On the Mat Day 174: Hikkoki-nage & Ude-gaeshi

So it's been 2 days since the competition (I will write about that once I have some video to go with it). I felt pretty good last night if not a little tired after the full day on Sunday. There were many people last night. I think about 12 of us. 3 white, 4 blue, 2 purple, 2 brown, 1 black. A really nice mix of belts and body types. There was a new white belt, also. I think he had done Judo because he was wearing a Judogi.

The drills were great tonight. Two of my favourite takedowns so I got to see them again in better detail. I think one of the things I mostly forget to do is tuck in my elbows so I am holding the opponent's arm tightly. This probably stems from my Karate days where I had to keep my hands up to protect my face. Even after almost 2 years of BJJ it still feels alien to me to keep my face exposed and my arms tucked in with no space between my sides and arms. There was a throw at the end that I really liked. It started with a pistol grip on the opponents sleeve, threading the elbow under his armpit and sitting down to send him over me using a butterly-esque sweep. I wish I could take some videos of moves I learnt. It would be an excellent way for me to remember them.

Sparring was fun but I am still gassing too fast. I am just hoping it is the heat and napping on weekends may help this. I am thinking about buying a light weight Vulkan kimono (dougi). The competition has given me a lot of confidence when sparring with people of similar or lower ability. I felt more relaxed with them. Most of my game revolves around closed and half guard. I would like to evolve a bit more and get better at open guard. However, many times when I do open up, I get passed easily (especially easily with purple and above opponents. It is something I am going to have to work on. So after doing quite well against most people last night I went up against Tsuzuki who is purple and he humbled me. Totally wiped the floor with me. Anything I do -- dominated, pass guard, submit..rinse and repeat. I like it though. It drives me to get better.

Sparring time: 6 x 6 mins = 36 mins.