Natural(ly clumsy)

This weekend my friends invited me over to play Quelf. Things were going swimmingly during one of my turns as I pranced around on an imaginary ostrich and monologued. Then I tripped over a cushion on the floor and fell face-first into the couch. I swear, if I didn’t study martial arts, I’d be a hopeless klutz instead of a clumsy ninja.

Class tonight went well, as far as I remember. I know I’m blanking on some techniques but I’m going to go ahead and start writing in the hope that it’ll all come back to me.

During the half-hour fundamentals class, we went over three escapes from side control, one of which I’d actually learned during my first class but forgot to blog. We didn’t spend a lot of time on them so I don’t have that many details to write. I worked with Cody, a smaller guy (yay!). He didn’t have a gi, which caused a few delays or adjustments, so we didn’t get in as many reps as I’d have liked. (Maybe that’s why I’m having trouble remembering what happened today.)

Escape from side control 1
Control uke’s hip with one hand, getting your elbow under his ribs. Release your other hand’s grip from uke’s shoulder/back and slide it under his near arm. Bridge up briefly to create space; align arms parallel to each other and perpendicular to uke. Shrimp out, get your near leg into his stomach, and transition into guard.

Escape from side control 2
Same beginning, except this time you slide your arm under uke’s far arm and do…something. Shrimp out, get your near knee under uke’s leg and use your other foot to trap uke’s foot. I don’t remember if we swept uke from this point or what.

We didn’t get a chance to drill the third one which involved flipping over onto your belly or some such.

During main class, we learned several escapes and sweeps, some of which I can’t remember right now. Argh.

Upa
You’re in uke’s mount. He gives you an arm, sliding it under your head; you trap it with your elbow (grabbing your own neck) while simultaneously trapping uke’s same-side leg with yours. Use the other arm to press against uke’s bicep as you bridge and twist. I think we rolled over into their guard.

Scissor sweep from guard
Uke’s in your guard. Grab uke’s right sleeve (with your knuckles pointing at ceiling) with your left hand. Drop your feet; reach up and grab collar near back of uke’s neck. Shrimp out to your right, keeping your left leg up on uke’s leg to prevent them from stepping over. Bring your right knee across uke’s stomach and hook their hip with your foot. Your left leg goes flat on floor, with uke’s knee behind yours. Scissor your legs and pull uke’s collar.

Variation: if uke starts to stand up in the middle of the technique, keep your knee in uke’s stomach, pull your foot back and under their standing knee. Use more of an upward motion when scissoring.

Sit-up sweep from guard
Drop your feet; post up on one arm and use the other one to trap uke’s opposite shoulder (same side you’re posting up). Do…something with your legs and sweep.

We rolled for maybe ten minutes before no-gi. Worked with one guy whose name I don’t remember, Jonathan, and another guy (think his name’s Chris). All of them were patient with me, walking me through techniques and giving me lots of tips, of which I can only remember “turn into someone who’s running circles around you in north-south.”

After my roll with Jonathan, he repeated that “natural jujitsu” comment he’d said during my first class. Chris, who’d been watching, agreed. I wanted to ask what exactly he meant but didn’t want to look like I was fishing for compliments. I think I try to control my partner’s legs a lot—half-guard, I guess—so maybe that’s what he meant.

The last 15 or 20 minutes on Mondays and Tuesdays are no-gi. We did a clinch drill. Jonathan pointed out the opening for knee strikes for self-defense and MMA (and seemed to think that I would enjoy beating on anyone who attacked me, which is the sort of the thing my last two senseis always said for some reason… ). Then we did a few takedowns we’d gone over last week.

Gable grip takedown?
From the clinch, push on uke’s elbow. When he resists, duck that hand and your head under uke’s arm, staying tight to him, and grab him (gable grip). Pivot on your back leg and take down, staying tight to uke. Switch into scarf hold and choke (a judo choke, basically).

Double-leg takedown
Leading leg goes to the ground, other leg steps out in front, clasp hands around uke’s knees (above the knees?), and take down.

Man, I know we learned more than that today. Having a hard time remembering all the techniques we learned and what happened in each roll. At my previous two schools, we always had time to consult or write in our notebooks. Maybe after my “vocabulary” of techniques is built up I’ll remember more…?

Question for fellow bloggers
BJJ bloggers, do you ever blank out on what was taught in class when you sit down to write about it? If you’ve been studying/writing about BJJ for a while, do you find it easier to remember and analyze now?