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Judo Throws – No Gi Open Mat 10.15.2016

October 16, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

We had a wedding to go to in the afternoon, and we hadn’t planned on making it on Saturday. But I was able to convince Bear Toe and Primo who were visiting from out of town to come work out. Coach Frank let us in at 11:00, and we had a blast.

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Lots of playing with positions and little mini-rolls, and I had one good long session with Ed. He was able to tap me with the Americana after about 15 minutes. Another guy, Mitch, showed up on his bike. He’s been training at the gym here and there, but our paths have not yet crossed. He was not what he appeared to be. Very strong, very technical. I have no idea what the criteria are for belts, but he’s a blue belt and it felt legit to me. I think I had a cardio advantage on him though. I was talking to him later and found out that he rides ~200 miles a week. He’s definitely more slow twitch than I was when I was all slow twitch, and I could feel it in the roll. Any burst of energy was giving me an opportunity to take advantage of his recovery.

Dave, who is a friend of Coach Frank’s from Ocala, was also there to train. He’s a jiu-jitsu purple belt, and a black belt in judo. He demonstrated three white-belt judo throws for us–definitely some stuff there for all of us to work on our stand up game. I hope he’s able to make ti back more often–super helpful! I rolled with him and could tell he was going pretty easy on me. He’d get a position and then hang there for a while to see how I reacted. I don’t know if I passed or failed, but I definitely did not threaten him. I felt like a ball of yarn getting batted around by a kitten.

Overall, the day was a success. Both Bear Toe and Primo had a blast and are looking for gyms!

Reverse De La Riva – BJJ Training Log 10.13.2016

October 13, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Smallish class tonight, and me the only white belt.

So, yeah…beat down.

For warm ups we mixed it up a little with grip fights, knee on belly drills, and reverse de la riva switching drill. I missed Tuesday’s class, so I was already behind on the RDLR, but wouldn’t have mattered a lot–it will be a while until that coordination kicks in for me. Not a problem–I was in the same place with KoB a month ago.

Oddly, the technique part of class was all reverse de la riva based, and I had a much easier time of it. The sweep I got (not perfectly, but I got it) immediately. Then we did another more technical move.

Reverse De la riva sweep

Pull ankle tight to the butt
Cross grip deep into the lapel
Same side grip on the cuff
Punch down and sweep

Like this

The RDLR to take back–I can’t even begin to explain. Luckily I can post a Kurt Osiander video and he can show it. Like he says in the video, this is a good one for little people.

I’m not a little people.

Three five minute rolls in rotation. Went with Norm first–one tap to some sort of choke, but I felt like I defended some others pretty well.

Next up was Dan the Man. He had a pretty tight triangle on me, but I stacked him up and was able to rotate out. That alone got me pretty tired. I was kinda sorta trying to work a baseball choke at the end, but I was screwing it up in every possible way. He probably was completely confuse.

Last was coach Frank. Of course he got my back, and then he aimed for the bow and arrow choke. I defended. I’m sure he could have submitted me a hundred different ways, but he seemed determined to try and get it, so I kept defending and looking for a way out. He got a wrist lock on me as the bell went off, so I didn’t have to tap. LOL

No Gi Grappling – 10.9.2016

October 10, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

We missed a couple of days training, so Coach Frank had an impromptu open mat at the gym on Sunday night to give us a chance to work out and get going again.

Holy Toldedo.

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Ended up in a 56 minute submission-only/I quite/Ironman match with Ed. To be fair, it started off almost as a flow roll, and about 20 minutes into it I was surprised at how relaxing it was, even though the pace had picked up considerably. By the end, it was tooth and nail.

I wouldn’t begin to know how to score it–back and forth the whole time, with multiple submission attempts both ways. Off the top of my head I know I went for one guillotine, one Ezekiel, one kimura, one Americana, 3 triangles, and a barrage of rear naked chokes. Couldn’t finish any of them.

