:)
Beginning again...MaybeHey people's sorry I've been remiss in posting the past couple weeks but life has been on me...Hope everyone had a great holiday...Let's get to it...((THERE IS VIDEO BELOW!!!))
Well today I had a nice first, and we will talk of it later because I am pretty proud of it, but for now, back to training...The past few sessions I have had, I have been able to work hard on my passing, and my take-downs as well as working on perfecting my top-side submissions, as we had an old student of coach's who has been a student of the art from a LONG time come back into town for the holiday season...He is about 6'4" and maybe 5 or 10 more pounds than I weigh, and plays a very technical and strong game...A very solid purple belt, and perhaps close to brown but I don't know....
First I saw him, he showed up at my class on a Sunday, did not want to roll with him then as I thought he was a new visiting guy, and I'd put everyone through a vicious cardio workout before competition roll drills...didn't seem fair...even though I had just driven in from out of town and had gone through a worse strength and cardio workout before I taught...so anyways...he came the next night, coach showed some mount techniques and some attacks from the back and when it came time to roll I had a couple rounds with two of the guys in class, and worked my passing...It really is coming along, especially my double under and crush pass...I have a few variations and can move smoothly between most of them now without thinking so, it will be time to put them to the test next tournament I think...all the while I was watching him really give it to the two guys he rolled with who were very good but not on his level yet...that said, was looking forward to working my passing and submissions with our new old guy, and when we were getting ready to start and going through the obligatory (where do u wanna start, uh anywhere u wanna, nah you choose, uh uh whatever u want to do) start up posturing, coach walks over and says to him that I have a terrific guard(found this out after)...Well I didn't notice so he turns back to me and says well I hear you have this unpassable guard so I wills tart there...I've got a good bit of Marcus' attitude in me about that and perhaps I took it wrong but sounded like he felt it wouldn't be so hard;))(he's a great guy so i know he didn't take it that way..it's just an automatic reaction i have to work on)...Anyways, we start and I work for a few sweeps but he sits extremely well based out, and I move to a few others back and forth (I've been working on more chains which revolve but just randomly change order to achieve the desired result...) and then start to use a behind the head grip to work for the cross choke/armbar/sweep/etc...he grabs the sleeves to prevent and this allows me to work my hips out and up to high guard...I have it in tight but move too soon and don't clear the sleeve when I try the pendulum sweep...I have to do it without having his leg, and lose the sweep mid arc...I go back and even though he is wary of it, I work to high guard once more...even tighter this time, but this time I make the mistake of not controlling his far lapel when I drag the leg across for the arm bar and he postures, I roll to the belly down armbar but don't have it as he withdraws and tries to pass... I fend off the passes easily which frustrates him I think...We work from open guard for a bit, but I see a chance to grab closed guard, do so, and immediately allow him to try the same standing pass I was shutting down earlier, but only to spring a rolling knee bar from guard...He tries to defend so I switch to toe-hold and right back to knee bar and get it...I LOVE leg locks lately...
We roll again to a triangle set up, as I wanted to be sure that I can still work them the same in finishing when I set it up from a new technique...Been working on that too for next year.!!! Just wait...Will talk about this one in another post...
Well the next night we are back, and after working a few side control submissions (I needed this drilling badly...MUST devote some more time to the control in the set-up of my favorite side-control subs!)...Once we get to rolling, I speak up (as I should have the night before) and start in his closed guard....I was a little cautious before we started as I felt he must have the same type guard as I do, but decided to throw that into the wind as I needed to see if my breaks/passes work for real against someone I was not familiar with...Well, my breaks work perfectly, and my transition to combat base (knee up) and then to pass readiness(stand and step over to be ready and able to go either way with the pass are really where I want them, but, I KEEP frickin forgetting that when I go to the knee-side I need to cross the far side ankle over that leg to allow me to escape guard easier...If I do this, then passing is a thousand percent eaiser...that said, I do not do it once, though I set myself up for it MANY times in our rolls...the one good thing this showed me was where I need to concentrate on, also showed me I can adapt as after the first time, where a brain froze and allowed him to scoot away , I worked three different halfguard passes and got my pressure and head control where I wanted them, one of which even passed directly to mount...I did get to start the cross choke from mount, but the side control didn't go as I wanted...three times I allowed him to get almost to his side, and moved to transition...twice, I got to the set up for the baseball bat choke, and another for a lapel choke, which I had to modify, but was too slow in application as my control made me too wary...I ended up with a lot of notes in my private blog/diary to get to work on!
