Foster BJJ Featured in NW Fight Scene Magazine

That's right. Our school is featured in issue #3 of NW FightScene Magazine. The write up is very cool. They gave us two full pages just on the school. James details a technique, which is a new feature they're starting. So, James has a full page for his technique. There's also a very nice, full page ad for the school where James looks suitably stern and imposing.

There's an IFL event in Everett, WA on Friday. NW FightScene is handing out 1000 copies of this magazine to people in attendance. We're all going to wear our brand new Foster BJJ shirts, and try to... I don't know... look cool, I guess. James assured me that there was lots of flair on the T-shirt, so that's a good thing. I'm all about flair.

James seems very happy about the positive exposure for the school.

Class Wednesday

Quick Back/Hip update: My back feels great. My hip, not so much.

I went to class yesterday and don't seem any worse for wear as a result. My hip was very sore after class, but after I got home and sat in a comfortable chair for an hour or so and played my new video game (Forza 2), it eased up considerably. I actually slept better last night than I have in days and woke up without as much pain.

In class, I jogged during warmups, but didn't go crazy. The impact of running is rough on my hip. Other than that, I was able to do most of the warmups. Well, now that I'm thinking about it, we did some warmup drills that I just didn't even attempt. We did some flippy, acrobatic type stuff. I was impressed to see two of our biggest guys cartwheeling and kipping up like Bruce Lee.

I felt able to spar yesterday and did pretty well. I was a little frustrated at one point. I was sparring with Keoni and he overcommitted on a pass attempt. I was able to raise my hips, control his left leg with my right arm and go for an omoplata. He was forward and all I had to do to flatten him out was extend my hips. Well, there was the problem. With a healthy right hip, I could have. As it was, I was able to use it as a reversal, but still... an omoplata would've been cool. I also pulled off a guillotine. First time for that one, too.

It's great to be back at class. At this point, I don't think that class is exacerbating the injury. I'll keep taking it easy until it's 100%, but I think I'm going to start going to class on a more regular schedule again. That and I feel like I'm getting fat, even though I'm maintaining at a steady 182-183 lbs. I'd like to burn off another 10 lbs of blubber and I'll never reach that goal if I don't go to class.

Interview Thingie

So, several of my buddies out there are doing this particular meme. I don't as a rule enjoy these sorts of things, but this one seemed relatively harmless and fun. So, there it is, then.

This meme has been circulating the internet for a while now. Here are the rules if you'd like to play:

1. Leave me a comment saying "Interview Me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the questions and answers.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview readers in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Here are the questions supergroup7 asked of me:

1.What makes Brazilian Jiu Jitsu different from Japanese Jiu Jitsu?

Simple answer: BJJ is a branch off of the Japanese Ju-Jutsu tree specializing in ground fighting. There are many places where you can get the entire history of Judo, which derives from JuJutsu, and of BJJ, which was a derivative of Judo. Jiu-Jitsu.Net is one such website. On The Mat.com is another one.

The essential gist of the story is that in the early 1900's, a guy named Mitsuyo Maeda was sent over here to the USA from Japan to help popularize and spread Judo to the States. I'm not entirely sure on what exactly happened, but my understanding is that everything went great during the demonstrations, but that in competition against other fighting styles, they didn't do as well. Maeda chose to stay in the USA instead of returning with his group to Japan. He began taking fights and eventually emmigrated to Brazil, where he met the Gracie family and taught martial arts to Carlos Gracie, and his brother Helio.

I don't know a lot about traditional Japanese Ju-Jitsu, so I can't really comment too much on the differences. I get the impression that there are a lot more stand up techniques taught in JJJ, and that this style is much more formal. Lots of bowing. Also, BJJ is more like catch wrestling, or what's called in Brazil, Lute Livre. The primary different between BJJ and these other styles is the incorporation of work while wearing a gi.

For me, the big difference is in the general culture of the art. BJJ tends to be on the informal side, with a heavy dose of respect. My impression is that my school is actually more formal than most. We bow at the beginning and end of every class. Well, okay... so it's not all that formal. :) But it is well structured.

I also like the heavy emphasis on sparring, or what's referred to in Judo as Randori. This, in my opinion, places a higher value on pressure testing techniques against resisting opponents. While we will drill techniques with little resistance in order to learn the basics, we quickly move on from there to increasing levels of resistance. I like that.

