MMA and me; day 79

I'm baaaaack! I took a week off after my grappling tournament to spend time with my amazing wife, and yesterday was my first day back in the gym. It felt great to get that sweat flowing again, and to see all the guys in there. Just really fantastic. The first class was kickboxing, and we worked a lot of front kicks, or teeps, and combinations involving them. First we just went back and forth with lead leg teeps with our partner, and then rear leg teeps with our partner. Next we worked a combo that went from a lead leg teep, to a 1-2, and we did that one for a couple rounds. The key to that was not over extending yourself, keeping your balance, and making sure the kick is a push, not a strike. Lastly, we worked a lead leg teep-1-2-high 9. This one felt a little funky, until I had my step over for the high 9 corrected. I was stepping too far forward, and not across enough. I was starting to get the hang of it by the end of class though. We ended with partner ab drills, which I have a hard time describing, but they are tough for 30 seconds, and we did them for three minutes.

Grappling was all about chokes and I really liked this class. It was all from the snap down to a seatbelt grip. First was the guillotine, where you take your hand that is under their chin and make a fist, then push it into the side of their neck with your other hand, constricting around their throat and cutting off both arteries.

Next was a choke if they defend the guillotine, called the D'Arce. First, instead of reaching under their chin, you reach under their chest and either grab their far arm and pull it under, or push it under with your opposite hand. From there, you grab the bicep of your opposite arm, and place the hand of that arm over their back. Lastly, you walk your hips towards them, and drive them over to their side opposite the side you are grabbing your own arm, and then arch your back and drive your hips towards them until they tap.

The next choke we learned, was a Peruvian Necktie. From the D'arce, if you just cant get your arm under because they're fighting it, thread your other arm to the far side of their neck, and put your other arm across the back of their neck, grasping both hands and pinching your elbows together. From there, step your leg on the side of their head, over their head, and lean back while throwing your other leg over their body to prevent them from rolling through. Lastly, extend your leg over the back of their neck, while pulling their head towards you until they tap.

The last choke we learned was an inverted arm triangle, and is a branch off of the Peruvian Necktie. From the arm over the back of their neck grip, called a vise grip, pull your hands in tight to your chest, while keeping your chest pressure against their shoulder. This will flip them onto their back, but if you keep your chest on them, you will keep their arm trapped against their head. From here, adjust your arm under their neck so the crook of your elbow is right against the side of their neck, and your hand is flat on the mat. From here, all you need to do is get a monkey grip, and very slowly shrug your shoulders until they tap.