I attended the Marcelo Garcia seminar at St. Augustine Combat Club this weekend of August 26-27, 2006. It was 3 hours per day, with gi on Saturday and no-gi on Sunday.
I had the flu and a fever for the entire week leading up to the seminar, but I started anti-biotics on Friday and felt well enough to attempt the seminar, since I'd already paid $140 for it. But I was really, really exhausted the entire time and didn't spar with anyone (including Marcelo) since I didn't want to shock my system.
Marcelo opened the seminar by telling how he thinks Americans may worry that they aren't getting the best training if they can't train with a black belt, but he said that they shouldn't worry. When he started BJJ, he used to have to drive hours to train with a blue belt, and he still valued the training he got.
He started us with some light warm ups and stretches. Twisting at the hips and swinging your arms; hands on hips, gyrate like your doing an invisible hula hoop; feet shoulder-width apart, touch the ground; sit with knees up, twist legs so knees touch the floor; sit and hug your knees and rock front to back; rock back and touch a knee on the mat over your head, alternate side; belly down, push straight off the ground, lift hips, stretch stomach; lay flat, arm out, opposite foot crosses back and touches hand; lay on your back, flip and lower head; turn head left and right; circle head left and right.
On to the techniques.
1) Pulling guard
From standing, grab their right wrist with your left hand and pass it to your right hand. Twist their sleeve with your fingers as you grab it. This gives you a joystick grip on the gi and a cupping grip under their wrist.
Step on their right hip with your left foot and sit down, keeping space by pushing their hip. Turn your hips and "hang" your right leg in the air away from them.
Don't let them grab your lapels or your belt by keeping their grips away from it. You can brace your elbows on your hips to create a frame that doesn't let them come nearer.
If they grab your pants with their free hand, bring your right foot to their left biceps and shove it back as your turn your hips to the left and kick your leg to break the grip. Your right foot now goes to their left hip and your left leg hands out away from them.
Now, if they grab your right leg with their free hand, you bring your left foot back and step on their chest, then stretch them away as you turn your hips to the right and kick your right leg out to break the grip.
2) Tripod sweep
Starting with the same guard pull, you will land on your back within reach of their right ankle. Your left hand releases it cupping grip on the arm (but your right hand keeps the pistol grip) and you grab behind their ankle.
Pull their heel to you as you scoot your hips under them and turn your hips to the right slightly, then bring your left knee behind their knee. This was a unique knee placement since it felt less like spider guard and more like De la Riva or x-guard, since you are coming under them and lifting their leg with your knee and by their heel, but you were still pushing on their hip with your foot and pulling their sleeve.
With your hips somewhat suspended by the foot on the hip, the knee under their knee and their heel lifted, bring your right leg behind their free leg and chop it out as your shove their hips back and pull their heel to you.
When they fall backwards, pull your hook off them before you try to get up. If you try to magically float over them during the sweep you'll end up in a scramble. Come up into combat base and begin passing.
3) Hilarious sweep
You're setting up the last sweep and get to the point of being under their knee with your knee and lifting their ankle. They counter by grabbing your right leg by the pants so you can't bring it down and chop out their base. But you've still got enough slack with their grip to put your right hook under their left thigh.
Your left hand, which is cupping their heel, lifts their foot as passes it over your body, so it is now standing outside your right arm. You open your right elbow, blocking the back of their calf so they can't bring their foot back. And you are still holding their sleeve, so their arm is now being hilariously pulled between their legs.
Your left foot comes off their hip and hook their far leg, a la x-guard.
This position probably makes no sense in text. So here's a picture:
Rock up and reach into their armpit with your left hand and grab their biceps. Or if you can't reach that high, just grab the top of their thigh.
Now rock back, pulling them down, as your lift them with both leg and try to roll backwards over your shoulder. Don't just roll to the side. As they come down, get to your knees and immediately take side control before they can recover.
4) Hilarious sweep to single leg
You are going through the steps of the last sweep, but as you pass their leg over, they turn to their right and escape your hooks, freeing them to try to turn into you and take side control.
As they step around and turn into you, twist your hips to roll belly down. Hug their right leg with your left arm as you stand, lifting their leg. Both of your arms are lifting under their leg, and your right hand is still holding their sleeve. Take your left hand and reach through their armpit to grab their biceps. Circle and pull back to take them down and come into side control.