Training 2015/06/11 #023 -- kotegaeshi

Today, it was a bit of Aikido. We started the class talking about core and core strength, including how to move more quickly from position to position. For example, we did some v-ups and then rolled to our shoulders and spun to turn in a different direction,

We also worked on ushiro ukemi, back breakfalls. It had been years since I had really done this and I was surprised by how challenging it was. Some of my particular faults included rolling too far onto my back so that my legs didn't really counterbalance the fall and I couldn't generate sufficient hip extension to get back to my feet. A few cues:

• Keep your feet out and snap hard on the extension to reverse your fall
• Reach forward to roll back to your feet. Envision grabbing a ring that is just out of reach between your legs.

Kotegaeshi

We then moved on to kotegaeshi. Specifically, we were working on it from a straight punch and from the back neck choke.

General principals: kotegaeshi is basically a wrist turning technique primarily executed with the opposite hand. For face-to-face applications, it will be the same side hand. Kotegaeshi can be executed aggressively on the wrist to basically force your partner straight down. Or, it can be executed with a much larger circle to provide more of a flowing motion. It depends on the application. When I was initially taught shihonage, I was told that the throw should be smooth like swinging a boken. Subsequently, when we were doing knife defense work, I was told that you just want to crank that wrist like a lever to get your opponent down as quickly and aggressively as possible. I suppose it depends whether or not you are dealing with an opponent or a partner! Note that kotegaeshi doesn't necessarily have to involve the wrist. Ultimately, it locks out the should and can be executed like an americana. The wrist lock provides the benefit of maxing out the fascia all along the kinetic chain.

Kotegaeshi from straight punch

The first thing we did was from a straight punch:

1. Step off the line with a 90-degree pivot and grab your partner's hand. You basically want to grab the meat of their thumb with your first two fingertips in the centre of their palm and your thumb against their pinky knuckle.
2. Tenkan back the other way and force them down.
3. As the go down, put your other hand on the triceps of their trapped arm.
4. Step around their head to get them on their tummy.
5. Luck out the arm for the pin. The pin can look like ikkajo osae or it can be a straight arm lock. If their arm is off the ground, and above the plane of their shoulders, you have a lot of control.

Kotegaeshi from lapel grab

The mechanics here are little bit different. My go-to for a lapel grab is a cross-hand type of thing but in this case you use your same side hand.

1. Your partner grabs your lapel. 
2. Grab the back of their hand with your same side hand. You need to dig your fingers under their palm to get the detail. 
3. Lean forward to destabilize the wrist. Your hand really backstops their wrist. You use your chest to roll it over by leaning down a bit.
4. Break their balance. There are a few ways to do this. My initial thought was to pull them back but I think entering works better. Specifically, you want to enter a bit off centre (e.g., 30 degrees). If you turn too far you basically give up your back.
5. Trap with your other hand. Their hand might be tangled in your gi, shirt, etc. That's okay. Back up the grab with your other hand.
6. Throw. You have a few options here. The first is an aggressive wrist breaker by really wrenching their wrist and spirally your feet. They will go down directly. The other option is to think of a much larger spiral circle and step out on your hold side.
7. Pin. Same thing. Use your other arm to control their tricep, step over the head, etc.

Kotegaeshi from reverse choke

So someone has grabbed you from behind and is choking you with both hands. Think of it as a reverse zombie.

1. Choose one side, reach back with your hand, and grab their same side hand kotegaeshi-style.
2. Step forward a bit with your opposite foot to make space.
3. Duck your shoulder and turn. The motion is like a tenkan but you're swinging your but out a little bit more than usual.
4. Turn the wrist. You really need control.
5. Throw. You now have a few different options:
1. Step out with the inside foot. It's the same deal: 30-degrees off centre.
2. Drop to your inside knee. They will go down with you.
6. Pin. Same deal on the pin: trap the triceps, step around, get the armbar.

We also discussed another option from this position. You set up everything as before but instead of turning out to get kotegaeshi, you basically push out your opponents hand and slam your back against their chest. One of their arms will likely be extended straight out. Keep their palm facing up and pull down on the wrist to get the straight arm lock.

Some videos:

Training 2015/06/05 #022 -- body centre

Today was about the body centre. We recently had the remarkable Jacques Payet visiting the dojo so I think we have cycled back to more aikido, more focus on core stability, etc.

Today's lessons were really about bringing stability to your core and addressing stability in everything you do: how do you stand? how do you walk? how do you turn? how do you roll? When standing, stay over your hips. Keep your shoulders down. Bring basic yoga positions into your everyday life.

You can't stay over your hips when you roll but you can be aware of centre. Imagine a laser shooting straight out of our navel. Are you face on with your partner defensively? Are you giving up centre to create an angle? All of these concepts are important.

Ultimately, these are things that need to be practiced.

And, I got a black eye flow rolling. Apparently, a butterfly sweep + an acrobatic back step pass = a head bonk.

Training 2015/05/22 #021 -- Submission Academy -- Perfect arm bar, omoplata, RNC, etc.

Another day at the Submission Academy. I wanted to get a feel for some of the other instructors and I wasn't disappointed.

Perfect arm bar from guard

The first technique that we worked was the arm bar. It was a great follow on from Monday's triangle class.

