No gi training session!

After training with the kimono the last few days, the week was rounded off with the addition of a new no gi class, that started at 5pm; Nilson Pokemon Lopes came in an hour earlier and trained positions with a number of black belts, as he is preparing for an upcoming MMA fight on the Abu Dhabi Warriors event, November 2nd, that boasts one million dollars in prize money.

With Pokemon

I took a taxi over with my next door neighbour, Marcio Eduardo Silva and we arrived just as Pokemon and the guys were rounding off their session in the MMA room, so we all entered the main training room and started to change into shorts and rashguards and started warming up.

Foot lock

Leopoldo Pires took the class once again and we drilled a nice way to kill the knee over thigh pass from half guard and the old school classic arm bar from guard and what to do when the opponent starts to stack.  I had the pleasure and privilige of partnering up with Leandro Polinio Cordeiro and I felt the technique from a black belt's expertise and boy was it ten times tighter than mine.

Bicep slicer

After drilling the techniques for a good half hour it was time for rolling, six minute rounds; my first roll was with black belt Tiago Bravo, an under 74K powerhouse, extremely technical, yet great fun to roll with.  Like all the other guys here, Tiago could smash me into pieces without even breaking a sweat, but what's the point, as we are all team mates and on the coaching staff together?  This atmosphere and thinking can only lead to accelerated development and in my roll with Tiago I could experiment and even ended up with a kimura locked in, but as you've guessed, Tiago escaped with a smile on his face, saying 'almost' then whipped me up in the air with a sweep and choked me out.  Awesome.

Kimura!!!

Next roll was with Pokemon, which was a different experience altogether - this guy is slick!  With a vice like grip, Nilson, was all over me like a cheap suit, throwing in subs from all angles; the guy was like water, flowing all over me, tapping me out left right and centre.  After each sub, Nilson showed me where I was going wrong and showed me a brutal submission that's only allowed in MMA comps.  Thanks Pokemon!

Team photo

Overall I had five rolls, with three other black belts whose names escape me, suffice to say, I had great fun with all of them, each guy having a different game from the next and of all them encouraging me to go for it.  You hear on the forums about mat etiquette, saying that a lower grade should never ask a black belt to roll with them.  Not the case here.  I'm a lower grade and the mat is packed with black belts, so when it's time to roll I have no option than to ask a black belt to roll with me.  Awesome.

Talking techniques

Session over and all that remained was a team photo and cool down,then it was back to the apartment with Eduardo to get ready for a pool party at the Al Ain Rotana Hotel, which I can say went down very well and am looking forward to the Poola Palooza pool party at the hotel next Saturday.

Photo credit - all pix taken by Leonnardo Cordeiro, full album at - https://picasaweb.google.com/leonjudo/TreinoSemKimono?authkey=Gv1sRgCL7oyfnjgIy3Ww#5795513009354905314