This is the first entry in my Brazilian Jiu Juitsu journal. I’m going to try to write down what I learn so that I can re-visualise, revisit, and revise what I learn as I go. I’ll probably extrapolate figuratively and apply the metaphor of my BJJ journey to life too. It translates as “gentle art”, and many have said that it translates to a way of living well; you meet resistance, you have to overcome it, and you have to learn to do it gently and with grace- and better than people bigger and badder than you. There are techniques to master in this endeavour, and above all it requires a mastery over yourself.
Personal Reflection
I think I am quite a soft person, my mum kept me safe for a lot of my upbringing, but also quite sheltered. Whilst this gave me lots of room to learn and grow- when I grew into manhood, I wasn’t well prepared for conflict. I’m naturally averse to allowing my aggression out, which I think reflects in my BJJ- I’m very defensive, preferring to gas people out from bottom position. I’m not that good at maintaining guard at the moment, but I’m well practised at getting out of difficult positions. I think that there is an element of truth that sometimes the best defence is a good offence- if someone is coming at you, then if you focus only on not getting hurt, then eventually you will make a mistake or they will slip your defence- and so you need to be able to put pressure on others for this purpose and flip the script, otherwise you afford them the full comfortability and space to manoeuvre and attack at will.
I am generally a pacifist- physically and socially (I avoid playing games of deceit and politics where possible). I don’t think a fool deserves to be parted with their money- figuratively or literally; I’m not the kind of person who likes to take advantage of naivety or kindness, because I see value in the gentleness of the souls of such people. It’s how I wish we all were. But I do need to learn how to play hard ball against those who are not so inclined, who do take advantage and who don’t exercise such restraint.
Might be a bit cheesy, but I have heard a definition of a warrior is one who is not ruled by fear, and who defends those who cannot defend themselves. So, perhaps pure pacifism is to shirk the responsibilities of controlled aggression- in the name of neutralising mal-intended aggression. I don’t like playing social games either, but perhaps sometimes it is neccesary for my own wellbeing, and the wellbeing of those of a kinder nature, (if I can contribute to maintaining a peace for their benefit).
That doesn’t mean I have to play a bad game. Value systems are defining in this sense, but that is a conversation for another time.
Technique
Today it was moving from half guard into deep half guard, the right hip is on the floor, right leg hooked inbetween their leg and in over their knee-pit – left knee is a shield. Drop the left knee, and left arm reaches over to the hamstring of their left leg. Right arm gets the underhook of their right leg (right from my perspective). Pivot right hip under between their legs while pulling them over me with left arm, and right arm must bring their right leg up and near to my head. Their left leg is still hooked by my right (or left). If I don’t get the left arm around, they can take the opportunity to take mount, as there’s not enough momentum to bring them over – likewise if the right leg is not brought all the way towards the head and over the shoulder, they will just take mount.
From this position there are two options we drilled: Go for the sweep, or try to take the back.
The sweep consists of pulling both lapels from the belt, hiding the arm underneath their left leg, which should be splayed straight at this point if they are maintaining their weight centrally (if they splay forwards- this is the opportunity to take the back instead). With my left arm hooked and hidden under their left leg, I make a grip on their left lapel. With my right, I grab the right lapel. From here it is a simple case of hip bumping and rolling them in the direction of my right shoulder, maintaining a tight grip on the gi, leaving their legs over my shoulders, and setting up for an easy pass.
The pass goes like this: with my left hand, from its current grip on their left lapel- cross it over to the right lapel. Posture up, pulling them with my right hand from the back of their Gi bottoms. My right knee braces against their bum for stability. This process raises their hips off of the ground- making it easy to walk and pivot around them to the left, until they allow the pass from weight pressure to the neck, or their legs can be nudged to fall to the right side, allowing for the pass into side control.
The opportunity for taking the back presents itself when they splay forward onto their arms in the position of deep half guard. In this case, the right lapel is the most important, and it helps to get the grip with the thumb pointing down in this case, as it makes it easier to brace with the forearm in the coming step. I need my right foot to be over their right shin (further up their leg the better), as it will lead to the right hook from the back. I then need to encourage them to make the pass over my head with their left knee, bump them over, or tuck my head underneath- following my right arm. The right elbow comes up, so that it is horizontal to their hips, and the elbow is pushed forward so my forearm acts like a bar lever stuck to their back for control. The left leg needs to be made free from here so that it can establish the other hook for back control. Arms progress into seatbelt or a choke.
Aethnen 
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