GJ

Warm-up consisted of cleaning the Combat Room after IHSA Football and the Dynamic Warm up from "The Team Renzo Gracie Workout: Training for Warriors" (Martin Rooney).

I worked a few rounds of grappling with Jeff and Dan. While everyone else did 4 x 3 min rounds on the pads (basic boxing, basic thai, Joe mystery drill #1, Joe mystery and truly evil conditioning).

Worked on some basic takedowns with the juniors, that is the hip toss from the front and side clinch position. I think the side clinch version works better when (a) you're taller and (b) when you have to jockey extensively for position. In either case key points are staying tight, controlling the far ELBOW, and making opponent comply to your structure not vice versa.

Next we covered the leg lever. That is an ankle pick with hip pressure taking the front leg. The application of the push and pull is important here.

The senior students worked on soto makikomi, either dropping to one or both knees and using either an under or over hand wrap. The key is wrapping the arm tight as if trapping a shoulder seat belt on. From the front the rotation is 270^o degrees. To the side you have to fit next to your opponent and turn 180^o degrees. This throw is distinguished, in my opinion, from ippon seonage by the direction of the wrap, in soto the wrap is more in the horizontal plane while in seonage it is more vertical. In either case dropping adds a greater impetus on the throws and that is the way I like to throw them.