1. Start with guard. So you've got them in guard. Do what you can to break their posture with good grips, chipping their elbows out, etc. Basically, break them down.
2. Choose a side. You can only attack one side so I generally go for the strong one: their right, my left.
3. Control the arm. Attack one arm. Basically you want to get that arm vertically in line with your torso (like Lesnar's dagger tattoo). Control their wrist with your same side hand and control their bicep from the front with the far side hand. So, if I'm attacking their right arm I want to control the wrist with my left  hand and get my right hand onto their right bicep. Ideally, I want to use that hand to pull their elbow into by belly button.
4. Put your foot on their hip. You will need to rotate to get the armlock so put your fit into their hip. In this case, I'm putting my left foot onto their right hip, or the same side as the controlled arm. You also want to keep your knee right close to their body because it will block them from pulling that arm free.
5. Clamp down with your other foot. Push out with the foot lodged in their hip to rotate. Slide your other heel up their back and up to their armpit. Keep that foot flexed and really try to knock them down with it.
6. Cross their face with your other leg. Now, move your foot from off their hip and get it around their head and across their face. Note that the further you knock them down, the easier this movement will be. You really need to use that other foot to position them properly.
7. Finish. Flex your feet and don't cross them. Make sure that their thumb is pointed to the ceiling. Extend your hips to finish.

Arm bar to omoplata

They might pull their arm out of the armbar. In this case, go for the omoplata.

1. Control the other hand. Don't let them pull that other hand out. Keep a hold of the wrist.
2. Don't let them roll. Posture up and control their belt. Really get over their back to prevent them rolling.
3. Control. Settle everything down to position them. You might have to triangle your legs. You might have to scooch to stretch them out. Just keep control.
4. Finish. Lean forward to apply pressure.

Omoplata to triangle

Instead of trying to roll out of the omoplata, your partner might try to posture up and lift you.

1. Follow them as they posture. Don't give up the leg hold.
2. Hit the triangle. As they come up, swing your other leg into their neck to set up the triangle. Try to knock them down to get the angle. Grab your shin to control them and get position and then close the triangle. Note that if you set the arm bar up on your strong side you need to finish the triangle on your weak side!

RNC

We also did some work on taking the back. The first step was the basic RNC.

1. Set up the seat belt. Your hooks are in and you've their back. Ideally, your strong arm is over their shoulder and around their neck. You've got a gable grip with your choking hand on top. If they strip your grip, your choking arm stays in place. 
2. Tighten the choke. After they strip your grip, get your hand over their shoulder. Ideally, their trachea is in the notch of your elbow (although you could get a trachea crank!).
3. Lock the hand ear-to-ear. Put your chin on that choking hand. Get ear to ear with your opponent to keep everything tight.
4. Slide your other hand into place. Get that other hand behind their head. Slide it in like a tegatana. Don't put your hand in front of them or you will get armbarred!
5. Slice off their head. Get a grip on your own bicep and the drive the bottom outside part of your hand into their neck.

RNC with the tucked chin

Sometimes they will tuck their chin into your choke.

1. Set up the RNC. Do everything as before.
2. Push back the head. As you slide your tegatana into place, make a detour. Push back their forehead so you can get your arm into the choke. 
3. Finish. As before.

Rear collar choke

You might want to use the gi to choke your opponent.

1. Set up the RNC. Again, everything as before. You've got a deep choke with the gable grip and your opponent pushes off your hand.
2. Open the lapel. Use your non-choking or bottom hand. Flick the lapel open. Ideally, roll the lapel over so it makes a nice grip. 
3. Get the choking thumb into the lapel. Use the hand of the choking arm to grab that rolled up lapel. Get your hand as deep as possible; push it right to the label. Ideally, use the hand of the non-choking arm to twist the lapel around.
4. Grab the other side of the lapel. Use the non-choking arm. You don't have to grab very high.
5. Tighten. You have a few options: pull your hands apart, push their body forward, or fall back. Or you can do all three by pinching your shoulder blades and pushing your chest forward.

Rear collar choke to bow-and-arrow

You might not be deep or tight enough to make this choke work. Transition to a bow-and-arrow.

1. Set up the rear collar choke.
2. Grab their pants. Use the hand of your non-choking/bottom arm to grab a pants cuff. 
3. Rotate. Begin a rotation by pulling with both the choking and the control arms. 
4. Get your leg over their shoulder. Put that bottom leg over their shoulder to secure everything. 
5. Finish. Extend to get the tap. Note that you could also transition to an arm bar at this stage.

Training 2015/05/18 #020 -- Submission Academy -- Triangle Choke

I tried out a new academy yesterday. One of my friends has been training there for a little while because the schedule worked out better for him (daytime classes). It was great to drill and roll with an old friend.

We were working on triangles, which is great because I really don't have a triangle game. So, you have your partner in guard:

Classic Triangle Choke

1. Get grips. You really need those sleeve grips to make this work. Always get grips.
2. Put your foot on their hip. You're going to have to move. Open your guard, put your left foot on their hip.
3. Push and pull. Pull one sleeve out while you push the other hand -- your right hand -- into their belly. This action will be much easier with good grips and a good anchor for your foot. You should be rotating a bit. This trick is particularly important if you have short and/or undextrous legs.
4. Beat their arm. Bring your right leg around the stuffed arm and get a strong hook around their head. Remember to flex your feet.
5. Trap the head. Use your right arm to hold your opponents head. You need to keep a heavy leg to keep them from posturing. Get both hands behind their head or, even better, grab your right shin with your left hand. Keep everything really tight.
6. Swim under with your right hand. Think of setting up the pendulum sweep. You want to swim under to increase the angle and maintain position. The angle is important. With an angle, it will be hard for your opponent to stack you.
7. Squeeze your knees. You might be able to get the submission without actually triangling your legs. Bring your left knee up into the back of their shoulder and squeeze.
8. Complete the triangle. Kick your left leg up and close the triangle. Don't put yourself into a straight ankle lock! Cross at the shin, not on the foot.
9. Finish. Squeeze your knees together.
10. Adjust. You still might not get the tap. A few tips:
1. Extend your hips and get their arm across.
2. Pull down on their head.
3. Increase the angle.

