north-south kimura attempts with a technique learned from Henry's videos. I later
told them what I did and they all had an ah-ha moment. I did Iminari first on
Mike the cop and finished him with double-trouble and second on the Captain Mike
but he crowded me and I couldn't finish him.
May 5 Machine showed the single-leg X guard including its entry and its main
sweeps: push the knee to make them sit back or hook their hip to make them step
forward. Keep their ankles and they'd fall. When they peel off the foot on the
hip, proactively stump it on the ground and bridge and the hook behind their
butt would make them fall foward and they have to base with their hands.
He also briefly talked about the main defense: i.e., to grab the bottom guy's
lapel and crowd them. Keep close and exert pressure.
May 6 Darren showed half-guard top attacks on the knee-shield leg. First there
was the classic toe-hold. 2nd, under-hook the leg, the other hand pushes his top
shoulder to flatten the guy and slice free knee across, put his foot to my left
ear, hold his heel with my right hand, do a rear-naked-choke arm-fold with my
left arm, pinch for the knee bar.
3rd, heel hook and 4th straight ankle lock with rip all start with inserting my
free foot as a hook on this bottom leg. Once that's done, I'd simply fall back
and stump my trapped leg to his stomach. If I had the underhook, I'd go for the
heel hook. If I had the overhook, I'd go for the straight footlock with the rip
and make it more effective by popping up my upperbody with the elbow and look
away with the overhook lock on his ankle.
May 8 Darren showed more details starting from the single-leg x. When they peel
off the foot from the hip, as an alternative to stumping that foot and bridging,
I could transition to x-guard, extend my legs to make them side-step, and drop
the bottom leg to their far-side heel and sweep. It was very fast and as they
fall backward, I should clear my bottom leg, and with the other leg now pinning
their bottom leg down, use the momentum to come up to his side.
I learned from Brian quickly lifting the trapped leg and swinging the lower leg
inward to clear their bottom hook and then x-guard. Right away, Darren showed
the bottom guy could follow the swing and end up sweeping him anyway.
Victor, the 60-year-old blackbelt, had good pressure and did a fast north-south
kimura on me before I could swing my lower body, or I was too late. I tried
Darren's half-guard foot attack with the overhook on both Victor and Jack the
brown belt. Victor was saved by the bell and Jack rolled out as I transitioned
to heel hook.
May 13 Darren showed how to do the no-gi arm-drag in my favorite takedown (need
to have a name). He stepped aside much more than I did, streesed the weightless
blocking leg, and also caught the opponent's leg so that even if the opponent
countered and didn't fall, he still got the single leg.
Darren showed his version fireman's carry, perfect for no-gi takedown, and I
fell in love right away. After a few reps with Andreas, I could do it really
well: first control a wrist (say the right) with my left hand, with or without a
right-hand collar tie, then change level to his right side and catch his right
leg with my right arm. At this point, his left arm and upper body should drape
over my back and I would have my left knee up. I should straighten my left knee
and fall to my left hip, taking him over. (Better explain the move well before
drilling with a partner, in case he doesn't know which way to fall.)
We worked on the figure 4 entry from reverse x. First, enter reverse x from, say
single-leg x. Then bend his trapped knee to make him post with his hands. (If
you are in x, this is the time to switch to reverse x.) Next, elevate him with
my legs and enter figure 4.
If he counter by sliding his leg during the transition, I can figure-4 his calf,
spread my knees apart, hug him, and brige, called a "bear-trap." Depending on his
moves, we might end wih a "ham sandwich."
May 15 Kyssa taught ways to deal with x-guard: back-step, and lapel grip with
armbar. I learned more about the double-leg takedown, however. Details I had
always missed became salient:
- The head should be at their hip and no higher (harder for them to grab),
- Hands should cup behind their knees and no higher, and
- Squeeze the side of the head and the outside shoulder to prevent grabbing.
Andreas had improved, Ayup told me he ran a marathon back in Colorado, and
Jose's going to propose to his girlfriend. Eric the brown belt told me he lived
nearby and wouldn't take a job in SF for the commute. "I know who I am," he
said.
In sparring, I kept working on my guard.
