28/05/2010 - BJJ (Basic)

Class #314
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Chiu Kwong Man, Birmingham, UK - 28/05/2010

The gi class followed directly after, and somewhat bizarrely, I found myself being asked to take the warm-up. I was the only blue belt there, so I guess it goes by seniority, though unfortunately in my case, the colour doesn't really indicate anything other than time, as I'm pretty mediocre for a blue.

That mediocrity apparently extends to my warm-ups, as when it came to the backwards breakfall, I wasn't doing it right. Instead of dropping back and rolling over the shoulder, Chiu came back at that point to emphasise that you need to properly break the fall first. It shouldn't be a continuous roll: drop back and slap the mat with both hands, legs in the air, but not rolling all the way over.

I was also not much of an uke for Chiu, as he had to switch me for somebody else a few times during technique demonstration (that might have been because I was too short, but most likely because of my poorly executed open guard). Much easier when I can just stand, watch and take mental notes! ;)

Class tonight focused on something else I've been watching on Braulio videos, spider guard. However, it was passing the spider guard rather than using it, although the bottom person did have a chance to practice a bit in the course of drilling. Chiu built things up gradually, starting by them simply putting their knees up and feet in the air, holding your sleeve. You hold their knees and step back, putting their feet flat on the floor.

Next they were allowed to put their feet in your biceps while holding your sleeves, which makes things a little more difficult. This time, you pistol grip low on their trousers. Steadily step back with a good, low posture, until you can get you arms straighter, so they aren't creating a right angle by pushing into your bicep.

You can then twist inwards with those grips and press down, which should slide their feet off your arms. It is difficult for them to maintain much of a hold with their feet from their, as long as you step back: don't just try and twist inwards before stepping back, or it won't do any good. Similarly, this won't help you if they still have your arm bent.

Finally, the worst case scenario: they have managed to pull on one arm, pressing into the other arm with their foot to stretch you out. That straightens your arm, so that they can then yank your sleeve across their thigh, circling their leg around and threading it through your arm. This is exactly the position I've been looking to get from Braulio's video, so it was useful to have a chance to practice the right grip, when it was my turn to be on the bottom.

Ideally, you want to pre-empt them before they can secure that hold. Circle your hand around behind their leg, then make a knife hand pointing in the direction of their head. You could grip closer by their bum, but that is more at risk of being pulled back into their grasp, enabling them to re-establish the position they want.

If you get caught in that grip, similar principles from earlier still apply. Crouching low with good posture, move backwards. In what Chiu described as a coiling spring, that should give you the leverage to then immediately follow the step back by bringing your arm back too, then circling around as before.

Another option is to sneak your grips around to their calves, so you're underneath their legs. They probably won't let you do this, or at least not on both legs, so some stealth may be required. You can try straightening your arm as you circling round, to help you get the leverage, and again stepping back helps. You can also bring your knee to bear, pressing behind their leg to give you the space for the grip. Be careful though, as they may catch on and stop you.

Once you've got both grips in place, you can push your arms out, driving forwards so that their feet move towards their head. Drop down to their bum and stay tight, so they don't have any space to move back into guard. From here, you should be able to press forward and pass, or at least get them into turtle from where you can begin to attack.

Again, no sparring, though lots of people stay on afterwards for the open mat. Unfortunately, you need to be on a more expensive subscription programme to take part: I'm only on the standard £60 a month, rather than the £75 premium or £90 black belt options. Still, that's by choice, as I want to avoid the temptation to train more than twice a week, as my writing commitments would definitely suffer especially now I've also got a full-time job. ;)

My fingers will be sore tomorrow too, especially having been the uke for most of the class. As Chiu mentioned, he doesn't use spider guard much these days because it is so hard on the fingers, along with the knees. Something to keep in mind, especially as I am keen to keep training well into my old age, so want to avoid anything which ups the risk of chronic injuries.

28/05/2010 - BJJ (No Gi Basic)

Class #313
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Chiu Kwong Man, Birmingham, UK - 28/05/2010

I wasn't able to train last Wednesday because my train inexplicably didn't show up. So far, I've been heading to Solihull on the 17:58, then catching the 18:30 to Acocks Green. Normally what happens is that the 17:58 is delayed by a few minutes, which carries over to the Acocks Green train, so I'm guaranteed to catch it. However, last week, that didn't happen: I arrived at 18:33, and the train had already gone. Very annoying, as it meant I'd just wasted that return ticket and a good chunk of the evening.

Still, the Roy Dean seminar was at the weekend, so much less annoying than it could have been. To stop it happening again, I managed to shift my hours at work a few minutes earlier, which should hopefully mean I can make the earlier train, presuming I can make the bus ok.

There has also been yet another good post by top blogger Cane Prevost recently, where he proposes switching the terms 'basic' and 'advanced' technique to 'high percentage' and 'low percentage'. Sounds like a sensible suggestion, semantically speaking.

Tonight's class was no gi, not something I do very much, but it makes for an interesting change. I also got to meet someone I chatted to on the internet (Planet Jitsu, IIRC, though that might have been someone else) a while back, when he was looking for a place to train in Birmingham. So, cool to see that not only did he find his way to GB Brum, but he remembered me too. Similar thing happened with a guy in the changing rooms after class, who recognised me from the blog. :)

As so often seems to be the case with no gi classes, things started off by working on entries to takedowns. Chiu went through a few options for the arm drag, slightly reminiscent of how Roy Dean shows it on No Gi Essentials. Your partner puts their hand on their shoulder. Circle your hand around, cutting up into their arm, while your other hand reaches to grab behind their tricep. You'll then slide your first hand towards their wrist, pulling their arm down and across your body. Make sure that you drive forward and suck up any space by staying tight to them. If you don't, they'll be able to simply turn towards you and negate everything you just did.

Chiu then moved on to a more reactive technique, which more of an arm push than an arm drag. They have grabbing behind your head, looking to snap it down in order to break your posture. You inside hand presses on the shoulder of their gripping arm. Your other hand grips behind that arm's tricep, a little above the elbow.

Squat down, then bend forwards slightly and make a small dip with your the head. Simultaneously, push on that tricep, locking out your arm. This makes it difficult for them to turn back towards you, by which time you'll be aiming to move to their back. It is essential that you have the right grip on that tricep (so hopefully I've remembered it correctly!).

You are holding their tricep with your fingers on the outside, thumb inside. Your fist is vertical, with the thumb on top and little finger on the bottom. If you have your hand the other way round, they can easily dislodge their arm and turn to face you.

Shifting to the ground, Chiu reviewed a technique he apparently taught last week (I wasn't there), on escaping side control. The situation is that they have managed to get a tight control, with your arm around the other side of their head, and they've also cleared your near elbow. This is very dangerous if you're on the bottom, as your arm by their head is very vulnerable to attack.

