And I'm back.

The test is over.  With any luck, I need never talk about it again.  I have to say, though, studying for the bar probably benefitted my training.  I needed an outlet more than ever, so getting on the mat and working through some of that frustration and tension was pretty high on my priority list the last few weeks.  I even went to class the night before, the night between (the test is two days), and the night after the test.  It was great.

I realize I haven't posted in a while, and a few things have changed.  As I said before, we got a few more blue belts at my academy.  This is good for them, without a doubt, but good for the school as well.  We have probably 8-10 consistent students, and most of us train somewhere between 2 and 4 days a week.  We don't have a lot of young, hungry guys who want to go out and win tournaments--in fact, I would say that we don't have any.  Sure, a few of us have competed, but competition is not our goal.  We just want to get better.  And the biggest drawback to our academy being so small is that we don't have a huge pool of training partners.  But we put in the time, and we try to give each other challenges so that we don't stagnate.  And John, JD, and Vance getting their promotions was a nice affirmation of our training.

My knee is doing pretty OK.  I have two braces that I wear when training, and I stop myself from doing any movements that put strange stress on it.  No de la riva hook with my right leg, no knee-through passes, nothing like that.  Hell, I can barely defend my guard if they pass to my right, which isn't so great because that's the side most guys take to pass.  But, it forces me to work my defense and sweeps and reversals while staying technical.  Scrambling on a bad knee is not good (especially on wresting mats--those things get slick), so I have been trying to work sweeps that keep me close to my opponent and put me on top.

I'm having successes where I used t have serious challenges, and I can feel my game improving over time.  I've grown to love taking the back and collar chokes, we've spent a lot of time focused on digging out the far-side armbar and kimura, I've spent a decent amount of time and concentration on improving my transitions.....it's been a busy month.  Klint got us all to start flow-rolling as a class, which came at probably the best possible time for my brain.  And tonight, I'll be at it again.

So if you're still reading this, I shall return to my fairly-regular posting schedule.  Hope to see you on the mats sometime.

In Medias Res

I had the first day of the bar exam this morning.  I do the second half tomorrow.  I trained tonight.  Without training, I may well have simply killed myself to avoid finishing tomorrow.

Don't you worry.  It will all be over soon.

In Case You Missed It...

Here's a new video of Rickson talking about his jiu jitsu philosophy.



And here is a picture of our new blue belts.  Also, my instructor and two of our white belts.  (I'm the one distancing myself on the left; me and pictures don't get along.)

I'll be back to regular posting after the bar exam.  Honest.

Promotions

I have fellow blue belts from my own academy.  This is a proud moment.

Pics to follow once made available.

Less Dammit

I went to class tonight, though I didn't participate.  Not really.  First off, Klint wasn't there, so no "class" per se was held.  Instead, the four guys who are testing for their promotion on Saturday showed up to drill through some of the techniques they recently went over in class.

I showed up for moral support.  I had to explain to my wife why I was taking my gi.  And assure her again and again (and that third time too) that I was not going to do anything that put my knee in jeopardy and definitely was not going to train.  In fact, I barely even demonstrated, asking JD to go through the movements as I described them.  Because I know he's good enough to do them, and our minds tend to work the same way when it comes to movement.

So they will test Saturday.  And I will be there, wishing I could push them harder.

Semi-Dammit

I had a friend of mine who is a sports trainer look at my knee Monday afternoon.  He poked, prodded, crowbarred around in there, kept asking "How does this feel?"  I can get around, but it takes me twenty minutes longer to do anything, including and especially get out of bed in the morning.  Peg-legging seems to be the way to go, at least for now.  It's weird, though, because when I'm sitting, I seem to have most of my flexibility still.  And without pain.  It's the straightening that sucks.

"MCL, which is probably the best news I can give you," he says to me.  "It heals on its own, and there's almost no change in treatment from second to third degree injury on it.  So don't be an idiot with your knee for the next few days, we'll see how it heals itself."

That being said, I'm going to class tonight.  I'm not doing takedowns or guard work--hell, I'll be amazed if I can do half of the stuff Klint works in class.  But this weekend he's having a few of my teammates test for promotion, and I refuse to miss that.  I want to be able to help them as much as I can, even if it's chirping from the sidelines tonight.

So I haven't gotten an MRI, but I've gotten the best advice that my cash-strapped self can right now.  Besides, I really should be studying.

Dammit

I want to say this up front:  I love frisbee.  Ultimate is one of the best sports I've played, with just as much focus on fun and spirit and sportsmanship as on athleticism and skill.  I wish only that it didn't pose such devastating threat to life and limb.

