I am chronicling my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new technique.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your technique.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time

Honestly, my posts here have become redundant and not all that interesting, so I am going to limit these postings to once every week or two weeks from now on instead of every class. Plus, I am going to start going to 4 classes per week instead of 2. I won’t have the time to type out the same things every day.

That being said, have a good weekend folks.

I am chronicling my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new technique.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your technique.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time.

Thoughts and best/worse matches:

After the tournament last weekend, we all had a better idea of where we stood compared to the other schools in town. Honestly, we don’t really train for competition generally. We train more for more real world situations and focus heavily on technique instead of for a specific competition scenario. This hurt us in some ways and a lot of our fighters lost decision victories after being taken down/held in guard until time is done or something similarly inane.

Last night we learned some passes and one attack from half guard. There is one problem with drilling half guard over and over. You will almost certainly be racked in the nuts. It happens pretty much every time. The attack was a pretty cool gi choke that seems fairly easy to do if you can control things. It’s funny how a lot of jiu-jitsu seems to be mind games. A lot of the techniques are designed to alter between A and B so your opponent doesn’t expect C. I like the mental aspect of it, but when your adrenaline is pumping as the guy who’s bigger than you wants to choke you out, it’s hard to keep your wits. Practice makes perfect I guess.

Rolling went rather well. I rolled with all advanced guys this time including 2 blues and a brown. My best match was against one blue. He was a bit gassed and I outweighed him by about 30 lbs, but I did manage to get good positions on him several times including mount, side control, and north-south. I couldn’t attack because every time I tried, I would get rolled. My worst was against a really good white who normally tools me. He tooled me with a vengeance this time, and he always uses the same techniques. I just keep falling for them. I also have a hard time posturing up in his guard. He just breaks me down with very little effort and then does all kinds of nasty attacks or sweeps. He’s really good and about to train for his blue.

All in all my school did well at the tournament. We took first and third in heavyweight white, and my instructor DESTROYED the purplebelts in his weightclass also getting first. I am not sure how our blues did, and I am not aware that any of our browns or blacks competed. In any event, a good time was had by all.

I am chronicling my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new technique.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your technique.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time.

Thoughts and best/worse matches:

Last night was pretty normal. We practiced some attacks from guard including a crosschoke, a loop choke, and an armbar transition. We also took these techniques and practiced them from mount, side control, and half guard. Who doesn’t love the crosschoke, really? I use it quite often.  I had noticed it was really hard to get someone bigger than you with it, but after last night, some technique was clarified and now I find it a lot less of a pain. It seems it’s getting easier and easier to see things three dimensionally to know when to do what when rolling and I think that’s very important. After all, staying calm and actually plotting your course of action in your brain is rough when the adrenaline is pumping, and the other guy is trying to choke you unconscious or break your arm.

Rolling was pretty normal. Guys were really going all out because of the tournament this Saturday. I rolled with 3 advanced guys this time. The first guy is a fantastic white belt and has been training about a year and a half. I did pretty well against him. I controlled him ok, and even got mount twice. He did sweep me both times though, and him being about 30 lbs lighter, that’s no small feat.  The second guy is a better white (almost blue). He tooled me like there’s no tomorrow. He’s better, stronger, and has about 10 inches of height on me. That shouldn’t matter, but his legs are hard to pass. The third and final guy is our school’s best blue. He literally exerted no energy and completely dominated me. He did though explain what he did and what I could do to not be caught by the same techniques again. He is probably about 35 lbs lighter than me too.

Come to the tournament on Saturday! It’s seriously an impressive sight. Info is here.

I am chronicling my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new technique.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your technique.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time.

Thoughts and best/worse matches:

Not much to say this time. Warmups were pretty rough but good. I am finding it easier and easier to keep up with the pace they are set at. We did some more competition training in preparation for the tournament this weekend. We learned a few more takedowns and some knee on belly to armbar transitions. We did lots of drilling last night and I am really glad we did.

We didn’t roll in the normal fashion, but instead we spent our time doing mock competition matches. It was interesting seeing how honestly GOOD our blues are. Everyone got to fight at least once. I rolled with a guy of equal skill and managed to get 9 points to his 0 before time ran out. I got the takedown, passed his guard, mounted him, but could not finish before the time ran out. He was definitely stronger than me and I honestly attribute the win to the fact that I just got lucky on the takedown.

After giving and receiving lots of takedowns, my ribs, chest, and neck are very sore today. I will have to take it easy at the gym tonight. Class is getting more and more fun and I am really getting into it. One thing I noticed last night is that my armbar game is really weak. I can sneak in all kinds of Kimuras and Americanas from different positions, but armbars are always too odd to pull off for me. I will add it to the list of things I need to drill during the next open mat (guard passes and sweeps being a much higher priority).

