I haven’t given up BJJ blogging, I’ve only been… busy (I started my own publishing business). There are so many techniques I’d like to write down, which hopefully I’ll get to do in the coming days and weeks. I’ve asked my boyfriend to go to class early tonight so we can practice the interesting ones we learnt at Saturday’s fundraising seminar… In the meantime, here’s a picture of him choking me:
More pictures available on the school’s page.
Posted in BJJ
Last week my mom wrote me an email in which she asked–again–if BJJ was “deforming” my body, by which she means, of course, if I am yet as muscly as a muscly guy. (She has a female cousin who did karate for a while, but rapidly stopped because it was “deforming” her body. Whatever that really means, it has apparently stuck to my mom’s mind.)
This supposition greatly offends me, for two reasons: 1) the sheer, ignorant stupidity of it. Women couldn’t become as muscly as men, even if they tried. We just don’t have enough testosterone. 2) the assumption that there is a right shape for the female body to be, vs a wrong shape, and what this “right shape” is. But let’s develop these two points further.
1) That’s right, the muscle mass is directly related to genetics, more precisely to sexual hormones. Men are supposed to have more muscle than women (just like women are supposed to have, at least proportionally, more fat than men), or at least let’s say that for the same amount of training, men will gain more muscle than women. A woman will not grow the same muscle mass, through BJJ or any other sport, even if she trains the same as a man.
OK, sure, but what about these professional female athletes? They are sometimes pretty muscular, if not as much as their male counterparts.
And the key word here is… professional! I’m not a professional, not even an amateur athlete. I am a hobbyist, training 2 to 3 times a week max. I actually find it offensive that most people don’t seem to realize how much time, work and dedication is required to have a body like that. Not that it is necessarily a good thing, or something you’d want, but show a little respect! It is hard, and it doesn’t happen by chance or by mistake. (Of course, I am talking about building muscles naturally. If you show me a woman on steroids, then I will still never be like her.)
2) In French, “déformer” literally means “to un-shape”. So I would really like to know, what is the right shape of my body? Maybe I should give you some context. It is true, that since I have started doing sports, my body shape has slightly strayed from a model’s measurements… I do have a little more flesh about my bones. And you know what? It feels great!
I think we could take a little time to realize that, not only are female models only representative of one possible body type (tall and skinny), but that they are the weak, passive version of that body type! You can’t change your body type, can you? So that means I will always be tall and skinny, right? Except you can only be as tall and skinny as a model if you don’t move around too much.
When you think about it, most traits traditionally considered feminine, or beautiful in a woman, imply that the woman shouldn’t do too much. Long hair? I used to have pretty long hair. When I decided to get more serious about sports I cut it, because while it’s possible to do sports with very long hair, it does get in the way (and have you thought about how annoying it gets in the shower after every training?). Pretty hands and nails? Gone forever, I am sad to say. You can’t keep truly pretty nails if you work with your hands (or if you do BJJ). Still, in spite of all that, I am relieved to notice that I still look unmistakably like a girl (at any rate, definitely not like a guy!).
But this isn’t just about me. My mom’s concern for my body’s shape only echoes most women’s concern about their own bodies. Sure, as I pointed out in my first point, women and men do have different bodies… but not always that different either. Why is it that any similarity between genders seems so threatening, so worrisome? Have you noticed how beauty canons, rather than stand for the average man or woman, instead emphasize, even exaggerate what is typically male, and what is typically female? Men we consider good-looking are usually muscly to a point that is impossible for women to achieve; women we consider good-looking are exceptionally thin, or have very big breasts, something equally impossible for a man to achieve, etc. Yet beyond purely genetic facts, some of these traits actually suggest specific roles and natures attached to men and women: men get to be physically strong, powerful, capable; while women get to do basically nothing…
As far as I’m concerned, building some muscle has boosted my self-confidence immensely, both in general as a person, and looks-wise. Looking like a model isn’t my goal at all anymore; but I do wish there were more women modeling with different body types and shapes!
When Deepu taught us the toreando pass two weeks ago, it was a disaster. Completely undoable during sparring. But I kept on trying, mainly because my main problem seemed to be with my feet, and that’s something I must fix for any kind of guard passing from standing, anyway. Today for the first time I felt that I was improving: at least I didn’t get swept as soon as I tried it (or fall on my partner’s groin… oops). Because there were very few of us, and Friday’s always an express class, Nobi took some time after we rolled to point my common mistakes.