So, to get that arm into a safer position, your near arm is going to punch through, so that you whack into their armpit with the inside of your arm. Use that space to bring your far arm under their head and into their neck. You'll also make a small bridge and shrimp towards them.

Once your arm is under their neck, try to get your hand into the side of their neck, then straighten your arm. If possible, you can also brace it with your other hand for extra support. Combined with your bridge and shrimp, that should give you enough space to bring your knee through and start to recover guard.

The last technique was an armbar from under side control. This looks like the same attack Braulio shows on one of his videos, so it was very handy to see it in person, in the same place if was filmed. Once you've made space under side control, bring the knee closest to their legs high, so that it slides past their armpit. It is important that you hook your foot around their tricep: this will form a barrier so they can't simply pull the arm free.

Your other leg goes over their head, making sure that you aren't leaving any space. The crook of your knee should be by their head, so that you can clamp your leg down. Essentially, your legs are pressing together as if you were trying to triangle them, but there is a person in the way. Aim to get your heel towards your foot.

Squeeze your knees together, and if you need some extra distraction, press the back of their other arm. You could potentially get a pressing armbar submission, but it is more likely that this will set you up for the normal armbar on the other arm.

There was no sparring, interestingly, but then this was a basics class, which is only an hour long. It is a shame I won't be able to attend next Friday (I'll be heading down to Bristol as usual), because Chiu said he was going to cover escaping side control when they switch their base. I've definitely had some trouble with that, so it would have been useful. Still, he did briefly show the basic idea, getting your elbows in, using that to create space for your shrimp and guard recovery. Then it was straight into the gi class.

Seminar: Roy Dean UK 2010

Seminar #4
Uplands School, (BJJ), Roy Dean, Poole, UK - 22/05/2010

Last year, the Roy Dean UK seminar was a relatively small affair, and I felt very lucky to be the only outsider present. I had the privilege of staying with Kirsty, Steve and Paul, getting to chat at considerable length to them and Roy on both nights, along with Rick and Glen, Roy's students. This year, things were a little different, as the seminar was over a single day and much busier, with a number of people popping down from outside the club.

That included not just one blogger, but three, as Seymour from Meerkatsu and Matt from Martial Farts/The Grappling Dummy were both down too (he lives in the area, so was able to benefit from classes with Roy earlier in the week). So, I still felt very lucky to be able to attend, but the secret is out: I'm sure these seminars are going to grow and grow over the next few years. The school itself is noticeably bigger, now with a number of blue belts. The turn-out was therefore larger too, with around thirty BJJers in attendance.

Things kicked off with a takedown, which was all leverage. Overhook their arm, pulling in your arm rather than reaching over the back. Step in front with your near leg and across, so that your foot is between their legs. Grab their far wrist with your opposite hand and drag it across. The leg you have between theirs swings back, straightened out, into their inner thigh.

At the same time, release the grip you have on their wrist and post on the floor: as you've broken their balance, they should be doing the same. Next, you put your foot back down, but position so your leg is braced behind their same side leg. Your posting hand now reaches for their ankle. Yank that up, while at the same time pressing with your leg to take them down.

From there, you can move into a straight footlock. Your arm wraps around, staying high, on their Achilles tendon. Drop back, putting your outside foot on their hip. Your other leg can stay underneath, or you can hook behind their knee (which means you can roll both ways, still staying competition legal). Also, be sure to squish your knees together.

Your other hand grabs your wrapping wrist and pulls it across, so their ankle is now nearer the crook of your elbow (but still on your forearm). Your other elbow points up into the air, at an acute diagonal angle. Roll your shoulder back on the side you've trapped their foot, look up, puff out your chest and arch your back. If you need more leverage, roll to your side, facing away from them. This gives you much more room to arch your back for the tap.

If you end up on the outside of their leg, you can also go for the knee bar. Swivel around to face their legs, stepping your inside foot through. Squat down and sit on their hips, then drop back in the direction of the leg (you don't cross over their body). Holding tight, squish your knees together, then arch your back for the submission.

Roy then did something different from last year, with a question and answer session. At first, people just asked for pointers on the technique he'd shown earlier, but when Roy specifically indicated the questions could be broader, more people piped up, including me. There were other technical queries, like Matt asking about engaging in the stand-up phase of a BJJ competition, along with non-technical musing, like somebody asking how often Roy trained early on (if you're interested, his first year was once a week, after which he was able to up it to twice, then upon moving to San Diego he could train three or four times).

Roy also talked about the massive importance of training partners, but he wasn't referring to drilling and sparring and class. He meant somebody who would train with you at home, which is a wonderful prospect, but can be tough to put into practice. Still, I do have a couple of mats at home, so it would be brilliant if I had a regular training partner to drill with at home. I continue to live in hope that my girlfriend will start to take an interest in BJJ...

My own question was about spider guard, specifically the problem I've been having recently getting to that strong control position with their sleeve around your thigh and your leg threaded through the arm. Roy emphasised the importance of getting the right angle, swinging your head to the other side, then raising your hips to reach that ideal grip.

After the first ten minute break (just about enough time to scribble all my notes, like last time: very handy part of Roy's seminar structure!), Roy moved on to maintaining side control. He used the orthodox gable grip under the head and arm, with knees in tight. He then suggested sprawling one leg back, dropping your hip so you can really press with your shoulder. That twists their upper body out of alignment, making it much tougher for them to initiate an escape.

There was then an interesting variation I hadn't seen before. With the arm you have over their far side, slide the hand palm up (I think, might have been knuckles up) under their back. If you can get this a little lower than the spot between their shoulder blades, you can then drive your weight into them, creating a strange sort of pressure-point on the spine. When it was being done to me, I had to raise up to relieve the pressure, which not only messes up bridging, but acts as a handy distraction benefitting the person on top, who can then launch attacks.

Frequently, the person underneath will push up into your neck, pushing you towards their legs (if they push towards your head, you can move your head past their elbow and work for an arm triangle). This gives you a shot at the Americana from side control. You're going to stick with a central jiu jitsu principle and flow with that motion, letting your upper body be moved backwards, but then switch your legs, basing and therefore putting your weight into them. You can now bring your hand to their wrist and switch your legs back the other way, using that momentum to press their arm to the floor, with your figure four grip established, where you can finish the submission.

From that same set up, you can move into a straight armbar from side control. As I'd expected, Roy then demonstrated the side control lockflow from last year (it is also taught on Purple Belt Requirements), shifting through the Americana, straight armbar and finally kimura. However, he also added in a nifty triangle finish, along with some points on the kimura from side control.

You've gone for an Americana, they straighten their arm, your slide into a straight armbar, and they then point their bent arm towards your legs. Clamp the arm to your chin, which also enables you to switch the other arm under, ready for a kimura. For better leverage, switch your base and face their legs. This will give you a greater range of motion.

