Spider guard

Today's afternoon class-

emphasis- spider guard

-basic spider guard sweep (shin across stomach, grab knee. foot NOT entangled over the top of the arm)

-COUNTER #1 to opponent attacking collar with free hand (deep, already on collar)
hip out, knee over elbow, pinch wrist to shoulder with ear --> straight arm bar

-COUNTER #2 to opponent attacking collar with free hand (you react before they touch)
kick leg under arm, hip out, arm drag across, come to knees, pull arm and push knee to come to side controll

i don't work too much from spider guard, but it seems to be useful in preventing the opponent from passing. gotta experiment some more to see if it works into my gi game. don't want to rely on it, though.

open guard drill
felt strong with my recovery and attacks. starting to go de la riva to single leg takedown. the upside down guard seems to work well with my game also. a key element- can't let them control my pants. perhaps a spider guard with foot in the bicep will be good?

rolling
the side control is working well. beginning to flow and switch sides as opponent tries to recover. starting to entangle arms and prevent them from getting an elbow on the ground. right now i'm just trying to get comfortable controlling and dominating positions, but eventually the attacks should open up.

one technique that i need to master- the wrestling sit out. one detail i was missing was ripping my elbow backwards as i sit out. i was able to do that today, and it made a world of difference. gotta master this!

after class-

double leg detail

lead with penetrating leg. big step in. change levels (come at them like a square, not diagonally). more reps = better mechanics.

two ways to begin to set up-

come in like you are trying to grip the gi, and they react by blocking your hands. legs are free to shoot on for a moment.

another possible setup- control head and try to snap them down. they resist and try to stand straight up, you shoot.

a small detail from the paragon half guard.

possible reaction- they sit back and try to come under you to take the back.
they need to free the trapped leg and move it to a back hook.

watch for collar chokes. watch for free leg to start hooking your arm (marcelo style).

possible reaction to that counter? spin around and begin to pass for the half guard sweep.