First, less guys show up. Why is this great. Again a matter of simple math.
Less guys rolling means the Sensei has his eyes on me more.
More instruction, more correction, get better faster.
Second, one of the few blackbelt Sensei will be instructing on Fridays.
Blackbelts are better than brownbelts or bluebelts.
Move of the night:
So tonight I trained with a guy named Matt. College kid, and former high school wrestler, got probably 40 or 50 lbs on me. He's a nice guy and easy to train with.We work on two moves. The first is breaking down a fighter in turtle position.
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| Turtle Position |
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| Actual turtle position (kinda) |
Turtle position is when you crawl in a ball with your hands wrapped around your neck to protect from a choke, and your elbows crunched into your hips. I actually like this position a lot. It feels like a very strong defense to me, and being coiled up you possess a lot of power for a spontaneous attack.
The way you try and break down a fighter in turtle position is to pull on them from the back at a 45 degree angle. We practice this movement drill style, and it is deceivingly exhausting. While we are practicing this our blackbelt trainer comes in.
Blackbelt Sensei
Our blackbelt sensei is named Nick. It is actually really exciting to be learning BJJ from him because not only is he a blackbelt but he is one of the guys who run the gym. He is very laid back, and continually gives advice while training the move, it is great to train with him. He comes in and shows us move number two of the night.
Move number 2:
It is the move I trained just a couple days ago (mounting from side control into an arm bar), which I am elated to see. I have been thinking to myself lately that training a move each time I come is great, but without constant practice remembering all the steps to complete the move is very difficult. Being able to actually practice a move two nights in a row is a pleasant surprise. Matt and I get to training and no surprise, I am feeling confident in the movements and feel I am getting this technique down well.
Changing it up:
I am very excited that Matt suggested that we try the move from the other side. I have not done this yet. I am afraid. It is enough to try and get everything straight from one side of the body. Imagine being taught to hit a baseball, and then trying to hit from the other side. Most people look like they are recovering from a stroke or have some type of muscular dystrophy when doing something from the other side. I am somewhat ambidextrous but training BJJ is still VERY new to me. I would never be the one to suggest trying to the move from the other side, but if my partner is game so am I.
It is highly interesting to me how the moves were pulled off when we attempted them from the other side of our bodies. We followed the same steps, but all the angles felt strange and unfamiliar. The move was still successful but it did look and feel different.
I think to myself,
"Interesting. Now lets go back and practice it from the good side."
We soon go back to the normal set up, and keep practicing until Sensei brings us back to show us a variation.
Variation:
The variation is also fun to learn. After we get the mount from side control, the man on bottom sweeps the mounted fighter. ( A sweep is a reversal of position. Basically the guy on bottom rolls the guy on top over)
When this happens Nick shows us an armbar from the bottom. We practice, and train, and JUST like I learned from AJ, no more courtesy tapping.
Matt actually doesn't have the move set in perfectly once, and I do not tap. The thing about Matt is even if his technique was a little bit off, his angles and body positioning is always solid and he is so strong he can tap me from any position.
I have trouble with this technique more than the first, and I realize,
I am very good at getting to the submission set up. I am just really bad at finishing them.
I hope this comes with time and experience.
Finally its time to roll. My first thought:
"Uh oh. I hope he doesn't make me roll with Matt"
I am reprieved from rolling with the much stronger Matt and am paired up with Mason.
Rolling:
Mason is one of the only guys, shorter and lighter than me, but that means nothing.
Well Spider is smaller than good ol' Kev, but Kev manages to get tossed around regardless.
I like to think I hold my own with Mason, and it is the best rolling session I've had yet. I say that because we are both completely exhausted when it is through. (I also didn't get gi choked this time, so that's a plus)
I also almost got Mason's back, but he kept defending one hook. He eventually turned it around on me and got top position of course, but still, I almost got his back, so that's a start. Overall Mason got the better of me much more than I got the better of him. I have learned you will usually win some and lose some during rolling. Right now I lose much more than I win. When I start getting closer to 50/50 I'll be a happy camper.
OK thats all for now folks.
I am falling a little behind here but what can I tell you, these take time, and life's not cake walk when you have a 9-5 with 24 eight year olds every day!
Over and Out,
Steve.
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