SATURDAY, 21 APRIL 2012

There were a number of people at BJJ.  Greg was in Dallas for the US nationals, and Sensei Berlin canceled, so judo went out the door.  Ethan's friend, Paul, who last showed up 3 months to the day, came in and I beat on him for quite a while.  I wonder if he will be back since he "trains MMA at the YMCA."  Nick's younger brother came in.  Nick taught him some basics, and Nick and I rolled with him for a bit.  I wonder if he will attend since he did not get a real butt-kicking.

To my surprise, John from Fernandina came in, and we taught some judo.  Well, I cycled people to work with him since I am not a real judoka.  I must admit that he was rather pushy about the judo.

SATURDAY, 14 APRIL 2012

There was nothing too exciting in BJJ or judo on Saturday night.

I taught a couple of sweeps and a set up for a triangle choke from the spider guard.

In judo, we had a new student (John from Fernandina) attend. Since it is a 120 mile round trip, I doubt that he will return; I hope I am wrong. We went over tai-otoshi and footsweeps.

ASHI-WAZA

SATURDAY, 7 APRIL 2012

Tonight, it was me, Greg, Nick, and Jacqui. We worked on foot-sweeps tonight while helping Greg get ready for the US Nationals in a couple of weeks.

It was a very technical practice. These techniques are hard. I do think, though, once they are mastered, life against other BJJ guys will be extremely easy.

4-STRIPE BROWN BELT

Charles promoted me to 4-stripe brown belt on Good Friday, 6 April 2012. I then got worked over by a few of his black belts and lost via the same submission three times (loop choke). Perhaps I will learn how to stop that in the next few months.

Thanks to Tony Tizzano, David Gatke, and Nyantu Bolo for exposing such a weakness.

So, apparently, I will be one of the next people promoted by Charles. I need to work on, well, everything.

KIBO CUP

25 FEBRUARY 2012

Ethan, Jason, and I competed in our first judo competition under the banner of First Coast Kodokan Judo.

I finished in second place because I was really dumb. I had a clock choke set in on my opponent, and I looked up to try to finish it. I ended up pulling him onto me and he pinned me. I still do not know how he pinned me since no one else manages to do that.

Jason tore up the mat by winning via throw and submission (armbar). He lost his third match via Ezekiel choke from inside of HIS guard. This is my fault as an instructor since I have not used the Ezekiel against my students (I think it is cheap unless they are at the same level as me). Overall, he finished in 4th place.

Ethan had a tough draw. He finished in 4th place overall in his division (7 people).

So, we have worked on the clock choke, the use of and the defense to the Ezekiel, and pin escapes for the past few weeks. In all honesty, the losses made us better since we see where we are weak and are working to fix the problem.

Below is my major throw.  There's no doubt that it was an ippon.

STRIPES AWARDED

I awarded Jason Compton with the third stripe on his blue belt and Ethan Edwards with the first stripe on his blue belt.

Nice job, guys.

SATURDAY

18 February 2012

It was a very small class for BJJ and judo last night. For BJJ, it consisted of me and Ethan. Most of the time was spent rolling and working on a few specific methods to assist Ethan's game.

Jason showed up just before judo started, so it was me, Ethan, Jason as the students. After a long time away due to health issues, David Berlin came in and taught. As always, we learn a great deal when he teaches. He gave us pointers and reinforced what Greg has already worked on.

Since Sensei Berlin cannot randori, the three students had a round-robin session. We simulated the tournament environment we will be in on Saturday.