Single Leg Takedown

professor gino suggests keeping my head VERY high during the takedown to avoid uke stuffing my head. he suggests putting my head all the way up on uke's chest. also, during the sweep, he said its critical to minimize the amount of time the my head is close to his body but on the outside for fear of a giloutine. when i had previously learned the single leg takedown from prof. renee dryfuss, he suggested using the head as part of the sweep. professor gino's method of using the shoulder and stepping back with the foot seems to work better for me.

Half Guard Triple Threat Series: Some Details

more with professor gino this morning. i was paired with steve "the cop," who is one of the few students my size the dojo. (but he is still much stronger than me). when attempting to take the back from half guard bottom, prof gino suggests releasing the seatbelt grip around the waist and lowering my arm to reduce the potency of the uke's wizzer. then sitting out and driving the shoulder is a good option.

arm bar from guard (hooking the leg)

went to train this morning (monday) and was again the only student so got a private lesson with master daniel (again). he went over basic armbar from guard (by hooking uke's leg). when the sweep fails, go to pendulum sweep (next blog entry).

* key for both of these moves is during the bridge, hip goes side-to-side and then straight up (do not rotate on to a shoulder).

* using the underneath leg to climb his back is the most important detail i continue to struggle with (and the reason, master daniel says that my opponents keep passing my guard).

* pulling my opponent towards me with my legs while my guard is closed is key to being able to reach under his leg.

* although placing the plant foot on the uke's hip is ideal, i'm finding it more effective simply to place it on the floor. master daniel said this is ok for now.

pendulum sweep from the guard

this is the pendulum sweep. my issue is that my leg keeps getting caught under my opponent. need to curl in more underneath me. master daniel said this sweep is a good alternative when uke positions his head to avoid the arm bar.

baseball choke from knee on belly

this is the variation as taught by master daniel. the variation below suggests holding the uke's belt and pulling up. not sure if this is a more advanced version.



uke often passes out almost immediately so have to be careful when using this one.

spinning arm bar from knee on belly

after crossing uke's head with my foot, STAY LOW, ok to post the hand on the ground, spin until at 90 deg, maintain contact between my knee and uke's arm, hook my foot under uke's armpit.

knee on belly to isolate an arm

after only three months, i thought i was way too soon to learn the knee on the belly technique. but master daniel said that was what we would do tonight. only me and one other student since tomorrow is a tournament but master daniel stayed for the full class anyway and laughed when i suggested he might want to cancel.

within a few minutes i realized that the knee on the belly technique would take a long time to master but his real reason for showing it was to use it as a transition to capture the uke's arm when he tries to push off the knee.

from there we worked the baseball choke and the rotating arm bar. for the baseball choke i nearly passed out as soon as my uke tried it on me. one second fine, next minute i'm seeing stars. need to remember to be careful if trying this on anyone during grappling.

for spinning arm bar, having difficulty rotating enough on the spin.

Boo Pass

called bullfighter pass or X pass on youtube. Master Daniel suggests this as a good pass once the uke's opens his legs from the guard position. grab both pants at the knees and sprawl both my legs back (but my knees do not hit the ground). this first video comes fairly close to what was taught to me except that the uke is allowed to get on his side. Master Daniel suggests punching the floor in a way to keep the uke's back pinned to the ground might be better.




the thing that is counter-intuitive here is that i have to flare my elbows outward to bring his legs down just before passing. (otherwise his legs can wrap my arms). said best time to pass was when he postures up. best to pass and sink a shoulder into his chest knocking him back down. if passing to my right, my right leg goes first. (so my legs never cross).

Triple threat series from half guard

professor gino working the triple threat. roll both sides and third option is to take the back. one thing he mentioned for the latter is to move my elbow out before pulling my knee out to avoid contorting my body (weak position)