another simple sweep from spider guard

the sweep taught to me today by professor daniel is the second sweep shown in this video. the key to this sweep is the tightness of the grip on uke's sleeve on the side where my leg is wrapped around his arm.

Shake Arm Bar and Pendulum Sweep Combo

another friday morning private lesson with prof daniel as no other students have shown up (again). we went over a basic arm bar for which i grab the sleeve on the same side and pull uke in with my legs. then i shake both legs to the side. one leg climbs uke's back while the other comes across his face for the arm bar. when uke defends the arm bar by posturing, my free leg does a pendulum motion by going down and around. my top leg pushes to the side. i end up in mount.



this video is similar except that in the video, he does not threaten the arm bar first.

Rolling Tips: Open Guard

Professor gino said never to accept grips by uke on my legs. always try to fight them off. also need to use my far leg to step over to replace the guard. the latter does not have to be a huge move, i can just take my foot and put it inside one of uke's shins and use it for leverage.

shoulder pressure for half guard pass

professor gino showing us how to use shoulder into uke's cheek to twist his spine. then walk my trapped leg up and use my other hand to push off and get to the point where only the foot is trapped (and on the floor). now no longer in half guard.

then keep chest on chest and use the pressure to turn his head the other way. this will usually force him to release my foot.

it is important that i use my whole body to deliver the shoulder pressure and that i cock my shoulder right into his cheek (not above or below).



this video is somewhat close to what i was taught. a few key differences:

instead of clasping the hands, prof gino taught us to place our middle finger inside uke's armpit and not worry so much about the other arm.

he also taught us to walk the leg towards our free hand, not straight up like in the video.

also, when the foot is caught, he wants us to turn uke's face in the opposite direction before using our free foot for leverage to free our trapped foot.

halfguard pass (cross knee)

some differences from the video in the way i was taught.

* i walk my leg in towards uke's butt by sitting on my own butt.

* when taking out my foot, my knee points down so that my trapped leg moves towards his calves (weak) away from his thighs (strong).

* my other knee has to be off the ground while i am freeing my trapped leg. (shown on the video).

Half Ezekiel Choke from Half Guard (or Mount)

* i place the same side eblow on the ground as my free knee.

* i want to give uke the impression that he can take my back.

* i grab his collar with my thumb inside.

* i squeeze like a regular choke (not extend like an ezekiel).

* important: my arm that goes behind his neck rests on the lower part of the back of his head (not his neck) so during the choke, his head is coming towards me.

Details: Arm In Side Choke from Side Control

if uke starts defending the choke (often moving his head up towards my head), i can hip out, hook his knee with my foot, hip out a bit more and then sweep to the far side. i hip out on the same side as my knee. since uke's full weight is on me, it is critical for me to move away from uke's center line to get his weight off me before i sweep him. still cannot find this choke anywhere on youtube. master daniel said that having uke's arm in makes the choke much more effective.

Rolling Tips: Choking

i keep flaring my elbows. need to pin them to my body (my chest or stomach).

i cannot release my grips to move them. master daniel suggested walking my fingers, instead, along the lapel.

as soon as i have my opponent in side control, i need to work towards a submission immediately.

Jamarillo Special Details: Giftwrap Transition

when i isolate his arm, my hand ends up just outside his arm pit.

it does not matter if i step over first or do the kimura grip.

if he puts his arm behind my head, keep rotating until his arm falls off; then lock the giftwrap. if i have his right arm isolated with my right arm: after the giftwrap, i bring my left leg along side his back and step over with my right foot; then i pull him back as i move to my back; then secure the second (left) hook.(right hook is secured as i fall back).

Rolling Tips: Side Control

working with professor gino this morning. he noticed that i am having trouble maintaining side control. suggested moving my free hand to block uke's hip near my knee and moving to north south when i feel myself losing my balance.

Omaplata from Cross Guard

master daniel taught this today. i thought it was too advanced initially but is surprisingly easy. the version taught to me is slightly different from this video in that my non-kicking leg just stays to his side and does not go on uke's hip as shown in this demo. the rest is identical. notice that mylegs do not have to be crossed (or locked) to finish the plata. it is important to raise my hips off the ground to finish.

Rolling Tips: Passing the Guard

I am still ducking my head in the early part of my attempt to pass the guard. this is a repeated problem i am having trouble correcting. i rolled with nick today and was unable to pass his guard even once during the entire training session despite the fact that he did not use his strength.

Rolling Tips

1. think less up-and-down and side-to-side, think more turning, changing angles

2. when the uke's grip is especially strong to one side, consider moving (turning into) that side instead of going to the far side.

3. circle his grip to break it instead of just pulling back

4. if my head is being pushed down, consider bringing my legs back under me to regain my posture and help break uke's grips. then go back to bringing my legs away from uke.

5. think of passing the guard in two parts: first part keep my weight on me, not on uke. when uke is under control, and i'm ready to pass, then shift my weight to on him.

6. Finishing the arm bar: for an uke with long arms, pass his elbow past my elbow but keep squeezing with my arm. now my hands can reach his wrist. bring my head to his wrist and straigthen my body. as i fall back, uke's arm will eventually move back into the proper position for the arm bar.

