Wednesday BJJ Class 2/20/08

The class was HUGE. There were easily over 25 people at class... so many that our usual jog around the mats was cut short. Too many people to work up any kind of sweat. So we did jumping jacks, pushups and crunches starting with 10 of each, working down to 1 and then back up to 5. Got the blood pumping, although the close proximity of my training partners made getting smacked or kicked a real possibility. Extreme Calisthenics. You heard it here first. We're going to make it even more fun next time by incorporating boxing gloves, so that when we do our jumping jacks, we're also sparring.
For the last several days we have drilled regaining bottom side control. Today, we switched positions and drilled a three move combination from side control: Americana to Straight Arm Lock to Kimura. As always, I picked up some details I had either forgotten or just completely missed out on in past classes.  

I'll start from a good control position in Side Mount/Side Control, once again using the picture I borrowed last week.  The only difference being that the guy on the bottom will have his arm under my head, elbow in tight:

Americana from Side Control:

1. Bring left arm to trap head between knee and elbow.
2. Reach around with Right Arm and trap bicep.
3. Roll Right Shoulder forward until I have enough room to sneak my hand in and get the figure four grip.
4. I use my head if necessary to help me drive the arm flat to ground.
5. * Turn hands  to straighten out wrists, like the throttle of a motorcycle.  
6. Move opponent's elbow along a straight line parallel to his body (not letting his elbow come up off the ground... a common mistake).

If my opponent straightens out his arm, I'll transition to a Straight Armlock:

1. I'll keep my grips the same, but just move with his arm.
2. Roll arm and use the figure four grip to lever the arm back against the elbow joint.

And if my opponent manages to turn his arm the other way, move to a Kimura:

1. Get the figure four grip with opposite arms, controlling wrist with my right hand and snaking my left underneath.
2. Sit through toward my opponent's head.
3. Keeping my chest close to his chest (keeping him from sitting up), create pressure on the shoulder and elbow by turning my shoulders.   Coach put it in simplest terms.  Try and look over my right shoulder without turning my head.  This keeps my chest tight and creates the right kind of pressure on my opponent's joints.

Sparring was a little mild.  With so many people on the mats, I only got a couple of matches.  Fun, though.  I rolled with big Matt, and did well.   Felt strong.