Easy. Now just drill it a few thousand times!

We also reviewed some variations.

The Tepee

1. Set up the triangle. You've got your opponent between your legs but you screwed something up. They are posturing, you don't have the angle, etc.
2. Grab the head and pull. Basically, it's a can opener from bottom. Ideally, you get your arms around your own legs and pull down. I was drilling with Matt, who is a big guy, so this wasn't really an option.
3. Watch for the stack. The tepee is a good option when you get stacked.

Armbar Transition

1. Set up the triangle. Same thing. You've swum under, you've trapped the head, but you haven't yet crossed your ankles.
2. Trap the extended arm. You don't want to grab the arm so much as trap it against your chest. You can even grab the cloth of your gi.
3. Extend your hips. Extend and knock them over... slowly. There's no need to break someone's arm.
4. Put your leg across their face. On the way down, move your other leg (the one that was on their hip) across their face so they can't defend. If you don't cross, they will simply posture out.
5. Control the leg. There is no need to release the underhook on their leg. Keep it all the way through.
6. Apply the armbar. Make sure their thumb is pointed up and extend your hips for the tap. Keep everything tight. Their elbow has to be above your crotch for the submission to really work.

Keep drilling. Lots of reps, however, can be hard on the man-bits.

Training 2015/05/08 #019 -- Take downs

We are slowly getting back into the curriculum. We practiced a few different things: dealing with an aggressive attacker (i.e., the overhand right) and a much more mellow attack (the jab).

I don't think that we really added anything.

Training 2015/05/08 #018 -- Test... not mine. Belt!

I served as Frank's uke for his test. I think that he did pretty well but, since he had been sick last week, he gassed pretty easily. I hope that he wasn't discouraged by the experience.

It was interesting to explore some of the stuff that we had done earlier but that I had forgotten, including some basics. The tripod sweep, for example, was beyond me! Basically, you get pushed down and your opponent steps into you. Curl up on your side and grab their forward heal with your bottom hand. Put your same side leg into the hip crease of their forward hip. Hook the back of their other knee with your other foot and and pull their legs out from under.

We also rolled a bit and I worked with Greg, showing his some of the details of passing to mount from side control. We also worked a bit on side control escapes.

At the end of the class I got a new belt. It's still a pretty light colour but I still feel pride!

Training 2015/05/01 #017 -- Test!

Test!

Yes, today was the test. I think it went well but I could have done a few things better like the shiho nage. Oh well. Overall, it was great fun.

We also did a few escapes and rolled a bit.

The escape came from what trapped me last week. Someone has the paper cutter across your throat with a good grip so you can't just push out their arm. Let's assume you are being choked by your partner's right forearm. Reach behind their back with your right arm and try to grab their belt. Then, grab their right elbow so they can't post. Open your guard and sweep them to your left. You might be able to get a head-and-arm triangle.

We also did something similar from mount.

I rolled a bit with a visitor from Iceland. He was new to BJJ but had some background in Aikido and Judo. More importantly, he is a police officer so has ample experience grappling. It was an interesting experience mostly because it didn't feel like a BJJ match. For example, he really never moved to guard. Instead he preferred to use some sort of knee shield to keep distance. It really wasn't a bad strategy and it reinforced a few things for me. Attack should always be the same: control -- shoulders, hips, one side. In retrospect, I should probably have close tight and heavy and used some sort of leg weave to isolate one side. My partner also had great timing so that when I was playing with the arm over side control he was able to overturn me!

We also received our syllabus for the next belt. Something new to work on!

There are a few moves that I could look up:

• aiki otoshi
• kotegaeshi nage tsuki
• kotegaeshi nage ushiro
• koshi nage

Training 2015/04/24 #016

Test! No, not quite

Well, today was supposed to be a test but it didn't happen because my training partner/uke had a family situation. I was then in a position to uke for someone else but they couldn't make it either. Oh well, the time wasn't wasted. Fortunately, I was able to review stuff with a much higher belt and review a few things.

Some lessons:

• O goshi -- I really need to get my hips way further across and not give up that sleeve grip. I think I was doing better at keeping my feat together so that's something.
• Mount escapes -- There's an old Rickson video that shows some tweaks for escaping the mount. One is to basically turn your head away from the direction of the upa. This way, you're not rolling directly to the side but into the space between your head and shoulder.
• Staple guard pass -- I really am rusty at this one. Stu had some tips. Don't have your wrists perpendicular to their body because they can just bring your arms forward. Keep them parallel (i.e., hammer fist to the hip bones). Get posture. Put your knee in the tailbone to break their guard. Really angle out that back foot. Keep your elbows in front of their legs so you don't get triangled. Move the knee that was in their tailbone up so your basically in combat stance with your shin against their hoo ha. Now, pick a side and staple your knee forward basically along the line that connects their hip to their pelvis. Either side works.
• Round-house kick. I basically need to over aim to correct. Try to kick immediately to his far side (i.e., 380-degrees) and you will probably actually hit him. Keep the toes pointed down.
• The old Klondike head lock escape. I screwed it up. You have to step to the other side; you need to get across their body for the escape. 

