02/08/2015 - Open Mat | Breadcutter Armbar & Crucifix Shoulder Lock

Class #656
Artemis BJJ (MYGYM Bristol), Open Mat, Bristol, UK - 02/08/2015

Today I was keen to build in more training time for me, being more selfish. I had the five minute interval timer running, so I could grab people to work on stuff. I wanted to get in some reps on the breadcutter armbar and the crucifix shoulder lock, given both of those had slipped my mind in sparring when the opportunity was staring me in the face.

First, near side armbar off breadcutter (Xande has a great video for this on BJJ Library, as I was missing that when sparring Gareth at RGA Bucks. You've gone for the breadcutter, but can't get your second grip. Push down their far arm and pinch your elbow in tight on their trapped arm. Drive your knee nearest their legs into them, folding your leg behind their back like you would in technical mount. Bring your folded knee up and tight against their arm, swinging your other leg over their head. You can then lean back to finish, and/or lean towards their head to get your folded leg extended over them. That makes it tougher for them to escape, as opposed to the 'Japanese armbar' that gives them a chance to potentially turn.

Going for the position, I need to get that near side arm trapped. They don't always reach enough for me to lock it in initially, so I ended up trying to wriggle my hip through. I also need to be careful of putting my head/chest too far forward, especially if you haven't got a strong base with your other arm. That was highlighted when I got rolled over when sparring later.

Second, I drilled the shoulder lock from crucifix that Dave Jacobs showed me, as I didn't think of it on Friday when sparring Jim. Put the knee nearest their head slightly forward, making sure it is still controlling their arm. Turn to face their legs, grabbing their ankle to anchor yourself. Twist and swing the leg furthest from their head behind you, in a 'dog leg' motion, still hooking the arm. Do this movement gradually, as that shoulder lock can come on quickly, depending on their flexibility.

I didn't really get to spar this with much resistance, but felt good to drill it a bunch of times. I need to try that more often. If they block by grabbing leg, like Rafal did, I should hopefully be able to then move into a crucifix roll. At least, it worked with Rafal, but might not with somebody a lot bigger.

More open guard drilling with Chris, where we did some specific sparring on blocking the pass. I tried Jeff Rockwell's sit up escape as he passed, but need to be careful of giving too much space. There was too great a degree of turning away when I did it, meaning I presented my side. So, I should staying a bit tighter, can then wriggle back to guard. I also think I need to be facing him more: I'll double check Jeff's instructional.

There was an interesting change in passing approach from Chris. I had said that I wanted to work on a particular point where I get stuck with him, but he wasn't getting there because he isn't passing the same way. Previously, he was gripping the gi trousers and crushing in. Now, after we last drilled this and talked about his passing, it's become more fluid. He starts by grabbing the back of my gi like I suggested, but also the leg on the floor when in sitting guard. That is great for a leg drag, but then he does have to reach down to grab leg. I'm wondering if I could use that to pull him off balance, grab their sleeve first? Something to play with more.

I tried the stiff arm escape under side control in another spar, but struggled to get up, always the big difficulty with that technique. Again, Rockwell's book should be handy for that. I made a brief attempt to switch sides, like in the book, but I'm missing too many details. I'll aim to drill it some more at open mat over the course of next week. There was possibly a chance for what Rockwell calls the 'meerkat' position, which I held for a few seconds, but it soon turned into the dogfight position (an Eddie Bravo term this time), and he came on top.

There was the usual pattern of him passing, me trying to move away, chasing. I did eventually get him down with an ankle pick: still not being assertive enough from sitting guard, I have to move, go for sweeps. I'm too dependant on the ankle pick from there. Although I do have a bunch of other connected techniques from sitting guard (tripod/sickle, unstoppable sweep, collar drag etc), I'm not combining them well enough. Distance management feels like it is part of the problem, I'm not applying technique at the right range and the right time. I got tangled up thinking of the tripod/sickle, my legs weren't in place.

My last bit of sparring was some more open guard specifics, but unfortunately I moved my head forward just as he quickly leapt with his knee for a pass. I don't think it was anything serious, but I felt a little dizzy, so stopped immediately. As readers will know, if there is even a hint of injury I'll stop sparring. Cuts down my sparring time in the short time, but I would hope greatly increases it in the long term.

08/06/2012 - Gracie Barra Bristol (Knee-On-Belly Transitions)

Class #458
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Nicolai 'Geeza' Holt, Bristol, UK - 08/06/2012

I've been even more intermittent with training (in terms of being a student, rather than teaching) recently, so it was good to get in at least one session of being taught rather than being the teacher. I love teaching, but it inevitably reduces your drilling and sparring time, so it's important to also get in some time learning from somebody better than you.

Tonight Geeza continued the theme of side control transitions from yesterday, focusing on knee-on-belly. That started off with a nifty drill for knee on belly, which also proved to be a tough workout for the legs. You start off in knee on belly. They turn towards you, whereupon you lift your knee slightly, keeping the instep of that knee curled in close to their body. They then bridge straight up: again, you ride it out. Finally, they turn away forcefully. This is the hardest bit. With the leg you have up, move that right around their head. Keep on going under that leg is by their stomach. Put the knee on belly on that side, so that you other leg is now up instead. Repeat.

Next up was a transition from knee on belly to mount. Begin in side control, then move your hand nearest their legs to their far hip and grip. You other hand is going to grip their far collar, so that your forearm is across their neck. Hop up to knee on belly. Once you've secured the position, switch your hip hand to the outside of their far knee, gripping the gi material of their trousers tightly.

They again try to forcefully turn towards you and bridge you off. Go with the motion, sitting back on your raised leg. Use your trouser grip to shove their knees to the mat, on the side nearest to you. Kick your other leg (so, the one which was on their belly) straight forward, a bit like you were doing a muay thai teep kick over their body. Use your kick to grip their far hip with your heel, then drive through into mount.

Geeza finished off the technical section with a third technique: there was a bit more time tonight, as he merged the beginner and advanced classes, so it ended up being a bit under two hours total. This time, he demonstrated a near side armbar from side control. The grip you start off with is unusual for side control, as you want to reach under their near side armpit with the arm furthest away from that armpit. It is important that their arm then ends up underneath your armpit, so you can clamp it to your body. Keep reaching with your hand, to grab the back of their collar.

It is a weird grip, which takes a bit of set-up because their arm isn't normally in that position. If they are wise to this technique, then it will be even harder to get the grip. However, as Geeza said, you can trick them into giving it to you. Reach under their armpit, then start moving to north-south. That should make them extend their arm, so that you can then clamp it and move back to your original perpendicular alignment.

Either way, once you have that grip, reach over with your free arm to grab their far sleeve. Pull it towards you to roll them up on their side, passing it across your body, bringing your leg over their head. Make sure your armpit and collar hold stays tight on the first arm. Bring your other leg over their body as well, sliding your grip up from their collar towards their elbow. Their arm should still be firmly clamped, enabling you to lean back and put pressure on their elbow for the tap.

I haven't done an extended session of sparring in a while: it was good to get back to it tonight. We did a good forty minutes. I started off with two relatively light rolls, with a white belt and an orange belt respectively. Given I'm pretty weeny, the orange belt is actually bigger than me, but still young, so I had a strength and experience advantage. That meant I could practice my transitions, trying to use what Geeza had just shown us about knee on belly and that grip set up. The white belt has a lot of experience in judo, so it was interesting trying to attack her back. The natural judo reaction is to turn flat to the floor on your stomach, which is quite different to the typical BJJ scenario.