Plaid Pick-up, a great group of people who get together every Saturday morning in the summer to play some disc.  On the Saturday closest to the solstice, Plaid holds a game to 100.  They draw stones (white and black) to pick teams (light and dark), and people show up throughout the day to provide fresh substitutes until one team reaches 100.  It's a day-long affair, sprinkled with wit and grilling, beer and gatorade.  If you play ultimate and live in the cities, it's worth the trip to St. Paul.

I'll get back to this game, but first--jiu jitsu.  I've really been training a lot.  Four or five times a week, I'm on the mat sweating more than I probably should and loving it.  I've been placed on a submissions-from-guard ban for the next month to ensure that I use the time in my guard to work on my sweeps.  It's a good tool, and last week I worked my sweeps a lot.  Even against the purple belts, I'm not letting myself shoot for submissions even if I want to use them to set up sweeps.  I need to get more fluid with my sweeps on their own, so I'm making myself work on them.  A few of my teammates are getting promoted next Saturday, so we've picked up the training pace a little bit, and we've started incorporating flow rolling into class and post-class open mat.  I think the only reason Klint hadn't had us working it before was that not enough of us had the necessary base knowledge to get a tangible benefit from it.  I'm starting to get more comfortable in transition, finding more success in scrambles, and realizing how much of my game is based around letting my opponent get to his knees and spinning around him to pull him into back control.  It's been a fantastically educational month for my jiu jitsu.

Yesterday was the game to 100.  Early on, though, I went to Gina's class in Edina.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to make Klint's class in the afternoon because I had an old roommate's wedding that promised to be a memorable affair.  So at Gina's class, I worked with some of her girls and incorporated more flow-rolling after class, working only position rather than digging for submissions and trying to keep my opponent pinned.  It was fantastic, it was fun and tiring and one of the best hangover cures I an remember.  So I rolled for about an hour and a half.  After rolling, I figured I would use about an hour of the Game to 100 to get some more cardio work in.  And I hadn't played ultimate for almost 2 years--law school and (more importantly) jiu jitsu stemmed my attendance and refocused my attention.

The welcome to the field was warm despite the sixty-degree semi-drizzle.  I strapped on my cleats, pulled my plaid jersey on and claimed my spot on the line.  I played probably ten points.  I wasn't the force that I remember myself being on the field, but I wasn't embarrassing myself either.  I was running, throwing, defending--I was playing about as well as someone who hasn't played in two years is expected to play.  One play I'm defending Mike, the guy who organizes the game, and this teammate sends it long for him.  So I turn on the jets and work to make sure that I'm not scored on.  The disc gets to the end zone and Mike is a step or two behind me.  He's old and wily, though, and in ultimate (much like in jiu jitsu), age and experience can be just as big an asset as youth and athleticism.  So I know not to take chances with him and dive to get the defensive bid.  I get it, slapping the disc away.  Our momentum, though, intersected, and Mike tripped over me.

Tumbling into one another on the frisbee field is not uncommon.  I've been in several crashes myself and walked away unscathed.  (Ironically, my only serious injuries in frisbee came from (i) fooling around in warm-ups (sprained ankle) and (ii) pivoting surprisingly quickly for my back to keep pace (threw out my back for 2-3 weeks)).  So I'm down, and Mike basically surfs over me.  Unfortunately, he lands on my leg between my knee and ankle.  And the knee pops.

I take a few minutes on the field, just kneeling to see how it feels immediately afterwards.  It isn't that bad--a bit throbby, but this is the same knee that pops all the time in jiu jitsu so I might have dodged a bullet.  And it's the inside of the knee, the same place that always makes my training partners stop in their tracks and ask if I'm ok when it barks.  Mike's worried and asking about me, but I think I'm ok.  Besides, it wasn't an intentional crash, it was just one of those plays where the game results in a tangle of arms and legs.  We stand, and my leg feels a little wobbly, but not bad enough to worry.  Then I step, and know better.  I call injury and hobble off the field in search of an icepack and a fistful of ibuprofen.

So here I sit, valu-pak of ibuprofen (aka Vitamin I), and a limp that would make Verbal Kint pity me.  I'll go to class Tuesday, just to watch and not participate, and talk with Klint afterwards about what I can do.  Really, I will probably go mad if I have to stop all activity for more than a week, especially with studying and the inherent stress that causes.

So.  If anyone has suggestions about how to care for a soft knee, let me know.