SATURDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2024

Sadly, Sam decided not to attend.  Nonetheless, Josh M., Brady, and Abner came to train.  Josh asked for arm bars from knee in belly, so we drilled three of those and threw in Kimura as well.  When Josh departed, we reviewed baseball bat chok from knee in belly and then into arm bar.

Abcap:

Abcap: Today's class was attended by Prof, Josh, Brady, and myself. Josh today wanted to cover how to perform armbars from knee on belly which is what we did. We also performed some variations of this where we would also perform step over armbars by switching to the other side, and performing a Kimura submission while in a modified north south position. Afterwards me and Brady practiced how to perform a baseball choke from the same knee on belly position and how to deal with someone trying to stop you from performing this excruciating choke. After a little more drilling Brady said that he was "drilled out" for the day which Prof interpreted as him getting ready to lay the smackdown. For some more context, I decided it would be comical to hip thrust Brady's arm while having it in an armbar. I guess I must have triggered his Alpha instincts during this uncalled for offense. However, in our roll he was unable to tap me while I got 2 submissions on him. Seems like I'm slowly becoming a Pain Train...Anyhow we both then got annihilated by Prof in a swift fashion. Today the DSB came out to play with Brady on multiple occasions and I'm pretty sure they were not deserved. All and all it was another good day of BJJ.

https://youtu.be/FuUILYqqtqI?si=Vy0E58nFeoVNl4mX

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 27

Duy (white-3) = 30

Sam (white-3) = 23

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 27

Brady (white-1) = 12

Abner (white) = 12

Caleb (white) = 7

Evan (white) = 1

THURSDAY, 14 NOVEMBER 2024

Today was an outdoor BJJ class at my home.  Josh M., Brady, Abner, and my youngest attended.  We covered the Ezekiel choke, entry into the turtle, and two variations of clock choke on a turtled opponent.

ABCAP:

Abcap- Today's class was attended by Prof, Josh, Brady, myself, and Prof's youngest son. 

We started the day off by me and Brady rolling while we waited for everyone to arrive. I almost tapped Brady with a clock choke but I mistook him raising his arms up as a tap, therefore escaping the jaws of the beast. I will make sure not to repeat said mistake again. 

Brady submitted me with a sneaky Ezekiel choke which to me felt like the equivalent of Prof hitting Sam with a Bread Cutter. So we drilled how to perform the Ezekiel choke after our roll. We then drilled how to approach an opponent in a turtle position and how to execute 2 different chokes from that scenario. 

Brady woke up being a chicken today and opted to let me and Josh be the guinea pigs for those techniques because he did not want to he choked. 

Afterwards there was some roll time in which I rolled with Josh and had a good match.  All and all it was another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 26

Duy (white-3) = 30

Sam (white-3) = 23

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 26

Brady (white-1) = 11

Abner (white) = 11

Caleb (white) = 6

Evan (white) = 1

SATURDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2024

Today's class was outdoors again, on my driveway, as we prepare to move into our new place on Monday, 2 December.

I opened the floor for questions.  We worked on escaping the clock choke, performing the bow and arrow choke, breaking a pin from the half guard, and a half guard sweep.  

Abcap- Today's class was attended by Prof, Josh, Duy, and myself. 

We started class off by going over how to escape the bow and arrow choke which was then followed by learning how to perform the bow and arrow choke. Everyone seemed to enjoy when Prof used me to demonstrate how to properly execute this submission and laugh at my misfortune. The next item on the list was how to progress when you have someone in your half guard. Prof taught us 2 different forms on doing this, one by performing a sweep and the other by slowly shrimping your way out of it. We then practiced how to protect yourself when someone threatens an Americana submission from side guard. Lastly, Prof went over some wrestling basics to help me and Duy escape when sending an opponent's arm over our own after getting an underhook. We then finished the day off with some lively rolls with the neighboring ducks as an audience. All and all it was another great day of BJJ.

https://youtu.be/vkHCLYe_eHY?si=IyznsK6h7gopNIpE

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 25

Duy (white-3) = 30

Sam (white-3) = 23

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 26

Brady (white-1) = 10

Abner (white) = 10

Caleb (white) = 6

SATURDAY, 2 NOVEMBER 2024

As we transition into our new spot on December 2, we have to beg/borrow/steal time to train.  I pulled the mats out onto my driveway and had some truly dedicated guys join in.  I recovered basics and had Duy and Sam do two five-minute rounds.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- wonderful of Prof to invite us to his house for BJJ. It was disarming in fact. More on that later.

Beautiful weather and even enthusiastic neighbors yelling "get the tap" as they drove by.

Amazing how quickly technique can get away from you. 

Prof had us start with the normal arm bar warm up and not only could I not remember how to do it, I was also gassed after a few of them. Cross collar chokes were demonstrated, the Pedro Sauer escape from mount, S mounts and things to do and not to do from S mounts. Good refreshers for Duy and me. 

Then rolling began and I started to realize Prof's greater plan. New environment, same ole Prof and same ole submission. Yes for those of you slow on the uptake, I suffered what was probably my 100th bread cutter at the hands of Prof.  Duy even confirmed what I suspected when I asked Prof after the roll incredulously, "were there really no other submissions available?"

I have it from a reliable source (again Duy) that he sat in full mount and deliberated for a few moments on what he should do to me prior to going to a move that shows what a DSB he is at times.  Despite being bread cutter choked in front of the whole neighborhood and a couple of disinterested ducks that were in the front yard at the time, all and all it was another good day of BJJ.

https://youtu.be/vX3WHUGA76Y?si=F94im82Ir-cxas2l

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 24

Duy (white-3) = 29

Sam (white-3) = 23

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 26

Brady (white-1) = 10

Abner (white) = 9

Caleb (white) = 6

SATURDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2024

Today was me, Nick, Jason, Josh M., Sam, Chad, Brady, and Abner.

Perhaps Josh's request, we went over head and arm (kesa gatame) escapes, both gi and no gi versions, and one kuzure kesa escape without the gi. Nick added two regular kesa escape variants for fun.  We got a number of free rolls in, though limited space required one group at a time.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- in order of rank, Prof, Nick, Jason, Josh, me, Chad, Brady and Abner all met at Dojo Compton today. 

First off, thank you Jason for allowing us to use your garage to train. 

Random observations from today. First time I think I have had the pleasure of learning from three black belts on the same day. Everywhere I looked there was either a technique I hadn't seen or a nuance on one I already know being demonstrated. My head was spinning. 

Chad is clearly in the victim weight class now while I still teeter on the edge depending on what I had for breakfast that morning. 

Brady, Abner and Josh all move so much better than I do. Very impressed with how the three of them do BJJ. 

Nick lived up to billing. The only reason why he didn't thrash me today is we didn't roll. 

Finally, I will no longer feel bad about being a willing participant in Prof's joke on Josh Moss on his first day back from an injury on a knee slice pass.  I won't retell the story since most of you know it already, but I will say what Josh did to me today made me no longer feel bad about that day.  It was surprising, effective and made me laugh. As he was passing my guard, he put his knee on my ankle, which was very painful. It was surprising because it wasn't something I expected from Josh but I liked seeing that competitiveness and I told him so.

In other news, Prof applied yet ANOTHER bread cutter and Nick told me that one day I will be able to defend it because of the frequent exposure and me developing my defenses,... or something encouraging like that. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 24

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 22

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 26

Brady (white-1) = 10

Abner (white) = 9

Caleb (white) = 6

THURSDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2024

Nick is in town.

We trained at Jason's, with the lone non-black belt being young Brady.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 23

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 21

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 25

Brady (white-1) = 9

Abner (white) = 8

Caleb (white) = 6

SUNDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2024

Today was a training session with me, Jason, and Josh M.  I almost ripped Jason's foot off, and I screamed as it popped.  It truly scared me.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 23

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 21

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 25

Brady (white-1) = 8

Abner (white) = 8

Caleb (white) = 6

SUNDAY, 6 OCTOBER 2024

I taught how to open the closed guard and the "Williams" smash pass.

Sam's Recap:

Abbreviated recap- the author is tired. 

Impromptu class held tonight at Dojo Compton with Prof, Jason, Brady, Abner and myself. 

Few take aways. Both Brady and I showed up beltless. Prof supplied me with the one that has blood stains on it (his old white belt) which is my favorite belt to wear. Brady had to roll sans belt.

