My wonderfully awesome fiancée. Through good times & bad, she has been my center. Keeping me happy & sane. I’m not sure I would have made it without her. I Love You, Jaime~!!!

My parents. No matter what I do, even if they think it’s a bonehead idea, they always support me.

BJJ. Sambo. Catch Wrestling. LegLocks. Chokes. ArmLocks. Throws. ShoulderLocks. Sweeps.

My BJJ instructor, Rosendo Diaz, for guiding me, teaching me, and trusting me to help teach & guide the guys the way I’ve been lucky to enjoy.

The core group of guys that always make it to my BJJ classes. They’ve made me better by allowing me to teach them and to get creative during our rolls.

To my clients for giving me the opportunity to do what I love: making people better.

To my P.T. mentor for teaching me both the techniques and the intangibles that will be necessary when I get into school & graduate.

My friends. Wherever & whoever they are.

My followers on Twitter. Thank you for listening to my nonsense. Hopefully, from time to time, I actually say something poignant enough to get you thinking. Or make you smile. Either way works for me.

Happy Turkey Day~!!!

Shane is the very technical & knowledgeable instructor/owner of Berks County Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He recently received his well deserved Black Belt earlier this year. On those rare occasions that I get to roll with him, either through his precise and very detailed instructions or by experiencing it firsthand, I always come off the mat with a new lesson learned.

Can you tell us about your martial arts background?

Ah, short version is I started with Okinawan Kenpo in 1985, moved over to a hybrid style of Chinese Kenpo shortly after, took a few of my teen years off, went back to get my black belt, and then filled in the gaps afterward with Five Animals Kung-Fu, Wing Chun, and even some Tai Chi Chuan. I started “Basement Grappling” in the mid 90’s, inspired by the legendary Royce Gracie. In 2003, I joined Berks County BJJ under Keith Neff, and then took over ownership of that academy in 2005.

What do you believe is your highest achievement since you started training?

Getting my BJJ Black Belt this year was definitely my biggest achievement so far, but I am also particularly proud of the tournament successes of my students in high level competitions.

What do you think is the biggest change since you started training?

The explosion in the popularity of the sport means there are a lot more resources for the new student. More qualified instructors, more high level training partners and competitors, and easy access to books and video instructionals make things quite a bit different. In my earlier days, we often spent time trying to figure things out on our own, with mixed success.

What are your goals as an instructor?

My #1 goal is to produce a quality team of martial artists, in an environment where everyone feels like a member of the family, where they can train hard but safely.

What is a typical training session like at your academy?

I usually set aside the first 10 minutes for any type of warm-up or stretching anyone wants to do on their own, then directly into the instructional portion, which usually runs 40-50 minutes. The last half hour is for rolling. If someone has a competition coming up, I try to get a group to stay late so that person gets some extra mat time in. In my experience, I think we do a bit more free rolling than most academies.

What is your philosophy when it comes to teaching your students?

One of the many things I learned from David Adiv was not to think of Jiu-Jitsu as a collection of techniques, but to strive to have a deep understanding of the principles involved. I always try to convey this to all of my students, to allow them to modify things to work in their own game whenever possible, once they have a working understanding of the principles involved.

When it comes to belt promotions, what do you look for in a student?

Oh, this is a tough one. It’s really quite complicated. First thing, the person in question must perform on the mat at a level consistent with the beginning stages of the next rank. One of the tough things is you have to make allowances for things like age, weight, athleticism, and prior grappling experience. There are a lot of young guns out there who are for example, a 22 year old blue belt, 200lbs, former D1 wrestler, who can make a lot of older higher belts have a fit on the mat, that doesn’t mean the older person does not deserve their rank. Overall knowledge of technique is also very important. Third, I feel competition experience is important. Later, as a person progresses through the belts system, other things start to come to the fore. For example, how well the person mentors and helps the newer students, their other contributions to the art and the team, and how well the person acts as a representative of the instructor and his team. Like I said, it’s rather complicated, there are things I didn’t even touch on, but I feel there are people more qualified than me to explain better.

What do you think about the current grappling scene?

I’m a big believer in competition, even for those whose focus is on the self-defense aspect of the art. It’s a safe way to see how well a person performs in a high pressure situation. There are many opportunities out there for people to compete, which is a good thing. I’m also very impressed with the ingenuity some of the high level competitors show in evolving the art. Things like 50/50 Guard, Deep Half Guard, and Wrestling cross-training are taking the art to new and exciting places.

What do you think is the most controversial technique or concept today?

That’s easy. The IBJJF’s leg reaping rule.

Why?

I think it makes it too easy for competitors to be accidentally disqualified, when the leg coming across in itself is not all that dangerous. I’ve been refereeing for NAGA (North American Grappling Association) for a couple of years now and I’ve never seen someone injured by the position. Heel hooks for sure, keep them illegal, but I think the more rules there are on the sport aspect, the more that aspect moves away from the Vale Tudo origins of the art. I think the same thing happened to Judo over time, adding rules to make it more safe took away from the combat-oriented character the art started with. Again, this is all just my personal opinion.

What do you think is the most over-hyped technique or concept today?

Rubber Guard

Why?

I feel it’s too linear in it’s approach, with a defined, 1st step, 2nd step, and so forth, and if you get derailed in the process, you have to start all over at step 1. I also feel it is too attribute based. I often see people trying it who lack flexibility, and those sorts of things rarely end well.

What do you think is the most underrated technique or concept today?

For the Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, definitely Takedowns.

Why?

I just feel Takedowns are a neglected part of the art for many. It’s step one of the proverbial Jiu-Jitsu handbook, and many people are severely lacking in this essential area.

What do you think about the current state of MMA?

Honestly, I find my interest waning over the years. I don’t like the rules very much, even though I understand why they were put in. Things like handwraps, time limits, and referee stand-ups all stack the deck against the Jiu-Jitsu guy, turning most MMA fights into either bad Kickboxing or boring “Lay & Pray” fests.

What’s next for you?

More of the same. I enjoy training, coaching, and refereeing more than ever. I also definitely want to compete some more. Basically, just continuing my life-long journey into the art of Jiu-Jitsu.

Any people you would like to mention or thank?

A bunch. First, all of the people who invest their limited time and money to train at my school. All of the people I have learned from, particularly Rosendo Diaz, Keith Neff, and David Adiv. Also, Kipp Kollar and all of the NAGA staff. It’s been a wild ride and I can’t wait to see where it goes.

For more information on Shane Mock and Berks County Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, go to:

www.bcbjj.org

(610) 621-9202, ask for Shane Mock.

CUT IT OUT LIKE A CANCER~!!!

It will only hinder your progress in life. Most importantly, it’ll hinder your training. Now, we don’t want that, do we? No. A clear mind will help you to improve. Sometimes, a little more mat time helps alleviate the stress brought on by the drama. So, either cut it out & roll OR roll to help cut it out. Either way, the lesson here is: ROLL, ROLL, ROLL~!!!

I had the chance to sit down with Rosendo after one of his classes and asked some questions. This is my first interview, so my questions may not be that thought provoking. Rosendo’s answers, however, definitely are.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR MARTIAL ARTS BACKGROUND?

Sure. Let’s see. I started like most kids at 11 years old in TAE KWON DO. I did that until I was 15 or 16 years old. Right about 17 years old, I took a little break. At 17, I moved on to KRAV MAGA. I was trying to find more realistic stuff at a pretty young age. Trained in that style for a little bit of time. Jumped around from style to style for many years – AIKIDO, KICKBOXING, and BOXING. I started training in traditional KUNG-FU in my early 20s, specifically WING CHUN KUNG-FU. I did that for a long time, then got involved with JEET KUNE DO which, of course, jumped me into the FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS – KNIFE FIGHTING/STICK FIGHTING, and all those different concepts, including INDONESIAN SILAT. I just started exploring. I started training with a good friend of mine who was a DAN ZAN RYU JIU-JITSU guy. I got involved in that, and through that, I got involved in GRACIE JIU-JITSU. 17 years later, here I am.

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS YOUR HIGHTEST ACHIEVEMENT SINCE TRAINING?

I would have to say that, looking back at it when I started, is getting the Black Belt. My highest achievement since getting the Black Belt is feeling like I am a Black Belt.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AS AN INSTRUCTOR?

That’s a good one. My goals really are to be able to teach anyone, who is willing, the full art of Jiu-Jitsu. Not just the sport side, not just the MMA, and not just the self-defense. My goal is to teach a student, who may or may not initially come in just for a certain thing and move on, who over the course of years will find that there’s this complete art of Jiu-Jitsu, which is a lifetime of learning.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CURRENT GRAPPLING SCENE?

You know, right now, it’s blown up. It’s more the techniques on the scene are amazing. The guys really understand the rules and know how to work within them. Their games are phenomenal. No matter what tournament you go to, you’ll find high level guys. The people today have better access to the information, so the level of competition is greater. People are watching videos, thanks to sites like YouTube, of their competition, so they’re well-prepared versus being blindsided, walking into a tournament not knowing anything about who you’re facing. I mean, they still do that, but it‘s not as bad as it was in the past. So, the level of the Jiu-Jitsu practitioner today is pretty amazing.

WHO DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE BEST COMPETITIVE GRAPPLER CURRENTLY ACTIVE?

Currently active? Best competitive grappler? My god, there’s so many. I can say who I like a lot by watching. Of course, Samuel Braga. He’s been here to do seminars, so I like him a lot. I love his game, his style. Best competitive grappler that I like right now? I’m trying to think of names. Of course, Andre Galvao is phenomenal. You know, anyone that really dominates their game, their division, through pure Jiu-Jitsu technique/skill. Solid technique to me is really amazing. I really love to watch people like Leo Vieira. The way he rolls. There’s no power in it. It’s just pure technique and speed and he just knows where to be when he needs to be there.

WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST “PURE” GRAPPLER OF ALL TIME?

Oh, geez. My experience is limited to the people I’ve rolled with, trained with, or have seen roll. It’s hard to say what pure grappling is. It could be Wrestling. It could be whatever. Obviously, I can say from my experiences that Rickson Gracie is really it. Just watching him roll and rolling with him when I was very young in the art, a Blue Belt. Just the way he understood the art. Nowadays, I look at guys like Marcelo Garcia. There’s another pure grappler that’s just incredible. It’s just hard to say.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE SINCE YOU STARTED TRAINING?

Access. Access to information. When I started, we used to call what we were training “Caveman Jiu-Jitsu” because it was pure “whatever we could get information-wise we just trained it.” You were lucky to learn from people. I met David Adiv (Rosendo’s BJJ instructor) early in Jiu-Jitsu, but still, the access to the information wasn’t there as much. So, we just drilled the hell out of things. Of course, in the beginning I was drilling the wrong things most of the time. (Laughter) So, yeah, now it’s access to quality information. The correct information. If I knew what my Blue Belts know about certain techniques now back when I started training, I’m sure I’d be a better grappler then and now.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF MMA?

I’m not a big MMA guy. Never have been. I like to watch it. I think it’s great. It’s become an incredible sport, but it’s still a sport. It’s progressing the way it should be because it couldn’t have continued on as “style vs. style”. It never would have worked out or evolved to what it is now, which is one specific style where the guys, to be truly incredible, have to have incredible standup skills, whether it’s Boxing, Thai Boxing, Kickboxing, and incredible grappling skills. You can’t do it with one style alone.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE POSITIVE POINTS OF GOING “MAINSTREAM”?

I think the positive of that is, people, they watch the UFC. They see these guys doing Jiu-Jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, BJJ, or whatever they call it. As a school owner, it brings students in the door. It brings students that are educated. People don’t come up to me and say, “Well, I could train down the street at the Karate school or I could train at your place.” People that come into my school are looking for something.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE NEGATIVE POINTS OF GOING “MAINSTREAM”?

The down side to it is that people come in with the wrong perception or stay away from us because of the wrong perception of what they’re walking into at my academy. I teach Jiu-Jitsu, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, so my training is 95% with the Gi on. I focus on the Gi. I believe in the self-defense. I believe in the art as a fighting art, first and foremost. I love the sport of it. Down on my list is MMA, but it’s still a valuable part of it. I would say that my main comment is that it keeps people away or it brings in the wrong person. Not that the wrong people come in, but they’re coming in with the wrong perception. Believing that they’re going to be something that really is a 1% kind of thing for those few guys that actually make it in MMA.

HOW HAS THIS IMPACTED YOUR SCHOOL/TEACHING?

Only to educate people more in terms of people coming in and I say, “Well there’s MMA and there’s also self-defense, which is a little different because in MMA you start out with 2 willing opponents. MMA is good training for self-defense too because if you do get into a fight, you’re now both willing partners, but you have the MMA training. You have the upper hand. However, for self-defense situations, you’re not that type of individual. Your chances of getting into a straight up brawl are pretty slim. If anything is ever going to happen, it’s going to be a situation where you’re going to be grabbed. You’re gonna be attacked by someone, somewhere, without your knowledge beforehand, so you gotta move on it. Defend yourself or your loved ones. You gotta know that portion of Jiu-Jitsu.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL TECHNIQUE OR CONCEPT TODAY, IN TERMS OF JIU-JITSU?

Controversial?

FOR INSTANCE, SOME PEOPLE DON’T LIKE THE 50/50 GUARD.

Ok. Well, I can’t really say anything about stuff I don’t know or say that things are controversial when I haven’t really explored them enough to say that I like them or not, but I can speak from what I’ve seen firsthand. I mean, I know people who like the 50/50. I guess, for me, what it comes down to is, in the end, Jiu-Jitsu is about fighting, right? I love to do the Deep Half-Guard, but I know realistically that it’s a moment in time. If I ever need it in a street fight, I don’t know if I’ll ever need it (Chuckle), but there’s gotta be a sense of understanding that I can be punched. We tend to forget that a lot when we’re practicing the sport aspect of Jiu-Jitsu. When we’re doing some crazy sweep or some crazy position, we tend to forget that all it takes for our opponent is to have one hand free to punch us in the face. Of course it dumbs down the art because it essentially limits us to a Closed Guard, holding on tight, or a Knees-In Guard (Shield Guarding). Well, for me it’s not controversial but, anything that kind of leads you astray from using it for defense. It’s not to say that you can’t explore all the different techniques of Jiu-Jitsu. Just the understanding that those two aspects can never really mix.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST OVER-HYPED TECHNIQUE OR CONCEPT TODAY?

Anything that someone used in a tournament once. You know, you see it all the time at the Mundials. Guys come in there with new techniques that can pretty much be one shot deals, where they are coming in with something they developed for this specific tournament. Tomorrow, well, everybody’s got the answer for it, but today it worked. So, for me, that’s anything that’s over-hyped. Anybody that jumps onto a move that really doesn’t need it. They don’t need to, well, I’m not gonna name a specific technique, but you don’t need to jump into it when you can do something simple.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST UNDERRATED TECHNIQUE OR CONCEPT TODAY?

Underrated? Well, every school and every instructor has a part that they focus on and don’t focus on. Going back to the issue of understanding the difference between sport Jiu-Jitsu and fighting. For example, if you don’t understand that when you go for Butterfly Guard and you lay flat on your back, it may set up a Jiu-Jitsu technique in sport Jiu-Jitsu, but it might also get you punched in the face in a fight on the street. So, understanding that each position has its limitations and understanding those limitations. When you break it down, the fact might be that you may know 300 moves, but on the street, you might only ever in your whole life need to only use 10 of those. I guess that’s the most underrated. That we tend to forget.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?

Just to keep going. To grow the school here. We have roughly 9 schools through our 3rd Generation Jiu-Jitsu team. To continue the growth of those schools. At this point, we have no real future plans for expansion of the team. Everybody is pretty much going to be homegrown. When our students are at a level where they want to open their own academies, they’ll be invited to join our team. Really, it’s kind of maintenance. At this point in my life, just keeping my school going, enjoying teaching the students that I have, growing the school as much as I can, and really helping the other schools on my team grow their schools. This way, we’ll all have successful programs. With more people training, the more students we’ll have. The more students we have training, the more competitors we’ll have. Right now, building a stronger team is better than having a huge number of academies. So, just maintaining everything. Keeping the team growing stronger and teaching the team instructors.

ANY PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO MENTION OR THANK?

Yeah. As always, my main instructor since I started, more or less, in Jiu-Jitsu, or rather started training officially in Jiu-Jitsu, is David Adiv. He is the one that’s given me about 70-80% of the technique that I have, but 100% of the understanding of how Jiu-Jitsu actually worked and the movement and the mechanics behind each movement. Of course, Royler Gracie. Without him, I wouldn’t be anywhere today. I wouldn’t even have a school since it was his idea for me to open a school in the first place. His teachings have been invaluable. He’s a great source of inspiration to me and my students with his competition records. Recently, he fought in an MMA competition. He fought a really seasoned opponent. He took on a huge mountain of a competitor when compared to himself. At 46 years old, it was pretty amazing for him to step in and fight. Also, his knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu is ridiculous. Those are definitely the two people I thank. Of course, I always thank my students. I would be nowhere without them. I’ve got students that have been with me for 14-15 years and students that have just started. Without them, I have no training partners. I have nothing. No team. No academy. They’re the biggest part of my life at this moment.

THAT’S IT. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.

Thank you.

For more information about Rosendo Diaz and his school go to:

www.GraciePA.com

Or follow him on TWITTER:

www.twitter.com/pajiujitsu

This review is for Eduardo Telles’ TURTLE GUARD/OCTOPUS GUARD instructional DVDs. This is a 5-disc set from World Martial Arts (WMA), so you know that the quality is solid. WMA has been improving their production values, if you can believe that. The Chapter Menu actually has titles for each chapter! That’s right! Now you can easily look up the certain move that you are looking for. Anyway, I did a previous review for Josh Russell’s THE TURTLE. I mentioned how that instructional would be a good start for those that are interested in the Turtle Guard (aka Monk Guard). Well, Eduardo Telles’ instructional is for those that want to take their Turtle Guard even further. Practically everyone in BJJ associates Telles with the Turtle Guard. It’s what he is famous for. Now, I’m sure many of you are like, “Duh! I knew that already! But… WTF is the Octopus Guard?!”. That, my curious friend, is a Guard game that Telles has been working on for quite some time. He believes in it so much that it was the reason for the tattoo of the giant Octopus on his shoulder, or so I’ve heard. Without getting into too many details about the techniques in this set, here’s what you can expect:

Volume 1 – Turtle Guard Basics

The name says it all.

Volume 2 – Sweeps I

These are various Sweeps from the Turtle Guard.

Volume 3 – Sweeps II

These techniques are mostly from what Eduardo Telles calls “Ankle Control”.

Volume 4 – Submissions

The name says it all.

Volume 5 – Octopus Guard

Basically gives you everything about the Octopus Guard. Positions, Sweeps, Submissions, etc.