That was followed by a completely different kind of roll, as next up I went with Geeza, who is both much bigger and much better than me. I therefore took it as an opportunity to work my defence, trying to dig my way out of his side and back control using my elbows and knees, spinning and squirming whenever I could find some space. I'm ending up with my back taken far too often, possibly because of my instinctive reliance on the running escape. Rolling with Miles was similar, as he is also bigger and better than me, so I did pretty much exactly the same thing.

By this point I was knackered, so my final roll with a smaller blue belt was very lazy. I fought to get on top of half guard, then settled into my usual control: elbow pressed in the back of the head grabbing the back of their gi, while the other arm reaches under their armpit and clamps tight. We stayed there for a long time with me trying to catch my breath from the previous rolls. Eventually he was able to put me in guard, where I switched to first using my legs to try and keep him away, then going to a very defensive closed guard for the last few moments of the spar.

Capoeira classes being launched at the academy, which could be interesting. I haven't been to a class of that since my second year as an undergraduate back in 2001/2002, so I may well pop down on Sunday to check it out.

17/05/2011 - GB Bristol

Class #398
Gracie Barra Bristol, (BJJ), Miles Pearson, Bristol, UK - 17/05/2011

There are two purple belts currently at Gracie Barra Bristol: I'm one, and Miles is the other. We've both been asked to teach by Geeza, with my class on the Thursdays, Miles' class on the Tuesday. I'm obviously interested in what my fellow purple is teaching (although he's a more experienced purple, and a more experienced instructor: he has a background in primary school teaching), so I was keen to pop along for the Tuesday class. It's impressive Miles is teaching at all, as his wife recently gave birth: congrats to both of them. :)

Miles runs a comparatively long warm-up, following up the usual running round the room with various drills, like partner hip lifting, gi pull ups, belt sprints etc. He then moved into the technical portion, which was all going to be based around the 'gift wrap' made famous by Rickson Gracie. It's a bit like Lesson 35 from Gracie Combatives, which Rener calls 'twisting arm control' (except that he has his foot over by their hip, rather than both knees behind their back). The set up Miles showed started in scarf hold.

To transition to the gift wrap (or twisting arm control, if you prefer that term), step the leg nearest their head over their face. That will push their trapped arm across their body. Grab it with the arm you have over their body, also bringing your other hand under their head. You can then feed their wrist to that other hand, pulling it in tight to establish the gift wrap.

There is a chance you might be able to get a wristlock here, if they don't make a fist with their trapped hand. You want to hold their wrist as high as you can, also controlling that arm with your other hand. Bring their arm out slightly, making sure that their fingers are pointing towards their head. Put your sternum on their elbow, then apply pressure for the wristlock.

As that is low percentage, like Miles mentioned, you can also go for a choke. Loosen up their arm enough that you can slip your other arm through, then reach for your shoulder or bicep. Tighten their arm back up: you're looking to block off one side of their neck with their own arm, and the other with your arm. Once you're in position, pull them up slightly towards you, then straighten your arms, pressing forward.

From the same position, you can also switch to an armbar. Again you want your arm through, but this time grab your wrist, to establish a figure four. Bring your knees up, shift your arm over their head, then get one leg over their head as well, dropping back for the armbar. Make sure to also grab their trouser leg, as otherwise they'll be able to turn and use the hitchhiker escape, because you don't have both legs over.

Miles then showed the same gift wrap/twisting arm control from mount. To transition to the gift wrap, move into a high mount. It will be tough to simply shove their arm over, so instead block it with your hand. Move your upper torso to the side, then pressing your side into their elbow, put your whole body into the action. With that weight, you should be able to slide their arm across their neck, then slip your arm under their head to grab their wrist and enter the gift wrap.

You can now shift into s-mount, where you can go for an armbar in the usual fashion. You can also take the back, by getting a figure four grip again, then dropping towards one side. This will end up being your weak side in terms of the choke, so you'll want to push off with your leg to roll them over to the other side. You're now in a strong position to set up your favourite choke from the back.

Miles finished up by having everyone line up against the wall, where he paired people up for free sparring. I started off with Miles, who was taking it relatively easy with me (possibly because he's a fair bit bigger). I was mostly going to the running escape, trying to spin around back to guard, which he largely let me do.

Next was Geeza, who dropped to his back and waited to see how I'd try to pass his guard. As ever, my answer was mainly to stare at him in confusion, vaguely flailing at his legs before getting swept. My guard passing remains really, really bad: I sometimes forget just how bad, because normally I'll mercifully get put on my back somehow, meaning I can then work my guard.

However, being a good instructor, Geeza kept returning to his back after he landed a sweep, meaning I had to keep on attempting (and failing) to pass. Afterwards, he suggested that instead of trying to push forward and drive with my hips, I should move back and push the legs down. I'm small and weedy, so the second option is a better fit for my body type. Something I need to keep in mind for next time.

Finally, I had a roll with Luke. As always when I roll with Luke, he shows an impressive level of calm control, never using strength, meaning sparring with him is always enjoyably technical. I tried for that lasso spider guard sweep, and set it up just right: I had the lasso, he was passing...but I didn't grab the leg and push, leaving it too late. Luke could see what I was trying to do, so had no problem basing out and preventing the sweep.

I did manage to then bring my legs up for the triangle and roll on top, but that was mostly down to flexibility and the light pace of the roll, rather than solid technique on my part. Still, worth trying that kind of thing when I can, as it's a handy thing to spring on people: they aren't normally expecting to be attacked from under side control. At the same time, it's low percentage stuff (on top of side control is a dominant position for a reason, after all), so definitely not something to rely on.

15/04/2011 - RGA Aylesbury

Class #388
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Kev Capel, Aylesbury, UK - 15/04/2011

I'm slowly getting back to normal training, as I again did most of the warm-up, except for the breakfalls and shrimping: I'm still not sure my knee is up to that. Tonight we were still working side control, which seems to be something I can mostly do as normal, especially on top (though my favoured step-over triangle is out for the moment, as that could definitely put strain on the knee).

Yas was off competing in the Abu Dhabi Pro today, having won the UK trials: from what I heard at class (though Kev still needs to confirm it), Yas managed to submit a black belt in her first match, then lost to another black belt in her second match. Pretty damn good going, considering that second black belt was already a purple belt Mundials medallist back when Yas had just started training. Hopefully there will be some videos later.

Technique from side control was the counterpoint to Yas' class on Sunday, as this time it was all attacks. Kev began with a kimura from side control, or at least that starts in side control: you generally finish it in north-south. Start in the orthodox side control, with an arm under their head, the other scooping up their far arm.

Remove the arm that was under their head, instead threading it through their far arm. It is important that you go under their wrist: if you somehow manage to get their hand stuck in your armpit or something like that, you're going to struggle to get this technique to function. To secure your grip, feed your gi collar to the threaded hand, cinching it in tight so their arm is stuck.

Next, move around to north-south, sitting on their head. Their trapped arm should be clamped to your shoulder, so that you can pull them up onto their side. Also be sure to slide your knee over their free arm, to stop them being able to create any kind of space. Put your own free hand in place by their wrist, ready to grab it.

However, don't let go yet, or they may wriggle out. Instead, turn your head: this will push your shoulder forward, and therefore also pry their arm forward too. Your hand is already there waiting, so now you can grab their wrist and establish the figure four. Making sure that you keep that arm stuck to your body throughout, apply the kimura by pushing on their wrist and turning.

Alternatively, you can also bring the elbow of your non-clamping arm to their trapped arm side. Turn your body towards their head, then apply the kimura from that lower position. I like to stay upright while sitting on their head, but the second option is equally viable. As Kev said, it comes down to preference.

