Snake!!

Anaconda to be exact. That's what we worked on last night: The Anaconda Choke. Fabio joked that, back in Brazil, no one called it the Anaconda Choke. They just called it a choke. Here, everyone has to have a name for everything. ;)

In the last several weeks, I've seen some improvement in my ability to finish chokes, whether it be triangles, gi-chokes or head and arm chokes. I was catching them before, but not really able to get the tap. It was a triangle drill that Fabio made us work one night that made the concept click for me and made me realize where the major problems were in my techniques.

Before, I was squeezing and pulling a lot to finish my chokes. I remember thinking that there must be something wrong with my technique because, not only was I not finishing chokes, but I was wearing my muscles out while trying to do them. I was trying to use strength because my technique was defunct.

Then Fabio taught us how to quickly finish a triangle. You start with having the person in your closed triangle. You lift your hips, tightening your knees together and cinching up the triangle, then you come down keeping your knees tightened. You go up again, your knees coming even tighter. You do this rapidly, as many times as you need to, cinching up the triangle until the person taps. It's not about squeezing hard, it's about closing space. It looks funny, but most people ended up tapping within a few seconds or passing out.

And it requires no strength!

The key thing that stuck with me was the idea of shrinking everything in on the person. It wasn't so much about pulling or squeezing. It was about closing all the space. To do that, you have to relax and kind of form yourself around the person's body, tightening everything as you do, kind of like a constrictor snake does. As usual, I had been shown all of this before. But during that drill I finally understood what it felt like in application.

I realized that chokes are not just about my arms or my legs. They're about using my whole body and about relaxing and shrinking the space around the arteries. So, here are a couple of rules of thumb that I am trying to keep in mind with chokes:

1. Relax. I can't close the space adequately if I'm tense.

2. If I can see the choke, chances are I'm not in close enough. Shrink in with my whole body, tightening all the space with my knees or my elbows, depending on which choke it is.

3. Don't give up on a choke too soon. The goal is to be tight from the start, but don't despair if I don't get in tight enough at first. Keep cinching it up, staying relaxed and moving with the person wherever they roll.

Breakthrough!!

I'm packing to leave for a trip to Atlanta for a wedding, so this is going to be short. I think.

I'm on one of those rare highs where I feel like things are working. A new piece of the puzzle fell into place--or a couple of new pieces--and it's like a whole new ball game. That's one of the great things about BJJ. I start to think I'm familiar with the game, then I realize something or learn a new set of moves that makes me see BJJ in a completely new light. Suddenly I'm excited all over again like I was in the beginning.

The breakthrough this time was learning to relax more. For a while I had been trying to figure out how to deal with big guys or muscly guys and I feel like I've made a little bit of headway. Come to find out, the solution to my problem is the concept that is at the core of Jiu-jitsu. He pushes, you pull. He tries to make you go one way, you go that way, but use it to your advantage. Suddenly I get it. Not just in concept. I can feel it more now when I'm rolling.

Go figure. What my instructors have been trying to tell me this whole time was the answer to my current BJJ woes.

Before, I was tensing up out of fear. I didn't want to move because I thought I would get my guard passed and then get smashed or be in danger of having one of my limbs removed. Fabio and Ben--and more than a few of the higher belts--kept telling me to relax and trust my instincts.

So I started trying to do that. I tried to just go with them. When they pushed, I tried to roll inverted or come around the side or bring them over top of me. When they pulled, I tried to use that backwards motion to come on top, or come around the side. I tried to keep a look-out for stray limbs or an exposed neck and I tried not to squeeze or tense up. To stay relaxed, but tight.

At first, the worst happened. I got my guard passed. Got submitted. But then something clicked. Can't explain exactly what it was, but all of the sudden, I'm not as scared of big guys or musclers anymore. Now, people who throw their weight around are starting to be easier to move against in some ways. They have more force behind their movements and can't recover as quickly. In the same way, I'm learning that if someone is locking me up they are using up their energy and limiting their own movement. What I have to do is find a space and start weaseling through it. They can't hold on forever. And eventually, I worm my way out enough to where they have to move and then I can use that new space to get out of dodge.

I'm gushing right now. And I'm probably not being very coherent. So much for the short post! I can't really figure out how to explain what the change is. But I'm just going to enjoy this little mountain-top experience while it lasts. I know I'll probably get my head yanked down out of the clouds right into a triangle before I know it. Yay for good days on the mat! :)

I don't really have a plan. Part Two

It was so late (for me) last night when I posted that blog that I took some short cuts. I wanted to share more about what Fabio and Ben had to say about reactionary grappling vs having a plan.

Typical to my over-analytical nature, I had come to them because I was concerned that I wasn't "planning" enough in my grappling. I was also curious about the fact that I almost never get techniques the way we set them up in drills. The only time that happens is when it's someone relatively new that I'm rolling with. More often, I'll be rolling and realize I'm at the "half-way" point or at the last few steps of a certain move and I'll jump on it and try to see it the rest of the way through. I wanted to know if that was alright. Should I be setting things up more? Should I go in with an agenda and try to execute it?

