A huge celebration came upon us at the gym when nine people were promoted on Apr
1 at the seminar: two white belts, three blue, two purple, one brown, and one
black, all my training partners. I wish I were there to congratulate them and
especially Jon, who earned his blackbelt after 11 years of dedication! He has
always been friendly, respectful, and encouraging to me. On the mat, he choked
me many times with triangles or from the back. Outside, he is a fireman and one
of the guys with abs, a totally cool dude.
Lessons on takedowns and counters from Pablo impressed me because I felt ready
and could see myself executing them. When my opponent grabs either my collar or
the back of my neck, I'll break the grip and keep the arm (two-on-one). Standing
partly behind him, I can try to shove him to the ground. If he defends by
trying to pull his arm out, I'll let go and as his lower body is exposed, shoot
in for a double or single.
Otherwise, I'll try to pull his hand to the ground and when he is not defending,
pick his ankle for a single. When he defends by pushing my head away with his
free hand, I'll release or push up his arm and lower level for a double. Pablo
taught another takedown from the Russian tie position that I liked very much:
release the tie with my hands grabbing his head and elbow, lean into my
opponent, and spin for a scarf-hold on the ground.
It was when big Ed, our super-heavyweight champ, taught the push-and-pull choke
(he called it by another name) that I realized that the smaller guy does have
his advantages. It is easy for big guys to leave space for the small guy to move
into. Being small is one thing; being small and dazed not knowing what to do is
quite another. The important thing is to recognize every situation. Once I have
that knowledge and training, I won't be afraid of bigger guys.
Professor Weiqi has been helpful as ever. He showed again the guillotine and
added the handgun variation. He told me that once I knew the basics I should try
to look one step ahead in my game. For example, when he defended my cross-collar
choke from guard, instead of giving up everything and starting from scratch, I
could keep the collar grip and transition to the arm-wrap choke and, if that
fails, the straight armlock, etc. He taught me another defense technique at the
turtle bottom, i.e., to have a two-on-one on my opponent's arm. I was ready for
his teachings and applied them almost right away.
Chris my Canadian alumnus taught me the knee-bar from half-guard. Every time he
got an under-hook of his opponent's top leg in z-guard, he would try the knee-bar.
This was easy and I should be able to execute, especially without a gi.
My confidence grew in Rickson's idea to just flow. As I keep training five days
a week, my moves become smoother. My defense, escapes, takedowns, and even
attacks, have all improved.
My hands suffer much less as I have loosened grips. My left ear, however, has
grown a bulge at the upper edge from constant scraping. So far I have failed to
drain it. The elbow escape stood out as a possible cause where I had the habit
of turning to my left, ear to the mat. It burned, especially after a gi-session.
To prevent a full-blown calliflower, I ordered grappling head gear.
Great news is that Tim has returned to Sat's class, out of his own volition.
He's bigger, stronger, and more patient than six months ago and is willing to
drill with me. He seemed to start to see the moves in a different light. I was
happy to show him my killer attacks and try his of-the-cuff ideas. We have had
such fun.