Volumes 1-4 were all performed in the Gi, however, many of the moves can be performed in No-Gi. Volume 5, Octopus Guard, is performed No-Gi. The Octopus Guard is an interesting position that some people may want to try. This set is NOT for beginners. Beginners should worry about learning the basics. With that being said, I recommend this set for anyone interested in the Turtle Guard and wanting to try something new in the Octopus Guard.

I’m not one to drag things out. I prefer my information direct and to the point. Therefore, my review of Josh Russell’s THE TURTLE will be just that. The Turtle Guard (aka Monk Guard) is not a favored position for most people. Many consider it a bad position while others only use it as a transitional position. There are basically two people who have a game built around this position. The most famous being Eduardo Telles and the other is Josh Russell. Without getting too in-depth about what techniques are presented in this instructional, this single-disc DVD instructional is broken down into four parts:

Defending The Turtle
Reversing The Turtle
Attacks in The Turtle
Turtle Drills

This DVD is good for people who are interested in learning about the Turtle. It may not be the most in-depth instructional about this position, but it is a good start. Many people complain about the production value of this instructional. Sure, it might not be perfect due to some uncontrollable circumstances that they had to deal with during shooting, but the information is still good. You can tell that Josh wasn’t perfectly comfortable doing this in front of the camera, but I’ve heard that he has gotten better at it. Maybe he’ll come out with another instructional. If you have an interest in the Turtle Guard, I recommend this DVD.

I’m not one to drag things out. I prefer my information direct and to the point. Therefore, my review of Saulo Ribeiro’s JIU-JITSU REVOLUTION will be just that. This 6-disc DVD instructional from World Martial Arts (WMA) is top notch. The production values are great. The sound & picture quality are clean and clear, but that’s not the reason why you’re reading this review. It’s all about the content of this instructional DVDs. Saulo covers what many people may consider the main aspects/positions of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. (Note: This set covers techniques using the Gi. Saulo has another set available that deals with No-Gi.) Without getting too in-depth about what techniques are presented in this instructional, the 6-disc set is broken down into the following:

Vol. 1 – The Mount
Saulo covers both the Top and Bottom positions. He shows a few Submissions and shows how to maintain the Top position. He also shows a few Escapes from the Bottom.

Vol. 2 – The Cross Body
Saulo covers both the Top and Bottom positions. He shows a couple Submissions and details about this position. He shows how to go from Cross Body to either the Mount or Knee-On-Belly. He again shows some Escapes, this time from the Bottom Cross Body and Knee-On-Belly positions.

Vol. 3 – The Back Position
Saulo shows how to “Take the Back” and some Submissions. He also shows a few Escapes for when someone takes your back.

Vol. 4 – The Guard
Mainly deals with Sweeps from the Closed Guard. He only goes over a couple Submissions. Saulo also shows a few Sweeps from Open Guard and Butterfly Guard.

Vol. 5 – The Half Guard
Saulo covers both the Top and Bottom positions. From the Top, he goes over a couple Submissions and Passes. From the Bottom position, he goes over a couple Sweeps.

Vol. 6 – Passing The Guard
The name says it all.

This instructional series is almost perfect. The details that Saulo gives are worth so much more than the cost of this set. The only flaw with this set is that the Chapters/Techniques do not have any names. The Chapter Menu lists them as “Technique 1”, “Technique 2”, and so forth. This makes looking for a certain technique tedious at times, unless you make your own Chapter list (I did!). Then again, watching this set over and over again isn’t so bad since you’ll probably be doing it anyway. With that in mind, I highly recommend this set for anybody and everybody.

“Mat Life”: I’ve evolved my game from defensive Turtle Guard to offensive Half-Guard.
“Real Life”: As of last Thursday, my wonderful girlfriend has evolved into my wonderful fiancée.
(Before anyone says anything, yes, that is how you spell it when a man is referring to the woman he is planning on marrying. Looks a little weird, right? I wasn’t sure of it either, but I was told that’s how it is. Anyway…)

Life, in either version, moves on. That is not to say that you should forget about what got you to your current state.

“Mat Life”: My new game is enhanced by the skills developed by my old game and vice-versa.
“Real Life”: Everything we’ve been through & shared together is what defines our relationship and makes us stronger.

Also, just because “life” moves on doesn’t mean that you can never go back to your past. In fact, you’ll notice that the things you carry with you from your past might evolve with you, too.

“Mat Life”: Even though I’ve added many upper-body submissions to my game, I’ve been enhancing and utilizing more of my favorite submissions – LegLocks. (All kinds. ^_~)
“Real Life”: We spend time together the same way we’ve always spent time together, by staying together. Except, now, our bond is stronger and we can’t bare being separated for too long.

Sorry for the long-winded, convoluted post. I should have just posted the lesson, which is:

“Focus on the future, but never forget the past.”

(P.S. Sorry about the extra sappy stuff in this post, but I’m very happy about being engaged to the woman I love.)

The first thing I have to mention about the WRENCH FLEX SERIES PERFORMANCE SHORTS from CLINCHGEAR is that they are SO FREAKIN’ COMFORTABLE! These shorts are white with a blue-ish inseam and velcro waist enclosure. The expansion panels on the sides are patterned with the CLINCHGEAR logo and the word “Clinch”. The expansion panels along the sides and inseams of the shorts allow for great mobility which ensures that the wearer’s movements will not be hindered. The specially designed velcro enclosure makes sure that these shorts stay on your ass no matter how you roll. The shorts are made from fabrics that have moisture wicking properties which means that they’ll stay light and won’t bog down your performance. However, don’t let these fancy comforts fool you. These shorts can take a beating. A few rounds on the mats and they look just as new as when I received them. They wash easily and look like they’re ready for more. The one thing that I noticed when compared to shorts from a company like SPRAWL (check one of my earlier posts for a review) is the fact that these CLINCHGEAR shorts do not have an elastic waistband of any kind. You need to measure your waist and order your size. If you’ve bought any kind of these shorts from any of the companies out there in the past, then you should know your size.

In the end, I totally recommend these shorts for anyone looking to find a solid pair of No-Gi/MMA shorts.

Now, onto my second review.

This review is for the site BJJHQ.com. This site offers a very interesting concept: one item on sale per day. You would think that this alone would make you want to check their site daily, but no. It’s the awesome products at very reasonable prices that makes you want to keep an eye on their site every single day. You can actually check out past items on sale to see what kind of products roll through their site. Looking for a particular item? You might want to hold out until it pops up at BJJHQ. Why? $5 shipping. Yeah, you read that right. Shipping is only $5 (U.S. only). You can’t beat that. International orders are more depending on where they’re being shipped to, but that’s to be expected. Their customer service is great, at least during my transaction. My emails were answered promptly and in a courteous, professional manner. The site is presented cleanly with a layout that’s easy to navigate. Everything you need to know is all on the site.

I definitely recommend BJJHQ.com and look forward to doing business with them again.

Josh Johnson & Brandon Kessingre, UFC Louisville, March 2011

Kessinger I will carry you with me every training session, every tournament, and especially this upcoming fight. You were always so supportive of me even when I’d go and pout and put myself down.  His visitation is being held at JC Kirby & Sons funeral home, 820 lovers ln, bowling green, ky from 10a-8pm today. His funeral will be at Hillvue Heights church tomorrow morning (July 9) at 11 a.m.

Today I had my hardest roll to date..and it will probably the hardest time i’ll ever have on the mat. I went to Owensboro after his visitation to try to train/sweat out the pain and I was getting along well and then an hour and a half into it I got up from a roll, stood up and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I just sat at the side of the mat, head in my shirt and cried in memory of my friend, my brother. I can’t explain why or how i became just overcome with grief.  I started to think of all the things he showed me, all the times we’ve rolled, all the laughs, tears, and blood, all the heart to hearts in and outside the gym. I took two rounds to get some of it out and then one of my favorite Nice Guys pulled me back on the mat and told me to just roll, even though I couldn’t see past my tears to just go through the motions. I tried, I really did, but all I  felt like doing was turtling up with my head on the mat so no one could tell I was crying. Maybe my tears would be hidden by the sweat and the heat. But we did it anyways, I sobbed, but after a few minutes my tears died down some and I began to simply work through it as best i could. I just tried to move and think, “Butterfly guard, underhook, overhook, hips, move your legs, just move anything…”  I tell you what, two weeks ago I lost someone who once owned my heart, and whose heart I had as well. A man i loved very much. Three days ago I lost a member of my family. We may not be blood, but we might as well be, for I care for him as if he was my brother. I had no idea after these past few weeks that I could feel anything else.  I was certain that I had cried every tear, cursed any and everyone and that i was certifiably numb.  The pain of losing someone like him is surreal.

There are so many things I could say about Kessinger, but the one thing that was universal is that not only was he an awesome person to train with, he was even more enjoyable off the mat. W went to his visitation last night and this morning and it was a hard task.  It’s really unbelievable. I know that doesn’t make sense because i’ve cried all the tears, went to see the body twice, conversed and cried alongside his mother and family and yet it still feels like at any moment we’ll wake up and i’ll hear that laugh.

It’s weird how many times a day I think of him, my jiujitsu brother.

In our association We are one big family and I hope it brings his family comfort to know that he had (and still has) an extended family that loves him dearly and are always here to help in whatever way we can.

I can’t begin to describe how incredibly hard it’s been to say goodbye to the gentle giant. It was nice to walk in his viewing room and see that they had his tournament medals and one of our teammates had given up his own blue belt in his honor.  I found great comfort in reminiscing with teammates and having a few moments to speak to his mom. I see now where he got his sweet and kind ways from.  Even though she’s going through excruciating pain she held each one of the guys, spoke comforting words to each of us, and even shared a few embarrassing stories from his childhood.

