Torreando Counter with Arm Drag or Rollover Sweep

Torreando Counter with Arm Drag or Rollover Sweep with Jeff Glover

More Spider Guard Principles

• Having a grip and leg extended on your opponent's bicep while they are making their way to side control is still considered Spider Guard. As long as you have that grip and leg extended you have control and they can't pass.
• Don't extend both legs, that's a mistake. Extend one and pull the other, or even lasso grip. The key is to off balance your opponent, having both leg extended won't off balance your opponent.
• Work sweeps that Alex taught into my game:
• Hip under standing opponent.
• Over hook close leg and under leg hook.
• Hook your ankle behind their opposite knee.
• You can sweep towards their close leg and lead to a heal hook.
• Double legs under one knee up/one knee down opponent.
• Under hook with your arm and over wrap your leg.
• Single leg x-guard with other leg.
• Leg press and push your opponent up and sweep to combat stance.

Coping With The New Schedule Change

My school changed its schedule after Labor Day, which forced me to change my life schedule. Now I'm trying to make it to work earlier to so I can get out earlier. As of right now I'm attending the advance classes Tues/Thursday at 6pm.

Last Thursday, Justin went over some sweeps from De La Riva:

• De La Riva with a far side grip on the sleeve. Rock your opponent over, smash the knee, and go parallel while twisting their body. Slowly slide your leg to obtain mount.
• De La Riva with close side grip. Roll on your shoulder and loop your leg through their legs, then use your momentum to swing your leg over their arm and your leg goes behind their leg, lastly kick and take their back.

Sweeps from Situp Guard:

• Situp and grab a single leg while gripping the close side sleeve. Grab a lapel and rock your opponent over. Maintain control.
• Situp and grab a single leg while gripping the close side sleeve. If your opponent posts, swing under almost like deep half and roll them.

Luis helped me with the Berimbolo. I didn't know what exactly to do after rolling the shoulder. Luis says it's key that I grab their belt and after rolling over my shoulder I have to pass their leg to take their back. However, if they fall I can get up and turn that into a sweep.

Yesterday, Dominic showed us some Torreando (bullfighter) style passes:

• Basic style is to grab their pant legs, smash them down, and then pass.
• More advanced is grab their pant legs, throw them to the side, as you take a couple steps. But make sure to stabilize with your other leg (height of opponent's shoulder).
• X-pass: Starts with a pants leg and lapel grip. Throw one of their legs through and pendulum your leg and pass. NOTE: your opponent can not be holding onto your ankle. Your arms will end up as an X.

Interesting practice was guard defensive without hands. I need to practice this more.

De La Riva Sweeps

1. Over Head Sweep from De La Riva  
2. Scissor Sweep from De La Riva  
3. Single Leg Takedown from De La Riva

Rat Guard?

Open Guard Sweeps From Last Week

1. Tripod Sweep
2. Waiter Sweep
3. Omoplata Sweep

* A key tip from Terence is to completely clear the legs when passing guard. Having your lower half left in can get you swept.

Omoplata Sweep

The key component that I'm missing to this sweep is that I have to shoot my hips up!

Here are some variations and finishes to this sweep.

Reverse Omoplata Sweep:


Omoplata Sweep to Straight Arm-bar:

Rolled Up Epsiode 26 – Jiu-jitsu Missionary: Andre Galvao

Andre Galvao shows the following from guard:
1) sweep,
2) arm bar,
3) taking the back

in the following video.

Don't Sit Down

It's been awhile since I have sat down to write here. I need to be more consistent with my training. Ever since I got promoted to blue I haven been a little hesitant rolling with white belts because:

1. some of them go full on rage trying to submit a blue belt and sometimes that leads to injuries, and
2. getting submitted by a white belt is embarrassing.

I'm slowly starting to get over the 2nd reason because you can't beat them all. Some white belts are really strong and may have a wrestling background. Plus, sometimes a lower belt might submit a higher belt. For example, I saw a blue belt submit a purple today. The blue belt was probably 80 pounds heavier and taller, but it happens. Win or lose, I just have to roll with the intent of learning in mind.

