More practice tonight. Worked more open guard, drilled the leg loop sweep, learned a strange and beautiful shoulder lock r when someone is trying to get double unders and stack you, ad drilled with Andy and Eric a bit.
First, I worked on the guard passing stuff that Klint suggested Tuesday night. It started feeling fairly natural by the end of the reps, but I'll do it again tomorrow night at the beginning of open mat, just to be sure.After that, the three of us rotated on a few 4 minute rounds, switch at either the time limit or the tap. I actually spent a lot of time on top rather than playing my guard all night. I went to guard against Andy once, but pulled that into a pendulum sweep to mount. After that, he got me back to half-guard, but I passed to side control and didn't let him get back to anything near a secure position again.
Now, I'm starting to think about game-planning for the tournament. I know it's over a week away, but I don't really know what I'll do if I face a great wrestler or a killer judo guy. I know that I'm only going white belt and that I should be competitive with everyone I fight, but that doesn't stop me from either a) trying to think about a strategy that will help me take advantage of the spaces I create, or 2) wanting to perform well (which in my mind means beating a handful of people I fight). I don't know how many will be in my division or what the spread of talent is like, but I want to perform well. Vicious thing, being demanding of yourself. I wish it on no one.
My body is performing remarkably well. I'm not too sore, my back feels fine, I'm keeping my diet under tight watch (lots of fruits, lots of cottage cheese and clean sandwiches); I know I'm not sleeping enough, but with some luck I'll be able to catch up on a bit this weekend. Between practices and homework various sundry responsibilities and that wedding on Saturday and finishing the one recreational book on my shelf right now (the next one is Brothers Karamazov, so that might wait a bit). Easy.
I'm pretty much out of things to say for the night. I'll have more tomorrow, I hope. In the meantime, enjoy a video of my instructor at the 2006 Chicago NAGAs:
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Advances, None Miraculous*
* Deadwood (TV Series), Season 2 Episode 10. If you like good storytelling and better language, you should watch this show. Only 3 seasons of 12 hour-long episodes. 1/4 the investment LOST demands.
More class tonight. Only four of us--myself, Stan (blue), Eric, and new Jeremy. Purple Jeremy has a fight in November, so he's off to train with Camarillo & co. at AKA in California to maintain and extend his undefeated professional MMA record. So while he gets even better, he leaves us with a black belt to roll with after class. Can't really complain, now, can I?
We worked more open guard sweeps tonight, power sweeps and a super-slick sit-up sweep that ends with you holding his arm between his legs while you climb into a mounted triangle. At least, that's how it ends when your partner isn't resisting. Live, I'm curious to see if it maintains. After drilling those, we worked on our grip strength by cross-choking each other a handful of times, and then rear naked choking each other again, and finally working a loopy collar choke that I'll have to work on again before I can even think to use it. All good things to work.
I rolled with Eric a bit right after, putting him in my closed guard and telling him to get out. It almost always ended with him tapping to an armlock. I think I choked him once and took his back once. Then, Klint came in and Eric and I took turns getting demolished by him. I almost passed his guard once--as in I had him on the defensive and made him roll (which is a big thing), and then he somersaulted or something and he was back in full guard and I was upside down and mounted. But I was this close. So that lasted for a while, and when I felt the smallest tweak on my neck, I (for once) listened to my better angels and called it a night.
I ended up sitting and talking with Klint about my game and what I can do to improve, etc. Strange how you start doing that, he shows you a few things to work on, and you chat about it some more, and suddenly 30 minutes have disappeared. I got some great feedback, and it was the first time I felt like I could talk with no apprehension or filter about my game with my instructor. No one else was there, and we had just spent 20 minutes working after he'd watched me work for another 15. He had roughly the same assessment of my abilities as I had, which was nice to hear. It also, though, tells me that I know where I need to work and should start doing it more and more often. My sweeps need serious work. Guard opening and guard passing is probably where I feel least comfortable, so I'll try to change up my general tactics there with some of the ideas he gave me. He also reinforced the benefits that going to open mat across town has had. Even though I'm not really putting him in danger when we roll, he's seeing improvement and--as I said yesterday--I just need to start attacking more aggressively. It doesn't matter that he's going to beat me in the end--attacking tentatively (i.e., coaxing the beast out from its cave to see what it does when you come face to face before formulating a plan) necessarily puts me a step behind. I'm waiting for him to pose a problem for me to solve. Bad idea.