As much as it hurt to be there I must admit that it felt good to see and talk to all the people who shared in loving him. I feel that he is at peace.  If I’ve learned anything from Garic passing two weeks ago it’s to give up on the “Why”, and simply make my peace and accept the fact that my good friend, and awesome training partner is gone.

Kessinger's purple belt promotion.

I mentioned earlier that Kessinger was a purple belt under Josh Johnson (luiz palharres).  He was a big man to roll with as well, he towered over me and had legs and arms the size of my head lol. Upon first sight he seemed intimidating to roll with. I mean c’mon, a man of his size with his experience, but he was so encouraging and helpful.  I knew that he could smash me easily with no effort on his part but he always let me work. In the past year alone he worked more so with trying to get me more comfortable with leg attacks. I have a weak stomach for the heel hooks, and I would wince when he tried to show me a reverse heel hook.  I’ll especially miss the look on his face he’d give me whenever we’d roll and my legs would be bent backwards and sideways because I’m so flexible.

I keep thinking over last monday (June 27) . That was the last day I saw him, the last day he trained. I keep thinking about that flutter of excitement I got when I saw he was training, it had been a few weeks since he had last trained.  He had been in and out due to injury and illness and he seemed really well.  He seemed happy and ecstatic to roll with long time friends and training partners Jared Wright and Joe Baize. They all have so much technique under their belt it was entertaining to watch them at the corner of the mat exchanging thoughts, ideas, and critiques.  There was even a moment where Kessinger had caught Joe (brown belt) with an ankle lock and he simply couldn’t believe that he had done it. He told a few of the guys that he had thought that joe had ‘given it to him,’ but even joe tried to convince him that he had earned it.

He was the type of person that you’d hope and wish was at class because whether it was live takedowns or showing techniques you know you were going to take something with you after class.  What was even better was getting the chance to spend time with him outside of the gym. One of my fondest memories was when we went to see the UFC in Louisville this past March.  The drive there I really got a feel for the sweet and traditional man. I remember how surprised he was to learn that I made the first move and asked my current bf on our first date.  He couldn’t believe that I’d do such a bold thing.  Like i said i could go on for days explaining just why he was the Gentle Giant. He cared for everyone, and always referred to his friends as his ‘good friend’ or his ‘good guy friend’.

Kessinger & Sean Westcott

I will miss joking about how my guns were bigger than his, i’ll also miss getting excited text messages from him because he finally learned how to change his facebook profile picture.  I can only wish that I had the chance to be with him more in the past few weeks, to show him just how much i enjoyed him in my life.  It will be incredibly hard to go back into the place where I last saw him…to train in the place where we shared blood, sweat,  and tears.  One team, One purpose.  We lost an incredibly valuable member of our family on Tuesday.

Here are some of my blog posts where I featured techniques that he showed in class and times that we rolled. Rest in peace Brandon Kessinger, you have no idea how much you are loved and how much you will be missed.

• There will be blood

• Shut up and train

• Bruised & Confused

• “There will be no crying on the mat…”

• WOOT WOOT!!

• A new gi, cauliflower ear, muscle men, and staph infections..OH MY!!

• “Don’t go easy on em’….”

from left to right: Brandon Debandi, Ashcon Karbasi, Danny Kelly

then it’s war they’ll get.

Saturday night we had 7 guys from the Team 1 affiliation (2 guys from Elizabethtown,Ky., 2 guys from Owensboro, Ky., and 4 guys, 1 gal in bowling green, ky.) fight at the Hardrock MMA 33: Night of Champions event and it was a war. Every single person won their fight. It was probably the best card i’ve seen at the hardrock shows.  I think it may have to do with competitors are now state required to be apart of an association to compete which in turn means no more sloppy backyard brawls (yay).

All of our fights were fairly interesting and two of them were title fights, Debandi (my boo) fought 5 hard rounds and is now Hardrock MMA’s 155lb champ, Dannywho also trains is now the Hardrock MMA 205lb champ. Big congrats to both.

I was moreso nervous for debandi this time around simply because we knew he was a more technical fighter than some of his last opponents and I almost pee’d on myself waiting for shannon’s fight. But she kicked ass. Everyone keeps asking me when I’ll fight and right now i’m living vicariously through her but i’d like to fight this year for sure.

Here’s shannon’s fight. It was her amateur debut. Go shannon!!

I must admit i’m actually really anxious to fight. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone.

Debandi's infamous double leg

The atmosphere overall seemed more professional and for the most part the crowd was a lot more respectful than usual. But c’mon how respectful can you get when there’s blood and knockouts involved.  There were only one or two fights out of the 19 that I didn’t care for. Overall a great show. A wonderful night for Team 1/ Bowling Green Beatdown/ Etown Beatdon, & Nice Guys Submission Fighting.

I’m even more anxious to get back training although I’m in desperate need of rest.  Most importantly i’m really looking forward to boxing class.  I’m hoping Saturday night will help to attract a few more students. We have got to get more people in the gym.

Oh and to curtail on my recent obsession with leglock videos here’s a related one. The featured pic on the top of the page is a guy who is a damn monster. literally lol. It’s Jason Hayden, he trains in Owensboro at Nice Guys and he had his pro debut Sat. night as well. He won by a nassssty heel hook. But he took a pretty hard knee to the head so that’s where all the blood is from.

Here’s jason’s fight. It’s short and sweet.

He’s a blue belt under josh johnson and has won plenty of tournaments as well as quite a few impressive ammy mma bouts.

debandi won his fight 50-45, unanimous decision. 5 round title fight.

His compassion couldn’t have come at a better time because tonight is also gi night and i haven’t attended gi class in two weeks so i’m getting pumped up in advance and hopefully i won’t feel too bad.

I’m hoping that once my schedule gets back to normal i’ll be pleasant again. My boyfriend has since named me Grumpy Bear, and yes that’s grumpy bear after the CareBear character. Yes, i’ve been that unfortunate lately so i’m hoping that if I eat a little better, possibly incorporate some yoga before my shifts, and please oh please get to train more then i’ll lighten up and be more like Awesome Bear (if there is such a character).

I can fill you in on monday’s class (which i felt like doo doo) that joe taught.  He showed a toe hold from standing open guard.  It involved somewhat locking the arms around the foot and doing a shoulder roll over the attacked leg, once you’re over either triangle your leg, or bring the leg….somewhere else (lol drawing a blank) to keep them from coming up and then to finish the toe hold crank in the direction towards their butt. 

Oh boo…i rolled and rolled and rolled some more but no matter which way i rolled over my shoulder i could never land the way joe did, who knows maybe in a few weeks time i can get all my limbs to cooperate with me.

Rolling was also tough…i may have to settle with having only a couple bouts and then heading out.  Lately i work 9-6pm and class starts at 6:30 and this is the second time where i had to keep sitting out because I kept feeling like i was going to vomit. Poop.

Today I’m fascinated by two things:

1st. Apparently the Navy has plans to allow same-sex marriages on ships. Ooooooh.

Check out the article–>>here<<–

2nd. I’m still on this kneebar kick but i couldn’t find anything good on youtube so if u happen to come across anything good post it on here i’d love to  see.

So we’ve changed places from the 31w bypass school and we’re now at the House of Fitness on state st. in bowling green, ky. It’s a stone’s throw away from the old school.

With a new building came a new class schedule. We now have a monday and saturday morning class (WOO!!) and to make matters best Joe Baize, ADCC champ, brown belt, leglock master will be teaching our monday class.

So enough with the catch up onto todays class.

Joe Started class with warmups a few drills one of which i really like (arm drags I need you) and then he showed a series from half guard.

I had a feeling that most of it was going to go over my head as I’m still writing everything down and going through my “uggh i can only remember the first part of that___” phase. But luckily I haven’t had a complete brain fart yet and i like how he showed the techniques piece by piece. First securing position, then executing a sweep, then transitioning into a submission or guard pass.

Here’s a series that’s very similar to the techniques that he showed today, a bit difficult for me at first but something i should go for. 

 Note to self: never forget grappling shorts for nogi ever again. Between the mat burn, chaffing, and just flat out discomfort that was a terrible idea.

I’m glad joe came to class but i cut out pretty early due to the fact that i train with my boyfriend. 89% of the time it’s a blessing but the other 11% (and that’s not a definitive number lol) i want to flat out double leg and slam him (will never happen he’s the double leg master but i can dream). Tonight we broke our vow to not partner/drill together and now I remember why we made that vow in the first place. Every little bump turns into something and finally after he had an outburst while rolling I decided that it’d be better if i simply went home. I was furious. And ofcourse leaving only pissed me off more because i wanted to stay and train but my emotional state was a mess. Uggh sometimes i hate that we train at the same place. It’s a blessing and a curse i tell ya.

Tomorrows open mat night so hopefully everything goes well. i’ll keep everyone posted. I hope that word of the new schedule catches on and we have lots of new faces. I’m spreading the word around town and campus.

Here are some guard pass drills i came across a few days ago:

It all started in Owensboro at Nice Guys. I ventured there with one of the guys from our school and although I hadn’t trained in a while, and hadn’t been used to training no gi in  some time I had an awesome time. Yes, awesome time.  The guys are a riot, the class was mostly open mat and I had a blast rolling with everyone.  I’m very thankful that these leglock masters took it easy on my ankles, heels, and knees.  I’m used to keeping a foot on the hip most times while I roll and they really force you to reevaluate your game.  Mostly because there’s always that lurking possibility that leaving your foot on the hip means a tap is eminent and although a tap is not the end of the world it is a definite reset button.  So then you find yourself in the position of…”well if i don’t put my foot in the hip what if I put it in the

fun x guard sweep, grip the knee and push with the hooks and they go right over

bicep or hook behind the knee…Ooh x-guard..” That’s why I love training with them.  To my surprise that friday (which was a few weeks ago) we rolled for about an hour and a half and it just so  happened to be the day when they were having a gi seminar as well (hell yea). So i got to have my cake and eat it too that night. We got there at about 6pm local time and didn’t get home at about 11 p.m. Huge thanks to those guys and my coaches in helping to reignite my bjj flame.