One concerned the toreada pass. I think as I kept going for it unsuccessfully, many details went lost in translation, and I really needed a refreshment. As it happens, earlier today Deepu had sent me a video of Andre Galvao doing the pass, but I hadn’t watched it yet… Here it is:
The part that I really wasn’t doing right was the end; I was looking for side control too early, and neglecting to control the leg at knee level between my own leg and my elbow, like Galvao does around 2:40. Well, I wasn’t doing the beginning very well either, but that’s more a question of practice than concept. 
Posted in BJJ drills
Tagged Andre Galvao, toreada pass, toreana pass, toreando pass
I have been utterly lazy with blogging lately. Two weeks ago we drilled a way to take the back via De La Riva guard against someone who defends against the scissor sweep I described in my last post. Deepu also showed me a sweep from half-guard he got from Caio Terra’s DVD, which I should watch on my own and attempt to remember. Regrettably I only attended BJJ class once last week (we did a toreando pass), so I missed the biggest promotion since Nobi’s been teaching on his own: Kim and John got blue belts!! (And Tuan finally received his last stripe.)
Yesterday Tri showed us a way to get triangle from high guard. It starts with your opponent in your closed guard.
1) Break their posture, using both your legs and arms (either by grabbing the lapels or “hugging” them around the neck). You can’t move to high guard until they’re more or less flat on you.
2) Move one of your legs up their back and grab your own ankle/shin with your opposite hand. Be sure to put a lot of weight on their back, so they can’t posture up. Shrimping slightly on the side of the leg you’re holding can help.
3) Slide your other hand under your knee and reach for the collar. This is supposed to secure your hold on that side of their body, so your first hand can let go of your ankle/shin.
4) At this stage, your opponent will usually try and make space with their free arm and tuck their elbow in (that’s a mistake). Grab their wrist and push it back all the way out if needed, then bring your free leg over their head and finish the triangle.
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I sparred with Kim, Tri, Martin, Jerome and Nobi. The good news of the day is that I held my own with Jerome, who’s lately been giving me such a hard time by pushing my legs away as he seemingly pleased (I suppose he must have swept me in the beginning since I was on my back once again). My attempts at spider guard seemed to work much better than ever before, and when it wasn’t enough I managed to block him with my knee. Once he almost passed, but somehow I could get on my shoulders and roll out. At last I caught him in a triangle the way we’d just learned, but closing it was really tough and the time ran out on us.
All the other guys I mentioned are more advanced and always let me do my own stuff (in essence, they’re the only guys I ever tap, LOL). It’s good practice for passing guard from standing and keeping base, though; most of the time I still get swept mercilessly!
BJJ – BJJ DRILLS
Last week we drilled a sweep from standing. This week we learnt a different sweep, which can either be performed from closed guard, or in the event of your opponent going down on his knees to stop you from sweeping him from standing. In both cases, you want to get to a specific position from which you can control the other person:
a 1) If you’re working this from guard, grab their collar with your inside hand and their sleeve with your other hand (both your hands are holding onto the same side of their body). Try and break their posture, pull their sleeve by getting on your elbow. Open your guard and shrimp (but keep your legs tight around their body until the next step).
a 2) Get your upper leg in; your knee must block their torso while your shin rests on their ribs. Then shrimp more if necessary and place your other foot on their hip (that’s the side you’re holding with your hands).
a 3) Now comes the sweep. You want to kick their knee with your foot (the one on the hip) while pulling their upper body with your hands while pushing with your shin (your other leg) against their armpit. Basically, you’re trying to straighten one side of their body, on which they will fall, while turning the rest of their body around this “axis” to get them on their back. The three moves I’ve described, which you must do all at the same time, work much better if your whole body turns as well: it’s not just your arms and legs doing the job (especially against a bigger or stronger person), but your whole hips and torso turning so that you end up on top. To help you get the momentum you need, immediately turn all the way till you can look in the opposite direction (behind your head).