In short, their answer was no. Here are the reasons they explained to me:

1.) Plans go out the window because people are unpredictable. So much in BJJ requires using the other person's weight and momentum against them. They push, I pull. They resist, I go another way. It's very difficult to plan in a sport like this because, even if you have a general idea of how a person rolls, they can switch it up at any time. And forcing a technique to happen when you should really move on to something else is not what BJJ is all about.

2.) Your body will naturally go to the things you're good at. I am more prone to working chokes, armbars and triangles from guard. So, unless I am actively thinking about working on something else, that is where I end up. It's not that I plan it, it's just where my reactions take me during the roll.

3.) I do think that it is important to challenge yourself and to work new things into your game, but Fabio said each person's game evolves naturally over time. When you drill something over and over again, it becomes muscle memory. Then, when the situation presents itself in a grapple, you react without even thinking about it. When a new piece of the overall puzzle is becoming a part of your game, you might only get a few steps into the move and then fumble around trying to remember what to do from there. But that is a problem resolved only with more drilling, more grappling and time.

4.) One thing both Fabio and Ben were adamant about was that, if you build your game on trying to study your opponent and coming up with a game plan specifically tailored to beating them, you will end up pigeon-holing yourself. Sure, you might be able to find a hole in someone's game by watching them, and catch them in a tournament. But you will also run into people who are diverse and will switch their game up mid-grapple. Where will you be then? It's better to play your own game and to work diligently in training to be diverse and be able to handle whatever type of opponent comes your way.

So, all of this is aptly summed up by what Ben would probably in response to my worries about not planning enough: Just come in and do your thing. Stop worrying so much.

Happy rolling! :)

I don't really have a plan.

Had a talk with Faibo and Ben about rolling with a plan/agenda vs rolling in a reactionary way. I would describe my grappling style as reactionary. I don't really plan things. I see things and go for them, or I try to move someone into a position that would be more advantageous for me. I take what comes to me and try to use it to gain dominance or even catch a submission.

Guard is a big part of my game for that reason. I can attack, control and defend from my guard, all the while preventing them from really getting a dominant position. But I don't plan out how I will work my guard and say, "First , I'll get them in closed guard, then I'll fall back to spider guard and then half guard."
I don't really think while I grapple, but it I did, it would be something like, "Ok, he's going to break my guard, I'm going to set up for spider guard defense and be looking sweeps and possible triangles, armbars or omaplatas."

What actually happens when I'm in one of those good rolls is that I don't think. They come at me, I react, try to secure a position. They move, I try to use the space they make. Oh, there's a choke there. Go for it. Can't finish it so try to turn it into a bluff for a sweep. That's what usually happens. I have no plan.
I try something, it doesn't work, I try something else, look for space, look for a way to isolate a limb, to go for a choke. There's no structure there.

Should there be? I'm wondering...

A lot of people I've talked to in the blogosphere like to have game plans. They know what they want to accomplish in a grapple. One I commonly here is takedown, pass, mount and choke. That is the game plan. Or get the take down, establish side control, isolate a limb and armbar.

I don't play that way, but some people do with some success, I would guess. To be honest, I don't really know. Do any of you out there grapple by a game plan? Do you go into it with a plan of attack? How often do those plans play out in grapples the way you planned them?

Ok. You were right.

On Tuesday afternoon we worked a sweep that is set up when someone is passing your spider guard. You have one arm hooked with your foot and, as they pass, you triangle that arm with your other leg. Then, with the same leg you originally used to hook, you point your knee out, grip the fabric at one of their knees or ankles and lift, bringing them over. Sweepity sweep.

Nopity nope.

I had been drilling this sweep with a friend of mine, Erica, and we were doing ok with it. But then we decided to try it with "Salsa John", a solid, technical blue belt who is also Erica's boyfriend, to see if we were doing it right. I wasn't. I couldn't sweep him.

I thought I knew what the problem was. I was grabbing the wrong leg when it came time to lift the body weight and go over. I could do it with one leg, not the other. But even with the "correct leg" it was hard for me to bring him over and that was with him giving only minimal resistance. Had we been in a live grapple with him really trying, he wouldn't have gone anywhere.

"I think you could use either leg," he told me.

"No, I don't think so," I said, "Because I can't get you to go over at all when I use the other leg."

"I don't think it's that. I think you're timing is off. You have to do it when I go to pass your guard," he told me.

"Ok, I'll try it," I told him. I kind of expected the "other leg theory" not to work. I was thinking to myself, "It might work for you because you are stronger than me."

So I set it up and waited for him to pass my guard. As he went, the planets aligned and I went for it just at the right time. Sweepity sweep!! With the "wrong" leg.
Ok. So he was right. It could be done with either leg. And not because he was stronger than me. My timing was off.

Here's what I'm taking away from my recent experiences. I know very well that, since I'm small, my technique has to be "more correct" for something to work than it would for a larger, stronger guy. Clearly, everyone wants to have good technique. But I have to have it, or else nothing happens and I get smashed.

But ALSO, I have to have correct timing. One thing that prevents a lot of my sweeps from working is hesitation. I know the sweep, but I hesitate, trying to think about exactly the right way to do the technique. By the time I'm trying to execute, the guy has his base back already and we're in a no-fly zone.

