I played a round of disc golf this weekend. During this round, I threw exactly one hammer throw. A hammer throw has the same basic form as pitching a baseball (also known as the most unnatural movement a human can make with his arm). As a result, my back shoulder is feeling a bit ornery after class.
Big-ish class tonight. We worked single-legs, a counter to a sprawling opponent that ends with you knee-tapping him, and some pretty damn sweet gi-manipulation hold downs and chokes. One is called "Showtime" (I shit you not), and you choke your opponent with your own gi as you somersault over his arm. Sexy and painful, all at once.
At the end of class, Klint had us do a handful of one-minute-go's, going for immediate submissions. None of this grip-fighting for 30 seconds nonsense, go in and finish the fight. It was a nice change of pace. Also, terrifying. Putting on that short time limit and letting loose the caged animal inside you while the man kneeling across from you does the same drops some serious pressure on your shoulders. It makes playing guard--arguably my favorite part of jiu jitsu--impractical, especially if your amped opponent dives into a guard pass. Then you're not fighting to submit, you're fighting to find your knees and not lose. I went against Vance, then Eric, then Andy, then Colin. I tapped Vance once (I think), Eric twice, had Andy on his back in an armbar when time ran, and tapped Colin once. I don't know how much of my apparent success is because of technique and how much is because of something else. But I'll take my wins and smile.
I worked with Stan after class and had a lot of success--much more success against him than I normally do. I was trying not to pull guard at the beginning (regular readers: do you see a pattern?), and it worked! I even sort of pulled off the straight arm pass that we worked all last week. Some things I did were stupid white belt mistakes--over-committing to a choke in mount and surrendering the upa roll, for instance--but I'm a white belt and need to make those mistakes so I remember not to when I advance. At one point, I even threw up my leg for an armbar without even trying to secure his elbow, with just a wrist grip on his sleeve. That didn't work so much, and it earned me a verbal reprimand from Klint. ("You know why that happened? Because you were lazy and didn't grab his elbow. He's way too strong for that, and you're better than that.") I got a few more light rolls in, and then it was time to return to school for more work.
Once again, I'm feeling OK on the mats. I expect those mats to disappear from underneath me in the weeks to come, just as they always do. And just as I need them to so that I keep improving. If only I had a tropical retreat to host my jiu jitsu vacations and a black belt willing to come surf, teach, and train for a week. Then, I would be set. My wife could sit and read with our dog on one side and her mai tai on the other. Our friends could even join, as long as they didn't interrupt the training.
Does anyone else have a spouse who doesn't train? How do you deal with that separation? Comment away.
If only... :) My wife doesn't train, although she puts up with a lot more jits crap than other wives, I think. I've been to tournaments without her, but she gets all wiggy and wants to know how I did and what happened, so she thinks it's just easier to come along. We travel - that's our thing - so when I said I was going to Nicaragua with friends... well, YOU try keeping her away. :)
ReplyDeleteTo me, that separation is normal, and natural. We all want to be our own people. I train jits. It's becoming one of those things that define me. My wife has things that she does, and some of them don't involve me. That's fine - we are not bound by our togetherness. We are independent people who are also together.
On Marriage
ReplyDelete--Kahlil Gibran
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.