Third Stripe

We had a graduation last night. I got my third stripe (DCJJS does new belts for stripes now--I'm still a white belt), Andy and Zach got their first, and Chan (a teenage student) got his yellow belt. Klint had us go over the threads, then drill specific techniques for a while, then do some 50/50 positional drilling, and then some live rolling. He had Andy and me roll first, which made us both laugh. Of course, we went pretty hard, I got on top somehow, he kept me in half-guard, then rolled me over because I presume I got lazy with my base, and then I bucked him hard and took his back. Klint called time before we could finish the fight. He had us all go once or twice with someone else comparable in size. It was a nice little thing, and Klint said nice things about us all.

My wife came to watch, and that was very nice. I asked her what she thought afterwards, and she had this strange look on her face, so I told her she could go ahead and laugh. But she said she was closer to being sick---see, she's not really a physical person. By that I mean, she watched us all grapple for about an hour, and she sees someone in a compromising position that is more than likely uncomfortable and possibly dangerous, and she starts getting sympathetically anxious for that person. She would much rather sit and read, or walk the dog, than get into a situation where you have to struggle. In other words, not so big on physical exertion. So the whole time she was watching, she was getting tensed out, and that six of us were working at once compounded the effect. So she'll never train, and more than likely won't completely understand what I get out of jiu jitsu (other than in shape and tired). But she even said that if someone else was there with her, it might have been easier. So next time, we just have to get Andy's wife to show up. But the two of them are dangerous together---they want to bring signs like at a football game.

Things for me to work before my next test:
Grip breaks
Guard passing
Sweeps from closed guard
Sweeps from open guard

Looks so simple when you write it down like that.