Day 190: Omoplata

My knee is still tweaky. That's the only word I can find that suits how it feels. If I extend the leg fully to stretch the muscles or keep it at 90 degrees and raise it off the floor it hurts. It has been improving each day though so I am confident that it is either bruised or strained but not torn. I spoke to Kato at the dojo last night who had a bad tear on the same place a few months ago. He said it took him 3 months to heal! Anyway, I taped it up good and put a pad over it to keep it secure. It felt pretty good with all that over the knee. I need to go out and get a top of the range knee supporter. I seem to be collecting them. I have to date, an elbow, ankle and knee supporter. I would have bought a groin supporter if one was available. I even considered getting a shoulder or wrist supporter but those are on the mend. It's crazy how injured your body can get injured doing BJJ.

We worked on the Omoplata last night. Lots of variation and what to do when the opponent resists by posting his arm or rolls out of it. We also did omoplata to triangle. I took it very slow and was careful not to twist my knee. In fact I probably had one of the most technical and thoughtful lessons ever. Just by slowing down and seeing the move ingrained it longer in my mind.

I've been watching Caio Terra's DVD which F-sensei bought recently. I love the half guard and he shows so much content in the DVD it is worth buying if you like that guard. The half guard is the guard I feel most relaxed and confident in. Two others at our club are the same.

These are the types of guard I see people at my club use:

Me - half-guard, closed guard, deep-half
Akira - half-guard, inverted
Yoshida - half-guard, spider guard
F-sensei - butterfly, x-guard
Tete - butterfly, x-guard, deep-half
K-sensei - inverted, x-guard, de la Riva
Kawaii - half-guard, deep-half
Kensuke - de la Riva
Tsuzuki - de la Riva

I've noticed that the judo-based to players don't really use a lot of variation in their guards. Probably because they prefer passing and staying on top. I find it is much more fun to be on the bottom, afterall you have the ground on your side to create leverage. Saying that, I sometimes worry about my effectiveness in a real fight. There will come a point I will need to work hard on my standup and throws.

Sparring time: Zero (needless to say due to injury)

Notable moments: Me feeling all the stress leave my body as I stepped onto the mat.