That was pretty much Napoleon's plan: first we'll show up, then we'll see what happens. No more of that. It didn't work out too well for him in the end. Better to run head-long into the wall and leave a me-shaped hole behind for now. I can learn to temper myself later. I hear that comes with age.
More class tonight. Only four of us--myself, Stan (blue), Eric, and new Jeremy. Purple Jeremy has a fight in November, so he's off to train with Camarillo & co. at AKA in California to maintain and extend his undefeated professional MMA record. So while he gets even better, he leaves us with a black belt to roll with after class. Can't really complain, now, can I?
We worked more open guard sweeps tonight, power sweeps and a super-slick sit-up sweep that ends with you holding his arm between his legs while you climb into a mounted triangle. At least, that's how it ends when your partner isn't resisting. Live, I'm curious to see if it maintains. After drilling those, we worked on our grip strength by cross-choking each other a handful of times, and then rear naked choking each other again, and finally working a loopy collar choke that I'll have to work on again before I can even think to use it. All good things to work.
I rolled with Eric a bit right after, putting him in my closed guard and telling him to get out. It almost always ended with him tapping to an armlock. I think I choked him once and took his back once. Then, Klint came in and Eric and I took turns getting demolished by him. I almost passed his guard once--as in I had him on the defensive and made him roll (which is a big thing), and then he somersaulted or something and he was back in full guard and I was upside down and mounted. But I was this close. So that lasted for a while, and when I felt the smallest tweak on my neck, I (for once) listened to my better angels and called it a night.
I ended up sitting and talking with Klint about my game and what I can do to improve, etc. Strange how you start doing that, he shows you a few things to work on, and you chat about it some more, and suddenly 30 minutes have disappeared. I got some great feedback, and it was the first time I felt like I could talk with no apprehension or filter about my game with my instructor. No one else was there, and we had just spent 20 minutes working after he'd watched me work for another 15. He had roughly the same assessment of my abilities as I had, which was nice to hear. It also, though, tells me that I know where I need to work and should start doing it more and more often. My sweeps need serious work. Guard opening and guard passing is probably where I feel least comfortable, so I'll try to change up my general tactics there with some of the ideas he gave me. He also reinforced the benefits that going to open mat across town has had. Even though I'm not really putting him in danger when we roll, he's seeing improvement and--as I said yesterday--I just need to start attacking more aggressively. It doesn't matter that he's going to beat me in the end--attacking tentatively (i.e., coaxing the beast out from its cave to see what it does when you come face to face before formulating a plan) necessarily puts me a step behind. I'm waiting for him to pose a problem for me to solve. Bad idea.
That was pretty much Napoleon's plan: first we'll show up, then we'll see what happens. No more of that. It didn't work out too well for him in the end. Better to run head-long into the wall and leave a me-shaped hole behind for now. I can learn to temper myself later. I hear that comes with age.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Ahhhhh
Back to the mats. First night back, and it felt pretty good. My tooth (or lack thereof) is a bit uncomfortable, but well beyond the throbbing stage. I tested the mouthguard, and nothing hit anything sensitive, so we were good to go. Did some threads/flow drills, worked some sweeps to develop open guard, drilled ladder-up armbars and learned a slick way to take the back in case that fails. Of course, it's something that I expect not to pull off for a while, but it's definitely something I'll be hunting.
Andy tapped me tonight. I attribute this to two things: my unfortunate few weeks off, and his tenacity and improvement. More the latter than the former, to be honest. His guard has taken a step or two up, and I couldn't get anything started from mine. Though I did get a pretty nice sweep from guard, I just don't remember how I did it. I hit an armbar in the first roll, and he caught me in his americana-from-triangle. To be fair, I love that tap, and I knew he was digging for it, I just got too busy defending the triangle to remember not to let him get his arm behind my elbow. In the third roll, I had him in an arm triangle, but was too stupid to remember how to actually finish him before my arms gassed. So first night back, and a full class plus 25 minutes of training. (We had a roll during class and Klint worked in with us as a "breather" between our rounds.)
Andy finally tapped me. He's been training since May (and I since February), and I've been telling him since at least June that he's moving really quickly and picking up things faster than people who started before him. Hopefully this gives him a boost. On the flipside, it's giving me a bit of a boost as well. I now have to keep pace. It isn't that I got tapped; it happens just about every practice and I have plans that will make it more and more likely. (You know, taking more chances in rolling and trying for more subs and attacks against better opponents. The kind of thing that I'm supposed to have been doing since day two.) In fact, I'm glad Andy got this monkey off his back. But I now feel like I need to work a little harder to keep him reaching, which will in turn keep me reaching. You know, push-ups and yoga at home, watch my food a little closer (fewer Starbursts), try to limit my coffee intake.
