Monday:
MT: Anthony worked us pretty hard.
3 jump rope rounds
some running
50 kicks, left and right
pads: 1,2,2xlkcheck evade, 2x rt kick
mitts: 1,2, roll 2,3, rt low, rt high
1,2, roll roll, 3, 2 lt low, lt high
sparring, 3 rounds or so
bicycle crunches 60
about 2 minutes of legs around bag, arms overhead, reach up and slap bag.
Tuesday:
BJJ:
Felt so much disdain from Raph today. probably all in my head. I didn't feel like training today at all.
We worked 1/2 guard stuff (SURPRISE!). I appreciate this since this is what failed me during the competition, but I also felt embarrassed since I knew it was for me.
1/2 guard, technical stand to takedown, switch the 1/2 guard to outside leg over his leg to free up inside leg, technical stand.
1/2 guard, sweep: underhook, and dive under, hiding the head.
1/2 guard, using under hook, bump and take back
Some tips for this. Don't be flat. Always have the underhook, and fight for it. Try to post on bottom arm.
when going for the sweep, once the leg is captured, and head is hidden, escape hips the OTHER way to bring his weight fully on top of you. If he is able to get your head from his chest, abandon the leg grip, and fight the crossface.
Wednesday:
3 sets of 3:00 jumprope, 20pushups, 20 bodyweight squats
about 20 kb swings to wake my hips up (this made a huge difference, by the way)
deadlifts
w/u sets
220 x 5, 270 x 3, 270 x 5
Superset:
overhead 35lb kb shoulder press and pullups
6, 10pu, 6, 6pu, 6, 6pu
Superset:
75lb T-bar swings w/ suspended rows
3 sets of 10swing, 8 rows
Thursday: Rest
Friday: run 3 miles w/ dogs. LSD training. 120-140 bpm for about 45 minutes. Also threw in some pushups and abs for fun
Saturday: No Gi, Gino and I just drilled a few Gi chokes, and rolled a few rounds. It was a low key day and one that I needed. No pressure, just play. I was able to pull off the sweeps I missed during my competition. One thing I realize I didn't do is hip escape BACK UNDER him once I dove under to grab the opposite leg. To life his weight on top of me. Then I could drive and push him over. No Gi is fun.
Sunday: All Level Yoga at Atlanta Yoga. This was a sore-maker last time I did it. I have to use up my coupon book that I purchased. Even though I don't really want to go, I should. I know I'll be more pliable and sore afterwards. Yoga is the truth.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
IBJJF and my match, Sept. 15
I haven't posted for the last couple of weeks because I was concentrating so intently on my upcoming IBJJF match on the 15th. I wasn't doing MT during the week preceding and was only concentrating on bjj. Watching video, drilling, thinking about it, losing sleep.
My prep consisted primarily of some stand-up work, guard passes, and sweeps from open guard.
The IBJJF was a very cool event. They actually sold it out 2 days before the registration deadline. Weigh-ins are IN the gi, so I had to be at least 3-4 lbs lighter than 195. I am usually 183-186 so that was no big deal. I'm glad I read the rule book before registering, because it would have been nearly impossible to get under 181 with the gi in 2 weeks. Next year, I'll probably compete in the sub 181 class. This will require some more diet tweaking, which I have room to do.
A few of my teammates, my best good friend, and my wife came out. I was the only one from Madhouse that was able to enter. So everyone who came out was looking to me for a win. Well, I lost.
Here's how the fight went, as I remember it. I haven't watched the footage yet, but it's uploading now.
EDIT: Video below.
My cauliflower eared opponent (white belt, ehh?) snatched a single, I sprawled. He was able to turn the corner and finished the takedown.
I was able to get 1/2 guard, and in good posture. Underhook and posted on right arm, head against his chest.
I tried to use the underhook to take the back, but he settled his base, and whizzered that arm. I must have telegraphed it. I went under for a sweep, which he nullified with a sprawl. He used that time to get a crossface on me and flatten me out.
From there, he laid on me, combining choke and arm attacks with incrementally sneaking his knee past my 1/2 guard. I did my best to grab his lapel and used my forearm across his throat to keep him away. He eventually passed and continued from side to Knee-on-belly, then an easy mount. It was text book on his part. I could NOT move him. Time ran out, and that's that.
My prep consisted primarily of some stand-up work, guard passes, and sweeps from open guard.
