BJJ Class 116

Training three times a week hasn’t been bad at all. Sure it takes time, but its not terrible on the body at all. My midsection (abs and ribs) would ache the day after training, but that’s all part of it. This class was my first no-gi class in over a year. It sure is a different game when the usual holds and slower pace isn’t there.

Class warmed-up with quick alternating double-leg takedown setups, pummelling, then some light stand-up sparring where we were simply fighting for underhooks. Tiring man. Then we did a light seated guard hook sweep thing drill.

Techniques was a takedown from pumelling. When your opponent has an underhook on you, grab the tricep, trap the arm, fall down side ways to sit, pulling your opponent down and hooking the near side leg over to sweep and land in mount. Submissions from mount was an Americana and armbar.

Three rounds of rolling followed. I played bottom game on my first round, was overpowered by very strong and big new whitebelt on the second, and played bottom defense and escapes with a blue belt on the third. Overall, I’m at a loss cause I miss the grips that I would use to play guard, go for sweeps, and pass guard.

What I did right: I fought the tendency to grip my opponents clothing and remembered to start with gripping behind the neck. My half-guard game, which is heavily influenced by Eddie Bravo’s techniques held up pretty well, as expected. My defense and escapes were good and were somewhat easier to do because of the slipperiness factor.

What I did wrong: At a loss of how to set-up sweeps and do most of my passes without grips – need to work on that. Also, playing wrist control guard isn’t very good – not enough control. I did go for a few sweeps but didn’t get them since I wasn’t sure how to control the arms to prevent basing out. I was overwhelmed by a bigger, stronger new whitebelt. A few times I would gain the advantage, but would loose it cause of his strength and slipperiness. Just need more tme no-gi I guess.

After class I did a quick light roll with another whitebelt. He did a great job defending his guard. Once I did manage to pass, the combination of his elbow defense and slipperiness made it hard to establish side control. I did go for an armbar, but lost it due to the no-gi factor (sweat and slip) or my improper technique. I did manage to trap an arm for an omoplata and was trying to finish it when time ran out.

Overall, it was a good class and I’m looking forward to more no gi

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