Class #897
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 31/08/2017
Visiting purple belt called Freddie, so that was cool. He had a variation on the arm triangle to show, where you focus on digging your head by their shoulder, bringing the butt up high and driving in for the submission. That seemed quite effective, so something to play with. I was playing with the de la Riva x, but had trouble getting the legs properly controlled, I felt like I was too far away. I need to review the videos from Steve, Ana and Lilo some more: I've got plenty of well taught de la Riva x to look at now, so that should be enough to get this into something practical that I can use regularly. After all, I want more long distance open guard options. ;)
31 August 2017
30 August 2017
30/08/2017 - Teaching | Half Guard | Opposite Side Pass
Teaching #698
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/08/2017
I first learned this pass from Roger Gracie a few years ago, getting some further great details from Ed Beneville and Tim Cartmell's excellent book. Beneville and Cartmell refer to the position as 'inverted half guard', but I prefer Saulo's nomenclature from Jiu Jitsu University: he uses the term 'opposite side pass'.'Inverted' is mainly associated with being upside down in BJJ, so I'll stick with Saulo.
The orthodox method to pass the half guard is to get a similar 'super-hold' (as Xande calls it) as you would in side control, then use shoulder pressure to hold them in place as you bounce your leg free and slide through. That's what I regularly teach during half guard month. With the opposite side pass, you're also trying to control their upper body. In Saulo's version of the pass, on p307 of his book, they already have an underhook. He therefore grips over the top of that underhooking arm, securing it by gripping the gi material by the small of their back.
Posting on his free hand, he then swings his free leg over, ending up sat next to them. He suggests grabbing their knee initially, then shifting to grabbing the far hip. If you prefer, you can grab the knee and maintain that grip, to prevent a counter they can try where they open their half guard then hook under your knee. They can then lift and drive through to the top position.
My personal preference is to start the pass by reaching under their head with the arm on the same side as your trapped leg. This may feel counter-intuitive, as normally that is the arm you would use to underhook, but that's because you're swinging over to the other side. This is effectively a cross-face on the opposite side, which you lock in fully once you're over to the other side, driving your shoulder into their cheek/jaw to prevent them turning their head towards you. It's also key that after swinging to the other side, you post firmly on your outside leg, angling the knee towards their body. This should stop them bridging into you and getting a reversal.
A useful tip from Fran Vanderstukken is to pull their knee across, which twists their spin. Your free leg is behind you for base, preventing them rolling you over. You can then yank their top leg towards you and extricate your foot. If you require more leverage, push on their bottom leg with your free foot. You can also try stepping the basing leg in front of their leg, using it as a wedge. That means it both blocks their movement but still provides you with base. If all that fails, you could swing back over to the other side and knee cut, but be careful of back takes (if you can get an underhook it will help, holding the head may not be enough control).
A slight variation on this pass comes from the Beneville book: if you can get this one, it's probably the tightest option. Before you swing over, open up their lapel on the free leg side. Pass the end of their gi to the hand you have under their head and feed it through. Push their head slightly towards the trapped leg side, then shove your head in the space you’ve created. You can use your head for base, along with your free hand if required.
After you've swung over, watch out for a counter they may try, which is to lift up your leg with their far foot, flipping you over. To re-counter that, immediately switch from holding the knee to hooking behind their knee with your arm. That should stop them lifting for the sweep. Alternatively, you can also do a big step over to the other side as they try to flip you to your back.
________________
Teaching Notes: It's essential to pin super tight with that cross face. I like to talk about driving the shoulder into the palm of your hand. I also talked about driving a stake through their head, but that's a rather aggressive metaphor, I want to come up with something less extreme. ;)
Another thing is sitting right down when you've flipped to the other side, hip on the mat. If you're too high up onto them, that makes you lighter in terms of their efforts to roll you over. Counter-intuitive I guess, as normally it is good to put your weight on them. Though you are still doing that, you're just focusing it through your shoulder into the cross face. Basing out with your foot is important too, for a similar reason, stop them rolling you.
Video points, when I was demonstrating without a partner I pushed with the wrong leg to 'free' my leg from invisible partner, remember it's the basing leg that pushes. Also, worth emphasising that on the switch to the knee cut, you have to be careful they can't take your back. There is the rolling back take as well, it would be good to teach that in a sequence that goes from hip switch pass, kimura pass, opposite side pass and then finally back take. That will require copious open mat drilling first, of course. :)
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/08/2017
I first learned this pass from Roger Gracie a few years ago, getting some further great details from Ed Beneville and Tim Cartmell's excellent book. Beneville and Cartmell refer to the position as 'inverted half guard', but I prefer Saulo's nomenclature from Jiu Jitsu University: he uses the term 'opposite side pass'.'Inverted' is mainly associated with being upside down in BJJ, so I'll stick with Saulo.
The orthodox method to pass the half guard is to get a similar 'super-hold' (as Xande calls it) as you would in side control, then use shoulder pressure to hold them in place as you bounce your leg free and slide through. That's what I regularly teach during half guard month. With the opposite side pass, you're also trying to control their upper body. In Saulo's version of the pass, on p307 of his book, they already have an underhook. He therefore grips over the top of that underhooking arm, securing it by gripping the gi material by the small of their back.
Posting on his free hand, he then swings his free leg over, ending up sat next to them. He suggests grabbing their knee initially, then shifting to grabbing the far hip. If you prefer, you can grab the knee and maintain that grip, to prevent a counter they can try where they open their half guard then hook under your knee. They can then lift and drive through to the top position.
My personal preference is to start the pass by reaching under their head with the arm on the same side as your trapped leg. This may feel counter-intuitive, as normally that is the arm you would use to underhook, but that's because you're swinging over to the other side. This is effectively a cross-face on the opposite side, which you lock in fully once you're over to the other side, driving your shoulder into their cheek/jaw to prevent them turning their head towards you. It's also key that after swinging to the other side, you post firmly on your outside leg, angling the knee towards their body. This should stop them bridging into you and getting a reversal.
A useful tip from Fran Vanderstukken is to pull their knee across, which twists their spin. Your free leg is behind you for base, preventing them rolling you over. You can then yank their top leg towards you and extricate your foot. If you require more leverage, push on their bottom leg with your free foot. You can also try stepping the basing leg in front of their leg, using it as a wedge. That means it both blocks their movement but still provides you with base. If all that fails, you could swing back over to the other side and knee cut, but be careful of back takes (if you can get an underhook it will help, holding the head may not be enough control).
A slight variation on this pass comes from the Beneville book: if you can get this one, it's probably the tightest option. Before you swing over, open up their lapel on the free leg side. Pass the end of their gi to the hand you have under their head and feed it through. Push their head slightly towards the trapped leg side, then shove your head in the space you’ve created. You can use your head for base, along with your free hand if required.
After you've swung over, watch out for a counter they may try, which is to lift up your leg with their far foot, flipping you over. To re-counter that, immediately switch from holding the knee to hooking behind their knee with your arm. That should stop them lifting for the sweep. Alternatively, you can also do a big step over to the other side as they try to flip you to your back.
________________
Teaching Notes: It's essential to pin super tight with that cross face. I like to talk about driving the shoulder into the palm of your hand. I also talked about driving a stake through their head, but that's a rather aggressive metaphor, I want to come up with something less extreme. ;)
Another thing is sitting right down when you've flipped to the other side, hip on the mat. If you're too high up onto them, that makes you lighter in terms of their efforts to roll you over. Counter-intuitive I guess, as normally it is good to put your weight on them. Though you are still doing that, you're just focusing it through your shoulder into the cross face. Basing out with your foot is important too, for a similar reason, stop them rolling you.