The IBJJF was a very cool event. They actually sold it out 2 days before the registration deadline. Weigh-ins are IN the gi, so I had to be at least 3-4 lbs lighter than 195. I am usually 183-186 so that was no big deal. I'm glad I read the rule book before registering, because it would have been nearly impossible to get under 181 with the gi in 2 weeks. Next year, I'll probably compete in the sub 181 class. This will require some more diet tweaking, which I have room to do.
A few of my teammates, my best good friend, and my wife came out. I was the only one from Madhouse that was able to enter. So everyone who came out was looking to me for a win. Well, I lost.
Here's how the fight went, as I remember it. I haven't watched the footage yet, but it's uploading now.
EDIT: Video below.
Discussions with my main man Cecil helped me with a game plan, as well as helping me re-frame my loss in my head to make it a learning experience.
Some things he recommended:
Make sure to get the collar grip first. This will help unbalance a wrestler, and it comes down to an attribute game. He was able to dictate range, and just took me down at will.
I had great position for a sweep in the first minute, but I relented and he was able to flatten me.
Some things he recommended:
Make sure to get the collar grip first. This will help unbalance a wrestler, and it comes down to an attribute game. He was able to dictate range, and just took me down at will.
I had great position for a sweep in the first minute, but I relented and he was able to flatten me.
I'm really disappointed in my performance. I can either quit or keep going. I'll keep going.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Mountain Pistol Training AAR - Instructor Perspective
Last weekend I had the opportunity to teach the biggest class I've taught to date. I taught my family (on my wives side) and my coworkers/friends from work. There were a total of 13 shooters. I'm going to write this little AAR about my feelings as a new instructor and what I failed at, and what I thought I did well.
It was held on their land in the north Georgia Mountains. The weather went from sunny, to downpour, back to full sun. It was good training weather.
The Mountain:
The shooters skill levels varied from literally the first time shooting a handgun, to seasoned hunters (which does NOT make them combative pistol shooters btw). I knew this going in, and designed the course accordingly.
They had assorted pistols and gear carry methods. There wasn't a lot of support gear or anything, so we worked out of pockets and off the ground. No big deal.
First was the first aid, evacuation, and firearms safety rules, as always. This was a special one since I got some GPS coordinates in case an injury was so severe that it required a helicopter evacuation. But I handled that portion.
I started out with basic marksmanship on 6" circles with aiming points. I took my friend Claude Werner's tip and used cd's to make targets on cardboard. I added a Popsicle stick so I could quickly apply the spray paint onto the targets and not get my hands painted up.
We started with building the grip, sight picture, the shot cycle, good base and basic marksmanship on the targets. I also went over loading/unloading. I could clean up the progression of drills a little next time. I felt jumbled on the orders of some of the drills. I went from draw stroke and one shot, to an extension to 1 shot, and then extension to multiple shots. I realize it's probably in the wrong order, thinking back. However, they all brought holsters, so I wanted to make sure they knew how to get their guns out. I think the progression next time would be draw stroke to single shots, then multiple, then maybe a movement element to a shot. I'll think on this more.
They wanted a combative pistol type class, so I wanted to be sure to give them dynamic stuff once they proved they could handle the basics a few times. There wasn't much issue with them pointing guns at themselves, and most all of them had great trigger finger discipline.
I introduced the Wyatt protocol and the movement off line with the draw stroke, verbalization, explained the ooda loop and effects of adrenaline to them. Just as predicted, as the number of parallel tasks builds, the stress level rises, and people start feeling the pressure. My Uncle Steve mentioned that.
We did malfunction clearing, turns, and movement, strong hand/weak hand only shooting, and retention drills. We talked about picking small aiming points on the shirt or body to target, instead of 'center of mass'.
The biggest gap in logical progression that I felt was between the stationary marksmanship stuff to the dynamic movement stuff. I need to figure out a transition set of drills to bridge this gap better.
I love the 100% accountable for hits idea, and used it for the first half of the day. Then when we stapled paper plates to the chest, and worked the more dynamic drills, I reminded them that while we weren't counting holes, we SHOULD still consider that we need to make our hits. I went into the nuns and orphans and lawyers reminder on missed shots.
I think a way to keep them more accountable is to interject a drill in the middle of the this portion that holds them 100% accountable for A zone hits. Maybe a box drill or some thing.
