- Purple Belt, BJJ
He is a solid BJJ purple who got me into this game, and has won a lot of tournaments. Won. He medals a lot when he doesn't win anyway. He's bigger and stronger than me and has better technique than me, and could probably make rolling with him a lot more mierable than it already is. That aside, he's taught me almost all of what I know and I thank him for it. Getting me into the game wasn't an act of altruism though -- he needed a training partner so he made one!
His strengths are:
- Half guard attacks and escapes
- Top game
His weakness are:
- Open guard
- Bottom game
OK, when I say "weaknesses" let me qualify that by saying that it's against people of equal or better level than him, because he can annihilate me in either one. I can kind've hang if he let's me pull open guard on him, which he does a lot for practice, but my life sucks when he denies it.
- Black belt Judo
- Black belt Sombo
- Blue belt BJJ
- Wrestling coach
Steve has more mat time than anyone I know. He's about 5'8 and about 220, and I've never been able to choke him or tap him out. He has a combination of old man/former powerlifter/had-been-rolling-for-the-last-35-years strength, in addition to mean submissions. He's always been incredibly patient with my little hissy fits, probably more patient than I'd be when dealing with a spaz such as myself.
- White belt BJJ
Lee is on our little crew that trains here and continues showing up pretty regularly. I feel bad for him sometimes because after Steve and Henry make me feel like it's my first day on the mat, Lee tends to find himself on the business end of my re-affirmation that I know how to do anything whatsoever. Still, it's good to have someone around that you can actually try stuff on. He's about 5'8 and a little heavier than me I think.
There are a lot of others who I will be mentioning throughout, but I just thought I'd start with the "local rolling crew" that consistently comes on Mondays.
At the time I write this I'm 5'9 @ about 178 lbs.
If I refer to a rolling session as "local", it's taken place around my home with one or more of the above crew (and maybe some others). If I say Axis, it's at Axis Academy in Tokyo, my rollage home away from home, where I was awarded my blue belt.
1 comment:
Paul: Good class last night. I like that basic sweep, more sitting guard than butterfly since you cross your legs and scoot to one side. I liked the lapel pass, but actually had much more luck with it from half guard after class. We had a nice roll, perfect pace. I didn't see your other rolls but I have some feedback from Monday. I'll start with my "take" on your game for the record.
Strengths:
Intelligence
Intensity
You listen to advice
You learn by seeing
You are proud, but no ego issues
strong athletic base and toughness
not afraid of experimenting
Weaknesses:
Impatient at times
You let emotion cloud your focus at times
You don't like to drill the boring stuff
Ok, that being said, your progress has been incredible and I'm proud to be a part of it. As for tips derived form the last 2 rolling sessions:
- Don't tip you shoulders...keep them horizontal and lower or raise your torso as a unit.
- Drill guard passing basics
- Your open guard is blowing up, keep feeding your spurt with alot of experimenting
- have a mini-gameplan for each roll...ask what you have to gain from each guy
As for your buddy Tony, I have a strategy for that body/rolling type. Since they are strong and physically thick with good base, sweeps aren't the best option. If submission isn't either, taking the back is a great fallback. These guys are often stiff, so a fluid move to the back off underhooks or an arm drag works wonders. It works against Steve and worked against most "big" guys I've encountered. I believe it was a Marcio Feitosa DVD where I first heard this and it made a difference for me. If he's heavier, don't bother sweeping, just KEEP SPACE and take the back or disengage for the restart. Good luck Tony.
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