Wait. Strike that last one. That has to wait until after school.
On a completely unrelated note, Klint has authorized us to create Jiu Jitsu CDs that we can play during class and training. So. What songs do I need to include?
Andy tapped me tonight. I attribute this to two things: my unfortunate few weeks off, and his tenacity and improvement. More the latter than the former, to be honest. His guard has taken a step or two up, and I couldn't get anything started from mine. Though I did get a pretty nice sweep from guard, I just don't remember how I did it. I hit an armbar in the first roll, and he caught me in his americana-from-triangle. To be fair, I love that tap, and I knew he was digging for it, I just got too busy defending the triangle to remember not to let him get his arm behind my elbow. In the third roll, I had him in an arm triangle, but was too stupid to remember how to actually finish him before my arms gassed. So first night back, and a full class plus 25 minutes of training. (We had a roll during class and Klint worked in with us as a "breather" between our rounds.)
Andy finally tapped me. He's been training since May (and I since February), and I've been telling him since at least June that he's moving really quickly and picking up things faster than people who started before him. Hopefully this gives him a boost. On the flipside, it's giving me a bit of a boost as well. I now have to keep pace. It isn't that I got tapped; it happens just about every practice and I have plans that will make it more and more likely. (You know, taking more chances in rolling and trying for more subs and attacks against better opponents. The kind of thing that I'm supposed to have been doing since day two.) In fact, I'm glad Andy got this monkey off his back. But I now feel like I need to work a little harder to keep him reaching, which will in turn keep me reaching. You know, push-ups and yoga at home, watch my food a little closer (fewer Starbursts), try to limit my coffee intake.
Wait. Strike that last one. That has to wait until after school.
On a completely unrelated note, Klint has authorized us to create Jiu Jitsu CDs that we can play during class and training. So. What songs do I need to include?
Friday, September 24, 2010
One more long weekend
I have a close friend whom I have known for almost ten years. We share all and have many similar interests. Sometimes, though, we can't reconcile the other's point of view with our own. I saw him last week, maybe the week before, and he told me he reads this blog every now and then. When I started it, I did say that it would more than likely contain updates from my entire life (as opposed to my jiu jitsu life), and I haven't really followed up with that much. That has been a conscious decision. I find that this space works much better as an outlet when it has a constant theme. Otherwise, this is nothing more than a public journal. And I don't need that. I also told this friend that he should come try class with me sometime. He's an athletic guy, really competitive, debilitatingly smart--it should be a perfect fit. Of course, he refuses. Doesn't understand why fighting and getting hurt (from time to time) could possibly be fun or fulfilling.
Of course, this is a perfect reflection of our other fundamental disagreement: the dentist. I loathe the dentist, today a bit more than normal. My dear friend, though, is never as comfortable anywhere as he is when he visits the dentist. He loves the harsh plastic cover on the awkwardly reclining chair, the cold metal stabby things on his gums, the sterile and heartless feeling of the hallways and offices.
I am right now sitting on the chaise with Buster splayed out next to me and a leaking sore on the left side of my mouth where my wisdom tooth sat until four hours ago. It's gone, and what a bastard of a process it was. So now I have a new variety of pain pills to add to my collection. Haven't taken any yet, I'm kind of curious how long I can hold out. (A bit more curious how long I'll be able to go without food, but that's another fight entirely.) So yes. Dentists suck. As I was laying there with what I'm certain were rusty pliers and crowbars sticking out of my mouth (literally, I heard him ask for the forceps, as though the baby was breached), a few things fought their way through the nitrous haze and crossed my mind. 1) The way I was crossing my legs and squeezing them in sheer terror, anyone in my guard would have been pulverized. 2) Every now and then, I would remind myself to just relax and breathe and that it would all be over soon and I'd be able to leave, no different from being stuck in a wrestler's side control and looking for an opening. Of course, I was kind of stoned on nitrous, so maybe the connection isn't as clear as it was in the fog, but it still makes a modicum of sense to me.
Of course, the balance is that I can't train now until Monday or Tuesday. So there goes the weekend. Instead, I'll be on a liquid-ish diet and camped out on couches and in front of my books. If all this rust makes me slow and forgetful, I'm going to get angry at my body.
Tournament on October 9. With at least one full week of training, I'm in. Count it. I'll tape any matches and post them in short order.