If you make a mistake while looking to apply the kimura from that upright position, or they simply defend well, you might find that they are able to grab their own belt or gi. This will make it tough to complete the submission. So instead, you can switch to an armbar.

Bring your knee up on their trapped arm side. This will enable you to put your whole body into it when you turn towards their other side, which should break their grip. Make sure you keep that figure four grip, as it is about to prove useful. If possible, you also want to try and slip your foot into the armpit of their free arm, which again is to make it more difficult to stop their escape attempt.

Pinch your knees together to control their arm, in what is sometimes called a 'Japanese armbar' position (I'm not sure why: something from Japan, I guess? Or maybe Pancrase? Leave a comment if you know.) You don't have both your legs over their body, which means that the hitchhiker escape is a possibility. It's called that because they lead with their thumb pointing the way out, turning their body and walking around.

However, because you have that figure-four grip, they can't do that anymore. If they try to turn away, you can just apply the kimura. In order to relieve the pressure, they'll have to turn back. You can then drop back, switching your grip to finish the armbar as normal.

Specific sparring was with one of my fellow purple belts and long-time RGA Bucks training partner, Howard. Feels like a good while since I last sparred him, so it was good to experience his steady pressure game again (which is also the game I attempt to use as well). That means that he is an ideal person to spar when you're injured, because his style is always controlled.

On top, I was looking to stay tight, keeping my movements gradual and small. I was paying close attention to grips, where to shift my hand, and also see if I could isolate the far arm. At the same time, I was hoping to distract him by pressuring my weight on his arm and head, so that I could try and sneak a knee through into mount while he was thinking about that. However, Howard wasn't about to fall for that, so it ended up being a slow, tactical roll. Just the kind of thing I enjoy. :)

Underneath, I was missing the full use of my other leg, so bridging wasn't quite so easy, and I also found my usual efforts to hook and leg into half-guard was a little hampered too. Still, it wouldn't have made all that much difference, as most of the time I slipped into the running escape posture yet again. I need to be more careful of their arm getting through: Saulo does show a way of sitting up and swivelling out of that, but I couldn't remember the exact details.

Instead, I was working on wedging my elbow to remove the arm. That sort of worked, as Howard shifted to knee on belly, where again I wanted to keep driving with the elbow to make space. I should have walked forward more, to knock his knee off my side. I also needed to pop up my hips and swing through, as in the open guard drill we did last week, but I was nervous about my leg.

Another thing I must watch more carefully is when they pull out my gi or theirs in order to set up a choke. I could sense Howard was trying something, but my defence was a bit awkward, as I was mostly just shoving my arms in the way and trying to wriggle free.

Free sparring was similar, as I went with Howard for a further two rounds. Again, I kept getting into that running escape position. I also attempted to go for Braulio's escape a few times, where they have both arms over the far side. I still can't get that arm locked out and their balance disrupted. Chatting to Howard about it afterwards, I think I need to break their posture down more, so that they are not only being driven towards my legs, but also towards the floor. That Braulio video is another one I want to re-watch.

Howard was looking to take my back a few times when I was in the running escape or side control, especially when he managed to get some kind of twisting arm control (I think: can be hard to tell when you're on the receiving end). I made sure to hop over his second hook before he could establish it, though I feel like I'm missing something there. My hop was mostly just delaying things, rather than getting me fully out of danger.

My last roll was a relaxed spar with Stuart, my training partner from last week. That gave me a chance to play around with guard a bit, some practice holding mount and the inevitable chunk of time escaping side control. It is reassuring to know that there are plenty of people at RGA Bucks that can be trusted not to make things worse when you're coming back from an injury.

On a random note, the purple from either my belt or Howard's was running, so got a bit smeared across the bottom of my trousers due to sweat. I threw my gi straight in the washing machine after training (normally I hang it up and let the sweat dry out a bit, putting it in the wash the next day), so hopefully that will be enough to get rid of any smudges. After all, I only wear white gis, definitely not semi-purple ones! ;)

In media news, the second issue of Jiu Jitsu Style magazine is due to be released on the 21st of April. You can either order a print issue through the site, or the digital version on iTunes. That means wherever you are in the world, you can get your copy of JJS. As ever, lots of great stuff in there (I've read an advance copy), with Seymour, Meg and I all contributing pieces again. Cover features are interviews with Kyra Gracie and the mighty Jude Samuel, who happens to be the guy who promoted me to blue belt a few years back. :D

10/04/2011 - RGA Aylesbury

Class #386
RGA Aylesbury, (BJJ), Yasmine Wilson, Aylesbury, UK - 10/04/2011

Kev was taking his son to a judo tournament today, so Yas took the class. Which was cool, as I haven't been taught by a woman before. Even better, she went through one of my favourite set of techniques, escaping side control. The first escape was the basic guard recovery. Bridge into them, insert your knee, then square up and slip your leg around them to re-establish guard.

I was also fortunate today in that I had a particularly helpful drilling partner, a recent blue belt called Stuart. He was just as keen as I was to work on the details: for the guard recovery, we were interested in the best posture to retain the guard as you square back up. The important point is to prevent them moving past your knee and re-establishing side control. I would normally put both hands on their shoulder (on the passing side) to prevent that.

However, as Yas showed, you can also grab their arm and pull them forward, so that their posture is broken. They also can't then push down on your knee to begin the pass. A third option that came up during drilling was to combine the two, grabbing their collar but making your hand into a fist, pushing your knuckles against their shoulder. With your other hand, you can grab their arm, again to stop them controlling your knee. That would also enable you to move into attacks from guard.

Speaking of attacks, Yas then showed how to go for an armbar from under side control. This was reminiscent of the Braulio technique, though leaning towards an escape rather than a full-on submission attempt. If they try to move into underhooking your far arm as you bridge and shrimp, you can try bringing your hips up and getting your leg over their head. That means you can then progress into an armbar attempt. Most likely they'll be able to get their arm free, but it is then a simple matter for you to adjust your leg position, transitioning to open guard.

Finally, Yas went through the escape to knees. This is something I still don't try often enough, and when I do, it isn't with enough conviction. Generally what happens is that I'll turn to my knees and grab their legs. However, they'll get one free, then I'll end up either turtled with them going for my back, or the usual running escape survival posture.

Yas suggested that if you lose your grip on one of their legs, you can simply switch your head to the side you're still controlling, then proceed to drive through that way instead. Stuart also mentioned that the wrestler's sit-out is another good option, especially if you already have something of a frame due to your head position.

Like on Friday, my knee seemed to last through the warm-up, although I decided against testing it for the breakfalls and shrimping. I hadn't rolled with Stuart before today, so I wasn't sure about his control, but decided to give it a go during the specific sparring from side control.

Turned out to be a good decision, as Stuart was careful not to jar my knee or yank on that leg. So, I was able to practice my control from the top, looking to switch my arms and move round to north-south, along with scarf hold. I had a brief go at the far arm, but as ever had trouble isolating it (though I'm remembering to use my head, which is something I want to improve: handy third limb once you have the technique down).

Underneath, I gave the head switch a try when turning to my knees. It worked, but Stuart was going pretty light, so I imagine he could have sprawled or otherwise scuppered the attempt if he wasn't watching out for the injured knee. I also got tempted to try for a triangle at one point: my knee soon let me know that wasn't a good idea, so I stopped after I felt a slight twinge (though given I'm very cautious by nature, hard to know if that was actually a twinge, or if I'm being a hypochondriac and imagining things).

I also did my usual running escape, and also tried another one I've been attempting intermittently for a while now, having seen a Braulio video on the topic. When they have both their arms over, the idea is to grab behind their elbow, lock out your arm, then sit up and roll them. I struggle to sit up, and also don't feel I ever have enough control over them.