Video points, when I was demonstrating without a partner I pushed with the wrong leg to 'free' my leg from invisible partner, remember it's the basing leg that pushes. Also, worth emphasising that on the switch to the knee cut, you have to be careful they can't take your back. There is the rolling back take as well, it would be good to teach that in a sequence that goes from hip switch pass, kimura pass, opposite side pass and then finally back take. That will require copious open mat drilling first, of course. :)
30/08/2017 - Open Mat (Wednesday)
Class #896
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/08/2017
Lots of rolling with Heidi this morning, as is typical for the morning open mat. I was continuing to try and get that kimura hug from side control. It appears I'm getting better at isolating the shoulder, at least with partners who are smaller and/or less experienced than me. I think the key to that is getting your weight right onto the shoulder, so they can't lift it to relieve the pressure. I will keep playing with it, seems like a great follow up to a standard kimura attempting, or indeed the usual americana, if you can get their hand to go the other way. I would assume this wouldn't work well in an americana configuration, but then you'd just go for the americana as they can't grab things as easily to block that. :)
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 30/08/2017
Lots of rolling with Heidi this morning, as is typical for the morning open mat. I was continuing to try and get that kimura hug from side control. It appears I'm getting better at isolating the shoulder, at least with partners who are smaller and/or less experienced than me. I think the key to that is getting your weight right onto the shoulder, so they can't lift it to relieve the pressure. I will keep playing with it, seems like a great follow up to a standard kimura attempting, or indeed the usual americana, if you can get their hand to go the other way. I would assume this wouldn't work well in an americana configuration, but then you'd just go for the americana as they can't grab things as easily to block that. :)
29 August 2017
29/08/2017 - Open Mat (Tuesday)
Class #895
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 29/08/2017
It was bank holiday yesterday, so today was my first time back on the Artemis BJJ mats after Heidelberg. I therefore wanted to keep practicing the stuff from Priit (a category that has grown larger, as he taught a further two lessons at Heidelcamp, on open guard and side control), along with the kimura hug from Daniel Bertina. I both shared that with the people who popped along today, as well as trying them in sparring. As usual, live stream of it below. :)
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Can Sönmez, Bristol, UK - 29/08/2017
It was bank holiday yesterday, so today was my first time back on the Artemis BJJ mats after Heidelberg. I therefore wanted to keep practicing the stuff from Priit (a category that has grown larger, as he taught a further two lessons at Heidelcamp, on open guard and side control), along with the kimura hug from Daniel Bertina. I both shared that with the people who popped along today, as well as trying them in sparring. As usual, live stream of it below. :)
27 August 2017
Germany, 18th to 27th August 2017 (Berlin & Heidelberg)
My original plan was to fly into Hamburg, visit a few people there, then on to Berlin to hang out with my brother and check out a few museums. Unfortunately, the downside of booking things a long way in advance is that things can change by the time the dates roll around. Hence why none of the people I was intending to visit were actually there (people have lives, it turns out ;P). As I hadn't yet booked my internal transport, that gave me some scope in terms of what to do. I therefore decided that rather than waiting around in Hamburg, I would go straight to Berlin and spend all my time before the camp there, thanks to the joy of FlixBus.
Hamburg Airport was something of a pain to get around. First you have a surprisingly long drive in the bus from the plane to the main terminal. Once there, the automated passport machines were all broken, slowing border control to a crawl. I finally got through that to baggage claim...none of which said Bristol. That might have been because the border control took so long, I'm not sure. Either way, the upshot was that I scampered back and forth to try and find Bristol on the baggage carousels, before finally just asking somebody at the desk and getting it that way.
Transport from the airport to the central train station (the FlixBus stop is right by it) was thankfully without hassle, there's a train station right at the airport. FlixBus is the continental equivalent of Megabus, but a little comfier and the WiFi also appears to be better (though you do hit limits if you watch a bunch of streaming video or whatever, so stick with simple social media rather than YouTube). I managed to get myself confused between the U bahn and S bahn, because I could only find the S bahn stations on my offline map. I ended up walking through the Tiergarten cycle paths, as that was the only part that was lit (dimly). It took me almost three hours to get to the hostel, which would have taken someone with either common or directional sense about 30 mins. Sadly I possess neither. ;)
BERLIN
When I was last in Berlin six years ago, my time in the Gemäldegalerie was brief. I only had an hour or two in 2011, but in 2017 I have time to spend the whole weekend with art. They still have the excellent audio guide, which for me is a big part of my enjoyment. I guess I'm too used to podcasts.
The museum is chronologically and geographically organised, starting with some German examples. There is a very early altarpiece from around 1230: I especially liked the soldiers sleeping in the corner, putting me in mind of fantasy #art, as well as 19th century Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood approximations of the medieval.
I was pleased to see a Riemenschneider up close, one of the greatest sculptors of all time, but sadly no audio guide entry. Beautifully realised hands. In that early section, Hans Multscher also caught my eye. His 1437 altarpiece reminded me of Bosch, due to the similarly gurning facial types he used (bottom left), plus there was some cool armour on the guards (bottom right). Always a fan of cool armour. :)
Of the seven hours I spent at the gallery, four were in the first handful of rooms. The Gemäldegalerie has a world class selection of my favourite art, Flemish painting from the 15th century. Along with the van Eyck and Van der Weyden (bottom right) you'd expect, my old friend Dieric Bouts from Leuven is there too (top right). There's also an Aelbrecht Bouts (end of album) from Leuven, I guess a relation? Maybe a descendant, as his dates are 1455-1549 (long lived, especially for that time), whereas Dieric was 1410/20-1475.
I made a return visit to the well-known Petrus Christus portrait I mentioned last time (top left), the earliest of its type to feature a real background, apparently. I'd forgotten about his Last Judgement though (bottom left): as ever, the infernal lower half is way more interesting than the celestial top section. You'll also find Cranach here (his 'Fountain of Youth' is probably the best known painting by him in this section), along with Hans Baldung. Hans Memling and Hugo van der Goes make an appearance too.
If Belgian art is my favourite, the Dutch are a close second. Bruegel (top left) is sort of both, as the town where he was (probably) born was on the border of present day Belgium and the Netherlands. Whichever country can claim him, he's awesome, so it's always a thrill to see his paintings in person. The Gemäldegalerie has one of his best, known as Netherlands Proverbs (but also Flemish Proverbs).
There's a handy guide telling you what they all are. Along with the familiar 'armed to the teeth', that armoured chap is also thought to represent 'to bell the cat'. Apparently that's when you plan something everyone finds out about, which therefore turns out badly. Yeah, me neither. You'll also find plenty from other Dutch heavyweights, the definitely Dutch Frans Hals (top right, bottom left) and of course Rembrandt (bottom right, extra in album). Malle Babbe ('malle' roughly means 'mad') looks very happy with her beer, as well as surprisingly modern in style.
If there was such a group as 'regular readers of the #SlideyArtPost hashtag', then they might remember that last March I posted about Gerard Ter Borch (talking about the Rijksmuseum version of the painting on the left). He was renowned for his incredible ability to replicate satin in paint, which is probably why there are three paintings by him in the Gemäldegalerie that prominently feature photorealistic dresses. However, he did sometimes manage to restrain himself and go a whole painting without any amazing drapery (he could show off how good he was at painting metal armour instead, for example ;D)
Every art gallery I've ever been to has always lacked something. They tend to impose an enormous void on the artistic canon of the period I most enjoy (1450-1750) labeled 'Female Painters'. Given patriarchal constraints were even worse back then, it's admittedly a smaller pool to choose from, but there are still plenty of superb artists from those three centuries who happened to be women.
You won't find many of them on display at the Gemäldegalerie, but there are a few. I was pleased to see old favourites like Angelica Kauffmann (top left) and Vigee Le Brun (middle left) with a sort-of-appearance by Judith Leyster (merely in a painting by her husband though, rather than one of her own works). The gallery can boast a Sofonisba Anguissola (bottom right) too, which was particularly cool as I rarely get to see her #art in person. I'd be interested to know more about the painting: it's a portrait of another Anguissola, so presumably a relative.
It was also great to encounter a female artist I hadn't seen before, Anna Dorothea Therbusch (1721-1782). She probably appears in one of the women artist compendiums I own, but I didn't recognise the name either way. According to the audio guide, she was very successful in the 18th century, plus she was a local, born in Berlin. She certainly knew how to rock a massive monocle and folding fan, so extra points for that.
When I've finished luxuriating in Flemish, Dutch and German artists (in that order), my typical final stop in a gallery is to see if they have any of my other favourites from elsewhere in the world. I've mentioned some of them already (French, Swiss and Italian female artists), then there's also Goya. He wasn't about, but the Gemäldegalerie does have another of my faves: Parmigianino. He's often in residence, though he's almost never highlighted: if a gallery has some Correggio (end of album), I can usually find Parmigianino nearby.