2. How long does it take to get from your BJJ club to your home? ( Have you ever had to walk the distance?)

This one's much easier to answer. I live about 8 miles away. It's an easy 10 - 12 minute drive depending upon traffic. I've never had to walk it, and wouldn't want to. The path isn't all that friendly to pedestrians and there is a humongous hill involved (steep and very long).

3. Is your family involved in sports, or martial arts?

Not really. We're active, but so far my kids haven't shown any real interest in martial arts or any other organized sport.

4. Which technique, or combination of techniques has become your favorite to use?

My favorite technique is a keylock, usually from side control. I need to work on setting this up, or using this to set up other techniques, such as an armbar. The keylock involves using both of your arms in a kind of figure-four arrangement to put a lot of pressure on your opponent's shoulder.

5. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 things would you want to have with you?

Well, this is a difficult question. Certainly my wife. My initial instinct would be to also add my kids, but as much as I'd like to have them there, I wouldn't want for them to live out their lives in solitude on a deserted island just to keep me company. Other than that, I think I'd like to have a satellite phone. Hmmm... and one more thing. I'd want a very large supply of some quality red wine. As long as my wife and I are alone on a deserted island, I can't think of anything better than a good supply of wine to have while we watch the sunsets and wait for the rescue that we called in on the sat phone to arrive. :)

Back Update #5

Pretty much no change. I've got another session of PT scheduled for this afternoon. My back actually feels great. My sacroiliac is out of whack. It's a sort of dull but constant pain throughout the day, but for whatever reason acts up at night. I'm sleeping through the night now, but tend to wake up with a lot of soreness and pain.

I can't wait until this is all healed up. I've been avoiding the gym for the past few weeks, and doing really like warmups at class. I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to begin working out again. I'll talk to the PT about this today.

On the plus side, I haven't gained any weight. I'm still trying to watch what I eat, and am maintaining at about 182 lbs. I'm still hopeful that if I can lick these hip/back issues, I can begin working out in earnest, bump up the cardio and lose the last 12 or so lbs to get down to a more ideal weight.

Friday Class

I did go to class yesterday. It was fun to be back at class. I even felt well enough to spar, even if it was light. Running killed me in warm-ups, but it's temporary. I'll be back up to speed before too long. I even got lapped by Bill. Haha.

Technique was back to basics. We drilled the basic armbar from guard and from mount. As white belts, we were expected to execute the technique completely, taking as much time as necessary to do each step correctly.

So, if I'm going to armbar my opponent's right arm from guard, I'll start by reaching across and locking down that arm with my own right arm, cupping behind his elbow and keeping my own elbow in tight to my body. If I'm doing this right, it shouldn't be easy for him to pull his arm out, with or without a gi. I'm also pulling his right arm across his centerline. I'll also reach over with my left and hold his shoulder down so it's more difficult for him to posture up. Then I'll unlock my closed guard, put my left foot on his right hip, bring my hips up and rotate so that my right leg is high and across his shoulders, replacing my left hand in keeping him from posturing up. I'll then bring my left leg around his head, position his hand so that his thumb us up, pull down on his wrist and raise my hips to get the tap.

Basically, it looks very much like this: http://www.umich.edu/~armbar/armbar_guard/

Armbar from mount, starting in high mount. Again, if I'm going to the right side, I'll reach across with my left arm, cup around his elbow and lock his arm in. I'm going to reach over with my left hand and push down on his left shoulder to keep him from rolling or turning. I'll bring my right foot up close to his left armpit, trying to keep my left knee up close to his right armpit and at the same time turning my shoulders so that they are squared up toward his left side. Then I put all of my weight down on my left arm which should still be planted on his shoulder, and my right foot, so that I can swing my left leg around his head. I pull my heels in tight and sit straight down so that my hips are in the correct position. Then I sit back, making sure his thumbs are up, and raise my hips to get the tap.

These are two very fundamental techniques, but it's good to drill them over and over.

Sparring was fun. I went light and tried to be very deliberate.

Back Update #4... or is it 5 now?

Every day, my back is feeling better. It turns out that I have two issues, both treatable. The first is a herniated L5-S1 disc, which is what drove me to treatment in the first place. The second is a really, really irritated sacroiliac joint. This inflamed SI joint is what's been causing me to have trouble sleeping, and to walk around like Igor from Young Frankenstein.

And this also explains the change in the nature of the pain I was having in my left leg due to the sciatica and the more recent pain in my right side after beginning treatment. As it turns out, my disc is responding very well to treatment. The sciatica is gone and my back feels good. The bad news is that the SI joint is being a real pain in my butt... literally! And in my hip, and even down into my upper thigh. But even that joint is beginning to calm down.