Escapes from closed guard were taught.

Two- three rolls were given and Abner impressed me tonight with his grit and determination because I ran out of gas and basically just dropped my weight on him to keep him still and he took it like a champ and even made light of it later. 

Prof picked up where he left off on Saturday and that's all I will say about that and Jason submitted me with a wicked reverse arm bar that was both creative and effective. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 22

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 21

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 25

Brady (white-1) = 8

Abner (white) = 8

Caleb (white) = 6

SATURDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2024

Today was an actual TAUGHT class with me, Jason, Josh M., Sam, and Brady.

I covered the cross collar choke from guard, Kimura, a modified arm wrap choke, and reverse arm bar.

We got in 12 total rounds.  Jason got a very cool reverse arm bar on me.  Also, I replaced the earned stripes on Sam's belt and places that first stripe on Brady's that was earned a while back.

Sam's Recap:

Recap-Prof. Jason, Josh Moss, young Brady and I all participated at Dojo Compton today. 

The day started with everyone's thoughts on Statistics courses in college and ended with my charmed BJJ existence of a life without Bread cutter chokes coming to a rather abrupt end. 

We started innocently enough with chokes and arm bars from guard being taught. Prof even threw in a Kimura. Then rolling began.

 

Jason, Josh and Brady all rolled rather athletically. I remember thinking how graceful they all looked. Then Prof and I rolled and it looked more like the Spartan army methodically sacking a small defenseless village manned by peasants who hadn't even bothered to beat their plows and shepherd hooks into spears or swords. 

Prof executed not one, not two, but three (THREE!) bread cutters on me in a span of five minutes. He even added insult to injury by applying a wrist lock. I wasn't going to admit to the wrist lock since the rest of the group had lost interest in watching me get pummeled and had their heads turned, but for the sake of the integrity of the recap, I have to note that it happened. 

At the end of the day, prof re-taped our belts and I couldn't help but wonder if he was putting three stripes on my belt to signify my rank or the aforementioned chokes I had just suffered under his hands. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 22

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 20

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 25

Brady (white-1) = 7

Abner (white) = 7

Caleb (white) = 6

TUESDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2024

 Today was an open mat with me, Jason, Brady, and Abner 

"AbCap" 

Recap- Prof, Jason, Brady, and I had an open mat day.

We had already started the day off strong when Prof got word that Brady and I supposedly threatened to bring the SmackDown to the black belts. However, I was clearly not involved and it was Brady who was found guilty. The jury will decide his sentencing at a later date. 

Prof and Jason had their usual rolls where it's 60% bickering and 40% BJJ, but at least it was entertaining. Brady and I tried our best against them today and both got our own victories.

Brady was able to get a "well-earned" submission on Jason, and I was able to avoid getting submitted by Jason in one instance. 

At a certain point today, Jason decided to point out that I had female qualities, which I decided to take as a compliment. I hope to use these features to my benefit at some point of my BJJ journey. Lastly, Prof and I stayed and conversed about the realities of Martial Arts training. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 21

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 19

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 25

Brady (white-1) = 6

Abner (white) = 7

Caleb (white) = 6

SATURDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2024

Today was a training session with me, Jason, Josh M., Sam, and Chad.  We had a total of 15 rounds.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, Jason, Josh, Chad and I all participated in simulated murder. 

As a back drop to understanding the recap, I would ask everyone to watch the Cannonball Run and observe the character Dom Deluise plays and his transformation to "Him," super hero cape and all as "Captain Chaos."

The pain train (my FJ with me in it) arrived promptly at 9:50 am with high hopes. I had been utilizing physiological warfare against Prof since Monday in the control room when I told him that it was possible that I was actually good at BJJ and expert even, but had been holding back for a whole year and that it was time for me to really let the beast out. He was visibly shaken at that thought as I walked out that night.  

Then the countdown started as has become our custom on Friday night with the hours until 10:00 am when doom would be unleashed. 

I am sure he didn't sleep well. 

 

Well 10:00 am rolled around and the fun started. Jason and Prof did the typical "Black Belt target practice" stuff they normally do.  However, Chad, Josh, and I tried our best to hold them off on behalf of ourselves and lower belts every where. 

A steady diet of arm bars, attempted wrist locks, leg locks and a sweet rear naked choke by Jason were applied to me. 

In my next to last round, Prof decided that I wasn't worthy of him giving me his full attention, so he began to banter back and forth and carry on an in-depth conversation with Jason and Josh Moss while rolling with me. Well, I took umbrage and even demanded during the roll that he focus on the BJJ instead of Jason's Chemical Engineering test. Then prof rolled again with Jason and we were seemingly done. 

I didn't like the way things had panned out in my last roll, so I tapped Prof on the shoulder to see if his dance card was open. I admit that I didn't really think that through. Jason immediately piled on with a few comments to get Prof even more frothy and then Prof turned into "Him".  (Again, pls watch the cannonball run because explaining it would ruin everything).

So to summarize: I had five BJJ rolls and a division one wrestling match today. I didn't fare well in the BJJ rolls, and the wrestling match was awful. I did, however, have his full attention. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Chad's Recap:

It was really great to get back at it with live murder demos with the crew after a 4 weeks layoff.

1. Today's roll time really proved to me that BJJ training is a life style, not a hobby.... meaning you have to keep up on conditioning & strength training 24/7 or regression of skills & muscle memory will abandon you quickly.

2. No Gi rolls really showcase how awful I am at both securing my defensive position and how non- existent my offensive positioning skills are.

3. On a positive take away, after losing every roll multiple times (including a 10 sec warning roll with Jason where he ramped to a higher gear the last 10 sec to crank an arm bar tap on me).... I got to roll a 2nd time with Prof who took the time to teach me some astrophysics on why it is impossible for anything to go the "speed of light" while I struggled to advance past his butterfly guard..... so at least I was able take something knowledgeable away from that.

But I agree another great day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 21

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 19

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 25

Brady (white-1) = 5

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 6

THURSDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2024

Today was a training session with Jason and Josh M.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 20

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 18

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 5

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 6

SATURDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2024

Today was a training session with me, Jason, Sam, and Brady.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- take aways from today. Jason (AKA the black belt who must not be named) reverse arm barred me today. I really thought I was past that point in our cuddling relationship. Sadly, I am not. 

Prof, well he was Prof. I took umbrage to the fact that he was discussing math problems/solutions with the Black belt who must not be named while rolling with me. I have standards about how people should conduct themselves while submitting me.

 

Young Brady was there and was inverting and we learned the story of his hearing loss, which occurred due to an injury fighting a bear when he was seven years old😉. 

What else? On a positive note I was not wrist locked. I mean, why wrist lock someone when you have so many other submissions you can use on them? I look forward to the Gi and all of us getting back onto the mats together again. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 19

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 18

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 5

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 6

WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2024

Today was an open mat with me, Jason, Josh M., and Brady.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 19

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 17

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 4

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 6

SATURDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2024

Today was a training session with me, Jason, Duy, and Sam.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- BJJ at Dojo Compton consisted of Prof, myself, Duy and of course Jason. 

Pro tip, a little WD 40 on the forearms and upper arms applied before you roll doesn't hurt in your attempts to escape Jason's nasty reverse arm bars.

I want to begin my commentary by saying Prof did NOT submit me with a wrist lock, even if it looked like it.  He simultaneously applied an arm submission and a wrist lock at the same time. So it was viewers choice and I consciously did NOT submit to the wrist lock. I submitted to the other thing he was doing. 

Now that we have that out of the way. Prof dropped a fair bit of weight on Jason. I might have spurred him on with more talk of Jason telling me prof felt lighter. We enjoyed about six rolls apiece. Jason tried to separate my foot from my body in the last couple of seconds after I had tried to do the same thing to him. I am not proud of my escape which was kicking my feet up in the air like a little girl and shouting "noooo"! However, sometimes us white belts have to do white belt things, so don't hate.  Prof took us by the new digs and I am rethinking whether or not they will be receptive to a banner that says "Wolf Pack Fight Club where the first rule is tell everyone". Well, give it time. All and all another good day of BJJ. 