As you switch your base, bring a knee under their elbow. That enables you to step over their head, and if they try and roll into you (which especially powerful opponents may attempt), you can happily roll with that motion. Due to bring the leg over the head, you're set up for the triangle, and even better, you still have their arm in the kimura position. This leaves you with a beautiful double attack: either complete the triangle, go for the kimura, or use one to distract them from defending the other.

Roy then looked to apply some similar principles to top half guard. They have managed to swim through for an underhook over your back. Switch your base to face their legs, getting fairly low on their body, so that one side of your rib cage is lying along their belt line. This should effectively immobilise their hips.

You can now slip an arm under their elbow, while leaning back and then reaching with the other hand to grab their wrist. From there, you could go for an Americana from half guard, but Roy prefers to push right into the straight armbar from half guard. The aim is to point their arm off at a diagonal angle, towards their head but away from their side.

That concluded the second session, and again I used the Q and A to ask about another technical niggle I've encountered over the last few months. This time it was on escaping north-south, where I've been trying to wriggle out then kick over to take the back. Roy said that while that escape is ok, he prefers to first try and get his elbows into their hips (IIRC, arms clasped, but I might be remembering incorrectly). That helps him make enough room to spin out to guard.

If you miss that position and have to just grab their belt or gi (as in the Gustavo Machado escape), you can being the taking the back escape as I've been doing. However, rather than going right over to take the back, you could be a little less ambition and end up hanging off their side. That will normally tempt your opponent to try and drive forward to come on top. Once they do, you already have one side locked, so you can just grab their free knee, lift and sweep them. Either way, you're out from under north south.

Somebody else asked about escaping knee on belly, for which Roy had a few options. The first was a little reminiscent of Saulo's DVD, but instead of the elbow, Roy wrapped his inside hand around their knee (thereby involving the usual armbar problem). You could then bolster that with your outside hand, making sure to keep your elbow down and tight by your side.

Alternatively push with the outside hand, but again keeping that elbow really tight to your side, so there isn't any space from them to reach through and take the armbar. The last option looked a bit difficult, but from what I remember, you basically want to get the person on top to shove their weight forward. Once you've tempted them to do that, by shrimping away or something, grab the knee that isn't on your stomach and lift them over, rolling to the top position. This won't work unless they've already given you that forward momentum.

After that second break, the final technical series was based around chokes. Roy began with a cross choke from the guard, with some little details that make the submission much tighter. Instead of reaching in for a deep grip while on your back, post on your elbow and sit up (and importantly, you stay sitting up, possibly even opening your guard). You can now reach really, really deep, past the back of their neck. This means that your other hand doesn't need to be so far into their collar. Bring it underneath the first arm, grip the collar then squeeze for the choke, twisting from palm up to palm down and also curling your wrists towards you.

Alternatively, from that same deep grip, you can bring the other hand to the other shoulder, grasping a handful of gi. Use that to yank them over, which will make it easier for you to circle your elbow past and around their head, into the side of their neck. As before, squeeze for the choke, though this time it is palm up/palm down, as opposed to the previous palm up/palm up variation.

The third option is sneakier, and relies upon their reaction. As before, you sit up for that super-deep grip. They're wise to it, and duck their head under, so now you're holding their same side collar, without anything pressing into their neck. Your other hand will grab their other collar, thumb inside. The cunning part is dropping your leg on the palm up side, inviting them to pass your guard.

If they take the bait, immediately run your legs around, so that you're circling towards your thumb grip. Your elbows will be coming together as you do so. You also want to turn in the direction of their head, to keep them off balance. When the time is right, squeeze your grip, and land the baseball bat choke from underneath side control.

Roy also showed a standing version of the same thing. Again, you've got a deep grip and they've brought their head underneath. Get the grip with the other thumb into their other collar, then bring your leg out and drop to your bum, then your back. They'll probably roll over the top to stop you going for that choke. Quickly move to north-south, leg over their head, driving your head and shoulder into their belt line. From here, squeeze to finish the baseball bat choke.

The last two techniques of the seminar were two chokes from side control, or at least that's where they started. They push up, and you go with it, switching to knee-on-belly. Get your hand, palm up, into their near collar, good and deep, curling the arm around. If they push on your knee, let them, as this now enables you to bring your other arm over to establish the thumb in the collar grip. Complete the baseball bat choke by dropping that elbow and straightening your first arm, your weight staying tight to their shoulders.

Even if they block your second arm, you can still complete the choke. Drop to their near side, so that you are lying parallel, but make sure you are still close to their side. This means you have a much greater range of motion for straightening your first arm against their neck, which will get the submission regardless of their attempts to block the second arm.

That was the end of the technical portion of the seminar, which now moved into an open mat for an hour. I had intended to get in some drilling and sparring with guys like Seymour and Matt, but as it turned out, after scribbling my notes and taking some pictures, I only had time for one roll. That was with one of Matt's students, who I think had been doing either JKD or MMA for a while. He's also a bit beefier than me, though having said that, most people are!

Unusually, I spent most of the roll on top, looking to use shoulder pressure to pass: there was a lot of getting to half guard, almost passing, back into my guard, almost passing, and so on. I was able to slide through to mount a couple of times, though. I tried to shift forward with my weight into his head and then walk my hand up, trying to remember Nathan's lesson on the topic, but without much effect. Still, I was at least able to maintain the mount, which is always gratifying when it is against somebody bigger.

I had a comparatively high mount, so looked to shift around into technical mount. Normally I try get my hand through to grab the collar, but it had disappeared from reach. So, I looked for the armbar instead. As often happens, that just resulted in him grabbing his hand, then managing to turn and get into my guard, then stack me.

I attempted to switch to a triangle, but without any luck. This happens almost every time I go for an armbar from mount, unless they're smaller than me, so definitely something I need to work on. Most likely I'm leaving too much space, failing to be sufficiently steady and controlled as I attempt to free the limb, or just not getting that arm tight and away from their grip properly.

When I was in his guard, I should have used something Colin showed me at the Southend Throwdown a few weeks ago. As soon as he grabbed my collar, I could have grabbed that sleeve and jumped up, ready to initiate a pass. I'm still not thinking too quickly when it comes to passing, and I remain hesitant to stand up, especially against somebody bigger.

I also found myself on top in side control, and again I should have capitalised on the situation. He wrapped both hands around my back, which opens up the possibility of moving to north south, then taking a kimura. However, I couldn't manage to strip his grip properly and secure the right position on the arm. I also got a bit fixated on stepping over for the triangle, which I think meant I ended up in guard again, but I can't remember.

It was only a one day event this year, and Roy was heading off the next morning. So, less of a chance to socialise unfortunately, but still, it was great to train with Roy again. His seminars are always packed with information, and I always come away with something useful. It was also cool to meet Matt from Martial Farts/The Grappling Dummy, and see Seymour again.

