Year of the Half-guard

I've decided I'm focusing the rest of this year to half-guard sweeps. I'm concentrating on 3 specific ones.

First up.

The Tails sweep, seen Roger do it and several others it's money, a great defense against that type of pass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yYZ-kCXGbY&feature=related

Second. It's a little more difficult it's the Helicopter sweep.

http://bjj.org/techniques/intheguard/helicoptero/

3. Deep half-guard sweep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7vFR950fmE

Sunday Mornings

Closed guard bump sweep

1. Tight closed guard, raise hips so your weight is on their hips like a belt and on your shoulders.

2. Control the wrist, when they posture pull back with your legs

3. When they raise up push off toward the wrist with your hips. Come up to mount.

Escaping side control tips

If they are keeping a tight side control SLOWLY wiggle and move your elbow down take it slowly instead of trying to bridge instantly. Bridge once the space is felt.

MR. Bad Guy

Went up to Ground Dwellers gym run by Eddie Avelar (might have misspelled) had a great time and got gi-owned by MBG. He's definitely improved his game all over the place, I suspect he's on horse steriods... 

Eddie showed me some things to keep in mind and new tricks.

Lapel shoulder choke

1. Grab their lapel with your right hand, pull it out and over your right knee.

2. stretch it out and put it over your left foot.

3. grab their left sleeve with your right hand and extend your leg sweeping them.

4. Foot goes off lapel so it's under your left thigh, pull the left arm and squeeze.

Zapruder

1. Grab their left hand with both hands in half guard

2. push your left foot on their left hip

3. pull and omoplata motion their leg with your right leg 

4. triangle your legs and work for a leglock.

Triangle escape

1. post hands on them posture

2. feet over their chest and push back

3. slide a leg over and across their waist step over to the other side.

Defeating the over hook and new way to posture.

1. Grab their lapels underneath their armpits

2. push out and stand up

3. break or if your arm is trapped reach back and rubber arm free.

Wrist lock from lapel grab.

1. If they are grabbing your lapels underneath your armpits

2. grab one side lapel and feed it over their hand to your opposite hand pull taught.

3. grab their wrist and pull

Thread through pass with the arm trapped

1. Get a sleeve grip feed it to your other hand under their legs

2. shoulder pressure down

3. walk all the way around keeping hips low, option to jump to opposite side.

Defense to thread through pass 

1. If the arm is trapped your torso as an extra arm to push head down.

2. Grab the belt and try the flip.

OR 

1. Roll them over if they are committing to the pass, by spinning in the opposite direction. If they let go shrimp.

Great stuff great people can't say enough good things about Eddie and his people at Ground Dwellers.

Side control to mount to armbar.

1. Use shoulder pressure and pull of elbow to control the spine.

2. Use your knee to move their arm.

3. Move your arm over their head and keep your elbow tight.

4. Other arm pushes on the hip.

5. Slowly switch your hips into a reverse scarfhold, get your hips underneath their arm. 

6. Use your hips to push their arm back, grab your foot take mount.

7. Keep holding arm while taking mount, get underneath arm smear into a higher mount.

8. Proceed to s-mount pull other elbow, finish with reverse armbar, keylock, or armbar.

Armbar and takedowns

Worked the mounted armbar in nogi, using our weight to smash it down. 

1. Right arm grabs under their elbow left hand posts out.

2. Move your hips and weight down and scrape your weight and get the angle to the left.

3. Move your left knee closer to their head, right arm scoops their opposite arm.

4. Reverse armbar option, or Armbar option.

Single leg catch

1. Move off angle catch kick.

2. Push their shoulder away, push forward.

3. Hand on their hip. Move back drop back.

Nogi Sweeps, and Hip movement Galore.

Okay Dokay.... First things first.

Yesterday in Nogi Joe and Jason showed an armbar and a pendulum sweep.