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 18

Duy (white-3) = 28

Sam (white-3) = 17

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 3 

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 6

THURSDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2024

 Today's session had me, Jason, and Brady.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 18

Duy (white-3) = 27

Sam (white-3) = 16

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 3 

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 6

TUESDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2024

 Today was a training session with Jason, Josh, and Abner.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 18

Duy (white-3) = 27

Sam (white-3) = 16

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 2 

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 6

SATURDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2024

Today's class was just an open mat for me, Jason, Sam, and Brady.  We had a total of 15, five-minute rounds, with one person staying in for three rounds before cycling out.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- cuddling lessons consisted of myself, Prof, Jason and young Brady. 

We got in, I think, 5-6 rounds apiece. I lose track when I am being pummeled. 

Arm bars and reverse wrist locks (hat in the wide, world of sports is a reverse wrist lock anyway) were the order of the day. 

Prof shaved his arms so that any gripping we might do while hand fighting was effectively nullified. He became like a 250 lb slippery silverback gorilla with a bad attitude. And yes, he did have a bit of a tude when we got to the second time through the line up. 

Jason questioned whether or not he had lost weight. (Note to self, don't ever ask this question). 

What Jason was really saying was "Your pressure is not to be feared." Of course, Prof took it poorly and guess who got to roll with him next. He dropped a bit of weight on Jason and continued to drop weight when we rolled. I wanted to yell out "he said it, not me," like a nine year old trying to avoid punishment.

However, I couldn't gather any breath with the 250lb silverback on top of me. Thank you Jason. 

 

Brady and I were summarily pummeled and then Prof and Jason proceeded to give Brady a few cheat codes to use against me for the next time we roll. I didn't care for that either, but couldn't protest too much because the Dementor had not given me my soul back after extracting it in the last roll. 

I end with a quote from that award winning classic Dodgeball. "Necessary,..is drinking my own urine necessary, no, but it is sterile and I like the taste of it." 

I'm sure prof was thinking similar thoughts as he dropped weight on us today. 

All in all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 17

Duy (white-3) = 27

Sam (white-3) = 16

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 2 

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 5

THURSDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2024

Today was a training session with me and Jason.  I got a really cool Kimura on Jason from half guard...and Jason returned the favor with a Kimura in which I ended up face down on the ground.  

I would post #JasonCheated, but there's no need to fabricate things.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 17

Duy (white-3) = 27

Sam (white-3) = 15

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 1 

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 5

TUESDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 2024

Today was just an open mat for me, Jason, and Josh Moss.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 17

Duy (white-3) = 27

Sam (white-3) = 15

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 1 

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 5

LAST AFR TRAINING SESSION

After 21 years, we will no longer be training at AFR since they are going out of business.

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, Brady, and Abner.

Brady is officially a 1-stripe white belt.

We covered three kesa gatame escapes, and two additional from kazure kesa gatame.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, Duy, YB, Abner and myself were all in attendance. We covered all things Kesa Gatame. Three rolls afterwards in which YB came very close to choking me out with a cross collar choke. 

The day finished with a discussion on the construction/engineering of the AFR building as it was our last day on the premises. Brady got his first stripe today or did he? Someone was out of tape. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 16

Duy (white-3) = 27

Sam (white-3) = 15

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white-1) = 1 

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 5

WEDNESDAY, 28 AUGUST 2024

Today's class was a no gi open mat with me, Sam, Brady, and Abner.  I got in seven, five-minute rounds.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof. myself, young Brady and Abner all participated today in an open mat. Seven to eight rolls apiece and fairly uneventful. I broke a plastic chair by sitting in it.

Eddie, although not there, still knocked over the fan.

Chad was missed, as was Edward. 

After I was ridiculed last Saturday for leaving without rolling, it was good to get back on the mat with the young guns. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 16

Duy (white-3) = 26

Sam (white-3) = 14

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white) = 40 

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 4

TUESDAY, 27 AUGUST 2024

Today was just an open training with me, Jason, and Sam (Happy Birthday to Sam!). In all, I got in seven, five-minute rounds against the two of them.  Nick, via text, insulted Sam all the way from Seattle, declaring Sam's hands to be "meat claws."

Sam's Recap:

Recap- I just had the "pleasure" of being a crash dummy with Prof and Jason today at Jason's garage. Good news was I brought my neoprene socks, so no "Jimmy John's" feet. Bad news is my jiu jitsu landed me in some submissions. 

I was very pleased that no one clock watched and submitted me with >13 seconds left. 

I was not so pleased since they didn't have to do so because the submissions had occurred earlier in the rounds. 

Jason was kind enough as he always is to "show" me a new technique called a bicep slicer. I didn't get a good look at it because I was plastered to the mat with him on top of me. 

Prof was well......Prof, which means he repeatedly used the same tactics that I couldn't figure out cause why reach deeper into your bag of shenanigans when you don't have to?

Great way to celebrate my 56th trip around the sun and all and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 16

Duy (white-3) = 26

Sam (white-3) = 13

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white) = 39

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 3

MONDAY, 26 AUGUST 2024

Today's class had me, Josh M., Chad, Brady, and Abner.

I covered the flower and pendulum sweeps, along with back takes from common defenses.  We then went over the cross collar choke from full mount and then followed it with movement to the S Mount. From there, several arm attacks were presented.  Three, five-minute round robin rounds were provided.

AbCap:

Abner's Recap- Chad, YB, Josh, Prof, and I were in class. 

We started class going over flower sweeps starting full guard at Josh's suggestion. We also were taught how to take someone's back from the sweep and how to counter your opponent if they push against you (modified flower sweep). Additionally, we went over a collar choke from full mount that then led to pinning in the opponents defending arm against them and advancing into an S mount and attacking using submissions (modified americana, kimura, and regular armbar). 

We ended class with rolling where Chad decided to rip my shirt like if he was peeling a wax strip off of the hide of a grizzly. This was duly noted.

 All and all another good day of BJJ.

https://youtu.be/9uNt7kjYh40?si=3r3WOtsh9Qz1cbfU

https://youtu.be/7_JlDXYMCxE?si=B0OBVn-2DjTkyLWX

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 16

Duy (white-3) = 26

Sam (white-3) = 12

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 24

Brady (white) = 39

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 3

SATURDAY, 24 AUGUST 2024

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, Chad, Brady, and Abner.  I practiced for 90 minutes with Jason and Josh before this class.

I taught four side control escapes today, focusing on recovering guard, submitting the opponent via Kimura, and also shucking them by with an under hook.  

Sam took the day off from live rolling since he had five practice days this week, and two of those had one hour of flow/drill rolling with just me, coupled with an entire practice of free rolls against the class.  

Duy, Chad, Brady, and Abner were able to get in three five-minute rounds, one against every other person, and Brady called me out so I could experience "the bad side of BJJ."

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, Duy, Chad, Abner, YB, and myself all in attendance. 

Side control escapes were taught and the arm bars they can result in, if executed properly. 

We followed this up with a brief foray into the world of single leg takedowns. That's all I remember on that. 

Rolling time came and I chose to sit out while the rest of the ukes participated. I was called out twice: once by the little bastard, and once by Abner. I resisted the urge to get out there and instead watched their rolls, which were lively.  I look forward to Monday when we can do it all over again. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 15

Duy (white-3) = 26

Sam (white-3) = 12

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 23

Brady (white) = 38

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 2

FRIDAY, 23 AUGUST 2024

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, and Brady.

Techniques of the day were modified smash passes, i.e. ball and chain smash, to side control and to bread cutter choke.  

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, Brady, the terror who is Duy and I were all present. 

Drills to deal with 2&1s, guard passing sequences and basically a lot of "what do we do when you do this to us?" questions were dealt with.

During the drilling, I was reminded of an old saying regarding PT Cruisers.  Upon seeing a PT Cruiser, it went something like this, "PT Cruiser, get a bruiser."  After you spied the car and made the announcement, you were allowed to punch someone next to you in the car with you. 

Well, apparently Prof must have seen a PT Cruiser before YB did and got to give him one which he did. 

That makes the third uke to have been struck in the line of duty.  Nick was the forerunner, followed by me, and now the little bastard.  Welcome to the fraternity.  

All in all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 14

Duy (white-3) = 25

Sam (white-3) = 11

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 22

Brady (white) = 37

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 1

THURSDAY, 22 AUGUST 2024

Today was an open mat, no gi session at AFR with Duy, Sam, and Brady in attendance.  Following three, five-minute rounds against each of them, I departed and trained with Jason, adding an additional eight, five-minute rounds against him.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, YB, Duy and myself all participated in rolling today. 

