Thursday 24 October 2013

On the Mat Day 422: Cross Chokes

So my back was still sore when I left for class last night. I decided to just go to class for the technique and stretch afterwards before making an early night of it. There is no use soldiering through sparring only to end up in worse pain the next day. It's a pity really because the place was very lively last night. Lots of folks, mainly colored belts turned up.

The main theme this week is cross collar chokes from mount. I should really go for these more in mount but I don't because I usually get bumped off by an upa. It's really up to me to get a better base when I go for them. The first was a deep collar grip with my left hand, my right hand then grabs material on the shoulder of the opposite side. I twist the opponent so his spine bends to my right and I rest my head on the mat where his head was to finish. The second was a the right hand going in first with the thumb slipping into the collar. I use my forearm to knock his chin up and slip my left hand under my right arm and into his collar for a traditional cross choke. F-sensei stressed the importance of keeping my feet under his backside, while splaying my knees out to keep a wide base, and to use my head on the mat for base. Come to think of it, it might be a good exercise to get in this position and have someone push me over while I try to maintain balance with my knees and head alone...hmm.

I watched some of the other guys sparring as a worked on the foam roller, any my other tools; a tennis ball and a hard rubber baseball. My back thanked me for it this morning. The muscle seems to be slowly getting stronger.

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