TATER

FRIDAY, 6 JANUARY 2012 & SATURDAY, 7 JANUARY

Our Nebraska friend, Allen Tate, dropped in for a private lesson on Friday (David was the practice dummy) and attended the group class on Saturday. We worked the top (passes and submissions) from the half-guard, a few very basic sweeps from the spider guard, and positioning for side mount and kesa gatame.

Since it has been a full year since I have had the chance to "grade" Allen, I must say that I am pleased with his progress. He is now a one-stripe blue belt (last January he was a four-stripe white belt) and is a much lighter character due to fantastic weight loss. Of course there were some holes in his game, but mine has holes big enough to drive trucks through. I hope he learned a few pointers from me and can take them home to brutalize his fellows at Mid-America Martial Arts.