top game???

Tonight, we had a medium sized class. We went straight to rolling, so it was a bit like open mat last night. The first couple of rounds we did with the gi, then we went to no gi.

First up, I had the big guy who manhandled me last week ;-) . Well, he sort of did again, using all his strength, he ended in mount and put on a figure four. As it was technically correct, I didn't struggle and tapped to it fast. Then we went again. He pulled guard this time. Did a pretty good job of breaking my posture, but no luck sweeping for him. Eventually I passed his guard but did something dumb and tripped myself so he got my back. Yes, I got out of that, went to turtle, then he had sidemount. I managed to get an arm under his leg and came out at the back. Probably not an elegant looking move, but I ended up on top. I think I got as far as sidemount when he just sat up and tipped me over. I did manage to threaten his arm but the guy has arms of iron, so no cigar. Eventually, we ended up with me in his guard again. He was mucking around with my arms, trying to pull me down. but nothing was happening. So I asked what he wanted to do and he said he wanted to sweep. I said that wouldn't work from there because my knees were splayed out for good base, and I could get an arm out to brace if I needed to. So I showed him the sweep I've been working on and we repeated that a couple of times so he could get the feel. And we left it at that.

I had one brief roll with another white belt guy, my level. He usually gets me because he has heavy, tight control. He's related to anacondas, he always traps some part of people's anatomy, coils around it and then drags them in. I'm no match for his strength. But today, the grappling gods were on my side. I did something right, and although he'd trapped part of me, I ended up on top, and as he lifted his head, I put my arm around it. I managed to wriggle the other hand into position to grab my fingers. And from there, no matter where he wriggled, the choke just went tighter, and that was him done. It's something I've never tried before, and I'm pleased that I recognised the opportunity when I saw his head come up. Some of the stuff I've been learning must be in my head and available for recall. That's pleasing to know...

I had another opportunity for a front choke, but from half guard bottom in my next roll with one of the blue belts. I love rolling with him because he is no stronger than I am and about my size. He has evil triangles and is full of armbars, too. Anyway, as we started, he ended up in my guard. I tried a figure four which wasn't far off working. He started passing my guard but I managed half guard. Again, went for a figure four and as he was leaning across, I went for a front choke. He defended by driving his shoulder down so I couldn't get the other hand in. So I went back for a figure four, and then back to the choke. I could have swept him towards the choking side, as I had his neck right down and his balance was tipping. But I felt bad about tipping him forward over his head so I didn't and then he pulled out. And told me I should have swept him :-))

From there I don't know how it went, but I stuffed up somewhere and found myself in a reverse triangle. I was rewared for my efforts with a "good roll".

We have a really big guy (twice my size) who has been away recently. Well, he was back tonight, so my turn to get squashed did come. We laughed as we started and told him he looks at me like a cat about to have a mouse to play with. There was a grab and a drag and I was fighting his legs. He likes open guard. Don't know if he changed his mind and went to closed guard or whether he swept me first but I scrambled and then ended up there. Of course I can't open his closed guard. But he wanted to play rubber guard and I wouldn't have it, defending my arms and not letting him get lockdown. That was almost a win :-) So he went back to open guard. I do not remember how or where we had another scramble, but I actually got his back. I recall smacking him in the head in the process (not too hard..). But the seat belt grip went on and I had a hook in, feeling all smug by that time. About 3 seconds later, he'd wiped me off his back like a dog would wipe off a beetle. And then he was on top and then it was... finished with engines for me. But.... I was happy.

A good evening for me. Plenty of things I need to work on, but a few things are coming together. I'm even getting the feeling that I'm on the verge of developing a top game. Goodness!

need to rewire that brain

When I was a couple of months into BJJ training, I heard that one has to pay one's dues on the bottom. That those who spend much time on the bottom in the beginning end up with solid defenses and escapes which firstly ensure survival and secondly bring about good positions which lead to attacks.

Well, I think I spent pretty much my entire first year on the bottom. There were times when I thought that's all I'm destined to ever do in BJJ and I will admit that at times it was very frustrating.

But from being owned and submitted fast I went to being owned and not submitted quite so fast. Then I managed to escape sometimes and it evidently became more and more difficult to submit me. Ah yes, we all know how it is, one day you fly high because you fluked a sweep and then a submission, or you just had a good start and the right body part moved in the right direction by accident and you ended up on top. Then, the next day, every Joe and his dog sqash and dominate you, rip your arms out and choke the living daylights out of you and you limp home wondering why you come for these beatings.

So time went on and on the balance of things, my sweeps happened more often. My escapes happened more often, I saw openings I never used to see, I managed to pass guards. I managed to stay out from under the heavy guys more often and found that the big new guys didn't always succeed in muscling me around. I started being a bit more aggressive at the start of rolls which set me up for better positions. My already reasonably closed guard got even better.

Ok, and now comes the next big thing. Due to my lack of "top time", I have little experience in applying all those lovely submissions. I've learned loads of armbars, figure fours and chokes from various top positions. But I have only ever practiced most of them on a compliant partner. So when it comes to rolling, I find myself in mount or side control, I have a great deal of trouble setting up and finishing subs. About the only place I'm reasonably ok with is back control. I guess it's because it's so dominant. So one part of the problem is lack of practice. But that will come.

The other problem is the mindset. Since I started, I've primarily been concerned with defending and escaping. But what I need to do is think of attacking. Even when I'm defending or escaping, I need to look at ways to turn the table and make the game mine. If I wait until I have a good position before I look for a sub, then likely I'll give my partner the time to consolidate, defend and even start escaping before I have time to even set up, let alone finish a sub. So I need a plan of attack. From every position, I need to know my best submission and one or two backup ones which flow on from there. But really, I need to rewire my brain so that I no longer think defensively, but offensively. That includes looking out for loose arms and exposed necks all the time and then find a pathway to attack that target. I need to arrive at the attacking (dominant) position already set for the attack, and ready with the next one if he defends.

That's a pretty fundamental shift in thinking. Actually, I like taking the initiative and the thought of having a string of attacks up my sleeve makes me smile. So it's not like I'm a timid soul. But it's so easy to get into a mindset. Same as I ended up in the "I can't do it" mindset regarding takedowns (which I have successfully discarded), I'm in a defensive mindset out of habit and experience. Now that my skill level has improved, it needs to be matched up with an aggressive attitude. I know that aggressive sounds a bit over the top, I'm not aggressive with my training partners. What I means is the opposite to defensive, taking the initiative and dictating the pace of the match. I hope I've expressed that well enough.

So for next year, my goal is to be active rather than passive and to develop a small arsenal of effective techniques which are part of a small and simple game plan.

I think BJJ will be even more fun next year :-) And of course that will translate into my no-gi grappling and standup stuff as well.