Training this week was extravagant and eventful. The Monday morning session entailed me practicing a footsweep coming about through a process of pushing forward then waiting for the opponent's reactive pushback then conducting the footsweep. Afterwards, the rolling session was strong and tough as I rolled with Jon for a significant period of time. Monday night held a seminar with Caio Terra and he illustrated an interesting method of breaking the knee shield whereby I balance on my opponent's inside leg to protude my leg through and from there I establish a deep grip inside my opponent's lapel, then perform a fake sit then move backwards and accomplish the pass. Afterwards I had the lovely opportunity to roll with Caio and it was nothing short of awesome as he utilized little if any strength in his rolling and steadfastly managed to own me. The next day held yet another seminar this time with Felipe Pena and he illustrated a rather impressive method for utilization of a spider guard which I plan on further developing. Additionally I was delighted to see an informal match at the seminar between Keanan Cornelius and Felipe Pena, and Keenan uncannily dominated Pena by way of resundingly active guard passing. Wednesday held a day session with me rolling actively after a thorough review by Andre of the Terra pass. In the rolls afterwards, I have begun to establish that my back attacks need some work and more confidence must be developed in this area. Wednesday night entailed further review of the foot-sweeps and I established that my judo skills are incredibly awful. Thursday had a day session of no-gi rolling with further illustration of the Terra pass with Joel elucidating an emphasis on the method conducted by Lucas. The night session with Lucas was educational as he showed off a way of hitting a triangle through the hip bump sweep which is intended to fail then falling back into the triangle. Friday was a progressive Judo session and I was able to learn that my seonagi throw is not too bad and that I have established a good combo with the foot sweep then to Tai Otoshi. Sunday open mat session was long and hard. I need to develop a way to stop Joel and throw him, and with time I am certain it will come. Harlan was able to instruct me on a method of controlling the bow and arrow choke via grasping the inside of the gi then actually holding the inside of the far leg thus completely mobilizing the opponent's hips.Consequently, it was another fulfilling week of grappling in the books.

Training session's this week were resoundingly more active than usual. On Monday, two sessions were held by Andre where he thoroughly elucidated upon the elements learned at the Cobrinha seminar. Namely, he expounded upon the emphasis that must delegated to firmly holding onto the kimura grip from the back and how your chest needs to be firmly planted against the back tricep while simultaneously pushing the face down then going in for the arm bar.  Tuesday, was the Leo Viera seminar and Viera displayed a dazzling method for pressure passing the guard. The technique worked on the basis of doing a pushup with both hands upon the opponent's de le riva leg then hooking the ankle with my palm hand and from there swimming my arm inside to grip the outside lapel, simultaneously the other arm pushed behind the leg in the knee pit while the grip on the outside lapel pulled inside. Constant pressure is utilized and the pass is conducted.

    The counter to the Viera movement can be readily seen when the opponent makes the decision to roll back onto his shoulders and from there I put down my knee next to his head underhook with my arm on the knee side, then I put my leg into his armpit fall to the side while basing on my elbow then using my elbow on the inside of his arm to move inside his and achieve sidemount. Wednesday held day classes with Andre reviewing the Viera pass concept, while the night session had Joel instructing upon a basic choke from kneemount. Thursday's day session held a no-gi roll where I continually strived to take Lucas down but to no avail, wrestling will continually necessitate improvements, the night session was decent but the only thing really noticeable was the S mount armbar coming off the failed cross choke from fullmount. Saturday was a fun and long open mat roll session where I was able to learn of a new judo technique where I drag the opponent forward then move to my right and initiate the basic foot sweep.Sunday was a dismal rolling session where I thoroughly got beat up though the big lesson to take away from it is when the opponent is sinking in an arm bar I must roll into the opponent and not away and from there can take away the fulcrum needed for the arm bar.  Additionally, I learned that when I conduct the capoiera pass I must ascertain that the opponent is  pinned upon the mat so as to prevent him from bucking me over. Any endeavor worthy of challenge necessitates commitment, and what defines the commitment is continually moving forward irregardless of setbacks and demoralizations which will continually manifest; however, within this struggle true happiness is found.

