I am in the middle of a terrible week. And I should be spending tonight remembering administrative law. But that's all day tomorrow. Instead, I will reflect on my night of rolling.
Klint has been on a streak of giving us systems to use---a side control system, a guard-opening system, a back-defending system, ways to structure our attacks and defenses so that one flows into the other. This week, we're doing an attacks-from-guard system. Every set of grips, we're drilling a system of attacks that we can use. Armbar-to-triangle-to-armbar, sweep-attempt-to-armbar-to-triangle-to-omoplata, that kind of thing. This week, of course, I'm buried. And a little upset about that fact, because I love love love attacking from guard.
After class, I'd told Andy that JD and I were going to start prepping him for the tournament in late May. It's about 4 weeks out, so I told him that we were going to start working him. So we took turns starting mounted on him, starting with him in side control, getting him into bad spots and making him work out of them even though he's tired. Probably six or seven two-minute-gos in a row. I also worked for a bit with John, and after Andy cashed out, JD and I worked for a bit.
I've been feeling pretty OK about my training lately. I got to open mat on Friday, and I was working with a few of Damian's higher belts--a smaller blue and a large, older purple. I could do what I wanted with the blue, but that was mainly the size disadvantage. I've got probably 40 or 50 pounds on him, and our technique is pretty close. The purple let me play guard for a bit, and after he told me he would have let me just work a little more if I wasn't doing so well. So I took that as a compliment, and drove across town for more open mat.
I've been trying to go to my knees more and work from a wrestling position, and sometimes I'm actually doing it. I have to admit, wrestling is one of my least favorite aspects of grappling. The submissions and sweeps, those are just beautiful and entertaining and intricate. The throws (even though I have no idea how to do them) are amazing. Wrestling, in my mind, is the journeyman's tool, the thing that gets the job done. I know it's the most useful and beneficial base to have--I get that. I just wish it wasn't so tiring. And really, I wish learning Judo was as easy as learning wrestling. Because the throws? Come on. Just exquisite.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Explaining the Absence
I'm still going to class. But law school is killing me. My attendance next two weeks will have to be subject to a few things: a) returning to the restaurant, 2) finals and final projects, and c) sanity. I'm almost done. I'll be going to only a handful of classes the next few weeks, and then I'll be back.
These same distractions have prevented me from regular posting. For that, I apologize.
I will make it up to you soon.
These same distractions have prevented me from regular posting. For that, I apologize.
I will make it up to you soon.
Monday, April 11, 2011
War Wounds
We're all broken.
I'm almost certain I've talked about this before. And even if I haven't, everyone else has. But we're all training through some sort of injury. Zach hasn't seen training since December. Mel's shoulder is tweaked. (And she competed this past weekend, winning two of her divisions.) JD's knee is wonky. Vance is perpetually rotting. Andy falls apart if you blink at him wrong. Kyle's knee seems to be better. John's ribs seem to be OK. And my toe and hand are operating at less than full force. Steve actually returned to training today for the first time since I started, new knee and all.
A friend started his sample period tonight. He's in sports medicine, works with athletes all the time, understands competition. We worked some pretty advanced techniques for his first night--the Camarillo switch, multiple choke defenses, taking the back, two separate passes. Then we trained for a bit. He didn't join in the rolling--that would be a bit of a tall order for his first night. I worked with Tony first, and we stalemated. He couldn't open my guard, and I couldn't get anything working against him. But I was threatening, and that's leaps above where I used to be. Then I worked with Steve. It was my first time rolling with him, and he has a different style from what I've yet encountered. He got me in side control, and I was able to reverse the position. (Always a confidence booster.) Mel and I trained afterwords. I found a new grip to use in side control with which I can both trap the near-side arm and finish with a bow-and-arrow-esque choke. So that was fun.
Training injured, though, is always an entertaining and challenging. Hell, at this point shaking hands without wincing is a challenge. And most of the night my toe was doing great being buddy-taped to his neighbor, and then two minutes before we finished I felt it go. Of course, nothing to do about it but soldier on.
