Progress

Well last class I was focused more on my top game. I worked the pass that I had talked about in my previous post and I’m happy to say that it worked about 50% of the time. Maybe a little under because I forget the exact number of times that I went for it. The thing that makes these numbers promising is that the pass was done on high level guys. I’m going to keep working the pass and perfect it more on the lower belts that’s for sure.

I’m super pumped for class tonight. I’ve been watching the Mundials 08 DVD and its really got me in the zone. In fact I wish class was right now lol. Joe T. said he was going to stop by class tonight so that will be a blast. It’s always fun to roll with Joe because he has a very different style then most of the people at the club. Can’t wait!

Meeting of the Minds

Justin and I met yesterday for a little meeting of the minds. We each went over some ideas we had floating around and ironed out some details. I was working mainly on a new pass (new to me). It’s pretty basic. I always pass in the combat base position and tend to do knee rides to the cross side. This works off of that, but instead of going cross knee, I hook a leg and sit on it and base down. The hand that’s on the same side I bring up and grab their belt so they can’t hip away from me. The other hand is controlling the leg I’m not sitting on. Once I have control I sit out into reverse scarf as I extend their leg that I’m sitting on. This forces their leg to flatten out.

The detail that I was working on is how I hook their leg before sitting on it. If done the way I was thinking it’s easier to straighten their leg out as you pass because your heel is kind of hooked on their heel. I’m sure I can find a video of this somewhere on YouTube, and if anyone knows of one already please point me in the right direction. I think tonight in class I’ll only pass using this method to try and work more kinks out of it. What say you?

Workin My Way to The Top

Lately I have been looking for something to work on specifically. I think I've found it. It's my top game and passing. I used to really suck at both of them, and I think now is the perfect time to really concentrate on them and bring them up to speed. I'm a guard player so I always give up position and work off my back, but in a competition that game plan sucks.
The last competition that I went to was last Oct down in Portland. The tourney was the Freestyle Grappling Open and is one of the biggest in Maine. I was so nervous and pumped at the time I just wanted to get it over with. When the match started I was going to so many positions and going for so many submissions that in a 4 min match I was up 14 - 2 on the guy. I ended up getting caught in a triangle with 20 secs left. SUUUUUCKS! I learned something though, if I had just solidified a few of those dominate positions I would have ate a lot of time off the clock and saved energy.
So top game it is. I need to start being able to dictate the pace and eat up time on the clock when I want to rest. My passing seems to be getting better. Now I just need to work on being able to stay there once I have passed.

Past Week

This past week we have had some good classes and I have done some good rolling. Our new guys are really coming along. Jon gave Will and Joe each their second stripe so congrats to them. Well deserved. I hope they both come back from summer break ready to learn.
Yesterday I went to open mat with Justin and Jordan. Justin and I ironed out some small details on things we have been working on. I have been trying this new thing where if the person has me in Oma plata, before they can sit up and control my back I do the normal forward roll escape. Now I have been doing that for a while, but I don't like the idea of letting them get side control on me. So what I do when I roll is make sure its really tight and swing my leg out like I'm going to roll into guard. What this does is if they are posturing up the leg that swings will catch on their back and stop my roll. At this point I'm kind of upside down so I walk out on my shoulders some. The arm that's not being attacked I reach over and grab their belt to make sure I can come up and take the back. It's kind of neat and seems to be working well for me. I have also been trying to work on my top game a lot. Messing around with mount more to set up attacks and just practicing being in the dominant position. This will help greatly in a competition if I want to eat some time off the clock.
I think Justin and I are going to split a few private lessons from Jon. Now that Noel is gone we need someone to be able to point us in the right direction when it comes to making small changes and tweaking our games. I think it will be a great help for both of us. Plus splitting it makes it more affordable.

A New Era

This past week was Noels last class before moving down to DC. It still feels strange and I'm sure for the next couple classes I'll catch myself wondering where he is and why he isn't in class. We are left in very capable hands though. Justin received his purple belt a few weeks ago, Matt got his brown, and of course we still have Jon our resident black belt. Things are changing, but I honestly don't think any of us will suffer. I am confident.
Lately I have been in somewhat of a slump. Not that I have been rolling bad or anything, I just don't know what to work on next. Positions and submissions are more familiar to me now the more time I spend on the mat. I wish it was really obvious what the next step is. I have general ideas of what I need to work on, but it's not in your face anymore like when I was a white belt.
I need to work on my teaching. I want to be able to help the lower belts like Justin helped me. It makes me realize how hard it is to explain a move when you just normally do it without thinking about it.

Thanks Noel for the solid foundation. One day I hope you see the house I'm going to build on it.