If anyone is looking for something to do on Saturday, come to the tournament! Get the info here. It should be a good time.

I am chronicling my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new technique.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your technique.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time.

Thoughts and best/worse matches:

Last night was a very fun and difficult night. It was a smaller class consisting of about 15 people, so we did warmups a bit differently. We went around to each person, that person would pick an exercise, then we would all do 20 reps of said exercise without stopping/resting in between. For example, person 1 said pushups, so he would count off 20 pushups and we would all follow along. The next guy said squats, so we immediately started 20 squats. We did different pushups, squats, crunches, leg lifts, jumps, up/downs, for quite a long time (15 people times 20 reps of something each equals 300 reps). After warmups we worked on some attacks from back mount. We worked on two different variations of the rear naked choke (single and double handed) as well as two gi chokes and an armbar transition involving a fake choke. These were devastatingly effective and very fun to do. I actually used one of the chokes successfully while rolling tonight.

Rolling went pretty darned well. I’ve decided to try and roll with that same Blue Belt every class until I get him. He’s good, technical, in great shape, and super strong. I am none of those things, so he soundly trounces me every time we roll. He swears I am getting better, but when I roll with him, I feel like it’s my first night. He’s very cool and always stops to tell me what I can do better. The past 4 classes he has made quick work of me. Heck, I’d be happy if I could pass his guard once in a while. My best matchup was against another advanced guy I roll with pretty regularly. I barely got him with an armbar from side control. He did not submit me this time (he usually does 2-3 times per night). My worst matchup was with the mighty Blue Belt. He submitted me about 4-5 times in our time together including a nice gi choke that caught across my face crushing my cheekbones. It hurt like hell, but I practically gift-wrapped that one to him. Live and learn I guess.

When i got home I was still hyped up on adrenaline and had a hard time going to sleep. This made me go to bed later, sleep in too late, and almost be late to work. I have to try harder to get to sleep when I get home.

I am chronicling my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new technique.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your technique.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time.

Thoughts and best/worse matches:

Last night we went over the rules regarding competition BJJ as opposed to street fighting BJJ. We also geared the class around training for competition (as we normally train for more realistic scenarios).  It was a different feeling trying to go for points rather than trying everything we can to obtain a dominant position and submit our opponents. It is definitely a little safer, and allows us to branch out our technique without fear of getting punched in the face. Mostly we worked on takedowns and did mock-competition matches with  each other.

Rolling was a lot shorter, so I did not gas. I have never gone a whole class without gassing before. I did manage to fit in 3 opponents. Two advanced guys, one guy of about my level. The first advanced guy (blue belt) is the same I have fought the past 3 classes, and as per usual, he made quick work of me. I am going to try to see if he can work with me some during open mat next Saturday. His game is really solid and he’s a good teacher. The next advanced guy usually tools me pretty badly, but while he got mount,  north-south, side control, and everything else he wanted, he did not submit me. That is a victory in itself. Against the guy of my equal level, I choked him while he was in my guard, and he submitted due to exhaustion while I was in side control. Although I dominated him, it felt like a hollow victory because he quit during the second fight.

It was an easier class than usual because we spent so long clarifying competition rules. I hope Thursday is more intense.

I am chronicling my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new technique.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your technique.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time.

Thoughts and best/worse matches:

I was pretty discouraged this week after the complete destruction I had endured on Tuesday night, but I was still really happy to be in class. The whole day I was dizzy, exhausted, had a sore throat/stuffy nose, and just felt really off. I didn’t even have time to eat a proper dinner beforehand and I was prepared for another sound beating. Warmups were alright. Try jumping in the air for an entire 2 minutes as high as you can with your arms straight up like you’re trying to grip the ceiling. No big deal right? Two minutes is a long time to go all out. It’s harder than it sounds. We learned some nifty passes while in an opponent’s spider guard, and an escape from a bicep crusher. I didn’t do so well with these. I honestly attribute it to my newbishness because my much more experienced partner was doing them quite well. We also worked on more spider guard bottom position transitioning between a sweep, armbar, and triangle choke. These were basically review, so they went well.

After Tuesday night I was chatting with my instructor and I was concerned with my perceived lack of improvement. He told me I was improving quite well and told me to try an experiment. During rolling, we get 3-4 opponents over the course of the night. He said to pick someone who is much more advanced than me to test my defense, then pick someone the same level as me to test things I am comfortable with, and finally pick someone newer than me so I can work on things that are a bit riskier and judge how far I have come. I did exactly that. Against the guy who was newer than me, I choked him out 3 times and armbarred him. Against the guy who was equal to me, I tapped him with a kimura and controlled him the rest of the fights fairly easily. Against the first advanced guy I rolled with, he obliterated me, but was very happy to give me suggestions (the advanced guys at my school are really cool for the most part). Against the second advanced guy (not as good as the first advanced guy), I did really well. I kept a dominant position for most of the fights and even got him once with a wrist lock from mount. He did not submit me.

