Krav Maga Class 102: shadow boxing circuit, mat crossing exercises, focus mitt combos, 360 defenses, knife defense, gauntlet

Pam taught this Saturday morning class. Started with shadow boxing, mixing in push ups, squats, sit ups, lizard push ups, crunches and leg raises with the shadow boxing. Then we started going across the mat with inch worm push ups, lunge/knee thrusts, and side lunges. I was pretty fast and pretty tired. I pushed the pace.

After that we gloved up and paired up and got focus mitts. I was in a 3 person group with Corey and Susan. We switched off with the bag for the lonely 3rd, and I was fine with that. I was very awkward with the focus mitts, and I think I don’t give enough resistance to the punches when I’m holding mitts. I felt awkward with Susan holding pads for me, but I did alright. I also didn’t know the 3-punch counters after a bob or weave (hook straight hook after a bob/weave, straight hook straight after a slip)

After that we put the gloves and pads away, and we did 360 defenses. Susan was again trouble. Always a discussion and some awkwardness. I had real trouble with a right block and left strike. I always get the hands mixed up. I really need to practice 360 with simultaneous counters. Maybe Saranya will help me with it tomorrow.

Moving on from 360 defense, we did knife defenses. Block with a 360, then transition to a wrist grab, push it behind the attacker’s back while counter attacking, ending in a wrist lock take-away. Again, Susan proved difficult. She preferred the wrap technique, and indeed, that’s also my habit.

At the end of class, we did a gauntlet walk through the heavy bags, with attackers coming out at us from all angles.

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The Myth of a Superhuman AI

Kevin Kelly wrote an excellent article on the fundamental assumptions behind the myth of the superhuman AI, and why they’re either unsupported or contradicted by evidence. He does a good job on some points that I’ve thought through myself, and brings up some other points I hadn’t considered.

The Myth of a Superhuman AI

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805BJJ Class 54: arm bar drills, 45 minutes of rolling, 2nd stripe

Woke up Thursday feeling a tiny bit sore since Tuesday’s class, but not too bad. Went early to get gas at Costco.

Coach Mark came, but his knee was messed up so Greggo taught most of the class. After warm up, we did the alternating arm bar spins drill, then arm bar from the guard finishes, then sweep arm bar, then triangles. Then we rolled.

First roll was Cosmo, who got straight from the knees to side control and smashed me. I kept trying to recover guard but he persisted really well, eventually tapping me from pressure.

Next roll was with Phil. I jumped onto his back and was doing alright, but he got me in a kimura grip and was able to use that to get back to guard, and the round ended before he could turn it into a finish. Coach Mark admired his use of that grip. He said I looked good and had lost weight. I maybe lost some fat, but the scale still reads 227.8 lbs. or so.

Next roll was with Dave. He asked what weight class I was in. I told him the 227 number was without the gi, but lean I’d probably be about 175 lbs. He said that was the same as him – he used to weigh 225 lbs. but he’s dieted down to 178 lbs. now. He had a strained back, and our roll started out in unlit territory (I had him in my butterfly guard) and I was thinking of flipping him over his head but didn’t because I didn’t know if it would hurt him. Anyway, I eventually got on top and threatened attacks until the end of the round.

Next roll was with Cosmo again. He again got me down and straight into side control. He again started crushing me mercilessly. But this time he made a mistake in going for a submission, and I got on top and into side control. I then crushed him mercilessly. It eventually forced him to turn away, and I was able to get mount. He tried a collar choke from below, and I was pursuing submissions until the end of the round.

I took the next roll off and talked with Chris a little bit. Then we rolled during the next slot. He started in seated guard, and was able to sweep me and submit me pretty quickly. Then I was able to push him down and throw his feet to the side, and we fought for side control until the end of the round.

At the end of class we did 80 crunches, lined up, and I was awarded my 2nd stripe on my white belt. The first stripe took me 21 classes, and the 2nd one took me 33 classes. At this rate, I should be a blue belt in another 2 years.