Rolling with Stu was entertaining. I could not, however, make use of my guard. Basically, he was in full guard and was giving me a paper cutter. I couldn't shake him and my gas just slowly seeped away. I tried to swim for the back, etc. but nothing really worked. Was he postured up? Could there have been some sort of sweep? What if I just broke his posture? I'm not sure how I could have made that position better.

UPDATE -- Stu had his right arm across my throat. I have a few different tools to work with. I want to move him back and break his posture and I want to set up the arm/head triangle from guard. What to do: reach over his back with you right arm. Try to grab his belt. Now, with your left arm, try to push his elbow out so that it saws across your throat. This could work since you are applying a normal force to the end of a lever so you have leverage. You can also open your guard and push his hips down and back.

Training 2015/04/17 #015

Review

The last review before the test. I think everything looks pretty good.

We reviewed pretty much everything and there were a few stumbling points:

• Side control pass around the head. I really need to switch hands and block the hip. This is probably good advice everywhere. In side control, keep control of that close hip and stay chest to chest. Switching hands from a traditional cross-face provides a few submission opportunities. As you lose the hip-to-hip contact you need to use your hand to block that near side head and really squeegee the arm as you're coming through the position.
• UPDATE -- the other option is to wait with the arm on the far side until you feel them push into your hip. Then, switch to kesa gatame to isolate that elbow, then move into the d'arce.
• On the ikkajo style take-downs I have to get my elbow above my opponents to get sufficient leverage.
• We also worked on the shimmy escape from half guard. So you're stuck in someone's half guard. Get the far side underhook and squish them flat. Raise your butt in the air and put your forehead on the ground for stability. Shimmy your opponents leg down until just your foot is trapped. Staple down. Use your other foot to pry open their legs.

And that is probably all. I could do some more virtual training but I'll leave everything before it gets scrambled. I should, however, review the older curricula to make sure that I can still remember those techniques!

Training 2015/04/10 #014

Review

It was another weak of review. We worked through the list from the top down. However, we should probably work through it randomly. Maybe we need a little JavaScript on-page number generator.

There were a few details that we hadn't worked before. One was the transition from side control to mount if your opponent is blocking with their knee. You basically want to lie beside them, chamber your knee until it's almost touching your nose, and then swing over. Of course, this whole operation puts you into a terribly precarious situation. First, you don't want to get pushed off so you need to keep your top leg out at 9 o'clock. You also want to prevent your opponent from rolling into you. We came across a few ways of doing this. The first is to get the chinstrap with your cross-facing arm. The second way is to take a reverse kesa gatame type of position (i.e., your top arm across their head).

UPDATE -- I recently read a few reviews on this position. One of the things to consider is killing that near arm. From reverse kesa gatame you really want to get your hip up on that near arm so that they can't use it. You can also limit the far arm by getting it off the ground. This approach frees up your other arm so you can push their knee down and pin it to the ground. Step over and fish-tail hard and look for a hook with your near side foot. The kimura might be right there...

We also worked on the transition from side control by moving around the head. Again, take the reverse kesa gatame and block their near hip. Move around their head, ideally squeegying their arm across their face/neck, which really sets up the choke.

Rolling was fun. I ended up in an interesting situation. I basically walked into the guillotine and did a decent job of defending but ended up mounted and grape-vined. I went for Roy Harris's toe press from bottom mount technique and almost got it. The challenge was that I couldn't completely free my head from the cross-face so couldn't reach down and grab the foot so that I could apply pressure with my leg. Next time... or maybe I should have gone for the sweep on the other side.

UPDATE -- the power for that toe press comes from the leg. If you can't grab the toe with your hands, you can't get the tap.

One challenge was starting because we didn't really start from our knees. I was on my knees but my partner was just kind of sitting there. My new found take down skills aren't going to work! I should probably refresh my knowledge of the "push forward" take downs.

Virtual Training 2015/04/02 #013.2

Take downs from the knees

It seems like ages since I've been on the mats. Easter holidays will do that. I did, however, make a point of studying some tutorials and taking some notes.

Pull back

1. The first take down starts from a typical tie up... actually they all do. You have their head and an elbow, typically with your left hand on their head. Now, put your right foot to the outside of their left knee and swing your left leg under. Pull them into your guard.

2. The second take down starts exactly the same way. You have a tie up. Now, put your right foot between your opponents legs. Swing your left foot under and lie down on your left side. Lift with your right foot like a butterfly sweep. Take mount.

3. The third version is exactly like the second version but it's intended for a smaller guy. Basically. move dynamically and pull hard. You're really hopping into the move. That's probably good advice for all of these!

4. This take down is much like the others but it has a twist. Push in the elbow of the arm on the side with the raised knee so their elbow is over your knee and into your navel. Grab their lat and sit back, again like a butterfly sweep but to the other other side. You'll both end up on your backs so move fast and take side control.

5. Finally, try putting your right foot across their body to the outside. I've used this setup to get a basic judo throw from the knees (but injured one of my training partners in the process). This version is a bit different and potentially safer. Just roll onto your side with the raised knee. Your shin should basically come up across their abdomen. Go for the armbar.