I would have to say this was my best night rolling despite feeling physically drained and awful coming in. It’s amazing what adrenaline can do for your overall sense of physical well-being. It was really nice to feel like I am doing well, rather than picking the best guys to fight and being constantly humbled. That being said, there is SO much I have to learn and I need to train harder to get where I want to be.

I am chronicling my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new technique.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your technique.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time.

Thoughts and best/worse matches:

I went into class last night fairly excited because I had missed open mat last Saturday due to being at the Estrella War. We learned three fairly cool techniques. We learned yet another sweep from open guard, this time from spider guard. We also worked on triangle choke technique and a sweet transition from the sweep to an omoplata. These came fairly easy, but the sweep specifically has to be done very fast I think in order for it to work. I really dug the omoplata because it was a very flashy move, and those are fun to do.

Rolling went pretty badly. I rolled against 4 guys who are all much better and more experienced than me (including one blue belt). The best match for me I think was the first. I only got submitted twice which is honestly saying a lot against him. My worst match was with a guy who is just about to get his blue belt. He had mount and was going for a choke. I was defending pretty well, and in frustration he rammed his knuckles into my throat and ground them against my windpipe. While effective, that kind of maneuver is frowned upon because it is obviously dangerous. I don’t think he did it on purpose, I think he was just not paying attention. Either way it hurt like hell (and still hurts now). This morning I could hardly get out of bed due to my ribs, back, chest, and throat hurting like crazy. I guess if I am dumb enough to do this sport, I have to take the bad with the good.

That being said, I am pondering taking private lessons with my instructor. I really want to take my game to the next level. He is a good guy, and offered a deal if I buy multiple lessons. I just might take him up on that.

I am chronicling my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new technique.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your technique.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time.

Thoughts and best/worse matches:

Last night was one of the best nights I have ever had in class. Warmups were quick but brutal. Try doing 10 fast pushups, then 9 fast pushups, then 8, etc. without resting or ever letting your knees hit the floor. It’s harder than it sounds. After warmups we did some more sweeps from open guard, most notably Butterfly guard. These were really nice to learn as I had been in these situations with nothing to do other than trying to keep someone from passing. I noticed that during the technique exercises I am much less winded than I have been during other practices.

Last night was also one of the best nights I’ve had for rolling. I went the whole evening not being submitted. That’s a nice feeling to be honest. My first match was against someone of equal skill. We rolled a while, but I kept dominant positions almost the entire time. I couldn’t finish though. Next time I’ll get ‘im! Honestly that was my worst match. My best match was against someone with much higher skill. I managed to get an armbar on his far arm while in side control. Granted, I honestly think he was being nice and giving me a bit of a break by not sweeping me prior to the armbar. Despite this, I had never finished anyone with that specific armbar so it still made me happy.

Saturday during open sparring time, I will hopefully get some of these more advanced guys to show me some more guard passing techniques. Being chubby and kinda slow, it’s hard for me.

Seeing as how I may not have many things interesting to say, I will chronicle my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training here on this site. I think writing about it will give me a better perspective on how my training relates to my overall ability. My training sessions are broken into the following:

1. 1. Warmup/Learn and Practice new techniques.
2. 2. Do drills against opponents trying only to escape your techniques.
3. 3. Sparring against fully resisting opponents (Rolling). This takes up the majority of class time.

I will talk about the techniques we learned in class, and how the rolling went, and what my best/worst matches were.

Last night we worked some sweeps from open guard. The sweeps we worked were geared towards a standing opponent who was trying to get himself into a more dominant position (past your legs). It’s hard to describe, but after working these sweeps, it made me realize how many times I’d be in someone’s guard, stand, and then get swept to find myself not only on my butt, but have my opponent be in a better position than I was in on top. Not to say standing is never a good idea, but I have to remember to do it intelligently.

While rolling, I did ok. I honestly didn’t make the mistakes I usually make (mostly because my opponents were closer to my level as opposed to far above). My biggest problem is still the fact that I use way too much strength and power, and not enough mindgames/technique. This causes me to gas quickly and when we are rolling for 45 minutes to an hour, you don’t want to tire out after the first 5-6 minutes. The good guys at my school rarely sweat and they barely use strength. My best match ended with me in side control, doing my patented ‘fake’ mount attempt make it easier to get their far arm into a Kimura. My worst was being submitted by someone who shoulder-locked me from his guard. That’s the first submission from guard they teach you, and I fell for it. Ahh well.