Now with all that being said I can fully say that my focus has increased and I’m now trying more intently to develop a game for myself.  I went out to eat with my coach last night after class and one thing he said that really stuck was that I’m past the point of doing random things while sparring. He recommended that I develop a game, and tailor it to what works best for me. So that is what I plan to do. Find out what works, trial and error, but also figure out how to be versatile enough for the techniques to be effective against various opponents. Now matter strength, size, height, reach, or flexibility I’d like to develop a game that’s technical yet effective.

I’ll be posting much more often. I apologize for my hiatus, but I have a much clearer mind now, oh and two jobs so my butt’s going to be tired these next few weeks.  There are two tournaments next saturday, May 7 and I’d like to attend either I just have to find the funds for it. Wish me luck. Hope all is well in the online grappling/bjj community,

Oh and here’s a goodie I found online:

Even though numbers at class are pretty low training was great last night. I’ve enlisted the help of a few close friends including josh to get me motivated and in shape.  Little did I know how incredibly complex it would be to figure out the proper way to train & conditioning.  In between the tabatas and tapering I have no clue what anyone is saying, I’m just going to show up and do what is required (well, hopefully). As far as I know I’m competing in the Ohio Grappling Challenge, April 23rd tournament, and an IBJJF tourny in Boston in August. With that being said it’s time to put on my big girl gi and grappling shorts to get business done.

Flower sweep from guard--control one arm, scoop under the led with your opposite arm, open guard, hip out while simultaneously bringing your opponent out and then over..finish in mount.

Last night Debandi & Super Saiyan led class (he cut his hair so I may have to give him another nickname) and they showed some ways to refine a double leg (for the new guys at class), the flower sweep from guard, and following a failed flower sweep with an armbar.

I’d explain the sweep..but i suck so here’s hilary william’s version of the sweep.

I went back to back in takedowns which is an accomplishment for me.  Especially since sometimes I opt out of them altogether. Drilling was a treat. I NEED to learn this sweep, my sweeps from guard are dismal at the moment. I just gotta work on the timing and most importantly my hip movement but this one is definitely on my  To Learn list.

Another fun thing that I’ve been working on are my leg locks, specifically on the new guys.  Who better right?? Well, maybe. But shannon commented that they’re primary partners to work on the timing of my sweeps and I’ve also noticed that the taller ones with the eye catching limbs have been great leglock and armbar practice.

Chances are my hours at work are about to plummet due to them hiring four additional people to our department so within the next few weeks I’m going to have a lot of time to put towards training.  I just have to stay persistent with my bjj and my yoga as well.  Here’s a nice, relaxing series.  Yogajournal.com is a great site for people that have training in gyms like myself or beginner’s that prefer the privacy of their homes.  Either way it’s a great way to add some flavor to your bjj game.

http://applications.fliqz.com/39ac2a3091a24e9ab24008c2686792d6.swf //

Dongi Yang def. Rob Kimmons

me & kessinger flexin at the fights!!

So I got to go to my first UFC fight and it was a lot of fun. UFC on Versus 3 was hosted in Louisville, Ky. (just an hour and a half away from us) so I ventured to the fights with my boyfriend and Brandon Kessinger, the fellow I commonly refer to as the Gentle Giant, because he’s awesome. The bouts were great.  Luckily my bf scored some pretty good seats but what we both found funny was that we were at constant battle to watch what was right in front of us or the awesome angles they were hitting from the big screen up above.  It’s weird to finally get to experience what we dvr every saturday.  The atmosphere was much different than local ammy mma shows, by far.  The fighters were all pros, all elite athletes, they took their job seriously.  They were respectful (for the most part).  It wasn’t just some joe schmoe, they were all guys that eat, sleep, and breathe mma.

kessinger after taking 10 pics trying to get it right lol

There were some familiar faces about.  Pat Berry is probably one of the nicest and approachable athletes I’ve seen.  At one point he walked up our aisle and 40 minutes later he still hadn’t made it up the row. He signed every autograph, took every picture, and hugged every child with a smile.  You can’t help but root for that guy.  Oh George St. Pierre was there as well and I fought the urge to throw my drawers across the convention center.  I’m only kidding of course. But had he been on the same side of the cage as us I cannot say that I would have been able to resist the urge so easily.  My boyfriend understood as he had the ring girls to goggle at.  Much respect to guys that can be monsters in the ring but role models outside of it. Anywho. We missed the first two matches, including Palharres kneebarish-hell hook (yes i’m very sad I missed that) but all the other fights were very enjoyable to watch live, except fo cyrilles–that match was B.O.R.I.N.G.

• 

  Palharres wins by kneebar

  Diego Sanchez  def. Martin Kampmann via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

• Mark Munoz def. C.B. Dollaway via TKO (strikes)
• Chris Weidman def. Alessio Sakara via unanimous decision (30-27. 30-27, 30-27)
• Brian Bowles def. Damacio Page via submission (guillotine)
• Danny Castillo def. Joe Stevenson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Cyrille Diabate def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 30-26)
• Shane Roller def. Thiago Tavares via KO (strikes)
• Takeya Mizugaki def. Reuben Duran via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
• Rousimar Palhares def. Dave Branch via submission (kneebar)
• Igor Pokrajac def. Todd Brown via TKO (strikes)
• Dongi Yang def. Rob Kimmons via TKO (strikes)

Thiago Tavares...up

fave matches

Alessio Sakara- blood everywhere, weird choice for walkout music, but I was still rooting for the italian fighter. I must say I  wouldn’t mind walking out with the gladiator themed costume he wore either. I could use it to constantly remind myself just how badass i can be (kidding, but not really).

Brian Bowles- quick, clean, and precise. I loved the guillotine. His opponent, page, was very aggressive at first but he timed it right and had a good finish.

Thiago Tavares- He was the crowd favorite but he got caught by a very pretty, and yes I said pretty, right hand.

Kampmann v. Sanchez.- I was rooting for Kampmann. His strikes seemed cleaner. Time after time he stuffed Sanchez’s takedown attempts with ease, but I’m not letting the Sloth-like appearance of Sanchez fool me, I

Thiago Tavares...down.

too believe that it was a fair judgement that he won the bout.  My teammates think i’m crazy but oh well.

venue- the venue was great, expensive as hell but a great place to host events.

staff- the staff was very rude

crowd- nothing like a little southern hospitality.  I almost forgot how much I hate watching MMA bouts with individuals that a.) don’t train

b.) train very little

People will just shout any and everything.  At one point one audience member shouted, “Get him G.I. Joe style!!!” <–hot mess.  Even when the bouts when to the ground and a fighter was in side control transitioning people insisted that they be stood up. Once again, hot ass mess.  Another thing that irritated the hell out of me was the xenophobia that was spreading like wildfire.  Everytime an asian fighter would be winning they would cheer like bieber fans,” USA, USA, USA”.  God louisville you never cease to disappoint me.  I still admire many of the fighters because a few of them didn’t respond negatively to the heckling. They would state that they were present to entertain and they apologized if they disappointed.  Congrats to all the fighters that one. Shoutout to my coach Josh Johnson.  He was contacted by the UFC to check hands/tape and had many appearances on the big screen.  For many of us we were excited to see him in a suit. I still think a kimono fits him best .

BJJ Black Belt under Luiz Palhares, Josh Johnson owner of Bowling Green Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Elizabethtown Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Sunday I was the lone ranger from my gym and with gas at 3.38 made the hour drive to the Etown gym to train.  We trained mostly back escapes and a takedown that involved standing, gable grip while taking their back and then taking your foot and placing it behind their knee while pulling in your grip and falling down onto your side. My description is a bit sucky but it looks good if you can get in the position. I however failed, epically (is that even a word???) and in turn successfully landed on my right ear enough times to where it is STILL STORE and it is now officially wednesday. Great. Cauliflower ear here i come.  I need to get some head gear and fast. I have wee little ears and something tells me that little cauliflower ears on my big head would not be a good look.

Overall had a great time sunday and I ate like a champ afterwards at O’Charleys.

Prime Rib Pasta= Good enough to make you wanna smack yo mama

Monday- Judo night. i never attend judo because a.) i don’t like it b.) it aggravates my carpal tunnel (in both hands).  BUT josh (black belt) sent out a mass text stating that not only would he be popping up, but he was bringing a new girl as well (not completely new, but she’d trained at least a year in nashville).  Which translated to TWO straight days under joshy poo (he’d kill me if he saw this) so my week was officially made.  Mike the cop (judo brown belt) showed several hip throws including a few variations where you could alternate grips that were more comfortable for you.