The bottom line is that I'm feeling better. I actually slept in today and was only a little stiff and sore when I woke up. A well rested Steve is a happy Steve. My kids appreciate it, too. I am once again the benevolent tyrant, in the classical Athenian sense. Peisistratos would be proud.

Feeling better, slowly but surely

Well, I finally made it back to class. But I made it back to class finally!

First, the back report. My back is still screwed up, but it's getting better every day. I'm still optimistic. I'm moving okay during the day... today in particular, I was stiff all day but no significant pain. At night, however, I'm just dying.

But all of that aside, I made it back to class. I didn't spar today, and tried to take it easy. I think I might be up to rolling light on Friday. Hopefully.

I'm glad I made it back today, because technique this week is half guard reversal/sweeps. I'll try to post the particulars of the techniques on Friday, but they're definitely some moves that I can use.

Mostly, it was just good to be back at class. It felt good to get some exercise and just be moving around again. Looking forward to being 100%.

Massage Kicks *Bleep*

Anyone martial artist or athlete or, hell, anyone who moves needs to get regular massage. I waited so long before trying it. My wife nagged me for years to try it. My best friend nagged me for years, and ultimately, if she hadn't actually called and scheduled me a massage, I'd probably still not have gone. But she did, and I did and I'm here to tell you that it's the best thing since fried dough.

And I'm not just saying that to suck up to my masseuse... really! My lower back is still pretty sore, but it's nothing like it was. Plus, all of the tension that walking around for a week in pain, not sleeping well and just general bad back suckiness is gone. She really worked it out. While I'm definitely not 100% (more like 60% or so), I feel like I can go to class tomorrow and participate, even if it's at a lighter pace. I'm officially on the mend.

The bad news is that the school is closed for a break between terms, so it's going to be a MONTH before they come back. On the other hand, the good news is that the particular person who rocks the deep tissue massage will be back for one more term after the break. Yay.

So, for anyone out there who has never had a real massage, DO IT. It's totally worth every penny. It gives me something to look forward to on a regular basis, sort of a reward for working hard to improve my health and conditioning. This particular session was really good mentally for me. I've been taking a lot of pain medication lately, and anyone who knows me knows how much I hate to take pills. I feel for the first time in a while like my lower back is actually healing. Massage kicks ass.

Back Update #3

Last night really stunk. I got very little sleep and what sleep I did get was restless. I am tired today.

I bought a back brace thingy at Walgreen's last night. One of THESE doohickeys. I just put it on and it seems to be helping. It's back support, but also has magnets in it as well as a hot/cold insert. I'm doing cold now. Ahhhh...

I hate using these things, as I don't want to develop any sort of problems as a result of overuse. But I also think that if there's ever a time when I needed one of these, it's now.

I just got off the phone with my physical therapist. I had scheduled a massage several weeks ago for tonight, but it occurred to me that it might not be good for me right now. My physical therapist assured me that it would be good, so I'm waiting for the Ashmead student clinic to open up to give them a call. I want to make sure that they're okay with me being in pain. The masseuse I'm scheduled to see gives an AWESOME deep tissue massage, and I could really use that right now.

More later.

Back Update #2

Yesterday was my second trip to the physical therapist. First, she told me I didn't have to suffer in silence. I assured her that I have been whining constantly... just not to her.

My first visit resulted in a somewhat intense inflammation of my lower back. So, yesterday I went in for session number two. First thing she did was ask how things are working out. So we talked about the pain, where it is, how far it radiates... all of that. Ultimately, she said that the distance between the injury and the pain is one indicator of progress. So, in my case, since my pain is no longer shooting down my legs, but has instead confined itself to a bundle of joy in my lower back (mostly), this is a good sign, even though it's a more intense pain.

For treatment, she showed me a few positions that seemed to help the pain. I tried them last night and they seemed to help. Then ultrasound and electro-stimulation. I'll find out the technical term for the electro-stimulation.

So, then I went to class. I tried to take it easy, but it's hard to do that for me. In class, I was embarrassed. Rick would tell me a tip and I felt like I was making excuses. I hate that. At one point, I was trying to bridge up from under mount and just couldn't do it. Maybe it's time to think about taking a few days off.

