BJJ 19.1.2010

The second round of Alliance BJJ basics is nearing its end, and on tuesday our current "advanced" class joined forces with the next "beginner" group to form a new hybrid class. The experience difference between the group is marginal at best, though, and calling myself an advanced student doesn't sound right at all.

Anyway, three people from the newest beginner class showed up on tuesday. We'd all been dreading the combining of the groups because the dojo seems small enough for either group as it is. But with a smaller than usual attendance from both classes, we fit in without trouble.

Juha brought us back to the basic solo drills at the beginning. We did our bridges, ukemis and technical standups, along with some omoplata-like leg wiggling and whatnot. We finished the warm up with two different kinds of basic throw lifts. Simple stuff, but I was dripping with sweat already.

The first technique was a counter to the kind of arm throw we used for warm-ups. I had the honor of being Juha's demonstration opponent, and he easily blocked my throw attempt by dropping his body to a low base and pushing me away with his free hand on my back. After a few repetitions, we all got the counter going pretty smoothly.

Next, Juha showed a counter against the behind-the-neck throw. He ducked under my arm as I was going for his neck, bear-hugged me from the side, scooped his hand between my legs and lifted me in the air. His first uke seemed to take it much better than me. I had a... conflict of interests between my crotch and his lifting arm.

We also did some takedowns from a standing position. The point was to push the opponent off balance, lunge forward with one knee on the ground, and grab a leg. From here, step between his legs, hook the one remaining leg, and sweep. If he does a one-leg-pogo-stick escape by hopping away, turn around and execute a painful hip throw to KoB.

The last move Juha showed us was a variation to a side mount reversal. We already knew the move where you grab the top person's (gender neutrality for the win) biceps, pull it in, grab his (or her) belt, and roll the whole package over. This time, the opponent blocked the final rolling part by slamming his (arrgh, gender neutrality be damned) hand on the mat. That's the key for a secret ninja move, where you move your both hands. The hand on the belt lets go and scoops under the balancing arm. The biceps-holding hand shifts to push on the hip bone. This makes space for your knee to slip between your bodies, much like in a traditional side control escape. But instead of fighting for guard, you push the opponent's knee with your shin until he falls flat on the mat. This is your cue to reach around and climb to his back.

The class ended with three rounds of sparring. Juha tried his best to pair the new people with members of our old class. I got a chance to match up with one of them in the second round, and we had a pretty fast-paced match. The main difference between us was the amount of energy spent. While neither dominated the other, I noticed that all the sparring practice had truly increased my fuel economy. Learning to anticipate positions and to relax makes all the difference.

My back still aches from the last round, where me and my sparring partner ended up in a dead-end position. From the bottom guard, I went for an arm bar, but the opponent easily stacked his weight on me before I could straighten his arm. I got to spend about half the round with my knees next to my ears. Today, I spent half my day doing awkward and inefficient cubicle-spanning office back stretches.