Key insights to recurring problems

AM class

techniques-

-spinning arm bar from guard

-double arm bar from guard

-arm bar with guard locked over shoulder

this gave me some ideas for high guard. lots of possibilities for attacks, plus the opponent is broken down and can't do much from there.

during rolling, i came across some critical areas-

-the bibiano fernandes spinning armbar is a good option. don't always have to do the foot on hip one, as this is sometimes a lot more obvious and causes them to defend tighter.

-the marcelo harness bridge move to regain hooks is great. so much better than just losing back control!

-from turtle- there are some options with darce chokes, brabos, etc. on someone with a very strong turtle. seems like they can't do that tuck and roll escape where i end up side controlled.

-if for some reason i get guillotined while i'm playing butterfly, i can't let them pull me into guard. use the guillotine and hooks to sweep them over to that side (elevator) and escape during transition. if you don't escape, at least come to knees and establish top position.

-a passing style a lot of people use leaves me just a few steps away from a triangle choke. the leg is on the shoulder and they trap my other leg. if i can free that leg more often, i can set up some nice triangles. possibly the baret yoshida move where he darce grips the arm below the shoulder and yanks it out.

-knee on stomach with the gi is actually a lot more secure than i originally thought. they expose a lot of stuff when trying to escape, as it very uncomfortable when they are getting bow and arrow'ed with the knee and lapel with all my weight driven down on one point.

-the single leg on shoulder pass is good, as i suspected. lots of options depending how they react. must practice on strong opponents and figure it out better.

-i need to attack more sweeps and submissions as they pass. time to watch that baret yoshida series again.

-i'm getting a little better at side control escapes. the one where you bridge and take them in a circle around your head (rather than straight over) seems to be a good option. one thing i found- if you trap an arm, you can always take them over there, as they have no base! simple concept, but when it actually worked on someone that i normally have trouble reversing, i was converted!

-there are critical moments when the opponent is super off balance. example- the guard pass when they plant the knee in the middle of your butt and try and open the guard. the base is terrible for a second, and if i could recognize and capitalize on those moments, i'd be in good shape.

-i need to practice escaping arm bars. i realized i get caught here a lot, as i've become kind of decent at escaping chokes or at least surviving in them long enough to make my opponents change their plan of attack. the arm, though, gets caught more often than i'd like, and i always tap cuz i don't want to get it mangled.

-to finish the arm triangle, it is a lot better to put my head down and walk my legs closer with ass high in the air. this puts more pressure than what i was usually doing, which was forcing them to sit up with me and sort of neck cranking them. maybe both will work in conjunction to tighten the lock.

-the crossface grip with the gi that andy showed me the other day is pretty uncomfortable for the opponent, and definitely limits their options.

-i need to open my game up more vs. larger opponents. i usually just let them sit in the guard and maybe sweep them over eventually, but i don't feel as comfortable letting them open my guard while working from open guard. probably cuz they can smash my legs a lot better, and being side controlled by a heavy opponent is very uncomfortable.

-maybe it's time to break out the super side control again. i momentarily stopped focusing on it, but i need to fine tune it.

for whatever reason, i picked up a lot of stuff this morning. very very productive class!