ARMBAHHHHH (right side implied)

1. Wrist control and monkey paw or Armdrag 

2. Move left wrist to a forearm choke

3. Move hips out toward armside.

3. Left foot pushes off hip swivels to right side (make sure your right leg clamps down under their armpit.)

4. Finish

Pendulum Nogi

1. Armdrag / Wrist Con Monkeypaw

2. Hips out left side

3. Grab head or farside lat.

4. Underhook leg with right arm

5. Kick out/swing out with left leg.

6. Right legs kicks under their armpit.

7.Tuck left leg finish sweep.

Rolled with Nick and Elliot got my guard smashed. But they explained why.

1. When they grip my knees I need to move my hips out but not too far, and open my leg keep my other in between their legs.

2.  If he goes one under and pushes another leg down. I need to heavy leg the underhooked leg, Push the wrist of the arm on my leg. Grip behind the belt and pull him onto my hips and roll them behind me. 

3. In side control use the arm behind their head and bridge turning their head so I can escape my hips.

Passed some purple belts and good blue belts guards, and got to use my Batman Sweep (triangle turn upside down to inverted triangle.)

Sweeps turned on their heads (literally)

So today while working open guard and standing passes nogi. I opened my eyes to the idea of doing sweeps upside down.  

Upside down Rocketlauncher sweep. Control both ankle feet point toes in and send them flying!

One foot one hip sweep.  Cross grab their ankles, put corresponding foot on the hip you intend to sweep, Spin under and pull foot, push hip, sit up with them.

New moves and skills

The first things first. Head lock escapes. Very basic very neglected. 

1. Like scraping something off yourself you must use your underhook to push against their shoulder. Elbow comes to their hip, get to your knees/their back.

2. Hook the leg. They leave their leg close elbow comes inside using a bridge. Hook their leg use that hook to pop your hip/ride their hip over the top. The thrusting pressure is whats important.

3. The bridge and roll. They run from you so bridge their head forward to the mat, then bridge up, slide the knee under them, bridge again and over.

4. They run too far, scissor kick to your knees after walking away from them, then bring them back.

Escaping side.

Getting to your knees. They control your leg, so shrimp away from them while pressuring their hip and collar. Walk away extra far. Tuck the hip arm in. Post with your foot, and push with the collar arm. Get to your knees.

Knee ride escape.

Turn away from them. Walk your leg one step out, bring (the leg close to them) over your far leg. Crunch, and swing wide and windmill leg back into guard. It goes over their head and around.

Good Works

Things to remember. 

1. On knee through passes the knee stays glued to my chest. 

2. Re-grip and grab their sleeve.

3. When they grip me in open guard guard grab their lapels and don't give them space to sweep.

4.Use elbow to force their head to the outside when they attempt to pass.

5. Stay tight with chest to chest in transitions around n/s and side.

6. Nick's Pass. From butterfly guard grip their sleeve keep your elbows in tight, push knee to the side, use chest to flatten, switch hips to other side, open legs, grip their close knee, walk around or over.

Improvement

I've not posted in quite some time, due to forgetting to and school. However I accomplished some of my goals.

First, my ability to survive in guard and pass guard in gi/nogi has improved, I've been able to survive and pass the guard's of purple belts and even two brown belts. Breaking grips has become more natural in guard, as well as defending collar chokes.

I have several new gi passes, The ABC pass from Relson, Phil's Scissor sweep counter pass, and my favorite Arm thread pass. ABC starts out with as a counter to a deep cross collar grip, putting your head on the floor, blocking their opposite arm gripping their gi at the bicep, knee in the butt, leg by your head stand up, weight down with your head and opposite shoulder.

My top game has much improved as far as my control of their upper spine, and ability to hold mount and side control.

However, my guard and submission defense from the bottom has unfortunately declined. My open guard can get passed by spaz noobs, and I've been having trouble breaking posture, and sweeping. 

I now feel I need to focus on my side control escapes, shrimping to guard, keeping my defenses tight even under pressure. For the next 4 weeks I will focus on guard/open guard, escapes, defenses, and controlling posture/hip movement. I will also begin to diet for my tournament in February, and drill more often/ stick to my weight training regimen.