The Gemäldegalerie has his 1519 'Baptism of Christ'. The figure of Jesus himself looks a lot like Parmigianino's standard female figure, just with a beard. I guess he really liked that facial structure, plus Christ does tend to be refreshingly effeminate (except when he's on the cross, as there he sometimes gets buff). Caravaggio (middle) is another painter I'll look out for when I've exhausted a gallery's Northern European sections. He crops up with an intriguing counterpart, as right across from his 'Love Conquers All' is a direct response from his hated rival Baglione (right). Caravaggio's unabashedly homoerotic Cupid (thought to be modelled on his lover and student, known as Cecco del Caravaggio as a result) grins atop a pile of symbols, demonstrating love's potency.
There was a conservative backlash, so Baglione was commissioned to depict Sacred Love overcoming Profane Love. The latter figure is very clearly meant to be Caravaggio's Eros. Admittedly I do prefer Baglione's painting, but that's because (yep, same old reason) it features cool armour. :D
Sunday in Berlin began with a stop at the Brandenburg Gate, on my way to the Museuminsel. Everybody was stood several metres in front of it, with a few getting slightly closer for a selfie background. For some reason, I was the only one going up close to look at the imposing bas reliefs on the side of each opening. Which I imagine meant that for everybody else, I became 'that annoying guy who got in the way of my perfect tourist shot.' ;p
In the Museuminsel, I started with the the Alte Nationalgalerie. This gallery focuses on 19th century painting, not a period I find all that interesting. However, I do enjoy the Fin de Siècle, where the 19th century moves into the 20th. That's where you can find art noveau, symbolism and later art deco, all of which I love. Franz von Stuck (1863-1928) was the main name I already knew here, with a bunch of cool paintings. As a symbolist, he depicted sorcery and the occult, Circe being a very popular theme of that school.
Von Stuck not only painted fantastical visions, he created his own beautifully designed frames too. The works here are mostly 1900s and 1910s, during art nouveau (primarily an 1890-1910 style). I wonder if the straight lines of the columns from the 1912 work point to the coming deco (which began around 1920), whereas the spidery lettering remains nouveau.
Unlike von Stuck, I'm not familiar with Thomas Theodor Heine. His squat, smooth sculpture of a devil looks like infernal slime frozen in place. To my eye it's modern, I could imagine that in a shop today. The best part of 19th century art is that the interest in the medieval and fairy tales meant a whole tarrasque-full of material that would do a fine job of illustrating a D&D sourcebook.
While I was ignoring most of the gallery on a hunt for more Symbolists, Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901) grabbed my attention. Bottom left are his properly monstrous looking sirens (a refreshing change from the usual mermaid trope), then top right is a chilled out dragon. There were lots of others too, both painting and #sculpture. I assumed bottom right was a depiction of medusa due to the snake hair, but the caption titles it 'Witch'. In case you're wondering, top left is Snow White.
The 'Altes' gallery possesses a well regarded collection of French Impressionists, but I am not a fan of that style. I do like Henri De Tolouse Latrec (top left), though, especially his posters. There was also a Turkish painter, making for a pleasant change. From the audio guide, Osman Hamdi Bey (top right) sounds like a multi-talented guy, educated in Paris, going on to become an influential bureaucrat as well as an artist.
A few female painters can be found, neither of whom I was familiar with. Sabine Lepsius (bottom left) lived through an eventful time (1864-1942), while Vilma Parlaghy's portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm very much captures his belicose pomposity (even the frame is well chosen). The painter's full name, as it's interesting, was Princess Elisabeth Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy.
I managed about an hour and a half in the Alte Nationalgalerie, then the same in the Neues Museum. I need two things to enjoy a museum: a carefully structured narrative layout and a comprehensive audio guide. The Neues Museum has a decent audio guide, but the layout is the typical 'here's some pottery, here are some tools, here are a few sculptures' style. For my taste, it doesn't hang together in an engaging way, though it works well if you buy the combined €18 ticket (true of the gallery too).
There is plenty of elegant Egyptian sculpture on show, my favourite part of the museum. Those two heads at the top are from around 1400BCE, while the so-called 'Berlin Green Head' (due to the fact it's dark green and in Berlin. Yeah, they don't know that much about it 😉) dates to 400CE. You can also wander through a partially reconstructed tomb.
When it comes to both walking through partially reconstructed historical sites and a strong narrative, you can't beat the Museuminsel's highlight: the Pergamonmuseum. Even though much of it is being refurbished, it still knocks the socks off the other two I visited nearby. You're hit in the face with the gigantic Ishtar Gate as you enter, which isn't even the main Ishtar Gate. That is far bigger, but the Pergamon Museum wasn't large enough to house it! It came to Berlin from Babylon itself.
After 9 months of excavation in Babylon, World War I meant #archaeologists were forced to abandon the site in 1917. 10 years later, they brought 400 crates full of glazed blue brick fragments to Berlin. Those all had to be pieced together into the current enormous gate. Naturally there were some gaps to fill, requiring quite a few new bricks to be made.
Past that, you come to the Miletus Gate, 60% of which is original (extremely high for a historical reconstruction, or so claims the audio guide). Structural engineers insisted on it being reinforced with an internal iron frame. Good thing too, or bombing during the war would have smashed it. The Gate still needed restoring though, some damage had occurred. It will get more restoring in 2019.
I'm guessing the Boğazköy sphinxes in the Pergamonmuseum (or something like them) were the inspiration for the Riddle Gate in The Neverending Story? I had a read about them once I board my FlixBus that same Sunday, as I'm timed the 22:00 FlixBus to Heidelberg to take me through the night (saving me some accommodation costs and using the time more efficiently). I didn't get in a whole lot of sleep, but I did watch a lot of Puschel, a cartoon squirrel who featured heavily during my childhood trips to my Opa and Oma. He's therefore become emblematic of my childhood, earning him a place on my arm as a tattoo (though given it's me, that has a whole host of different meanings, lots of planning went into it ;D).
HEIDELBERG
There isn't all that much for me to say culturally about Heidelberg, because I spent almost 100% of my time in the sports complex where the BJJ Globetrotter camp was taking place. I've written up all the classes, although I haven't gone into as much depth as usual: I need to be careful of that, I've been letting the blog write-ups really stack up since the Artemis BJJ timetable expanded to classes six days a week. There's quite a backlog, so the detail level sometimes suffers.
Another major reason there aren't such detailed posts this time is because every evening, instead of typing up classes, I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I set up a group for playing D&D at the Leuven Camp last month, which has expanded since then. By the time Heidelcamp started, we had not just Jan there (the Leuven DM), but also my room mate Ferdinand and me all capable of DMing. I split the sessions into 'beginner' and 'established', particularly as quite a few of the players from Leuven were here in Heidelberg (like Sabine and Manuel).
Probably because I'd arrived on my own with no Artemis BJJ students, Heidelcamp was my most sociable yet. I was staying in the sports centre itself, where there were only specific points to access the WiFi. The main one was down next the canteen, meaning that immediately became a major gathering point. I must have met and chatted to at least fifty fellow Globetrotters over the course of the camp at that spot, making plenty of new friends and getting in some cool conversations. I even got to practice my German a little, with the staff at the centre: the food in the canteen itself was surprisingly tasty.
Food was what eventually drew me out of the sports centre. I went on a brief trip into town with Jan and a new friend, Stephanie, in order to sample the delights of German cuisine. Stephanie had been telling me all about maltaschen, which are sort of like German dumplings. I was thrilled to find some, stuffing them right into my belly. Tasty!
We also got in lots of posing at the camp, due to the relatively recent addition of a photobooth. The first time I got to try that was in Leuven (I think they started it off in Copenhagen the month before?), with Ahn remaining the Empress of Pose. Her pictures are always the best, so I was pleased to feature in some of them. ;D
She also brought her facepainting kit with her to Heidelberg, as she often does, meaning the photobooth got extra fabulous:
The trip finished off for me with a visit to the local zoo, due to my cousin getting in touch asking if I wanted to hang out. That was cool, as I haven't seen her in years: I don't think she had any children when she last saw me. There are now two of them, both of whom have very different personalities, interestingly. The older one was keen to learn the English names for animals, which might have been more of a test for me if a lot of them hadn't had captions in both German and English. I could therefore cheat. ;)
That will be the last full camp for me this year, as my bank account can't handle any more, plus I try not to be away from my club too much (as that would be unfair on all the awesome people who cover classes for me). I like the idea of doing two camps a year and it was super fun in 2017, helping to counteract the dreaded Post Camp Blues (because I did two camps in quick succession). I've also got a mini camp to look forward to over a weekend, as Chris Paines has arranged 10 hours of Priit at his club up in Stafford in November. Eeeexcellent. Many of the Heidelcampers I spent a lot of time with are coming too, making for a lovely reunion.
