Brutal. That’s how I’d describe the chokes we learned in today’s no-gi class. I decided last week that I’d take today’s no-gi class, and fortunately I was able to follow through. Class was a great workout, and I had some time to hang out afterwards which allowed me to drill some stuff and do some gi training too.
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Tag Archives: armbar
Great No-Gi Class
Filed under Chokes, Gi, Guard, Joint locks, Log, Mount, No-Gi
Tagged as armbar, Ezekiel choke, key lock/americana, knuckle choke
Professor Renzo Teaching – Two Stripes Later
It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly 5 months since my last update. In that time I went from my second stripe to my fourth. I regret slacking on here, but free time has been a luxury of late. Since my company launched its new website and I accepted a side project to make some additional money I find myself snatching every bit of sleep whenever I can get it. Thus my commute, which was when I wrote most of my posts, has since become an opportunity for a quick nap. It sucks always being tired.
Not too tired to hit the mats, though. Never too tired for that 🙂
Great news: Prof. Renzo is now teaching regularly at RGA NYC. I had the pleasure of being one of many taking his class tonight. The mats were packed, and with good reason. The professor demonstrated some great details for finishing the sitting armbar. Fair warning: it’s a lengthy post, I tried to squeeze in as much detail as I could recall.
It’s Damn Good to Be Back
Monday, 8/15:
There’s something to be said for taking a two-week break from the mats, as much as I hated doing it. You come back with lots of energy and a renewed drive to push yourself all the way. Such was the case tonight, when I took my first serious BJJ class in two weeks, coming off an arm injury. I’m still not entirely sure what caused it, but somehow I managed to sprain a muscle in the forearm of my right arm. It’s not completely healed as of yet, but I just could not stay away from the mat any longer. There’s jiu-jitsu to be learned! And I dare say I made my first class back in the gym count.
Filed under Escapes, Gi, Guard, Log, Sweeps
Tagged as armbar, guillotine, rear-naked, triangle
Resistance Is Futile
Tuesday, 6/12:
Another class upstairs. Maybe it’s a Tuesday thing?
For takedowns we drilled two variations of the single-leg. The first is a transition into the double-leg. Once in control of the leg with both of yours, take a step back to force your opponent to hop towards you. Bend your knees and reach down to wrap both arms around your opponent’s far knee. Drive forward, forcing your opponent back to the mat for the takedown. The second variation has a few more steps. Assume you’ve trapped your opponent’s right leg. Once the leg is secure, kick your left leg back, use your left hand to swing your partner’s leg out to your left, and bring your left leg around and inside. With your free (right) hand, grab the bottom of your right lapel to straighten it out, then bring the left hand up to grab your own collar. This secures the leg, making it very difficult for your opponent to step down. With your right hand, grab his lapel as you step behind his planted left foot, sweeping him for the takedown.
Guard training followed, during which I landed an armbar. Continue reading →
Grapplers Quest – June 18th, 2011
Finally getting around to writing this post. I decided to scrape some money together and go compete at Grapplers Quest in Morristown, NJ on June 18th. This was my first BJJ competition, but I wasn’t very nervous going in. It wasn’t because I was incredibly confident in my skills. Quite the opposite, in fact. I went in completely expecting to get my world rocked. Hey, if you expect the worst, you can’t be disappointed, right?
Filed under Competition, Gi, Media, Pictures, Videos
Off the Face of the Planet
Wow. Where’d the week go? I was so busy this past week, I didn’t even realize I hadn’t been writing here until Thursday night. I made it to class on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Let’s see what I can still recall. I’m just going to throw my bits of memory out there, I have no idea what happened on what day.
Basic Guard Break
Friday, 6/25:
Nothing new really here. And I’m fine with that. We trained osoto-gari and the hip throw, and I’m starting to see these techniques in a new light. Small adjustments here and there are making them tighter and more accurate every time I drill them. Following this we worked on guard and side-control training. From the guard I managed to land the armbar transition from the failed triangle.
The technique we worked on was breaking the guard and standing up. I just realized I’ve never documented this one, so here goes. Start off holding both lapels with one hand, and one of your opponent’s sleeve on the same side with the other. Stand up, with a wide base. Transfer the sleeve cuff to the hand that was holding the lapels. The free hand pushes down on the knee on the same side, until the guard opens. Immediately step back with the foot on the same side as the knee you pushed on, to make sure you don’t get swept. Keep your posture the whole time!
Extra-curricular Activities
Training in the outer white belt room really puts things into perspective. I was proud of myself for running a 5K in half an hour two weekends ago. But after just 5 minutes in that room I feel like I’ve run a 10K in a sauna. It’s not a pleasant feeling, and I really need to get my stamina up to par.
Warm-ups today were followed by osoto-gari and hip throws. Yep, back to the ol’ routine. Some guard training followed. My partner today has been getting private lessons and has gotten a lot better since we both started. He can’t take classes as often as me, so now we’re around even in skill. He’s got great control and strength. We were both able to pass one another’s guards a few times. I don’t think either of us landed a submission. I still feel my bottom half-guard game sucks, but I learned a new sweep (more on that later). Continue reading →
Filed under Gi, Half-guard, Joint locks, Log, Mount, Takedowns
Tagged as armbar, guillotine, scissor sweep
Saturday Morning’s Alright for Fighting
For Saturday, June 4th:
Finally got a chance to take a Saturday class. It was rough, waking up at 9:00AM on the weekend to make the 10:45AM class. I’m not a morning person at all. But let me tell you, waking up early for this class: 110% worth it. Continue reading →
Filed under Chokes, Gi, Guard, Joint locks, Log, Side control
Tagged as armbar, breadcutter choke, triangle choke
Following Through the Takedown
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. Continue reading →