We didn't break for lunch at all during this, so this amount of material was stretching their patience and ability to concentrate. A more defined and scheduled meal in the middle would have been better, I think. Pacing is not easy, and it is something I'll have to work on. I also need to be more accurate with my range commands, to help avoid confusion. I was conscious of this when I was issuing commands, as in "the range commands will be as follows...". But when I forgot to be deliberate, people would do something that I didn't anticipate. No big deal, but I'll work on it.
I'm already thinking of ideas for the next class. I think it will have more barricade drills, as well as seated draw stroke, and shooting left or right from seated. It will also have positional shooting.
All in all, it went very well. Everyone was safe, no one got hurt. They seemed to like it very much.
On Sunday, I did a very basic primer and familiarization with some of the wives, girlfriends, and a few guys who didn't get to shoot Saturday. I wasn't expecting this class, so I sort of winged it. I think it went well. It was probably a 40 round course of fire. I had them load only 5-6 rounds per magazine, and held them accountable for each shot. I had them work off of the ground, since none of them carry a gun, and any work would be out of a drawer or table. We did simple sight alignment, surprise break drills. I worked them through multiple shots, follow through, and recoil control. We moved into strong and weak hand shooting (limited round count), and finally a failure drill of 2body/1head a few times. They all did great, and gained some confidence.
It was held on their land in the north Georgia Mountains. The weather went from sunny, to downpour, back to full sun. It was good training weather.
The Mountain:
The shooters skill levels varied from literally the first time shooting a handgun, to seasoned hunters (which does NOT make them combative pistol shooters btw). I knew this going in, and designed the course accordingly.
They had assorted pistols and gear carry methods. There wasn't a lot of support gear or anything, so we worked out of pockets and off the ground. No big deal.
First was the first aid, evacuation, and firearms safety rules, as always. This was a special one since I got some GPS coordinates in case an injury was so severe that it required a helicopter evacuation. But I handled that portion.
I started out with basic marksmanship on 6" circles with aiming points. I took my friend Claude Werner's tip and used cd's to make targets on cardboard. I added a Popsicle stick so I could quickly apply the spray paint onto the targets and not get my hands painted up.
We started with building the grip, sight picture, the shot cycle, good base and basic marksmanship on the targets. I also went over loading/unloading. I could clean up the progression of drills a little next time. I felt jumbled on the orders of some of the drills. I went from draw stroke and one shot, to an extension to 1 shot, and then extension to multiple shots. I realize it's probably in the wrong order, thinking back. However, they all brought holsters, so I wanted to make sure they knew how to get their guns out. I think the progression next time would be draw stroke to single shots, then multiple, then maybe a movement element to a shot. I'll think on this more.
They wanted a combative pistol type class, so I wanted to be sure to give them dynamic stuff once they proved they could handle the basics a few times. There wasn't much issue with them pointing guns at themselves, and most all of them had great trigger finger discipline.
I introduced the Wyatt protocol and the movement off line with the draw stroke, verbalization, explained the ooda loop and effects of adrenaline to them. Just as predicted, as the number of parallel tasks builds, the stress level rises, and people start feeling the pressure. My Uncle Steve mentioned that.
We did malfunction clearing, turns, and movement, strong hand/weak hand only shooting, and retention drills. We talked about picking small aiming points on the shirt or body to target, instead of 'center of mass'.
The biggest gap in logical progression that I felt was between the stationary marksmanship stuff to the dynamic movement stuff. I need to figure out a transition set of drills to bridge this gap better.
I love the 100% accountable for hits idea, and used it for the first half of the day. Then when we stapled paper plates to the chest, and worked the more dynamic drills, I reminded them that while we weren't counting holes, we SHOULD still consider that we need to make our hits. I went into the nuns and orphans and lawyers reminder on missed shots.
I think a way to keep them more accountable is to interject a drill in the middle of the this portion that holds them 100% accountable for A zone hits. Maybe a box drill or some thing.
We didn't break for lunch at all during this, so this amount of material was stretching their patience and ability to concentrate. A more defined and scheduled meal in the middle would have been better, I think. Pacing is not easy, and it is something I'll have to work on. I also need to be more accurate with my range commands, to help avoid confusion. I was conscious of this when I was issuing commands, as in "the range commands will be as follows...". But when I forgot to be deliberate, people would do something that I didn't anticipate. No big deal, but I'll work on it.