Next year, I may just stick with Leuven, but I will be very tempted if the proposed extra camp in Scandinavia comes off. We'll see what happens. ;)
Hamburg Airport was something of a pain to get around. First you have a surprisingly long drive in the bus from the plane to the main terminal. Once there, the automated passport machines were all broken, slowing border control to a crawl. I finally got through that to baggage claim...none of which said Bristol. That might have been because the border control took so long, I'm not sure. Either way, the upshot was that I scampered back and forth to try and find Bristol on the baggage carousels, before finally just asking somebody at the desk and getting it that way.
Transport from the airport to the central train station (the FlixBus stop is right by it) was thankfully without hassle, there's a train station right at the airport. FlixBus is the continental equivalent of Megabus, but a little comfier and the WiFi also appears to be better (though you do hit limits if you watch a bunch of streaming video or whatever, so stick with simple social media rather than YouTube). I managed to get myself confused between the U bahn and S bahn, because I could only find the S bahn stations on my offline map. I ended up walking through the Tiergarten cycle paths, as that was the only part that was lit (dimly). It took me almost three hours to get to the hostel, which would have taken someone with either common or directional sense about 30 mins. Sadly I possess neither. ;)
BERLIN
When I was last in Berlin six years ago, my time in the Gemäldegalerie was brief. I only had an hour or two in 2011, but in 2017 I have time to spend the whole weekend with art. They still have the excellent audio guide, which for me is a big part of my enjoyment. I guess I'm too used to podcasts.
The museum is chronologically and geographically organised, starting with some German examples. There is a very early altarpiece from around 1230: I especially liked the soldiers sleeping in the corner, putting me in mind of fantasy #art, as well as 19th century Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood approximations of the medieval.
I was pleased to see a Riemenschneider up close, one of the greatest sculptors of all time, but sadly no audio guide entry. Beautifully realised hands. In that early section, Hans Multscher also caught my eye. His 1437 altarpiece reminded me of Bosch, due to the similarly gurning facial types he used (bottom left), plus there was some cool armour on the guards (bottom right). Always a fan of cool armour. :)
Of the seven hours I spent at the gallery, four were in the first handful of rooms. The Gemäldegalerie has a world class selection of my favourite art, Flemish painting from the 15th century. Along with the van Eyck and Van der Weyden (bottom right) you'd expect, my old friend Dieric Bouts from Leuven is there too (top right). There's also an Aelbrecht Bouts (end of album) from Leuven, I guess a relation? Maybe a descendant, as his dates are 1455-1549 (long lived, especially for that time), whereas Dieric was 1410/20-1475.
I made a return visit to the well-known Petrus Christus portrait I mentioned last time (top left), the earliest of its type to feature a real background, apparently. I'd forgotten about his Last Judgement though (bottom left): as ever, the infernal lower half is way more interesting than the celestial top section. You'll also find Cranach here (his 'Fountain of Youth' is probably the best known painting by him in this section), along with Hans Baldung. Hans Memling and Hugo van der Goes make an appearance too.
If Belgian art is my favourite, the Dutch are a close second. Bruegel (top left) is sort of both, as the town where he was (probably) born was on the border of present day Belgium and the Netherlands. Whichever country can claim him, he's awesome, so it's always a thrill to see his paintings in person. The Gemäldegalerie has one of his best, known as Netherlands Proverbs (but also Flemish Proverbs).
There's a handy guide telling you what they all are. Along with the familiar 'armed to the teeth', that armoured chap is also thought to represent 'to bell the cat'. Apparently that's when you plan something everyone finds out about, which therefore turns out badly. Yeah, me neither. You'll also find plenty from other Dutch heavyweights, the definitely Dutch Frans Hals (top right, bottom left) and of course Rembrandt (bottom right, extra in album). Malle Babbe ('malle' roughly means 'mad') looks very happy with her beer, as well as surprisingly modern in style.
If there was such a group as 'regular readers of the #SlideyArtPost hashtag', then they might remember that last March I posted about Gerard Ter Borch (talking about the Rijksmuseum version of the painting on the left). He was renowned for his incredible ability to replicate satin in paint, which is probably why there are three paintings by him in the Gemäldegalerie that prominently feature photorealistic dresses. However, he did sometimes manage to restrain himself and go a whole painting without any amazing drapery (he could show off how good he was at painting metal armour instead, for example ;D)
Every art gallery I've ever been to has always lacked something. They tend to impose an enormous void on the artistic canon of the period I most enjoy (1450-1750) labeled 'Female Painters'. Given patriarchal constraints were even worse back then, it's admittedly a smaller pool to choose from, but there are still plenty of superb artists from those three centuries who happened to be women.
You won't find many of them on display at the Gemäldegalerie, but there are a few. I was pleased to see old favourites like Angelica Kauffmann (top left) and Vigee Le Brun (middle left) with a sort-of-appearance by Judith Leyster (merely in a painting by her husband though, rather than one of her own works). The gallery can boast a Sofonisba Anguissola (bottom right) too, which was particularly cool as I rarely get to see her #art in person. I'd be interested to know more about the painting: it's a portrait of another Anguissola, so presumably a relative.
It was also great to encounter a female artist I hadn't seen before, Anna Dorothea Therbusch (1721-1782). She probably appears in one of the women artist compendiums I own, but I didn't recognise the name either way. According to the audio guide, she was very successful in the 18th century, plus she was a local, born in Berlin. She certainly knew how to rock a massive monocle and folding fan, so extra points for that.
When I've finished luxuriating in Flemish, Dutch and German artists (in that order), my typical final stop in a gallery is to see if they have any of my other favourites from elsewhere in the world. I've mentioned some of them already (French, Swiss and Italian female artists), then there's also Goya. He wasn't about, but the Gemäldegalerie does have another of my faves: Parmigianino. He's often in residence, though he's almost never highlighted: if a gallery has some Correggio (end of album), I can usually find Parmigianino nearby.
The Gemäldegalerie has his 1519 'Baptism of Christ'. The figure of Jesus himself looks a lot like Parmigianino's standard female figure, just with a beard. I guess he really liked that facial structure, plus Christ does tend to be refreshingly effeminate (except when he's on the cross, as there he sometimes gets buff). Caravaggio (middle) is another painter I'll look out for when I've exhausted a gallery's Northern European sections. He crops up with an intriguing counterpart, as right across from his 'Love Conquers All' is a direct response from his hated rival Baglione (right). Caravaggio's unabashedly homoerotic Cupid (thought to be modelled on his lover and student, known as Cecco del Caravaggio as a result) grins atop a pile of symbols, demonstrating love's potency.
There was a conservative backlash, so Baglione was commissioned to depict Sacred Love overcoming Profane Love. The latter figure is very clearly meant to be Caravaggio's Eros. Admittedly I do prefer Baglione's painting, but that's because (yep, same old reason) it features cool armour. :D
Sunday in Berlin began with a stop at the Brandenburg Gate, on my way to the Museuminsel. Everybody was stood several metres in front of it, with a few getting slightly closer for a selfie background. For some reason, I was the only one going up close to look at the imposing bas reliefs on the side of each opening. Which I imagine meant that for everybody else, I became 'that annoying guy who got in the way of my perfect tourist shot.' ;p
In the Museuminsel, I started with the the Alte Nationalgalerie. This gallery focuses on 19th century painting, not a period I find all that interesting. However, I do enjoy the Fin de Siècle, where the 19th century moves into the 20th. That's where you can find art noveau, symbolism and later art deco, all of which I love. Franz von Stuck (1863-1928) was the main name I already knew here, with a bunch of cool paintings. As a symbolist, he depicted sorcery and the occult, Circe being a very popular theme of that school.
Von Stuck not only painted fantastical visions, he created his own beautifully designed frames too. The works here are mostly 1900s and 1910s, during art nouveau (primarily an 1890-1910 style). I wonder if the straight lines of the columns from the 1912 work point to the coming deco (which began around 1920), whereas the spidery lettering remains nouveau.
Unlike von Stuck, I'm not familiar with Thomas Theodor Heine. His squat, smooth sculpture of a devil looks like infernal slime frozen in place. To my eye it's modern, I could imagine that in a shop today. The best part of 19th century art is that the interest in the medieval and fairy tales meant a whole tarrasque-full of material that would do a fine job of illustrating a D&D sourcebook.
