Training this week was usual but not redundant. On Monday I began the day with a new training method utilizing tabata training as I presently feel a lack of explosiveness in my BJJ abilities. The Monday night BJJ session was substituted by Bill Cooper and I was enlightened upon another method of hitting a darce as the opponent sets up a butterfly guard and from there I armdrag then allow my opposite arm to swim directly for the neck establishing the darce position as I switch my hips and fall into the sidemount. The rolling session was good but I still need to work on catching the leg drag and to that end must maintain patience. Tuesday was a wrestling session substituted by Aaron, and Aaron reviewed two set-ups for the arm/shoulder/wrist drag and throwing the opponent's arm down like a pail of water and went on to illustrate finishes coming via darce as well as a no-gi clock choke where the outside arm lodges into the opponent's hip pit and from there the other arm wraps into the choke position and the hip makes the clock movement to achieve the tap. Frustration was felt when I realized the impossibility of passing Aaron's guard as he flustered me just laying on his back controlling and throwing me around at will. Wednesday was an enriching session as class had the substitute teacher, Bill Cooper. Bill conducted a semi-breakdance warm up then showed off two methods of hitting the deep half and a subsequent sweep via the single leg and swinging the opposite arm not and another variation coming via the knee shield guard and scissoring the leg to create the opening and launching myself inside for the deep half. Rolling was lazy and I allowed myself to get beat up a little and realized I can't be hot daily. Explicitly, I noticed that I have a struggle in establishing a formidable S mount position, so more work is necessary in that area. On Thursday, Lucas taught an engrossing session where the basic full mount escape was elucidated upon  and emphasis was placed on the importance of trapping the leg hipping strongly upwards and allowing myself to tip-toe outside while maintaining grips on one arm and then bridging over. The instruction maintained a focus on being readily able to switch from side to side and be fluid enough to move from each position to another. The rolling was good and I got thrown and beat up by Lucas, thus more improvement is needed. Friday session was great as Mark further illustrated a method of hitting Tai-Otoshi coming via when the opponent tenses up and from there I side-step and attack the throw as well as a second method of performing a semi-piroutte and giving my back for a split second and accomplishing the vaunted throw. In doing the throw I am still perpetually entranced by the ferocity of the throw and how I must implement it into my skill set.Saturday was particularly hard with two sessions and learned in the morning no-gi session that I need work on my wrestling skills yet I learned from Dustin some points on reverting from one sub to the next. Sunday was a good open mat session and learned a particularly fascinating things such as using the gi fabric to breakdown the upper collar grip while in guard and also setting up the baseball choke from bottom by using the lapel around the backside of the opponent. It was a fun Sunday to say the least and onto another productive week of training. 

  This week's training was vibrant and inspiring. Monday's session began with Andre providing his interpretation of the Gordo seminar and he reviewed Gordo killer knee shield pass along with providing instruction on how to pull off the collar that comes from the opponent underhooking. The rolling session following afterwards provided an enlightenment as I learned that if I desire to win BJJ matches under IBJJF rules I must work towards establishing position and gaining points in substitution of going completely for the sub. The wrestling session proved to be enthralling as usual as Jimmy provided instruction upon defenses against the single leg takedown and the defenses more or less held the theme of clubbing the head to the side and then facing the opponent and sprawling down upon him. Additionally, Aaron provided elaborations upon attacks for the kimura after performing the chest to arm movement Wednesday was a rest day and Thursday proved to be fruitful as Lucas went over passing the half-guard via straight collar choke, and the key point is remembering to keep the opposite shoulder pinned to the ground. Lucas also showed a cool judo take-down where you let the opponent grab your inside gi collar then you strive to sweep out the front leg and then dive roll inside the opponent and score the beautiful takedwon. Afterwards, me and Ulee rolled for about a half-hour and I was enlightened upon a few issues, he showed an awesome sweep from being knee on bellied which entailed an abundant amount of details that must be reviewed, researched and drilled. Furthermore, Ulee showed me an effective method for hitting the guilotine choke by positioning my chest over my opponent's head and pulling straight up. Friday's session was again devoted to easy judo training yet I became entranced with two throws, one of was arm to chest then turning in and allowing myself to fall to the ground and kick out for a beautiful sweep and I also discovered just how cool and how apt I am at accomplishing 'Tai-Otoshi' and plan to implement it any chance I get.

   Saturday was the tournament and I performed well and got gold; however, there was a massive weight disparity as one of my opponent's was 135 pounds while the other was a mere 100 pounds. I walked through the competition but realized I need to amend my submissions as I caught some but failed to finish them off cleanly. In particular, the new submission I am implementing which is the use of my own collar to pull off the collar choke needs to be altered via stiff arming my arm in a strict NFL running back stiff arm fashion. Sunday was Barum BJJ open mat. I realized a few issues. Namely I must make certain when I am in an opponent's guard that I cannot allow myself to be push to the side as I get isolated and resetting myself becomes a monumentally difficult task.  Additionally, in no gi there can be ample amounts of opportunities to take submissions even though I may lack a controlling position. Basically, it is break kimura then attack the neck, more research and rolling should be emphasized in this area.

