On the Mat Day 217: Wilson Reis Pass

So we are back to this closed guard break and pass. It was only about 3 weeks ago that we were shown this but it suprised me how little I remember past the first basic break. The variations are where I often get lost. I remember the one we did on Tuesday from last time because I made detailed notes. That really made a big difference. I am an advocate of writing notes after the lesson to reinforce what I learnt. I wish I knew some other tricks to memorize them better. I used to work with one guy who used to almost whisper to himself the key points that he was being taught. I try to do it during lessons but I don't think that helps. They say humans remember best if a smell is associated with the thing you are trying to memorize. Perhaps if I sniffed on cinnamon while seeing a guard pass and then during sparring I had another whiff from the cinnamon glass my brain would bring it forward so I could use the damn thing. That wouldn't work well with BJJ but it might with pen and paper tests.

K-sensei took the lesson and both Fuji-san and I are now regulars at the Tsurumai dojo. Omiyagi-san came for his first time at the new place. He is I guess a 1 year white belt and goes balls to the walls. I've noticed that it seems to be a curse that white belts who are gagging to move up to the next belt will never go easy during sparring. From observations I have made I think those that take their time, think about the moves, try a new technique and generally relax while rolling. Tap fast, clap hands and get on with the roll are the ones who advance their game more.

I purposely put myself in side control during sparring with Fuji-san who caught me last week in side control for what seemed like a good 3 minutes but was probably half that amount. After researching a bit through books and video clips I discovered a gem on Youtube that really helped. It worked for me extremely well and I ended up quickly back in buttefly guard but was unable to complete a sweep. His comment about doing all 3 moves at once was particularly helpful.

Sparring time: 6 x 6 mins = 36 mins

Notable momemts: Having a plan for side control escape and succeeding with it. Getting into X-guard from opponent standing closed guard.