For Thursday, 6/2:
Fact: Having your class be taught by a contracted UFC fighter is pretty awesome.
One of the things I like about this particular instructor’s warm-up routine is that he makes us do sprawls. I don’t get to practice these nearly enough, so they definitely take a lot of gas out of me when I do drill them.
I was called to be the dummy for the demonstration of the day’s technique. Aside from being totally awesome (drilling with a soon-to-be UFC fighter = kick-ass), I think having a technique be used on you by an expert is one of the best ways to learn. You get a firsthand experience of the intricacies of the move. So after warm-ups we trained takedowns. Osoto-gari, specfically. This time, however, we chained the osoto-gari into the technique of the day. First we practiced the move for the takedown, without actually going to the ground. Nothing really new here. This was followed by actually taking our partner to the ground. It’s going to take a long time for me to get used to falling, I can tell. After the sweep, we were told to maintain control of sleeve (by the elbow) and collar. The hand on the lapel was to be twisted outwards, so that the elbow could be drawn in to defend any armbar attempts from the bottom. The hand on the sleeve would continue pulling up, keeping the arm secure and preventing the opponent from flattening his back against the mat. The shin towards the lower end of the opponent’s body was placed against the ribs.
Once the takedown was secured, our next technique would be to go right into an armbar attack. Stepping the upper leg over the opponent’s head, sit backwards slowly. As you do this, maintaining your grips on collar and sleeve, pull your opponent towards you so there is no space between his head and the foot over it, and your hips and his shoulder. Remove the grip from the collar, secure the arm. Remove the grip from the elbow, secure the arm with this as well. Apply the submission by pointing the thumb upwards, straightening the arm, and extending the hips.
After this technique we practiced guard-specific training. The instructor stopped us at some point to provide pointers. Those in guard should always control both lapels, keeping the elbows inside as often as possible to prevent attacks against the arms. Keep a good posture at all times, especially when standing inside guard. Those on bottom should aim to establish a firm, deep grip on the side of the collar with the opposite hand. This opens up lots of options, from scissor sweep to collar choke to armbar and omoplatta setups. We resumed training with these points in mind.
I’m loving the gi more and more every class.