There are other take downs but is the basic Roy Harris series. The other series involve two-on-ones and push forwards.

On a different topic, I've taken renewed interest into that fancy side mount escape and potential follow ups. I'll just call it the Lindy Hop sweep because you're basically swinging your opponent around your back. So, you're in bottom side control. Your opponent has a good cross face and is fighting for that collar. You're up on your hip facing away from them and they have near side control. The first thing is to protect your neck so keep your bottom hand against your face and take away any space they may have. Now, reach up around their head with your other arm in a "show me your biceps!" motion. Move your bottom leg perpendicular to their body to make space, bridge, and then pass your bottom arm under your body so that you're essentially rolling over onto your tummy. Since you've hooked your opponent's head, they are coming along for the ride. They will basically come over your shoulders and you will end up in some sort of weird scarf hold, crossfacing with the wrong arm. If you're quick, you can get a paper cutter choke or an ezekiel. Personally, I'm always just a bit surprised that I got the sweep and generally forget the finish!

The other thing that I want to learn is the ghost escape from side control but I don't quite have the mechanics down.

Training 2015/03/27 #013

Review

Some more review. We basically rolled a bit and reviewed the curriculum. I discovered a few things:

1. Taking notes really does help recall.
2. Notes are good but practice is key. Perhaps I should put together a script for visualization so that I don't screw up sides (e.g., scissor sweep).
3. We clarified the baby wipe pass to d'arce. Basically, squeegee their arm up to their head and then get the hold under their arm for the choke.
4. Keep your escapes clear... particularly for the test. For example, I ended up going for the reverse elbow to guillotine off the head lock. Bad idea.
5. Some of my tactics didn't work on Frank mostly because he is actually really strong. More fluidity required?
6. There is definitely an opportunity to work on more takedowns via virtual training. Hopefully, I won't crunch another person's ankle!

Unfortunately we have a bit of a delay before the next class. Last week was March break; next is Good Friday.

Virtual Training 2015/03/22 #012.2

Kimura

I've discovered that I can use a few videos to work on some of the challenges that I've run into on the mats. Today's focus is on getting that appropriate upright kimura grip. I'm using one of Raphael Lovato's videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1NpPbMGJ6I).

He starts the position from side control. He notes that a good side control requires hip-to-hip contact. He traps the outside arm with a really strong hook, even if he has to give up the cross face. A cue is to really keep that far elbow off the ground.

He also takes out the near arm that is probably blocking your hip. He pushes the arm down with the formerly cross-facing arm and then pins that arm with his shin like in a crucifix pin. He then windshield wipers his legs to pin the arm with his other leg.

Keep a strong hook on the arm using your head to pin the arm. Lift and pull the trapped arm keeping your weight on it. You almost want to pull the arm all the way to floor with your opponent up on their side. Don't let them grab their belt!

Step over their head. Switch arms and get the kimura grip. Basically, the hand that is on the side of your opponent's face is the one that will be gripping your opponents hand. You will probably have to switch grips. Think "face palm". Lovato is keen on the monkey grip. He notes that you want to curl your wrists to keep the tight position.

Getting the submission requires you to keep their elbow tight to your chest and to use a whole body movement.

There are some challenges to this approach, notably, I have to give up the sankajo on the wrist due to the monkey grip.

The other tip that I picked up came from Roy Harris. In one of his videos he demonstrates that you can get the kimura and americana more quickly if their arm is more extended... but you give up some degree of control. To get this submission you really need to get your weight over your opponent's upper arm/shoulder.

UPDATE -- an old Dean Lister video showed another interesting tip for getting the conventional kimura, particularly in no-gi where you don't have the belt grab. He doesn't step over the head. Instead, he stays low and slide backwards so that his chin is basically on his partner's non-entangled arm. He still gets the tap.

Training 2015/03 Skiing!

A slight change of pace. No BJJ this week. I the week out west with the family at Big White. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to take in a few mornings of lessons. The first day was really just a great opportunity to ski with my wife, brother-in-law, and two nephews. The second day was because all of my skiing partners had decided to sleep-in but I still had to get the kids to ski school, etc.

Day 1

It was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky and decent snow conditions. Unfortunately, my new-fangled RFID pass wasn't functioning so we stuck to the high chairs, mostly the Falcon. We spent the session primarily working on what the instructors call "performance" i.e., really working the down hill edge. The drills primarily focused on tail lifts in order to really get that bottom edge to bite. Some of the cues that our instructor gave us included focusing on lifting from the knee to get the appropriate degree of foot spacing and to really carve out the curves. As always, my lazy right hand gave me some grief by being where it shouldn't be. The problem with this excessive hand movement is that it tends to torque my body a little bit leading to some challenges when we aren't necessarily looking for performance. One of the key issues with the tail lifts was to really get the right degree of hip angle to maintain that edge. It's an interesting feeling because it really shouldn't be about the knee angle but about the hip. Caving the knee leads to a loss of torque in the pelvis and an inability to fire the glutes (i.e., it's like a really crappy dead lift). The other issue here is that you also need to keep your upper body relatively still, pointed toward the fall line, and over that downhill ski.

All of this work on edging and "performance" led to some discussion of whether or not you really wanted to ski that way. Weren't stem christies and javelin turns '80s exercises? To conclude, we started doing some side slipping for a reason I really couldn't grasp.