However, trying it with Stuart, then asking afterwards, I think I've been missing something fundamental: they can just switch their other arm to block. So, I just need to grab that arm as well and pull it towards me, then go for the escape. Re-watching the video, I can see that Braulio doesn't grab Norbi's other arm, but seems to have it trapped underneath him, achieving the same result. He's also more into the armpit than the elbow, which I find more difficult to control.

Another side control escape I keep failing to get is one I first saw quite a while ago, the 'shin-in-elbow trick' from Strategic Guard (I've got a picture of it on the review). Looking at that scan, I think I was using the correct shin to start with, but thought I wasn't, so unnecessarily switched.

16/11/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #359
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Matt Burn, High Wycombe, UK - 16/11/2010

I recently updated the summary of my training history in martial arts, mainly expanding the last paragraph into a new section covering 2009 up until today. So, if for some reason you want to know what I've been doing for the last eleven years, that summary should tell you everything you want to know (in regards to martial arts, at least).

Kev couldn't make it tonight, so Matty took the class (unfortunately shorn of his excellent Movember biker moustache, as apparently you aren't allowed those side bits in the fire service). After going through a double leg, Matty moved on to side control, beginning with an armbar. You're in a solid side control position, and you've somehow managed to get their far arm by your head, on the side nearest their legs: this could be because they're trying to escape an Americana, or perhaps they've tried to swim through for the underhook, and you've managed to block it.

Grab their arm a little below their elbow, using the arm that is nearest their legs. Pull them up onto their side, and make sure that your inside knee goes right into the armpit on their near side: this is important for later control, as otherwise they will find it much easier to block with their arm. Your other leg is based out, similar to how you'd arrange your legs in knee on belly.

With your free hand, push their head down. Step that based out leg over, putting the foot by their back, towards their hips. You can now swivel around to that side, grabbing their trouser leg, then drop back for the armbar (alternatively, you could sit on their head and go for the kimura from north-south). Ideally you want to keep hold of their leg, pulling them in tight so they can't try for the hitchhiker escape. It is possible to finish the armbar with one hand, but you may end up needing both hands (in which case make sure your body is angled towards their legs rather than their head, to help prevent their escape).

Matty then covered off the basic escape from side control, bridging into them and shrimping back to guard. He also noted that you could try swinging your legs right through and try for an armbar, though more as a distraction than a submission. That's something Chiu showed at Gracie Barra Birmingham when I was there, as it's a favourite attack of Braulio's.

Sparring was from side control, and for once I tried to put into practice what we'd just learned. On top, I pulled in the arm and went for the kimura from north south, but couldn't hold the position because I couldn't get that knee into the armpit. I was also looking for my favoured triangle position on top, but again couldn't quite work my leg through in order to lock it up and start to attack the far arm.

Underneath, I was going for the usual basic escape Matty had run through earlier. I almost recovered to guard a few times, and remembered to try stiff-arming into the shoulder and bicep, but didn't shrimp enough, so Howard was able to drive back through. I threw up a few triangle attempts from the bottom too, but wasn't able to attack the arm too well (although I think that may have been where I got some of those near-miss guard recoveries).

01/04/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #299
RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Sahid Khamlichi, High Wycombe, UK - 01/04/2010

Kev was away being a fireman, so one of his more experienced blue belts (who recently took gold at the British Open, IIRC), Sahid, took the class. Still, theme was the same as Tuesday, working on side control. I was looking forward to practicing my top game from side, as I'd been watching a Braulio Estima video recently (I'll review it at some point in the future) which talked about proper control from that position.

It seems that Braulio focuses heavily on controlling the elbows, which I realise is something I haven't been doing due to my preferred gable grip. While that feels tight, it doesn't give you any real purchase on their far arm. Much better to actively grab that arm, coming underneath the elbow. Sahid demonstrated exactly that grip while quickly going over the basic concepts of top side control.

He then moved on to two submissions, beginning with the kimura from north south, which starts from side control. Controlling that far arm, you want to pull it up, in order to get them on their side. Ideally, you'll have already cleared their near arm, but if not, take the opportunity to dig the knee closest to their hips into their armpit instead. The leg nearest their head will step over, so that you end up shifting into north south.

However, in this case you stay upright, as you're maintaining control of that far arm. Pin it to your chest, then establish a figure four grip. They may well try and grasp their belt or some gi material at this point, because they'll normally realise their arm is vulnerable and try to defend it. If they do, yank the arm in the direction their knuckles are facing: in the other direction, they're probably too strong. You can then complete the kimura as normal, twisting your body to rotate their arm and lock out the shoulder.

Alternatively, you may be able to step right through for an armbar. If you are able to get their arm trapped straight up against your body, rather than bent, then instead of stopping at north south, you can continue to the other side of them. From there, keeping tight on the arm, slide down so you don't leave any space, then drop back. Maintain control of the wrist, being careful that they can't turn their hand and try the hitchhiker escape (so called because you turn in the direction your thumb is pointing, then continue around to the side, due to the fact they only have one leg over your head, rather than the normal two).

Sparring from side control with Callum, I started on the bottom. I was still looking to spin and kick my legs up, looking to use them to hook an arm or head then push off and escape. This did work once, but I always wonder when I escape like that if I'm being complacent due to the set end goal of specific sparring, meaning that if that finish line wasn't there, I would actually end up in a bad position.

I also continued to play around with armbars from the bottom. Today was another handy reminder that even if you can secure the arm, you have to keep in mind that you're in an inferior position. So, holding onto that arm if they get their head free, as happened that roll, probably isn't a good idea. Instead, I should have used it as a controlling position to help my escape, not a potential submission. Also, must pinch my knees together to stop them slipping their head out, and make certain I can in fact use both legs: I'm not sure I had the second leg in the right position when I brought the first one over his head.

Escaping north-south proved more successful. I've been attempted to follow Gustavo Machado's escape off his DVD for some time now, but this is the first time I've got it to work when sparring a fellow blue. The process is to first grab their belt or low on their gi, protecting your arms, then wiggling your hips from side to side to make space. Once enough of your body is clear, you can swing up over their shoulder and take the back.

At least that's the theory. The first time, I flailed a bit around his shoulder, then fell off. The second time was better, as I did get my legs over, but I was way too far forward. So, if this hadn't been specific sparring, Callum could have just pushed me off and taken my back. Still, nice to get it sort of working, but I need to make more space to do it properly.

On top, I wanted to try out Braulio's transition from a tight underhook with your other arm controlling their far arm. If they push up on your neck, you move your underhook from under their head to under their far arm, establishing control on that arm before taking your other arm to their near hip. I wasn't reacting quickly enough for that to work, so could do with drilling it.

Again, north south proved more successful, this time from on top. I was concentrating on keeping my weight low and grabbing over his shoulders to reach for the armpits, to maintain control. I was also basically dropping my weight on his head, sprawling my legs back, hips low: I'm not sure that is a legitimate thing to do. Callum has about eight or ten kilos on me, so I was just happy to keep him under some kind of control, but it doesn't really fit with my goal of always staying technical. I did later shift to be more diagonal, on his shoulder, which is less mean. I'll be aiming to stick to that next time.

I'll be missing training yet again due to a visit down to Bristol, but should make it back in time for the Thursday session next week.

26/01/2010 - BJJ (Beginner)

Class #279



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 26/01/2010

My old instructor, who is also the guy who gave me my blue belt, Jude Samuel, has recently started up his own gym. Jude is an awesome teacher, so if you're near Bethnal Green and want to learn from one of the best black belts in the country, check out Legacy BJJ: conveniently, very near the train station.