I'm already thinking of ideas for the next class. I think it will have more barricade drills, as well as seated draw stroke, and shooting left or right from seated. It will also have positional shooting.
All in all, it went very well. Everyone was safe, no one got hurt. They seemed to like it very much.
On Sunday, I did a very basic primer and familiarization with some of the wives, girlfriends, and a few guys who didn't get to shoot Saturday. I wasn't expecting this class, so I sort of winged it. I think it went well. It was probably a 40 round course of fire. I had them load only 5-6 rounds per magazine, and held them accountable for each shot. I had them work off of the ground, since none of them carry a gun, and any work would be out of a drawer or table. We did simple sight alignment, surprise break drills. I worked them through multiple shots, follow through, and recoil control. We moved into strong and weak hand shooting (limited round count), and finally a failure drill of 2body/1head a few times. They all did great, and gained some confidence.
Week of 9/3/12
Monday: Holiday, gym closed, I relaxed and pigged out on chinese food and beer. Retained probably 6 lbs of water... :)
Tuesday: BJJ
Noone else showed up to jits, mostly due to some lingering injuries, holiday travel, etc.
So I got a private with Raph. We quickly drilled some armbars, both traditional and sneakier ones. Drilled a straight arm bar transition when the primary arm is pulled out.
We did a cool choke where you get a cross collar grip, then you drive off of his hips, sitting yourself up, and pulling his head forward and down, the cross grip should be under his chin. Your off hand can help make him look down. the off hand will then be used to go behind his neck and weaving inside of the cross collar grip arm's elbow. A scissoring motion makes a tight ass choke.
We also went over the straight ankle lock. Usually comes out of open guard, have to overwrap the foot/ankle, almost in a guillotine grip, while falling to the side that the ankle is trapped. make sure the wrist is behind the ankle, not the Achilles tendon, extend hips to finish lock. A solid tip is to hide the foot that's between his legs, so he doesn't lock you. Use that leg to get a hook on the attacked leg, or use your feet as hands to keep him off of your ankle while you set the lock up.
To defend this lock, pop up and stand on the attacked ankle, then sit and spin through to free up the leg. Usually is sort of a scramble.
If you're attack and the guy stands up, abandon the ankle lock and get an underhook on his outside foot. Push his other leg away, and lift w/ the underhook for a sweep as you stand up.
Raph had me working a conditioning circuit. dumbbell pushups w/ rows at the top, medicine ball situps, and swiss ball hip exercises, 1:00 each, w/ 3:00 of jump rope between. This circuit 3x.
Jamal was nice enough to roll with me after all of this. I was getting rolled up, but I was able to defend some arm bars and chokes pretty well.
Tuesday: BJJ
Noone else showed up to jits, mostly due to some lingering injuries, holiday travel, etc.
So I got a private with Raph. We quickly drilled some armbars, both traditional and sneakier ones. Drilled a straight arm bar transition when the primary arm is pulled out.
We did a cool choke where you get a cross collar grip, then you drive off of his hips, sitting yourself up, and pulling his head forward and down, the cross grip should be under his chin. Your off hand can help make him look down. the off hand will then be used to go behind his neck and weaving inside of the cross collar grip arm's elbow. A scissoring motion makes a tight ass choke.
We also went over the straight ankle lock. Usually comes out of open guard, have to overwrap the foot/ankle, almost in a guillotine grip, while falling to the side that the ankle is trapped. make sure the wrist is behind the ankle, not the Achilles tendon, extend hips to finish lock. A solid tip is to hide the foot that's between his legs, so he doesn't lock you. Use that leg to get a hook on the attacked leg, or use your feet as hands to keep him off of your ankle while you set the lock up.
To defend this lock, pop up and stand on the attacked ankle, then sit and spin through to free up the leg. Usually is sort of a scramble.
If you're attack and the guy stands up, abandon the ankle lock and get an underhook on his outside foot. Push his other leg away, and lift w/ the underhook for a sweep as you stand up.
Raph had me working a conditioning circuit. dumbbell pushups w/ rows at the top, medicine ball situps, and swiss ball hip exercises, 1:00 each, w/ 3:00 of jump rope between. This circuit 3x.
Jamal was nice enough to roll with me after all of this. I was getting rolled up, but I was able to defend some arm bars and chokes pretty well.
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