Ok Made a last minute decision to make the BJJ class a gi-less session. Most of the crew got the message but those that didn't were into it anyway. We had 31 on the mat! Monday is usually a 20-25 session so 31 was huge.

Not a lot of room to move so we had to split into 2 groups and have a turn about session. 5 minute rounds with a round to rest. Add to that the takedowns, some of it got a little hairy. But we came through the session with no injuries and a lot of mat time.

Great session. We'll repeat the AGi-less again on Wed, so be ready!

Been far too busy to update this portion of the sprawling site that is GSW, but there you go. I glad Ko has a chance to add bits or this thing would never change.

Anyway, what's been happening?? Training, rolling and more training. The new year has hit the ground running and looks like it'll be a beaut.

Today in the MMA / Sub Grappling class we had 12 which is a big improvement on last week, with several new people stepping onto the mat.

In the BJJ "Fundamentals" class, it was police night! We had some of the new recruit's, some RNZPC staff and a couple of sworn members. Added to this the class was big. So all in all a good day.

We covered figure fours in the BJJ class, applying them from Mount, Guard, Side Control and Top Control. These subs are great as they will work well for both Gi and Giless.

Stay cool see you tomorrow

Today we kicked off by rolling a few rounds, looking for subs and escapes, we then spent some time setting up the figure 4 armlock from the half guard, we then rolled some more focussing on the timing of our escapes before we spent some time working on our guard passing.

The weather was crap today but we still managed to get in a good session. We started off by rolling, focussing on the basics, we then introduced the concept of "attack intensity", essentially we turned up the heat when required at specific points of the roll, this concepts was applied to both our escapes and our submissions.

We then did rounds of attack, where one partner just all out attacked, whilst the other partner tries to defend for as long as possible.

We then finished off by repping out the toreanda pass, which is a pass that JJM does in his latest book, we then took it one step further and looked for the underhook or the crossface once the pass was completed and depending on our opponents reaction. Finally we repped out our favourite finish from the pass.

Ko

Today we rolled in an attempt to dust off the cobb webs, we also spent some time revising the basics like our grips and keeping our arms close to our bodies, we also spent some time working on the mental side of our grappling game by reviewing the "No" filter, which Geoff posted about last week.

Submission Grappling / MMA

Good size mat today. A couple of different faces on the mat for a roll, which is really cool. Warm up and then 5 X 10min rounds. Thanks to Crazy for a nice roll. Thanks to Jase of base for the no strikes, woops sorry, session. Nicely placed elbow between the eyes, I'm sure I deserved it. Welcome back D good to have you back on the mat for 2006, also good to see your time off hasn't blunted your attacking style.

BJJ Fundamentals (My ASS!!)

Over 25 on the mat today. Some of the old skool coming out of the woodwork for their first session of the year. While I was catching up with Shano, whos just returned from his honeymoon in Hawaii, everyone just started rolling. So that's how the class went. Hot, sweaty and hard work in the sun. Well done to everyone for making it through the session injury free.

See you all on Monday.

Ok so I mentioned this some months ago and its been an ongoing drama for some of the guys since then. Personally I've always said it was a good thing, but the image is now better than the service! I cannot understand how these morons can do their job is such a haphazzard fashion. But enough of that. Here is the new look of Post Haste.




I went ahead and brought a new Toyota Hiace just to be the only one in the fleet and it's paid off as the new van, although seriously ugly, is without doubt the best looking van in the fleet now. The deal that King Toyota in Lower Hutt gave me was outstanding. I purchased an 2002 model off them and the deal sucked. They screwed it up completely and I ended up walking away with out the van. Untill they sorted it out and finalised the purchase.

This time they were unbelevable! They did all the spade work and gave me a fantastic deal on the new van and an amazing trade in on the old van. Here's the old van and the old Post Haste look



I wasn't even thinking of buying a new van but the deal was too good to miss. And now that I've been driving the new Hiace for a while I do not regret the purchase. The new Hiace is all new! And is sooo much better than the models before thats its almost unreal! This van is amazing, I simply cannot express how good the new Hiace is. I love this Van!! :)

Wed 11/01/2006 BJJ
Another good turnout for the first week, with 21 on the mat tonight. Decided, after the big effort on Monday, that I’ll push the envelope a bit and see who could hack the pace. So we grappled all night again but running 10 min rounds. Worked very well with no one dieing or breaking anything. Well done everyone good effort!

