The Jits bug

I'm starting to catch the Jiu-Jitsu bug again.  I have loved Judo since my first class, have put a decent amount of thought and effort into it and have indeed made some real improvements.  That said, for what ever reason, it doesn't come to me as naturally as to some.  From a fight strategy point of view I think Judo has some very effective approaches and I think the importance of the ability to effectively take someone down and get into a dominant position is becoming more apparent as MMA evolves.  Ground work, whether you call it Jiu-Jitsu or Judo newaza, does come more naturally to me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm no great player or anything and I get handled pretty easily by the higher belts, but I think that the fluidity and transitions come to me more easily.

Ray Casias taught the Jiu-Jitsu class last night.  He stepped through a method of breaking the closed guard by standing up.  Once the guard is broken the opponent would probably seek a De La Riva Guard.  He then  showed a couple different passes from that position.  I took away a couple simple things on breaking the guard that I was not previously doing.  First and was immobilizing the hand of your opponent on the same side you are standing up on.  If I am standing from a kneeling position starting with my left foot, I want to trap my opponents right hand so that he can not attack that leg.  The second leg up needs to hide behind the opponents butt so that it can't be easily reaped.  When it comes time to peal the opponents guard off of your torso it is important to switch hands and keeping the opponents right hand trapped.  These little details make a huge difference in whether your technique will be successful or not and Ray breaks down these details very very well.  I worked with some great guys last night and they were very helpful.

Next I took the 2 hour Judo class that Terry Spencer was teaching.  I admit it is going to take me a bit to get my focus back coming off a Jiu-Jitsu class but as I get in better shape it will get easier.   We did Uchi-chomies which really I didn't do very well.  We worked on Okuri Ashi Hari and different entrances to it.  Again there is a lot of timing involved in this.  Here is a link to a description of the throw.

I like this throw but as of all foot sweeps I just find the timing really hard.  In the throwing line I worked on Ashi Guruma agian.  I really really like this throw although I have to concentrate on my hands more.

 Lastly we did some randori, where my friend Mike Smith made me feel like a rag doll.  He is getting really really good at using his grips to set up position and opportunity for combinations.  Hopefully soon I will be able to do the same.