Anyway, onto the things I have learned and need to keep in mind.

1. This week we learned about straight ankle lock. The key to this move is the shoulder shrug.
2. When passing with your knee on your opponent's inner thigh, don't stand too high, but instead press your head down on your opponent's opposite shoulder. Standing too high will lead to getting rolled to the opposite side.
3. Don't sit down. Terence says any time you stand and then sit down, your opponent gets points for a sweep. I do this a lot and need to learn to stop. Alex yelled at me for doing this, but I didn't understand why.
4. If you are trapped in half guard and are standing with the un-trapped leg near your opponent's head:
1. roll your opponent so that they are facing outward
2. pass your leg around your opponent's head
3. sit on your opponent's hips
4. then turn over for side control.
5. If your opponent is on their side and you are behind their back, you can wait for them to roll over to turtle. When your opponent does this, ride their hip and tuck in your bottom hook then roll them back.
6. There are plenty of opportunities to take your opponent's back, look for them.

Failed Butterfly Sweep to X-Guard Sweeps

2 Techniques from failed Butterfly Sweep to X-Guard Sweeps.

Closed Guard Sweep - "Like putting on a big hat"

I have been caught with this several times. I want to try to get it on someone else.

Butterfly Sweep & X Guard

Last week we learned about a butterfly sweep from standing. The sweep is used when both you and your opponent are standing and your opponent rushes or pushes you. As you are holding onto their lapel and under their elbow, you sit down on your back leg and hook them with your other leg, then continue to a butterfly sweep them. After sweeping them, you can end up in knee-on-belly.

The X Guard position is for when the sweep fails and the opponent is above you. You then can hook your opponent's leg in an X position- one leg hooked behind their leg, and the other leg/foot hooking their hip. Their other leg is next to your head which you have grabbed with your arm. From here you can stand and take them down.

Look for video.

This Week's Training

On Monday we went over the most basic guard pass. The one with one straight arm and other hand on opponent's hips. I get the concept in theory and in my mind I can do it, but in real life I still have trouble with this guard pass. I feel like my arms are too short and I have to move back as I'm posted up.

Yesterday was an awesome day because I got to roll with J (aka Justin). He's really good, better than the 4 stripe white belt that he displays. When we first rolled, I started out in his guard and his spider guarded me when I opened him up. He swept me with the spider guard sweep that I hate and mounted me. I didn't want him on top of me so I tried to get him into half guard, but really it ended up like a quarter guard. While in quarter guard, he did a Neto Roll, it caught me by surprised and I ended up in his guard again! Lots of things happened after which he submitted me with an arm triangle. After the match I asked him to show the Neto Roll and he said it's supposed to get my back from it.

I also rolled with Glenn. I had his back most of the time but he did a good job of defining. He's pretty good for only being a 2 stripes white belt. I ended up getting him in a rear-naked choke. Justin told me I could have finished him with a gi choke from behind: grab the lapel then grab their collar from behind, try to push their collar through my arm grabbing the label, what this does is brings my forearm grabbing their lapel closer to their throat. Pretty interesting choke for when you don't want to keep fighting for the rear-naked or traditional gi choke.

Techniques From Closed Guard

I missed the "advanced" bjj class on Monday due to work, so I went to the later "beginner's" class. It was actually a very enlightening class because I didn't get crashed by blue belts the whole time and got to work on some techniques I have been wanting to try. The beginner's class worked on the following techniques from the closed guard:

1. Pendulum Sweep
2. Pendulum Sweep attempt to arm bar

Some observations:

1. I often take people's back but have a really tough time finishing them. Especially with guys larger and stronger than me. Their defense is to grab onto my arm and pull down preventing me from finishing the rear-naked choke or the gi choke from the back. Any suggestions would be great!
2. I'm not exactly the strongest or heaviest guy, but I need to learn how to apply my weight and pressure my opponents better.
3. I need to work on my d'arce chokes.

Till next time... ;)