Wednesday 28th October

This was our most advanced grappling session yet and we were really able to get into some depth with the application of Jujutsu on the ground.

Attended by all seniors - no beginners, new members or beginners - and everyone had a gi jacket - and 6 members training on 10 mats throughout the session.

We started from standing and looked at the neck clinch, the Thai roll drill, and pull to hara clinch and the belt. We then looked at the 2 main hadaka VT shime - the sleeper and guillotine.

Then we went to the mat.

From kneeling we looked at how to get to the pin with different kneeling "throws". We looked at strategies to use against different kind of opponents such as Judoka, Jujutsu fighter, wrestlers, and shooter who have mastered "knee walking".

We looked at stabilising the pins - kesa, yoko and the mount, and how to get finishes from there with armlocks and chokes.

We looked at the guard, how to stablise as well as pass and counter. We looked at ways to finish from the guard using a lock or choke.

Finally all members were able to roll and try their grappling out in free sparring.

This was more or less a total ground session, an advanced total ground session. There was no KB or MMA element, or any weapons.

Obviously new members will need to learn basic grappling - the pins and finishes.

But for senior members we will be able to build on what we did last night, with more complicated finishes and drills, things we can bring out in your ground-sparring.

And we still need to look at ways to get there - ie throws, and make the throw for throw drill a regular part of mat day.

I will most likely instruct the seniors first in throw for throw while new members work on the basics they need.

We will look deeper into the Thai roll drill and the escapes, and we will work to perfect the VT standing chokes, their use in Self Defence, in "bouncing", and how they can be used on the ground.

As we are getting the seniors into chi sao at this time, we will blend the three arts of Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Jujutsu at this standing grappling range to create a comprehensive personal program that works!

The corto range is the place where ranges overlap and contrasts collide.

An obvious example is hubud - a Kali drill that can be performed with stick, knife, or empty hand, or empty hand against knife, against stick, or stick against knife. As locks work best at corto, these will differ depending on whether the opponent holds a stick or a knife, if you do, or if you both do.

In unarmed combat - boxers get kind of stuck in corto and wait for the referee to seperate them, while Thai boxers clinch and use the knee. Grapplers want to be in corto, in a clinch, safe from being kicked and punched, where they can work at getting a throw or takedown so they can be on the floor where they are master.

We will work at making corto a functional range for weapons and unarmed combat.

To be a White Tiger means that you fear no man at ANY range!