Yesterday, we had our weekly open mat session, which means that we don't have class and just roll (or spar as some people call it).
For those not familiar with this practice, it means that you basically fight for as many rounds as you want. At our gym, we usually do 5 minute rounds, but sometimes we push it up to 10 minutes. It' s a great way to up your stamina and cardio. It's also the best way to put into practice the techniques we have learned during the week, and just work on anything you feel like working. The more you roll/practice, the better you get at it! It's liek with everything else, practice makes the master.
Yesterday, I wanted to focus on passing my opponent's guard. If you've never done BJJ before, imagine 2 fighters who each are trying to fight for the dominant position. You basically want to pass your opponent's legs and hips and immobilize them, and reach what we call the side control or the mount position, and ideally finish with a submission from there (an arm lock or a choke for example).
You will find the explanation more in details here:
You see the same positions in MMA fights, only without the punches.
Obviously you don't get to these positions easily, and the person on the bottom defends it at all cost, while the person on top is trying to outsmart their partner and surprise him or her. It's a game of strategy and agility.
Why record your open mat sessions?
While you're fighting, you don't see what you're doing and filming yourself is the best way to see where you still need to improve. I personally am tall and have long legs, and I find that I need to work on my posture while I roll. It doesn't feel that way while I spar, but it becomes evident in my video. I also see where I've missed opportunities, and what I could have done in that moment! I believe that it's paramount for the learning process, as you combine visual with tactile while you're fighting.
This is the video from my open mat session yesterday. Obviously I edited the video to be shorter, since we rolled for over an hour, but here's a condensed version:
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