Thursday 12/01/2006 MMA / Sub Grappling 7pm

This class is more and more heading down the Sub Grappling road, as many of the class have no interest in the MMA aspect of what we do. This means we may need to review exactly where this class is heading and whom it is catering for?

Tonight there were 12 on the mat and again we just rolled the night away with 10 min rounds. Unfortunately during the session Cain popped his knee while attempting to avoid a takedown by Jason. I did see Cain the next day on the street and while he was walking along quite well he thinks itll be a while before he hits the mat again. Get well soon buddy.

BJJ Fundamentals 8pm

Another great turn out capping off a brilliant return to classes. Over 25 on the mat for tonights Fundamentals my ass class. Tonight I covered a couple of things that I had seen people having trouble with during the week.

Started with going over the basic bridging escape from mount. I needed to make sure everyone was award of the things that they need to have in place for this to work properly. Then we moved onto the elbow escape from Mount. Adding this as an alternative to the previous escape.

Finished the session with a drill combining the two escapes to full effect. Starting the bridging escape only to have our opponent counter it, or for us to hash it and loose a key component. Then quickly recognizing the opportunity has gone and changing to the elbow escape. As you become more familiar with this drill you will eventually be able to combine the 2 escapes into a single motion. Thus removing any need for reaction from your opponent.

I mentioned this at the end of the class and Id like to post it here for you to read. One of the key things to develop in your grappling is the ability to recognize change. John calls it Snap Shots where you are aware of the progress of the grappling by taking snap shots of any given moment and assessing whats next. As you become more advanced your Snap Shots happen far more frequently.

As an additive to this I believe you need to know when someone has flicked your switch. For example you must know when the limit of you guard has been reached and transition into your next move. If someone has crashed past your guard the last thing you want to do is realize its happened when they have you pinned flat on your back.

If you analyse you guard game and know when your limit has been reached then you can recognize when it’s time to start defending side control or escaping from there. Now I’m certainly not advocating giving up the fight when you feel like you’ve reached you limit, but it’s important that you know where your limit may be, so you don’t miss when that limit has been breached.

Take your snap shots and analyse them in reference to your game. Know when your reaching your limit and adapt accordingly!

Got this link posted on our forum and just had to share.

BJJ is the gayest!

We kicked off our first daytime session today, rolled a few rounds foccussing on our escapes and movEment, then onto drilling some subs, we then spent sometime rollin some more, this time focussing on our elbow-knee defence, followed by drillin a sweep, we then spent sometime working on the leg-grab rollover sweep and also the John Jensen version which he showed at his seminar last November.

Welcome back to Steve, who has been off after a long injury break.

First class of the new year and what a great turn out.

Once again I'm left stunned at what a great bunch of totally addicted people you all are. On the first class of the year we had 26 on the mat. Now while that made for some tight grappling space it was really cool to see so many getting back into it so early!

Started with a bit of a bleat about gradings and admin stuff. Not really relevant to you but I wanted everyone to know that I realise that people are starting to slip between the cracks and that I hope to rectify that problem this year. Finished the night by rectifying some of the problems that I had seen in the stripe department. So congrats to those that were awarded another stripe, particularly Crazy who was awarded 2 new stripes to bring him up to the correct level for his skill. Well done.

For the class we started with our 2 fav sweep drill. One partner gets to perform their favorite sweep 2 times before joining the long cue to wait for another go. We then added sweep and sub. This time we perform the sweep then quickly apply a submission form the top. Good to get into the habit of using the sweep for getting not only a reversal to a dominant position but then capitalising on it.

From there we did a few rounds of pass or sweep and then ended the night with some rolling. Had to split everyone into 2 groups to make a bit more room for everyone. I finished the night with a 30 min grapple with Jas. Thanks bud I needed the blow out!!

A couple of points from the class. Take ownership of your game. While I make every effort to assess your skill and direction and offer advise that I think you need, it vital that you also assess you own games. You need to know why things aren't working and find the problems to solve. Or look for ways to improve on what you're doing. That way you can ask relevant questions who's answers have a good chance of sticking in your head. Instead of me offering another piece of advise that you quickly forget. Take ownership!!

Ok, I don't normally do this type of post but I noticed a couple of things during training over the holidays and I'd like to address them here. John has mentioned it before and I've certainly seen it on my mat so this is something that needs to be put down for everyone to read.

