Transitions

Jiu Jitsu has 4 basic positions. Mount, guard, back, side. Then from these there is open guard, butterfly guard, 1/2 guard, spider guard etc. Then you can get more esoteric and break it down further and into more specialized positions like 50/50 guard, turtle guard, upside down guard, 1/4 guard, DeLaRiva guard, etc. Some of these positions are controlled points in a transition...where if there was no control, it would be a transtion or a scramble.
You can find opportunities in transitions that weren't there before. You can see openings and submissions that weren't available before. You may have positions that you want to get to and the transition can give you the opportunity to get there.
It is in these transitions that there are numerous possibilities to alter the direction of the game. Anything can happen in these moments and in the blink of an eye, everything can completely change.


p.s. Sorry for the long break in blog postings. I'm trying to figure out the RSS feed so you'll know when I've put up a new post. Thanks for your patience.

How did I get here?

It's all still just starting to sink in. This last weekend I was in Trenton, New Jersey to compete in the ADCC World Submission Fighting Championships. It's all still pretty surreal. In the first round I beat Leticia Ribiero (mulit-time BJJ World Champion) by points. In the semi-finals, I tapped Megumi Fuji (Japanese fighting superstar) with a rear choke. And in the finals, I lost a close match to Sayaka (also from Japan and Megumi's student).
So many people have helped me and given so freely of themselves. Even something that may be a small, little thing...each and every thing brings something, means something and adds to something greater. Something as simple as a confident look and reassuring nod at the right time when it was needed...something that small makes a difference.
I have a great team. They have given me so much and we went to the finals of ADCC!
Thank you!