Gi tails

This is the universal hand signal for GO AWAY! (Holds handgun in firing position.)



(Pic- that's John on the right, who also got his purple yesterday)

WIP: After not getting anything concrete done on this for a while, I wrote part of a very intense scene this morning. I woke up pre-dawn after sleeping only a few hours, and the scene was just eating my brain.... to the point that I could not go back to sleep- I had to get up and purge it out onto the laptop. It's going to need a ton of revision, because this scene is a collage of a jillion aspects of the story that I want to tie in here... but I got a nice backbone down now. It's intense. I hope it's not too overrwrought. I'm struggling a little with the line between intense and overrwrought. I don't think it's going to be overrwought in context, but taken as a stand-alone snippet, it's probably Way Too Much. Which is unfortunate, because I'm itching to get some kind of excerpt down that would be appropriate to show one of my experienced writer contacts (who has already kindly offered more than once to look at something for me).

It's been an eggy few days. I want to cut my soda consumption down a bit, too, but right now I'm primarily wrestling with a constant, mindless, consuming (heh) desire to snack.

I decided to fleece my (soon-to-be-former) employer's health insurance to get the repeat allergy scratch tests before I lose my insurance at the end of Dec. I'm still experiencing mucho congestion on the $120-per-bottle prescription inhaler. If I get really pumped, I might try to get to the eye doc too.

Thursday lunchtime BJJ at GB Seattle. Starting off with that annoying invisible guy standing behind me with the electric drill between my shoulderblades again. I hate him. On the upside- it does need to get to a certain threshold of pain before whatever it is that I'm doing to trigger it starts to feel really excrutiating. I guess I'm not quite there yet, but maybe soon I can pinpoint the precise culprit.

All rollin', all the time. I had a suspicion that something was up when Carlos put me with several jumbo-sized purple and high blue belt guys that he usually doesn't put me with, because those particular guys are not good at modifying their Hulk Factor. I survived. I didn't sub any of them, but none of them subbed me either- and  furthermore I didn't spend the entire class lying on the bottom like a smashed cockroach. I didn't take any breaks. One of the Hulky high blues clocked me in the temple with his elbow. I have a huge goose egg there now. The prof reprimanded him for putting his weight down on me while I was curled up under his groin, but I was actually okay there because my legs were loaded between us. I did not let him front or side mount me. Bottom side control would quite possibly have been lethal for me with that dude.

I also rolled with a white belt that I've never seen before, who gave me more of a challenge than anyone else on the mat today- all those big colored belts notwithstanding. This white belt has otherwordly open guard skills. I must have charged him eight times, and after the first three, I did it with the mindset of "Now DON'T let him catch you in THAT again," yet he ended up trapping mein the same open guard position every damn time. He was good!

And then... yeah. As I said in the previous post. I'm not really freaking out yet because I'm still in too much shock. John got promoted to purple today as well. It was nice to share it with a good teammate. Carlos hinted that there would be some more promotions tonight, which makes me want to go in... and stay all the way through advanced class.....  I'd really like to see Ben and Ron get promoted to purple, and if Ben at least doesn't get promoted tonight, I'm an aardvark. But whew, I'm tired- he made me work for it today- and my thumped melon aches. Plus, stepping out on the mat in front of all those people, like that.... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. 


Later...............
Ok, so I made basics and study hall, but bailed before advanced. By the end of basics, my brain was feeling kinda full, and after study hall it was ready to explode. Too bad, because my body actually felt up to another 90 min (ignoring the guy with the drill, and the goose egg (which really only hurts if I touch it... or try to brush my hair)).  The competition class that used to be in this time slot wiped out my body; study hall wipes out my brain. But study hall is my favorite class. I can tell that Carlos really gets off on teaching it, too.

Basics: I drilled with a nice fellow who was visiting from the Federal Way branch. We did baseball bat chokes from side control, using the gi tail. Does this *get* any better? I love playing with gi tails (even if I haven't yet been able to do much live), and I am lately so intrigued with baseball bat chokes.

