MMA and me; day 66

So I had no time yesterday to write, and almost none today as well, so I'm doing Wednesday's blog now, and yesterday's blog later today. Wednesday I went to an extra class where we worked on take downs. First a bear hug, where you squeeze as you hip under them and force them to the mat. Next was a lateral drop, where from the over/under grip, you pull down with your overhook, and throw your underhook to the ceiling, flipping them to the mat. Last was a fireman's carry, where you drop to your knee on the side of your overhook, reach under their leg, and drop to your opposite leg, flipping them over you onto their back, and ending up in their side control. We also worked a single leg on both legs, and did a little free grappling starting from standing. All in all, a nice class.

In kickboxing, where we worked on 10s on Monday, we worked on 9s on Wednesday. First, a simple inside 9, to the thigh. Next (and rapidly becoming my favorite kick) was the mid 9. I'm right handed and right footed, but for some reason, I can throw the 9, which is a lead leg kick, and for me that means left leg, with a lot of power and accuracy. Lastly, we worked on checking a 10 with the lead leg, and immediately throwing a switch 9. This takes some timing, but once you get it down (like I think I am starting to), you can counter that 10 with impressive speed and force. We finished with a little light kick sparring, and that is something that can make you realize you still have a long way to go. :)

Grappling was back to working on rear-naked chokes. When someone has their hooks in, and has that choke nearly sunk, you tuck your chin, turn towards the arm trying to choke, pull the top hand off with your hands and pin it under your arm on that side and turn to the mat. Next, using both hands, pull the choking hand out from under your chin and move it to the other side of your head, and use your head to pin it there. From here, you can let go with your top side hand, so you can grab your opponents top side foot, and dig your elbow into the side of his calf so you can pull his leg up, and then you roll to that side, and you're out. Lastly, we worked a submission on that escape. When you roll out, let go of the foot, and reach up around the back of your opponents neck, then release their bottom side arm, and reach under the neck with your other hand. As you turn to a north/south position, make sure their arm that is between you and their body is pinned there, and not underneath you. Using a chopping motion, get your underside hand as far past their neck as possible, and get an over under grip, or monkey grip, with your hands, and then flatten out as much as possible. From there, simply bring the grip as close to your chest as possible, and then try and bring your elbows together until they tap.