Jiu jitsu notes 2/27/09

2/27/09

Rolled with J and M (two talented blue belts) today. Things were better than on Tuesday but there’s still much work to be done. Guard passing is effective especially with J in getting him to his knees. That’s probably a better idea if they’re no gi (which he was) but I felt like I wasn’t seeing the path of least resistance and was forcing him into passes that weren’t there. But sometimes I wonder if it’s better to just have a set number of passes and a lot of ways to get to them rather than just trying to use what’s right in front of you. Sometimes going with the flow works and sometimes the flow works me. Didn’t feel I was doing well against J so much as he was just playing into my strengths. Did not feel particularly effective on bottom, but was able to reverse or get the back so maybe sometimes that’s good enough. Would like more submission threats though.

As always impressed with M’s inventiveness. If I’m not calm about the position being something I need to figure out, I’ll find myself rushing and forcing things. His submissions are getting better and better so it’s hard to find that balance of moving quickly and yet calmly. Was able to get an interesting triangle from inverted guard but not sure how I did it. Again is it better to just run with that flow? Hard to say it is as when it’s gone then my head’s just fogged and I freeze up.

Things done well
1) Forcing them to their knees off the pass.
2) Back control with trapping an arm as well.
3) Inverted guard triangle.
4) D’Arce from transition. Recognized it a split second before it happened.

Things to work on
1) Guard passing. I’m getting past their guards but couldn’t teach or really say what I’m doing. Things do not feel precise and tight except with over/under pass.
a. Need to start drilling leg over shoulder pass with cupping the back of their head. Always rush through on this one and while I get them to their knees at times, it leaves me open to them scrambling out.
2) Inverted guard activity. Need to see what other threats are there, especially if I start to use momentum from rotating. Might look more into going from inverted back to sitting especially with some arm drags thrown in.
3) Back threats. Want to work on keeping my body aligned while twisting and stretching them more. Should be easier to get the choke that way. But also need to look more into the armlocks, reverse triangles, coller chokes, twisters and everything else that’s available there too.