Well, not always, but tonight was fun. I'm a little banged up, but I've missed too many classes as it is. My elbow is sore, but not very sore and my hip is holding up well. I even did some leg raises in warm-ups, although I still abstained from the rolls to protect my back. Even without the rolls, I got a good workout. Rick was in a mood, I guess. :) We jogged for a short while to get warmed up and then started duck walking and lunging our hearts out. Most of us are still nursing sore thighs from Bill's workouts Sunday and Wednesday, but I didn't find it too bad. We did some alligator crawls, some hip escapes... pretty normal stuff. Then we did the rolls (I did some squats, just to keep the blood flowing). We did a lot of abs today, which I always like, and some supermans, too. The superman exercise is normally a pretty easy one for me, but once again, I'm finding that my hip is a real impediment. Oh well. Won't be long now. It feels so much better than it did even a week ago.
For technique, three of the purple belts shared some of their favorites from side control. Rick started us off by showing us again the correct way to lock in an Americana. I've detailed this technique in
other posts, but did get a detail that I'd since forgotten: straighten the wrists forward, like you're revving a motorcycle. That really helps to tighten up the submission.
Another thing I picked up from this was why it's so important not to wrap your thumb. If someone's working for an Americana on my right arm and they wrap their thumb, I have a chance at a wristlock. If I can reach across with my left arm and bend their wrist back, they won't be able to let go if their thumb is tucked underneath. Easy submission.
We also learned from another one of the purple belts a really cool transition from side control to an armbar or an Americana. The transition is done by first getting into side control. This transition is for when you're working side control and your opponent hides his arm around your head. This is a mistake, and coach has told us not to do this. We're taught when under side control to create space by keeping your arms in and the blade of your forearm under the chin of your opponent. But this isn't always possible and sometimes people make mistakes. So, if I'm working for an Americana or a Kimura on my opponent's right arm and he tries to hide it around my shoulder and up on my back, I can transition to a better position by sitting out, taking my right arm and using it to pull my opponent's head back toward me so that I can then bring my right leg over his head. I'm going to pull up on his right shoulder a little bit so I can wedge his head between my thigh and ankle. This pretty much pins him in there and leaves his arm just waiting for whatever I might want to do. If it's bent, there's an easy Americana. If it's straight, I can easily pivot right around for an armbar.
The third technique was really useful, too. It was also a simple alternative for when you're working to lock in an Americana or Kimura but your opponent is strong and doesn't want to bend his arm. In this one, you simple hop across, putting your knees on either side of his shoulder. Once again, if I'm working against his right arm but he's too strong and I can't bend his arm either direction, I'll hop across, with my right ankle contouring his neck pinning his head and my left leg helping to pin his shoulders. I'll then use the arm I have under his that I was trying to use in the armlock as a fulcrum for a straight armbar. Sneaky and relatively easy.
Sparring was good. I worked against a blue belt. He was nursing a shoulder, so I worked mostly on passing guard. I tried to keep good posture and just do my thing. It went okay. My second match was against another white belt. I pulled guard, kept busy, got a couple of scissor sweeps and an Americana. I was working to get out of his half guard, but couldn't do it. If I had made it into side control, I would've tried one of the new techniques. I REALLY want to try that hopping over straight armbar.
All in all, a very fun class. I managed to make it out without angering my elbow or my hip. My only injury today was an incidental knee to the jaw. It's a little sore, but not too bad.
For technique, three of the purple belts shared some of their favorites from side control. Rick started us off by showing us again the correct way to lock in an Americana. I've detailed this technique in other posts, but did get a detail that I'd since forgotten: straighten the wrists forward, like you're revving a motorcycle. That really helps to tighten up the submission.
Another thing I picked up from this was why it's so important not to wrap your thumb. If someone's working for an Americana on my right arm and they wrap their thumb, I have a chance at a wristlock. If I can reach across with my left arm and bend their wrist back, they won't be able to let go if their thumb is tucked underneath. Easy submission.
We also learned from another one of the purple belts a really cool transition from side control to an armbar or an Americana. The transition is done by first getting into side control. This transition is for when you're working side control and your opponent hides his arm around your head. This is a mistake, and coach has told us not to do this. We're taught when under side control to create space by keeping your arms in and the blade of your forearm under the chin of your opponent. But this isn't always possible and sometimes people make mistakes. So, if I'm working for an Americana or a Kimura on my opponent's right arm and he tries to hide it around my shoulder and up on my back, I can transition to a better position by sitting out, taking my right arm and using it to pull my opponent's head back toward me so that I can then bring my right leg over his head. I'm going to pull up on his right shoulder a little bit so I can wedge his head between my thigh and ankle. This pretty much pins him in there and leaves his arm just waiting for whatever I might want to do. If it's bent, there's an easy Americana. If it's straight, I can easily pivot right around for an armbar.
The third technique was really useful, too. It was also a simple alternative for when you're working to lock in an Americana or Kimura but your opponent is strong and doesn't want to bend his arm. In this one, you simple hop across, putting your knees on either side of his shoulder. Once again, if I'm working against his right arm but he's too strong and I can't bend his arm either direction, I'll hop across, with my right ankle contouring his neck pinning his head and my left leg helping to pin his shoulders. I'll then use the arm I have under his that I was trying to use in the armlock as a fulcrum for a straight armbar. Sneaky and relatively easy.
Sparring was good. I worked against a blue belt. He was nursing a shoulder, so I worked mostly on passing guard. I tried to keep good posture and just do my thing. It went okay. My second match was against another white belt. I pulled guard, kept busy, got a couple of scissor sweeps and an Americana. I was working to get out of his half guard, but couldn't do it. If I had made it into side control, I would've tried one of the new techniques. I REALLY want to try that hopping over straight armbar.
All in all, a very fun class. I managed to make it out without angering my elbow or my hip. My only injury today was an incidental knee to the jaw. It's a little sore, but not too bad.