Today, I got to learn another way to pass the sit-up guard into a body lock. This fits my style, and I can see myself using it in upcoming practices.

Technique Breakdown

When your opponent is in sit-up guard, move into their butterfly guard with both their knees inside. Connect to their body with a sort of T-rex grip on their shoulder or a double collar tie. Keep your eye level the same height as theirs—if your eye level is higher than theirs, they can wrestle up; if it’s lower, they can snap you down. So, maintain your eye level, stay on your knees and toes for higher mobility. Choose one side knee to pin down on the mat, use your elbow to push on their knee, and prioritize having the underhook on your right side. Once you’ve pummeled the underhook in, connect with your other hand using an S-grip or gavel grip. Pull them in so their heel touches their butt, with your ear stuck to their chest. Maintain head and chest connection, then flatten them down on the mat.

To pass their butterfly hook, choose one side to sprawl (let’s use the right side for this example). Sprawl on your right side, switch your hip, then “shelf in” again and trap their other leg (their right leg). From there, step over to their right side to secure the pass, utilizing both your elbow and knee to complete it.

Another way to pass is once you secure the body lock, grip their waist with one arm to maintain the body lock. With your other free arm, catch their foot (by their shoelace) to immobilize the butterfly hook on that side, allowing you to step over and pass.

Reflections on Today’s Practice

I had some great rolls and a good workout today with amazing coaches and partners. I haven’t been to the gym very frequently recently, but I’m looking forward to improving as I settle into my new routine and schedule.

My journey of learning GSAP has gotten a bit harder after not touching it for a couple of days. The code has become a bit more confusing, and I’m unsure of what properties go where (is the “stagger” property included in the smoothScroller object? When should I use batch again?). It’s a lot of trial and error, copy and paste, and checking the reference before getting it right.
I find that trying to replicate a certain effect—noticing the order of what comes first or midway through the prior animation—is still challenging for me. The process is still intriguing, especially when I get the code to work and the animation plays as I imagine. It’s like learning to code all over again. It’s the joy of learning new things site ideas that drives me. I’m thinking of setting up my own GSAP library with Bricks so I can copy and paste in my projects when needed, if I can’t be the best at GSAP, I want to be the best at replicating other people’s work!