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Jiu-jitsu Month 48

(2025-06-30 09:49:47) 下一個

I'd encourage everyone to run a marathon, for the invaluable lessons it teaches.

One can dash for 100m, 200m, 400m, but not 26.2 miles. That distance challenges

not just one's endurance but more their attitude and approach. One's mind

switches from obsessing with what's without like the finish line to focusing on

the perfection of each stride, e.g., to making the gait more efficient or the landing

less painful. And the paradigm-shift applies to other major life endeavors.

 

In four years, my jiu-jitsu journey has made a similar change. In a class,

instead of rushing to finish a move, I am happy to discern the tiny details I

have missed so far and drill them correctly even if I have to slow down. It is

like going through test sheets repeatedly when I was cramming for Gaokao: each

round improved over the previous by my being more aware and the mistakes were

covered as many times as necessary so that I wouldn't make them again.

 

These days, in sparring, I rarely try to force things. I tap earlier and remind

myself to tap before rolling. Some high-level white belts are strong and they

have a background in other martial arts, wrestling, e.g. They are going to

dominate and even submit if my skills don't match up. I cannot force progress

anymore but at the same time, the promise of the art, the weak over the strong

through leverage and techniques, feels never more true. I can indeed do

something.

 

This transition in mentality might be why the purple belt is the hardest among

the jiu-jitsu ranks.

 

And often like in long distance running, progress comes without my noticing. Jun

25, I was elated to receive the second stripe on my blue belt. It took 13

months. I could have got it earlier had I stayed in the previous gym but I am

very happy I've made the move. If achieving the blue belt is a youthful dash,

each stripe afterward is a step toward maturity.

 

My learning has gone way beyond the art. I've learned through trial and error

the values and the mores of the people I have chosen to live in. Little things

such as how to greet people, how to be greeted, what to talk about and what not

to, how to behave on and off the mat, etc. I acted out my understanding, got

feedback, reflected, and improved. It's a different kind of growth and may be

more valuable than the amount of money I could've made working.

 

===============================================================================

 

Richard of our gym fought MMA in SF! He's in his early 30s and a new bluebelt.

We are of the same weight and rolled a few times and he was very good at taking

my back.

 

Jun 2. Machine taught the basic half-guard bottom positions and the bridge when

being flattened with cross-face. I rolled with Eversly and two new students.

Lucas trained in MMA and a good muscular white belt and Sarah looked in her 20s

had survived her first few months.

 

Jun 3. Darren's back and taught the cork-screw as a counter to straight

footlock. Justin was more aggressive today, Andreas was making good progress,

Mike was as strong as ever, and I had a hard time rolling with them. I'd take

tomorrow off.

 

Jun 10. Justin did an Americana on me from bottom cross side. I hadn't had it

done to me for a while. I knew the counter, I told myself, but somehow I was

confused and I let it go a little too far.

 

In the same session, Dillon did an omoplata (I was again confused and couldn't

execute the escape and tapped) and Lucas did a straight armlock, both again on

my left arm.

 

I slept only about two hours the night before and was groggy all morning. Maybe

that had to do with it. Good lessons to grow on. My left elbow felt the pain but

my yoga&toe-to-the-bar routine was fine the morning after and it recovered in

three days.

 

Jun 13. Machine taught the John Wayne sweep from the bottom half guard. Trap

their nearside arm with the top hand, have the other hand push their hip, and

bridge and turn with their leg trapped.

 

My close guard sucks and I usually don't play half guard. At the bottom, I'd

quickly switch to open guard with two feet between or outside of their legs.

 

Jun 17. Karen taught the far-side armbar from cross-side and the north-south

head-and-arm choke.

 

I sparred with Jose, Lucas, Michael, and Aaron. I successfully defended Jose's

omoplata on my left arm twice which made me very happy: learn from failures.

It's the way of Jiu-jitsu.

 

I did on Aaron the figure 4 entry from turtle and followed up by double-trouble.

 

Jun 20. Machine showed the progression from cross-side top. When the bottom guy

turns toward me (assume I'm from his right side), I should place my right

forearm on his hips, my left hand block the back of his head, I go to

north-south, insert my left arm in front of his hips with hand on the mat, and

switch to his back. From there, I could get the seatbelt grip and take his back,

especailly if he turtles up.

 

In another scenario, I should try to trap his left arm to the right side of my

head and get the underhook. This was a key (as Matt, my partner reminded me).

