I just returned from Las Vegas where I had the pleasure of training with Jeff Glover, one of the top ranked grapplers in the world today.  He currently teaches at Marc Laimon’s Cobra Kai Jiu-Jitsu academy.  

Since I have been training no-gi recently, I asked him to cover some fundamental attacks from the mount and side control without a gi.  I had found in practice that I would get there often, but lack any serious threat without the gi to grab hold of.  Jeff was very friendly and open with all his skills.  He showed me some beautiful arm triangles and traditional triangles that I should have known, but clearly did not.  He even demonstrated how getting the arm across on a triangle is unnecessary and how to capitalize on it.  His game is fast and deadly.  I am always in awe when I roll with guys of his caliber, much like Crosley Gracie, David Camarillo, Matt Thornton...I could go on but in every case you feel like you are in a straight-jacket....

In the end, I always find it hard to really apply what you learn in a private or a seminar since there is just so much information, but what I gained was a real appreciation for the choking game.  In no-gi armlocks are tougher to get, so you rely more on chokes.  I have sorely neglected this aspect and Jeff showed me time and time again how much I needed this (ouch!).  

So I begin the path towards proficiency at a few basic chokes using any means necessary (books, tapes, etc).  In the end, it is just nice to meet another friendly face in the bjj circuit who is not only amazingly skilled, but friendly to boot.  It reminds me of the time I trained with Marcio Feitosa, but that's another story....