The most notable part of monday was when I went for a single leg on Mike and when I couldn’t finish he gave me the wonderful idea to bring in my right leg behind his right leg and finish with an inside trip (p.s. i was working for his right leg).  At first I couldn’t figure out how to execute it but i had to stop thinking, just listen and i love it.  I’m pumped because i find myself in this position a lot and now I have a plan b. Oh and the new girl is fun and seems nice, she showed up at class tonight and i hope to see her in the gym next week. Had an interesting discussion about how to roll with certain people.  Yes, we’re all training partners BUT some people I roll more aggressive with than others. Prime example,  shannon, the blue belt. When we roll “aggressively” it’s not necessarily muscly, but fast and primed with submission attempts,sweeps,and escapes for days. New guys, I almost feel like there’s no such thing as rolling slow with them. You try and you get pinned and then that’s that. I’ve worked on pushing the pace and staying on top and then if a submission presents itself then great.  There’s one particular guy that I happened to hit something like a double leg on him and then took side control and from that i don’t remember but a lot of the guys commented on how fast I went from calm->aggressive and i’m not exactly sure how to respond to that. I just shrug my shoulders and try to keep it moving. I’m not trying to kill the guy I’m just trying to be aggressive because batting my eyelashes doesn’t get me anywhere.

–I almost forgot to mention that my new gi arrived and it fits like charm…well almost. I opted for the A0 Vulkan (i’m 5’3ish 145lbs)  and I’m glad with my choice.  I decided to treat myself to a new gi and I think I deserve it after all the long hours at work, sore muslces, popped elbows, and putting myself at risk for obtaining staph/ring worm night after night.  I did also make the conscious decision to get a unique color and it’s because it’s cute, and mine, and I’m the one that has to wear it day in and day out so I see it as “go hard or go home”.  Anywho i’ll put up pictures later, for now this is what you get. The top fits pretty snug and the pants are a good length but to be a A0 the pants are extremely wide.  Sadly I no longer have ass for days  (verry sad) so there’s a lot of room and even though it has the drawstring once i start rolling the fabric gets a bit looser..but thats a minor complaint.

Tuesday--BJJ, to my dismay josh didn’t make it out but the Gentle Giant led class and I had a great time.  I don’t feel like I rolled as well as I did the past few days but i tried.  We worked mostly on guard passing, including a variation where you start in combat, reach both arms under the legs and either gable grip or grip the belt, then pull their hips onto your lap. From there you can pass a variety of ways.

Super saiyan took it upon himself to teach me a flying armbar, triangle, and how to transition to a knee bar when someone goes to stand in your guard (epic fail).  Pretty fun class, wish i had more energy.  Next week will be better.  I will not be training thursday as I will be in Louisville, KY. for my first ever UFC.  My bf got ahold of a few tickets so that’ll be a nice way to end a fairly productive week.

I tried to work on my sweeps and i’m having more luck with the de la riva one than the spider guard ones I want. Poop. I’ll keep trying. Well i’m going to hit the hay.  My body hasn’t been this sore since i first started bjj.

side note: I currently have 17 windows/tabs open on my computer right now.  I’m not sure if there’s enough time in the day to watch half the videos I’ve opened but i’ll share some of them with you anyways.

Video 1: NEVER cross your feet.

p.s. this girl is kickass. Just when you think a match is going to go one way…bjj happens.

video 2: sweeeeeet flexibility

video 3: nice sweep…love the chest smack at the end. BAMF lol

The past week has consisted of a few newfound sweeps, ammy mma bouts, and future ibjjf plans.

Sweeps–

Worked on a few De la riva sweeps with Super Saiyan last thursday and it was pretty cool because it was something that I had the setup for so many times. But like all white belts I just wish i had known..but that’s how every practice is.  You’re shown something and then you recount the millions of times where “if only you’d known.”  But those moments are what make it that much more fun.

I ended up staying 30-45 minutes after class to roll with Super Saiyan some more.  He scrambles probably more than anyone that trains at our gym and it’s fun to encounter.

MMA—

Last saturday a few of our guys fought at the Hardrock amateur mma bouts and man oh man that was an interesting night to say the least. The first 5 fights were god awful.  None of the guys appeared to have much training on the ground and if I ad a dollar for every haymaker that was thrown i could’ve filled up my gas tank twice.  I’m not a pro, but I know a good fight when I see one and they were few and far between.  It kind of had me thinking of the whole M.M.A….mixed. martial. arts.  It takes more than swinging for the fences in your cousin’s basement to win a fight.  Of the seven of our guys (and girl) that were scheduled to fight only four did including Beauty Queen (Ashcon Karbasi), who won his title defense, The Marine who had the most interesting fight, and my girlfriend, he won by RNC in the first round.

After the fights the facebook and forum drama erupted and spread like wildfire.  To say that one guy was a sore lose would be a huge understatement but I’m not going to waste my blog space talking about it.

Vanity—

Oh to my fellow female bjj bloggers I have stumbled across something so wonderful I just have to share it with you all….

Last friday I ventured to Nashville for my cute day.  I told the beautician to be ready for my hair. I had feared that it had reached the point of no return but at the recommendation of an extremely close family friend I have been in love with a hair product that saved my locks.

I present to to….

Wen by Chaz Dean Studios!!!

Now excuse my french but this shit is WONDERFUL!!  I know, I know I sound like an informercial but I lost clumps of my hair due to brazilian jiu jitsu, and I mean CLUMPS. There were times where I literally cried after washing my hair because I had no answer to my problem.  For the first time in months I feel pretty again.  My hair is the silkiest, shiniest, softest, and just pure wonderful.  I used the tea tree oil set and i could feel my hair tingling and it’s funny because as an african-american woman i have to have oils in my hair or else it looks dry and falls out well..i didn’t have to add a single extra product.  We blow dried my hair, flat ironed, and cut it and it looks 100x healthier and shinier than any product i’ve ever used.  Big thanks to Megan for her post about sulfate free shampoos, i now have a answer to my problem and even though the conditioner is about 30$ a pop, it’s soooooooooooo worth it.  In the case that i’m in a financial bind, the V05 1$ conditioner at your local walgreens is a wonderful alternative as well.

Tournaments/Competitions—

After careful consideration i’ve decided that I’m going to compete this august in either the Chicago or Boston International Open

Joe baize, second to the left

(Ibjjf) or the Chicago summer International Open, so wish me luck.  It’s time to crack down on the training.  I’ve got the itch to compete so i’m hoping ot do another local tournament within the next few months and I’m definitely going to venture to neighboring cities to get some more rolls in throughout the week.  One of my teammates won the adcc qualifier in New Jersey a few months ago and has ignited my fire to train harder.  He’s shown everyone that as long as you train hard, and simply go for it, there’s no telling how far you can go and what great things you can achieve.  Big shoutout to the leglock master Joe Baize.

In the case ou’re wondering where this post title came from, I’m currently indulging in one of my favorite Pandora stations: Chains & Things by B.B. King.  It’s an awesome song and i’ll also share a link with you guys.  If you have any taste in music you’ll feel it.

This week’s been tiring on thee body but the mind’s another story.  Trudged into bjj (gi) class grudgingly last night.  Part of me was too sore to see the benefit of going but the other part of me knows that it’s one of the few things I have to look forward too throughout the week.  I grew instantly more excited when I discovered that it wasn’t a formal class and proceeded to examine just how i’d approach the open mat class.  Between yoga and working spider guard on tuesday my shoulders and legs have been downright awful.  It feels like I have cement blocks attached to my body, and i’m not referring to my derriere.

Anywho.

inverted heel hook= hasta lavista

Rolled with Sam and worked on positions, fluidity, and pressure. Rolled with the gentle giant, and we rolled well (i think at least).  He’s pushing the pace more with me which makes me believe he’s noticing some improvements, so that’s a plus.  He even showed a few more leglocks including an inverted heel hook OUCH. Just the thought of the inverted makes me a bit nauseous.

One complaint: With open mats I always have a harder time getting rolling partners, or rather getting the ones i ‘want ‘ to roll with “in the mood” because typically many of the guys take the first opportunity to circle up and gossip away, ughh technique anyone???

One of the highlights to my night was a roll with SUper Saiyan (appropriately named for his extremely large hair, and dragonball z like appearance).  It’s funny to me now because for a period of time we couldn’t stand the sight of each other, but jiujitsu helps in some cases.  We rolled for god knows how long and it didn’t feel like i was being just super smashed, it was quite fun.  Lots of sweeps, escapes, scrambling, good shit altogether.  At one point we were rolling and my bf actually chucked the deuce, which is a first because he’s usually the one that’s lingering after hours at the gym.  We ended being the last two to leave the gym but it was super fun.  I did notice this morning that i have quite the bruise on the underside of my bicep and i’m not sure how it got there.  He showed me a few de la rivasweeps which I still remember so that’s a plus, and on top of that I’m getting a litttle more confident in my rolling.

I’m currently looking at some de la riva, spider, and x guard things online and hopefully i can find a few nearby tournament soon..i’m getting the itch to compete again

Tomorrow’s my only day off so I’m getting my hair done (it needs to be resurrected, plus I deserve a cute day) and going to support a bunch of our guys including my bf that are fighting that night.  Hopefully they all do well, i never wish them luck because it’s not about luck its about the effort.

It’ll be nice to be a pretty face instead of a smelly, shrimping, mess for once

p.s. I bought my gi and it’ll be here anyday now!!!!

