In jiu-jitsu, we drill to commit the moves to muscle memory so that when the

time comes reflexes kick in automatically. The number of relative positions is

mind-boggling and a tiny change can make a world of difference. Therefore,

the attacks and defense only perfect over time and practice is essential. In

October, I have progressed in the paper cutter choke(PCC) and the upa.

The PCC is one of my main cross-side attacks and I have had it on a dozen folks

so far including some blue belts. It looks the simplest in Henry's videos but,

like many others, involves a lot of details. In our gym, two coaches taught

their versions of the PCC and I liked Dave's sneaky entry when coming to

cross-side. He* also combined the PCC and nearside arm bar (Henry called it the

Dan Camarillo armlock) which became my favorite combo.

It was from failures that I learned, however, and when Stephen escaped my PCC in

the last second, I realized that I should have put my body weight on him for

better cross-side control before the choke. Besides, there are at least three

details I need to work on: getting into the position by turning the hip to

control the nearside arm with the under-hook on the farside, choking hand entry,

and no-gi PCC.

I was stoked after the secret of the upa, or the bridge, hit me when I watched

Henry's vale tudo videos on the subject. Every jiu-jitsu student knows the upa,

many know the importance of the angle of the bridge (Rickson famously demo'ed

the point against an opponent basing with the free

hand). What I discovered was a missing detail (well, missing at least from my

game): that the hips had to be up, not just as part of an explosive bridge, but

all the time! I could not afford to allow the guy on top to sit comfortably on

me and figure out how to attack. Actually, with the right elements dialed in,

the upa does not need to be explosive. Combine this with shoulder walk, the

right trap, and good timing, the upa indeed could be very effective.

So I have been practicing with guys who have a good mount game. We start with my

opponent mounting on me and the game ends when either I get submitted or he gets

swept. I had instant success against the lower belts and the senior guys could

not submit me from that position as they had to deal with my raised hips by

basing with at least one arm. What a triumph!

My diet seemed to keep shaping my body which has kept adjusting to the sport.

My weight stayed under 155 lbs, my waist line receded another inch, and the abs

started to show. I haven't been sick since Febrary and energy is high

throughout the day. I attended 23 classes in October, a personal record.

The last days of the month, the topic of personal hygiene came up in the

Facebook group and some guys promised to buy new gi's. I went shopping online

and came back empty-handed, however. The products were great and the price was

reasonable but I couldn't get over the fact that my old gi pants from my Ralph

Gracie days only needed one patch on each knee.

So I studied how to use the sewing machine but decided to go manual as the pant

legs had very limited space to work in. I ripped off two seat pockets from an

old pair of jeans and spent a few hours stitching. The next day on the mat, my

patches got favorable reviews from two guys who said they had the same problem.

Capitalists and consumerists can disapprove but I discovered a new hobby!

* Dave let me pass his guard but his elbow-knee connection was unbreakable. He

  told me it was only from many years of jiu-jitsu. Soon, I incorporated leg

  raises in my morning routine.