I ended up getting him with an “I-don’t-know-what-to-call-it” with his head locked between my legs figure 4’d and pressing towards an arm bar at the same time.

Then we both lie still in pools of our own sweat and had a good cry.

Shoulder Choke From Side Control – BJJ Training Log 9.29.2016

October 1, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Intensity is already starting to pick up getting ready for competition. Warmup had an increased volume of pushups, and pace was higher for partner drills–KoB rotation, guard retention, sit ups with partner pushing, Helps having a pushy partner too.

First technique was the #2 Side Control to Mount we learned in the morning class about a month ago. I did not remember this at all until he went over it. I know I’ve never attempted it in a live roll, so it was really good to go over it again. I think it’s something that can be effective for me, especially when opponent is putting his leg up to guard against the mount–practically giving you the hardest part.

The next technique was a choke from side control that, even if you don’t get the choke, is one of the most uncomfortable positions I’ve experienced so far. It doesn’t require any fancy footwork or stretchy hips, so I think this may end up being a go-to for me.

Use far hard to pull up opponent’s far shoulder (assuming you have the cross-face)
Wiper the cross face hand to directly underneath opponent’s spine and settle them onto their back
Lower upper body and drive shoulder into the neck
Active toes and sprawl to head-side hip

While drilling it, Coach Frank came around and asked if Norm could possibly escape from there. I thought he could because of my balance. I adjusted and when he tried to bridge I could maintain. Coach Frank said, “Now…if he DOES try that, go ahead and mount. His feet are going to be flat on the ground and he won’t be able to defend.”

Played KOTM for guard passes and one guy stayed out the whole time. Impressive.

Live rolling was for three minute rounds. Could definitely feel the intensity pick up here. I had two goes with Norm, and he tapped me three times in each of them. Maybe he was getting close to going 100%?

Was on top with Ed for most of the time of both sessions. Couldn’t quite finish the rear naked choke or the triangle. But…

From side control I tried the shoulder choke described above. He bridged. I mounted. Nice!

Seated Guard Pass Flow – BJJ Training Log 9.27.2016

September 27, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Getting ready for competition. Little more intensity, and a lot of rolling. The KoB rotation transition finally clicked for me tonight during partner drills, and we also worked on breaking grips from standing.

Love having Norm as a partner for drills. He pushes the pace and doesn’t give me anything. Plus he’s able to tell me when technique slips. For instance, at the end of my turn breaking grips I was wearing down and not using my hips.

“Hips can go all day long, but arms get tired.”

Technique was a flow for a seated guard pass

When everything goes as planned

Passing headquarters
Push down on passing knee, spin with other hand on opponent’s hip
Backstep around foot to KoB/Side Control

When caught in half guard when trying to pull through

Hand on OUTSIDE of knee and push to opposite side
Weight heavy on top leg and sprawl
Use leg-side hand to thread legs and kick out to side control

When opponent sits back up after initial push

Hand behind head, hand behind triceps
Slice knee down along hip, making space with triceps hand
Sit through with weight heavy on stomach/diaphragm and opposite arm tight to body
NOTE: keep that elbow and butt off the ground. All the weight goes on the opponent.

Worked from bad positions. Couldn’t hold Norm from his back, and got choked out once. My bad position was mount with Rudy and Ana. Rudy got an armbar once, but I did ok after that.

Norm got an 8 minute roll with fresh people every minute. We went two rounds each with bad positions on the second rotation. He’s pretty beastly.

8 minutes with Ed at the end of the night. Another stalemate. Legitimately lost top position this time instead of choosing the bottom. Spent a lot of time trying to get to top. Threatened a triangle once and finally got the sweep for the last minute or so.

Muay Thai Training Log 9/19/2016

September 20, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

This whooped me. Wish I could go more often because it’s another totally different type of workout. Here’s what I was to determine after reflecting on this night of training.

I’m not limber
I’m slow
I’m not very coordinated

So…It seems like the only thing that may be left for me to have as a strength in kickboxing is that maybe, maaaaaybe, I can take a punch.

