Personal Progress

Short personal story: A while ago i wanted to start going to 10th Planet Omaha. With my wife about to give birth to our second child i didn't have the time or the money. About six months ago I decided that i wasn't going to be stopped by that. I took Mastering the Rubber Guard and Mastering the Twister and started reading. I also started buying dvds and watching as many YouTube videos as i could. I go to the mats here in the gym on base and train with whoever i can. IDK why, but I thought it might be a good idea to make a little journal to keep track of all the stuff I've been doing. So today I'm starting. This first entry may be long, but any more will be short. This is not meant to be to boast or be long-winded. I'm just trying to keep a log. For the record, i prefer playing guard more than taking the mount.

So far,
Full guard is where i'm most dangerous. I spend a lot of time focusing on wrist/arm control because of all the positions they set up like the Gift Wrap and the Stock, as well as breaking my opponent down. Most of the people i roll with really don't like being in my guard. I have short legs. Well, really only the shin portion is short, and my calves are large for the shin length. I used to think it didn't help my game, but now i'm starting to see how it can be powerful. My knee sits further behind on my opponents rib cage and reduces the leverage they have to try and open my guard. My flexibility is not perfect, but i can throw up mission control pretty easily. I usually go to Crack Head though, as i haven't yet practiced what to do with the other leg. That's if i don't have an over-hook. I try for over-hooks a lot cause then i can fly straight to New York. It's easier for me to do it that way than trying to Zombie.

Half Guard has a million possibilities. I try to learn as many as i can. I regularly play inside-hook, outside-hook, half-butterfly (the Stomp), Z-half Guard, and some Lockdown. My short shins mean i have to slide down far to get a strong Lockdown in. That can be hard sometimes. I'm working on that as well as using that buttefly hook from the Stomp. If anyone with short shins reads this, nobody probably will, getting a butterfly hook is one thing i've found works well because there isn't as much leg to get into position.

Butterfly guard/Cocoon isn't big in my game yet. It will be once i can effectively utilize the butterfly hooks. It's a process. These positions are on my list to get to.

Rubber Guard game is starting to come together. Because i practice wrist/arm control a lot i feel i can break the opponent down pretty regularly. I'm starting to be able to hold them down in the rubber guard positions. I will try Rubber Guard-like positions to stop my Half Guard from being passed. By pulling my other leg (the outside leg when i have half guard) and holding it i create a belt with my arm that stalls. It helps me control the opp.'s hips some and usually recover some form of guard.

Twister System stuff is also slowly starting to become part of my game. I like the Truck even though i find it hard to get to right now.

Leg attacks are something that's also in the working. I base most of my leg attack game off of the RMAX Sambo series about the Saddle. I find it more secure than the conventional system of leg attacking, with the inside leg hidden and knee pinching while your other foot is around the hips, keeping the opp. away. I'm sure I'm behind the times when it comes to grappling. So, I bet the 10PJJ guys already know this, but there is even a pass in the Saddle System named after Mission Control.

Mount is a place i suck as of now. Just haven't figured it out yet. I'm a little more stable in S-Mount. I'll get there once my bottom game is where i want it to be. Usually, when i get the chance to be on top, i pick Side Mount. I usually only end up in Full Mount after a sweep. Usually i prefer to half sweep the opponent and lie on my side to attack them.

That's all i can think of right now for where my game is. Any future posts shouldn't be long. Hopefully. Thank you for letting me use the forum to keep a record of my Jiu Jitsu Evolution. If anyone does read this and has any pointers, please let me know.

23 July 2012 was a good day. I did most of the things i wanted to do. Little things count too.

1. I successfully got to the Truck. It was an accident, but it still counts.
2. I tried a new type of head/arm control that i saw in a video by Imanari Mazakuzi. Broke the guy down very well. I'll post the video, or at least the link, at the end. Sort of like a d'arce/Retard-Control style head control. I can't remember if i went for the sweep, or just wanted to hold the position to see how secure it was.
3. I was able to break the opp down and go straight to Chill Dawg at least three times. I'm sure that won't happen as much on more advanced opps. I tried for a Carni, but ended up with an Armcrush/Inverted Armbar. I'll take it.
4. From Back Mount the Opp was leg pressing, so i wrapped around one leg and went for a Trying-to-get-Baseball-Bat-Control-Like position. I should've tried High Noon, but couldn't remember the details to pull it off.
5. I pulled off the Asylum Sweep like twice. I really like the Stock position. Wanted to get the Puppet Master position off of it. I'll get there.
6. I finally got to the Spider Web. I usually get rolled when i'm trying for an armbar. This time i was able to synch in the deep hook and fall down to block the legs. I didn't really go for the bicep crushes/armbars because i usually try to hold a position the first time i get it to feel it out rather than going for the submission from it.

-That's all for today, or at least all i can remember. More to come tomorrow, hopefully.

Pretty new to forums. Don't know if i put this in right. Am i supposed to reply to the post or edit the post if it's my thread? Idk. Hopefully the link works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn3Zu6a7I2o

Hey Taylor

Uh, who's taylor?

25 Jul was a good day. I didn't try many new things today. Mostly i worked on making arm triangles tighter. The only other thing that i did was i got the Sorcerer on someone. It wasn't the best. The way he was leaning i could only get one of the arms to hyper-extend, but he did tap. I probably only got it because he isn't very familiar with the 10PJJ system, but i'm still happy about it.

Didn't get to roll a lot today. Only got about 20 minutes. In those twenty i did manage to do my first gogoplata on a ~200 lb dude. I was pulling the other foot up for the loco, but he tapped from me pulling with my hand before i could put the extra pressure from my foot.

So do you train with the guys at 10th Planet Omaha? Those guys are super cool dudes!

Whats up man, we got a shit load of super affordable pricing options and classes 6 days a week. Give me a call and i'm sure we can work something out.

So,
i've started going to 10p Omaha. Awesome place. Awesome people. Been making a lot of progress. Arm crushes, omos/carnis, gogos, leg locks are all improving. I've even been able to pass guard a few times. I performed my first swim move in an actual roll and it worked. Spent a good amount of time paying attention to weight distribution. I need to get better at sweeping. I'm digging rolling more frequently with people who actually know how. It's fuckin' sweet.