Training this week was a bit eye-opening. In Andrej's class, I was enlightened upon how weak my side-guard escapes are. One key point of emphasis I must heed is being able to thread my arm inside and create the space necessary to shrimp outwards. Additionally, there is ample opportunity to push the head and possibly achieve a triangle from conduction of that particular break. Rolling was decent and my take-downs definitely need a lot of work as Joel threw me around left and right. I also have a habit, especially against stronger more BJJ adept opponents, to revert to turtle position, thus some continual research must be put forth in assessing how to fight and escape turtle position and with that the utilization granby roll  sprouts resoundingly in mind.

 The next day was  the Xande Ribeiro seminar and he hit upon some interesting moves and concepts to add to my repertoire. First was the emphasis on grasping a deep collar grip and breaking out of the Z half-guard through diversion of hips. Second, a tweak to my umoplata set-up was gained through breaking the elbow via bringing the knee inside and hitting the umoplata from that point. Third, a method of breaking the Dela riva through grasping the DLR leg and twisting my fist pushing the leg downwards directly to the floor, and from that point a breakdown-like hip switch can be done to pass to side mount.  Lastly, Ribeiro illustrated a way of breaking the Z guard through that same fist switch and running-back stiff arming the leg putting on the Z guard, and once all these steps are finished,  the pass can be conducted.

 Wednesday's class was good. I was continually reminded again about how I need to work my take-downs as Joel and David continually took me down. One move that caught my attention was when David arm-dragged me and then let his body fall to S-mount and got the takedown from that point; consequently, I could sense his feeling of victory. From Thursday until Saturday I was out due to a small injury coming by way of a pesky bursted mole on my shoulder.Nevertheless, I was able to attend and spectate at the Gordo BJJ seminar and learned of an interesting method of attacking a choke from inside the half-guard. Regular training was resumed on Sunday, I was able to pull off the same side S-mount collar grab throw and do some leg drag passes as well. Additionally, Lucas told of a method of hitting a battering choke right on the half-guard pass, so it is yet another opportunity I can pursue for further growth with my BJJ skill-set. On to the next week of training and look forward to competing next Saturday.

   Training this week was good and could have been a bit more arduous. Andre's class was good as he put on a thorough review of techniques taught in the Rigan Machado seminar. Rolling was fairly decent as I was able to fully understand how to perform one of the throws conducted upon me by Justin Flores which occurs when my opponent grasps my inside gi and from that point I dip my head downwards while twisting my arms into the throw. Wrestling class was as usual with many instances of Jimmy taking me down at will and thus from that point it can be manifested that I must constantly chuck the neck and head when attempting the throw. Wednesday was designated as a rest night but still managed to strive to swim for an hour. Thursday was class with Lucas and he instructed me and my partner on how to hit a twisty armbar when the opponent turtles. Additionally, Lucas delved upon a point when you attack the back by sidemounting the opponent then allowing the opponent to flee to the turtle position, and at an opportune moment you thread your leg inside and clasp yourself unto the opponent's back, and achieve a very tight position. Lucas additionally elaborated on the strategy of the knee cut pass by pinning the opposite shoulder of the knee cutting angle and attacking the pass. Conversely, in no-gi an underhook can be achieved and the knee cut pass can be enacted.

  Judo was just me and an old training partner. I discovered that I could effectively pull of a drop seo nagi and must consistently go for it. Saturday was a BJJ party with lots of eating (steak, chicken, sausage) and it was without a doubt beyond amazing.

  The last of week, Sunday, was deigned for the Kit Dale seminar and he illustrated an abundant amount of concepts deserving of attention. In particular was guard passing as he never allows his opponent to move forward and close distance, and when he attacks he will club the head downwards and then pass the leg as opponent shoots his head upwards. Dale also showed a method of landing the knee cut by pushing the knee outward and digging the hand to the opponent's upper lat area and then completing the pass by tripoding and placing the weight of my shoulder to my opponent's side rather than directly on my opponent. Lastly, Dale showed a way of hitting his great white grip which was beyond awesome and I had the fortunate opportunity to actively drill out that particular move. In his concluding remarks, it was fascinating to hear him speak about the emphasis of focus on concepts as opposed to specific techniques along with designating an emphasis on rolling and finding out where your mistakes lie and where improvement can be necessary.  

  This week, I also signed up for the IBJJF worlds no-gi and the IBJJF nationals. I will train as much as I can including the stoppage of alcohol drinking and the following training schedule will need to be maintained.

 Monday-morning exercise (one hour) BJJ night

 Tuesday-morning exercise (half hour) wrestling night

 Wednesday-morning exercise (half hour) BJJ night

 Thursday-morning exercise (half hour) BJJ night

 Friday-morning exercise (half hour) Judo night

 Saturday-REST

 Sunday-Morning exercise (half hour) Open Mat (Barum or 10th planet)

  The morning exercise routine is simple. Monday would be 2 minutes skip rope 2 minutes burpees, 2 minutes shrimp, 2 minutes umpas, 2 minutes triangles, 2 minutes knee slice, 2 minutes sit outs, 2 kick passes, 2 minutes kickback pass, 2 minutes jump up squats, 2 minutes shoot, 2 minutes judo step which taken in altogether equals a half-hour.

 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday will be Push ups and squats. Wednesdays will be designated as pulls. There will be a lot of work ahead and a common theme I will enact in my competition will be a constant level of attack, non-stop attack to eventual victory.