With my underhook and my weight on him, I can drag his left side off the mat.

It'll be the best if I can trap the bottom arm with my right leg when I go

north-south. Then I could go for the kimura or the far-side armbar. I shared

that detail with Matt.

 

Matt also opened my eyes on transitioning to take the back from mount. He

recommended grapevine and encouraged me to work on my mount even though I was

relatively light. He also showed me how the seat-belt backtake could transition

to head-and-arm choke when the guy tried to escape.

 

These training made me much more aware of back-takes.

 

Jun 21. Only three students at the Sat noon class. Rolled with John. His

cross-side bottom near-side frame was great: the forearm never left my hip,

never over-extended, and very aware of my kesa-gatami attack.

Jun 23. Machine taught side-control bottom guard-recovery. The details were

amazing: how to get the second frame under the top guy's chin, how to guide and

not push his head and upper body toward his side, and how to hip out to stay on

my side.

 

If I can ball up directly underneath with an underhook, I should C-cup his

near-side leg with my bottom arm to raise it and catch it with my top leg and

figure-4 it with my bottom leg, as in a half-guard position. Then I should hug

his far-side leg behind the knee and walk toward him and sweep him.

 

I took the initiative and mounted Justin during our roll and attempted a

top-side triangle. He got out.

 

Jun 25. It was a big day. From machine, John and I each got one stripe and

Andreas got two.

 

Again, I felt I absorbed more from the class. We warmed up with cross-side

(called side-control in this gym) bottom scooting, as when our guard was passed

and the guy was trying to cross-face and flatten us on our back.

 

Next, if I ducked deep under him, I could raise his near-side lower-leg and trap

it with my legs in a figure 4 half-guard, hug his back and his other leg with my

arms, scoot my hips close to him, and reverse.

 

As an alternative, with underhook, I could wrap my arms around his near-side

leg, turtle up to his side, and at this point, three things could happen: 1. I

keep scooting to his back with my shoulder pressing into his thigh to trap his

leg. When I got to his behind, move my near-side knee up to connect with my

elbow, the other hand drag his leg and shelve it on my raised leg, switch hands,

and the other hand to grab his other knee for the takedown. 2. He could throw me

on my back again by pushing on my hip, and I should go back to try the

half-guard figure-4 reversal. 3. What I used to do, i.e., just grab the far-side

knee for a double-leg takedown.

 

Machine taught two cross-side bottom reversals. First, with the top-guy

cross-facing, I should push his head toward my hips (better when he moves that

direction, e.g., to negate my underhook) and do a bridge to the far-side while

my other arm making a chopping motion on his cross-facing arm. Second, my

far-side arm reaches his belt (maybe not necessary, the lats for no-gi, maybe?)

from the side of his head closer to me, my near-side frame stays under his hip,

I tried to recover guard to make him move his lower-body toward my head, and the

moment he moved (The momentum would be there and I don't need to wait till he

gets to 10 o'clock), I could use his momentum to bridge, again to the far-side,

and reverse.

 

 

I rolled with Lucas and caught him in my kesa-gatame with my left hand gripping

his right wrist and straightened his right arm. I tried to push his wrist down

so I could capture with either my legs but my arm was not long enough. After a

while, I changed grip from towarding his elbow to towarding his fingers and

gained the necessary length.

 

Jun 26. Two guard recoveries (GR) and two more cross-side bottom reversals today

from Darren, under the classic cross-face holding position. GR#1, have both

hands cup his armpit and guide his upper-body upward. GR#2, have the far-side

wrist or forearm under his chin palmdown and the near-side hand reinforce

palm-to-palm. Together, they would be able to raise his head and create space.

I can RG, swim to the back, or just scoot back, depending on his reaction.

 

For the reversals, both of my arms are on the outside. If he insists on the

cross-face, which means his weight is more across my chest, I'd bridge away chop

with my arms, like driving an old truck, Darren said, to take him to the

far-side. I think my far-side arm should be grabing something on his back to

help him roll. If his weight is more on the near side, I'd block his top leg

with my near-side arm, chop my far-side arm against the top of his head, and

bridge toward him (11-o'clock).

 

So there are four reversals so far to practice, just for that one holding

position. I'd experiment with the other holds. I don't do cross-face but Jose

was able to reverse when I was trying the Von Flue choke.

 

During sparring, Darren again did the kimura transition to armbar on me. I need

to find a solution. On Luis, I was able to mount and try Henry's arm-attack.

 

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