Steve's club is clearly going from strength to strength, and the affiliate in Basingstoke also looks set to grow, especially now that Kev got promoted. Poole is becoming a great place for BJJ, and then there's Matt in Bournemouth too. It will be interesting to see how the Roy Dean Academy in the UK expands in the future: things are certainly looking promising, and with Steve's guidance it has already become a popular place to train.

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Article - Amazon Jiu Jitsu: BJJ & Larger Women

Article #14, by guest writer Megan Williams [FAQ Entry]

I…am a large woman. That’s not a euphemism for overweight or exceedingly muscular. I’m 6’ tall, with an almost 7” wrist and 22” shoulders. I weigh 180lbs when in good shape. Like the majority of women that train BJJ, I showed up for self-defense reasons (even though, aside from an incident of a man telling me that I was “so tall he wanted to put his fist through my chest”, I’ve seldom felt threatened), but the similarities begin to die off there.

Yes, a large woman will face the same “lady problems” that any other female would in training BJJ…dealing with inappropriate behavior, managing the intensity of sparring with opponents that either want to man-handle you for fun or go way too soft on you because they don’t want to hurt you, feeling out of place as the only female in class…but the issue of size is a creature unto itself. I outweigh most of the women in my school by 60lbs or more and am a solid 10” taller. I worry more frequently about putting too much of my weight on smaller opponents (male and female) than I do about being crushed by the 220 lb guy that shows up on Wednesdays. The idea of being picked up or tossed around doesn’t really cross my mind and sweeps only work if they’re technically clean. Still though, I’m not as strong as men my size, or even those smaller than me.

I’m guessing the guys at the gym have to be thinking something similar…wondering what’s got the Amazonian chick interested in a sport that’s designed to shift the balance of power in favor of smaller, weaker opponents. Their comments on how strong I am, or have gotten are great motivation, but they’ve given rise to some new concerns. I used to worry about being weak. Now I wonder about life beyond the white belt and if my size plus a pigmented belt will cause resentment or backlash. I wonder if my manly size will result in my being manhandled. I’m guessing it will, and that’s fine. Just a new challenge with which to deal. While I’m sure the heel I took to my left breast last class is a problem that’s particular to women, I suspect there are fewer differences specific to gender in Brazilian jiu jitsu than one would expect, and that’s part of what makes it beautiful.

I do think though, that my situation sheds light on an opportunity for instructors, bloggers and others to adapt how they address techniques and abilities. My instructor, (I like his method and think it could be a benefit to both genders) instead of giving advice on techniques that are good for men or women, teaches based on body type or situation…leg length, relative weight of opponent or flexibility. I’m sure there are men out there with legs that are stronger than their upper bodies, be it because of freakish genetics or injury. There are definitely men out there that are small for their gender, and I believe they could benefit from more specialized attention.

All that said, I’m glad to have found the likes of Lana Stefanac, Gabi Garcia and a few other ladies online, so I can see how other large women move and work with women their own size.

Megan is a white belt, who has been training for six months at American Top Team in West Palm Beach under Marcos "Parrumpinha" Da Matta. She maintains a blog at bjiujitsu.blogspot.com

BJJ for the Larger Woman: Further Reading

Megan Williams: Big Girl Syndrome
Fenom Kimonos: Annemieke DeMaggio Interview
Open Mat Radio: #23 - Emily Wetzel Interview
Megan Williams: Commentary on Emily Wetzel Interview
BJJ Heroes: Gabi Garcia Profile
Erin Herle: Gabi Garcia Interview


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18/05/2010 - BJJ (Basics)

Class #312
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Nathan Roberts, Birmingham, UK - 18/05/2010

I cleverly managed to leave my house keys at my gf's place in Bristol on Sunday, which meant I couldn't actually get into my flat until Tuesday. That also meant I couldn't get to my gi on Monday, so I shifted my schedule to the Tuesday beginner class instead. I'm very fortunate in that my gf is not only lovely, but rather more efficient than I am, so she quickly got those keys sent up to my office. Otherwise I probably would have had to write most of the training this week off.

Nathan began with some interesting drills, where the idea was to lie next to your partner in various configurations, such as head to toe or back to back on your side, then try to get to a dominant position on top as soon as Nathan shouted 'go!' Presumably the idea is to develop the ability to scramble, as well as not easily give up the mount/side control etc.

In terms of technique, tonight's session was a continuation of what Nathan taught last week. Having secured the mount, you could now go for a choke. They will most likely have their elbows in, hands crossed over, looking to defend their neck. Attack their top arm, pushing it down as if you're going for an Americana. If they don't defend then keep going, but most likely they will turn towards the arm you're attacking.

That helps defend against the Americana, but it also presents their collar to you. Reach in deep with your opposite hand, palm up. If you want to get deeper, wriggle your knuckles to work your way to their label. You can also pull up on their gi collar lower down with your other hand. Once you've established that grip, bring your free elbow around to the other side of their head, and grab behind their shoulder.

Next, scrape your forearm over their face. This can be very unpleasant, which should enable you to press your forearm into their neck. I get the impression Nathan doesn't subscribe to Saulo Ribeiro's "treat your training partner like your best friend" school of thought. Still, it is undeniably effective: my drilling partner, Sofia (or maybe Sophia, not sure on the spelling) made good use of her forearms and gi to really dig in, so that it was almost a relief when she started to apply the choke. There are going to be a lot of gi burned necks tomorrow!

I frequently have trouble getting the right position for cross chokes, so I was looking closely to identify the right position. Judging by that, you want to get the top of your wrists (so just under the bottom of your palm, on your thumb side) close to their earlobes. You then bring your elbows back (don't flare them), then twisting your hands so your palms face in the opposite direction, drag your collar hand back.

Another option is to go for the ezekiel choke, something I've wanted to get right for a good while now. One arm goes under their neck, then that hand grabs your free arm's sleeve. Pull that fabric tight into their neck. Your head is close to theirs, helping you to sneak your free hand through across their neck. You can now pull with your sleeve grip and chop with your other hand, as if you were attempting to decapitate your opponent.

If they try to bridge you off, then remember to use your head as a third arm, posting on your forehead. You can also attempt to ‘ride’ their bridge by lifting your hips, taking away their power. This is something Saulo talks about in his DVD, though possibly a little different, as he was raised up, rather than bending forward in the process of attacking with a choke.

Alternatively, you can make your free hand into a fist. Wriggle your knuckles into place, then again, press down with that hand while pulling your sleeve under their neck. In both cases, this choke is generally quite swift, whereas the earlier submission can be slow, and may require you hold it for a bit before it takes effect.

As I'm always getting my hand blocked when I try this, I asked Nathan for his advice. He suggested that if their focusing on blocking that hand, you might find you have an opportunity to scoop up under their elbow with your same side arm, launching a new submission attempt. In turn, that may act as enough of a distraction to get your hand through for the ezekiel. This is possibly what Kintanon has been advising I try, when he says you can switch from an ezekiel to an armbar.