I’m not to keen to find out if that’s the case or not. I think I’m more a ground and pound type guy.

1-2-3-roundhouse

1-2-switch-inside

Check-2-3-roundhouse

Check-2-3-2-inside

S-Mount arm bar

Bicep cruncher

Daily Reading List — September 20th

September 20, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Hurricane Prep: How to Board Up Your House –

Timeular’s cute little box makes the hellish task of filling out your time sheets fun –

Stop Stealing Dreams – Here's why we homeschool. Should turn into a longer post at some point. I think I've linked to the download before, but now it's available on Medium and a little easier to read. It's long, but not as long as it could be.

This Free Course Teaches You Everything You Need to Know About Digital Photography –

How to Calculate the Effect of Humidity on Running Performance – Runners Connect – Would be interested in seeing heat adjusted PRs.

Duo opens martial arts business in Cocoa Beach – Don't sing it.
Bring it.

Can smart medicines crush U.S. healthcare costs? –

The Ancient History of Cheating in the Olympics – I thought Olympic cheating was invented in the 1980s. Next they're going to tell me people were cussing and drinking cold beer before 1992.

Simple Mount Escape – BJJ Training Log September 7, 2016

September 7, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Really awesome training today. One of the upsides of being on the ground floor of a new gym I guess–when a new class time starts, it will be small and more individualized. Worked out for me this morning since I was the only one there.

While we were stretching, Coach Frank asked what I’d like to work on. I said, “You’re the coach…fix something that’s broken. LOL.”

We rolled for a couple of rounds and he said, “Alright…cool…I know exactly what we need to work on.”

Technique–Simple Mount Escape

I think he saw this watching me roll a few times, then felt it when we rolled. My only real effective option when mounted has been to upa and shrimp/twist to get to a hip and hope I can get a knee in. He gave me a better option today:

Trap arm on the side you want to go to
Foot on that side outside of their foot
Other foot with active toes under butt
Twist upper body away from trapped arm
Look up
Roll head to the gap between shoulder and head while pushing up
If using an underhook on the other arm, be aware of that because you roll into full guard

Pretty much like the first one demonstrated here, but with a little more space created with the head/shoulder to make the roll easier.

Alternate Triangle Choke Setup – BJJ Training Log September 6, 2016

September 7, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Technique was a triangle with a different set up. Instead of push-pull with wrist control we:

Posture control and trap arm
Sleeve control on other arm and shrimp to foot on elbow
Knee to the ceiling and foot to the floor
Kick foot out to set the leg for triangle
Figure 4, then hand to shin
Wiggle for the angle and deepen the figure 4
Pop the posture to get the arm through
Wiggle for angle

And the defense:

Answer the phone and pressure
Other hand to opponent’s hip
Both hands to hips an posture up
Free arm to collar grip
Drive shoulder through leg to the collar
Enjoy side control

Rolls

Andre–tough to get past his guard. He’s young, flexible, fast, and strong. Got to half guard once and was looking for side control but he regained guard

Ed–tried to pull guard and he got around. Worked from the bottom for top position and tried for Ezekiel. No dice. Went back to side control at 30 seconds and KOB, pulling up leg and head for discomfort. Still no tap.

Norm–focused on staying out of his full guard and trying to pass. Got around once (gift) and didn’t tighten up the side control so I lost it quickly and got choked. Went again and got one leg through. Stayed tight and got side control again (another gift), but tightened it up this time and was able to keep it longer. Was defending an arm bar when time ran out.

Ed–Was able to pull guard from the get go (finally). Held him and threatened the few submissions i have there. Was able to work my way to a triangle threat. Couldn’t finish, but was able to roll it to mount. Going for Americana when time ran out.

BJJ Open Mat August 27, 2016

August 28, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Cooked. Bonked. Spent.

Started off with my own vicious cycle and got a good sweat going quickly. Rolled with Frank after that with the expected results.