Light stretching followed by 5 minutes rolls. Duy came with bad intentions and unleashed fury on me for my first roll. I didn't fare too well.

Subsequent rolls were a mixed bag. Prof again did mean things to me, but what is new about that? Prof also did bad things to Duy and YB also.  So he was democratic about it. We agreed we need to name our new digs once we get in them.

Finally, we reached a consensus that we need to launch the little bastard out into competitive BJJ. Duy and I will pay the entry fee. We will live vicariously through him.

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 14

Duy (white-3) = 24

Sam (white-3) = 10

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 22

Brady (white) = 36

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 1

WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2024

Today was an open mat, no gi practice session.  Sam arrived at 9:00 am. I had forgotten that my 12 year-old had a dental appointment at 10:40 am, so I had to cut it way short. Duy and Brady arrived and we're able to get two five-minute rounds in, and I will add a session tomorrow to make up for my mistake.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, me, YB and Duy all in attendance. Live rolls today with me getting a few extended sessions in with Prof early and YB and Duy getting a couple of rolls in before Prof had to leave. 

Prof insisted on trying to wrist lock me again. I did hold him off only to be arm barred several times. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 14

Duy (white-3) = 23

Sam (white-3) = 9

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 22

Brady (white) = 35

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 1

MONDAY, 19 AUGUST 2024

Today marks my 24th wedding anniversary.

Class today had me, Sam, Chad, and Abner.  

Sam arrived early and we engaged in some untimed flow rolls to help his butterfly guard and side control escapes.  When Abner and Chad arrived, I moved to a "Day One" approach with Abner in mind.  Full mount escapes were the techniques: trap an arm/trap a leg, the "Pedro Sauer" escape, and the Foot Drag were taught and drilled for an hour.  Chad and Abner had tow five-minute rounds following Sam's departure.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, Chad, Abner and I were all present.  Young Brady and Edward were missed.

 

Trap an arm, trap a leg and the Pedro Sauer escape from full mount were taught.  

I rolled with Prof before class began for an undesignated time period and he AGAIN created a wrist lock friendly environment for us to explore together.  Additionally, he threw in a couple of Pearson chokes and he used my Gi against me. 

Abner saw the tail end of me impersonating a day one Uke. The struggle was real. 

Chad, anything noteworthy happen after I left?

All in all another good day of BJJ.

https://youtu.be/-iXCXZU807E?si=Qt_OdFZcp8_ZNOrg

https://youtu.be/aB4g50XIQho?si=9kHVMM6Cn_Cx0MbG

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 14

Duy (white-3) = 22

Sam (white-3) = 8

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 22

Brady (white) = 34

Caleb (white) = 6

Abner (white) = 1

SATURDAY, 17 AUGUST 2024

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, and Chad.  Brady was in Philadelphia. Eddie remains injured. Caleb called out just before class started.

Per Duy's request, I focused on defenses while in the turtle.  We drilled rolling out opponent over and "crashing" into them before using a wrestling sit out escape. Additionally, we drilled a few attacks from the top to make us more aware of potential assaults.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, Chad, Duy and I were there and I had  damp Gi to roll in. 

All things turtle were reviewed and I especially liked the shoulder roll that ended up with rib to rib pressure on certain people... I digress.  

We also worked on the "Michael Jackson Thriller move" and a sit out escape and maybe a few other variations that I can't recall. 

Rolling was relatively uneventful, other than someone again trying to wrist lock me.  Eddie knocked over the fan and we replayed the video of Duy farting on me. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 14

Duy (white-3) = 22

Sam (white-3) = 7

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 21

Brady (white) = 34

Caleb (white) = 6

FRIDAY, 16 AUGUST 2024

Today's class had me, Sam, Duy, and Chad. LB is on vacation and took a trip to Philadelphia.

Sam arrived at 9:00 am and we did untimed flow rolls in order to advance Sam's butterfly guard and escapes.  Duy and Chad arrived at 10:00 am.  We reviewed the kazure kesa gatame escape and then focused attention on escaping from bottom half-guard. Obtaining back control and pulling full guard were the main goals. For a little variety, I added an attack from the top position to prevent the back take and showed, but did not have students drill, a knee bar transition.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, myself, Duy and Chad were all in attendance. We worked on getting out of Kesa Gatame. Prof and I had a couple of untimed rolls where he smashed me and repeatedly tried to wrist lock me, and I did get to wrist lock Duy as I was demonstrating a drill. I was happy about that after he crop dusted me a couple of weeks ago. All and all another good day of BJJ.

Chad's Addendum:

After you left, Prof taught Duy and me the "Michael Jackson Thriller Album" counter to someone attempting a half guard escape.... and introduction to a knee bar submission transition from that top counter.

https://youtu.be/4W6lHJqK4lw?si=ojBazsxu1gOFElAk

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 14

Duy (white-3) = 21

Sam (white-3) = 6

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 20

Brady (white) = 34

Caleb (white) = 6

WEDNESDAY, 14 AUGUST 2024

Today's class had me and Sam, beginning at 9:00 am, and then Chad and Brady joined in at 10:00 am.

Sam and I worked on odds and ends, with long flow rolls and spot checks.  With Brady and Chad's arrivals, we worked on kazure kesa gatame escapes and arm bars from guard.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- first day back in over a week. I had several ass whippings saved up for Prof. In fact, before our first roll, he asked me what I wanted to work on and I said "whipping your ass."

Needless to say, things didn't quite go according to plan. We did get 3-4 rolls in and I did try to whip his ass. I just didn't execute the plan very well.

Eddie knocked over the fan. Chad and young Brady came at 10:00 after I had already had my cuddle time with Prof.  We did some drills and then I started to pack up to leave and the little bastard challenged me. And frankly, I really grew in my respect for him because of it. He might be a keeper after all.

However, the 9 month suspension of which he has only served one month of will NOT be reduced. We have to have standards. Finally, what was with all the wrist locks today Prof, was it wrist lock Wednesday?  I found myself yelling out in the rolls multiple times, "nooooo". 

Edward get well soon. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 14

Duy (white-3) = 20

Sam (white-3) = 5

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 19

Brady (white) = 34

Caleb (white) = 6

THURSDAY, 8 AUGUST 2024

Jason, Josh, and I trained today.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 14

Duy (white-3) = 20

Sam (white-3) = 4

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 18

Brady (white) = 33

Caleb (white) = 6

WEDNESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2024

Today was an open mat, no gi session.  Sam, Brady, and AFR student/instructor Abner showed up.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, young Brady, Abner (new), and myself were all in attendance. I had four rolls with Prof and one with Brady and one with Abner. Seems like a good guy. 

There was some banter about the word necessary. Prof said (I am paraphrasing) that he knew of someone in the BJJ community who could be mean and at times might say things that were certainly true but not entirely necessary. 

The question was then posed by the Uke who Prof loves, if him submitting me with a one arm Americana AND a wrist lock was "necessary".

I'll leave that the rest of the ukes who I'm sure have there own stories of what they think was and wasn't necessary in their rolls with Prof DSB. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 13

Duy (white-3) = 20

Sam (white-3) = 4

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 18

Brady (white) = 33

Caleb (white) = 6

SATURDAY, 3 AUGUST 2024

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, Brady, and Caleb.  I trained earlier with Jason at Casa de Compton.

I covered the basic no gi armbar, moved on to omoplata, reviewed the cross collar from guard, and focused attention onto a kazure kesa gatame escape.  Three, five-minute sessions were provided, with each student rolling against each other.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, Brady, Duy and Caleb were present. We missed the rest of the crew. We practiced arm bars, omoplatas and a bit of turtle and a cross collar choke. Then we had three rolls apiece. 

Prof did not participate due to rolling with the limb collector (Jason) this morning. He did tell us that he wrist-locked Jason, which warmed my heart. 

Duy crop dusted me during a roll and on video. 

I lost my keys and LAW had to come bring me a spare which was unfortunate because I think she conspired with Prof a bit to do her bidding in the area of choking me a little more. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

https://youtu.be/LmkHTbdh6sQ?si=kweyCpE2ZiPXa7Up

https://youtu.be/9InCAZxO_jo?si=BpoJUwWjGTgMaQ1O

https://youtu.be/cxlG0XL_iR4?si=cxY1ISPnWu83XK6b

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 13

Duy (white-3) = 20

Sam (white-3) = 3

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 18

Brady (white) = 32

Caleb (white) = 6

MONDAY, 29 JULY 2024

 Today was a free training session with me, Jason, Josh M., and Sam.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, Jason, Josh, and I played a game of one of these ukes is not like the others today. 