While I was ignoring most of the gallery on a hunt for more Symbolists, Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901) grabbed my attention. Bottom left are his properly monstrous looking sirens (a refreshing change from the usual mermaid trope), then top right is a chilled out dragon. There were lots of others too, both painting and #sculpture. I assumed bottom right was a depiction of medusa due to the snake hair, but the caption titles it 'Witch'. In case you're wondering, top left is Snow White.
The 'Altes' gallery possesses a well regarded collection of French Impressionists, but I am not a fan of that style. I do like Henri De Tolouse Latrec (top left), though, especially his posters. There was also a Turkish painter, making for a pleasant change. From the audio guide, Osman Hamdi Bey (top right) sounds like a multi-talented guy, educated in Paris, going on to become an influential bureaucrat as well as an artist.
A few female painters can be found, neither of whom I was familiar with. Sabine Lepsius (bottom left) lived through an eventful time (1864-1942), while Vilma Parlaghy's portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm very much captures his belicose pomposity (even the frame is well chosen). The painter's full name, as it's interesting, was Princess Elisabeth Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy.
I managed about an hour and a half in the Alte Nationalgalerie, then the same in the Neues Museum. I need two things to enjoy a museum: a carefully structured narrative layout and a comprehensive audio guide. The Neues Museum has a decent audio guide, but the layout is the typical 'here's some pottery, here are some tools, here are a few sculptures' style. For my taste, it doesn't hang together in an engaging way, though it works well if you buy the combined €18 ticket (true of the gallery too).
There is plenty of elegant Egyptian sculpture on show, my favourite part of the museum. Those two heads at the top are from around 1400BCE, while the so-called 'Berlin Green Head' (due to the fact it's dark green and in Berlin. Yeah, they don't know that much about it 😉) dates to 400CE. You can also wander through a partially reconstructed tomb.
When it comes to both walking through partially reconstructed historical sites and a strong narrative, you can't beat the Museuminsel's highlight: the Pergamonmuseum. Even though much of it is being refurbished, it still knocks the socks off the other two I visited nearby. You're hit in the face with the gigantic Ishtar Gate as you enter, which isn't even the main Ishtar Gate. That is far bigger, but the Pergamon Museum wasn't large enough to house it! It came to Berlin from Babylon itself.
After 9 months of excavation in Babylon, World War I meant #archaeologists were forced to abandon the site in 1917. 10 years later, they brought 400 crates full of glazed blue brick fragments to Berlin. Those all had to be pieced together into the current enormous gate. Naturally there were some gaps to fill, requiring quite a few new bricks to be made.
Past that, you come to the Miletus Gate, 60% of which is original (extremely high for a historical reconstruction, or so claims the audio guide). Structural engineers insisted on it being reinforced with an internal iron frame. Good thing too, or bombing during the war would have smashed it. The Gate still needed restoring though, some damage had occurred. It will get more restoring in 2019.
I'm guessing the Boğazköy sphinxes in the Pergamonmuseum (or something like them) were the inspiration for the Riddle Gate in The Neverending Story? I had a read about them once I board my FlixBus that same Sunday, as I'm timed the 22:00 FlixBus to Heidelberg to take me through the night (saving me some accommodation costs and using the time more efficiently). I didn't get in a whole lot of sleep, but I did watch a lot of Puschel, a cartoon squirrel who featured heavily during my childhood trips to my Opa and Oma. He's therefore become emblematic of my childhood, earning him a place on my arm as a tattoo (though given it's me, that has a whole host of different meanings, lots of planning went into it ;D).
HEIDELBERG
There isn't all that much for me to say culturally about Heidelberg, because I spent almost 100% of my time in the sports complex where the BJJ Globetrotter camp was taking place. I've written up all the classes, although I haven't gone into as much depth as usual: I need to be careful of that, I've been letting the blog write-ups really stack up since the Artemis BJJ timetable expanded to classes six days a week. There's quite a backlog, so the detail level sometimes suffers.
Another major reason there aren't such detailed posts this time is because every evening, instead of typing up classes, I was playing Dungeons & Dragons. I set up a group for playing D&D at the Leuven Camp last month, which has expanded since then. By the time Heidelcamp started, we had not just Jan there (the Leuven DM), but also my room mate Ferdinand and me all capable of DMing. I split the sessions into 'beginner' and 'established', particularly as quite a few of the players from Leuven were here in Heidelberg (like Sabine and Manuel).
Probably because I'd arrived on my own with no Artemis BJJ students, Heidelcamp was my most sociable yet. I was staying in the sports centre itself, where there were only specific points to access the WiFi. The main one was down next the canteen, meaning that immediately became a major gathering point. I must have met and chatted to at least fifty fellow Globetrotters over the course of the camp at that spot, making plenty of new friends and getting in some cool conversations. I even got to practice my German a little, with the staff at the centre: the food in the canteen itself was surprisingly tasty.
Food was what eventually drew me out of the sports centre. I went on a brief trip into town with Jan and a new friend, Stephanie, in order to sample the delights of German cuisine. Stephanie had been telling me all about maltaschen, which are sort of like German dumplings. I was thrilled to find some, stuffing them right into my belly. Tasty!
We also got in lots of posing at the camp, due to the relatively recent addition of a photobooth. The first time I got to try that was in Leuven (I think they started it off in Copenhagen the month before?), with Ahn remaining the Empress of Pose. Her pictures are always the best, so I was pleased to feature in some of them. ;D
She also brought her facepainting kit with her to Heidelberg, as she often does, meaning the photobooth got extra fabulous:
The trip finished off for me with a visit to the local zoo, due to my cousin getting in touch asking if I wanted to hang out. That was cool, as I haven't seen her in years: I don't think she had any children when she last saw me. There are now two of them, both of whom have very different personalities, interestingly. The older one was keen to learn the English names for animals, which might have been more of a test for me if a lot of them hadn't had captions in both German and English. I could therefore cheat. ;)
That will be the last full camp for me this year, as my bank account can't handle any more, plus I try not to be away from my club too much (as that would be unfair on all the awesome people who cover classes for me). I like the idea of doing two camps a year and it was super fun in 2017, helping to counteract the dreaded Post Camp Blues (because I did two camps in quick succession). I've also got a mini camp to look forward to over a weekend, as Chris Paines has arranged 10 hours of Priit at his club up in Stafford in November. Eeeexcellent. Many of the Heidelcampers I spent a lot of time with are coming too, making for a lovely reunion.
Next year, I may just stick with Leuven, but I will be very tempted if the proposed extra camp in Scandinavia comes off. We'll see what happens. ;)
26 August 2017
26/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Open Mat
Class #894
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Open Mat, Heidelberg, Germany, 26/08/2017
From Priit stuff, I worked on hold the phone. So, shoulder up into ear. Lie almost flat in side. For running escape, really tuck your elbow way under, block hooks. Thigh over arm. For his turtle, also hold the phone. Look at the side they're on, then handfight the other side to thwart their attacks. I had good rolls with Ferdinand and Mikhail, who both squished me (plus I soon ran out of gas defending against Mikhail, meaning I used too much energy), along with a number of other people on my list, like Ahn, Amanda and Eva.
My final roll was with Bernd, who had some good advice on the double under defence to knee cut. He suggested using a frame to make space, then you can scoot in for those underhooks to escape the pass. On the single leg sweep with Ferdinand, he noted I was too high on the knee and I needed to get in deeper.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Open Mat, Heidelberg, Germany, 26/08/2017
From Priit stuff, I worked on hold the phone. So, shoulder up into ear. Lie almost flat in side. For running escape, really tuck your elbow way under, block hooks. Thigh over arm. For his turtle, also hold the phone. Look at the side they're on, then handfight the other side to thwart their attacks. I had good rolls with Ferdinand and Mikhail, who both squished me (plus I soon ran out of gas defending against Mikhail, meaning I used too much energy), along with a number of other people on my list, like Ahn, Amanda and Eva.
My final roll was with Bernd, who had some good advice on the double under defence to knee cut. He suggested using a frame to make space, then you can scoot in for those underhooks to escape the pass. On the single leg sweep with Ferdinand, he noted I was too high on the knee and I needed to get in deeper.
26/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Kimura hug (Daniel Bertina)
Class #893
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Daniel Bertina, Heidelberg, Germany, 26/08/2017
The final class of camp proved to be the one most immediately applicable to my game. It was based around a kimura follow-up that Daniel has been using since he was a child training judo, apparently. You go for the kimura, but they grab their belt or whatever to block your submission. Reach all the way through with your wrist gripping hand, hugging your own triceps. Your other hand goes under their elbow, reaching for your other triceps. Squeeze your arms together and wriggle them forwards, for a count of 1-2-3.