Specific sparring was from mount, with four of us staying on the bottom for a round. I was in the first group, and found that I could generally get an elbow into their knee, and then shift to half guard. Sometimes it also enabled me to just make some space, whereupon I could bring a knee through and work into open guard. Still, it was all white belts, as the other two blues in the class were in the same group as me.

On top, I went with two white belts, beginning with my drilling partner. As I have a size advantage, I tried to stay as technical as possible, but I'm still dubious that the manner in which I shifted to an armbar would have worked against anybody bigger. Most likely I left a little bit of space when shifting my legs up, which was covered by that size difference.

It is rare that I'm bigger, but makes for a nice change. My next partner reversed that situation, as he definitely had a bit of size on me. However, I'm pleased that I was able to keep him on his back, maintaining a low grapevined mount. Reaching around to grab material on the opposite shoulder, as demonstrated by Rob a few lessons back, definitely helped. Of course, I didn't manage to launch any attacks, which is the important next step: position then submission.

There wasn't any free sparring this time, so that will wait until tomorrow's advanced lesson. Hopefully my neck won't be too sore: I'm definitely not looking forward to shaving in the morning!

11/05/2010 - BJJ (Basics)

Class #311
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Nathan Roberts, Birmingham, UK - 11/05/2010

Due to that seminar tomorrow, I went to yet another class tonight, this time the basic gi session. It's an hour shorter than the advanced, like at Roger's (speaking of which, a guy who used to train there but is now at GB Brum recognised me and said hello, which was nice), but unlike Roger's, all levels are allowed to train. That means that you'll see purple and brown belts training alongside the fresh faced white belts. When I was in London, as soon as you got your blue, you had to train in the advanced class.

On the one hand that's good, as it forces lazy people like me to go train with the higher level people. On the other hand, it means you can't keep on working your fundamentals, not to mention that a few higher level people can still be found in the basic class.

The advanced no-gi class begins half an hour earlier, then continues on concurrently with the basics. That means that I arrived in time to watch Kev demonstrate the same deep half guard pass he showed yesterday, but for nogi. So, that could be an advantage to training Monday and Tuesday, as if Kev always follows that pattern, you get a chance to either refine your technique directly if you go for the nogi, or at least watch it a second time from the sidelines if you don't.

My training partner tonight was a fellow blue called Gary, who mentioned that he also runs his own kickboxing club, where he incorporates his grappling into something he called 'combat jiu jitsu'. It isn't quite MMA, as no punching to the head, but sounds like it could be a useful stepping stone.

Nathan, who has taken the warm-up for the advanced a few times, was in charge of the lesson. After the standard running around the room, his class was all drills, which gradually progressed into more complex sequences. This finished up with demonstrating how to transition from side control to mount. The first option was to get into a standard tight side control with a gable grip and heavy shoulder pressure, having already cleared their near elbow. Staying tight, slide your arm to the other side of their head (try to avoid raising it up). Bring that arm under their far arm, meaning you can bring your other hand to their near hip.

You can now switch to face their legs (so reverse scarf hold, I think), shifting your hips back into their near arm to make space. Keep on shifting back into their head until they are starting to bridge to try and relieve the pressure. Grab your foot and pull it across to their far hip: you want to avoid leaving it vulnerable to their attempts at grabbing half guard. You can then settle into a tight mount.

Nathan made the point here that you shouldn't be in a rush: hold the position. He cited an example from when he once competed as a blue, and managed to quickly move from side to mount to the back, then back to mount. However, because he did it so fast, pre-empting his opponent, he only got a few advantages. If he'd held each position a little longer, he would have been way ahead on points (he did still win, of course ;p).

The next transition from side control to the mount was a little different. This time, you press your weight forward (being careful not to overbalance), then use that space to bring the knee nearest their head even closer and higher. The hand under their head reaches further, to grab under their far armpit. Your other hand (underneath their far arm) walks up past their head, meaning that both their arms are now uncomfortably squished.

Bring your knee over their stomach, sliding it to the floor. Turn your upper body towards their near side, moving into mount, squeezing your knees. Push your feet into their sides, enabling you to move forward, again putting them in a very uncomfortable position. From here, you could then shift your head around their arm, wriggle down and go for an arm triangle. However, again the point of the drill was to make sure you establish a good position.

Specific sparring was naturally from side control, with that near elbow already trapped. To continue to focus on position, you weren't allowed to use any submissions. That made escaping much easier, because I didn't have to worry about the usually frequent danger of either an Americana, armbar or choke. So, I was able to gradually squirm free a few times.

On top, I had a harder time, as I wasn't able to move into mount. However, there is a small chance I might have got there eventually, as I was concentrating on being very slow and steady, keeping my partner in tight with my grip, and also trying to shift my knee up closer to the head, as in the drill. I got into a sort of reverse scarf hold, and was in the process of shifting back and then getting my knee across when time ran out. Of course, I may have got swept or something in the next couple of moments.

In free sparring, submissions were back on, and made all the difference. I soon found myself under side control, as Mike was having none of my flailing at spider or butterfly guard, easily controlling my legs and passing. He immediately looked to attack the arm, and eventually got in place for an armbar. I was able to block with my other arm and grab his leg, in an awkward position where he was belly down and I was facing away from him.

I spent what seemed like ages sat there in basically a stalling position, trying to think exactly where my arm now was in relation to his body, and how I should look to escape. I thought about rolling, shifting round the leg, or perhaps pressing into him. What I should have done is tried to get to a point where I was stacking him, but eventually his superior position paid off and he got the arm.

That's training done for the week, so it will be nice to have a rest after several days on the trot. One thing to note is that there is an unfortunate problem with the showers, in that you can only use a single shower at a time, otherwise nobody gets any hot water. Personally I would be happy enough with cold water in the interests of speed, but that isn't very fair to everyone else. So, just means I have to be quick once I get in there.

10/05/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #310
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Kevin Webb, Birmingham, UK - 10/05/2010

Following on from Kev's last lesson on passing the knee-in half guard (z-guard?), tonight he focused on passing the deep half guard. Since Rob showed us some options from underneath a while back, I've been trying it more often, though rather unsuccessfully. Kev's reference to it as a really good way for small people to sweep big people renews that impetus to look into it more.

Kev showed two scenarios for passing deep half guard, beginning with the less secure option where they use their arms to hook one leg each, rather than wrapping around one leg. You will be in a position where your knee is close to their head, and they have one arm around that knee. Their other arm will be by your other thigh, their head tucked in towards your hip, while their legs are locked just below the knee of that other leg. This straightens out your leg, and can make it feel like a precarious balancing act.

To pass, you first want to grab the wrist of the hand nearest their head. Pull it onto your nearest hip and lock it there. You are then going to shift your weight towards their legs, so that you can bring the knee by their head over their neck and to the floor. You're going to drop so that you're now looking at their leg. It is essential that you maintain your tight grip on their wrist throughout: this will put them into a sort of shoulder lock, forcing them to turn to their front.