 The sessions this week proved to be progressive and bountiful. On Tuesday's wrestling session, Jimmy illustrated two fundamental aspects that can be entered into my wrestling skillset. First, upon the entry for the single leg there is the point of dragging the arm downwards and then fully conducting the attack of the single-truly awesome set-up. Second, there is the point having my head chucked down while opponent grasps my chin and from that point I specifically grab the opponent's four fingers, pinch the opponent's elbow, straighten the arm and circle out, then from this point onwards, I wait for opponent to circle out around me and when he comes around I attack underhook leg or for the ankle pick. Wednesday had me doing a morning class with Joel followed by a very long roll session. In the technique section,Joel illustrated a simple technique of moving the opponent's knee's over then switching my hips, falling on my opponent's thigh/hip area and initiating the pass. In rolling, I rolled with Jon for about a good 40 minutes whereupon I learned of some points with the closed guard break which constituted keeping my head directly centered upon the opponent's midsection and allowing myself to work my arms upwards and break the close guard. Thursday held a midday no-gi rolling session with nothing much to report other than I got to work on keeping on top with smoother jitz and continually ascertain methods of stopping the back attacks. Friday, I learned of more Judo techniques with Mark and learned of strategies for continually hitting the Tai-Otoshi. Most transparent method can come about through a point when the opponent bends down in avoidance of the throw then you sidestep inside while arcing the inside elbow upwards into the armpit whilst snapping the sidearm upwards at the same time. Additionally, the formidable Tai-Otoshi throw can be sought via as the opponent steps around an initial attack and from there a final successful attack can be rendered. Saturday, was another rolling session whereupon I learned that my stand-up is improving but I additionally learned of the importance of waiting for the opponent's reaction before going to attack and is especially pertinent with the inside sweep from the butterfly guard.Sunday, was a hard rolling session, where I learned of my weakness in hitting the leg drag,perhaps more research is needed. Furthermore, through rolls with David, I was able to learn that when I am in advantageous positions or positions where escapes may occur, I must explode with a significant degree of ferocity and escape from the disadvantageous position.I also had the additional honor of rolling with Paul Silva and he absolutely murdered me, so I have a lot of things to work on.

This week's sessions were great and rich in knowledge. Andre taught on Monday how to achieve solid arm bars from the back and why it is of importance to use the opponent's arm which is succumbing to the kimura and press it into the opponent's face and from there the arm bar can be taken. Tuesday's wrestling session was mildly exhilarating as Joel and Jimmy instructed upon taking the back after a weak shoot by the opponent and is reminiscent of a recent performance of Gary Tonon. In the conduction of the technique, I will allow my weight to fall upon the shoulder and from that point will move to take the back and/or go for the twister. The seminar with Joao Miyao was great as it was inspirational to see him move ever so fluidly but unfortunately I could not for the life of me remember much of the techniques he showed other than the first initial one which consisted of a back take from the berimbolo set-up. Key emphasis for the technique is on shrimping outwards first from the delariva position and then bobbing around the opponent to taking the back. Thursday was Luca's class and he went over the arm drag from half-guard then the back take whereupon you anticipate the opponent will roll while you are taking the back and you roll with him and end up in the fearsome back-take position. Friday was a rest day and Saturday was my no-gi worlds competition where I unfortunately lost. Within the first 30 seconds of the match, my opponent immediately pulled guard. In the closed guard, I struggled to break free and from that point my clever opponent managed to revert to my back and I struggled to escape fruitlessly. Going back I need to stress breaking the closed guard as well as development of escaping the back. Live and learn and keep moving on forward.

Training this week was quite eventful. Monday had Andre reviewing the things Cobrinha went through including the efficient and strong back take. Tuesday, at the wrestling session where I got further work and reinforcement of my arm drag skills as well as my ankle pick. Later on in the session, Joel came in and went through techniques about taking the crucifix. Wednesday had Joel teaching and he went through his interpretation of the gi collar choke from the back, all back to basics. I learned again that my guard is a bit weak still. Thursday had Lucas teaching and he went through taking the back from half-guard via the arm drag. Lucas also went through the knee thread technique as opponent moves to turtle from being side-controlled. In Friday's Judo session, I learned that my uchikomi is weak and needs work with more emphasis on getting the squat down before the throw. Saturday entailed more no-gi training with Dustin and getting mangled by him and the biggest take-away I can derive from the session is the necessity of the mario sperry guillotine choke and how I must work to fend off the crucifix attacks. Sunday had me participating in a rolling session at 10th planet. My submissions are weak but my guard passes and side-mount is strong which will bode well for IBJJF competition. I was able to ascertain from the tournament that my attacks will be focused primarily on Darce but in equal measure emphasis may be placed on the crank from side-control. I also learned from Geo as well to swim my hand in when getting rear naked choked and this is a characteristic that cannot be under-emphasized. It was another great week of training.

