Pages

▼

Monday, October 10, 2011

It's official: I'm half guard stupid

We went over four variations on deep half escapes today. First one, I got a "beautiful!". Second? "Nice." Third...I don't remember, but it went well. Something happened on the fourth variation though. My brain crashed and exploded in a rush of frustration and confusion.



I have a serious mental block around the half guard. I've been going through the upcoming blue belt test requirements with another green belt at the gym. Every other position, I jump right into it. But half guard? Half guard sweeps? Complete blank. Deep half sweeps? Nothin'. I have to sit and concentrate. I've done an entire private dedicated to the half guard and I STILL freeze up in ignorance. I'm really ready for this block to be gone. 
at

6 comments:

  1. Liam H WandiOctober 11, 2011 at 1:54 AM

    Half guard was the pain of my jiu jitsu and now it's my favourite game. Hmm. Maybe it's time to dust off the video camera :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. slideyfootOctober 11, 2011 at 9:29 AM

    This is what I normally try to do from there, which may or may not help.

    Also, watch Oli Geddes. His half guard is awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KintanonOctober 11, 2011 at 12:23 PM

    Caio Terra is the MAN in half guard. His DVD changed my life in the first 20 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MeganOctober 11, 2011 at 3:28 PM

    Thanks guys. I know my big issue is just that I don't understand it. Like you're suggesting, the problem is likely solved visually.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A.D. McClishOctober 12, 2011 at 7:49 AM

    Your title made me bust out laughing. I had the same issue for a long time and still do from time to time if a person's top half guard is different than I am used to. But the thing that has helped me to most is keeping these things in mind:

    1. Getting on my side instead of lying flat on my back.

    2. Getting my underhook on the side that my leg is trapped.

    3. Getting the person off their base by bringing their weight on top of me so I can sweep.

    Just keep playing with it and you will get there! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. MeganOctober 14, 2011 at 7:34 PM

    That's totally it Allie...the top half game has so many twists in it that I tend to get confused. I'll try focusing on just a few possibilities. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete