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Class last night was full of people I wanted to roll with--Jeremy was back fresh off his 1st round RNC win in Atlantic City; JD decided to show up; Beard John is back to his regular schedule; Jon came to class; Vance was there--and sadly, none of it came to pass.  We worked on the switch--a means of getting to someone's back from top side control when they bridge into you.  This is something that I need to shove into my arsenal as soon as possible.  It has great application against those bigger guys that you just can't hold down, not to mention it helps you stay one or two steps ahead of the smaller guys who you can.

Andy's in-laws are having a kid in Madison, so he had to run home shortly after class.  As a result, I only got maybe ten minutes of proper rolling in.  Neal was the only one ready right away after class, so I let him work his top game while I focused on trying to realize when to abort mission and go to my knees.  It didn't work out terribly well--I have an affinity for playing off my back, and while it's fun and pretty and supremely useful in class and sport, it doesn't translate to pavement all that well.  So while I controlled Neal and got him to positions that let me try to work what I wanted, I can see in retrospect that I did not focus enough on what my initial goal was.  When I did, it was fine---Neal is tiny, and that lets me go through the movements with enough resistance to see where my holes are.

I also got 2 minutes in with Tall Strong Jon.  He went to his back at the beginning, which is uncommon for him, but I wasn't complaining.  I was able to control him, but at times just barely.  He's going to be real problems in short order---he shows up a lot, he has natural athleticism and understanding of how to move his body, and he likes it.  Dangerous combination.  I got to mount and even got to practice a little knee-on-belly for the first time.  I didn't get bucked off the wave---I held it and even got myself to Klint's cross-choke/armbar dilemma control for the finish.

I was sad to have to leave so early, but family is family and some fights are not worth having.  So I'll go again tonight and get some proper training in, no matter who stays after.  First, though, I have to hammer out some of this final brief for class.  So when I go silent for a few weeks, don't worry---I'm still training, just running out of time.