs in place rather than finishing the submission, from the classic set up of double wrist control. Push one arm back and immediately bring your hips up, whacking the same side leg to their neck, aiming to curl it round so you can lock your shin under the back of your other knee.

At the same time, you pull on the other arm and bring it across their body, ready to lock on the triangle. The next step would be to adjust your legs to eliminate any space, then raise your hips and pull down on their head for the submission.

A simple technique like that was ideal, as the friend I brought along tonight had never done any grappling before. He had some familiarity with the throws, but rolling around on the ground was completely new to him.

That made for a fun roll during free sparring, though of course I was mainly trying to be helpful, seeing as it was his first time. He's a bit bigger than me, but there are so many things to learn that BJJers take for granted. For example, staying upright on your knees in the guard: I've noticed that often when I roll with somebody who hasn't grappled that they'll fall on their side, as they're understandably unfamiliar with the principles of basic posture.

With everyone else, I was under either side control or knee on belly. Clearly I'm doing something very wrong which is constantly giving the knee on belly to my partners when I'm under side control. I've been trying to concentrate on getting to my side, but I also need to think about blocking the knee on belly. I could try being tighter, such as the old standard foot on the knee to reduce space, as well as bridge more often and more explosively.

I also managed to bust up my toe from a sweep, as one of my training partners caught a toe as they rolled me over. Later on my leg completely cramped up, as I was trying to recover guard. I was spinning on my back, reaching for their leg with my foot, but I couldn't get any purchase. That meant I was scrabbling with the end of my foot, which merely resulted in the aforementioned cramp.

Last week Simon was advising me to turn into the choke from knee-on-belly in order to escape, which I tried to do tonight. Helped, but he still caught me with something else. Still a good principle to keep in mind, as part of the general concept of getting to your side when underneath.

Simon then provided some tips on escaping the baseball bat choke from knee-on-belly, but I'm not sure I've managed to remember them properly. I think the idea is to bring one arm through, bent at right angles, then use the other arm to push while turning into them. You can also try and get your knee in to make further space.

My friend enjoyed the class, especially the fitness side of things, so hopefully he'll be able to pop back at some point (though he's pretty busy the rest of the summer, so might well be a good while). Also rather nice to get a lift there and back: no late night cycling this week, which was a very refreshing change!

09/06/2009 - Nova Força

Class #229



Nova Força Epsom (BJJ), Ricardo Da Silva, Epsom, UK - 09/06/2009

I was fortunate today in that I worked exclusively with the higher belts Tim, Theo and Simon, which always means loads of great advice (especially in a welcoming, friendly class like Nova Força), which I've added to the descriptions below.

Both techniques tonight were from butterfly guard, starting with what Ricardo referred to as a basic butterfly sweep. From butterfly guard, underhook with one arm and reach around the back (grabbing the belt if they're wearing a gi), while the other hand grabs their same side arm, closing tight with the elbow to keep them close. From there, you want to shift slightly towards the underhook side.

To get the sweep, the foot you have under their thigh on the underhook side is going to serve as the leverage point to roll them over. However, you can't lift them with just your leg: instead, you want to put your whole body into the motion. To do that, drop back, then kick your other leg out straight. That will provide you with a much stronger position to move your partner (Ricardo noted that you don't have to kick out the leg, but he finds it helps to do so).

As you roll over on top, you want to make sure your shin moves to trap their leg on the underhook side, ready to initiate the pass. You also need to move your underhooking hand up to grab the back of their collar instead, or you'll end up trapping your own arm. Bringing your head down next to their shoulder will help your base, meaning you should end up with a lot of pressure on your partner. Finally, pull up on their arm, then slide through into scarf hold.

If they manage to base out with their leg before you can complete the roll, it is still possible to sweep them, by going to x-guard. As soon as they post their leg, swivel your body towards that limb, using your arm to trap their foot against your head. Put your legs into the x-guard position (one foot under their thigh, the other foot on their hip, pressing with the top of your instep).

Next, you want to get the foot you've trapped off the floor, by pushing with your own feet on their leg. As soon as you feel their foot lose purchase on the ground, switch the hook you have under their thigh to their knee. Push to get them off-balance, then do a technical stand-up to get back to your feet, still holding their leg. Their base is now completely broken, so it should be a simple matter to take out their leg for the sweep.