Of course, this is a perfect reflection of our other fundamental disagreement: the dentist. I loathe the dentist, today a bit more than normal. My dear friend, though, is never as comfortable anywhere as he is when he visits the dentist. He loves the harsh plastic cover on the awkwardly reclining chair, the cold metal stabby things on his gums, the sterile and heartless feeling of the hallways and offices.
I am right now sitting on the chaise with Buster splayed out next to me and a leaking sore on the left side of my mouth where my wisdom tooth sat until four hours ago. It's gone, and what a bastard of a process it was. So now I have a new variety of pain pills to add to my collection. Haven't taken any yet, I'm kind of curious how long I can hold out. (A bit more curious how long I'll be able to go without food, but that's another fight entirely.) So yes. Dentists suck. As I was laying there with what I'm certain were rusty pliers and crowbars sticking out of my mouth (literally, I heard him ask for the forceps, as though the baby was breached), a few things fought their way through the nitrous haze and crossed my mind. 1) The way I was crossing my legs and squeezing them in sheer terror, anyone in my guard would have been pulverized. 2) Every now and then, I would remind myself to just relax and breathe and that it would all be over soon and I'd be able to leave, no different from being stuck in a wrestler's side control and looking for an opening. Of course, I was kind of stoned on nitrous, so maybe the connection isn't as clear as it was in the fog, but it still makes a modicum of sense to me.
Of course, the balance is that I can't train now until Monday or Tuesday. So there goes the weekend. Instead, I'll be on a liquid-ish diet and camped out on couches and in front of my books. If all this rust makes me slow and forgetful, I'm going to get angry at my body.
Tournament on October 9. With at least one full week of training, I'm in. Count it. I'll tape any matches and post them in short order.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Return
That's right, I convinced my wife to let me go to class tonight. I promised not to roll afterwards because I should ease back into training after a week off, but I still got to take class again. And it went well, and I'm whole and sore and loving it all over again.
I don't have time for a proper post, and won't until Friday. But Friday, I will put down some of the thoughts that came up in class about wrestling in jiu jitsu (again) and competing.
Also, I might be on painkillers again. But I'm sure I'll have a valid reason for that.
I don't have time for a proper post, and won't until Friday. But Friday, I will put down some of the thoughts that came up in class about wrestling in jiu jitsu (again) and competing.
Also, I might be on painkillers again. But I'm sure I'll have a valid reason for that.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Status Update
A few things before I disappear for the next few days:
1) My back and neck are feeling infinitely better than they were last week. I expect that I 'll be able to convince my lovely wife to let me creep back into class one day earlier than the doctor suggested based on the combination of this and my next issue.
B) I have an appointment to have a wisdom tooth yanked soon. The dude doesn't even have the common decency to knock me out first--I'll be conscious, though mildly anesthetized. Really, I hoped they would be able to just hit me with a hammer and rouse me when they finished, but apparently that's not the done thing anymore. The functional result of this is that I'll probably have to miss another handful of classes.
3) Law school classes, while infrequent and at this point only mildly interesting, still demand me to produce work and devote time. Thus, the sudden infrequent nature of my posting. All will be well (if not well, then at least better) after this weekend, but that's all I can foresee from my present vantage.
Review of my Keiko Raca is still coming, as is at least one musing on the effect my jiu jitsu has had on the rest of my relationships. But now, back to the fake brief and the dullness that will encapsulate me for the next five days straight.
1) My back and neck are feeling infinitely better than they were last week. I expect that I 'll be able to convince my lovely wife to let me creep back into class one day earlier than the doctor suggested based on the combination of this and my next issue.
B) I have an appointment to have a wisdom tooth yanked soon. The dude doesn't even have the common decency to knock me out first--I'll be conscious, though mildly anesthetized. Really, I hoped they would be able to just hit me with a hammer and rouse me when they finished, but apparently that's not the done thing anymore. The functional result of this is that I'll probably have to miss another handful of classes.
3) Law school classes, while infrequent and at this point only mildly interesting, still demand me to produce work and devote time. Thus, the sudden infrequent nature of my posting. All will be well (if not well, then at least better) after this weekend, but that's all I can foresee from my present vantage.
Review of my Keiko Raca is still coming, as is at least one musing on the effect my jiu jitsu has had on the rest of my relationships. But now, back to the fake brief and the dullness that will encapsulate me for the next five days straight.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Observation during Lunch
Our dog is wrestling with our neighbor's while I wait for the oven to heat. My dog tends to go for one leg, then fall to his back and try to wrap up the other's legs with his own.
That's right. Buster plays open guard.
That is all.
That's right. Buster plays open guard.
That is all.
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