Martial Arts and Promotion

I was talking about grade testing, belt promotions and the way different schools handle both of these issues the other day with some folks from my BJJ school. It also seems to be coming up frequently on several of the various MA blogs I enjoy, and I've left a couple of comments on their blogs. All of this has got me thinking, a dangerous thing indeed, about my views on the subject.

First, I studied at another school prior to training at Foster BJJ. My old school was a style that incorporates many different ranges of combat: striking, clinching, some ground work. The training, the style, the science... all of this really appealed to me in theory. But ultimately, it was the culture that drove me away.

I love BJJ. There isn't a single thing about it that I don't enjoy. I like the conditioning. I like the technical complexity. I enjoy the competitive aspects of it. But it's the culture that really appeals to me. I've said more than once over the last few days that I really like how my white belt has tape on it to denote my one stripe. I really like that the black field on my white belt is also tape... just black tape. The stripe is a small piece of athletic tape. I don't know why, but I like it this way. I like how I have a gi that has patches all over it... flair if anyone's seen Office Space, yet my rank is denoted by athletic tape.

I also really like that we don't "test" for promotion. When our instructor feels that we're ready, we get a stripe. When we're ready to advance a belt, we're given a belt. There's enough ceremony to make it special, and it is, but not so much that the ceremony seems contrived. And to me, when someone gets their blue belt, I know how much time and effort that blue belt represents. Because there is a standard, and that standard is still largely universal, I know what that blue belt represents regardless of where the school is.

In speaking with many other people training in all sorts of disciplines throughout the world, this seems to me to be unique to BJJ. In all other styles, there are schools in which the rank is significant. There are schools where people are promoted only when ready. At the same time, saying, "I have a black belt in Wing Chun (or insert another style here)," can mean anything really. There are belt factories and there are McDojos in every style. Except, it seems, BJJ.

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure that as BJJ becomes more popular, this phenomenon will occur, but it doesn't seem to have occurred yet and I like it. Also, for several reasons, active competition being among the main ones, belt inflation will not become as much of a problem as it seems to be in other arts.

I'm not opposed to testing for rank. What I didn't like about my last school was that I was pretty much expected to test for promotion every three months. I hated that. Integrity means a lot to me. Integrity between people, and the integrity of a program in which I participate. My old sensei has integrity and I would never suggest otherwise. I respect him individually very much, and this respect alone kept me at his school long after I had on some level decided it wasn't for me. The integrity of his program, however, was questionable and that ultimately played a large part in my leaving. If I didn't feel as though I was ready, I was assured by the sensei that he was the best judge of that. And that'll be $40, please. I didn't like that. I also didn't like how people were promoted (including myself) when clearly not skilled. The result is a situation where either you end up with black belts who are not skilled (often along with the saying, "Now that you've obtained black belt, you can BEGIN your training.") or so many colors, stripes and patches between white and black that no one but the sensei can figure out what comes next. "Congratulations. You are purple belt with plaid stripe... recommended." Worse case scenario, you get both.

Do I sound bitter? I hope not, but I'd be lying if I said that this sort of thing doesn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. I think that there are a lot of reasons to train in martial arts and many are unrelated to martial skill. I don't train for self defense, although I feel that being in shape and training competitively can't hurt. I train for health. I train for fun. I train for a lot of reasons, and rank means little to me. But I can also say that, because I train in a program that I enjoy and believe has integrity, in an art that I also believe has integrity, that I appreciate promotion more. I have one stripe and while I understand that a one stripe white belt in BJJ is a largely meaningless rank, I am more proud of my one stripe in BJJ than I was of my "purple belt decided" in my other school.

So, as I leave comments on other blogs, if I sound negative in any way, I hope that this explains things a little.

Back update

Last night was bad. Since starting physical therapy, I've been trying to diligently do my stretching, but man, I'm in a lot of pain. The pain is different now than it was before. Before, it was a sort of nerve twanging kind of pain, where it started as an ache that radiated down my siatic nerve. Now, it's like an inflamed kind of ache that goes from my lower back into my glutes. I am going to go back to the PT today for another session. I'll talk to her and see if this is normal. I'm not averse to the idea that things get worse before they get better... as long as they do get better.

I am not sure whether I'm going to make no-gi class tonight. If I do, I'll take it easy. I really hate missing BJJ.

On the weight front, I'm holding at 182-184 lbs. I've been here for about a week now. I gained about 4 lbs as a result of post tournament binging. Of course, binge meant a total of about 6 beers over a four day period, and a moderate amount of junk food. So, those pounds are gone, and now I'm working on breaking the 180lbs mark. Hopefully before the end of the month, unless my back just really goes wrong.

