Butterfly Guard Revisited

I knew the time would come when I'd have a hard time keeping up with posting the details of each class. Going to Sempai Matt's class makes it that much more difficult as the session runs until 9 PM. I'm not home and showered until 10. I then have a very late dinner and start to morph into the couch cushions. There's also a number of other things going on like soccer practice, Mother's Day, referee assigning for the soccer league and the basics like work. I made matters worse on Monday by running 3 miles before class and wearing myself out a bit.

There's a few minutes before each class that make the entire effort worthwhile. A moment of basic male interaction that's not part of the corporate world or soccer coaching. A moment to rag on each other ruthlessly, to laugh at the most inappropriate remark or to ponder deep questions like whether it's okay to choke out your opponent if they have a racist tattoo. And then there's the class.

We did a different warm-up routine with a focus on practical application. One of the exercises involved pairing off and getting into the butterfly guard position. The person holding the guard leaned back and lifted the opponent with their feet. We went through about 10 repetitions of this exercise.

Another exercise we was rolling into guard. This was when the opponent was to your side and you were on your hands and knees like at wrestling re-start. You would bring your arm to the opponent's side under you and roll completely over in place. This would put you in a position to place the opponent within your guard.

Sempai Matt then demonstrated a pass to side control from a standing position. The opponent was on their back and fending you off with their legs. You first grabbed both ankles and stepped forward. You switched the grip on your right hand to the outside of the ankle to be able to push in. The next step was to push the left leg down and the right leg down and across your mid-section. You pressured downward and moved your left leg across their right thigh to block it to the mat. Their left leg would be trapped by the pressure of your weight. You can then transition to the right and into side control.

Oz and Ryan were there and showed me the basic butterfly guard sweep. This isn't something we typically focus on a Kobukai as it's really suited for grappling and not self-defense. The sweep did work and seemed similar to the elevator sweep that we use. Oz then showed me a butterfly guard pass and Ryan showed me a sweep from a sitting guard position.

On the sweep Ryan demonstrated, you began with your right foot in a butterfly position, your left leg flat on the floor (but ready to gain butterfly position if necessary), an underhook with your right arm and an overhook with your left arm. You are sitting toward your left hip and simply flop over to that side. You use the right hook to sweep the opponent while sliding your left leg under and away from the opponent. You will end up on your knees to the opponent's right side and you'll be able to transition into a modified kesa or side control position.

I rolled with Oz and suffered triangle after triangle. This has always been Oz' forte and he's been learning more and more transitions. The primary method he was using was similar to Guard/Yoko Juji Gatame (side cross lock) where he grabbed one of my wrists, pressure trapped my bicep against his knee and then 'sprang' his leg to get my arm to set-up the triangle. Personally, I didn't need to see Oz learn more ways to choke me out but it's good to see him progressing. He doesn't need these techniques to dominate me but his MMA career is progressing successfully and these will come in handy in that realm.

I ended class by rolling with Bill and Dave. They are both strong guys and we battled to draws. I don't think Sensei would have been satisfied as the rolls were probably too static for his taste. For example, I was in Bill's guard for much of our roll. He was working hard to control my posture down and I was working to keep his hips down and centered. It probably was boring to watch but it was a very much of a workout.

I'm hoping to get to Thursday's class but have soccer practice tomorrow. I'll go to soccer and hope to find a way to pull myself away in time for class.