This week's sessions were decent. On Monday, Andre went through a sidemount set-up that leads to a multitude of submissions. This setup came about through weaving the shoulder pinning arm inside and establishing grip control on the opponent's arm pit. From there a kesa gatame switch can be done with the armbar along with the triangle. Additionally, I was able to figure out a second S mount switch from the arm weave in position. Tuesday was yet another good session with more drills from Jimmy. I began to realize that I need to close, snatch the armdrag and consistently go straight in for the double leg takedown. Joel went through a technique from the head chuck down in which the arm weaves inside and sidemount can be taken along with another set up for the darce. Wednesday was for the most part simply rolling although I did figure out an integral point on hitting the scissor sweep from guard whereupon you grip the opponent's sleeve prop him forward then conduct the sweep. I did extra amounts of rolling and felt off and tired, but realized that I need to work on guard sweeps and gaining top position. Thursday was Luca's class and he went over the basic knee cut pass through two methods of underhooking the opponent's side. He also showed a cool variation of the 405 pass against the half butterfly guard where I drive my fist into opponent's arm pit leaving me an ample opportunity to make a slight leap and pass. Rolling was decent, I need more attacks from my bottom guard and my wrestling could stand to have continual improvements--more work and research is of necessity.Friday was deigned as a rest day, however, I still was able to go and practice my new climbing hobby, and through that I am discovering fundamental similarities with BJJ. Saturday had me rolling at city of champions where I was able to roll several rounds no gi and learned that I have a weakness with escaping and breaking down the quarter guard. Sunday was quite amazing with the Cobrinha seminar. Within the seminar, Cobrinha showed off an excellent method for taking the back where the inside collar is grabbed and the opponent moves inside then as he moves to the outside there is a pull downwards and the single leg attack can be conducted and takedown occurs. From that point onwards, Cobrinha went into intricate details on the administration of collar chokes coming from when you pull the opponent down and wait for his reaction of going to turtle then taking the back. The complexity was rather enormous nonetheless there will be ample areas for me to work on in the coming weeks rolling to pull these moves off

Training sessions were good this week. Andre illustrated a beautiful sweep from the inside leg on Monday. The technique involved sweeping my leg inside then propping my hip to side and launching my opponent over. During the rolling session, I was able to roll with a strong and active training partner named Anthony. In addition to BJJ, Anthony was also quite adept at yoga and the skills were vividly shown as he moved with smooth fluidity; however, I nonetheless put on a formidable performance against him as I prevented his frequent triangle attacks. On Tuesday,me and Jimmy drilled out some arm drag techniques and put further emphasis upon the club head down attack. Later on in the session Joel showed up and went through an integral setup for the twister as well as a full on choke; consequently, it was a productive session. Onto Wednesday, Joel again went through twister from the back and the roll over the shoulder towards mangling the body; furthermore, Joel also taught an effective footlock after performing the capoeira pass. Friday, was a basic Judo work-out with an focus upon going below the center of an opponent's hips before throwing. Open mat at Dustin's and at Barum's made me further realized that I must stop giving away my back. After attendance at Dustin's session, I participated in an open mat session at my home studio and Joel showed a cool variation on the flying armbar coming via circling with the opponent. As Sunday rolled on, I once again had the honor of rolling with Baret Yoshida and he pinned me beautifully in the side-mount and I learned of the necessity of abstaining from telegraphing moves and when I perform a crucial move such as an escape or transition, I must go at it full force and relentlessly.Lastly, my new friend and training partner showed a fantastic way hitting the darce while opponent is in turtle position which involved falling onto my side and driving my opponent's head into my chest and hold a gable grip where my thumbs are loose and free.  

Training this week was a bit more relaxed as competition was near. Monday held the celebration of the labor day holiday and BJJ classes were cancelled though open mat was fortunately held. During the open mat session, I learned a fundamental alteration to the mexicana as Joel instructed me on using the far side leg of the body to pin the leg and to pinch the arm in then cup the elbow and allow your body to bridge upwards. Tuesday's wrestling session was substituted by a new BJJ friend named Bobby and he illustrated a take-down set-up when the opponent pushes in and at that point of cupping his armpits, I flick my arms upwards allowing the opponent to fly to the ground. In the moment of the opponent's imbalance a sly take-down can be enacted. Thursday was an easy session conducted by Lucas as he went through some fascinating yet mildly tough warm-ups, then showed an over/under pass with emphasis placed on driving the shoulder into the opponent and getting the pass. He also went on to illustrate how my leg should go upwards after the pass as the pass is enacted. Saturday was another competition with the IBJJF nationals and I lost yet again. The match started with my opponent going for an immediate take-down while I fruitlessly strived to defend it by placing my arm in front of my opponent's face. I went to guard from there and then conducted a high risk action and attacked a baseball choke as the opponent passed. However, the risk did not pay off as he easily passed the guard and established a strong and formidable side mount. The paramount lesson to be taken into account is that I should be extra careful in attacking the BB choke on the guard pass; furthermore, as instructed by Aaron the next day, I could have flipped my knees to the side and from that point a X-guard pass would become apparent. Fortunately, there was open mat at Barums on Sunday. In the open mat session, I applied a generous amount of thought to my rolling and was able to make the session extra progressive. One transparent point learned at the session was the risk that comes when performing the kick-back pass since the opponent can flip his leg over to the other side and set up a foot lock. I also learned of a fundamental defense against the kimura from the top side by angling my arm inside my legs and not allowing my opponent to pull it out. Additionally, I learned a method of defending the bow and arrow choke as it is advisable to not loosen the gi on the downwards side unless it is at the very last minute.Progression is becoming ever more present as I continue attempts to utilize the tripod pass, and success should be an eventuality as I keep on attacking it.

 I am continually learning and shooting for the stars which will be reached.

  This weeks training as I edified on some new concepts, techniques and philosophies. On Monday, Andrej illustrated methods of basic open guard sweep coming via swinging the leg over to the opponent's hip then conducting a basic scissor sweep. From that point the training was focused on creativity using the guard and simply playing in order to find movements and pivotal concepts which are enormously conducive to my BJJ game. Tuesday was an inspiring wrestling session whereupon jimmy went over methods of catching the arm drag when the arm as the hand clubs the head then going inside for the double takedown thereafter. He further elaborated on waiting for the guy to pull the arm as a trigger to attack the double leg takedown from having the arm inside the leg. Wednesday was further inculcation by Andre upon the importance of the grip, and the rolling which that followed dealt with more of the same training on Monday but I did notice in the rolling session that I feel a bit more confident in hitting the umoplata. Thursday entailed my participation in Luca's class and he went through a knee shield pass instruction which I has been well-known to me previously but I unfortunately passed over some vital points and details. First Lucas stated to push the shoulder forward and then dive my shoulder down, and from that point my hips fall close to the floor and glide along the opponent's side to a clean and smooth pass. Friday once again had judo mark teaching. My tai-otoshi skills are coming along nicely. In regards to the Tai-Otoshi, there are some crucial elements to consider before the throw is attempted. First, the opponent must be moving forward towards me. Second, ample amount of room (ideally 1 foot) must be present. Third, the conduction of the throw must be done using my legs and minimizing use of the arms.
  Saturday proved to be an incredibly enlightening session as I headed to 10th planet. Richie Martinez went through the Mexicana, which comes via establishing the pancho villa position with elbows inside the opponents armpits, switching the hips then using my near side leg to pin the opponents leg and grabbing the looping opponents wrist and gaining the Mexicana. Geo then went over a guard sweep where you push the opponents head while in guard, then wait for the opponent to push back, use the momentum of the head pushing back then swim my hand inside and basically crank the opponent over. As the opponent falls over opportunities for mount and truck position will explicitly present themselves. Sunday was a very fun session as I got beat up badly by Baret, Joel and my new friend Jerry. Joel illustrated a few different key concepts. One that gained my attention is attacking the lower leg on the half-guard pass then reverting to the capoeira pass pulling myself into a nice strong ankle lock. Additionally, Joel reviewed the Barum pass whereupon you grab the upper collar of opponent in butterfly and switch legs over and pas. Furthermore, the 405 pass can be had by establishing grips on one leg at first then pass. Lastly, Jerry elaborated on my ankle lock from knee cut pass and how I must grab the ankle then move my body diagonally backwards away from my opponent, sprawl and then attack the ankle.It was an enthralling week of training and I will maintain a new training curriculum consisting of simply training daily.

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.

This week has been a bit more slacker-like than usual. On Tuesday, attendance to wrestling class was invigorating as I was able to discover a gameplan for my wrestling. A massively frustrating aspect of my wrestling occurs when I attempt a shot and it becomes immediately stuffed. The frustration I discovered is derived on the basis of attempting shots on the opponent's legs when the leg I am attacking is at a distance far too large to cover, thus I have to attempt the shot when my knee is nearly parallel with my opponent's knee. Furthermore, Jimmy elucidated how it is quite common for me to club the head and bring my opponent's leg forward and at that point I set myself up for an easy pick of the front leg and a snap into the single leg take-down. Upon hitting the single leg takedown it is best to consider it from the basic Jimmy method of driving my head into my opponent waiting for him to push back then moving forward to institute his usual method of the single leg takedown. Wednesday was treated as a rest night but I did manage to get in some swimming in which proved to be beyond exhausting as new muscles were being actively utilized. Thursday was a basics session whereupon Lucas introduced his understanding of hitting the leg drag. The leg drag according to him must be done with the knee on the side of the leg being dragged going down immediately to my opponent's hip, and from that point the collar can be gripped and the guard can be easily passed. Additionally, Lucas showed a way of hitting the leg drag by pushing the opponent's knee forward then driving the shin across the opponent's lower shin and hitting the leg drag. Needless to say the Luca's training session was filled with thought-provoking and enthralling stuff.
   The tournament performance was as usual not too good. First round match had me clinched with my opponent as I struggled for a take down. I wasted a lot of effort striving to get the take-down and miserably failed. And when I failed, I begun to realize that I should become offensive with my guard and work my guard attack.Often when I fail a takedown, I fall back to turtle which is a position that entitle to lack of tenacity and a set-up to attack; consequently, that's my learning lesson.
  Sunday was fantastic with a seminar from Rigan Machado. Within the seminar, he illustrated a method of hitting a guard passing via gliding the passing leg downward over my opponent's leg as the opponent strives to set up a delariva guard, unfortunately, the technique is too deep and complex for me to surmise in writing. Rigan also illustrated a method of attacking the gogoplata from spider guard and then also reverting to the armbar sweep. Finally, Rigan showed a way of achieving a choke via pressing my opponent's head down into my chest and then positioning my non-choking arm on the ground and moving forward. An additional variation of this push-down technique was illuminated by pushing my opponent's arm inside, dipping my head into the little hole opening, flipping myself over and then getting the tap via choke. Rolling was good and Joel's roll proved to be the most eventful as I realized I need to continually develop my Judo skills with an eye to the uchi-mata along with the basic foot sweep. Further learning was also realized in my rolls with a big guy named Gerrick as he had a very strong knowledge and prowess for utilization of the lower lapel grip which can in turn lead to the worm guard set-ups. Learning is always continual.

This week was vibrant and I had the chance to be continually inculcated with new knowledge. Monday's class was a review of Andre's emphasis on the paramount characteristics of gripping. One one way of looking at is to think of grips in number grade terms. 4 points for gripping the very upper collar, 1 point for the lower collar and 2 points for grips on sleeves and pants. Additionally, as illustrated through Mark later in the week, the grip on the sleeve can be strengthened through spatula gripping it then turning it over and breaking the grips can come via gripping the fiber of the hands then pushing outwards. Wrestling was back to normal with Jimmy teaching class. I did not do very well in the stand up rolling sessions but I was able to learn that when catching the single leg, I must drive my head upwards towards my opponent's chest and push forward, and through this process I can prevent my neck from being snatched and choked. Furthermore, Jimmy illustrated that the ankle pick can essentially be caught anywhere and not just at the point when the foot steps forward rather it can come when any weight is established on the lead leg stepping forward. Wednesday was BJJ class with joel's judo and BJJ instruction. First, instruction of the circling foot sweep was conducted, then upon following the sweep on the ground attacking the over under sweep then when the opponent pushes switching to the other side (AKA 'transferring onto the 405'). Once in sidemount position, an explanation of the kimura was given. One method of breaking it was via conducting two small grip breaks then one gigantic strong grip break to break. Thursday was devoted to rest but I had the opportunity to watch a video about competition from Travis Stevens and how important it is to think when you are training and not just go through the sessions on autopilot, thus I need to be an active learner on the mats whenever possible.

     
Friday was a Judo session with Mark and I had the opportunity to have Mark pretty much do a one on one with me. I asked for instruction on the Uchi-mata, but instead received instruction on the foundation of the throw and something I can build my skill level towards. Fortunately, I was able to garner the principle of when initiating a throw to off-balance my opponent and if the throw occurs following through on it 100 percent and not holding back. Additionally, I now have knowledge of solo drills to practice during the week; therefore, 10 minutes each day will be devoted to just shadow boxing the throw.
 Saturday was an vivacious and exciting open mat. I had the opportunity to roll with a very strong Atos competitor and learned that when full mounting an individual when the guy hips up to push his face the other way and in that direction not just turn the opponent's chin but grab the shoulder that is in the direction of the opponent's face. Daniel taught me another method of hitting the triangle from the back by letting my arm go under my leg control his side arm and from that point he will roll into my triangle, it can be left unsaid that this technique is difficult to illuminate with the usage of words alone. Lastly, in rolling I had the opportunity to get beat up by a renowned Judo competitor named Justin Flores, and facets learned from the roll can pertain to being very active attacking and establishing a good base which can come about through many rounds rolling.

 Sunday was the usual open mat at Barum and it was enlightening as my old training partner Mike instructed me on a method of hitting an S-mount arm bar. Joel also elucidated on the way Justin was able to take me down left and right whereupon the opponent grabs my inside collar and I turn his arm in a steering wheel fashion and smoothly take him. Rolling was decent and I am coming to realize that I often get caught in half-guard. Therefore, I must develop a strong base of attacks from this position. It was indeed an eventful week

  This week's rolling was eventful in the sense that my routine was altered slightly. Monday began with Andre's absence from class and Joel took over providing instruction on a delariva sweep which I have been performing for about the last two months; additionally, Joel illustrated a method of attaining a triangle from that position as well. Learning came about in the rolling session as Paulo demonstrated the importance of ascertaining that my hand and arm does not cross the center of my opponent's chest, and how through conduction of this action will lead to an easy back-take as well as a slick sweep. Tuesday's class was substituted by Lucas and the class was less than effectual, however, I nonetheless was able to take away from the session an immensely easy and fluid throw whereupon I armpit clamp my opponent's arm and grab an underhook on the opposite side. I clamp down the underhook and wait for my opponent to post upwards and when the opponent posts upwards I sacrifice myself throwing my farside leg out and allowing myself to fall down, moving to turtle position and accomplishing the throw.
 Feeling the tinge of burn-out, I decided to take Wednesday off and rest. Thursday proved to be provoking as I was able to roll at Barum's and learned of a new method of defending the darce where I clamp my opponent's arm which has hit my neck then I grab his knee and roll inside upon him, and from there the opponent will flip over my side and I establish dominance in a sidemount position. Rolling proved to be a good learning session in that I was able to understand that when being sidemounted, it is of integral importance to keep the hands tight and not fling them all over the place, and use my body to shrimp outwards. Friday was the Judo session and progression was felt as I am now able to fully appreciate Judo. In my mind Judo can bear strong similarities to boxing as I was able to comprehend the importance of when attempting a throw to fully utilize all energies towards its execution; consequently, I have begun to realize that when attempting a throw, I must utilize every bit of confidence encompassed in me towards the execution of the it and half measures will avail me nothing. Saturday, I varied my routine and headed to the Clark Gracie academy where more judo was practiced and I had the additional opportunity to roll with my friend Harryson. I, unfortunately, was tapped numerous times and Harryson exuded strong dominance upon me, but I was able to understand that I still need to devote energies towards stopping the berimbolo and more research and work must be devoted to this area. The week ended on Sunday with a no-gi rolling session at 10th planet. Overall, I discovered through the session that my no-gi skills are improving but nonetheless work and research must be conducted in this area. While in the gi, my guard passing skills are near optimal, I realized though in the no gi session that my guard passing in no-gi could stand to sustain a bit of improvement, so yet another area that needs work and emphasis. Unto the next week of rolling, training and having fun.

Rolling this week was eventful as I have been able to develop a new perspective for Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Beginning this week, I participated in Andre's class and I became instantly enamored with his explanation of grips and how the importance of grips can never be underestimated. The key points I took from the class is the hierarchy of grips with the grip on the top collar near the head being of foremost importance while the grips on sleeve and leg of less importance while the lower collar grip being deemed as the lowest on the rung of grip importance. When I applied the grip importance viewpoint, I was rewarded in both being able to pull off my moves very successfully along with being able to enjoy and appraise BJJ matches in great detail. Rolling was decent as I was able commit much more submissions than usual as well as pull off moves that are simply in the experiment stage since I devoted steadfast focus to grips.

 Wrestling class was of course quite eventful. One goal I took from the class is to attack the arm drag with stronger consistency, therefore, whenever standing up I will always attack it and from that point shoot and attack the single leg. With a sense of gratitude, Lucas illustrated a method of properly attacking the deep half while maintaining proper defense, the major concept is protecting and being defensive until the deep half is sunk in. Conversely from being deep half'd emphasis must be granted towards driving my leg close to my opponent's hip and from there I can hit a deep chin choke. Alas there is much to learn.

  Wednesday was devoted to rest and then Thursday was a truly amazing class with Bill Cooper. Cooper explained a fundamental method of landing the darce which mimic'd to an extent an upper cut from standing. Cooper then moved on to show a way to pass the butterfly gaurd via grasping the opponent's head and driving the elbow to the floor while simultaneously switching the hips and pushing the knee back. Cooper also illustrated a method of achieving the triangle while sidemounting the opponent where I allow the opponent to extend his arm inside and I pull on the arm and lay from that point into the triangle. Friday was followed with more Bill Cooper stuff in which he showed a way of acheiving Darce from full mount by grasping the head pressuring the wrist, getting the opening and snaking my arm inside then from that point switching my hips over and falling into the darce set-up. Lastly, Cooper showed a method of achieving the gi collar choke by sidemounting the opponent and using the gi collar while keeping the opponent oblivious and from that point switching hips to chest on chest, handing the gi collar over to the arm clasping the opponent's head and getting the choke via straightening my arm. It was a fun class.

  Saturday followed with a gi session and for an unfathomable reason I was really tired but made note of a problem in that I am having a massive amount of difficulty passing the Z guard. Sunday then followed with no gi rolls at 10th planet which was awesome as usual as I had the chance to perform 10 rounds of rolling followed with a little boxing at the end; consequently, a lot of progress was made. As on Saturday, I did notice that my offense against the Z guard needs improvement, so I must put forth research towards this area. Geo also noted a tip for the capoeira half-guard switch where I must grab the opponent's knee pit on the underside and from there I can initiate a switch pass. If I don't perform this step, very negative things can occur such as the opponent easily grasping back control. It was a good week rolling and learning.

As usual the week began with Andre's class which entailed with me being immensely enamored with his techniques. He again illustrated two ways of passing the half-guard with the first technique coming via crossfacing while pulling the arm and sending the knee backwards. The next technique involved underhooking the triangular area that develops when the opponents sits up in half-guard then sprawling the hands outward then performing the tripod half-guard stack pass with the knee slice. Upon completing both of these passes and landing in sidemount, the basic triangle from sidemount can be successfully performed via trapping the wrist or wrapping the arm and bringing the leg over.

  The rolling after class good and I am feeling better after my dismal loss at my last tourney.I had the opportunity to roll with MMA fighter Cat Zingano and I noticed that while I was working with her, my guard game is not that fantastic. Therefore, I could use some time and emphasis to develop this area, more drilling will be necessary and direction should be found.
  The Tuesday wrestling session was great as usual as Jimmy further reviewed last weeks eventful session with Darryl, however, I was enlightened upon a weak area in my game as I often make the mistake of achieving the single leg and rather than going for it in the basic manner I try and attack the outside. This mistake must be stopped if I want to develop a formidable single leg takedown.

 Joel went about and taught the Wednesday class and it was a review of basics. Basic guard break to the stack pass and a new movement was learned via letting the opponent move towards turtle and at that point I can revolve my arm into a darce position. It was a very nice move to say the least. The rolling session proved to be long and hard as I discovered I am weak at passing the Z guard but discovered the vast importance of gripping the gi strongly and cleverly as this proved to be pivotal in directing my opponent's balance and weight.

  Thursday was relegated for rest as I implemented my new BJJ calisthenic program. Friday was judo night and I realized a strong defect inherent in my Judo habits as I tense up profusely when thrown, thus I must devote some time towards development of losing my fear of being thrown; however, I did learn very effective Judo concepts I must take notice of the space between me and my opponent and go for the throw when he is moving forward and there is adequate space between me and my opponent. Open mat rolls on Saturday and Sunday proved to be progressive but I did take explicit notice that I was more tired than usual and was not able to roll as hard. The big problem I took notice of was attacking the inverted guard along with being careful to not actively escape being pinned in my turtle guard when my opponent has one of my legs trapped. Big things to make note of in BJJ learning within the open mat session came about with Aaron's illustration of underhooking the leg and going for the take down from the backside as well as hitting the same underhook move from the Delariva position. I have a lot to learn and I will keep training diligently as  possible

This week's training session has what become usual  light and easy. Andre's class was of course eye-opening and well detailed. Andre illustrated a basic method of achieving side-mount by way of passing the half-guard and from that point, he moved on to sidemount where he creatively showed a way to take the crucifix via knee-trapping the arm in sidemount and pushing the opponent over and then using your legs to manuever them around the opponent's arm into a crucifix position. He then illustrated a counter to a common reaction of the opponent going to turtle and flowing with it rolling with the arm trapped into a shoulder lock. The rolling session was fairly light and I noticed a weak area as Joel was able to counter my kimura from half-guard  by attacking the arm-bar which is a move I have too often neglected and must be researched. Wrestling class was quite awesome as the class was substituted by a well-trained greco-roman wrestling specialist and champion who showed a variety of wrestling moves. The movement I can explicitly take away from the class is the hand break followed by moving under the opponent's arm then waiting for my opponent to clamp my arm and whereupon I re-clamp my opponent wrist then thread my leg inside and take his back. Light rolling proceeded afterwards and I was able to get tapped by an intricately set  up guillotine choke administered by my friend Marco, so it is yet another area of research that needs devotion. Anyways, it was a cool session.
 On Wednesday, I made the decision to change my routine and headed to Barum's for rolling and I learned some rather provoking things. First, it was nice to have Alfredo oversee our training and rolling as he noted weaknesses in my game and opportunities for improvement. The two rolls with the black belts Fernando and Harlan proved to be very enlightening as I learned that in order to continue control over the opponent, it is necessary to move or in other words flow with the opponent. Fernando showed me through simple rolling why it is an absolute must to break grips as his incredibly strong grip grinded me directly to the ground. The next few days were exclusively rest in preparation for the tournament, and on Saturday the tournament occurred and I truly put on an awful performance. I struggled to pass the guard of a guy who was continually attacking and in the process he hit me with an arm bar off my stack pass. The second match was against an opponent said to be skilled in judo and since my Judo skills are less than stellar, I made the regrettable decision to pull guard and this fateful decision led to a perfect opportunity for my opponent to institute his strong top game against my rather weak guard game. Consequently, a new direction in my BJJ experience will be put forth whereupon I learn to attack creatively and effectively from both guard and half-guard. Additionally, I will be of course devoting more time to training staying after class to roll and drill. To that end of rolling and drilling, I have noticed that I often fall back to the turtle when rolling yet I don't answer well from that position;therefore, the following instructional may prove to be useful.