Rolled with Alicia after that–first roll with her, and it was really good. Trying to not use strength and weight for offense. Not ashamed to use it for defense though because she was constantly attacking. She had my back a couple of times, and when I was in side control she was consistently grabbing my foot with her feet. None of the guys I’ve rolled with have the flexibility to do that.

Then Ed showed up. Another marathon session. Same result–arm bar on me after about ~30 minutes. Still unable to finish arm bar twice and had what I thought was a really deep triangle but couldn’t get it ended. I was completely on empty at the end. I was literally laying on my side with my eyes closed happy that I was able to defend that position for several minutes before I got caught. Afterwards I was happy to lie on my back in a pool of my own sweat.

Went to the beach after for more of the same. Realized after I got some food in me and my head back that I was completely calorie depleted. No more rolling without any food. Rest day earned.

Three Choke Attacks On Turtle – BJJ Training August 25, 2016

August 26, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Warmups and straight into KoM.

For technique, we learned three chokes when opponent is in turtle:

No gi d’arce choke (no gi brabo choke?)

Slice knee in to split opponent and hand on head for control
Open lapel by placing hand under belly, then remove hand from head and grip lapel
Baseball slide through and roll opponent to hip, walk top leg to trap opponent leg

Like this

Defended, so go to the other side

If opponent closes his side to block the knee, reach around to the openside of the body and get the same choke on the other side

Rodeo Choke

Head hand grips lapel 4 out
Control opponent’s hips and step over
Continue rotation and throw step foot over opponent’s head
Fall to mat, get ready for a quick tap (This one really hurts)

Like this:

Had a pretty good roll with Norm. Of course, he still dominated me, but I felt like I was a little tougher to deal with. That was probably manufactured by him. I got to side control for a couple of seconds before he got right out of it. It’s hard to tell how much he’s giving me and how much I’m earning, but I’m getting better I think.

Next up, I rolled with Joe, who is a lot quicker than me and also dominated me for the most part. Was forced into a turtle defense with him and he was much more effective at breaking it than others have been–definitely showed me what someone with more technique could do with where I am right now.

Side Control Options – BJJ Training Log August 24, 2016

August 25, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Made it to the morning class today–got started a little late, but it was just Louis and me. After stretching we went straight to technique and got to work on three different things. This was cool, because Tuesday night training was a total beat down, and we were still feeling it 12 hours later.

Side Control to Mount #1

Body side elbow tight to the hip with hand in armpit for hip control
Roll hip to reverse kesa gatame
Drive off of foot and scoot hip to fold opponent’s knees over
Hand to legs and knee on quad
Slice knee to mat and flop foot to avoid quarter guard
Slide foot under opponent’s leg

Side Control to Mount #2

C cup, pull close thigh up and punch it forward, stacking legs.
Step into the hole between legs
Remove hand, and he’ll naturally turn in, allowing to slice the knee and flop foot

Gi Choke from Side Control

Remove lapel from belt on the hip side and take out the slack
Feed to cross face arm using hand or mouth
Hand back to hip and move legs towards head
Head to hip hand

BJJ Training Log August 23, 2016

August 22, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Burner. We picked the wrong day to spend at the beach before class, because this one tore me down. Awsum.

Warmups got a lot tougher today with shots and sprawls mixed into the usually light jog. Technique was a butterfly guard pass and a butterfly sweep.

Pass

Hands grip outside knee and label (same sides as hands)
Snake knee hand side foot in, then drop step around when foot hits mat. Causes an X with the arms–leave it until knees are positioned
Switch hands to side control

Sweep

Cuff grip and punch opponent’s hand down
Reach around and grip belt with other hand
Drop cuff side knee down and under
Lift belt side leg, rolling to shoulder

King of the mat with three down and four up, so not much break there. Then we went into rolls starting in bad positions and just roll from there. I had Norm’s back to start, which didn’t last long, but it’s the only time I’ve ever had that. LOL. Next Joe had me in side control. Took me a while, but I was able to get out. He was about 2 seconds away from finishing a triangle, but I was able to escape.