Next, walk your legs around towards their head, until your can shift your weight onto their far shoulder. To finish, twist your elbow nearest to their head up to apply a shoulderlock. I've decided to call this the kimura hug, which feels appropriate (and I like that it sounds cuddly instead of nasty ;D). It's possible to get the tap from the cutting pressure of your forearm, though personally I prefer to avoid anything that relies on pain and leaves lasting soreness. You can do this on the near side too, as well as an acrobatic jump into the position off a guard pass.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Daniel Bertina, Heidelberg, Germany, 26/08/2017
The final class of camp proved to be the one most immediately applicable to my game. It was based around a kimura follow-up that Daniel has been using since he was a child training judo, apparently. You go for the kimura, but they grab their belt or whatever to block your submission. Reach all the way through with your wrist gripping hand, hugging your own triceps. Your other hand goes under their elbow, reaching for your other triceps. Squeeze your arms together and wriggle them forwards, for a count of 1-2-3.
Next, walk your legs around towards their head, until your can shift your weight onto their far shoulder. To finish, twist your elbow nearest to their head up to apply a shoulderlock. I've decided to call this the kimura hug, which feels appropriate (and I like that it sounds cuddly instead of nasty ;D). It's possible to get the tap from the cutting pressure of your forearm, though personally I prefer to avoid anything that relies on pain and leaves lasting soreness. You can do this on the near side too, as well as an acrobatic jump into the position off a guard pass.
25 August 2017
25/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Open Mat
Class #892
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Open Mat, Heidelberg, Germany, 25/08/2017
Having kicked off my sparring on Thursday, I ramped it up further for Friday, before the main sparring session for me on Saturday. I would have stayed longer, but there was the fourth and final Dungeons & Dragons session to get to for 20:30. A number of good rolls today, particularly with Karla. I was attempting to practice Priit's turtle material, but definitely missed some pointers. A reminder of why it can be tricky to practice stuff when your partner is good: she choked me for my trouble, nicely transitioning from a collar grip into a RNC. ;)
I did a bunch of drilling at camp too, on earlier days. I'll probably just put that all into the Saturday open mat post, for ease. Mostly material from Priit, along with Aaron Milam, plus some of the bits and pieces I learned over the course of the camp.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Open Mat, Heidelberg, Germany, 25/08/2017
Having kicked off my sparring on Thursday, I ramped it up further for Friday, before the main sparring session for me on Saturday. I would have stayed longer, but there was the fourth and final Dungeons & Dragons session to get to for 20:30. A number of good rolls today, particularly with Karla. I was attempting to practice Priit's turtle material, but definitely missed some pointers. A reminder of why it can be tricky to practice stuff when your partner is good: she choked me for my trouble, nicely transitioning from a collar grip into a RNC. ;)
I did a bunch of drilling at camp too, on earlier days. I'll probably just put that all into the Saturday open mat post, for ease. Mostly material from Priit, along with Aaron Milam, plus some of the bits and pieces I learned over the course of the camp.
25/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Single leg sweeps (Ben Westrich)
Class #891
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Ben Westrich, Heidelberg, Germany, 25/08/2017
I had thought this class might feature material going off the shin-on-shin position or something like that, but it was tightly focused on the single leg from a wrestling angle. For example, spinning behind the leg, threading your arm and driving for the single, standing up if necessary. Lots of useful pointers here, though I don't think I'll be doing all that much standing up because I'm too lazy. Another one where I'll be carefully checking the videos, particularly when we're closing in on open guard month again.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Ben Westrich, Heidelberg, Germany, 25/08/2017
I had thought this class might feature material going off the shin-on-shin position or something like that, but it was tightly focused on the single leg from a wrestling angle. For example, spinning behind the leg, threading your arm and driving for the single, standing up if necessary. Lots of useful pointers here, though I don't think I'll be doing all that much standing up because I'm too lazy. Another one where I'll be carefully checking the videos, particularly when we're closing in on open guard month again.
25/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Side control escape posture (Priit Mihkelson)
Class #890
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Priit Mihkelson, Heidelberg, Germany, 25/08/2017
Like the open guard class earlier, this was an area where everything felt a lot more familiar than the material on half guard and turtle at Leuven. I have spent a huge chunk of my time in BJJ under side control, plus I have relied (far too much) on the running escape to lie there and stall. I was therefore eager to see what details Priit could add to the escape. There were a number of helpful tweaks, like bringing your arm further underneath. Priit also uses an arm position where he draps his arms, which reminded me of something I think I saw Saulo do as a 'survival' position under side control.
Elbow is near the legs, other arm is a bit higher, hugging yourself (elbow is by other hip, so elbows by both hips). Can also frame with the elbow by legs arm, other arm grabbing that bicep. If they cross face, look into the bicep. Don't turn too far away, just lift the shoulder a little. Or, all the way over to running escape. If they push really hard on the shoulder to get it down, use that commitment to shrimp and get your guard back.
Be ready to put in double underhooks too, like that knee cut defence. If you can turn towards them and connect knee to elbow, that double underhooks is waiting there for them. Can walk away in that hugging posture, aiming to spin up on your head (I think? That part looked a lot trickier). With the running escape, elbow is right under. Keep your legs close enough so they can't drive their knee in over the top.
As ever with Priit, I'll need to review the videos a lot, but I'm hopeful I'll be able to pick this up more easily than his other material, given I already spent plenty of time there. We'll see. ;)
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Priit Mihkelson, Heidelberg, Germany, 25/08/2017
Like the open guard class earlier, this was an area where everything felt a lot more familiar than the material on half guard and turtle at Leuven. I have spent a huge chunk of my time in BJJ under side control, plus I have relied (far too much) on the running escape to lie there and stall. I was therefore eager to see what details Priit could add to the escape. There were a number of helpful tweaks, like bringing your arm further underneath. Priit also uses an arm position where he draps his arms, which reminded me of something I think I saw Saulo do as a 'survival' position under side control.
Elbow is near the legs, other arm is a bit higher, hugging yourself (elbow is by other hip, so elbows by both hips). Can also frame with the elbow by legs arm, other arm grabbing that bicep. If they cross face, look into the bicep. Don't turn too far away, just lift the shoulder a little. Or, all the way over to running escape. If they push really hard on the shoulder to get it down, use that commitment to shrimp and get your guard back.
Be ready to put in double underhooks too, like that knee cut defence. If you can turn towards them and connect knee to elbow, that double underhooks is waiting there for them. Can walk away in that hugging posture, aiming to spin up on your head (I think? That part looked a lot trickier). With the running escape, elbow is right under. Keep your legs close enough so they can't drive their knee in over the top.
