06/07/2017 - Open Mat (Thursday)

Class #841
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 06/07/2017

Great open mat today, with an appearance by the awesome Donal, Artemis BJJ co-founder. At first I didn't think there was going to be any content for the Facebook Live video, but as Donal was happy to be filmed, I could go through more of the Jiu Jitsu Style material with him. Along with the side control chokes from Nick Brooks, I also picked Donal's brain about that knee shield pass Tom DeBlass shows. The important detail here is pushing their head with your skull. DeBlass goes right under the chin. Donal said that was necessary with higher level grapplers, as they will automatically curl up and tuck themselves in tight. Going under the chin is a great way to open them up.



Still, like I say in the video above (Facebook Live, so go to the original post if you can't see it), I am very very wary of anything 'mean'. It's that same old internal battle I have with the term 'aggression', which has unpleasant connotations for me. Leslie and I discussed this a while back, but I prefer 'assertive', that doesn't have those same associations. Donal also shared his version of the gi tail ezequiel choke from closed guard, which looked cool. I'm familiar with it from mount, half guard and side control, but haven't played with it from closed guard. I may way try it in the intermediate lesson Friday. I cropped that out for Instagram, along with the squats workout I did afterwards (knee still collapsing inward and I'm not getting deep enough, lots for me to work on :D).

More from the Artemis #BJJ #OpenMat yesterday, followed by #squats. My knee is still collapsing inward on each #squat, I should try the elastic band thing again @strengthlabuk showed me. I should go lower too. I cobbled together a routine of 3 sets of 5 at 40kg, 2 sets of 5 at 50kg, then for fun I whacked it up to 60kg for a final set. I just did 3 reps on that, as I didn't want to push it: I could maybe do more, but I'd be nervous without someone to watch me and check my form. So, 50kg will be enough for now: once my form is good, I'll see if 60kg looks any smoother. I like the idea of #squatting more than I weigh (I'm about 66kg), but while #lifting more is nice for the ego, lifting better is rather nicer for the body. 😉 #strength #fitness #gym #weightlifting #workout #SlideyStrength @fenomkimonos @nanmadetoo #NanMadeTooSpats #NanMadeToo #Vibram #Furoshiki @BristolBarbellClub #ArtemisBJJ #BrazilianJiuJitsu #InvertedGear #PandaNation @InvertedGear

A post shared by Can (Jun) (@slideyfoot) on Jul 7, 2017 at 12:01am PDT