Day 67: Skeleton Keylock

I wasn't planning on heading over to no-gi training tonight. Three days a week has been a good regimen for me, and a hard workout on Friday can tire me out for Saturday morning's session. Things happened to finish up well at work, so I just grabbed my gear and said what the hell. Good decision, as it turned out.

I got to work with Germaine on some half guard sweeps, specifically Eddie Bravo's "old school". You have uke's right leg trapped, so you are on your right side. Pummel for the left underhook, and get your right hand on his left hip. Upa and hip out, bringing your head into uke's pelvis with a crunching motion. Then grab the toes of his left foot with your right hand and pull them toward you as you come to your knees and drive forward for the sweep. I am totally lost in half guard, so adding something to the toolbox is always welcome.

After a bit of drilling, I sparred with big Jason. Lately I have been pulling guard in sparring sessions, but Jason is so big that I do not want to be on the bottom for any amount of time. He took half guard and I worked my pass to get the mount. He has a big belly, so one tends to ride a bit high from the mount and getting rolled is a constant worry. I pulled him up on his side in the armbar posture, anticipating his roll. I was able to take his back, but he rolled on top of me, which would have been fine for a smaller dude. As it was, I had to roll to my side, and he escaped and I wound up back in mount. I isolated his arm and with my far arm under his head and knees gripping his side tightly with feet tucked, I was able to get the tap from the Americana. That submission was very gratifying for a few reasons. Jason has been around a lot longer than me and he has taught me a ton of things; he's also almost twice my weight. Being able to neutralize his game and his size advantage and play my game for the submission gave me a burst of confidence.

Jason was wearied from our battle, so Del stepped in for him. To this point Del has been a measuring stick for me, since he is in my weight class, very strong (probably stronger than I am), and a blue belt. The first time we rolled he RNC'ed me in about 15 seconds flat. Every time since I've reached down and found something extra for him when we go at it. Even so, I'm sure that for him I'm just some white belt who happens to be the same size as he is. Extra motivations notwithstanding, our first roll went like a lot of the others. I pulled guard, and he passed pretty quickly, and got mount. I'm getting pretty good at defending armbars, which is lucky, since he tried several on me. I was able to come up into his guard, but couldn't pass. Without the gi I couldn't get any traction to even break open his guard, and he was able to get the sweep. He soon got my back and subbed me with the RNC.

Ho hum, right? Well. Our second go was a lot like the first, with me pulling guard, getting passed, ending up in mount, and defending armbars and chokes. However, this time I was able to re-guard after an upa-roll scramble. He put his hand on the mat! I immediately grabbed the keylock, escaped my hips, and fought for the Kimura. Del is hideously strong, so it took a hell of an effort. I was up to it, though, and got the tap. I was very proud of myself. But as they say, act as if you've been there before, son. I slapped hands with Del and congratulated him on a good job. Inwardly, I beamed.