I wasn't able to train last Thursday, because I was off visiting my girlfriend in Bristol. Still, I don't mind too much about missing Thursdays, because I know I can get two classes in back-to-back on Tuesdays.

No lift today, as I was at a meeting earlier today. That meant I could just walk from High Wycombe train station to Kev's place, which according to Google Maps was only a twenty minute walk. With my non-existent sense of direction, it actually took me

Kev's focus was on side control today, beginning with the basic escape to guard, followed by an Americana. Kev's set-up was slightly different from the one I've got in my summary, as it started from your partner pressing up into your neck.

As soon as they do, lean your weight forward, being careful to stay tight, and also not lean so far that they can roll you over (post on your head if necessary). The idea is to press their arm to the floor, whereupon you can peel it from your throat (easier said than done), lock in the figure four, then go for the submission. Pressing your head into their arm may also help.

Kev taught the thumbless grip, giving the reason that if you use your thumb, that can act as a lever for your partner's escape. If they do somehow manage to get free, all is not lost, as the far side armbar is still there. Scoop their arm up and trap it against your shoulder.

Pull them onto their side, then push on their head, providing you with the space to step over, your foot close to their back. Swivel around the trapped arm, then drop back for the armbar. You can also grip their leg, which will help block off their escape options.

Side control is easily my favourite top position, because it feels the most secure. Sparring from there, I was trying to stay tight, and see if I could either gradually move round, or slip through to side control. That tends to be difficult with fellow blue belts, however, so I had my hands full just staying in the dominant position. With Callum, I was attempting to stay mobile, but also suck up any space. That sort of worked, but he would eventually squirm free, such as spinning into an inverted guard as I tried to maintain north-south.

Underneath, I did the same thing to him. In my case, it was due to my north-south escape attempt. I had Gustavo Machado's technique in mind, from his Great Escapes DVD. You're supposed to wriggle out to make enough space, then swing your legs over their shoulder, going for the back.

However, that is normally too simple for them to defend, as they can just posture up. Then again, as Kev said when I asked him later, that's good enough, as you can use that to spin into guard. Momentum is the key to make the initial space, then you need only threaten the back-take to open up space. I had fully intended to take the back, but ended up swivelling to guard: if I had that as my goal from that start, as in Kev's escape, probably would have been less of a scramble.

03/11/09 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #258



RGA High Wycombe, (BJJ), Kev Capel, High Wycombe, UK - 03/11/2009

Kev has officially instituted thirty minutes on takedowns at the start of every advanced lesson on Thursdays. That's good news for people keen on competition or self-defence, less good for wimpy hobbyists like me who just want to play on the ground. Still, it's only half an hour, and probably useful to get in a little takedown training, even if I don't like it.

After the throws, Kev continued with side control, this time running through two submissions, one on top, the other underneath. For the rolling triangle from side control, you begin with your hands locked under their head and arm in the classic controlling position. First, you have to clear their near arm, either by switching your hips, or getting your hip to the floor and driving backwards against their arm.

Having got that arm out of the way, you can now shove their other wrist to their chest. Your near shin presses against their body. As you still have that arm wrapping their head, raise it. This gives you the space to step your other leg right over, slipping it under their head. Grab your ankle with the hand you already have under their head.

To finish, roll over your shoulder, which puts you in the guard with a leg locked over their head, one of their arms trapped. You're therefore perfectly set up for a triangle. Simply adjust your legs by pushing off their hip, then lock in the submission. You may also need to raise your hips to push their arm across before completion.

It is possible they will bridge into you before you execute your roll, as you don't have a strong base. However, that doesn't matter, because all that means is they've put themselves into a triangle.

The next attack was, unusually, an armbar from underneath side control. This again works off the arm gripping under your head. First, shrimp your hips out, then in one motion, swing your leg over their head, while your other knee must drive in to their chest. Due to that arm under your head, you're now in position to armbar. Squeeze your knees together, then raise your hips for the submission.

This isn't very high percentage, especially as your knee may get blocked by their other arm. Nevertheless, even if you don't land the armbar (most often because they yank their limb free), you should still be able to move to open guard. Either way, you're in a much better position than stuck under sidemount.

During sparring, I found that Christina's advice from her last lesson at RGA Kilburn finally started to sink in, in regards to using your legs in guard. I made a concerted effort to either use the instep to hook their leg or ribs, while also getting feet to their hips to maintain some kind of control, especially as they were trying to pass my open guard.

This is also something Roy Harris discusses during his seminar on the fundamentals of open guard, as featured in the Roy Dean DVD. Harris is known for making methodical lists, which he does here in sets of three: that's what came to mind tonight. Along with using my feet and instep, I was also trying to use my knees to press against their chest and shoulders. This seemed to work well in keeping them at bay, although on the other hand, I as usual had sat out one round while everyone else did the full three. So, fatigue no doubt comes into it as well.

13/08/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #170



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Nick Gregoriades, London, UK - 13/08/2008 - Advanced

Those of you who read about the Oxford Throwdown may remember Jadon: he has now started his own training blog, which you can check out here. Especially useful if you're thinking of training with Andy Roberts in Guildford (soon moving to a larger premises in Farnborough), a Roger Gracie brown belt, experienced competitor and Jadon's instructor.

Keeping on the topic of cool blogs, Matt from Martial Farts just posted up this great interview with Caleb, of Fightworks Podcast fame. Interesting stuff, such as his points on competition, and I like that he emphasised relaxing and shrimping as the two things every beginner should work on.

He has also put up a video of the quarter-guard technique he mentioned earlier, which I tried briefly in sparring, but need to watch a few more times. I don't think I'm using the right arm, grabbing the leg in the correct way, or getting that knock with the hip right. As there is now video to check, should hopefully be able to better visualise what I'm supposed to be doing.

For the technique tonight, Nick showed us an armbar from side control. Trying not to be too obvious about your intentions, keep their near hand under some kind of control. Your knee nearest their legs will then shift up slightly, staying tight, while you grip deep around their far arm, reaching under as much as you can.

Your leg nearest their head now steps out, while your leg folds against their side: the foot should be up toward their face. This, coupled with the tight grip on their far arm, will help prevent them turning out of the armbar. Bring your raised leg over their head, keeping the foot close to them. The other leg will also come out, scooping their arm with your knee as you do so (maintain control of that arm all the way through the technique), putting them in position for the armbar. Drop back for the submission.

Specific sparring was done twice, first before the technique with your partner, then king of the hill. Both times I did much the same thing, continuing to work on transitioning from side control to scarf hold and back again. I also attempted reverse scarf hold, where you are facing their knees, but still needs work. I was trying to keep my weight down and make space by moving backwards, but could not clear enough room to bring my knee through for mount. However, it was good to practice being mobile on top: seems to be improving, though at various points both Bruno and Joanna were able to escape because I left too much room.

Underneath, I built on the drilling from Sunday, with the spinout side control escape and Nick's earlier technique where you roll them over your back. The spinout remains problematic, as I end up on my side, and wasn't able to drive through with my shoulder as with Rosie: I'm pretty sure that's just a matter of force, so very unreliable. I had the same sloppy approach to the other side control escape, coming up on my knees instead of toes. I did manage to get Joanna over, but didn't stay tight, and again I doubt it would have worked against anybody heavier or simply putting up more resistance: Joanna tends to stay fairly relaxed in sparring.

In free sparring, I again found myself in side control, open guard and half-guard most of the time, trying the same escapes again. I wanted to go for the De La Riva sweep Rosie had showed me, but couldn't get into position, getting passed instead. It does at least mean I've got some kind of specific goal when in open guard now, which was largely missing previously.