As ever with Priit, I'll need to review the videos a lot, but I'm hopeful I'll be able to pick this up more easily than his other material, given I already spent plenty of time there. We'll see. ;)
25/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | de la Riva x (Steven Antoniou)
Class #889
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Steven Antoniou, Heidelberg, Germany, 25/08/2017
I was curious to see what Steve did for de la Riva x, as like me his legs are on the shorter side. He taught the technique against combat base, threading your leg thread, pulling on their heel to help. Your other leg goes through, then you grab their sleeve to take away their base. Attempt to sweep them one way, then if that doesn't work, go the other way. I was trying this in sparring, but need to double check the videos to clarify some details. Similar to how Ana Yagues taught it, except Steve had some variations on how to come up, plus some extra tweaks. Coolness, I hope he teaches at the next camp I'm at too. :)
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Steven Antoniou, Heidelberg, Germany, 25/08/2017
I was curious to see what Steve did for de la Riva x, as like me his legs are on the shorter side. He taught the technique against combat base, threading your leg thread, pulling on their heel to help. Your other leg goes through, then you grab their sleeve to take away their base. Attempt to sweep them one way, then if that doesn't work, go the other way. I was trying this in sparring, but need to double check the videos to clarify some details. Similar to how Ana Yagues taught it, except Steve had some variations on how to come up, plus some extra tweaks. Coolness, I hope he teaches at the next camp I'm at too. :)
24 August 2017
24/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Rich Sab
Class #888
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Rich Sab, Heidelberg, Germany, 24/08/2017
This was one of the best taught classes at the camp, from my perspective, all on passing butterfly and sitting guard. Push them down to the mat, where Ferdinand mentioned about keeping your head in the middle, don't turn or they can frame to stop you passing. Reach under for their opposite foot, squash the leg and pass. If you can't get hold of their foot, push one knee a little forwards, which will put their foot closer to your hand for the pass. I like to squish the leg and walk around, Ferdinand prefers to drive a knee through. Both work, as long as you can maintain your pressure. :)
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Rich Sab, Heidelberg, Germany, 24/08/2017
This was one of the best taught classes at the camp, from my perspective, all on passing butterfly and sitting guard. Push them down to the mat, where Ferdinand mentioned about keeping your head in the middle, don't turn or they can frame to stop you passing. Reach under for their opposite foot, squash the leg and pass. If you can't get hold of their foot, push one knee a little forwards, which will put their foot closer to your hand for the pass. I like to squish the leg and walk around, Ferdinand prefers to drive a knee through. Both work, as long as you can maintain your pressure. :)
24/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Defensive frames (Jonathan Cuniowski)
Class #887
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Jonathan Cuniowski, Heidelberg, Germany, 24/08/2017
It was great to see Jonathan and Daphne again, having first met them in Leuven, then they visited me back home at Artemis BJJ. The theme was defensive frames, similar to what I've been trying from Ryan Hall's Defensive Guard DVD and the Jeff Rockwell instructional too. There were some difference though, such as gripping the same side collar rather than opposite side. Jonathan also made the important point that this was just meant to be a temporary position, the idea is getting back to guard. I will often hang out there too long. My long range open guard still needs a lot of work, that still feels like my biggest weakness at the moment.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Jonathan Cuniowski, Heidelberg, Germany, 24/08/2017
It was great to see Jonathan and Daphne again, having first met them in Leuven, then they visited me back home at Artemis BJJ. The theme was defensive frames, similar to what I've been trying from Ryan Hall's Defensive Guard DVD and the Jeff Rockwell instructional too. There were some difference though, such as gripping the same side collar rather than opposite side. Jonathan also made the important point that this was just meant to be a temporary position, the idea is getting back to guard. I will often hang out there too long. My long range open guard still needs a lot of work, that still feels like my biggest weakness at the moment.
23 August 2017
23/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Butterfly guard (Mike Hartmann)
Class #886
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Mike Hartmann, Heidelberg, Germany, 23/08/2017
My brain wasn't working by this point, but fortunately Mike Hartmann's class was more theoretical anyway. I love that he brought out a whiteboard to illustrate his concept, drawing a tree of techniques with numerous branches. He took butterfly guard as an example, starting with a guillotine from butterfly guard, then into a sweep. To keep detailing his concept of a tree with many branches, he showed more techniques from there, like the pressing armbar. He finished off with an interesting take on the omoplata, which I need to practice. He wraps both their arms up, using that to pretzel them into a very tight omoplata they can't roll out of. Also, my room mate Ferdinand was the uke, resplendent in his lederhosen rashguard and matching shorts. :)
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Mike Hartmann, Heidelberg, Germany, 23/08/2017
My brain wasn't working by this point, but fortunately Mike Hartmann's class was more theoretical anyway. I love that he brought out a whiteboard to illustrate his concept, drawing a tree of techniques with numerous branches. He took butterfly guard as an example, starting with a guillotine from butterfly guard, then into a sweep. To keep detailing his concept of a tree with many branches, he showed more techniques from there, like the pressing armbar. He finished off with an interesting take on the omoplata, which I need to practice. He wraps both their arms up, using that to pretzel them into a very tight omoplata they can't roll out of. Also, my room mate Ferdinand was the uke, resplendent in his lederhosen rashguard and matching shorts. :)
23/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Torture guard (Daniel Bertina)
Class #885
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Daniel Bertina, Heidelberg, Germany, 23/08/2017
I was looking forward to this, especially as I didn't get the opportunity to learn Bertina's crushing pressure at a Leuven Camp a while ago, because commitments meant he wasn't able to attend. The wait was worth it, as both his classes at the Heidelberg Camp were excellent (if a little mean for my preferences, but I can always modify ;D). For what he calls Torture guard, begin by grabbing their triceps with your same side hand, in an 'Eagle claw' type pinch grip. Grasp their wrist with your other hand, in a way you can rotate it, palm facing you.
Pull their arm across, then the triceps gripping hand goes to grip your wrist instead. From there, you can now transfer into a deep armdrag, take the back and choke. If they straighten their arm, trap their wrist by your armpit. Lock your legs around their shoulder, sort of in an L shape. Slight hip lift for a super tight armbar. Should they try to slip out, press the knee you have by their by head inwards, twist arm for americana. Wristlock is another option, or you can go into standard armbar.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Daniel Bertina, Heidelberg, Germany, 23/08/2017
I was looking forward to this, especially as I didn't get the opportunity to learn Bertina's crushing pressure at a Leuven Camp a while ago, because commitments meant he wasn't able to attend. The wait was worth it, as both his classes at the Heidelberg Camp were excellent (if a little mean for my preferences, but I can always modify ;D). For what he calls Torture guard, begin by grabbing their triceps with your same side hand, in an 'Eagle claw' type pinch grip. Grasp their wrist with your other hand, in a way you can rotate it, palm facing you.
Pull their arm across, then the triceps gripping hand goes to grip your wrist instead. From there, you can now transfer into a deep armdrag, take the back and choke. If they straighten their arm, trap their wrist by your armpit. Lock your legs around their shoulder, sort of in an L shape. Slight hip lift for a super tight armbar. Should they try to slip out, press the knee you have by their by head inwards, twist arm for americana. Wristlock is another option, or you can go into standard armbar.
23/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Arm Triangles (Lilo Asensi)
Class #884
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Lilo Asensi, Heidelberg, Germany, 23/08/2017
Lilo's class the morning after her first was on arm triangles. They are framing into your neck, pushing slightly. Make a 'v' with your hand (useful tip from Jeff Knight here), creating a firm wedge. Put that just under their elbow, then use the force vector (thanks Josh!) to drive it across. As soon as you have that arm across, jam your ear into their arm. Bring your other arm around their neck, then on that other side, push your shoulder into their neck too, everything tight (a tip from Daniel Bertina this time, who was being Lilo's uke).
Wriggle your legs over to the other side, then move round to a perpendicular position. Slide your hips down into the choke. If they block, you can move to the back. You have their neck in the crook of your elbow. Lift them up and transfer your arms, then adjust into that arm triangle again. If you are going for leg drag but they push into shoulder, you can knock the arm, slide down into the choke. If they press into the other shoulder, you can jump into an armbar, hooking your foot into their armpit. If you have them in closed guard, you can sit right up and put on the arm triangle grip, or maybe do it from lower. Then butterfly hook, knock them over to mount and back to the arm triangle.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Lilo Asensi, Heidelberg, Germany, 23/08/2017
Lilo's class the morning after her first was on arm triangles. They are framing into your neck, pushing slightly. Make a 'v' with your hand (useful tip from Jeff Knight here), creating a firm wedge. Put that just under their elbow, then use the force vector (thanks Josh!) to drive it across. As soon as you have that arm across, jam your ear into their arm. Bring your other arm around their neck, then on that other side, push your shoulder into their neck too, everything tight (a tip from Daniel Bertina this time, who was being Lilo's uke).
Wriggle your legs over to the other side, then move round to a perpendicular position. Slide your hips down into the choke. If they block, you can move to the back. You have their neck in the crook of your elbow. Lift them up and transfer your arms, then adjust into that arm triangle again. If you are going for leg drag but they push into shoulder, you can knock the arm, slide down into the choke. If they press into the other shoulder, you can jump into an armbar, hooking your foot into their armpit. If you have them in closed guard, you can sit right up and put on the arm triangle grip, or maybe do it from lower. Then butterfly hook, knock them over to mount and back to the arm triangle.
Gi Review - Elite Sports 'Ultra Light' (Guest Review by Kirsty W)
[I don't tend to review gis myself very much any more, unless they are something special (I have a loooot of gis, plus it takes me a long time to review anything, so I won't make that commitment unless it's something like a bamboo gi or unusual in some other interesting respect). Fortunately, I have students who are interested in doing a review in exchange for a gi, so when I was sent one from Elite, I passed it on to my student Kirsty. She wore this gi regularly to training for several months: her review is below, plus pictures.]