So, this stuff really works

I mean really. I mentioned a few posts back, after I lost at the tournament, that I need to work on collar chokes. So, I've been doing a little research on some lapel/collar chokes, and trying to be more aware of them for defense.

So, today in sparring I pulled guard, reached up and got a nice, deep grip on Todd's collar. I gripped underhanded, across his neck. He started to try and posture up and said, "Wow. That's pretty tight." So I reached up underneath my right arm with my left and grabbed his other lapel and just started turning my wrists and pulling my elbows out. Over the last... oh, I'd say 2 weeks, I've received several tips on locking in chokes. First from Jeff (a purple belt), to stay aware of my elbows. Sometimes I want to bring my elbows together and other times I want to widen them out.

Just last week, Coach talked about locking in a submission in general terms. His advice was to not go balls out right away; rather, he suggested slowly increasing pressure. This does several things. First, it makes the submission tighter. There's no let up where you try like hell to lock it in, then get tired and let up to readjust, giving your opponent time to recover, then try like hell again. It's a cycle that can prevent a tap. The second thing it does is makes your submission seem like it's never going to end. I'm not a spiritual guy, but I am a geek. So, as we've been working on arm triangles this week, I've been thinking about putting the choke on like a tidal wave. I like the idea that my opponent can see it coming and feels powerless to stop it. And that's how I've been trying to execute techniques. Once I get the technique secure, I just slowly try to increase the pressure, not trying to get it all at once.

So, getting back to Todd, I locked it in pretty good, and then took my time. I readjusted my closed guard, bringing it up a little higher on his shoulders to help prevent him from posturing up. Then I brought my elbows out a little at a time as I pulled him down with my legs. He got a forearm into my neck, and then started gurgling a little. So I asked, "Hey, are you going to tap?" As soon as I said that his eyes rolled back into his head. I let go and climbed out from underneath him. He was snoring, which scared me. I thought his breathing was obstructed. "Coach!!! Todd went to sleep!" I'd say that particular tidal wave only took about 5 seconds. Fortunately, he was awake and wondering what happened before we even rolled him over and sat him up. Damnedest thing I've ever been a part of, but it's good to know this stuff really works!

We learned a new arm and shoulder choke. This one also starts from side control. In this technique, I'm going to work again to isolate an arm on the near side, getting it up high on my leg. I can do this by bringing that knee up and under, or if my opponent is defending, I may be able to get it by sitting through to free it up and then back over. Either way, if I'm on his right side, I want his right arm up high on my left leg, with my knee up right on his neck/head. Then I'm going to reach over with my left arm and with my thumb pointed up reach underneath his neck as far back on the inside of my left leg as I can. I'll block his hip with my other arm so he can't shift his hips around to loosen it up. Then I'm going to drop my head to the mat, and my hips while I get a strong gable grip. This really tightens up fast. I'm getting pressure on one side with the actual ball part of his shoulder (take that, muscle boy!) and my shoulder on the other side. Squeeze nice and slow as I walk around to get the tap if I don't have it already.

I'll be looking for these from side control. These are two techniques that I believe I can work into my bag of tricks.

We had a promotion today, too! Congratulations. It's definitely well deserved.

Wow... Spiderman 3 sure sucked!

Actually I haven't seen it yet, and it's probably going to be a few days. Coach just didn't want anyone to spoil it for him before he goes, so I thought I'd be a jerk about it. (Just kidding... I'll just tap now)

Class today was really fun. We had a good warm-up with lots of sprawls. I actually enjoy those now. Twisted, I know, but I can actually do a lot of sprawls. I try to get 4 or 5 sets of five sprawls during every 2 minute round. So, today we did three rounds... that's a lot of sprawls. Did I mention how many sprawls we did?

What made class fun today was that we didn't do technique or sparring. We did a drill for a full hour where four guys (three plus Coach) started from guard. Our job was to pass guard and their job was to sweep or submit. We worked for a full 2 minutes, and if one or the other succeeded we just reset. At one point during the first two minute round, one of the guys passed guard and when he was told to get back into guard he asked seemingly without any guile, "I have to start over? Well then what's my motivation?" I couldn't help but laugh. That was funny. Really. It was... okay, maybe you had to be there. Ah... nevermind.

