Yup it’s that time of year again folks. Most people are starting to think about their resolutions for the new year. Some are going to quit smoking again, others are going to lose weight again, but lets think of something different…Jiu Jitsu! So lets hear it. What are your Jiu Jitsu resolutions? When thinking of one, make sure to be specific enough so that you can track your progress. I personally am going to work on sweeping from the bottom and gaining the mount. I feel that I need to work on my subs from mount and I am a guard guy, so I need to sweep the person to get on top. The more I put myself in the mount position the more I am forced to make sub attempts from there. On a side note make sure to subscribe to my blogs RSS feed. You can do this by clicking the link that says subscribe to this feed towards the top left of the page. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holidays!

Well last class I was focused more on my top game. I worked the pass that I had talked about in my previous post and I’m happy to say that it worked about 50% of the time. Maybe a little under because I forget the exact number of times that I went for it. The thing that makes these numbers promising is that the pass was done on high level guys. I’m going to keep working the pass and perfect it more on the lower belts that’s for sure.

I’m super pumped for class tonight. I’ve been watching the Mundials 08 DVD and its really got me in the zone. In fact I wish class was right now lol. Joe T. said he was going to stop by class tonight so that will be a blast. It’s always fun to roll with Joe because he has a very different style then most of the people at the club. Can’t wait!

Lately I have been looking for something to work on specifically. I think I’ve found it. It’s my top game and passing. I used to really suck at both of them, and I think now is the perfect time to really concentrate on them and bring them up to speed. I’m a guard player so I always give up position and work off my back, but in a competition that game plan sucks.
The last competition that I went to was last Oct down in Portland. The tourney was the Freestyle Grappling Open and is one of the biggest in Maine. I was so nervous and pumped at the time I just wanted to get it over with. When the match started I was going to so many positions and going for so many submissions that in a 4 min match I was up 14 – 2 on the guy. I ended up getting caught in a triangle with 20 secs left. SUUUUUCKS! I learned something though, if I had just solidified a few of those dominate positions I would have ate a lot of time off the clock and saved energy.
So top game it is. I need to start being able to dictate the pace and eat up time on the clock when I want to rest. My passing seems to be getting better. Now I just need to work on being able to stay there once I have passed.