Ugh.  Rolled of the first time in about 8 months.  It was fun to get back out there and it was also my first time rolling up at MMAA.  I could tell that I was out of shape because the warm ups (which were not that intense) already made me feel like I wanted to puke.  Also, this was the first time in a Gi in years–though I kind of liked it.

Side Control to Knee Mount

We started by working Side Control to Knee Mount combinations.  The transition was very simple

1. From side control (your opponent’s left side), transition your hand at their head to get a firm grip on their far side collar.
2. Your hand that was controlling their leg moves to their belt (or pants) and hold firm.
3. Do a pushup and put your left knee on their stomach, stretch your right leg out far behind you.  Stretching the leg is important both for base and so that they can not hook it with their arm and roll you.
4. In a tournament, posture up to show control and you have earned your points (MMAA rain down shots)

This transition felt really smooth for me and I can see it being very effective as I end up in side control a lot.

Knee Mount to Arm Bar

From knee mount we then showed a simple arm bar counter that you can use when your opponent tries to push you off.

1. Obtain Knee Mount as described above
2. Your opponent reaches across their body to try to push your knee of of their stomach creating some space between their torso and arm
3. Reach cross body (left arm) into the space that they have created and grab their triceps.  Reaching deeper helps put the arm in the right position as you engage the arm bar.
4. Swing your extended leg around their head and put your toes into/under to their ribcage (Japanese arm bar style).  Grab their pants leg with your free hand.
5. Finish the arm bar by pinning their head and extending your hips, controlling the pant leg and their wrist

Knee Mount to Collar Choke

This move was a follow up to the knee mount to arm bar combo and should be used when they attempt to push off your knee but do not create enough space for you to reach through and grab their triceps.

1. Obtain Knee Mount as described above
2. Your opponent reaches across their body to try to push your knee of of their stomach but does not created any space to grab their tricep
3. Shoot your free hand down grab their collar behind their head.  You should attempt to shoot pretty deep, keep it on the inside of your other hand but get them close.
4. You now have two hands grabbing their collar, behind their head.  Take your first hand (furthest away from you) and without letting go of the collar, rotate it around their head.  You now should have your arms crossed, scissoring their neck.  Apply the choke by tightening your arms.  Lean forward and post on your head to finish.

Rolling

We rolled for the last 30 minutes of class.  It went well, I didn’t get tapped out by anybody and tapped out around 80% of my guys.  I was truly exhausted though, with a lot of stalling then a flurry of action.  A few notes about this gym vs. Demon:  Much better shape, not as technical, very poor takedowns.  It was weird to feel like one of the more technical guys in the room, I don’t normally feel that way (keep in mind we were all white belts… but still).  It was good in that I was in the worst shape of everybody but was having some success, so its just another example of why good technique is essential and I should stop relying on physicality (when I am in shape).  Looking forward to some no-gi once my foot heals (stepped on some glass last night )