Well, training has been refreshing in that not only have some things shown themselves to be tools I can use naturally, but I have been seeing directly what I need to address...THAT is a blessing as it is hard to know even what u have problems with at times...This feels good as coach said it marks a progressing in my belt...
Well the first match starts and I have a tad bit of trouble as I walk onto the mat in my nice white GI and white belt (It KILLED me to wear a white belt again...gave me all sorts of bad falshback memories of my times as a beginner) , not realizing I had to put on a blue belt for designation of which side I was on...So I go back and get it, and put it on, and we start...I fight grips for a while, and allowed him to put an over the head grip...He does, and I duck under and trip the outside leg and get the takedown...on a BROWN BELT in judo...I go to side control, immediately and start to work for a baseball bat choke...I get both hands in but the guy grabs my arm and lays there...apparently, if you can defend for a few seconds and have a shoulder up, the referee stops the match...BUT, as I am working and the referee sees that I am in control and working on a choke, there is a count going on, 25 second later, they stop the match, and I WIN! I am surprised as hell...But happy...
Next guy is a brown belt as well, and doesn't look particularly imposing or threatening (kinda sorta a really big beaver cleaver looking guy, but very nice fella), but when I lock up with him, it is clear he has a plan and I can see by his hip movement and the little tugs here and there that he is angling me for a hip throw...I have been practicing dropping my hip and blocking and moving to the counter hip throw or ankle pick, but that's against jiu-jitsu players with no judo...He starts for it, and I drop my hip too late, so I do have a tad bit of control, I push against him and land on my shoulder instead of my hip and allow his momentum to drive him over and past and come up to top side...Well, in Judo rules, they don't allow that...He wins...It was explained to me, that the judge thought he had control (how does he have control if I am rolling/reversing him???) , ehh anyways, I Lose that one...At least I know the rules now but it still sucks ass...
I get the next guy without even trying...a black belt....apparently he didn't come back after losing his first match and getting hurt in his next one which he apparently won......so I win in a walk over....
So I am back in the semi finals...I get a SKRONG corn-fed Iowa farmboy lookin dude...I actually I got video of this one...lucky I carry my camera in the truck at all times...this one, I actually felt a bit more comfortable, as I worked grips and worked the over hook a few times, but never quite had the hip movement or footwork to get into position and throw him, as his upper body strength was incredible...That said, I worked a few times on an inside trip that has become a favorite, but he got enough of a block on my upper body each time to ward it off...Well I got bold and decided to forge ahead, and try again...got the over hook, and went for it, this time he shifted his hips forward and blocked wish took me backward...As I fell, I remembered the rules and went to my side...The judge, standing behind the guy, obviously could not, or did not want to see, as there are three judges and the one on the outside could have said so...But they called it an ippon, and I lost once again...this time, I came off the mat, and my teammate from jiu-jitsu said it was bullshit...He thought they were just picking on the jiu-jitsu guy, and maybe to teach a lesson to a white belt not in the novice division...Either way, I was told by this older lady there, that it was a very good match and she applauded my technical skills (hell I didn't knwo I had any! lol) and I was flattered...Well, I got thrid, and losing there, showed me that I CAN compete and my stand up has come a LONG way...If I knew the rules better and had time to actually work judo, I think I could do pretty well at it...I will dabble in it a bit as I got invited to a couple judo schools to try it out by some instructors, but I may take a bit more of an interest, once I one day reach black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu to further augment that rank...But I will definitely keep working on it as I am happy to say that in BJJ my stand up has come up to where I wanted it....Felt good to learn today...so...Back to yoga, back to wrestling, back to judo, and before all that, back to the gentle art...watching myself lose to Rodrigo Pinheiro and having Marcus talk to me through the mistakes I too painfully knew, really has me hungry to be better...I have a LOT of work to do, and really, it seems like I do not fit the mold of what my goal sets forth as far as I can see, but....I Fight On....
Thought For The Day: A Set back, is only a set up for success.
1 comment:
hey man, nice blogs, i got a forum just for jiu-jitsu stuff, your blogs seem interesting, maybe you could help post on my forum a bit? we hold contests and give away free stuff. check it out http://www.bjjboard.com
Post a Comment