Facing the possibility of getting swept, your opponent may stop your access to their threatened knee by going on their foot. You can transition to the other side in this way:
b 1) Shrimp more to get your knee under and inside their arm (the one you’re holding by the sleeve).
b 2) Get flat on your back and move your inside hand from their collar to their other sleeve. Place both your shins against their biceps and push, while pulling each of their sleeve with your hands.
b 3) Shrimp to the other side. Let your knee slide under their arm. Stretch this arm by getting on your elbow and reach for that side of their collar with your other hand.
Alternately, if they keep defending, you can try and go for a triangle from this position. Just get your knee further in until your foot is on their shoulder, then bring your hips up as you slide your leg over their neck (immediately pull their head down to keep them from posturing up). Once your triangle is in, pull their head down or angle yourself to close the gap between your legs.
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Following difficult experiences with Elie and Jerome on Tuesday, I realized that I must stop trying to play a bottom game against guys who can and will pin me on the ground. Not only is it unpleasant, but extremely hard to get out of. Yesterday I rolled three times with Seila (who tapped me twice!), and otherwise with Nobi, Jerome, Alex, and Elie. I did my best to stay on top with the four of them, with mixed results. Nobi always lets me begin on top anyway, so I’m mostly trying to improve my base and not get swept too often, and maybe be quick enough that he’ll let me pass him.
Overall I did feel more in control with Jerome than the last time, though he almost kimura’d me. My problem with these joint locks is that I can’t really feel them, so I’m always wondering when I should tap, and whether I can resist longer and escape, or not. Someone on Reddit once asked whether he was tapping too early to chokes, and that’s funny, because I never feel any ambiguity when it comes to chokes. Either the person is choking me, or they’re not (which also happens often; chokes are not that easy to get in). I also tap early to arm bars, mainly because I don’t feel capable of escaping/recovering. But kimuras and key locks seem much more recoverable (at least if I’m on my back), and it is true that you can twist my arm a long way before you hit the limit. Anyway, my right shoulder and arm are a bit sore today. Maybe it’s the addition of that key lock which I successfully escaped (punch upwards to straighten your arm and turn your body).
With Alex, who is the newest of the lot, my plan to stay on top as much as possible totally worked. I think he tired himself by trying to keep his guard closed (while I tried to open it), and afterwards I managed to mount him twice with surprisingly little resistance on his part. I tried to arm bar him, but couldn’t get him to unlock his hands (I am weak like that). At the end of the class, he told me I was “tough”, and I thought, “Naah, it’s all technique!” Elie, on the other hand, was no piece of cake. He’s really going strong against me, and he’s been doing BJJ long and often enough to defend against my attempts to control him. I sadly remained on the bottom for most of our sparring, but at least he didn’t manage to tap me.
One of the reasons why I was interested in BJJ in the first place is that it takes place on the ground. No throwing or falling from standing, I thought. Of course this isn’t exactly accurate, since you soon realize while sparring that getting on your own two feet is still a very good way to move around, and that necessarily implies the risk of being swept. The fact that stand-up isn’t a focus in BJJ still makes the learning more progressive and, therefore, less frightening.
BJJ – BJJ DRILLS
To perform this sweep, you must initially break your opponent’s posture. If you’re right-handed, grab their lapel on the right side with your right hand, and open it. Grab the same lapel with your left hand, but higher, and pull them down with all your weight, lowering your hips (as opposed to pulling only with your arms’ strength). Moving towards the right as you do so also helps.
a 1) When their torso is properly bent and low, move your right hand to their left sleeve (your right side) and keep pulling down.
a 2) Step inside their feet with your right foot (close to their left foot). Sit down as close to their feet as you can, and hook their right leg with your left foot.
a 3) Lift them up with your left foot as you push their sleeve back and down. Your left hand also helps by bringing their shoulders down, and your right leg can serve for leverage (I think it plays the role of fulcrum, correct me if I’m wrong).
a 4) Try and keep their leg hooked as they roll down, so you roll with them and eventually find yourself on top (maybe mount, or step over to side mount).
Alternately, if they try and posture up before you can go for the sweep, take advantage of the direction of their body, and grab the back of their knee or ankle with your right hand. Step in and push your whole weight against their chest with your left hand as you pull their leg with your right hand.
After that we drilled a pass:
b 1) Grab their pants or belt or sleeve and press down to keep your posture up. Place one foot forward, close to their body, sufficiently high (as opposed to near their butt).
b 2) Get up on your second foot at the same time as you turn your whole body towards your second foot. This should open your opponent’s guard.
b 3) Keeping your hips low, bring your body around their leg (or: their leg around your body?) to pass.