I'm trying to learn to "feel" the other person's weight more. And to be a little more instinctual. I have to get out of my own head, a little bit. I'm not saying I'm going to let technique fly out the window. But I need to be less wrapped up in doing things perfectly right and just keep moving. We'll see how it goes.

Working It Out

Had a private lesson with Ben today and asked him about a few specific things that are road blocks for me right now.

Firstly, I am STILL trying to move my opponent instead of moving myself. I do this especially with my arms and more so when I am panicked or locked up. What I need to do is relax and use my legs and arms as blocks or points of leverage. Because I've been having so much trouble when people lock me up, Ben's wife, Cindy, would lock me up either in side control or top half-guard and I had to work out. Ben pointed out that I'm putting my knee too far across the belly in bottom half-guard and that I'm pushing with my leg too much instead of using it as a block and a way to move my torso back. Also, I am pulling up in the back of the gi too much when I'm trying to get out of side control or half-guard. Again, trying to move the person instead of moving myself.

I also need to be more patient. When I've got someone locking me up, I need to relax and try different things to get out, sure. But if they are bent on sitting there and gripping the crap out of me, I can always wait for them to move and let them waste all that energy sitting there squeezing me. Of course, this would not be a good strategy if I'm down by points in the last 30 seconds of a tournament grapple, but in class, what's it going to hurt? Eventually, they'll get bored and move and then I can take advantage of whatever space they make.

Another thing that has been pointed out to me is that I am still approaching a lot of techniques in "steps". I hesitate before doing things and then, when I do them, it's step one, step two, step three instead of doing the move fluidly and all together. I'm still having to think about what I do before I do it. Unfortunately, this is something that I can only fix over time. Some of it is that I need to just trust my instincts and what I've learned already. But I also have to let the new stuff I learn every week become muscle memory before I can just do it without thinking. And that takes time. Working on it.

More than anything, today, I just enjoyed being on the mat. Since Summerlin closed, I've been feeling like my week is incomplete. But that just makes the classes I do get to go to that much more enjoyable to me. I'm hungry for it and I can't get enough.

Things I Learned Last Night at Jits

1. Facebook will eventually become self-aware and take over the world. Seriously. It already knows all our secrets. It's only a matter of time.

2. Purple belts and brown belts can make whatever jokes they want because no one can do anything to stop them (lol!).

3. Women are not allowed to talk in conversations unless they are called upon. And it is our fault that the Adam ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.

Ok, none of those were serious. Well, maybe the Facebook thing. But I DID actually learn some things at last night's class.

We worked a roll-out from butterfly guard that I really like. You're holding your opponent's sleeves and then you pull one sleeve down, tucking it under your knee. You cross that same leg under your other leg, hooking your opponent's opposite knee with your foot. Then, you roll inverted toward your opponent's trapped arm, using your feet hooks to help you come around. You end up either hugging their side or back, with both of their arms captured. The important thing when doing the inverted roll is to move your head out of the way. Otherwise, you won't be able to go all the way around. I have no idea if that was a coherent explanation. Not very good at explaining moves.

I have been having a dry spell lately with rolling. I'm either unable or unwilling to finish submissions. Part of that is because I roll with one of two extremes: Very new girls who I don't want to submit or experienced blues, purples and browns who mock my feeble attempts at submission. ;) That's not entirely true. There are some people "at my level" who I roll with, but I haven't been catching them either. I go for things, but rarely finish.

Also, I have noticed that there are some major bad habits with a few of my submissions that I need to fix. I keep forgetting to squeeze my knees in armbars and triangles. I know. BJJ 101. Don't kill me, Ben. I don't know why I've gotten into that bad habit, but I'm working toward correcting that.

Another thing I need to work on is something one of the purple belts, Brian Morgan (a.k.a. "PP" :) ) said to me last night after our roll. I go for moves 100% when I'm on defense, but then when I move to offense, I hesitate for a second before moving between positions. He said I need to trust my instincts more and just go for it. I've noticed the same thing. Part of it is me being unsure of what to do. I'm thinking to much. As Brian said, I need to let my offense be a little more reactionary. Trust what I've learned and go for it.

Will do, Mr. Morgan. Will do.

Lastly, I am debating about whether or not to compete in the Florida State BJJ Championship coming up on the 22nd. I have to decide by the 19th because that's the last day to register. Here's my conundrum. I am a baby blue. I will get creamed. This is pretty much a given. BUT I always learn a lot in competitions and I haven't competed since last summer. I know a lot of you die-hard competitors will say, "Just go for fun." But I fail at the "go for fun" mentality. I get all freaked out and go nuts trying to "prepare". Then I stress about making weight and about take-downs and about losing in my first match. I usually don't relax until the tournament is over. This time I haven't done any of my normal obsessive-compulsive preparations. And I really don't have the time left to be as anal retentive as I normally would be.

And that might be all the more reason why I should compete. Just go in. See where I'm at. No pressure. (Riiiiight.)

I dunno. Mulling it all over. That's all for now. I'm going to go scare myself to death by watching Sci-Trek episode about killer contagions. OMG MRSA!!!!