Day 2

The second day was me, a fellow who I had met the previous day, and a lovely Australian woman. The conditions were really not as nice. We started doing the same drills and our instructor pointed out something in my style. When carving the turn, I push out (or lose) the tail edge toward the end of the turn. The instructor noted that this problem was a symptom of not shifting my weight back over my ski... Huh? I don't thing that I have ever been told to shift my weight.

We then started doing some drills that weren't performance focused. During the ride on the lift, the instructor basically explained that skiing is just skiing but -- from an instruction perspective -- there are two ways to do it. The first is carving on edge for control and speed. The second is basically keeping the ski flat and controlling the ski with the feet and the hips. This second style becomes more importance for western-style skiing (e.g., trees, bumps, powder, etc.). The problem with shaped skis is that we can become a bit lazy and simply ski neither on edge nor flat!

The next drill involved short radius turns. All three of us sucked at it and demonstrated a tendency to step around the turn (i.e., we wanted to go from edge to edge). Our instructor worked on a series of drills to develop some sensitivity to this issue.

The first drill was the side-slipping drill we had done the day before. Start side slipping and shift your weight back and forth. As you shift your weight back, your skis should turn toward the fall line of the hill. As you shift forward, your skis should bear up. Apparently, it should feel a lot like slalom water skiing... but I'm a terrible water skier! The drill from the previous day now became apparent. Sometimes, turning isn't about carving but about weight shifting.

The second drill involved slipping across the hill. Basically, point your body somewhat down and to the side of the hill but keep your skis oriented more towards the fall line. The hill should slip obliquely under your skis. There is no edge involved. Keep the feet closer together that you would with edge turning because the radius will tighten. I quickly noted that the knee-first-tail-lift approach we had done the day before led to a wide stance. The other issue is weighting. Just because you're keeping your skis flat or off-edge doesn't mean you sacrifice your hip angle. You still want your weight riding over that downhill ski.

This exercise really tightened up my turns and gave me insight into a completely different style of skiing. You pass up the edge control but you gain stability by using two feet.

After a few runs of experimenting with this short-radius non-performance style of skiing, we moved to a different hill. The Australian wanted to do some bumps so we went to the rather intimidating Flagpole. The first half of Flagpole isn't steep but it was incredibly cruddy. It was choppy from the day before but had some drifting fresh snow that made the conditions particularly challenging. Carving turns with an unweighted uphill ski was ill-advised but the two footed cross-glide we had been working on wouldn't have worked either. So our instructor introduced us to the idea of the 1000 hop turn. Basically, you just keep hopping as you move through the short-radius turn. He explained that in the cruddy conditions you can never perfectly time your turns so you keep your skis moving. This approach worked very well in moving through the crud and it enabled consistent timing.

We then came to the bumpy section of the hill... and it can be really bumpy!

Our instructor explained some of the tenets of mogul skiing. It's just like what we had been doing: flat ski, control across two feet, some hopping because timing can be challenging, etc. There were, however, a few additional considerations. The first was the pole plant. It should be firm (i.e., relieve your weight with the pole plant) but it also needs to be close. Think of keeping your elbow glued to your side. During the pole plant you don't want to lose upper body position. So, as one pole is planted, your navel should basically be one pole distance from your downhill ski tip. For timing, focus on turning on the top of the mogul when the ski tails and tips are clear. This approach will make two foot control much easier. Then, ski down the back side of the mogul.

The firm pole plant is important but you want to clear that pole quickly. If you don't, your arms will end up behind you and you'll get torqued around. Keep those hands where you can see them!

When learning, aim for getting two moguls at a time, then get three, then get four., etc. You really need to rep this stuff. For some reason, I find sound effects really help my skiing. Shouting "boom!" on each and every pole plant helps (as do engine noises when carving turns). But perhaps this is just a personal thing.

Our last run was pretty basic... but I completely bailed. I was experimenting with the cross hill glide when I probably should have carved. My instructor looked at me and said: "That looked painful... Now, just ski." Wise words. Drills are valuable and important but ultimately you have to put it all together.

I can't wait for next year.

Training 2015/03/13 #012

Review

Some more review today.

The first thing we did was the block on the right hook. The set up is the same. Protect your head with the triangled Couture block. Really try to get your elbow into the bicep. Use your elbow to guide their arm down. It's not a whizzer, just some steering. Don't let your hand get back above your shoulder where you are particularly weak. Close space and get the underhook on the other side. Tee up with them so that you are basically looking in their ear. Drop your hips and hold tight to compromise their balance. Step in front to get the hip throw.

A key hint is to not spread your feet too far apart. Your feet really should be close together so that you can pop your opponent up during the throw.

UPDATE -- you probably want to let your underhooking arm ride up and turn over during the throw. Also, it might also help to think of the throw as an outer reap i.e., you're not just loading them up but you're taking the outside foot.

UPDATE -- more than an outer reap. You really have to get your hips all the way across, even if you give up the grip on the back.

My natural instinct seems to be to get the whizzer. There is a throw from there but it really comes from the other side. You won't be as tight to your opponent so you have to try the uchimata. They might step out but that just sets up the hip throw. Roy Dean demonstrates the move in his no gi video.

We also worked on what to do off the jab. You really want to run down their arm as if setting up a standing head - arm triangle. Tee up and hit the drop throw and roll up into mount. Don' t give up their arm so you can get the americana. I like Roy Dean's cue of walking your hand under their elbow to set up the americana or the triangle.  On the americana, make sure that you really have your elbow in their neck. NOTE: Roy Harris demonstrates that there might be advantages to a straighter arm but you have to get your weight out over their shoulder.

