On the Mat Day 195: Back Escapes (with notes)

Again we worked on escaping from a rear mounted opponent. This is good reinforcement for me and something I need to practice more. I do well at fending off attacks from rear mount but find it hard to escape while having to defend chokes. I should finish writing up the notes for these techniques in a few days.

Someone came to watch the class tonight. We get people walk in from time to time and a few sign up but for everyone person who joins the club there are probably 3 or 4 who don't. It makes me sad to think that they were at the cusp of finding a great hobby that would really mould them into a better person only to not go ahead and join. Perhaps, they went to a different club but I doubt it. I also see a couple of people drop out but not quite so many as I read about on other forums. The Japanese tend to work more than they play so most only quit for work reasons rather than they are sick of getting crushed in side control. Still, I don't think work is an excuse. People need to find a balance in life. Plus the fact that we have classes everyday means that someone who says they have no time for jiu-jitsu is just too lazy to make time. I hope the guy signs up. More sparring partners means I get better.

Sparring went ok. I tweaked my knee again. Just a quick sharp pain that has not bothered me today. I iced it a little then went back to sparring. If it had been excessive pain I would not spar but it felt like nothing more than the pain you get from bending a finger. I'm on the mend anyway so all is good. F-sensei mentioned that a cute girl started at a local club near us GSB (Grappling Shoot Boxing) which has some really good grapplers. It's pretty rare that a girl will start BJJ and a cute one at that over here. I see so few girls in clubs, perhaps it's just ours. We only have 2 female members. Probably the more you have, the more join up. I understand that.

At the end of the night I asked Akira if he had some time to drill some moves. He said it was no problem at all and we got to it. I worked on a couple of sweeps from the x-guard, deep half and sitting guard. I am 100% bottom player now, especially with my knee. I've noticed a trend where judo guys play top and keep to it pretty much with little advancement or tend not to try out something new. Whereas guys who have little grappling experience, like me, gravitate to be bottom players and systematically go through techniques, picking out workable ones and discarding ones they can't use. I really think to evolve, bottom is best, and keeps you intrigued by jiu-jitsu. I've also noticed a trend that the judo-based BJJ players tend to come less frequently or not at all, maybe due to boredom because they don't try anything new. This is just my experience. I am sure there are many exceptions.

Sparring time: 5 x 6 mins = 30 mins

Notable moments: Getting into x-guard on K-sensei and trying to push him then do a technical standup to sweep but him holding my top leg in place so I cannot post my leg! Argh, what to do now? Later found out it was move under leg for rear mount pull down.


 
Escaping the Back Mount -