Lookie what I can ALMOST do!

As you might be able to tell from the pictures, we decided to see if we could triangle ourselves. I’m just an inch shy of being able to lock it! (I’m in the purple/orange shorts) the other girl is our lone female blue belt who is making a training comeback – Yay!

Today was a really awesome training day! The guys did no gi rolling at 10 which I sat out from – didn’t seem too wise to participate, freshly broken toe and all. Our volcano black belt taught class at 11:30 and it was a really different format.

First drill: We got in 2 groups of 4. One person would run and do a takedown on each other person in the group, next person would do the same. 4 rounds of that. I just stuck with the snap/single takedown we drilled a couple weeks ago. Works well for me!

Next drill: partner up and take turns with each person securing 5 submissions from standing, and then from side control. Did that for about 5 mins.

Technique drill: armbar from side control when they frame their arms against your hips. There is a sweet kimura from here as well, but my partner and I were both too bendy for it to work effectively.

Technique drill: triangle from side control. Sit out, pull near elbow up and shoot your bottom thigh under it. Trap that arm in place by throwing your other leg over it as well. Let (or encourage) them to lift their upper body to defend their arm, then step your upper leg over their head – locking the triangle. You can also armbar the out arm if you don’t feel like choking them.

That was it for class – the guys rolled a bit after, but I decided to head out and run errands.

I am leaving for Los Angeles, CA on Sunday. I’ll be visiting a team mate, training with Eddie Bravo, visiting family, and going to Disneyland. I figured the only thing able to make it better (other than eating pizza), would be to compete. Looked it up, and would you believe, there is a tournament I can go to! The UGF is having their International Ladies Championship on the 25th! I fly out at 11 pm that day – so I can totally do that! Gonna enter in gi, no gi, and the open divisions in each. Downside is that I won’t have any team mates there, but I’ll have family for moral support and I think I’ll still be able to kill.

Class at 5 today was pretty much just open mat. I was feeling a bit lazy, but our little feisty black belt decided to wrap me up in an x guard while I was talking with someone, and how could I refuse that? We’re rolled around for a good bit – mostly with me trying to pass his guard, then recovering position when he’d sweep me. I felt pretty good about it!

Went with purple spider next. He warned me to never attempt a triangle from spider on someone bigger than me – if they have any amount of skill they’ll just shrug me off and use it to pass. He told me to go for the omoplata instead.

Our lone girl blue belt came back from a 2 month training vacation – yay! I tested out that triangle from side control that we learned this morning, and it works! I couldn’t get the choke, but fiddled with the arm until I got a kimura. I showed her some of the tricks the guys have been using to pass my spider guard lately – I figure the more people learn my tricks, the more I’ll have to adapt to make them awesome.

I rolled a bit after that with one of the white belts – the same wrestler I played with last Saturday. Was going well until I got my broken toe smashed and I kinda had to stop there since he smashed and ripped off the tape. Apparently purple spider was watching because he called me over and lectured me about rolling with large white belts.

I re-hydrated during the no gi class, then decided to weigh in. Even after a liter of water, I weighed at 132.5! Down from 141 2 weeks ago! 8.5 lbs with just 7.5 to go! Wheeee! I just might make my goal of 130 before I leave on Sunday for LA!