I felt like I did pretty well. I tried to work some of the guard passes I know, didn't get swept too often (an intentionally subjective term) and just did my best. It was a good class. I got around Trevin's guard twice and actually did what I think was a good job of defending a kimura AND not getting swept. Matt tried the same thing on me... big guys must like kimuras. Or maybe I'm just really good at leaving my arm hanging out begging to be locked up. Yeah, that sounds more plausible.

My back was sore today, probably from the physical therapy session yesterday. Felt like a softball sized ball of fire (yeah, I know there must be a better description, but it's late) right in my lower back. It's different from the pain I've been living with, so I choose to believe that this is a good sign. I'm going back to physical therapy on Tuesday. The working theory is that my hamstrings are too tight, so my homework is to stretch my hamstrings at least 4 times daily for a few minutes each time. I can do that.

Oh, and my new goal is 170 lbs for the tournament on July 14th. I think this is an achievable goal. I'm going to approach it just like I did the last one, trying to lose the weight correctly. If it doesn't come off, it's okay. I'm eating well, working out consistently and focusing on losing fat, not muscle. I'm at about 16% body fat right now at 182 lbs, and I think that getting down to 170 would put me at about 10%. So far, I'm still losing about 5 lbs per month, so I should be right on track.

Some more matches from Saturday

Here are three of Josh's matches from Saturday. He ended up winning the division. All of his matches end in submission, three from triangles. Nice job, Josh and congratulations!

Wednesday's Class plus Physical Therapy

Wednesday's class was basically a continuation of Tuesday's. We continued to work on the arm triangle. Bill really wanted to go during the warmups but he and Coach did the good cop/bad cop. It was a pretty good warmup, though. We did lots of sprawls and some sprints.

On a brief side note, I sat out of sparring. I think I pulled a muscle in my right arm at the tournament. I think it'll be fine tomorrow for Friday's class.

Today I started physical therapy for my lower back. I feel like I'm at a point now where if I really want to get better, I have to unlock my hips and get my lower back working better. I'll do whatever it takes. As I said in an earlier post, I honestly thought that if I lost weight in my gut and improved my core strength, that my back pain would magically disappear. Well, since that plan didn't work out, I'm onto plan B.

So, plan B, as I found out this morning, involves ultrasound, stretches for my hamstrings and some kind of electro-stimulation (felt like when you stick your finger in a light socket). Early theories are that my back issues are exacarbated by very tight hamstrings, and so the first step is to loosen them up. I'm stretching multiple times per day and will be seeing the physical therapist twice per week for a bit.

Back in Training

After a weekend of eating and drinking a modest amount of junk food, I'm back at training. Tuesday is no-gi, and yesterday we worked on an arm triangle.

During warmups we drilled some techniques, the most difficult for me is the takedown drill. Rick held a heavy bag and we had to hit it with a single/double leg takedown. The motion is very foreign to me. I'll have to work on it.

The arm triangle is great. There are techniques that we learn and I think, "Well, that's a long term goal." The omoplata is one of those. I'll have to screw that one up a billion times before I get it down. But this arm triangle is in line with what I tend to set up and do well. We started in side control. So, if I'm starting with my hips on my opponent's right side, I've got good control of his near side arm, and either one or both of my knees are up tight. At the very least, I've got my right knee up tight and am blocking his potential hip escape. The setup for this technique comes from the tendency to overcommit when trying to create space from the bottom by pushing up on my neck or head. So, in this case, my opponent is pushing up into my neck with his left arm and I've got really good pressure, so he's stressing out a little and overcommits that arm. I'll raise my head and at the same time push that arm through from the elbow, trapping it with my head/neck... nice and tight. Then I grab my right bicep with my left hand (which is still under his head).

At this point I'm going to cross over his body. I want to slide up and over, not hop. Hopping over is an easy shortcut that I guess a lot of guys use, but it creates space and an opportunity (albeit brief) to counter. So, now I've got him locked up and I'm on his left side. I need to keep my knees down, pull my elbows in (thanks Jeff for that tip), and walk my knees away from him to tighten up the choke. Some finishing keys are to keep my hips facing down. If I turn one way or the other, it actually creates space, loosening up the choke and turning it into more of a neck crank.

Sparring was fun. This was my second no-gi class, so it was something new and different.

Trevin's matches from Saturday on YouTube

Trevin said he didn't mind having his matches on YouTube, so if anyone wants to see how he did (very well), then here you go:

Match 1: Won with an Americana.



Match 2: Won with a straight leg lock (couldn't see it, but he promises to maneuver to a more camera friendly angle next time).