The next part has to be done quickly. You're going to grab around their back, or ideally, grip the back of their gi trousers. Swiftly, you now want to release their wrist from your hip, basing out with your hand instead. Simultaneously pushing off with that hand, you also want to bring your leg through, and push off with that foot to swing to their back.

Thought it feels counter-intuitive, the leg which was trapped between theirs to start with stays there almost the entire time. This is going to become your first hook which you'll use to establish back control. It is tempting to try and pull it free when you've dropped to their side, but that will leave you without the control you need to take their back.

The second method for passing deep half guard starts from a slightly different situation. Now instead of having an arm around the leg you have close to their head, they have both their arms around the leg they've trapped with their own legs. This means you can't use the previous tactic, so have to come up with something quite different, and a little more straightforward.

The first action depends on how they have triangled their legs around your leg. If the foot underneath is pointing behind you, that's what you want: you're going to grab around the side of the foot, near the toes, and pull it towards you. You then bring your elbow to the other side of your leg, so it is in front of your leg rather than behind.

If their bottom foot is pointing towards your front, you still grab the foot pointing behind (which this time will be their top foot). Again, pull it towards you. They will normally relock their legs in the previous configuration to break your grip. That then means you can proceed as above.

Once you've done that, all you're doing to do is bring the leg you have nearest their head around, so that your free leg can point towards their knees. As you have a tight hold on their foot, you're immobilising their lower body, so they don't have much hip mobility to stop you. You can then let go, bringing that same arm backwards so that it wedges into their armpit, and you can grasp their back, dropping your weight onto them. Again, this should immobilise them, but this time its their upper body which can't move much.

Now you shuffle back, using your other hand to help (this hand is also there for posting, is they try to shove you in that direction). Your trapped leg will gradually slip out of their locked triangle. Most likely they'll tighten up, so that your foot is stuck. To free that foot requires leverage, rather than force. Many people kick at the top knee, without doing much good. Instead, use the bit between your toes and the ball of your foot to press into the bottom edge of their top knee. You can simply lift that up, prying the triangle free and pulling your leg out.

During free sparring with Pete, I began by looking for that spider guard again, but yet again not quite getting the position I wanted. I then attempted to use the stiff arm principle against his shoulder and neck to stop getting passed. It worked for a little while, but he was eventually able to collapse my arms and get to side control. That did give a chance for the Gustavo Machado north-south escape, but as so often happens, he just moved backwards, so I slipped off the front instead of securing back control.

My next roll was with a female white belt, where I was able to move into move. However, I was stuck in her half guard for a good while: my usual shoulder pressure pass did eventually work, but it was sloppy. Still, once I moved into high mount, I moved into a triangle. I could see I wasn't going to be able to lock from there, so rolled into guard instead. For once, I remembered head control, scooted back on my hips, and underhooked her free arm to swivel into the necessary angle.

I was also pleased to finally get that spider guard position I wanted, threading my leg around the arm and pulling the gi sleeve around my thigh. Following what I'd seen on Braulio's spider guard instructional, while still holding that sleeve, I then pushed both feet into the other arm, gripping the sleeve with my other arm.

The next part didn't quite go according to plan, as you're supposed to open your legs, pull their arm in, and then threaten an armbar to either get the tap from that, or make them move forward into a triangle. Instead, I lost the head, but still had the arm, switching to a kimura. I'm not sure I had much control, so it probably isn't a good habit, especially as there was probably a size difference in my favour.

With Chris, I was playing lots of open guard, still looking for the spider guard. I had it briefly, but he was able to yank his arm free, also getting his knee in for further leverage. However, that meant his foot was close enough for me to try the handstand sweep. As usual, not much luck, and then I remembered I used to always try the star sweep as a follow up, as seen in Royler, Renzo and Danaher's Theory & Technique.

To my surprise, it actually worked this time, although it wasn't exactly smooth. Rather than mount or side control, I ended up on top in half guard, but very low, almost with my head on his hips. I was able to crawl up into a more secure half guard, but definitely need to try and end up higher on that sweep.

With Donal, I got smashed by lapel chokes. There was a pattern where I would try to scoot forward into butterfly guard, he would crush my knees together, pass, then sneak a lapel over or under my neck as I tried to defend with an eye on his choking hand. Every time, my focus was on the wrong thing, as that lapel snuck into position, enabling him to get the submission. I clearly need to be more careful with those.

Finally, I rolled with a green belt. In the past when I've rolled with juniors who regularly train in the adult class, they tend to be very explosive and acrobatic. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this guy's controlled, steady pace, which made for a refreshingly slow battle for position on top in half guard.

I'll be training yet again tomorrow: I hadn't intended to do four in a row, but there's a postgraduate seminar series I don't want to miss on Wednesday, as its on poetic form and therefore relevant to my writing. Working at the University has a whole bunch of perks like that: I'm especially looking forward to start of the next academic year, as I'll be able to take some language courses.

Unfortunately that's way off in October, but I guess that gives me a chance to see if I actually have the time to dedicate to a structured course like that (I've been following the Pimsleur Spanish language course, but then that's all audio, so I can go at my own pace, rather than a set schedule).

09/05/10 - Judo

Class #10
University of Warwick Judo, (Judo), Adam Jones, Coventry, UK - 09/05/2010

It initially looked as if today's session wouldn't happen, because due to this being the exam term, hardly anyone is keen to go train. That's either because they're buried in exams, or if not, they're getting drunk celebrating that fact. I do miss being an undergraduate sometimes. :)

Fortunately, there was a fellow older student up for grappling, who has messaged me a few times before on Facebook. Mike and I were shortly joined by another guy, who hasn't been to judo for a year or two, so was a bit surprised to see two blokes rolling no-gi. We kicked off with a bit of drilling: I'm a bit lost when it comes to no-gi, so I suggested going through the basic butterfly sweep.

There was time for a five minute roll with Mike no-gi (mainly me squirming around in open guard, then occasionally looking confused when in no-gi closed guard), before it turned into the judo session proper. I had originally thought I'd just be there for the hour of rolling and drilling, so it was a pleasant surprise to get in a class too, even if was judo rather than lovely ground-based BJJ. ;p

Adam, the black belt who took the session tonight, based class around a throw. I can't remember the name (harai something), but if he's reading this, he should be able to remind me. He started by going through the footwork in a solo drill. IIRC, step forward, raise your arms and twist (but still face ahead), thrust your hips forward, while blocking an imaginary leg with your other foot.

That then progressed to a two person drill, where you step to get the rhythm, then try and use that same solo drill to enact the throw. You have a grip on their sleeve, just above the elbow, while the other hand holds the and collar. The important thing here (which I kept fucking up) is to make sure you really lift up that sleeve arm. You want your partner to go up on their toes, so it is easier to take them down when you twist and block their foot.

