Somo
Today I rolled with Somo. Somo is visiting the country from Japan. I don’t speak Japanese and he doesn’t speak English so we don’t do a lot of talking. I think Somo has been training for a while because he’s really good. Anyway I give myself a C+ for today’s rolling. I tried a lot of new things but also made a lot of mistakes.
Good
- Fought for an arm triangle. I’ve never tried to get an arm triangle before so I’m giving myself credit for this, even though it’s kind of trivial.
- Tried out the hip crank mount setup Sean Flannery taught back on November 27. I’m trying to do different things because my game is really predictable. Usually I just do the head crank Greg Nelson taught me on my very first day at Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. I actually got the hip-crank setup to work which surprised me a little as it requires more athleticism than the head crank.
- Tried the cross-choke from knee-on-belly and remembered to stabilize myself on my foot rather than my knee.
Bad
- Couldn’t finish the cross-choke from knee-on-belly. I got the inside collar grip deep and then I went for another inside grip with the cross hand. I fought for this grip for a while because I forgot the actual finish which is grip on the outside of the kimono at the back of the collar. I couldn’t calm myself down so then I really started to spaz out and tried for the baseball choke even though Somo’s head was on the “wrong” side for a baseball choke. I frickin hate myself when I flail like this.
- Couldn’t transition to back control from side control. I even fought for the underhook on the “right” side and then I just got stuck. I still don’t quite know what happened here. I should have just powered through but I blanked out.
- Couldn’t escape Somo’s mount. First I tried an uppa and failed. Then I tried an overhook sweep and failed. Then Somo transitioned to side control and I was stuck defending submissions until the whistle blew.
- Got swept when I tried a no-hand pass. My balance was off and I became light on Somo for a split second and then suddenly found myself on my back.
I’ll be bummed when Somo goes back to Japan. I like watching him roll because he’s crazy athletic and his game is more about finesse unlike mine which is grinding and methodical.