Basic Sweep from Spider Guard

Sequence after uke opens my legs from closed guard:
1. i control both sleeves;
2. my left foot goes on uke's right hip (my left knee is on the inside
3. i push off (hip out straight back)
4. my right foot goes on uke's left hip (my right knee is on the outside)
5. i push off again (hip out straight back some more)
6. my left foot goes on uke's right bicep near the elbow
7. i pull with both arms but much more with my right arm
8. my right leg does a scissor motion (not that important)
9. my left foot pushes to my right side (not straight up)
10. after uke falls, i mount,
11. i cup his left tricep with my left hand
12. i brace my right hand on the floor
13. i swing my right leg over his head for the arm bar



the video, above, is the closest thing i could find on youtube to what was taught to me. the version shown is slightly more advanced (the second foot is not on the floor; it is curled around uke's arm). also, there are two sweeps shown in this video. i have only been taught the first one (where uke stands up with the wrong foot).

Proper Breathing

prof daniel is complaining about my breathing through my mouth too much. suggested using yoga to teach proper breathing through the nose. will keep me from getting tired so fast. said one of his friends in norwalk teaching a special form of yoga for BJJ practicioners. he may do a seminar. he said even if i have to breathe through my mouth, i need to use my diaphram more. to let more air out and take more air in.

sleeve grip theory

one-on-one time with prof. daniel as no one else has shown up to the friday morning class. he goes over lots of small, different details. one is how to grip the opponents sleeves. although i had been gripping like a monkey (thumb pressed against my index finger) he noted that a closed hand does not work as well as keeping the hand open and only curling the fingers. (in kempo we call this a leopard fist. the top two knuckles on each finger grip around the uke's sleeve but the knuckles used for punching do not. this grip is surpisingly strong. when the uke tries to pull, i go with him instead of trying to fight it. when the hand is closed, a strong pull by uke creates an opening motion by my hand that is hard to stop. but with this leopard grip, the motion is linear and the grip is less likely to break.

rolling tip, sweep counter

when rolling and uke grabs the collar and sleeve on the same side, my knee on that side must stay off the ground and my foot should be on the floor.

arm in side choke from side control

i have uke in side control and he secures an underhook (his right arm). he then tries to turn into me up on all fours. i use one hand to feed his lapel to my other hand so that the more he turns into me the tighter it gets. i use my other hand to grab the other collar and pull uke into me as if i am going to pull guard. but only one leg ends up on top of him as i end up on my side. my leg is there to keep him from jumping over me to escape the choke. this choke requires no precision on the grips and is remarkably tight. one key is to keep my elbows close to my body.

unexpected arm bar from guard

cup under uke's tricep with one hand while pulling his opposite shoulder in with the other hand. lift my hips straight up and move my head to the side. keep my back flat on the floor and bring both legs up for an arm bar. the key is to raise my hips to make uke lighter. the video below is the closest thing i could find. but there is one major difference in the position as taught by master daniel. we do not post our leg on uke's hip to effect our turn. we just lift our hips up and spin and bring our legs around without a pivot point. our way is harder but much faster.

Details on Baseball Choke and defending the triangle

master daniel interrrupted my sparring session to show a neat defense against a triangle when it first locked on. if i can posture up high and slip both my knees under uke's back, it makes it nearly impossible for him to push my head down. the above video describes this defense and also how to break the triangle afterwards. the video does not adequately describe the importance of the high posture in this position.

he also went over some finer points of the baseball choke we worked on in weeks past. he noted that when holding someone down by grabbing behind the collar, it is important to keep the arm only slightly bent. i can then use my forearm to put uke back down if he tries to turn into me.

one other detail for the baseball choke: after both legs are locked around uke's head, i have to straigthen out both arms before dropping my head on his belly and then pulling my elbows out.

Umpa Variation

Master Daniel notes that as soon as you go for an UMPA, a seasoned opponent will use the opportunity to isolate your arm by bringing his knee to your tricep and spinning towards a technical mount. he said one interesting counter is to briefly try to UMPA in the wrong direction (pull uke to the wrong side), and then suddenly change direction to the correct side.

Some Details on Sweeps from the Guard

Master Daniel provided some extra details on sweeps from the guard in this lunchtime class. during the scissor sweep, it is important to pull my elbow close to my body and place completely on the floor. i continue to find the leg push sweep more effective than the pure scissor.

he showed a variation for which the non sweeping foot goes on the uke's hip and my knee goes on uke's shoulder instead of across his body. this makes the sweep much less obvious. if uke grabs my knee, the grip has to be broken at the same time as his knee is pushed by my sweeping leg. i break his grip by grapping his sleeve.

tripod sweep

friday morning before the july 4th holiday weekend. again i'm the only student training with master daniel. he has seen my defeciencies during rolling drills and is trying to teach me some manoevers to help me survive. today, we worked on the tripod sweep for when the uke breaks my guard open.



the video is quite similar to what was taught to me except that Master Daniel suggested planting the foot on the floor to do the hip escape whereas in this video he posts his foot on the opponent's bicep. (perhaps a more advanced variation).

the details i am struggling with are:

* remembering to push the knee/thigh during the pass while the other hand hooks under the hip.

* the sequence is complicated, grab the leg, post the foot and hip out, one leg hooks at the ankle, one leg posts on the stomach. then pull and push. remember to pull back the leg that pushes at the stomach quickly to trap the uke's ankle between my legs. use the momentum of the uke's fall to get on top (do not let go of the grip at the sleeve).

below is a much more advanced variation i hope to learn eventually: