Stuff to try this week 16/11/11

I've been horrendously busy this week with the local Carnival (I had to shut the roads and monitor a section of it for safety) and family commitments (Wife's birthday, family down) so I haven't really had a chance to give blogland a look in. Needless to say I've still been entertaining myself with reading the odd manual and watching the odd vid. I have a copy of Ed Beneville and Tim Cartmell's excellent Passing the Guard book in the bog for some emergency Bjj reading material and I am still trawling my way through Roy Dean's Blue Belt Requirements Dvd. So all in all the obsessional itch is being scratched, if only in a small way.

But I still find myself thinking about Thursday and what I want to achieve during the rolling part of the lesson at SJJA Weston. I'm still thinking on the lines of the side control escapes carried over from last week. I managed to hit the spin out but that was the only time I had someone get side control against me so I didn't get a chance on the other apart from a quick theoretical drill against Marcus. So I think my big aim will still be to practice the side control escapes from Roy Deans Dvd, particularly the basing out one as I didn't hit that last time.

Other stuff I'd like to get to grips with; I'm still loving the mounted triangle, very nearly hit one last week but Rich had it well scouted so no joy but I think I'll try and make it my try first mounted attack for the next few weeks to really learn the movements and see if I can land it a few times. In fact, I think I'll be trying to hit more triangles in general as the triangle is a criminally under used sub in my repertoire. Don't know why I've never bothered too much with it given that it's one technique that truly epitomizes Bjj but I always find the armbar more natural. So from now on, the triangle is the way forward. I've been looking at a lot of triangle stuff this week to help me in this but one video I've enjoyed is this little number by Stephen Kesting.

A few different types of triangle there and well explained. The next triangle inspiration I've been looking at was in the BJ Penn Closed Guard Book of Knowledge. In there he shows how to hit a triangle on a guy who's dropped his weight on you in your guard. It's a cool little move that I have actually hit before ages ago (on one of the few times I've actually gone for a triangle choke) but came rushing back into my memory when I was thinking about this self challenge. I've found a video that is very similar to it on YouTube and it's taught on there by Bj which is handy cause the technique is very similar to the one in the book. This one will particularly come in handy due to the fact that there is a few guys at our class who like to get in your guard and crush their weight on you while they stall for breath.  

This weeks "pipe dream" section will add another Roberto 'Cyborg' Abreu super disco move from Tornado Guard. This is the latest entry from the Bjj Weekly site and is in keeping with my theme here. Same as last week, going into the Tornado guard but this time you can't get the sweep so twist back around for the triangle. I have little to no chance at all of managing to hit this move in sparring but I put it up here anyway as who know's? One day I might be regularly hitting stuff from the tornado guard and I'll look back at this and laugh at my own naivety (big fat yeah right on that one). 

I'll update tomorrow to tell you how it went.

Cheers \m/