Then we actually rolled. Had two really good rounds with Ed and Louis. Pulled guard with Ed to start and he passed pretty easily (which means I need to work more) and got me in side control. Defended the mount and eventually worked up to one myself. Attempted baseball bat choke and seated triangle but could finish neither.

Went next with Louis–we were already pretty spent. Took me about half the round to pass his guard (also need to work on). He was able to work me back into guard and sweep me, but I immediately got a good triangle attempt. I was focused on stuffing the arm before pulling the head and thrusting, but he told me later I had it deep and could have finished. Dang! Ended the round with an arm but not able to finish. Pattern developing here.

BJJ Training Open Mat 8.20.2016

August 21, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

Ana and I did a little bit of drilling. I’ve been landing in good spots for submissions but unable to finish them, so I want to try out the details of a couple of chokes. I did discover that the reason I’m having trouble finishing rear naked chokes is because of the width of my shoulders and lack of flexibility leave a lot of space on the grab arm. We figured out a variation I could use to get the pressure with the blade of my hand by a different method, and then Coach Frank showed me an even better option that would be harder to defend against.

We also worked on two armbar escapes. Ana’s needed a little more movement than mine (surprise), but they are both good depending on the situation.

Another cool thing I realized is that I can use a small foam roller or a large pool noodle to simulate someone’s neck and really feel where the pressure is being applied. Should help me improve the small angles and hand positions for chokes.

Then I tested out a fitness drill I’ve been thinking of–Circle of Death with jiu-jitsu drills for six rounds. For this one I used thrusts + figure 4s, sit-throughs with rotations, hops from knees to feet, and one-armed get ups (still need some kettle bells to make this one legit).

Then I rolled with Frank. A bunch. Lost count of how many times he could have submitted me and how many times he gave me an opening to see what I would do. For instance, he mounted and grapevined me, but when I put my hands on his hips he released my legs and let me work the escape he taught us last week. I didn’t get my knees pulled to chest and butterfly, but I did get one in to turn and shrimp.

He dropped some knowledge in between rolls too

Slow and tight is better than fast and leaving space, so don’t worry about feeling like I’m plodding
Top positions are working great for me, so start off in guard and give up those positions with equal training partners–work to get there to improve the other side of the game
But don’t give up top position if I’m ever in a competition. Time is limited, and I’m way stronger on top than on bottom at this point since I don’t really have any submissions I can reliably finish from my guard
Defense is improving, so being frustrating will hopefully cause opponents to open up opportunities

BJJ Training Log August 18, 2016

August 19, 2016 / Scott / 0 Comments

I had to miss on Tuesday night, and I already felt a little behind.

Technique was an escape from side control:

Inside elbow to the ground and hand on hip
Outside hand across face and grip the trap
Oopa and get the underhook with outside hand
Reverse shrimp through the hole created with underhook
Head pushes down arm and transition to their back
Option from the oopa is to bring blocking knee across the lap and hook the hip to regain guard

We did King of the Mat, and poor Norm got stuck for the whole duration because nobody could pass his guard. I made it down a couple of times against Ana and Ed, but then lost my spot to Rudy. Got arm barred by Rudy once and triangled by Norm once. Lost my back and side control all the other times.

Had a good roll with Ed and was able to attempt 4 different submissions in 6 minutes–guillotine, baseball bat, arm bar, and arm triangle. Unfortunately could not finish any. Have to get better at the details that allow the finishes. Especially the baseball bat. I have no idea was I was missing there.

Had another good roll with Rudy. He tapped me pretty early by just driving all the air out of my chest and getting me locked up so that I couldn’t breathe at all. After that I was able to pass and maintain side control for a while. Sensed his escape attempt and adjusted to North/South when he went for it.

Scott Adcox