More stepping followed, this time in a circle, as that is closer to the kind of situation you'd find in a live spar. Adam emphasised some handy tips, like sinking as you move in, in order to facilitate raising up again to really lift them up on their toes. To finish, Adam had a transitional drill, where after you take them down, you move into knee on belly, then drop back for an armbar.

If your opponent spins to their stomach, legs straight out, arms and head tucked in (common in judo, suicidal in BJJ), Adam had another trick. Sit on them, then simply reach behind and lift up their legs to establish your hooks. If you are having trouble digging out their neck for the choke, grab their same side shoulder. Bring your other elbow across to the same side, then drag it back into their head. That should expose their neck for the submission.

Sparring began with Mike. As we both just wanted to grapple, I immediately pulled guard. I was more comfortable this time, as we were wearing gis, but I still couldn't get that spider guard grip I wanted, with the hand up past my hip. I might try just yanking on the arm with both hands next time, but there must be a more technical way of establishing that deep spider guard grip.

I also had a go at moving into deep half guard, but instead just gave up my back, which definitely wasn't the plan. That meant the rest of the spar involved me trying to wriggle out of Mike's body triangle, without a whole lot of success. I did at least keep my neck safe, with the trusty 'Shirley Temple' defence, though that reminds me I should be crossing my hands, not having them on either side.

I then went with one of the green belts, Jenny. I didn't want to pull guard this time, as that would make me a rather crappy training partner for a judoka. When she took me down, I was able to move into a sweep and come up into side control, then move to north south and a somewhat sloppy kimura. I'm not sure if the takedown would have been enough to stop the spar under judo rules, although Adam did say we should keep going until a submission, even if the takedown was an ippon.

The next time I somehow ended up on top in half guard. I used the usual shoulder pressure pass, though again I think my technique was a bit crude. Moving into mount, I was looking to get my knees up into her armpits and go for an armbar. I did eventually swivel and drop, but again, poor technique. I also let go too early, though that's certainly preferable to letting go too late.

Next up was a brown belt, Carol, who unusually is much smaller than me. She got a bunch of smoothly executed throws, but each one involved turning her back to me, so I could establish hooks and go for a choke. Again I was a bit sloppy, and also looking to switch to an equally dodgy armbar.

I wasn't sure taking the back like that was ok in judo rules, so checked with Adam. I think the consensus was that it would be stupid in a judo tournament, and even then you would normally do it when they're on one knee. So, next time I'll avoid doing that, as I want to make sure the training is useful for my partner, not just me.

Finally, I went with Adam, who is a big, powerful guy. So big, in fact, that I had trouble closing my guard, forcing me to go to open guard. I could see him leaning back so wanted the sit up sweep, but I wasn't quick enough.

Again, I tried for butterfly and spider guard, but also as before, I had trouble getting the grips. Or indeed any grip, as Adam immediately broke any hold I tried to establish on his gi. I spent the latter part of the spar under my old friend side control, which meant I squirmed a lot trying to spin back to guard.

I should be back to GB Brum tomorrow, or possibly Tuesday for my first basics class. I'll see how I feel on Monday, bringing my gi to work with me either way.

08/05/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #309
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Chiu Kwong Man, Birmingham, UK - 08/05/2010

I don't normally have a weekend free, but it was handy I did today, as I wasn't able to go to training on Monday. My normal pattern is shaping up to be Monday and Wednesday advanced gi from 19:00-20:30, or failing that, either a beginner class from 19:30-20:30 on Tuesday or the advanced gi class on Saturday from 13:30-15:00.

Class was taught by Braulio's first black belt, Chiu Kwong Man. He's been present at a few of the other classes I've attended, but this is the first time I've had a chance to see how he runs a class. Like Rob, Chiu moves into stand-up after the warm-up, starting with some light resistance grip fighting. After that, we were supposed to practice an entry into a takedown for several minutes.

As I doubt very much I would ever be able to take anyone down, I thought I'd try something with applications on the ground too, an arm drag. I never remember to try these, so it was useful to have a play with it. I was initially just holding the sleeve, pulling it towards me, then grabbing and yanking past their armpit on the tricep, based on what I remembered from Roy Dean's best release to date, No Gi Essentials. Roy suggests that drilling the armdrag from standing is a good way to learn principles which also apply to the ground, hence why I wanted to try it.

As I'm not confident with the technique, I asked Chiu for some arm drag advice. He suggested that from standing, it was possible to do the arm drag like I had been, but unlikely my opponent would give me that grip. It would be more typical that they establish a grip on my lapel, up near my neck. In that situation, the arm drag makes more sense on the other arm: if they maintain their grip and you get to their back, that just makes it easier to choke them.

Groundwork began with a transition from side control to mount. You secure a tight side control, with your arm under their head, reaching to grip their far shoulder. Your other arm will be over to that far side, going under their arm. Clear their elbow on the near side, then pull them in tight towards your knee, by dragging on their far shoulder. This should force their head to face away from you, and because you also have their elbow, it will be tough for them to turn.

That hand you have under their far arm is now going to walk up past their head. You want to get their arm up high, until you can use your head to press that arm into their face. This should provide sufficient distraction for you to slide your knee through to get into mount. You can also press on their hip with the sole of your foot to stretch them out, securing a better position against their arm with your head.

I got a little confused during the arm triangle from side control which followed, but from what I understood, from that previous position you bring the hand that walked up under their head. Your head wriggles against their arm as you bring your shoulder down (in the direction of their legs), still staying tight. The reason for this is that their arm is currently too high to be part of a choke: you need to get it lower, by their neck.

Once you've got it against their neck, you can slide off mount to the other side. This is where I had problems, as what you're supposed to do is keep that hand under their head, palm on the floor. The choke comes from wriggling down and getting the shoulder back, then creating pressure as you sprawl next to them. I found that difficult, so definitely need more practice.

Alternatively, you can go for a standard arm triangle position, using the hand under their head to grab your other bicep. You can then get into a rear naked choke position, pressing the bicep arm on their head to create the necessary pressure. I've also been taught in the past that you can grab your own head with the bicep arm, but Chiu recommended the RNC choke style grip.

Sparring started with Pete, my training partner for today: he's one of several blue belts I'm getting to know over the course of the last few weeks. I was keen to practice spider guard, having seen an interesting instructional by Braulio, but unfortunately I couldn't get into the position I wanted after pulling butterfly guard. Instead, I ended up under side control yet again. I need to be less obsessive about getting that perfect grip, and remember the basic foot-in-bicep option.

However, because I had my leg around that arm, I thought I might be able to move into a triangle. I spent a good chunk of the roll trying to wiggle into the right place, but couldn't get the angle (unsurprising, given being under side control is not a great place to try submissions). I had the arm between my legs and his head was low, so the triangle was the preferable option, but I was also looking out for an armbar, without any luck.