Zaf went to his back, as he normally does with me due to the huge strength discrepancy, putting me in lockdown. I wasn't totally certain how to neutralise that, so tried sitting back on his legs. Not especially successful, and found myself in a footlock, pushing on Zaf's bum to escape (like Bruno had shown me a while back).

Zaf also advised me on keeping control in guard, getting my legs up high and forcing my partner down. I'm always wary of anything that requires strength (because its not something I can ever rely on, being weedy), but its important to be able to strike a balance. Some force is required in situations like that, but as ever I want to stay relaxed and technical.

Surprisingly, the tape I had round my toes and foot to protect the mat burn I acquired on Sunday held out. I had purchased a bottle of that liquid plaster Zaf recommended earlier, but didn't need to use it. Judging by that, it would seem that while tape doesn't seem to last very long on the fingers, its ok for the toes. The same tape I'd wrapped around on Sunday was still going strong, despite having got wet from the shower. I'd expected it to come loose in sparring.

Should be in again tomorrow, where hopefully we'll work some side control escapes. Would be great to get a refresh on the one Nick showed us before, but will wait and see what happens. Might be good to have a basic open guard lesson too, or perhaps some work on passing half-guard. I was struggling to remember Maurição's tips when with Zaf, so something I need to read back in my blog.

15/05/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #146



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Marcio Gomes, London, UK - 15/05/2008 - Advanced

My finger was still missing skin, so I stuck a plaster on top, then got some zinc oxide tape to hold that in place. As the abrasion is right on the joint, that makes taping it a bit awkward, but I was hoping that I could avoid bending the finger too much in training: e.g., sticking to pistol grips and relying on the lower part of the finger.

Marcio from GB Brighton took class today, which makes this the third time I've trained under him. He started off with drilling the double leg, then showed how you could switch to the single leg if that failed. The position was that they had moved back the leg nearest your head, having also secured a grip on your neck. Simply move round the side of their other leg, squat down then lift with your legs, dropping them into side control.

Marcio followed that up with some work from side control. First he showed how to maintain side control if they tried to turn into you and turtle up. To do so, they'll generally reach around your back with an arm. Before they can secure a grip, the elbow of your nearest arm goes by their armpit. You then move around their head, keeping your weight down and pushing against their arm with your elbow, until you end up round the other side with good control of their arm.

That can then lead to an armbar, though not the orthodox finish. As you moved round using your elbow, shift your grip so that you're cupping their elbow, trapping the arm under your armpit. Having reached the other side, staying close, bring your knee up onto them, while the leg near their head goes over their neck, diagonally. You can then drop back for the submission, which is a sort of figure-four on the arm (so like the straight armbar), though presumably you could also readjust and go for the more normal armbar from here.

The last technique of the day was a butterfly guard pass, used when they try to sweep you (with what looked to be the same method Jude showed us a few lessons back). As they try to lift you up with their hooked leg, you drive your knee through, twisting your torso in the same direction you're pushing your knee towards (this will mean their leg is in a sufficiently awkward position that its difficult for them to counter). Pull up their arm, gripping the back of their gi with your other hand, then pop over their leg to end up in mount.

Guard passage gave me another opportunity to try and stand up more, and I also attempted to grab a sleeve as I did so (something Ben had mentioned during an email exchange earlier). Hard to tell what effect that had, though, as I was rolling with people much better than me, meaning they could quite happily watch me stand up and try to secure a position, then just as happily sweep me.

I was a bit concerned that my shoddily taped finger was going to be exposed if I sparred a lot tonight, so wanted to limit myself to two. Therefore I sat out the first one, then sparred with Christy, who had also been my drilling partner. We had a good roll, where I ended up in either half-guard or butterfly guard, also trying to keep distance with my open guard. At one point I had the opportunity to wrap up a leg with my arms, so attempted to use that to escape out the back, but I think just ended up in a triangle.

However, I managed to get out of the triangle too, just about, also remembering to keep my trailing arm in tight, so I didn't leave myself open for an easy armbar. I had trouble getting past Christy's open guard, as while I had underhooked her legs, I couldn't seem to push them to one side and pass round. Nevertheless, felt like a relatively even spar (though no doubt Christy was taking it relatively easy, as I know she's got considerably more experience than me), so reminded me that I should roll with her more often.

The tape held up during that roll, but I'd misjudged, as that turned out to be the final round of sparring. Next time, I'll follow Jason's method (he always tapes up his fingers), and bend my fingers first, then wrap the tape round. Zinc oxide seems to do a good job of staying put, though I'm not sure if its an especially cost effective option: I paid about £3.70 for an 8m roll. No idea if that’s expensive or not, but either way I've read that duct tape is a functional alternative.

20/03/2008 - BJJ (Advanced)

Class #129



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Gustavo Dos Santos Pires, London, UK - 20/03/2008 – Advanced

Bit sore from yesterday, and always a little strange sleeping in the sofabed at my sister's place. My thumb is also still acting up, a month after the Oxford TD. Might have to look into that if it doesn't clear up soon.

Following the warm-up, we moved on to specific sparring from side control. On top, Tran's advice has made a big difference for me, as I feel a lot more able to maintain the position. Christina did eventually escape a couple of times, but that makes a contrast to the previous situation in which I was constantly getting thrown off with little effort required by my partner. However, I'm not yet able to be too proactive from on top, as I keep just trying to free their elbow and trap the arm to make space for mount. That didn't work against Christina, so on several occasions I was flinging my leg over and getting trapped in her half guard.

The first technique was way of getting an armbar from side control, transitioning to mount to do so. Get a knee into their arm and shove that up towards the head. If I remember correctly (and this confused the hell out of me, so I'm not sure I do), you end up facing towards their knees. Shift up onto them slightly, them swing your far leg behind you and right over their head. That should enable you to swivel into position to get a leg under their head, your other leg staying tight. I think at some point you must also grab an arm, as that ends up trapped for a straight armbar, but can't recall how, so will have to double check with Christina. You've also got the option of shifting to a triangle.

That was followed by one a little easier to understand, again ending up with an armbar. Press their arm down to the ground, then bring your near leg over the top to trap it. Grip the sleeve, then with the same leg, step over their head. Slip the other leg underneath their head: as before, this then leaves their arm stuck, and vulnerable to a straight armbar by pressing it against your leg, using the elbow as a fulcrum. Again, you also have the option of changing to a triangle.

Free sparring became more of a drilling session to start with, which was absolutely fine by me as it gave me a chance to look in closer depth at some of the problems I'm having with open guard. Christina has no trouble passing, for a number of reasons that became clear during the session. First, when she stands and breaks my guard, I'm not stopping her from shoving her hips forward. That bunches me up, and makes it easy for her to pass. What I should be doing is pushing her away from me, using my legs.

Secondly, I need to secure a grip on a sleeve. One effective way of pushing the passer away, as Christina showed me when I tried to pass her guard, is to immediately get a leg into the arm and shove. I was steadily trying to put Christina's advice into practice, but there's a long way for me to go yet. I'm continuing to fail at creating distance, and even when I do get a leg into the arm, I don't manage to keep it there for long.

Christina also mentioned I was lying a bit flat, the third problem. I must keep in mind the BJJ principle of never lying flat, curling up slightly instead or going to one side. I also want to take another look at the Beneville book, as that kicks off with defences from standing guard, helpfully predicated off hip and leg movement drills.

We spent about two rounds doing that, I think: either way, proved very helpful. Christina continues to be an awesome training partner, which is a real help to a beginner like me (I may have a blue belt now, but I'd still count myself as pretty much a beginner, as I've not even been training 18 months yet). Its so important to get good training partners – makes a massive difference to your progress. Hence it’s a shame a lot of the other cool people I used to regularly train with (like Nathan and Chris) don't make the same days as me anymore (in fact, don't think Chris trains at all right now, due to some injury or other: Nathan may be bogged down in uni work).