I'm almost certain I've talked about this before. And even if I haven't, everyone else has. But we're all training through some sort of injury. Zach hasn't seen training since December. Mel's shoulder is tweaked. (And she competed this past weekend, winning two of her divisions.) JD's knee is wonky. Vance is perpetually rotting. Andy falls apart if you blink at him wrong. Kyle's knee seems to be better. John's ribs seem to be OK. And my toe and hand are operating at less than full force. Steve actually returned to training today for the first time since I started, new knee and all.
A friend started his sample period tonight. He's in sports medicine, works with athletes all the time, understands competition. We worked some pretty advanced techniques for his first night--the Camarillo switch, multiple choke defenses, taking the back, two separate passes. Then we trained for a bit. He didn't join in the rolling--that would be a bit of a tall order for his first night. I worked with Tony first, and we stalemated. He couldn't open my guard, and I couldn't get anything working against him. But I was threatening, and that's leaps above where I used to be. Then I worked with Steve. It was my first time rolling with him, and he has a different style from what I've yet encountered. He got me in side control, and I was able to reverse the position. (Always a confidence booster.) Mel and I trained afterwords. I found a new grip to use in side control with which I can both trap the near-side arm and finish with a bow-and-arrow-esque choke. So that was fun.
Training injured, though, is always an entertaining and challenging. Hell, at this point shaking hands without wincing is a challenge. And most of the night my toe was doing great being buddy-taped to his neighbor, and then two minutes before we finished I felt it go. Of course, nothing to do about it but soldier on.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Dilemma
"The secret? It's hard to explain, because, like I said before, this is a chess game.
"What for me looks easy because I have the capacity to set him up in a way where when he is trying to fight he is always one second late. So it is a tremendous amount of precision and understanding of what is coming next to keep myself a beat ahead, and to give to him the feeling where he is going, little by little, down, going in a worse position."
--Rickson
"What for me looks easy because I have the capacity to set him up in a way where when he is trying to fight he is always one second late. So it is a tremendous amount of precision and understanding of what is coming next to keep myself a beat ahead, and to give to him the feeling where he is going, little by little, down, going in a worse position."
--Rickson
Sunday, April 3, 2011
More Direct Ways of Treading Water
Wedding this past weekend for an old friend. I stood up front in a tuxedo with suspenders and a bow tie, strictly black and white, armed to the teeth with smooth scotch and a sharp wit. It was a great weekend, even if it meant that I didn't get to train.
Last week was a good amount of training with a decent amount of reflection and philosophy thrown in for good measure. Klint and I stayed and talked for about an hour after class on Tuesday, going over what his expectations of me are as his blue belt and what changes that should bring out in my game. I didn't realize until that night that he had never promoted anyone before. He's been instructing for years, but he's always been helping other people. We are his first class.
We talked about competition and how much I should start to build into my schedule when I'm out of school and (dear god let's all hope) working a normal job. It will entail training for a few weeks and adding training and cross training and diet and all that, not to mention traveling (because Minnesota just doesn't have enough well-run tournaments--and by enough I mean any). He went through all the positions and talked about where I need to focus on improving, and we went through our academy man by man (we're pretty small, after all) and talked about how I match up and what that says about not only the state of my skills, but how about my mental approach. For instance, I can absolutely wreck guy A but have certain troubles with guy B (say, he has an easier time sweeping me than he should) even though guy A destroys guy B. So we talked about that, dissected my mental approach, tried to come up with reasons for it and ways around my mental blocks. He also told me not to worry about the evolution of the other guys at the academy--basically, I'm taking the role of the guy in class they have to fight who they're more than likely going to lose to. Except for JD. Because not only is he big and strong, but his technique is precise, and he knows how to use his size and strength intelligently. He and I are going to have some serious fights in the academy, and we'll both limp home bleeding from the mouth and nursing our egos.
Other than that, I don't have much to report. School work is starting to get in the way of my voluntary life. But that will end, and I have merely to pay its due attention for the next month or so. Then, I can roll around all I want. Because I'll have no job to stop me.
