Forgot to update Saturday notes:

Saturday: learned a mount escape:

• bridge
• press up with hands on opponent's hips
• slip legs out halfway into butterfly guard
• remember: elbows have to be inside opponent's thighs for this to work. push and bridge at the same time

We also did the butterfly guard sweep. Remember to really raise the sweeping leg:

That was Saturday. For TODAY, we drilled passing half guard. This was a lot of fun, because we did guard passing drills with a partner. It was similar to this, but not exactly the same:

Notes to remember:

• Pressure on opponent's head. Always
• Deep grab on shoulder. If opponent is smaller, reach down opponent's arm
• Press knees into arm to immobilize the arm
• Slip leg out when passing to get into side control. Getting better at this

Drilling notes:

• Got a submission! Gi choke from guard
• Need to learn how to defend against knee on belly. This resulted in two armbars
• Need more conditioning. Running out of gas too quickly.

Today we learned a sweep from De La Riva guard to side control. Can't find a video on YouTube, but this is similar:

Details of our move being different:

• Right left goes through legs
• Grab right ankle with left hand while getting right leg through, switch back to sleeve grab before sweep

When taking side control, some notes:

• As soon as sweep happens, get right hand underhook (side away from guard pass side)
• Overarm grab for armpit with other hand
• Press head into side of opponent on the side of the armpit grab
• Base left leg out to prevent loss of base
• Slide right leg off pinned knee
• Keep both knees side for wide base into side of opponent
• Get left arm under head
• Get right hand on mat next to hips to prevent hip escape out
• Follow

(Hope this makes sense)

During drilling, only 3 people in class today. Some notes:

• When opponent is in guard and presses down, that means he lost his base. Open the guard and leg swing over to take mount. This worked twice
• Have an issue with hand on neck. This sucks. Remember to quickly get the armbar or triangle when this happens. My throat still kind of hurts
• Prevent taking of mount
• Slow down, breathe.

Today I learned two techniques: taking the back from open guard, and the bow and arrow gi choke.

This video is similar to what we learned, except we learned against an opponent who is on one knee:

Details:

• Hook the left leg
• Hook in through the thigh, then scoot around to the back after grabbing the belt on the back
• Put the other leg into the nook, then lift up with the legs while sitting up to take the back
• Make sure to do a seat belt grip - remember, armpit arm on top, both palms down

We learned the Bow and Arrow choke after taking the back.

Notes:

• Open the gi collar and grab with "over" hand (hand that is not under the armpit)
• Step with leg
• Flip bottom leg under and push up CLOSE to the shoulder. This is hard
• Grab the knee and sit back
• Pull on the collar

Sparring notes:

• Against a new opponent, I did okay. Be careful to pull arms out when I get one arm trapped in
• A no gi grappler dominated me over and over, and I have no idea why
• Gotta be careful against a larger opponent. He was 220lbs and putting lots of pressure on my chest. Need to figure out how to get out
• Need to get better at restoring guard
• Got a few lucky back takes
• Successfully passed guard a few times grabbing ankles

NEED MORE PRACTICE.

Did some drills this morning. Relevant moves:

Side mount to mount transition with hip switch

Americana from mount

Spider guard sweep

Need to remember to point in a 45 degree angle to do this sweep.

Positional drilling: need to remember to take advantage of space right after I create it.

Ate dinner at 5pm. Half a cheesesteak sandwich and half a reuben with some fries. Not the healthiest but needed fuel.

Today we learned:

• Armbar from closed guard
• Defense of closed guard armbar
• Taking the back from closed guard

Some things I learned:

• When doing my armbar, remember to grab my own gi when I move my partner's arm. I keep forgetting to do this. Grab the back of the shoulder with my left arm, lock right leg, kick off the hip and go for the armbar. Need more practice!
• When doing a defense, I need to remember to post up. It's hard for me to get my left arm (arm not being attacked) behind a knee. I just need to wiggle my attacked arm out. That's the priority.
• When taking the back, keep hip escaping until I have the angle. Fold my left hand on TOP of my right hand.

During sparring, some notes:

• If my opponent leans in in my closed guard, hallelujah! Time for a sweep
• I need to work on hip escaping out of side control. I am very bad at this.