Finished off the lesson with a brief bit of light sparring against Grant, who always totally outclasses me, but is nice about it. I tried snatching the half-guard, but couldn't quite get it, spinning around under side control instead until he managed to get mount. Time ran out before he could consolidate, but I'm pretty sure he would have eventually caught me in something. Definitely a prime candidate for a blue (not that I'm much of a challenge: also saw him showing good control with various other blues), so hopefully he'll get that soon.

I was thinking about training tomorrow, but looking at the trains, far too much of a pain to get there. A lot of tube lines are down, so I'd have to meander about getting lost on the bus network. So instead, I plan to go to the Cranach exhibition at the Royal Academy, and then meet up with Christina, Lorenzo, Zaf and a few others for a meal a bit later, which Christina kindly invited me to after the lesson.

One other thing I should mention, which hasn't really occurred to me before despite the frequent warnings on the Fightworks Podcast, is to be better prepared for staph infections and the like. I have some abrasion on my neck which has scabbed up, and off-handedly mentioned it to Oli, who immediately asked if I'd put any anti-septic cream on it. Something I should have thought of earlier, and did after class (borrowing some Savlon from Christina): bought myself a tube on the way to my sisters, which I'll be keeping in my bag to rub on any other cuts etc I pick up in the future. The RGA mats are clean, so from what I'm told there hasn't been a problem with staph, but makes sense to be careful.

03/10/2007 - BJJ (Beginners)

Class #92



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Roger Gracie, London, UK - 03/10/2007 – Beginner

Someone from Gracie Barra Calgary bumped into my blog earlier this week, presumably while Googling BJJ terms, as my glossary has appeared on their site. Cool. :D

However, that does remind me to ask that if anyone notices I’m talking rubbish anywhere in the glossary, please stick up a comment correcting me. The instructor over at GB Calgary mentioned that he’s cast an eye over it and it seems ok (very helpful to have someone of that level check for errors), but as I intermittently update that glossary, I’m always grateful for constructive advice. I’m merely a white belt, after all!

I wasn’t able to train last Thursday as I’d intended, because the trains messed up yet again. Not only did they screw my journey back on the Wednesday, but when I arrived at Farringdon on the Thursday ready to go train, I was greeted by a sign telling me there was no Hammersmith & City line service. What was especially annoying was that I hadn’t had any warning – if this had been a strike, then it would have been announced in advance. However, because this was apparently due to concerns over ‘safety issues’, the line shut down rather more suddenly. On the other hand, I should have checked for disruption before leaving anyway, so will have to remember to do that next time.

Like I said, this October is largely devoted to teaching (Excel and academic stuff), so training is going to suffer. Normally, I would have come down late tonight, if at all, so I could fit in some more work, but as my gf is visiting her parents this weekend, I can spend the Saturday getting my seminars prepared instead. That’s especially handy, because that gave me the hope I could make four sessions this week, which would make up for potentially missing BJJ entirely next week due to a conference my department is attending and at which I’ll be presenting.

Anyway, on to the training: tonight we kicked off with the osoto-gari trip as is fairly common, this time Roger showing us a set up in which you aimed to sweep the leg with your foot first. When they step back to stop you doing that, you then keep your sweeping foot in the same place, step forward, then swing the other leg forward for the osoto-gari. If they don’t move their foot, you can continue with the foot sweep.

Next up, Roger showed us some useful things to do in closed guard. First of all, he demonstrated that the best position you could be in on the bottom was with your opponent pulled in tight. In order to get them there, bump them forward with your hips and wrap up their head. Alternately, you can lift up with your legs until you can break their posture. Once you’ve got them down close, they have to somehow push themselves back up. Generally, that’s going to involve pushing on your chest, meaning that you can grab their arm. As they then try to raise up by basing off your chest, you can swing into an armbar.

Another option is once you’ve got them in tight, slip one of your hands deep into their opposite collar. Bring your other hand around the back of their gi, getting a thumb in. As they raise up this time, bring that other hand around their head and across their throat, setting you up for the cross choke. I found I had some trouble with the thumb grip, as first of all I found it difficult to dig that thumb in, then secondly when I had it, the grip was often loose. I think a way to rectify this would be get that thumb in deep as soon as you’ve pulled them in tight: that becomes easier if they have a particularly stiff gi, meaning it would stand away from their neck if you pull their head down.

Roger followed this up with some work from side control. To begin with, he ran through the kimura from side control, which Jude apparently taught earlier in the week. From side control, you need to get their far arm by your head, trapped against your shoulder (which I guess you’d either do by grabbing, or when they try and get their forearm into your throat). Keeping one hand by their near hip, move round to their head until you’re in north-south (i.e., facing their knees). Pull them onto their side, bringing a knee up tight against their back, also shifting your grip on their arm to a figure four (not sure if that step comes earlier?). If they grab onto their gi, tug in the direction your elbow is pointing behind you, then pull them arm back into position, where you can apply the sub.

If they manage to get a firm hold by wrapping their hands together, preventing your kimura, you can instead go for an armbar. Bring the knee that is against their back in tight, dropping back into the armbar position with your other knee over their neck. Switch an arm under their wrist, then lean towards their head in order to loosen their grip. Finally, complete the semi-circle by moving back into position, dropping back for the sub.

Sparring I wasn’t managing to get anywhere in particular. I started off with Nathan in closed guard. On top, I persevered with my usual tailbone break, which did eventually loosen his guard, but I was constantly leaving too much space to close in and move to side control. Like Chris, Nathan simply went to his knees. I had a stack pass secured at one point, but couldn’t close in tight enough to stop Nathan again escaping to his knees.

In my guard, I had a quick go at the sit-up sweep, where I yet again forgot to try the kimura from guard after it failed. MUST remember to attempt that sub! As has been happening repeatedly for the past two months or so, I ended up moving between open and half guard, but Nathan was simply too mobile for me to stop him passing. I need to move my hips more, and faster, as well as get those legs into position to prevent the pass. I still don’t want to get into a situation where I’m expending lots of energy and straining away in a macho battle of pride, but I should at least be using my small size to get up a bit of speed.

I had a similar spar with Seon, this time from side control. On top, I went to scarf hold a few times as I could feel him escaping, but couldn’t keep him down, and also couldn’t stop him getting his legs over and rolling me into his side control. Underneath, I managed to get to half guard, but then kinda sat there while he attempted chokes and then eventually passed. Oli was telling me to move my hips out and shrimp more, which is good advice: I should focus on doing that when in half guard. I tried moving to rubber guard to help get the knee through, as worked a while back, but this time to no success.

So, key things are the old problem of closing the distance so that I’m not leaving them space to escape, and to capitalise on my small size and speed. I have to move my hips more, and I also need to come into sparring with a clear idea of how I’m going to shrimp and escape from half guard, rather than just clinging on pointlessly.

I felt absolutely terrible after sparring, but I’d set out from Birmingham determined to make two classes. I was all ready to go, sitting by the mat writing down my notes so I could get on to the advanced, but continued to feel crap. So yet again, I left before the advanced, repeating my Wednesday pattern of coming in all keen then failing miserably to make two classes. I think I’m just going to have to accept the fact that fitness or willpower is going to let me down every time I want to double up on Wednesdays, so instead I should skip the beginners and only do the advanced. Otherwise I’m going to continue this pattern of one or two beginner classes along with no-gi each week, whereas I should be making two advanced and one beginner. Not that I don’t get my arse kicked enough by the other white belts (as happened today), but the more comprehensive arse-kicking I’ll receive from advanced should hopefully result in greater improvement. So: no more ambitious attempts to double up on Wednesdays until I feel a shitload fitter!

