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