This morning we drove to etown for an open mat and I was also pleasantly surprised by how much they threw my way. One of the things i’m so pumped that I can start working on is when someone goes to stand in my guard, I now have a plan for that

Yesterday we rolled for about two hours and luiz showed A MILLION sweeps (just kidding…kinda) all of which I only caught pieces of, but he did help me with my triangles a bit. Whenever I try to triangle the blue belts they’ll reach the trapped arm around my leg to by some time and he showed where he switches his hips really hard, locks in his legs the other way and finishes a super tight triangle. I felt kind of disheartened during class yesterday because of work and just not feeling like i could keep up with anyone. I used to be a spider monkey and now I was feeling like a fish out of water, just flailing about hoping someone would be merciful and dump me back in my natural habitat. At least my armbar’s getting better.

me attempting a single leg on luiz

But today, oh sweet sweet saturday went so much better. I rolled with two black belts, a purple, a couple blues, and a handful of whites so every roll was something different. I got dominated and did some dominating myself (not much, actually none at all but it looks good in print ) Every roll was fun, we didn’t use the buzzer which I regretted at the time because there were times when I was thinking, “Man we’ve been rolling for four songs now.” Just got to keep pushing through. One thing I’m grateful for is my roll with luiz/dentinho. Yes I looked like a fool, yes i reached the point of pure exhaustion, and yes I felt like at every moment he was judging me and realizing just how terrible i am, but the most important thing that overshadows all of this is the fact that it was the most fun roll i’ve ever had. At one point during the “owning” i couldn’t stop from grinning because he was literally dancing on, around, beside, and beneath me, I couldn’t stop him, but it was still fun. He didn’t try to rip me limb from limb, it was all positions, and me scrambling for dear life. Good times

Don’t Forget: Hip in when in mount, i never htought i’d forget this but i did today, duh. For high mount bring own knee close to their head, and if the arm gets trapped straight then go for an armbar.

Highlight of the week: today I got my first EVER leglock while rolling. I’m talking legit, he defended and I still finished him straight ankle lock. Hell Yea!!

I’m young and I’m all about the little victories, that and the guy outweighed me by at least 30 lbs. It’s a big deal to me because it’s something I want to include in my game, and I can never piece it together during drills for some reason, but today it clicked and I’m glad it did.

What i’m looking forward to this weekend: UFC’s fight for the troops, sleeping in on sunday and hoping that Marissa Caldwell pulls a victory this . Check out this article about her upcoming fight featured on Fightergirl.Com

Recently added Badass Songs on my training playlist:

• Bring The Pain- Method Man
• Calm like a bomb- Rage against the machine

Josh and the Brazilian (dentinho, black belt) came and taught class today. Dentinho (Luiz Eduardo) showed some cool ways to attack the arms from side control as well as technique tweaks to start attacking from side control to transition into a very tight arm triangle.  It’s going to be hard for me to explain this eloquently but I’ll do my best.

Luiz "Dentinho" Eduardo, black belt, rolling with scott porter a few weeks ago

Start in side control…

keep knees tight, block the hip from being able to turn into you, your grip should be under the head and completely through to the point where you’re almost getting a handful of their armpit, make sure there is little space for the head to move, drive your shoulder that has the head trapped into your opponent to crossface them and secure your grip a little tighter for the arm triangle, use your head to drive their arm close to their own head, use knee on belly to secure the mount, once you get the mount gable grip your hands and the motion involves driving your shoulder forward into them while pulling your gable gripped hands in toward your chest, the motion involves enough to have them tapping fairly soon.  If you’re straining too much then something’s off.

While we were drilling this move I used very little muscle, now granted against a resisting opponent it may be a bit different.

Why i love this technique: I love the grip under the head and through to the arm, it made everything so much tighter and i’m definitely going to work on it more during live rolling.

Start in side control…

keep everything verrrry tight, from the knee close to the hip to the head being trapped. Hopefully I don’t miss a step on this one.  Okay so you’re in side control, I’ll do this from the perspective of my opponent’s left side, and their head is being trapped by my left knee . First make sure you’ve cleared their arm on your side so it’s not on the inside close to your hip. If they make space and shrimp then that’s no good. (the same goes for the technique above) So my right arm will reach over them and Dentinho actually griped close to the bicep to grip the arm in close and tight while you’re gripping this part of the arm to keep it close to their body make sure that your forearm and elbow are on their stomach, similar to knee on belly. Pressure is EVERYTHING. Once this is done you’ll want to bring the knee your knee that’s closest to their hip on their chest to prepare the step over to finish the armbar on either arm.  Dentinho showed this by keeping his knee close to the body whilst using the same motion as knee on belly except his knee came in through the opening provided by their armpit and he kept pressure on the chest (don’t forget that forearm of yours that should still be in place ).

Now use your left leg or the one that’s trapping the head to step over the head and you can finish by armbar the near side arm or the other arm should also be exposed, simply maintain wrist control by trapping it with your own neck (similar to a violin) cross your arms over the outside of their elbow and hug into yourself and that hurts like hell as well, so take your pick . A very fun day of technique as you can probably tell.

What i love about this technique: I love the options with the arms and especially just how important all the pressure points are, i’m going to try and incorporate the forearm/elbow on stomach into my game more often.  This move feels very advanced but I’ll give it a shot in live rolls someday.

me

Live Rolling

• Shannon/blue belt- rolled with shannon and I wanted to work on attacking quicker.  In my videos I noticed countless times I ‘could’ve’ attacked but I was hesitant and worried they’d escape/overpower and I’d lose position. Happened to catch her in an armbar when she went to pass my guard.  Our second roll was mostly scrambling.
• Bianca/white belt- Rolled with bianca and she’s so aggressive, which is good because sometimes I’m so passive and it helps me get more aggressive and learn how to stay calm in situations like that.  While we rolled I fiddled with a few things on how to control opponents from mount mostly and i think i ended up catching her with an armbar as well but i’m not certain it might have been a triangle.
• Herrington/blue belt- Went with him several times. I worked on trying to pass his infinitely long legs, fail, tried knee through the middle and kept getting caught with foot locks, thought about going around him and I just simply was not ready for such a feat.  I guess I need to work on the idea of going around the stronger, longer, or larger guys instead of through them because ‘through them’ is simply not working.  Every now and then I can get a few passes that Cody/purple belt showed me but that’s every blue moon.  Herrington gave me a few tips on blocking the hip to get an extra shrimp or two while i’m in someone’s side control and it helped when we rolled again.  Lord knows how many times he tapped me tonight lol but I just tried to hit that reset button and try something else.
• new guy- bless his heart I was sent to roll with him and he was nice.  I was weary at first but I did quite well.  I didn’t go too crazy, and there were moments where I should’ve been tighter in my mount, and I’ll admit I was being a bit lazy (shame on me) but My control was ok and I didn’t get slammed, smashed, or defeated. Nice guy, hope to see him next week.  Felt bad for a moment when I went to finish him with an armbar….several times. I have quite large, heavy legs, that can hurt people from time to time when used to smash faces.
• jimmy/blue belt- we tried to roll slow because I was tired but t the moment i’m drawing a blank.
• -

this post is starting to get pretty long so i’ll call it a night and write something up about life and jiujitsu tomorrow.

The class started out as an open mat session and I rolled with Shannon and Fighter girl then Josh started class with an interesting sequence from guard.  The sequence was tailored to work in either a grappling or MMA setting.  Here’s a quick overview of the technique that he showed.

GUARD: Your opponent’s in your guard so you use the momentum of bringing your knees to your chest to break their posture and bring them in close to you, then acquire an over and under grip and hold their upper body tight to yours.  From here whichever side you have the underhook use the same side leg to shrimp out HARD and use that underhook to shuck your opponents arm up, from here you’ll end up moreso on their side and you have MANY options.

Option 1: Since at no point are you breaking your grips, you’ll notice that your overhook side is conveniently around your opponent’s neck and your underhook side just left their arm available too SO you could simply lock up your arms the way you would for a rear naked, use your own head as leverage and finish the arm triangle.

Option 2: If they don’t posture up when you shuck their arm up and get to your side THEN you can maintain your grips and take the back.

Option 3: If they DO posture toward (put their head toward your underhook side) the side you just shrimped to then place one hand on the same side arm’s bicep and the opposing arm’s tricep, shift your hips and secure the armbar.

It was a really fun series to drill and I hope to have some luck with it this week.
–Note::If you have any questions about my descriptions leave a comment and I’ll contact my instructor for a verbatim account of the technique he showed.

I’m actually considering getting with whomever teaches after class and trying to get a picture of the technique they showed not only for myself but for the sake of my wishy-washy descriptions lol.

Yesterday I rolled A LOT. Some with newer people but mostly with some trusted faces.

Memorable rolls

Ashcon aka Beauty queen:: I had a fun roll with Ashcon.  I think he walks at around 200 lbs. (i’m teetering between 141-143, and yes every lb. matters ) I tried practicing being more aggressive and offensive with a guy his size and I think it helped.  I take pride in the fact that at least he stayed busy.  The downfall was that I was POOPED, but I went my hardest.  One thing I am experimenting with is the knee bar from half guard.  I almost went for it on him but then I got nervous and opted to simply ask him the best way to go for it and he critiqued me pretty well (Thanks beauty queen).  I’d love to expand what little game I have to include a few leg attacks, I think it’d make me way more versatile and would catch a few of the guys off-guard.

Herrington:: This guy is my new favorite person to roll with. He’s a blue belt and is SO patient with me.  He never rolls to light or too hard and if I do get a sweep or manage to escapes he doesn’t belittle me by saying “Oh I gave it to you.” We had a very active roll and I did manage to get a pretty legit sweep on him which I’m proud of.  It’s not always about submissions, I’m glad I paid attention to his movements, saw an opening, and capitalized on it.  That’s at least proof to me that I am improving, slowly but surely.

josh and debandi rolling on new year's eve

Joshy Poo:: got to roll with my instructor while everyone else was doing striking class and it felt more like a private than anything.  We rolled a lot and I kept finding myself giving the big puppy dog eyes and going ” Please one more roll” lol he had been there for a while but was still willing to work with me.

Overall a great day of training and bonding.