One ankle lock, three to four arm bars and reverse arm bars later it was evident which one of us it was....

Prof employed a pretty devious tactic on me of pulling my Gi out of my belt holding it front of his eyes to read the washing instructions (while I was in side control) and very deliberately drawing my attention to my own Gi while he secretly plotted my demise all the while via an unrelated submit that I don't even remember.

We flew the fan at full mast today to honor Edward's knee and it did not fall over once. 

Edward, young Brady and Chad were missed.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 13

Duy (white-3) = 19

Sam (white-3) = 2

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 18

Brady (white) = 31

Caleb (white) = 5

SATURDAY, 27 JULY 2024

I injured my left elbow and right pinky on Wednesday, so I was not an active randori participant today.

Today's class had me, Tony, Duy, Sam, and Chad.

I taught a sweep from butterfly guard (review), two entries to back takes from butterfly guard, and then an entry into the initial sweep based on an opponent's defense and also Kimura from another defense.

Rather than free rolling, I had positional/situational sparring.  So, the first was guard passing vs. holding guard/sweeping/submitting the opponent.  These were 1:30 rounds, with the same break, and then the guys switched.  It became taxing since they switched partners twice, being guard passer and guard holder three times.  I then had them do this for back mount (but only 1:00 on the clock). Finally, I finished off with side control escapes vs. holding position for 0:45, but only for one round.

The consensus is that the above is MUCH worse than free rolling.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, myself, Tony, Duy and Chad all present. Eddie was missed and LB, after discussion in an official kangaroo court, had his absence approved (but neither accepted nor praised).

Tony was so bored today with class that he went to sleep in the middle of it. I will leave that right there. 

We practiced sweeps from butterfly, escapes from back mount, and chokes from back mount.  NOTE: it was during this time period that Tony got bored and fell asleep). 

We experienced positional sparring,  with 14-16 short rounds rotating from partner to partner. The sparring was very taxing and we were all pretty whipped by the end of it. 

We discussed places to get good Vietnamese food as well as Fat Boy Fried rice (local food truck).

 

Prof was not a participant today with the ukes he only taught and tortured us. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 4

Josh M. (blue-2) = 12

Duy (white-3) = 19

Sam (white-3) = 1

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 18

Brady (white) = 31

Caleb (white) = 5

WEDNESDAY, 24 JULY 2024

Today was just a rolling session.  I trained with Sam from 9:00 am to 10:00 am so he could depart and participate in "official UPS business" with the new operations manager.  I remained another hour so Josh, Eddie, and Brady could get time in.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof was kind enough to come in early to thrash me. 9x in all today and two wrist locks I believe. He is my witness that in between rolls with both of us 3ft away, the fan fell to the floor. We can only blame Eddie for that and rightly so.

I was happy to earn a third stripe today, or did I? Sadly, no tape.  

Josh Moss asked me sadly if I was staying to roll when it was just he and I and Prof there. I knew intuitively what he was saying or in this case not saying. If you don't know, I will explain, he was saying are you leaving me to roll with D1 prof alone on a no gi day? 

I need to crowd source and ask if there is anything that needs to be added since I left early. Brady is still serving a nine month suspension so he is not allowed to add to the recap, so in the words of Ferris Bueller's teacher, "anyone...anyone?"

All in all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 12

Duy (white-3) = 18

Sam (white-2) = 40 = promoted to three stripes

Eddie (white-1) = 27

Chad (white-1) = 17

Brady (white) = 31

Caleb (white) = 5

TUESDAY, 23 JULY 2024

Today was a no gi training session with me, Jason, and Josh M.  Josh got in three, five-minute sessions with me, and three five-minute sessions with Jason.  Jason and I had seven rounds against each other. I hurt his left foot and he hurt my right foot (toe hold vs. straight foot lock).

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 11

Duy (white-3) = 18

Sam (white-2) = 39

Eddie (white-1) = 26

Chad (white-1) = 17

Brady (white) = 30

Caleb (white) = 5

MONDAY, 22 JULY 2024

Today's class had me, Sam, Eddie, Chad, and Brady.

The focus of class was side control escapes and tying together principles rather than techniques, though we did drill four different escapes.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, myself, Chad, Edward, and young Brady (he really didn't do anything today that would result in me calling him by his other name). 

Edward now has three gis, one of which belongs to Prof, and it finally occurred to me on the way home why he wanted it. He is going to tell everyone he was on Renzo Gracie's elite Jiu Jitsu team and then say, "But I really don't want to intimidate anyone at Gracie Barra, so I just brought my white belt to roll with tonight."

Speaking of Edward, we did guard passes during the free practice session and he passed my guard almost every time. I think I passed his once, and we were civil about it. 

Chad looked a bit worn out from the Saturday sort and what I was most proud of was that I exhibited extreme self control by being asked to hold Prof in side control without dropping my weight. 

Brady was late due to lumpy grits (NOTE: It was actually lumpy milk; edited by Kris).

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 10

Duy (white-3) = 18

Sam (white-2) = 39

Eddie (white-1) = 26

Chad (white-1) = 17

Brady (white) = 30

Caleb (white) = 5

THURSDAY, 18 JULY 2024

Today was just me, Jason, and Josh getting in a training session during Jason's lunch hour.

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 10

Duy (white-3) = 18

Sam (white-2) = 38

Eddie (white-1) = 25

Chad (white-1) = 16

Brady (white) = 29

Caleb (white) = 5

MONDAY, 15 JULY 2024

Today's class had me, Josh M., Sam, Chad, and Brady.  We focused on reviewing standing guard passes and then moved to escaping being pinned in the bottom half-guard.  We drilled several submissions from the escape, as well.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof myself, young  Brady, Josh and Chad all present. 

Fun time. Went through half guard escapes from headlocks and a whole sequence of things we can go to. Really good stuff.

Josh was kind enough to show me how to tie my belt properly, I mean it's only been 51 weeks we have been at it, it would have come eventually. 

I did not roll and will have to crowd source a bit. Brady is serving a nine month suspension from adding to the recap so I will have to go to Chad and Prof to round it out. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 9

Duy (white-3) = 18

Sam (white-2) = 38

Eddie (white-1) = 25

Chad (white-1) = 16

Brady (white) = 29

Caleb (white) = 5

SATURDAY, 13 JULY 2024

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, Brady, and Caleb.

I demonstrated methods of guard retention and had the guys drill them without resistance.  Then, I had them do it live against each other for minutes on end.  They cycled through each other, so each person worked guard passes and retention on every person.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, Duy, Caleb and I were there at start time of class. The LB was very late. Not sure it should even be considered a report, but I digress. We missed Chad and Edward and Josh.

Discipline on the LB was conducted; he was informed that he would be serving nine month suspension from participating in the recap or as he would say "Brecap". I forgot my belt, just to go ahead and get that out there. 

Guard retention was the topic of the day. Why is it whenever guard retention is taught it is bitter sweet? We absolutely learned new things, but we paid dearly for that knowledge.  Two minute positional guard retention rolls were conducted and I believe we had four or five of them. Thinking I was done mentally I began thinking if I was up to mowing grass when I got home or not, when out of the corner of my eye, I spied a former D1 wrestler, current 3rd degree black belt and resident dirty, sneaky, bastard coming for me to fill out my dance card. Well, I don't have to tell you how that went.  

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 8

Duy (white-3) = 18

Sam (white-2) = 37

Eddie (white-1) = 25

Chad (white-1) = 15

Brady (white) = 28

Caleb (white) = 5

FRIDAY, 12 JULY 2024

Today's class had me, Josh M., Sam, and Chad.

I taught four half-guard passes, three guard passes, and reviewed arm locks from side control.  

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof. Chad, Josh, and I were all present. We missed Edward and the Little Bastard and Duy. 

Guard passes were the order of the day as well as methods of escaping half guard and the family of arm breakers (kimura, Americana and arm bar) from side control. A lot covered. 

Three rolls today for me (two with Prof and one with Chad). Surprisingly, Prof defeated me. Alas, it was bound to happen eventually. 

Chad was a handful and spent most of our roll on top of me. Sometimes you are the hammer and sometimes you are the nail. I think I was the nail today but I did get to work on my escapes, and they need more work. Finally, the owner of AFR came by and dropped off a new fan, said something about it being Eddie proof. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 8

Duy (white-3) = 17

Sam (white-2) = 36

Eddie (white-1) = 25

Chad (white-1) = 15

Brady (white) = 27

Caleb (white) = 4

WEDNESDAY, 10 JULY 2024

Today was a no gi open mat session with me, Josh M., Sam, Eddie, Chad, and Brady.

Brecap: please note that editorial discretion occurred.

Brecap - Today was a full house open mat session consisting of myself, Prof, Josh, Sam, Chad, and Eddie. I wanna say a total of 7-8 rolls total were done, including the final which just consisted of me being ambushed by Prof unknowingly. 

I believe that there were no wrist locks today.  However, toe holds and other "exotic" submissions were abundant. Eddie improved greatly on his Bluetooth fan attacks today. 

As we were leaving we were given some of the greatest marital wisdom in existence.  The speaker noted item placement and victory in arguments have one-to-one correspondence.

Some say that this is a direct verse from the lost Book of Chad, with biblical scholars debating whether it should be included in the modern day canon. 

All in all another good day of BJJ

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 7

Duy (white-3) = 17

Sam (white-2) = 35

Eddie (white-1) = 25

Chad (white-1) = 14

Brady (white) = 27

Caleb (white) = 4

MONDAY, 8 JULY 2024

Today's class had me, Josh M., Sam, Eddie, Chad, and Brady.

My focus today was to review north-south attacks and escapes from Saturday (or teach those who were not in attendance).  I neglected to review mount escapes on Friday, so we reviewed the "Pedro Sauer" and foot drag escapes.  A few rounds of free roll practice were provided.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- Prof, myself, Josh, Chad, Edward and LB were all in attendance.

Note to self:do NOT partner with Edward on the north/south escapes. I think I now know how the north beat the south. They grabbed their ass cheeks and startled them. Maybe, maybe not, but it is certainly what Eddie did to me. I am still startled in fact. 

We worked on the Pedro Sauer escape, the aforementioned north/south position and some arm bars that can arise from those positions. 

Edward kicked over the fan, promptly left, and received ZERO harassment about not rolling. I was pressed for time and did an obligatory roll with Prof only to have him duct tape me with my gi and then submit me. I didn't care for that very much. 

Chad and Brady seemed to have a good roll going and again I had to leave so. LB would you like to add anything to the good day we had in BJJ?

Brecap:

Nothing major to add other than affirming Eddie's knocking over of the fan as he left.

 Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 6

Duy (white-3) = 17

Sam (white-2) = 34

Eddie (white-1) = 24

Chad (white-1) = 13

Brady (white) = 26

Caleb (white) = 4

SATURDAY, 6 JULY 2024

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, Chad, and Brady.

Strangely, Eddie still managed to knock down the fan, and he also heroically removed a popcorn kernel from a child's ear.  Now, on to BJJ.

I called upon Sam and Chad to teach some of the items from Friday's class.  I tasked Sam with butterfly guard items and Chad with the modified pendulum sweep.  I have typically asked purple and above to do so, but I experimented in order to "test" comprehension and my own teaching from the previous day.

Duy asked for north-south items, so I taught the most proper method for holding the position with a gi, moving to side control for arm bar or bread cutter choke, and also the north-south choke.  I also taught escapes from the position, along with principles to help with scrambles from there.

I rolled with everyone, and for a public shout out, I was pleased as an instructor with how Chad was positioning and dropping his weight (not so pleased as a recipient, though).

It seems that Brady's new nickname, LB, will stick. "Little Bastard" works, and as the small guy among "Hero Size" practitioners, it also works for lb., as in one pound.  

Sam's Recap:

Recap- good group today with Prof, Chad, Duy, myself and young Brady, who came into face the music of formal discipline. 

We missed Edward, Josh, and Caleb.

We reviewed yesterday's techniques and Prof asked me to teach one and Chad to teach the other. I could not remember what my name was and had to be continuously cued on what was next during my turn while Chad on the other hand did a good job with it. Oh well, it came to me on one on one drilling.  I just had a mind cramp or a senior moment when put on the spot.

 

We had some very light flow rolls and Chad regaled us with stories of a "Code Brown" at the hospital.  Like the Garfield and Jimmy John's stories, I couldn't do it justice to try to explain so you will just have to ask him. 

It came time to roll, at which point I announced I was not formally rolling today after the long week of BJJ. I thought all was well and that I could video others until I heard an exchange between Prof and young Brady about a smell in the dojo. Intuitively I knew they were talking about me, but didn't know what they meant. I had not farted and seemed to smell like my normal self. So, I inquired and found out they smelled fear on me.

 

Well, I bit and was hooked, I put my gi back on to go with Prof and the roll went pretty much like most of my rolls go with Prof, but at least I dispelled the fact of whether or not I was afraid. Let it be said I never fear an ass whipping and have grown accustomed to receiving them.

Afterwards as Prof was demonstrating the technique  of scarf hold, the 24 year old that previously I had referred to as young Brady took his belt and lassoed up my legs. I've never seen such shenanigans....or have I?

He will now be referred to as the little bastard, LB, or even "That Little Bastard" going forward. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 5

Duy (white-3) = 17

Sam (white-2) = 33

Eddie (white-1) = 23

Chad (white-1) = 12

Brady (white) = 25

Caleb (white) = 4

FRIDAY, 5 JULY 2024

Today's class had me, Jason (black), Tony (purple), Josh (blue), and three white belts (Sam, Eddie, and Chad).

I taught two sweeps from butterfly guard and a modified pendulum sweep where the far leg is attacked, along with the arm bar.  Josh and Eddie did not roll live due to injuries.

Sam's Recap:

Recap pretty much a full house today.  We were missing Duy and young Brady (who Eddie and  I think was dodging discipline).  We had some OGs there with Jason and Tony and Josh.  Chad was back, along with Edward, Prof, and me.

We worked on sweeps from butterfly and some nifty things to do to break grips with our legs. I know we covered more but my mind is drawing a blank. Prof, I will have to depend on you to recap all the techniques we drilled (I need a little help). 

I do know that Jason reverse arm barred me AGAIN. Prof applied the usual bread cutters and wrist locks and I think we got in 5 rolls, maybe it was six. Eddie knocked over the fan. Chad didn't ring anyone's bells and someone shoulder blocked me in the parking lot as I was just trying to put my Gi up. 🤔 tomorrow promises to be even more fun.  

All in all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 3

Josh M. (blue-2) = 5

Duy (white-3) = 16

Sam (white-2) = 32

Eddie (white-1) = 23

Chad (white-1) = 11

Brady (white) = 24

Caleb (white) = 4

WEDNESDAY, 3 JULY 2024

Today's session was a no gi open mat.  Josh, Sam, Eddie, and Brady joined in for training time.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- first things first. Brady went through the first stage of the disciplinary process today. He was represented by his steward Prof. and expectations and consequences that we all want to avoid were laid out. Now to a more pleasant subject.

Prof. the aforementioned Brady, Edward, Josh and I were all present today. Even being 30 minutes late didn't stop Edward from knocking over the fan. 

Everyone got in 5-6 rolls. Edward and I worked on guard passing, and his guard retention is a lot better than mine but it does give me something to shoot for. 

We missed Chad and the question has to be asked if he has become a Comcast BJJ participant. I hope not because he makes it a little more fun when he is there and he also is good for telling me what I am forgetting during drilling when my kind draws a blank sometimes. 

Thankfully, no bread cutters today. Ok, so it was a no gi day.

We did discuss women in leadership and Edward was less than charitable and he scratched my nose and drew blood. I think it was right after he knocked over the fan. 

All in all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 2

Josh M. (blue-2) = 4

Duy (white-3) = 16

Sam (white-2) = 31

Eddie (white-1) = 22

Chad (white-1) = 10

Brady (white) = 24

Caleb (white) = 4

TUESDAY, 2 JULY 2024

Today was a training session with me, Jason, and Sam at Casa de Compton.  There were a total of ten, five-minute no gi rounds between the three of us.  

Sam's Recap:

Recap- the closest I got to a submission was getting out of the car to walk into Jason's garage. 

Both Prof and Jason had bad intentions for me at least in the first couple of rolls. I can now sympathize with hamsters that are fed to boa constructors or sheep fed to lions or.... well you get it, any predator that likes to play with its food before eating. 