At last we drilled getting mount from side control via knee on belly. Once in mount, we moved to high mount (one knee over the bottom guy’s shoulder). From there you can obviously go for a key lock, or better yet, you can fake a key lock while removing your weight from their side, encouraging them to turn as an attempt to defend the lock.
As they start turning, bring your hips to their shoulder and, without releasing your grip on their arm, go for an arm bar.
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So, one of the new guys is called Alex, and I rolled with him last night. I later heard him talk about how it was hard to think of everything and figure out what to do, and I wanted to exclaim: “It’s absolutely normal, you’re brand new!” I’d say for a guy who’s been coming for only two weeks, he doesn’t have bad intuitions… But obviously he doesn’t know many techniques, and doesn’t defend very efficiently, so after failing to triangle him, I was still able to bow and arrow choke him. I think the number total of submissions I ever attempt is 3: bow and arrow choke from the back, triangle from guard, and arm bar from mount or knee on belly. All the rest… I’m not even trying. Yet.
I also sparred with Kim, who let me triangle him (there’s a detail I keep getting wrong about finishing triangle, though), and then with Nobi… which is a strange experience because I don’t know what’s going on most of the time. Ha ha. Black belts.
I hadn’t rolled with Carl in a while, and in the meantime he got his second stripe. There’s a guy who’s strong, and who comes regularly, so I think it’s safe to say I will never beat him. My goal with him is mostly to last throughout the five minutes without tapping, which I almost did… Until he caught my arm by surprise in the very last seconds, and I don’t think I could have escaped. In a more didactic spirit, I went two rounds with Deepu, who made me practice spider guard and taught me a related sweep. We definitely need to buy mats and start rolling at home… 
Posted in BJJ drills
Tagged arm bar, key lock, opening guard, passing guard, sweep
Our class is growing! Two new guys have begun to train, whose names I didn’t pick up, and a few more people from Nobi’s old class may sign up as well, among whom a brown belt I sparred with last Tursday. In other news, Carl got his second stripe on his white belt!
BJJ – BJJ DRILLS
Nobi went to Tim Monteiro’s seminar on Saturday, and came back with a cool way to open your opponent’s guard.
a 1) Grab their pants and pull them up as high as possible, putting enough pressure so that your opponent cannot come up and pull you in/attack your arms.
a 2) While maintaining the pressure, inch your knees backwards as much as you can, creating space between your body and your opponent’s (it’s hard for them to keep a closed guard even at this stage).
a 3) Round your lower back slightly as you get to your feet. This should pop your opponent’s guard open if it isn’t already. Bring your arms in; control the legs with your hands and by keeping one knee in as you put the other one on the ground for base.
After that we drilled a regular stack pass, which I like because it works when I spar. There were a few details I realized I wasn’t paying enough attention to, though, so it’s probably worth explaining the whole process here. When you’re in someone’s guard, get both your arms out at the same time and lock your hands around their legs (double under). You want their legs to rest on your shoulders, so if they’re still somewhere around your arms, step back and tighten your grip again to adjust.
b 1) Nobi teaches the traditional stack pass, which starts with “lift their butt onto your knees”, but according to Deepu (who got it from Roger Gracie) that part isn’t essential. The key move is: get on your toes and put your whole weight forward to bring your opponent’s knees into their nose.
b 2) Grab their lapel with your hand on the side you want to pass and tuck your elbow in. Not only will this give you a tighter grip, but it will increase your weight on this particular leg, which eventually will help you pass.
b 3) With the other hand, grab their pants and punch their leg to the ground as you bring your hips against theirs on the other side (this will naturally make their leg move over your head). Move to side control, cross-face, etc.
In the end we did a stack pass variation, also from Tim Monteiro. Works if you cannot lift your opponent’s hips up. So the beginning with the double under is the same.
c 1) Then you also grab the lapel, but… hand is palm up. Turns out this works well with tucking your elbow in.
c 2) You also want to get on your toes and put your weight on your shoulder, but this time you need to pin their hips to the ground. With your free hand, grab the pants near their hip and keep it pinned down.
c 3) Move your head around their leg and on to side control.