Specific sparring was from the sweep position, where the person in butterfly already has the underhook and the arm trapped. My butterfly guard passing is just as terrible as all my other passing, so I didn't get far: I tried wibbling around to get my balance, which without fail resulted in a sweep. I also thought I'd try moving a leg out and then back in to try and clear their hook, but that didn't work any better. Clearly need to review butterfly passes: my passing in general, as always, has a very long way to go.

Just two free spars today, or more specifically, two and a half. I started with Simon, trying to keep in mind Tim's advice about getting to my side when underneath. I tried defending against a choke from knee on belly by getting my hands in the way, but that wasn't enough to prevent the submission. Simon advice that instead of relying on using my hands as a barrier, I should turn into the choke, which fits in with the general advice on getting to my side.

He was followed by Tim, where we started towards the end of one round then continued into the next. I spent pretty much the whole time trying to escape side control, again concentrating on getting to my side. That meant I was always looking to recover guard or half guard, wriggling a knee through to begin the recovery.

However, that is not the only option for escaping side control: I'm still tending to completely forget about going to my knees. Tim suggested I should be attempting that more often, which is also something Jude has advised in the past. Being on top is an alien world for me, so going to my knees and driving forward hardly ever even enters my mind: something I need to rectify.

My friend should be popping down to class on Thursday, which will mean not only do I get to introduce someone to BJJ, but I can also get a lift (as he's nearby in Oxshott). Will be interesting to see what he thinks of the sport, particularly how it differs to the Kuk Sool Won he's used to.

02/06/2009 - Nova Força

Class #228



Nova Força Epsom (BJJ), Ricardo Da Silva, Epsom, UK - 02/06/2009

Class was absolutely packed, with a tough warm-up from Simon. There were also three women present, which was good to see. The two new joiners haven't bought a gi yet, but I presume they plan to stay, as they've been to most of the classes I've attended so far.

Technique tonight was the guillotine, which while basic is nevertheless a fundamental move I certainly haven't got down yet. The scenario presented was that you've got head control and they posture up. You follow them and go for a sit-up sweep, which they attempt to counter by pulling your arm and driving their weight forward.

In response, immediately scoot your hips back and bring one arm under their neck, reaching to clasp your other hand. Twist to side on which you've trapped their head, then I think move slightly up (though I keep getting that wrong: either way, you need to get the bone of your forearm pressed against their neck).

If they bring their legs up to resist, shrimp to the opposite side you've trapped their head. At the same time, use your legs to chop low on one side and high on the other: in other words, comparable to a flower sweep, taking them over diagonally. Continue holding the guillotine, which will mean they either tap as you roll them over, or if not, you'll still end up in mount. Ricardo mentioned that in gi competition, you'd have to release the sub at that point (presumably because its potentially a neck crank, but I'm guessing there).

As the class was so huge, free sparring was split into two groups, with one sitting on the side. Rounds were only two minutes, so got through lots of sparring partners. However, that short space of time also meant that they generally followed the same pattern: I'd pull guard from the knees, but so badly that I'd instantly get passed to side control.

From there, I tried to stay on my side, but not all that successfully. My partner would then either transition to knee on belly, where I'd keep trying to shrimp away, or move to scarf hold. I need to review scarf hold escapes, as I'm definitely out of practice.

I was also trying keep my arms tight to my neck to defend against chokes, and my head close to the floor to avoid the cross face. Along with scarf hold, my north-south escape needs work too: I can't remember the last time I was held in north-south, as people don't seem to bother all that often. I aimed to wriggle out with the intention of then seeing if I could swing up onto their back, but didn't get that far. Instead, managed to follow their legs and recover half-guard, as I think they were trying to move round for a choke or something at the same time.

The only spar that broke that pattern was with Lindsey, where I had another chance to keep working the triangle. As before, I need to deal with the arms, getting one in and one out in order to initiate the triangle. I was looking for an underhook too, but struggled to open up her arms sufficiently. Using my hips more might help, perhaps bridging up to make some space.

My left arm was still a bit sore from the previous week, so it will be good to give it a rest until next Tuesday. I'm also hoping to get that friend along to class I mentioned a while back, depending on if he's busy or not. He's in Oxshott, so getting a lift sounds handy too, as that saves me the cycle ride.