We also revisited shihonage. The setup is the same but the throw is a little different. I was taught to step through as if lowering a sword.  In this case we want to keep spiraling.  Think of the trapped arm as a wrench and you really want to torque it up in the y and z axis.

The pin was also a bit different.  Really dig your knee into the armpit; it's not knee on belly! Again, torque the arm.

Rolling was good but I should do a few things like breaking down one particular take down in review and committing to using it. I like the tight posture control and should look to getting the arm bar when they give the forearm shiver. I should also work on that knee bar transition from a failed scissor sweep.

Training 2015/03/06 #011

Review

Another week of review but I picked up a few tips.

I've covered the kick defense in the past. The one thing I learned this week is the importance of the inside trip because it enables you to protect your privates. Without the inside trip, you're likely to get a kick to the groin. Not nice.

We also covered the hammerlock escape again. Mechanics are the same: half step on the unbound side, cast the elbow back, get the guillotine, take your opponent down. One thing that we added was the possibility of the arm-in guillotine. It seems that I end up in that position quite frequently. After the take down, you should basically be lying on top of your opponent with one arm looping around their head, under their chest, and into their arm pit. An option here is the anaconda choke. From the armpit side, use the hand of the arm with which you've set up the guillotine to grasp the inside of your opposite elbow. You've know establish a basic head and arm triangle. Talk on the phone with your non-guillotine arm to tighten everything up. Flex your back for the choke.

Sometimes you can't get the anaconda. Grab their jacket at the armpit, then roll onto your side and rotate away from the alignment of their body. It's just another way to get the choke.

We also briefly touched on some of the other throws that I failed to actually document. The first is what to do if they throw a haymaker/hook with their right. Block the punch and get the underhook. Keep your hand high on their back. Control the other elbow. Step through and load them up on your back to get the throw. Control the arm on which you have elbow control. Get the straight arm lock on that elbow or transition to something else.

UPDATE -- I think that I documented this wrong. You don't want to enter from the haymaker side. Instead, control that elbow and t-up with them on the opposite side. If you get a whizzer on the haymaker, you might be able to get the uchimata but won't be in position to get the o goshi.

There was also mention of something we did once that involved faking a kick to provoke a jab. This the the jab is coming from the left side. Deflect the punch and step inside clinching tight. Turn so that you're basically looking right in their ear. Extend your back leg so it is basically straight behind their legs and drop on to your opposite heel. Typically, your going to use your right hand to push their left out of the way and your going to clinch up on their right side. Now, extend your right leg and drop onto your left heel. They will go down backwards and you will likely roll up into mount or side control.

UPDATE -- I think that the submission here is an americana. You have two options. The first is to keep your elbow right in their neck for better control. A faster tap would involve extend their arm somewhat and getting your weight out over their upper arm (a la Roy Harris).

Training 2015/02/27 #010

It seems that I've missed  few weeks. I think we may have just been reviewing material for an upcoming test.

Today was also review.

The first thing we did was basically shihonage:

• keep one hand out roughly at chest height
• your partner grabs it
• confirm the grip with your other hand, drop your hips, bring their hands to your forehead and swivel around (video helps)
• your opponent should end up with one elbow bent up in the air with their hand behind their head

You now have a few options. In Aikido, you would throw them to the ground for the pin. With this technique, we moved around to their back and basically secured a rear naked choke with the other hand. This position is great as a come-along or you can drop them to the ground.

We also went back to practicing the technique with tantos. It was very entertaining.

Other review included basic mount escapes: you're mounted and getting choked; trap their arms with a gable grip and pinch your elbows together to break their posture. Trap an ankle and extend your hips to move to their guard. Remember to secure good posture.

We also worked the basic baby wipe pass. A tip was to break open their closed guard the same way you would with any other technique (e.g., knee in the tailbone). Don't just lever with your elbows because you will get trapped. When there's space, get their legs up on your shoulders and secure them. Keep everything tight. Stack your opponent and pass.

One addition that we worked on was adding a d'arce. Normally with the baby wipe you can secure a cross collar grip but we were thinking of how to do this stuff no-gi. As opposed to getting the cross collar, use your head-side arm as you move into side control. Get it around the back of their head. Put a lot of weight on their chest. Ultimately you want to put a lot of weight on their upper chest but first you want to get their arm up. Smear your body as you move to kind of bulldoze the arm. When in position, secure the grip, lean back, and squeeze.

UPDATE -- we have since worked on getting the D'arce from the pass. Don't secure the cross collar grip; simply slip your arm around their head and try to get the choke. There are, however, a few challenges with getting the D'arce here that I'm not completely sure about. Sure, I can get a crank tap but not really a choke. Should I pick up the arm? Or through the bulldozing I can perhaps get under their other arm.

We also reviewed some basic sweeps. The first was the scissor sweep. For no-gi, I had to really focus on trapping one wrist and keeping it close to midline and getting control of the head with the other hand. I thought that I would have to get my opponent to really posture up but realized that it's really me making more space with my hips. I also realize that I really have to get that knee into their sternum and focus on loading them up and over (i.e., get that knee right into your nose).

UPDATE -- can I get the scissor sweep with an overhook? I really like playing that overhook on my left side.

One variation of the scissor sweep is the push sweep. Basically, you go for the scissor sweep and they posture out so you have to put a foot on one of their knees and push them out.