P.S. the guys ended up rolling on New Year’s and I didn’t get to bed until after 4:30 a.m. ….sounds great except for having to get up for work at 8 am

Thursday– In a sea of anxious faces there were only two of us white belts in attendance…I was pumped to say the least.  Warren and Baize from Owensboro showed up and I got to witness Warren testing, and receiving his purple belt, (BIG CONGRATS).

Thursday’s practice felt more like a BJJ Boot Camp to say the least.  To say that I felt like death 12 hours later would be a major understatement. Lots of escape drills from mount, rear mount, etc. By the time rolling commenced I was TIRED. My conditioning’s crap, and I have no clue how to get it in decent condition by next week, or next month, for that matter.

Friday: went to the gym so the boys could punch each other in the face and I attempted some yoga-nope, body was way too sore, everywhere.  Even the simplest of poses caused my abs to ache and my shoulders to creek

Sunday: Went to etown so I could soak up as much information as humanly possible from some of the most technical grapplers I’ve ever rolled with.

Class lasted a few hours and consisted of drilling straight ankle locks, making them TIGHT, and what to do if they defend by rolling over.  I partnered with their newest female and I enjoy her spirit and determination.  The lazy guys were starting to get on my nerves so a determined female face was a treat especially.  She’s only trained for a few months but I’m hopeful that she’ll stick it out.  We also drilled escapes from rear mount and a butterfly guard pass that involved stepping between both the hooks while keeping your arm tucked into your side somewhat, almost as if your arm and leg are one, then shooting that arm for an underhook, squatting down with pressure and dropping your hips to the side to recover.

Josh showed  what I jokingly called the “fancy” version of this pass where you step through, get the underhook, then spin around for an armbar, which took me about 11 times to get, and will require extreme drilling on behalf to get it looking fluid.

Then the rolling commenced.

-Fighter Girl: Rolled with her twice and tried to walk her through a few things. Got the mount a few times and ended up finishing with a triangle, then let her work on her guard game. I don’t know everything but the little I knew I tried to pass on. I grabbed tyler for the things I couldn’t explain.

-Little Man:Rolled with one of the younger guys and I could tell he seemed kind of disheartened when I asked him to roll.  He’s young, really young, and much lighter than me so I rolled pretty lightly, held a few dominating positions and then the rest of the roll I let him work. I tried to talk him through a mount escape, and finishing a rear naked.  I don’t think he wholly appreciated someone with ovaries telling him how to finish a very ‘manly’ submission, but oh well.

-Mooney: Found out he got himself a Strikeforce fight coming up, so a big shout out to him for that. But back to my getting my butt kicked.  Rolled with Mooney first and I have no idea where my head was, had no base, and it took me a while to have any idea of what I wanted to do with this roll.  Of course he controlled me pretty well and I actually went to attempt a submission but I’ve got to get more aggressive.

-Westcott: The first time we rolled together and it felt like a hard roll.  Not a bully roll but a tough roll, as in being passive was simply not an option.  If only I had taken my own advice.  Too often I found myself on the bottom of side control struggling to wriggle free or teetering between surviving mount and turtle.  I feel good in being able to keep up with him somewhat but he did finish me with an armbar. A very tight armbar. He also agreed to roll with me some more after class ended so I could squeeze some more mat time in before heading out.  He did comment that I shouldn’t be taken lightly so that makes me feel good I just got to work on being more aggressive and working the offensive instead of accepting the defense all the time. The strangest part about our entire roll was at the once we had exchanged names he’d ask if I was a blue belt and I laughed at the mere idea of me wearing anything but white and brown (from my makeup) lol.  I appreciate the assumption, and I’m assuming it’s from him being ‘nice’ and from me keeping up with him more so than he anticipated.

-Cody: He agreed to work with me some once class ended (thank god). I love rolling with people who are as talented as he is  because I’m learning more than my mind can process but  on the offside rolling with them shines an even brighter light on just how much I really don’t know.  Luckily he didn’t seem to mind too much to work with me on a few butterfly guard passes, all of which I’ve repeated these techniques in my head at 30 min intervals since I left the gym yesterday lol I even tried one on my boyfriend this morning while we were watching tv.  There are still a million holes in my game I need to patch up, hopefully training consistently will provide for some comfort.

That in-house competition is Next Friday i believe and I’m uber nervous. I guess at the end of the day it all comes down to validation.  A lot of the guys would credit that to me being a woman, but in all seriousness, it’s not enough to hear it, and I can’t ‘see it’ so I figured that by competing I’ll at least be able to somewhat ‘feel’ my progress.  It comes down to me being able to prove to myself and others that I HAVE been trying, i AM improving, and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it…lol…but seriously I just want to do well and avoid embarrassing myself at all cost.  So i need a game plan and a magical herb that will dramatically improve my energy while rolling, any ideas .

Currently reading: Wrestling for Fighting: The Natural Way by Randy Couture

…and by reading I’m referring to reading the same 3-6 pages over and over and over some more lol.  I really want to improve in takedowns even if that means having just one solid one, I’ll be happy.  So far it’s pretty interesting and he actually has pictures of different angles so you can really see what he’s doing.  Best advice choose a few from the book and take it to class and ask someone that’s oh I dunno a wrestler and have them drill a few with you.  This route would be easier, safer, and more beneficial than memorizing pictures 4-7 and just throwing it out there during live takedowns.  So far I’m working on becoming decent at executing the high crotch to double leg and low single leg against a resisting opponent.  I’d say one of the best things about the book is he covers a variety of things from using an arm to gauge distance, to dropping levels, to executing against a defending opponent, plus h’s kind of attractive in an old guy, balding, but badass kind of way.

Judo night: Learned a few different variations and counters to a standard hip throw.  My judo lingo is a bit rusty so I couldn’t tell you which -toshi, -garuma, etc. was used but i will say I actualy remembered the technique that was taught that night, thank god.  1. Go for a hip throw, grip the lapel, when you come across your elbow should be under their arm IF they hip forward then drop your knee and finish by pulling them over. IF they don’t fall then keep your grips and reach between their legs (looks like a fireman’s carry) and finish them that way, i think it’s like a kata garuma.  This was definitely one of those nights to where if you didn’t use technique and you tried to muscle it you could def feel it in your lower back.

if they defend–>if defend then ->

Tuesday

We had a pretty good showing and last night’s class.  The gentle giant led class and I actually made it through warmups (i’m off to a decent start). We did the standard drills, pummeling, shrimps, reverse shrimps, single legs & double legs.  I partnered up with Debandi and he gave me a few good tips on my takedowns, DL: keep my head & chest up, allows for more force and can avoid them popping my head out, SL: aim for the middle of the chest and keep my upper body strong.

Live takedowns: There were a lot of people so I didn’t get to go much, some went in 6 times, I got maybe 2 or 3. I kind of wish we had room for a 4th circle, but that’s the way of the world.  I got the double leg a few times.  Debandi also showed me the right way to crossface someone during grips which i was able to put to good use a few takedowns later.

Technique: Gentle Giant showed some ankle lock/ heel hook defenses.  If someone’s going for the straight ankle lock, immediately make a boot , then to keep them from going belly up and taking your foot home with them use one hand to grip the knee of the leg that’s on top to give yourself space and pressure the leg that’s on the mat hard into the mat and push yourself over the leg.  Once this is done clear that knee that was on top and come up into half guard or whatever you’re able to acquire. Given my bad hip, bruised right knee, and scraped both knees I was not ecstatic about giving my ankles to a fellow white belt. It’s nothing personal I just don’t trust foot attacks while training.  Either way we drilled these techniques for a bit then partnered up to roll.

Live Rolling: First roll was with Sam & he’s getting better.  I caught mount on him a few times but I need to work on maintaining my mount.  I’ve noticed lately it’s been much easier for me to bait someone by letting them get mount then sweep them almost immediately.  Rolled with Derek as well and I did much better against him than usual.  In the past he’d use a bit of muscle but it’s hard as a beginner to stray away from that.  My control was in the right place and I think my pressure’s improved.  Didn’t get a submission by the bell but I controlled it pretty well so I’m satisfied.  Rolled with Long Limbs and it went well.  It didn’t feel like he was going easy on me by any means. My guard game is getting better but i need to stop stalling and go for attacks. When the bell hit I was a smidge closer to locking in a triangle.  There were lots of sweeps during this roll & I hope he comes more often because he’s a fun guy to roll with. Drawing blanks on the rest of the night, I should probably get in the habit of blogging right after class but sleep & ice cream was calling my name.

Injury Report: Hip’s getting a lot better, it clicks from time to time.  Knees are bruised, nothing permanent just hurts like hell during rolls.  Might start wearing yoga pants underneath my grappling shorts to avoid mat burn, it’s happening more and more often for me.

Highs: Pummeling for underhooks has helped tremendously in maintaining control.

Lows:Need to be more offensive in takedowns, need to work on passing closed guard, I used to be great at it and now my performance is dismal.

Gripes:Please do not pair me with the new guy during live takedowns.  The same thing happens everytime, especially when he’s much larger, he picks me up, like “Here comes the bride” picks me up, every single time.  No amount of sprawling can offset that sometimes. Uggh, irritating.  Also if there’s a more efficient way to make sure certain people aren’t stepping ahead of all of us smaller folk in the takedown line that would be great.

–PSA, guy’s the gossip circles are cute from time to time but man oh man, as another teammate of mine so eloquently put it last night, sometimes they just need to “Shut up & train.”

Teammate’s Words of Wisdom: Instead of thinking ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK, think position then attack.  If your position isn’t secure then your attack will not be.

I’m currently listening to:

“The Champ”-Ghostface Killah <–My new fave training song