Something else I should start doing is make a sandwich for the train on the way down. Nathan suggested, as I told him I was wimping out for the millionth time, that I should probably eat more, and he’s absolutely right: clearly the two cereal bars I munch on the Chiltern Line aren’t enough to fuel my weedy frame. To finish on a somewhat random note, I went to the doctors today for the introductory health check, and apparently I'm 5'8. Always thought I was 5'7 - maybe I'm just under? Either way: meh.

17/04/2007 - BJJ

Class #53



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Felipe Souza, London, UK - 17/04/2007

Managed to get up to my 10,000 word count on the chapter (in fact, going slightly over by 500 words), writing the conclusion on the train down, so was able to make it to BJJ tonight. Class focused on side control, kicking off with armbar from side control. Person A traps Person B’s arm by pulling the arm into their head, then gripping their own collar. Person A’s other arm is on the opposite side, blocking Person B from pulling guard. Next, Person A moves round until Person B’s head is between their knees, pushing Person B’s free arm to the ground as they do so. Using the grip on their arm, Person A then moves Person B onto their side, still holding the other arm, placing one shin into Person B’s back – the other leg will already be around their head. Person A then leans backwards for the armbar, removing their grip from the other arm once they have the armbar in position (in case Person A needs to adjust their hold on Person B’s wrist for the sub).

Sparring was unsurprisingly from side control, and I found that I’m having trouble keeping my weight down. I’m remembering to go up on my toes, but I’m still leaving too much space – Radek in particular kept spinning around and getting guard. I also forgot to switch base, which meant I had little force when I attempted to push their arm away in order to try for mount. When I then remembered to switch base against Radek, he was able to knock me off-balance – so, that’s something else I’ll have to keep in mind. Radek seemed very quick, though I don’t want to get distracted into trying to do techniques faster rather than more accurately.

I did at least manage to get mount on Tas, having been unable to extricate myself from his half-guard the first time round. On my second opportunity, I quickly whipped out my leg and went into mount, though I think Tas was kinda knackered from sparring a bunch of people in a row, which no doubt made things easier for me.

With Ramis, who I haven’t sparred for a long time, I got a chance to try out the rear naked choke defence Oli showed me on the 29th March. I turned my head in the correct direction and raised my hips up, but mixed up my priorities – I should have been concentrating on securing the arm going behind my head before anything else. Eventually, Ramis got the choke, but I’m pleased that I did at least manage to work a defence. Oli was watching, so was able to point out where I went wrong.

Ben mentioned a useful method of keeping your weight down in side control his sparring partner showed him. If I understood correctly, you put your chest on their chest and ribs (so one pectoral on one of theirs while the other presses below), pushing down with your hips and sprawled out on your toes. I’ve been doing the sprawling part, but not positioning my chest correctly. If we do side control again, I’ll try to improve my weight distribution. In addition I want to concentrate on specific techniques, so that I have something to aim for – I think going for mount is probably my best bet at the moment. Trying for Americana’s might be worth a go too, although due to the way specific sparring works, I have been getting the feeling it’s a “ready, set, go” kinda situation with that sub. Nevertheless, something to keep in mind if the opportunity presents itself.

I was hoping to try to work scarf hold escapes, almost finding myself in that position against Ramis, but he was moving round too quickly, meaning that I was simply swivelling around after him with a grip on his leg. This is what eventually led to the rear naked choke position, so ideally I could avoid that. Definitely need a better plan than “cling desperately onto the leg and spin”!

My May holiday isn’t far off now: I should be able to get in another four (unless I get the third stripe before then, but not sure if that’s likely to happen before May), after which I’m paused for a month. Next session after that will be 6th June, but I’m hoping to get in some other training in the meantime. I’m away from the 4th until the 18th, so will probably try for MMA during the rest of May. Chris mentioned that London Shootfighters is apparently a mere £3 a class, which would be awesome if correct (though I think he may have been referring to the members price for weights: a normal non-member class is more like £9, as far as I'm aware). On the other hand, I’ve heard it’s a pretty hardcore class, and I’m far from a hardcore person – still, we’ll see. Worth trying at least once, even if I leave the lesson bruised, limp and bathed in sweat.

14/12/06 - BJJ

Class #13



Roger Gracie Academy (BJJ), Felipe Souza, London, UK – 14/12/2006

Unusual warm-up today, as Felipe went straight into drilling throws. First we did 10 hip throws, then 10 head throws, after which Felipe showed us the counter. This was basically to step to the side and then throw the other person – if they were going for a hip throw, you’d already have your arm in position for the head throw and vice versa. At least I think so: I’m especially terrible at throws.

Something else I proved to be very bad as was side control. Felipe demonstrated how to counter side control, which I found very complex – understanding moves from the guard seemed somehow easier. Person B bridges, then shrimps out, gripping the far side of Person A’s gi as they transition to go for Person A’s legs. Raising their far leg, Person B grabs round the back of Person A’s near leg, putting their own head on the far side. Driving forward with the legs and pushing towards the near side with their head, Person B moves into side control. Not sure if ‘near’ and ‘far’ are better than ‘left’ and ‘right’, but I’ll see if that helps me remember it more easily.

Next was getting the armbar from side control. Person A locks up Person B’s far arm, wrapping both their arms round, keeping their hips down (as my training partner, Dan, kept reminding me, because I wasn’t keeping my weight on him enough). Grabbing the near side of Person B’s gi down by their hips, Person A moves round to the near side until they're in a north-south position (which is the one where you’re facing up and they’re facing down, if I’ve got the terminology right on that). Person A then raises Person B’s near shoulder, in order to step their far leg over Person B’s neck, leaving their near leg underneath. This sets up the armbar, on which I kept forgetting to pinch my knees together, raising the hips to finish (A Korean instructor shows a vaguely similar method here, embedded below) . Ben mentioned a potentially easier armbar from side control, where you reach round for the near arm instead, lifting up for the armbar: will have to give that a go next time.



Felipe finished up class with a variation on specific sparring I last did a while ago, where everyone lines up against one wall, the first twelve getting ready to spar while the rest of class waits. As soon as someone wins (so the top person getting mount/submitting or the bottom person escaping), whoever is at the back of the line replaces the loser.

Needless to say, I found myself at the back of the line rather often. This did at least give me the opportunity to get someone’s name I hadn’t spoken to before – a big guy with a goatee (or was it just a moustache?) called Gary.

I completely forgot the two drills we’d just done and tensed up, unsure what to do from on top or on the bottom. I attempted an americana from the side control at one point on Jan, but didn’t get it, eventually being swept. From the bottom I was tending to get mounted. A third-stripe white, Will, was going fairly light, and remained relaxed as I switched to the opposite side control. That meant I was basically in the north-south position, wondering what I supposed to do next. I think Will was waiting to see if I’d do anything, then got bored and swept me. With Michael, an Australian guy (or perhaps Kiwi? Not too good with accents), I focused so much on resisting his americana attempt that I didn’t think to defend against mount, which he got easily.

Side control is clearly something I’ll have to do a lot of work on to improve, though I suppose this is the first time I’ve spent a whole class doing it. It might help when we’re doing the normal specific sparring, as then I’ll get the chance to try out escapes and the like continuously.

Next session will either be Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on when my gf leaves to see her parents for christmas. Unfortunately the Academy is closing from 23rd December to 3rd January, which means I’ll miss out on a week and a bit of training. Hopefully I can get in four classes the preceding week to make up for it, but we’ll see.