On the Mat Day 370: Hagesikunai Hito no Class

Shitty rainy day last night so I expected few people to turn up. However, a couple of guys who haven't trained or don't train so often did come.  little guy who's name I forget turned up after a 2 year hiatus. He is a brown belt and still moved very well. I could not catch him but played for flow mostly with him. He mentioned that he had forgotten many moves and his attention to where to grip had gone. I like rolling with smaller guys because I'm so impressed how they can get out of bad positions. I asked for his input on turtle sweeps because I saw he was very good at moving back into butterfly guard - something I want to do more. K-sensei knew he hadn't been for a long time and said "daijobu, hagesii hito inai kara~ which means there aren't any people who roll intense and roughly so he needn't worry. It was true. We were mostly older guys over 35. I respect that the guy would come back after 2 years and still not hesitate to put on his brown belt. I think rather than crush those type of guys just for letting life get in the way for a while, they should be eased back into training with a friendly smile and a lower rev counter roll. After all, one more guy returning to train is one more partner for you to drill/roll with and learn from.

Um, now where to grip?

During sparring I did not jump guard. I am working on controlling the center grip and actually find it quite easy because the guys I train with don't seem to know the importance of it. Getting dominant grips allows me to relax and keep good posture. I straighten my spine and stand completely prone instead of the jiu-jitsu bend at the waist which I now see as quite weak. I had some success with throws using ouchigari and drop seionage. It's a different aspect of grappling I'm trying to get the hang of which means my interest has increased and I want to train more.

At the end of class I asked K-sensei to go over berimbolo, twister side control to taking the back and also reverse de la Riva sweeps he showed me the previous week. A fun injury-free class.

Sparring time: 6 x 6 mins = 36 mins