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The Bogey Man

I had a dream this morning. In it, Saranya and I were visiting a house in the valley. It was like Greg’s house, kind of. Across the street, there was a jet airplane pulling up. They were gunning the engine like a hot rod after driving it through the valley streets from the airport.

Inside the house, Saranya and I had to do a quest. We had to go out the back and through a dark alley. Guarding the way was a statue with a spear. I grabbed the spear and was able to pull it, but the statue kept its grip and walked around me. When I pulled the spear into the light, it came free and the statue disappeared. That’s when I realized that the statue was really the Bogey Man. It was only visible in low light. It was invisible in darkness, and was incorporeal in bright light.

Across the alley was a lantern store, and Saranya had the bright idea of going over and lighting a bunch of lamps. That lit up the alley, and we could go down a ways. But Saranya was sloppy, and left a bunch of dark areas. I tried calling her back (I was too scared to go into the dark with her, apparently) but she was off doing her own thing for a bit. Eventually she came back, but by then a dining crowd had come to the alley and were sitting outside a restaurant next to the lantern store. She made her way through the crowd, and then started going the OTHER WAY through the alley, into pitch blackness! I was petrified. I could see footprints being formed in the dirt on the dark hill next to the alley. I ran out to get Saranya and get her turned around, but when we turned, we saw the shape of a short, bearded caveman guy rushing us at the edge of the illumination from the lantern store. Saranya surprised me again by launching into a flying side kick, which knocked the Bogey Man sideways and made him stagger. I jumped in and cut into his neck with my khukri.

He started arguing with me about the effectiveness of cutting the Bogey Man, so I cut his head entirely from his body, which then started stumbling around reaching for me. I did the Black Knight thing and cut off the arms and one of the legs to render him harmless.

Then I woke up.

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805BJJ Class 53: guard attacks on pass attempts, rolling

Coming back from a week and a half off felt pretty good. Warm ups were so easy that I barely broke a sweat. Just slow motion guard passing. Once all the slowpokes from Krav suited up (TJ and Aaron) we bowed in and got right into closed guard pass defenses stemming from the elbow seam grip.

If your opponent is in your closed guard and they move their knees to start to open your guard, that’s when you get your chance to sweep them. Pull their elbow down toward the ground and pinch them with your knees to scissor them over toward your elbow-grip hand. Once you’ve got them going over, separate your feet to continue the scissor and end up in mount.

If your opponent bases up on one foot (away from the elbow) you can (again) pull them down with the elbow grip while turning to underhook their posted leg, pulling them down onto your hamstring. You can then pendulum them over and mount them.

If your opponent stands up and lifts your hips up, you can lower yourself and then sharply pull them down with your closed guard legs and the elbow grip to break their posture. Then you can overhook their foot (away from your elbow grip) and lever them down as you come on top.

After we drilled those things (I didn’t get a chance to drill the knee pass scissor) we rolled, starting from guard. I started with Aaron, who had a hurt neck and was going 50%. I refrained from grabbing his neck. Easy roll. Focused on technique and base rather than winning, and it set the tone for the whole day.

Then I rolled with TJ, who had a tweaked back. He passed my guard and tried to get me in a crucifix, but I kept getting my arm out. He thought I’d seen the technique before but I just knew my arm was in peril and brought it back to safety.

I rolled with Rick next, and was immediately uncomfortable in his butterfly guard. I again took a measured approach, and only got tapped out 2 or 3 times.

Then I rolled with Greggo, and he walked me through an arm bar.

Next was Dave, who I was able to almost finish with an arm bar (he escaped), and again almost finish at the end with a collar choke. He coached me on the finish but we ran out of time.

At the end I rolled with Ryan, and though I went easy on him, I was able to dismantle him. He was so dead tired, and had no technique, so he was basically a talking grappling dummy.

I got out of the class feeling pretty good, with no serious injuries.

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