You are in top side control. Tease opponent's far bottom gi tail out and pull it up behind hir shoulder. Pass it to your other hand- the one behind opponent's head. Your palm is to the mat. Don't pull the gi tail too far behind opponent's head/shoulder- you need to leave room for the second grip.  Double check to make sure you have hir near arm controlled and everything nice & tight.

Now, Slide your other hand in PALM UP to grab the gi tail just under your first grip. Move your body up toward the back of hir head, and choke-a-palooza. The first couple reps, I mistakenly grabbed a lapel grip for my second grip- it worked just as well.

Next: opponent keeps elbow glued to ribs so that you can't get the gi tail under. Wrap that puppy OVER the arm like a sling. Pass the grip exactly as before. Again, double check your control of the near arm and make sure everything is tight. Now use 2nd hand to post on the mat, and slide your knee (the one nearest opponent's feet) onto belly. Now secure the second grip exactly as before. Hop backward a titch with your posting leg, enough to give you room/angle to slide your KOB over the shoulder, spin and kneel behind opponent's head (facing hir feet). I was able to choke easily from here, but if it isn't good yet, you can post your head on the mat beside opponent's bicep (on the side that you DON'T have the gi tail trapped).

If you sling-wrap the arm but the opponent manages to work it out, slide your own arm though the hole, place it across opponent's throat, and scissor the forearms to choke.

Study hall: triangle practice. Hip the heck up. Failing to hip up properly is a common error. I told Lindsey that I think we small females have an edge here, because we *HAVE* to hip up from the very first- otherwise we can't reach! I also gave Lindsey good advice on push/pull violently with opponent's hands as you hip up (thanks Cindy).

Carlos showed us that if opponent tries to turn the trapped arm down and hide it behind your thigh, you have only to hip up and then you can slide your own arm down your buttcheek and scoop that hand right out. I was happy that I knew the answer before he told us- but I didn't know the scoop method. I have grabbed the sleeve cuff and yanked at it, which doesn't always work with strong guys. 

Note also- do not turn the body too much. You must have the *LEG* turned, but Carlos' body stays mostly square. I may be turning the body a titch too much.

2nd half: sweeps from bottom turtle (Today has been a really good day for me!). That one I like. I'm not going to transcribe it all again, because I did that very recently (and I'm getting tired of typing tonight; this has already been a long entry!) Refinements that I did not catch before: Post the head more diagonal than I have been doing. Also: as you roll, keep the hips OFF the mat. This allows you to stick your weight on the opponent better and transition to side mount easier.

The other one: Again, I've transcribed this technique fairly recently. Opposite orientation: for this one you trap the arm nearest the opponent and stick up the diagonal leg furthest from hir. Thrust hir to the ground. Throw your body over hir, END FACING THE FEET (oops, forgot that part the first rep). Hug thighs. Move to side control.

Bonus: You are in turtle and your opponent is hunched over you on the side, with hir NEAR fist in your far collar (wrist under your throat). Wrap your arm around hir elbow, Turn your SHOULDER toward it, and try to join your hands. Wristlock on hir gripping hand, and just to be even more evil, s/he can't pull the damn thing out. This was *only* working well for me on one side- the side that puts opponent's fist at my right jaw.

It looked like a small class gearing up for advanced tonight. I didn't see Ben or Ron come in before I left. I'm pretty sure Lance was going to get promoted, by the way Carlos (and then Casey) oh-so-casually asked him during study hall if he intended to stick around for advanced. Tall Dave was also looking like he might be about to take on a slightly azure haze.  I would have liked to see that, but not bad enough to try to do the advanced class tonight.

Oh, Lindsey mentioned that Sonia is no longer at GB. So that leaves Bree at 4 stripe blue, Kelly at 3 stripe blue, and a few lower women blues. Still good, but a bummer to lose another almost-purple female.