Ude Garami & Summer Heat

Well another hot day in the sun. I was driving by a car-wash fund raising for some animal shelter or something like that. This picture is just here, well, to illustrate how hot the day was, and that I'm more than happy to support a good cause.

I digress, I'm sure you're dying to know what the technique of the day was? Yes?

So, it's ude garami, or side wrap, or how you bend your arm into an L and twist. This time it was shown from a side control or from a half guard position. As always, passing the guard is always a pain, and there is a transition into half guard to the mount that is always tough. A lot of people crank down on the half guard, holding on for dear life. I like the ude garami from the half guard. It's theoretically fairly simple and effective.

Newaza was abbreviated. Did four 3 minute rounds? Grant, Jake, Jenna, Andy and Steve. It was fun to work with Jenna although it was funny that she was letting me get a bunch of armlocks, which was quite unusual. I was teaching her reversals from kesagatame and we worked on that for a bit. I was able to get the technique of the day on Andy during the last 20 seconds of the newaza randori. Took me awhile, but I finally got there. I need to work on my base, the guard passes and not getting caught in a turtle. Conversely, I was making progressive attacks with the juji rollover, with the hardest attack getting the inside arm to roll into a juji-rollover. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, just need more work.

Tachiwaza was with Jake, Aaron and Andy 2x. Likewise practice was shorter due to the annual baseball game, so the usual suspects weren't there. I tend to push people forward while doing a backward throw, which negates my advantage. If I push forward I should attack with O soto, kouchi, ouchi, or a leg/ankle pick. If I pull back, then I should do seio, kata, harai, uchi mata or ogoshi. I was attacking more and more. Again, I was just having commitment issues. I guess I'm so used to them not working that I'm not following through, just making the attack and not following through it. I have to FOLLOW THROUGH. I must commit to the throw. Overall, my rate of attack to passivity is increasing. I do tend to attack more, and less of the half-assed attacks. My grip is getting better, and no longer have the grip fights that happen. I no longer putter around when I do have my grip, I just act. It's getting better and I'm noticing an improvement albeit small; an improvement nevertheless.

Ah it's this little joys in improvement, getting better, and the realization that some of the techniques "actually works." I know shocking. I'm learning to be more centered and be aware. Still I've got a long ways to go. It's the things that doesn't make it stale that compels me to practice more.