Aesopian’s Totally Awesome Journal

This is the last video I have of my matches. I fought two more after this, including another division final against AJ, but unfortunately, the camera was out of batteries by then.

The first 35 second of this match you’ll see AJ fighting with a purple belt. I didn’t include this for their sake but so you could see me (who you’ll only be able to see the back of, on the right side of the screen) when I go to my knees and Eduardo, the ref (and my coach) says I’m going to start from knees so the match is fair to my opponent, Anoã, who’s also from my school.

This isn’t that funny unless you know that “anoã” means “dwarf”.

It’s probably not funny unless you were there.

Anyway.

The Match

This doesn’t start well. I get a sleeve grip and pull a sloppy butterfly guard. He steps right over it before I can get one-leg guard or x-guard.

As I scramble to my knees to defend the pass, he jumps right on to my back, getting a good grip on my collar right away.

Not only that, but he ends up trapping my right arm with his leg, almost getting me in the crucifix.

Awesome, huh?

Despite all this, he still hasn’t received points for anything, and I know if I keep his hooks out of the right places, he never will. I tuck my chin to defend the choke and start figuring out what to do.

I have my left arm out to block his hook from coming in on that side. I scoot my hips down and try to get my back down to the mat. I purposely get my second arm trapped under his leg too, knowing there’s no way he can stay on my back if I have both arms “out” like this.

Once I feel my neck is safe and he’s not really on my back any more, I bring my knees up and try to bring them between us. I’m just jamming away with my knees and feet, trying to get enough space to go to inverted guard a la Ryan Hall.

Before I can make anything of it, he throws my leg to the side and I bring it back in to return to guard.

He freaks out and goes for a crazy cartwheel pass. I just stick my foot out and step on his hip and roll back with him, landing on top. He really swept himself.

I asked him about this later and he said he was so afraid of being caught standing in my open guard that he was desperate to just get out of it anyway he could. What happened wasn’t exactly what he’d hoped for.

He immediately grabs my untucked lapel and wraps it over my shoulder.

I’m hugging his hips and locking down the position so he can’t take his one hook out or put his other hook in. He goes for a good choke attempt, using my lapel. I have to push his arm down to defend it.

I know he’s in a bad position, since he’s not really in half guard, butterfly or closed guard. It’s one of the stupid positions between all of them. Some call this “half butterfly guard” but I don’t since it’s not a good guard to play.

He releases the choke and starts doing other stuff on my right side. Now I can see the he changed his grips and grabbed his feet.

Once I feel less in danger of the choke, I look up to see what I can do. I grab his untucked lapel with my left hand and pass it behind his head to my right.

I reach back with my left arm and get under his leg, thinking of doing the shin-pin pass the Leo Kirby had taught me. I do a quick shuffle to the right, which moves his hook across my stomach, so it’s no longer hooking my thigh. Then I grab the foot with my left arm, completely killing the hook, then walk over it and finish by sprawling into side control.

I move to north-south, pulling one of his lapels up into his armpit and holding his belt on the other side. After securing the position for a minute and getting what felt like a good grip, I do one of my favorite techniques, where I sit into them from north-south and pull myself on to their back.

Unfortunately for me, Anoã spins out and defends the hooks while getting to his knees and turning into me. He takes me down from knees like I’m a banana since I still have the (now completely messed up) grips on the belt and lapel.

I turn belly down to keep from being put under side control. I grab both of his knees by the pants so he can’t run around to my back as he gets side ride.

This next bit is pretty awesome.

While in this awful position, with my face in the mat and worried I’m about to get my back taken, I receive divine inspiration. I throw my leg all the way over and put my hook in to take his back.

From under sideride.

Even I find that impossible.

He turns into me to keep me off his back but I still take mount and get 4 points.

I see his arm exposed and pin it with the top of my head while I grab his wrist, then reach in with the other arm to secure a kimura. As I do this, he heel drags my foot between his legs, beginning his escape.

I start trying to twist his arm while pulling his elbow up towards his head to tighten the kimura. I’m still using the top of my head to shove his arm around.

When I go to crank the kimura again, he finishes the heel drag escape and returns to half guard. I sprawl on him and try to finish the kimura several times (every time you see our heads rock up and down is my trying to twist his arm back).

He gets back to the one hook in, one leg out position again, and I release the kimura since I know feel I’d be exposing myself by keeping my arms stretched out.

The footage cuts out early but all you missed was him returning to closed guard and almost collar choking and armbarring me for a minute straight. The match ends with me getting collar choked across the face with my arm about an inch away from a fully finished armbar.

Saved by the bell, I win with 9 points for the sweep, guard pass and mount.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 27th, 2006 at 11:56 pm and is filed under Tournaments, Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response.