Naturally I was trying to escape too: I think I need to re-emphasise my previous habit of using the 'ball', where you get your knees tight to your chest. Possibly because I wasn't using that enough, I felt as if it was easier to pass my guard today.

Next up was Chiu: its always cool to roll with black belts, as they are pretty much guaranteed to give you good advice afterwards. Obviously I was getting tapped all over the place, mainly by the very techniques Chiu had just taught. Generally, I need to watch my arms and neck, though I was remembering to fight for that elbow by the neck as well as the hip, like Rob suggested after I rolled with him.

Chiu also noted that I need to be careful where I put my feet. I could see he was manoeuvring me into footlocks, looking to slip my foot under his arm, and managed to pop free a few times by pushing on his other hip. However, he still got the hold he wanted anyway, on the other foot, so a handy reminder that I must be vigilant about footlocks. While I don't use them myself, I am keen to improve my defences for when other people try them.

I might be training again tomorrow at Warwick Uni, because Adam from the judo club mentioned on Facebook that they have a nogi groundwork session at 17:00. Hopefully that will all work out, as it sounded intriguing, as much as I'm not overly keen on no gi.

05/05/2010 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #308
Gracie Barra Birmingham, (BJJ), Rob Stevens, Birmingham, UK - 05/05/2010

I spent my bank holiday with my girlfriend, up in Louth visiting our friends' new house: lovely place. Its also the big election tomorrow, so should be interesting to see who comes out on top. I'll vote Lib Dem as always, but this time it might actually count for something, which would be novel.

Another session with Rob tonight, this time looking at mount. It was especially good for me, as it was low mount with grapevines, my preferred option from there. Rob began by showing how to maintain the mount. Your hips should be pressing into them, while your feet go back under their legs. You can hook in conventional grapevines if you want, or cross your feet (as Kev recommended at RGA Wycombe). Rob's favoured method is to press the soles of his feet together, knees off the floor, making sure that all your weight it really driving through your partner.

Rob then demonstrated how to properly slip your arm under their head: again, this is something I like to do from mount, so should prove very useful. The key is to not simply hook under their head, but to reach right to the opposite shoulder, grabbing a handful of gi (alternatively, you can hook your fingers under the armpit, which also works for nogi). Your other hand is out for base.

So, if they try and bridge towards the elbow of your wrapping arm (very likely), you can bring your free arm to that side for base. Another advantage of gripping that shoulder is the ability to yank that back underneath you, especially if they bridge so explosively that you find your weight shifting off them.

That position with the knees off the ground also helps when it comes to moving into high mount, to secure an armbar. Lean to your basing arm side, providing you with the room to bring your other knee up. Gradually walk your knees into high mount, pressing your feet into their sides, squeezing in with your legs to suck up any space. Once you've got right up into their armpits, you can raise up and drive your hips forward. In this position, they can't easily bridge, and they also don't have any power with their arms.

That also means you can reach through with an arm, grasping their opposite shoulder (or indeed their gi, which enables you to switch to a choke if you want). Push the arm they have on that side across their body, then lean forward to trap it with your upper body. You can now slide your knee on the shoulder grip side right up to their head, staying tight.

With your free arm, grab below the elbow of their opposite arm and pull it across. You want to make sure they can't use this arm to defend, so if you can squish that arm against you and put their hand well away from any possible blocking positions, so much the better. Pulling that arm in also gives you room to bring your other foot to their head on that side, doglegging as with the usual armbar setup (your leg is curled in towards them, so you're leaving as little space as possible).

Gradually bring your shoulder grip side leg past their head, keeping it tight, until you can cross your feet and drop back for the armbar. If they put up any resistance, you can always move in a semi circle towards their head and then to their legs, which should pop their arm free into position for a submission.

Sparring started off specific again, from mount, with people numbered one, two and three as before. That is preferable to the usual king of the hill, as it means everyone is guaranteed at least five minutes underneath mount, because each number does a round in that position. I went with about four or five people I think when I was on my back, generally managing to bounce them enough to make space, then shoving a knee through. That works especially well when people are going for an attack.

The last person was quite big, so that was a little more difficult, although he was also less experienced. I tried Rob's suggestion from last lesson, where you block their stomach with a forearm and then use your other arm to lift their leg into half guard. I couldn't quite get my arm into place to lift the leg, so I'll need to work on that technique some more.

I later made a mistake when bridging, as I thought I'd managed to bump him forward enough to make space and get a knee through. Instead, I basically just helped him shift into high mount. Time ran out before he could get into place for a submission, but I suspect I may well have found myself tapping if that had gone on longer.

On top, I was getting put back into half guard most of the time, although at least I wasn't getting shunted off as sometimes happens all too frequently. Still, it was good to have Rob's technique to practice, but I struggled to get my knees up into their armpits. Possibly I was being too impatient and not securing a sufficiently solid mount first: my grapevines weren't as solid as I'd have liked, and I had trouble getting into Rob's preferred position with the soles of my feet touching. Driving more weight through my hips would have helped too.

I was again looking for butterfly during free sparring, scooting forward and looking to get an under and overhook. I could get the hooks on the legs, and finally remembered to press my forehead into their chest, but had much less success getting control of their arms. I also need to watch my knee position, and being more careful with my legs, as my partners were managing to back out too easily.

As a result I kept ending up in open guard when trying that, where I sought to secure that spider guard grip. Same old problem of not really doing anything once I'd got it, which was also the case with De La Riva (though I did briefly look to spin around to their back, but couldn't get my leg in place to start the process).

There was a female BJJer present for the first time since I've been at GB Brum (at least in the advanced class: I've seen a few in the beginners class which runs beforehand), but unfortunately she was only visiting. Still, it was nice to finally roll with a woman again, and also gave me a chance to practice my closed guard. I got into the overhook grip I tend to look for, but couldn't quite move into a triangle properly: I need to get a better angle.

On top of that, I should be a little less eager to immediately try and lock the triangle, instead just having the ankles crossed, then wriggling back on my shoulders until I've made enough space. Head control is something I keep forgetting too, though I sort of snatched at it this time. I think she had some kind of neck injury, as what I thought was an attempt to escape was actually an indication to stop (fortunately I realised in time!)

Obviously I also spent plenty of time under side control too. I got the running man escape, which was good, although the second time I tried it with someone else, I did it wrong and ended up giving my back. Not so good. That did give me some practice at escaping chokes, although I think my partner was going fairly easy on me (as he's a little bigger). I was trying to ease the pressure of the collar grip by gripping low on the same lapel then wrapping it under my leg. However, I'm not sure that was the right time to use that particular defence, as it is something Kev showed specifically against the bow and arrow choke.

Also like last time, I kept finding myself stepping over my leg with the knee up, from a half-remembered picture in Jiu Jitsu University. I really need to double check the survival section, to check if I'm doing it right.