As we progress through training there are certain things that get taught in class once then are not repeated for several months. Now this is my mat I'm talking about here, so I can only imagine it gets worse on a mat like Johns or even the Machado's in the US.

John has in fact mentioned something like this in the past. Imagine how much information Rigan Machado knows on BJJ for example, can you imagine if he taught every technique he knew one after the other, how many classes that would cover. Now I'm no Rigan but I can see it happening on my mat already. Something you remember teaching a little while ago is suddenly only being done by one person. And everyone else is really keen to learn this technique and are asking about it..

Suddenly you realize it was taught 6 months ago and only about 10 people from that class are still consistently on the mat. No wonder most people have no idea what the technique is?! So how do we overcome this problem? For most serious stuff it ok because there are usually resources. Eg: the syllabus is in writing so no one will miss the core techniques. But what about the other stuff? The yes / no filter, the switch theory, all those little pointers you've given to specific people to aid the development of their game and ultimately the mat?

I don't know the answer, short of writing down everyone of those things as I remember them and posting them here... So I'll make a start with this:

The Game Filter: (The Yes / No filter)

Essentially this is about focusing your game to the smallest part. When you start to roll in class as a newby there is usually too much to remember and your not at all sure what your supposed to be doing. So your mind is going in 100 different directions at once. After a few sessions you get the hang of it and have a better understanding of where you trying to go and what you're trying to achieve.

That's great, but you mind is now only thinking about 50 things instead of 100. This is where the game filter comes in. When you have a general idea of what's going on in grappling it's important to narrow your view and focus on some aspects. It could be something simple like escaping a certain position, or securing a position or setting up your favorite sub. Anything that you want can be applied to this theory.

So here's an example.:
"Every time I fight Jonny he pins me flat on my back and subs me with an arm bar from side control."

So to over come this using the Game filter I would suggest never getting caught flat on your back!

So next time you roll with Jonny at the front of your mind is that little mantra:
"No! I will not let my back be flat on the mat"
With that thought in the front of your mind you'll find that you no longer get caught on your back, until it becomes part of your game and you don't have to focus on it any more..

John explained this theory and being a filter over a jar with all this BJJ knowledge trying to drive it's way into your jar of skills. This causes a bottleneck and as a result nothing gets through! By placing this filter over the jar and focusing on 1 or 2 things at a time they then have an opportunity to be worked into your game until they drop through!

This theory can be applied to any aspect of your game. And Yes or No can be applied.
"No I will not go flat on my back"
"Yes I will maintain posture in guard"
"No I will not allow anyone to close their guard on me"
"Yes I will keep the mount no matter what they do"

and so on. So next time you hit the mat place something hard against the game filter and focus on it until it drops into your jar!

Good luck

Thanks to all thoses who made the 2 sessions on Thursday night.

It was a great turn out for this early in the year.
MMA / Sub Grappling had 9 on the mat for the rolling and the BJJ session had 19!

Fantastic numbers and bodes well for the rest of 2006.

There will be no class on Sunday but normal class times will resume on Monday the 9th. See the GSW info page for class times. >>

Ok for want of a better name that's what I've gone with.

I've tweaked and fiddled till my eyes are sore, I've tested and upgraded and brought every item in me store 10 times and it all seams to be working ok?

So I've taken the plunge and made it live.....
Hopefully all the kinks have been ironed out and all the payment options will work out ok, I guess there's only one way to find out. :)

Anyway for those that are interested GSW now has a New Zealand Based online store, you can find the store by clicking on the "shop" image in the navigation above or by clicking here >> http://www.secure.gsw.net.nz/catalog/

There are only a few things in there at the moment but I'm expecting some goodies in the next few weeks so have a look and check back later.

Thanks

Geoff

We'll be running a low key session tonight.
7-8pm Gi-less grappling
8-9pm Gi Grappling

Just rolling and problem solving again, hope you can make it?

Big props to those that made the session. Great turn out of complete addicts!!!

Good little 2 hour roll. Everyone on the mat has made significant progress and clearly there is some great game focus come into play over the christmas break.

Really cool to see some of the stuff people were trying and succeeding with today.

Very happy to be caught by some of you today, it's really cool when the things I say and the tips I give, come back to bite me on the arse!! Great stuff.

Happy new year everyone. I hope the excesses of the night weren't too bad. :)

For those in town and interested we're going to have a couple of classes today.

3pm Gi-less and 4 pm Gi

Pretty much just going to roll and solve problems so pop on down if you're keen.

Geoff