In the first two rolls I was submitted inside the last 10 seconds first with a toe hold or heel hook, not sure which and then Prof got me in something or another only after both of them had given me 4:50 of false hope. 

I would like to say it got better after that and maybe there were moments but I will sum it up by saying sometimes you have to simply back away and respect the color of the belts.  They are black belts for a reason. 

All in all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 2

Josh M. (blue-2) = 3

Duy (white-3) = 16

Sam (white-2) = 30

Eddie (white-1) = 21

Chad (white-1) = 10

Brady (white) = 23

Caleb (white) = 4

MONDAY, 1 JULY 2024

Today's class had me, Sam, and Brady.

We reviewed arm bar from guard, the pendulum sweep, and two mount escapes (foot drag and foot lift). I will need to review these again. I introduced the baseball bat choke from the guard and am happy with the progress.  We had a total of five, five-minute rounds today.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- great to get on the mats again. I had great aspirations to hold off prof as he was passing  my butterfly guard and even told him as much. Well we will come back to that later. 

Prof, Brady and I were there. We truly missed Duy, Chad and Edward. We worked on escapes from guard and sweeps and worked the baseball choke in. Lot of good stuff covered. 

I was excited about rolling and practicing butterfly guard.  I had even worked some things out in my head during my 16 hours of driving that would help me fend Prof off and hold him at bay. I was looking forward to him slapping the mat in disgust and saying, "I just can't get past you." 

Well reality set in during the first roll that me holding him off was not to be, so I settled on just trying to slow him down a bit and well....that didn't work out so well either. If I have to tell you how it ended each time he passed my guard then you have never read the recap before and I don't have time for you today.

  

In the end, I settled on the fact that I had just tried and figured out about 5-6 more things that don't work while rolling with Prof. 

Brady and I rolled a couple of times and the highlight of my day was Brady not succumbing to the humiliating submission known as the banana split. Prof had to settle on a wrist lock. I thought it was a moral victory for white belts everywhere. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 2

Josh M. (blue-2) = 3

Duy (white-3) = 16

Sam (white-2) = 29

Eddie (white-1) = 21

Chad (white-1) = 10

Brady (white) = 23

Caleb (white) = 4

SATURDAY, 29 JUNE 2024

Today's class had me, Eddie, and Brady. Duy had an excused absence, and Sam was traveling to Dallas, TX.  We reviewed arm bars from guard, cross collar choke from mount, and side control escapes.  

The end consisted of positional/situational rolling for Eddie and Brady.

Brecap:

Brecap - Today was a light off class consisting of myself, Eduardo, and Prof. "ChAUX" and Tony were nowhere to be found today; maybe they got lost on the way. 

During stretching we discussed the dental hygiene of our ancestors and the nuances of forensics in archeological discovery. Im not gonna claim to really know what some of those words mean. 

We began by reviewing some basics like armbars from guard and cross collar from mount; nice, refreshing review and all. The fan fell at least 4 times, at this point I expect retaliation from the fan and Eddie's children will be asking why he has a welt in the shape of a fan blade on his face.

 

We then changed gears into a series of drilling escapes and working from all the major positions in short intervals. It was basically like rolling, and by the end of it we were pooped. 

All in all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 2

Josh M. (blue-2) = 3

Duy (white-3) = 16

Sam (white-2) = 28

Eddie (white-1) = 21

Chad (white-1) = 10

Brady (white) = 22

Caleb (white) = 4

FRIDAY, 28 JUNE 2024

Today's class had me, Josh M., Sam, Eddie, and Brady.

Today's class focused on side control escapes and a review of the hip bump sweep.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- work got in the way a bit this morning and I was late. I very much hate being late, just so you know.

  

We worked on a hip bump sweep and I looked like it was my first day with prosthetic limbs when I tried to demonstrate it with Edward during drilling. Safe to say the ukes will not have to fear the hip bump sweep from me for some time. 

We also worked on escapes from side control.  Edward and I had our fourth civil roll in a row. Prof throttled me and Brady multiple times and with the same subs. At this point I don't feel like I need to name the subs. We all know what he does...😉 we missed Chad, and Duy. 

As it was just Prof. Josh, Edward, Brady and me.  Also after Edward left there was back and forth about whether Edward was forcing Ginny to get out there and mow before it rained or not. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

https://youtu.be/QG-AlgLcCVk?si=3oHV02akaHuMiIxP

Tony (purple) = 2

Josh M. (blue-2) = 3

Duy (white-3) = 16

Sam (white-2) = 28

Eddie (white-1) = 20

Chad (white-1) = 10

Brady (white) = 21

Caleb (white) = 4

THURSDAY, 27 JUNE 2024

Today's session was a training session with me, Jason, and Eddie.  I got seven rounds in.

Tony (purple) = 2

Josh M. (blue-2) = 2

Duy (white-3) = 16

Sam (white-2) = 27

Eddie (white-1) = 19

Chad (white-1) = 10

Brady (white) = 20

Caleb (white) = 4

WEDNESDAY, 26 JUNE 2024

Today was a simple no gi open mat session. Eddie, Sam, and Brady were in attendance at start time. Chad rolled up about 30 minutes late, and Duy arrived about an hour after training started due to a follow up with his doctor.

I am currently unaware of any shenanigans, though Sam did feel the need to press his forearm on my throat as I was coaching him AFTER a rolling session. My right hand was free and did not do anything untoward.  In my opening round with Brady, I did secure a foot lock he believes to be somewhat unnecessary.

Student Recap:

OK- lot of chatter out there.  Settle down.

The OFFICIAL Recap-

Prof, myself, Chad (late), Brady, Eddy and Duy (late but approved ahead of time) all participated. No drilling just rolling. 

Edward and I added two more "civil" rolls to our tally and now stand at three. I am not opening a bottle of champagne up yet but it is certainly the beginning of a trend. 

Chad, on the other hand, came at me with a vengeance, nearly knocking me off the mat. 

Brady dressed like me for the third day straight and is taking the Big Ennis/Little Ennis thing seriously. 

Prof was.....well he was Prof. which means legs and arms were pulled off of each of us and wrist locks were applied at every turn. I didn't get to roll with Duy, but he is back to having two working eyes so good on that.  At this point I think I need to crowd source a bit since the ukes are already squawking so. You guys got anything to add?

Tony (purple) = 2

Josh M. (blue-2) = 2

Duy (white-3) = 16

Sam (white-2) = 27

Eddie (white-1) = 18

Chad (white-1) = 10

Brady (white) = 20

Caleb (white) = 4

MONDAY, 24 JUNE 2024

Today's class had me, Josh M., Duy, Sam, Eddie, and Brady. Chad must have overslept, gotten lost, and had his car break down.

Today focused on half-guard, with one sweep and a couple of back takes being drilled.  I briefly reviewed the hip bump sweep and will address more time on Friday.

Student Recap:

Recap- great to have Josh Moss back with us.

Also in attendance were young Brady, Edward (who again knocked over the fan), and a one eyed Duy. After I heard the story of his injured eye, I secretly wanted him to pull out an eye patch when we rolled. That would be straight up intimidating to roll with a guy his size sporting an eye patch. 

Prof demonstrated some half guard sweeps and we also worked in the hip bump sweep and other things I am forgetting at the moment. I think everyone got in roughly five rolls. 

Edward and I had a very civil roll together which only means the next one is liable to be a death match. I don't know why it's that way. Ok that's not true I usually escalate. Oh well, I will try to string together two civil rolls with him and maybe we will have a trend, who knows we might start cuddling together at work after a while.  

All and all another good day of BJJ. 

P.S. There were no call outs or belt throwing.

Tony (purple) = 2

Josh M. (blue-2) = 2

Duy (white-3) = 15

Sam (white-2) = 26

Eddie (white-1) = 17

Chad (white-1) = 9

Brady (white) = 19

Caleb (white) = 4

SATURDAY, 22 JUNE 2024

I lifted this morning with Josh M. and he joined me and Jason in our BJJ training.  I got in a total of seven, five-minute rounds (four vs. Josh and three vs. Jason). It's good to have Josh back from Thailand.

Today's regular class had me, Duy, Sam, Chad, Brady, and Caleb. Butterfly guard passes were on the agenda, with four variations being practiced. I had three additional rounds, with one quite curious round beyond these occurring. 