This week's training started off prosperously. Starting with training at Figueroa BJJ, I had the opportunity to mee the legendary BJJ practitioner Carlos Valente  and he showed some different methods of hitting the bow and arrow style choke and one of the integral elements he emphasized was pulling the collar downwards and sinking the choke in, and this point is something I often overlook. Overall, Martin Figueroa put on a fun and illuminating session as I got to put in some good rolls and noticed my BJJ skills still need work in particular with my open guard sweeps and landing proper arm bars, my game perpetually needs improvement and this session provided me a reminder that I must always stay motivated for each and every session. Wrestling class with Jimmy was of course good. I am still striving to hit the ankle pick and one of these days I'll catch it. Elements of focus were when clubbing the head I must strive to constantly revert the head back and forth and never keep it static as these action open up opportunities for a varying amount of take-downs. Additionally, when going against larger opponents, it must be emphasized that I should not get in close and pull them down rather it is necessary to work with them on the outside and attack. Lastly, the wrestling session prompted a recommendation to hit wrestling attacks from angles rather than straight on. Hitting attacks straight on will often be proven unsuccessful so I should do my best to abstain from them.
  Moving on throughout the training week, Brian illustrated a basic method of hitting a half-guard pass, or in other words his interpretation of the Esgrima pass and he highlighted the point of ascertaining that the opponent is looking in the opponent direction of the pass, and this look is caused via my shoulder crushing his chin. Thursday followed with a training session at 10th planet which was as usual quite amazing. The instructor at the session, Ryan, displayed a effective way of hitting the butterfly sweep and the sweep would be accomplished through attacking the opponent just like in wrestling at an angle as opposed to straight on. Ryan then showed off a fascinating yet overlooked method of hitting the north south choke after landing the butterfly sweep and it involved taking the north south position while moving towards the opponent's body in order to make certain the opponent's chin will be cranked upwards by use of my lat then driving the lat downwards to establish the choking/tapping position. The rolling at the 10th planet session was quite good but one student named Charles actively used the inverted guard and my answers against it were lackluster as he repeatedly implemented his game upon me tapping me out left, right and center with a myriad of leg locks. Additionally, further study into developing a stronger guard attack is necessary since I had an enormously difficult time striving to establish dominance via the guard. Following the no-gi session, Friday judo class, proved to be enlightening and humbling as I received instruction in an art that is definitely unfamiliar territory to me. The thing I can take out of the class is a nice set-up for the uchi-mata and tai-otoshi that comes through pulling the opponent circling around and then ending up in a position whereupon his arm is pulled to my chest while his shoulder is facing directly upwards towards the ceiling. At this point, I am able to have two options of either trying and landing the uchi-mata or the tai-otoshi. The last training session of the week then occurred on Saturday at the Barum BJJ open mat. The first roll was humbling as I got beat up brutally by a young blue belt as I was in awe how he hit me with a beautifully set-up triangle coming about through my bad habit of leaving my arm dangling out. After the roll, my rolls turned out to be less than ideal but the biggest discovery I noticed is that my half-guard passing was off and I need to display more patience in passing from that position. I also learned of a new defense against the baseball choke which can come through grasping and pulling in the elbow that is not torquing inside of my throat and from there the fearsome choke can be easily stopped and I can be put into a more advantageous position.

  As a last part of this blog entry, the competition video of Marcelo Garcia is a display of what I can only hope my Jiu-Jitsu skills may one day mimic.