Class 55 - 70 of 200 BJJ classes
Weight 170 lbs.
Instructor(s):Cassio Werneck, Sergio Penha, Brent Goodall
First off just let me say I have not kept up with my blogging the past couple of weeks but in my defense I took my wife on vacation(Las Vegas..more on my trip later) and have been really busy developing apps for the iPhone and Android platforms with iFightVideo.com so cut me some slack.
Class(es) Overview:
I was in Las Vegas during the last week of April and had the pleasure of training at Sergio Penha's academy. Sergio is the instructor to my instructor Cassio Werneck and everybody told he was a legend. Still upon meeting the guy I had no clue what I was in store for.
The guys at Sergio's academy were really cool(By the way Sergio would not accept my mat fee) and I did not feel like anyone was gunning for me. I got some solid rounds in with some of Sergio's brown, blue and white belts. Oh and of course Sergio himself. I held my own against his students but Sergio Penha is on a whole different planet.
To say he is good in BJJ is like saying Magic Johnson was good in basketball. I got tapped 5 times in 10 mins training with Sergio which included: A wristlock, two straight armbars, an Americana off a Brabo(something I have never seen before) and a Cross Choke from the mount.
His pressure from side control is ridiculous he felt like he weighed 400lbs. However his best position by far was the closed guard. Quite simply the best closed guard I have ever felt...EVER!! He uses hip and leg movement along with grips to destroy your base.
Here is one of the sweeps he got on me which ended up with a cross choke from the mount:
Here is the mount wristlock that I got caught with I never saw it coming:
After I got back to town Cassio continued his positional training and focused on sweeping(or escaping) the Big 6 positions(Closed Guard, Half Guard, Side Control, Mount, Back, Sitting up guard) . During this past week it has been all about the under stack pass.
Check out the variation of this pass by Judo Ne-waza legend Kashiwazaki.
What I really like about the Kashiwazaki variation is how he controls to far side arm to complete the pass.
Tip(s) of the week:
- On the under stack pass square up to the opponent and drive your weight forward putting his knee onto his forehead.
- Control behind the knee and not in front of the knee to reduce the chance of the triangle.
- Stack the opponent so that only his shoulders are touching the mat.
- Use your chest to pass instead of lifting up to clear the head.
Kneebars and footlocks are everywhere!!
Judo Overview: We worked foot sweeps this week. I still need to work on my but I am committed to at least two judo classes a week.