Short Review: This gi is comfortable, durable and well-reinforced, with triple stitching on seams. I washed it on 30 degrees and it suffered minimal shrinkage. It also boasts anti-odour and anti-microbial treatment, and dries quicker than standard Tatami gis. It's 100% cotton and costs $69.99.
The design is mostly plain with branding on the shoulders and hips. So plenty of space for patches. And it comes with a free white belt. I'd recommend it for a first gi and for travelling and training.
Though to call it 'ultra light' is a bit of a stretch (especially compared to something like the BJJ Globetrotter travel gi or GIMONO gis, for example), it is certainly lighter than some other entry level gis (like the Tatami Nova).
Full Review: The top is comparatively light at 400gsm pearl weave cotton (but still considerably heavier than a truly ultralight gi, such as the 265gsm adidas Response) and allows for easy movement. I did not have any problems with the gi getting damaged during washing or training. The gi top air dries slightly faster than my other gis (which are all Tatami).
The trousers are 400gsm rip stop cotton with reinforced knees. They are a lot lighter than standard cotton gi pants and dry within a couple of hours (given sensible weather). The drawstring is aesthetically pleasing but is quite slippery so comes undone a bit easier than a standard drawstring. This could be replaced with a different drawstring but I have not found it too annoying so I've kept the same one.
The trousers, despite being lightweight, have survived training and the washing machine with no damage. The ripstop fabric is slightly rougher than standard cotton gi pants so could be scratchy if worn without spats by someone with sensitive skin. There is also rashguard lining on the inside of the jacket, by the yoke of the neck.
Both the trousers and the top have triple stitching on all outer seams and reinforcement on slits, armpits, knees and crotch. The inner lining on the wrists is soft and not scratchy. Elite Sports recommends that the gi be washed in cold water and air dried. I wash all my gis at 30 degrees and this one has been fine, with minimal shrinkage.
The legs have shortened less than standard cotton gi pants when subjected to similar washing and drying conditions. I have not tried tumble drying. The manufacturers claim that the fabric has anti-bacterial treatment, and the gi does indeed seem to be missing the slightly musty smell that lingers on other gis even when they've been washed.
The gi can be bought for $69.99, making it my cheapest gi, but also the one I use the most as it offers the most ease of movement and dries the quickest. I would recommend this gi as a first BJJ gi. It also rolls up the smallest out of all my gis (they are all A2 size) so fits the best into a rucksack, although I don't yet have a superlight gi like Can's. ;)
The design is mostly plain with branding on the shoulders and hips. So plenty of space for patches. And it comes with a free white belt. I'd recommend it for a first gi and for travelling and training.
Though to call it 'ultra light' is a bit of a stretch (especially compared to something like the BJJ Globetrotter travel gi or GIMONO gis, for example), it is certainly lighter than some other entry level gis (like the Tatami Nova).
Full Review: The top is comparatively light at 400gsm pearl weave cotton (but still considerably heavier than a truly ultralight gi, such as the 265gsm adidas Response) and allows for easy movement. I did not have any problems with the gi getting damaged during washing or training. The gi top air dries slightly faster than my other gis (which are all Tatami).
The trousers are 400gsm rip stop cotton with reinforced knees. They are a lot lighter than standard cotton gi pants and dry within a couple of hours (given sensible weather). The drawstring is aesthetically pleasing but is quite slippery so comes undone a bit easier than a standard drawstring. This could be replaced with a different drawstring but I have not found it too annoying so I've kept the same one.The trousers, despite being lightweight, have survived training and the washing machine with no damage. The ripstop fabric is slightly rougher than standard cotton gi pants so could be scratchy if worn without spats by someone with sensitive skin. There is also rashguard lining on the inside of the jacket, by the yoke of the neck.
The legs have shortened less than standard cotton gi pants when subjected to similar washing and drying conditions. I have not tried tumble drying. The manufacturers claim that the fabric has anti-bacterial treatment, and the gi does indeed seem to be missing the slightly musty smell that lingers on other gis even when they've been washed.
The gi can be bought for $69.99, making it my cheapest gi, but also the one I use the most as it offers the most ease of movement and dries the quickest. I would recommend this gi as a first BJJ gi. It also rolls up the smallest out of all my gis (they are all A2 size) so fits the best into a rucksack, although I don't yet have a superlight gi like Can's. ;)
22 August 2017
22/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | de la Riva sweeps (Lilo Asensi)
Class #883
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Lilo Asensi, Heidelberg, Germany, 22/08/2017
Lilo is one of Ana Yagues' training partners in Hamburg: both of them are cool Spanish black belts teaching in Germany. Lilo also taught a similar position as Ana did back at the Bournemouth Camp, focusing on de la Riva. I always make a beeline for classes taught by female black belts, as they are invariably smaller than the men teaching. That means they are closer to my body type, so their games tend to fit better for me. Lilo proved that to be true once again, especially as she was an excellent teacher. Even though her English is still developing, she got her points across clearly and memorably.
Beginning with the usual sweep where you pull their arm under their leg and then grab their shoulder to roll them over, Lilo continued to build. If they post with their arm to prevent the roll, grip their other arm and shift over, kicking up into a triangle. If they free both arms, you can go behind them, reach for their leg and kick into the back. If you can't reach that other leg when you move behind them, push into the back of the first leg, then grip their far leg and roll over (this is known as a 'baby bolo', apparently).
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Lilo Asensi, Heidelberg, Germany, 22/08/2017
Lilo is one of Ana Yagues' training partners in Hamburg: both of them are cool Spanish black belts teaching in Germany. Lilo also taught a similar position as Ana did back at the Bournemouth Camp, focusing on de la Riva. I always make a beeline for classes taught by female black belts, as they are invariably smaller than the men teaching. That means they are closer to my body type, so their games tend to fit better for me. Lilo proved that to be true once again, especially as she was an excellent teacher. Even though her English is still developing, she got her points across clearly and memorably.
Beginning with the usual sweep where you pull their arm under their leg and then grab their shoulder to roll them over, Lilo continued to build. If they post with their arm to prevent the roll, grip their other arm and shift over, kicking up into a triangle. If they free both arms, you can go behind them, reach for their leg and kick into the back. If you can't reach that other leg when you move behind them, push into the back of the first leg, then grip their far leg and roll over (this is known as a 'baby bolo', apparently).
22/08/2017 - BJJ Globetrotter Camp | Heidelberg 2017 | Bow & arrow chokes (Chad Wright)
Class #882
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Chad Wright, Heidelberg, Germany, 22/08/2017
Sinking into the black hole with Chad referred to the bow and arrow choke. This was the standard set up, although Chad prefers the version where you lean back, as opposed to the more upright approach I like to use. The main part I hadn't seen before was using your gi tail to finish the choke instead. When you're on their back, on the armpit hand side, pull out their gi lapel if it isn't already loose. Pull that up behind their back, then pass it forward over their shoulder to your choking hand. As with the collar, you don't want it too deep. As it was Chad, he also came up with an entertaining analogy, relating to the 'optimum level of highness' in jiu jitsu. ;)
You can then complete the choke as normal, just using a different grip. It is considerably easier on your fingers, because you can grab with your hand rather than the ends of your fingers. However, I have found that it can be tricky to get this without ending up in a neck crank, having drilled it back home since. The solution to that is possibly just patience. Instead of insisting on getting the choke quick, do it slowly, as that way you aren't pulling really hard and twisting the neck.
BJJ Globetrotter Camp (Olympiastützpunkt Rhein-Neckar) Chad Wright, Heidelberg, Germany, 22/08/2017
Sinking into the black hole with Chad referred to the bow and arrow choke. This was the standard set up, although Chad prefers the version where you lean back, as opposed to the more upright approach I like to use. The main part I hadn't seen before was using your gi tail to finish the choke instead. When you're on their back, on the armpit hand side, pull out their gi lapel if it isn't already loose. Pull that up behind their back, then pass it forward over their shoulder to your choking hand. As with the collar, you don't want it too deep. As it was Chad, he also came up with an entertaining analogy, relating to the 'optimum level of highness' in jiu jitsu. ;)
You can then complete the choke as normal, just using a different grip. It is considerably easier on your fingers, because you can grab with your hand rather than the ends of your fingers. However, I have found that it can be tricky to get this without ending up in a neck crank, having drilled it back home since. The solution to that is possibly just patience. Instead of insisting on getting the choke quick, do it slowly, as that way you aren't pulling really hard and twisting the neck.
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