The other submission we worked on was the head and arm triangle. I have to remember to really get my head low (i.e., right beside theirs) and to squeeze.

Rolling was good. I played a bit with the gift wrap and some of the options there, notably using the gift wrap to set up the arm bar. It worked well.

Training 2014/02/6 #007

Review

There's a belt test coming up at the end of the month so we are reviewing some of the old content. I'm glad that we did because I had forgotten a whole bunch.

After some basic movements we did some wrist grab defense. Basic elbow power works for most breaks but you have to remember to drop your hips, move your body, etc. For two-on-one, it's probably best to "shake your own hand" (i.e., reach in with your other hand to facilitate elbow power). There are also a few options with the cross wrist grab with nikajo being perhaps the best option. Again, move your hips. There's also the issue of feet. In gyaku hanmi (i.e., mirror image) it is perhaps best to use a turning movement: confirm the grip, turn, bar the elbow.

Within the basic movements we talked a bit about entering movements and the use of sokumen irimi nage. Basically, it's a cross-step-body-change in front of your opponent followed by a deep step forward (i.e., to the side and behind your opponent) so that your same side shoulder is basically in their sternum. If you start with a left-forward stance, you cross-step so that your right foot is in front of your opponent and your hands are towards their left shoulder, you take a deep step with your left foot, and then turn, pushing your opponent over your outstretched leg.

YouTube helps with this one!

UPDATE -- We've played around with a few extensions to the basic grab breaks. A good cue is to turn your wrist to get things moving. After elbow power, you can also get the muay thai plum and initiate a throw from there.

Training 2014/01/30 #006

Knife Defense

I greatly enjoy this class. We seem to do it on an annual basis or so.

What do you do when someone comes at you with a knife?

It's probably not going to happen but it's something we all worry about so it's nice to have a strategy.

1. Keep some distance. Yell "He's got a knife!" For good measure, tell the attacker what to do with the knife: "Drop the knife! Put it on the ground!"
2. Keep your hands up. Imagine that your hands are blades. Keep your fingers together and present the backs of your hand to your attacker to protect your wrists.

There are a lot of different attacks with a knife but we only address the most basic -- the straight forward lunge at your gut.

3. Block the strike by making a "Y" shape with your thumbs on each hand, putting your hands together, and trapping the wrist of their knife hand. We started just working on the block. Using two hands and the Y shape is important because you really don't want to miss and expose your middle.

We then moved on to the throw, which is basically shiho nage ni.

4. Grab the attacking wrist with both hands. You will probably naturally step into your attacker.
5. With your back foot, pivot to the outside (i.e., 95-degree pivot), bringing their wrist up to your forehead.
6. Pass under their arm.

It's shiho nage. Basically, you and your attacker are standing side-by-side facing different directions. You're holding their knife wrist and the knife is floating somewhere in the space between your attacker's ear and your ear. Hopefully, you've started to break their balance because their knife-side elbow is up over their shoulder and they're moving backwards.

7. Push forward to drop them. Or down. Just don't let go of that knife hand!
8. When they go down, keep control of the knife hand and get the knife away from them. You can basically put them into knee on belly, wrist lock them, choke them, whatever.

We sped the activity up a bit and put some resistance into it. You quickly realize that the technique doesn't always work the way you want it to. For example, you might not drop your opponent but you can still get the knife away by locking the wrist. Then you're just into ground fighting!

Tanto dori is always interesting because everything gets a lot more scrambly. The preset Aikido moves breakdown (at my lowly level of skill) but the BJJ training gives you the ability to react to the positioning. I also found it interesting that my shiho nage seems to be much better when my partner is holding a knife. I'm far less worried about choreography and, in general, I'm lower and my hips are in a far better position. The pin seemed more natural too. I was training with a pretty big guy so I was much more inclined to control his body using something like kesa gatame and it just felt more natural.

Rolling went well. My closed guard game is getting better. I think I could benefit from more visualization in my sweeps. I hit some sloppy pendulum sweeps but stalled out in the scissor sweeps. I had some success with establishing more of a z-guard with decent grips and then pushing out a knee to get the sweep. It was ugly.

On the submission side of things, I got halfway through a triangle... which is farther than I normally get. I'll take it as a sign of progress!

Training 2014/01/27 #005

Drills and skills

We worked on knee on belly today. I honestly spent most of my drill time working with a heavy bag because my timing was so wretched! Basically, it was knee-on-belly transitions: right to left, step around the head, and drop into mount.

We also played an interesting game. It was 2 on 1. Two attackers attempt to move one defender about 20 feet across a line on the mats. The defender can submit the attackers but the attackers can't attack the defender. The drill is really about positioning.

You quickly learn a few things as the attacker:

1. Keep your grips legal! An inside cuff grip is dangerous when someone can kick out.
2. Get a leg and an arm. If each attacker can get a leg and an arm, the defender is useless.
3. Control and move. Another strategy is for one of the attackers to simply control the body of the defender via mount, guard, etc. The other attacker can then grab a cuff and haul them both across the line.

There is also a few lessons to be had as the defender:

1. Try to keep both of your defenders close. If they get in each other's way they really can't coordinate the attack.
2. Escape decisively. If you're going to move, don't pause or hesitate. You basically have two sets of grips to break and then two tackles to avoid!

Overall, the exercise was quite entertaining and absolutely exhausting. It was very interesting to explore the different interactions of weight and position.