Sorry I haven't been posting much lately - I have had to make some very minor changes in my training regimen and have been looking for some new inspirations in BJJ. Well, I definitely found some in the oddest place - the Jiujitsugear form and Val Worthington's blog.
Well, we've been looking for more local places to check out in the Southern California area (I know it isn't THAT hard) and we stumbled upon the Newport Top Team out of Newport Beach, California. I recall reading a few posts from some of the guys a few months ago and not thinking too much about it, but when I saw Val's blog - I remembered that one of the guys looked vaguely familiar. Ends up Eric Goo, the instructor at NTT and younger brother to World Champion Kendall Goo, used to teach at the local Relson satellite under Todd Tanaka when I did my undergraduate work in Hawai'i. I never got to train with him, but I definitely remembered seeing him roll up pretty much everyone at the school one day when I came by with Haley. Before the story gets too long - I guess my point is that it is a very small world and the BJJ community is even smaller. With that said, I shot Eric an e-mail and I was off to train with him.
I guess I should introduce Eric. I do not know that much about him, but he is a good guy with serious and I mean serious jiu-jitsu skills. I know he has won his share of trophies and tournament medals and that he has been training for a lonnnnng time. It's funny, because here I am a purple and I was training under a purple belt who has been training for 12 years. I'll come back to Eric's skills and game later. Anyways, I'd really like to see him go against some blackbelts- I know quite a few that Eric would demolish and that is how good I think he is.
First, I'll get into the feel and vibe of the school. The place is in a super secret Mapquest unfriendly part of the Newport Back Bay that found me scratching my head and driving in circles until Eric gave me a call and headed me in the right direction. I guess they didn't teach me finding directions in college. When I got to NTT I was impressed by the matspace, it was a lot bigger than I had envisioned and there was plenty of room for rolling. Upon entry I met some of the guys - some regulars and some visitors; I was immediately happy to see some familiar faces from Tim's and I knew that Eric's would be an open and friendly environment. I also noticed that everyone seems like they are somehow from Hawai'i or have some type of attachment with the place. I got the impression that everyone was friends, but it wasn't the least bit intimaditing because everyone was putting out good vibes.
Joe and Keola...
On to the training, the first night I got there a little late and I got to work in on some 1/2 guard drills with the guys. Eric was really attentive and the atmosphere was very relaxed and comfortable. His guys were just working their basic 1/2 games trying to feel for balance , movement, and comfort in the position. I really liked how Eric was coaching his guys along and he was very involved at every step of the way. Next up, we just moved into some lighter sparring and I got to roll with a couple of blue belts, a white belt, and Eric. Once more, I'll come back to Eric later, but his guys felt very good.
Here's a training pic of Eric and Chris with Troy looking on. Unfortunately most of the pics from this night came out kinda spotty.
For the next session, Haley and I actually came down on time and we got to warmup on the mats before Eric arrived. We saw Chris from the previous night, but no Brad or Troy. While we were warming up I also got to meet Wen from the forums and I was looking forward to the chance to share some knowledge (or in my case spazz while he shares knowledge!). This was the Thursday afternoon class and after we briefly stretched and then warmed up with some partner triangle, armbar, omoplata combo drills; Eric then went right into an awesome class.
We focused on an omoplata game when the opponent tries to posture back to defend. Eric showed how to clasp the far arm when they sit back and then to attack either the lapel or the rolling sweep. What I liked the most about the sweep is that the opponent ends in a very compromising position where you can really put the pressure on his head and neck to get the roll over to side control. It was a great move. Next up we covered a defense by replacing your close leg (to the arm being attacked) with your knee to create a wedge lever that hoists your opponent up and back to get a reversal or at least avoid the sub. Very slick and the detail was something that you would expect out of a 5X Mundial Champ. Afterwards, we partnered up and had a nice day of sparring with plenty of partners to go around. Unforutnately I did not get to spar with Keola, but there is always the next time.
Chris and Keola playing around with the reverse omoplate control...
On to the sparring and some of the things that I picked up from some of the students. First of all, Eric is doing something right, because his students feel very solid. I've rolled with Chris a few times, and he shows amazing promise. The guy is only a whitebelt and he moves way beyond his mat time. He has already surprised me more than a few times. Joe feels like a tank and I have yet to sweep him and when he is on his back he fights well and never quits. His recovery skill is a very fun challenge. Troy is in the same camp.
Dueling asses... Haley thought this pic was funny so I had to include it! Seriously, Im trying to use the pressure thing that Eric was telling me about, but I think Im getting it wrong. If any of you guys can tell me whats wrong with my posture, by all means go for it (I'm on the left top).
Rolling with Wen was definitely a highlight. He is a complete blast to train with and he's a brown belt with ten years experience. He doesn't take training to the serious or grumpy level as I call it - you know, when everyone has to frown and look all hard/like sour grapes. Wen is a blast and he really likes the guard and 1/2 guard. He has a sweep that he caught me with a few times and he told me that it was his bread and butter. It felt a lot like one of the Terere or Galvao 1/2 butterfly sweeps. In addition, he like everyone else at NTT had a solid choke attack with the hand in the collar. I am learning a lot from these guys on how to keep that threat alive and most importantly a viable attack. Lesson learned from rolling with the infamous Wen? Have fun and watch out for those collar chokes. I took a private lesson from Shawn Williams today and he told me more of the same.... basically that the butterfly position is an ideal place to set up the cross collar and there are a ton of great chokes from there. I guess I should eventually learn to avoid that!
Wen's demeanor moments before lighting me up on 80%...
Wen Bravo (or is it Wen Schembri?) with Eric...
On to rolling with Eric and most importantly what I have taken from it up till now. Eric feels like a very experienced grappler. Like I said, he has been training for over 12 years and at this point, the belt is just a periphery. I would call his style smooth, technical, fundamentally sound, and now (thanks in part to a private that he did with his friend Kai Garcia) pressuring. When I pulled guard, Eric was patient - stayed out of danger, passed, and then pressured towards attack. He is working on pressure from all areas and I like this cerebral approach to BJJ. In fact, he gave some great pointers to Haley on keeping her butt down in the pass to really get the most out of the position. So far I've rolled with Eric a few times and I am already learning a lot. I am all defense all the time and he gets me with a mix of old school controls, pressure, and collar chokes. Did I say collar chokes? He has yet to step on the gas pedal, but he really hasn't needed to as of yet. LESSONS LEARNED: First of all, when you kill a leg during a pass, kill it! Don't leave your butt in the air or give him room to frustrate you. Second, shallow entry grips are great for a loop choke to collar choke combination off of their defense. Third, be patient in your position - if you rush things like I did, you might get swept. This does not mean stall, it just goes along with the first point. Fourth, attacks like Eric's collar chokes may slightly endanger the attacker from time to time, but more often they keep the attackee at bay. Eric has been able to consolidate many positions on me by forcing my attention to my neck. It is a great strategy.
Eric collar choking...
And again...
Like I said earlier, training here is great and more importantly it has been a privilege. The atmosphere is conducive to learning BJJ and there is zero politics. Very refreshing. Seeing that I am a betting man, I'll be putting some money down on Eric to take the Mundials this year if he enters. Any takers?
You can learn more about NTT by checking out the Jiu-Jitsu Gear Forum at www.jiujitsugear.com. I'll definitely be heading back, Eric is a great instructor and the place is a blast.
Keola, Eric Goo, and Chris...
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