Last week was a good amount of training with a decent amount of reflection and philosophy thrown in for good measure. Klint and I stayed and talked for about an hour after class on Tuesday, going over what his expectations of me are as his blue belt and what changes that should bring out in my game. I didn't realize until that night that he had never promoted anyone before. He's been instructing for years, but he's always been helping other people. We are his first class.
We talked about competition and how much I should start to build into my schedule when I'm out of school and (dear god let's all hope) working a normal job. It will entail training for a few weeks and adding training and cross training and diet and all that, not to mention traveling (because Minnesota just doesn't have enough well-run tournaments--and by enough I mean any). He went through all the positions and talked about where I need to focus on improving, and we went through our academy man by man (we're pretty small, after all) and talked about how I match up and what that says about not only the state of my skills, but how about my mental approach. For instance, I can absolutely wreck guy A but have certain troubles with guy B (say, he has an easier time sweeping me than he should) even though guy A destroys guy B. So we talked about that, dissected my mental approach, tried to come up with reasons for it and ways around my mental blocks. He also told me not to worry about the evolution of the other guys at the academy--basically, I'm taking the role of the guy in class they have to fight who they're more than likely going to lose to. Except for JD. Because not only is he big and strong, but his technique is precise, and he knows how to use his size and strength intelligently. He and I are going to have some serious fights in the academy, and we'll both limp home bleeding from the mouth and nursing our egos.
Other than that, I don't have much to report. School work is starting to get in the way of my voluntary life. But that will end, and I have merely to pay its due attention for the next month or so. Then, I can roll around all I want. Because I'll have no job to stop me.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Over the Horizon
Training this week was sort of light. I made class Monday and Tuesday, but I couldn't train after class that much. Monday JD and I worked for a bit, but not long. And this was after Klint checked our progress by rolling with us for a few minutes each, seeing how we progressed while he was away. I couldn't make practice Thursday because of a school thing, and I lost open mat Friday because a friend was in town and we had a poker game scheduled. Gina was nice enough to invite me to participate in the women's class Saturday morning, though, and a few training partners were being tested for promotion after class Saturday afternoon.
Women's class was completely different from our regular class. First off, it was at 8am on Saturday. Usually, that's prime sleepin' time. But on top of that, they set their soundtrack accordingly. We warmed up to some Salt n Pepa, some Jay-Z "Can I Get A," some N'Sync....Nothing that the Woodbury class would ever listen to. It was a small class--four women, myself, and Gina instructing. We drilled armbars and cross chokes and switches, drilling ten-a-side with partners. After class, we had the mat for some rolling, and I got to work with four of Gina's students. (Gina told her students, "Make sure you take advantage of Chris while he's here." That got a good laugh.) When I was rolling with the women, I realized how far I've developed as a martial artist since I began. All of them are white belts, and they're tough girls. I was able to move smoothly, to keep myself from muscling into and out of everything, and to pay attention to my technique. At the end, T tweaked something in her side and I thought I'd absolutely wrecked her arm. Thankfully, I hadn't and I had (apparently) done nothing wrong. She had killed herself on a kettlebell circuit the day before and her body was starting to revolt, so when she tried to roll out of a kimura, something screamed at her and she kind of flipped. Scary few minutes, but she's all good.
The other thing that happened at women's class is that I almost certainly broke my big toe. It caught on the mat at some point---the toe itself, not just the nail. I taped it up with its neighbor and just moved on. As of right now, it's not really a big deal; I checked with my doctor/former-roommate, and it's not off-center, it isn't cold or purple, and it isn't debilitatingly swollen. But I'll meet with him next weekend for something else, and we'll chat about it then.