I believed I was finished after my second round against Sam. I placed my belt back in my bag and sat in front of the fan. To my surprise, Sam invaded the sanctity of my bag, retrieved my belt, and then threw it to me, stating that he could not let our final round be the defining statement of his BJJ progress thus far. 

In short, he challenged a black belt of 12 years to a fight 😂. I may have neglected to set the timer. 

Sam: "How much time's left in this round?"

Me: "All of it."

(Credit goes to Cole Dobbins for the above imaginary interchange).

Sam's Recap:

Prof summed it up pretty well. It might not have been one of the better decisions I have made in my 55 trips around the sun.

However, at least I don't have to wonder what happens now when you challenge your Prof, and I can steer other ukes away from such things in the future.

https://youtu.be/fo8v-pSXULM?si=2oYmKkqks7eqYwW2

Tony (purple) = 2

Josh M. (blue-2) = 1

Duy (white-3) = 14

Sam (white-2) = 25

Eddie (white-1) = 16

Chad (white-1) = 9

Brady (white) = 18

Caleb (white) = 4

FRIDAY, 21 JUNE 2024

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, Eddie, and Brady.

Today we covered four side control escapes and introduced another option but did not practice it in depth.

Sam's Recap:

Early recap- this will be two parts today. I will rely on young Brady to add any color needed since I had to leave early. 

The value of the under hook was established in our drilling today and branched off into several if/then scenarios. Very eye opening. I was pressed on time so I got one roll in with young Brady who was a handful. I dressed and while I was putting on my shoes I saw something I had not seen before. Prof.   took Duy's belt and used it as a lariat and roped it around his arm so it would be motionless as he took his back and submitted him. 

That clearly falls under the category of a DSB tactic. So at this point in our journey we can safely say that we have not been coddled as we have been introduced to leg locks, heel hooks, innumerable wrist locks, the bastard and now the lasso. 

All and all another good day of BJJ.

PS take it from here Brady.

Brady's Recap:

Brecap - The subsequent rolls were valuable and fun, one of which the penetrative properties of Eddie's appendages were mentioned. 

On the next, Duy got a successful Americana on me that put my frail, brittle arm out of commission for the day. 

It was also discussed that I would not win against a Komodo dragon, which I believe to be a fair assessment. 

All in all another good day of BJJ

Tony (purple) = 2

Duy (white-3) = 13

Sam (white-2) = 24

Eddie (white-1) = 16

Chad (white-1) = 8

Brady (white) = 17

Caleb (white) = 3

WEDNESDAY, 19 JUNE 2024

Today was just an open mat drilling/rolling session.

Between 9:00 am and 10:00 am, I got in six, five-minute rounds with Sam before he had to depart to a doctor's appointment.

Jason, Duy, and Brady arrived at 10:00 am.  We got two, five-minute rounds against each opponent.

Sam's Recap:

Recap- had to go early and get some rolls in prior to a doctors appt, so Prof accommodated me. I think we got 6 rolls in.

 

He commented before the last one that he had not wrist locked me and during the middle of our last roll I told him it was because he lacked the skill. Well I don't have to tell you how that ended up, but it was still fun to say it. 😉 

I told young Brady on the way out that he would need to carry the recap across the finish line since I was leaving early and would surely miss some shenanigans employed at the expense of my fellow ukes.  So Brady, what do you have for us?

Brady's Recap:

Brecap - After Sam riled Kris up, it was Prof, Jason, Duy, and myself there today to simulate murder. When I walked in the lights were all off which made me question if illicit activities were going on prior to my arrival but that's neither here nor there. We did a number of rolls, one of which Prof decided to use to show me a new submission from wrestling, which made me discover new neck muscles. Duy unfortunately crossed his legs while on my back, a highly unfortunate mistake I could not let slide. There was also an instance in which Prof cried out in pain with Jason on top of him but it appeared to be more pain of the heart rather than pain of the body. Oh yeah, and we also had very revelatory commentary on Duy's initials of DP.

All in all another good day of BJJ

Tony (purple) = 2

Duy (white-3) = 12

Sam (white-2) = 23

Eddie (white-1) = 15

Chad (white-1) = 8

Brady (white) = 16

Caleb (white) = 3

MONDAY, 17 JUNE 2024

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, Eddie, Chad, and Brady.  We covered guard openings (closed guard) and guard passes, arm bar escapes, and I helped Brady with his triangle chokes. At the end, I am introduced straight ankle locks.

Student Recap:

Recap--- Duy, Chad, Edward, Prof., Brady and I were present and accounted for today.  Guard passing was covered along with escaping an arm bar. 

We also worked on ankle locks. 

Three rolls were offered and wrist locks and bread cutters were on the menu AGAIN, at least for me. 

We did establish that Prof's nearly broken nose on Friday was retaliatory, as he has previously denied Edward a triangle earlier in the roll. It is rumored that Edward quoted the indomitable Dusty Rhodes  saying, "paybacks is hell babydoll" right before going for the nose.  

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 2

Duy (white-3) = 11

Sam (white-2) = 22

Eddie (white-1) = 15

Chad (white-1) = 8

Brady (white) = 15

Caleb (white) = 3

SATURDAY, 15 JUNE 2024

Today saw me and Jason get in a training session while I cancelled the later noon class.  Jason has a great set-up for what Sam is referring to as "The Bastard," and I look forward to seeing it in action. I utilized a lot of my wrestling background against Jason today. 

Otherwise, it was not too eventful.

FRIDAY, 14 JUNE 2024

Today's class had me, Duy, Sam, Eddie, and Brady.  We opened with a warm-up roll before Eddie arrived, which led to me reviewing a half-guard sweep in the actual class setting.

I reviewed the set-up and execution of the bread cutter choke and then two modifications based on opponent defenses.  In an open question session, Duy asked for another half-guard sweep, so we drilled that.

Sam had to leave before rolling, so he missed Eddie cause me to bleed with a head butt from inside of my guard.  

Student Recap:

Recap- Edward, Duy, young Brady and I were there today. Chad was not. Terms like aux were thrown around.  🤔 

The session started innocently enough with Prof having us do warm up rolls and drills followed.  Back to that in a moment. 

In a single conversation between drills, we covered Jake the Snake Roberts having a venom-less cobra and having it bite the Macho Man AND we defined exegesis. That might be one of the most enjoyable things about our cohort and I don't think you could find that anywhere else. 

Back to the BJJ, Prof observed my attempts at simulated murder during flow rolling and used the techniques I "misapplied" as drilling points. I of course predicted he would do that and obliged him by doing techniques that I have long since mastered, incorrectly, so that he would have some teaching points. 

Prof taught us three versions of the bread cutter/Pearson choke and a sweep from half guard when someone gets  an under hook.  

I also witnessed first hand one of the dirtier, I would even go as far as to say unnecessary, submissions I have ever seen Prof execute when he went from I think a bread cutter to an arm bar only to submit with a wrist lock. Or was it a double submission? I'm 🤔 not sure. Prof has a habit of drawing submissions out at times. It's like reading a Stephen King book and knowing a character is going to get killed but having to wait to see what implement the villain will choose to kill them with. I am very pleased with that description by the way. 

I feel like I am leaving out somethings so I want to crowd source and open it up to my fellow ukes at this point.  Anything I missed? 

Anyway, all and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 2

Duy (white-3) = 10

Sam (white-2) = 21

Eddie (white-1) = 14

Chad (white-1) = 8

Brady (white) = 14

Caleb (white) = 3

THURSDAY, 13 JUNE 2024

Today was a no gi training session/open mat with me, Sam, and Brady.  

Student Recap:

Recap- After many rolls today, lost count. A theme kind of developed. Prof weaved it in and out of nearly, probably, every roll. The theme was "Make Wrist Locks Great Again".  Brady and I firmly maintain that he had written a number down before we started that he was trying to hit. If the number was south of 13 by my count he was successful. 

He also applied "the bastard".  What is "the bastard" you ask? Prof will have to explain. The name is a place holder until he names it. In the meantime, nature abhors a vacuum so I went ahead and named it, and I would offer that the name fits the thought that goes through your head when you succumb to it.

All and all another good day of BJJ.

Tony (purple) = 2

Duy (white-3) = 9

Sam (white-2) = 20

Eddie (white-1) = 13

Chad (white-1) = 8

Brady (white) = 13

Caleb (white) = 3