I realized that I didn't write up these two classes. We worked on the same techniques: passing the half guard.
I did get a lot of sparring in, particularly on Tuesday. It was a small class, and so I got four matches with a wide range of skill levels. Wednesday I had a chance to roll with Big Rick, one of our purple belts and just an all around big guy. He's up around the 300 lbs range.
Funniest part was when, after I basically resigned myself to 5 minutes of defense and trying not to get squished, I pulled guard and couldn't even close my guard. So, I got a good grip on his lapel with my right hand, controlled his right arm and brought my right knee in to try a basic scissor sweep. He said, "You can't even close your guard, and you think you're going to be able to sweep me?" I laughed... nervously, "Haha... yeah." Shortly after that, as I tried to break down his posture he passed my guard.
So, you can probably guess how I did... a 185 lbs white belt against a 300 lbs purple belt. I worked to stay up on my side, tried to keep my arms in, keep some space and keep breathing. I was only partially successful, although I felt a lot better than the last time we sparred a few months ago.
Next class will likely be Sunday.
I did get a lot of sparring in, particularly on Tuesday. It was a small class, and so I got four matches with a wide range of skill levels. Wednesday I had a chance to roll with Big Rick, one of our purple belts and just an all around big guy. He's up around the 300 lbs range.
Funniest part was when, after I basically resigned myself to 5 minutes of defense and trying not to get squished, I pulled guard and couldn't even close my guard. So, I got a good grip on his lapel with my right hand, controlled his right arm and brought my right knee in to try a basic scissor sweep. He said, "You can't even close your guard, and you think you're going to be able to sweep me?" I laughed... nervously, "Haha... yeah." Shortly after that, as I tried to break down his posture he passed my guard.
So, you can probably guess how I did... a 185 lbs white belt against a 300 lbs purple belt. I worked to stay up on my side, tried to keep my arms in, keep some space and keep breathing. I was only partially successful, although I felt a lot better than the last time we sparred a few months ago.
Next class will likely be Sunday.