Class in Woodbury was good. We worked on peek-outs again and what the correct technique is (which is different from the traditional peek-out that everyone imagines when they think of the technique). So we're working on building new muscle memory for that. At the end, Klint had the four upper belts roll with the four guys he was promoting. So Chris, Tony, Colin and I stood on one side of the room while JD, Andy, John and Kyle lined the other. They went for three or four minutes with each of us, just restarting if anyone tapped. Afterwards, he put them through some technical drills and then presented them with their half-white-half-blue belts (equivalent to 3 or 4 stripes; technically it's their third stripe, but their next promotion is to blue). He told them all that he would be confident putting them all into a blue belt division at a tournament, but he's keeping the standard for promotion high and he wants them to work a little more. I took that as a subtle compliment, even if he didn't mean it that way. Compliment to me, I mean. (This blog is, after all, about me. And even though I'm trying as hard as I can to cut my ego and be a better training partner, I would be lying if I said I was always successful.) I heard it as a compliment because a) that means that he had his standard of promotion pretty high when he gave me my belt, and 2) that I met that standard. Good work, me.
I'm also thinking about how much competition I should think about incorporating into my schedule after the bar exam, what sort of things I can do to be a better partner, whether to start thinking about teaching (even though I'm pretty sure I don't know that much well enough to teach it)---you know, the standards. So now I will study law with the Pan Ams broadcast in the background.
Women's class was completely different from our regular class. First off, it was at 8am on Saturday. Usually, that's prime sleepin' time. But on top of that, they set their soundtrack accordingly. We warmed up to some Salt n Pepa, some Jay-Z "Can I Get A," some N'Sync....Nothing that the Woodbury class would ever listen to. It was a small class--four women, myself, and Gina instructing. We drilled armbars and cross chokes and switches, drilling ten-a-side with partners. After class, we had the mat for some rolling, and I got to work with four of Gina's students. (Gina told her students, "Make sure you take advantage of Chris while he's here." That got a good laugh.) When I was rolling with the women, I realized how far I've developed as a martial artist since I began. All of them are white belts, and they're tough girls. I was able to move smoothly, to keep myself from muscling into and out of everything, and to pay attention to my technique. At the end, T tweaked something in her side and I thought I'd absolutely wrecked her arm. Thankfully, I hadn't and I had (apparently) done nothing wrong. She had killed herself on a kettlebell circuit the day before and her body was starting to revolt, so when she tried to roll out of a kimura, something screamed at her and she kind of flipped. Scary few minutes, but she's all good.
The other thing that happened at women's class is that I almost certainly broke my big toe. It caught on the mat at some point---the toe itself, not just the nail. I taped it up with its neighbor and just moved on. As of right now, it's not really a big deal; I checked with my doctor/former-roommate, and it's not off-center, it isn't cold or purple, and it isn't debilitatingly swollen. But I'll meet with him next weekend for something else, and we'll chat about it then.
Class in Woodbury was good. We worked on peek-outs again and what the correct technique is (which is different from the traditional peek-out that everyone imagines when they think of the technique). So we're working on building new muscle memory for that. At the end, Klint had the four upper belts roll with the four guys he was promoting. So Chris, Tony, Colin and I stood on one side of the room while JD, Andy, John and Kyle lined the other. They went for three or four minutes with each of us, just restarting if anyone tapped. Afterwards, he put them through some technical drills and then presented them with their half-white-half-blue belts (equivalent to 3 or 4 stripes; technically it's their third stripe, but their next promotion is to blue). He told them all that he would be confident putting them all into a blue belt division at a tournament, but he's keeping the standard for promotion high and he wants them to work a little more. I took that as a subtle compliment, even if he didn't mean it that way. Compliment to me, I mean. (This blog is, after all, about me. And even though I'm trying as hard as I can to cut my ego and be a better training partner, I would be lying if I said I was always successful.) I heard it as a compliment because a) that means that he had his standard of promotion pretty high when he gave me my belt, and 2) that I met that standard. Good work, me.
