BJJ Class 135
Evening class. Due to some scheduling challenges, I was only able to make one class instead of two, as is typical of wednesdays lately.
Class started with several grappling related stretches and warm-ups, then went straight into techniques. The basic upa mount escape and variations were reviewed and several great tips were shared. The main variation we went through is the one where the person on top of you has mount with one hand deep on your collar to cross-choke you. You protect your other collar, keep his elbow on your chest, grab behind his back, then bridge big, when you get to your knees and your opponent is on his back, block his free arm so that he can’t use it to cross choke you.
Other variations were depending on how high the mount was and linking bridges in case your opponent posts out. Some tips:
- Bridge big. No half-assed bridging
- Push away at the hips. Remember grappling 101 – when mounted, don’t push up on the chest. Combine pushing at the hips with big bridges and shrimping
- Keep your elbows tight against your body
- Use your elbows to keep the mount low and over your hips
Positional mount rolling went next. I paired up with a blue belt that I was promoted with and haven’t seen in a while. Overall, I was able to escape mounts quicker and maintain them longer. I also had several submission attempts. We were supposed to reset and switch the person being mounted after each mount escape, but we would continue rolling a bit before resetting.
What I did right:
- I did some experimentation – at one point I managed to take the back from mount, which I’d never successfully done before
- I was able to escape the mount without difficulty. I’ve had lots of trouble getting purple belts off me in other classes, so I know my escapes have a way to go….
- I went for more submissions attempts (and variety) than I usually do
What I did wrong:
- When going for an omoplata, I wasn’t able to transition to go on my knees to finish the submission
- Even though I was able to maintain my mount longer than my training partner, some of his escape attempts got me off mount right away. Those escapes were where he would push out on my hips and bridge big. Also, I would loose my high mount rather quickly. So I think I have to work on maintaining the high mount so that big bridges will be less effective
- When going for an armbar right after being upa’d, I need to move my hips more to get the angle right
And that was class. Until next time…
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