5:45 to 7p

5:45-5:50p: Had to put out a fire at work just as I was about to leave for class. 15 minutes late. Hmmpfff. I need to warm up. They must have had a long warm-up because they were still doing core work when I stepped on the mat and joined them for stretches.

5:50-6p: Sweep / pass the guard. Mike (Purple) swept me with ease. Posture. He said I was too high. Weak. He had been down for 3 rounds so he let me take his spot. Andy (Brown) stepped in. Great... He's just another guy in class, right? I did surprisingly well. Knocked him off balance a bit when he attempted his first guard break. I'd say I almost swept him but that would be stretching things just a bit. Ha. He changed tactics and broke the guard. I switched to open guard (modified spider). Andy let me play for a lot longer than I thought he would. He finally passed with a slick leg/hip flick from stand up to pass my last hook.

6-6:30p: Technique. Review. Side control to technical mount to s-mount to arm bar. Then two choke options from mount. Standard palm up / palm up choke. Then a palm up / palm down option if opponent defends the first grip. Good to see these again for a second time in such a short span.

6:30-7p: Rolls. 6 minute rounds. Crowded mats tonight. Groups of 3 with one sitting out to watch out for collisions. Steve (White Belt) and Lance (first day guy) in my group. Steve and I went first. Passed guard and got swept. Got stuck in half guard. I mean stuck. Almost got a sweep once, but no go. Stuck.

Lance stepped into my guard. Lance is a big older guy (40s?) and seemed to want to brawl. Spent a few minutes defending an onslaught of gi choke attempts from within my guard. Nothing too threatening, but he is very strong and persistent. Transitioned to set up arm bar attempts several times, but he was moving so fast I couldn't control anything. Finally got my chance when he stood up and leaned in to get the gi choke. Arched off the upper back/shoulder and shot the arm bar...and let one go in the process...Georgette style. I'd never done that in class before. I got the tap, but it was a bit embarrassing. Also implemented a technique of the day (side control to arm bar from s-mount). I could tell Lance thoroughly enjoyed himself. He asked for my number and said he'd be back. Nice!

Rolled with Steve again before calling it a night. Much better this time. Actually worked my way out of half guard. One of Saulo's sweeps from Revolution 1. I'll likely continue to explore that sweep when working with Steve. I need to avoid deep half a bit longer and work that technique with smaller and/or less experienced training partners until I can figure out what I'm doing wrong that makes it so easy for him to cross face and put me flat on my back. Also got a front gi choke from closed guard, but only because Steve made a silly mistake (he won't make it again). I was far more pleased with the half guard sweep.