I'm also thinking about how much competition I should think about incorporating into my schedule after the bar exam, what sort of things I can do to be a better partner, whether to start thinking about teaching (even though I'm pretty sure I don't know that much well enough to teach it)---you know, the standards. So now I will study law with the Pan Ams broadcast in the background.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Eyes Up
Klint is back in town, and after a few weeks of Brazilian warm-ups right into training, we're back to five-to-ten minute warm-ups right into forty minutes of technique. It's a preference thing, I suppose--I'm not huge on working cardio for the sake of working cardio (as anyone who has trained with me can attest). I like learning the techs, working on hip movement in context instead of in a vaccuum. Still, the practices that Gina and Chris and Brady ran were super tight. Having different instructors come in and run class for a while is something that I think everyone should do, especially if you have only one instructor.
So how is may training going? I really don't know. I had a few weeks where I was feeling good, executing the very things that I was attempting, performing above my own expectations, that sort of thing. I didn't have much time to train after class Monday and Tuesday, but I trained the double-open-mat Friday and open mat again on Saturday. So that was three hours training Friday, another hour Saturday, and technique work (mainly) Monday and Tuesday.
I need to pay more attention to my goals when I roll. That might bring me back to that place where I feel like I'm accomplishing something when I train. Friday and Saturday were good in terms of getting some training in, but I lacked direction. I wasn't working specific positions, trying predetermined setups or anything like that. The benefit of Friday and Saturday, though, is that I was working with Josh (a smaller, mobile blue belt), old Mike (the purple who reminds me that I don't have nearly the technique that I want to have), Dan (a serious blue belt who gives me problems), and Ron (a blue belt as new as I am on whom I can try new techniques and still feel comfortable). Going across town for open mat is great; the pool of talent from whom I can learn and get mauled is three or four times the pool at our academy, and everyone is super cool. It took a bit of time to become a familiar face around there--the same as it is in any social clique, I suppose (you know, like a pool hall or bar or frisbee game)--but once you're in you're in.
I'm also becoming a little more apprehensive about what it means to be a blue belt, especially the first blue belt at our academy. I don't know what the balance should be between a) taking time to tailor my training to my partners' benefit and 2) being somewhat selfish with the training time I have and working to finish every time. I also am starting to look long-term and trying to figure out exactly what how much competition experience Klint will want me to have. I know that competition experience isn't a necessity for progression, and plenty of hard grapplers progress without it. But I also know it's something that would harden my game and build up my endurance and confidence. My next training will be Saturday, so I'll have until then to ponder.
So how is may training going? I really don't know. I had a few weeks where I was feeling good, executing the very things that I was attempting, performing above my own expectations, that sort of thing. I didn't have much time to train after class Monday and Tuesday, but I trained the double-open-mat Friday and open mat again on Saturday. So that was three hours training Friday, another hour Saturday, and technique work (mainly) Monday and Tuesday.
I need to pay more attention to my goals when I roll. That might bring me back to that place where I feel like I'm accomplishing something when I train. Friday and Saturday were good in terms of getting some training in, but I lacked direction. I wasn't working specific positions, trying predetermined setups or anything like that. The benefit of Friday and Saturday, though, is that I was working with Josh (a smaller, mobile blue belt), old Mike (the purple who reminds me that I don't have nearly the technique that I want to have), Dan (a serious blue belt who gives me problems), and Ron (a blue belt as new as I am on whom I can try new techniques and still feel comfortable). Going across town for open mat is great; the pool of talent from whom I can learn and get mauled is three or four times the pool at our academy, and everyone is super cool. It took a bit of time to become a familiar face around there--the same as it is in any social clique, I suppose (you know, like a pool hall or bar or frisbee game)--but once you're in you're in.
I'm also becoming a little more apprehensive about what it means to be a blue belt, especially the first blue belt at our academy. I don't know what the balance should be between a) taking time to tailor my training to my partners' benefit and 2) being somewhat selfish with the training time I have and working to finish every time. I also am starting to look long-term and trying to figure out exactly what how much competition experience Klint will want me to have. I know that competition experience isn't a necessity for progression, and plenty of hard grapplers progress without it. But I also know it's something that would harden my game and build up my endurance and confidence. My next training will be Saturday, so I'll have until then to ponder.
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