Tonight...except for my turfed-toe burning like crazy...was a very cool night. One of my church buddies has started coming with his daughter. I talked to her before class and after being a bit shy because she was the only girl in class, she's really liking it. This is my first experience seeing a non-gi person in a gi and it's a lot like the first time I ran into Jazzhands at Walmart, sans kimono...a little surreal at first...your eyes take a second to adjust. Gis make people's faces change, I swear.
So tonight we did some work from the back. Variations of and options around the bow and arrow choke (which I love, yet again, don't use). My biggest issue? Grips again. I have girly hands that, after 2+ years of training, people still compliment as soft and that just don't like squeezing into fist-like shapes...so Parrumpa had to come over and fixed the borkedness of my hands so I wasn't losing the choke mid-way through. We went through a couple times, and then started working on a variation where you place the knee behind the head and then adjust that leg over the shoulder if you don't get the tap. The purple belt I was with went through it a couple times, and on the third, he transitioned pretty quickly, never really letting the blood flow again. I reached up to tap and uh...nothing happened. Next thing I know I found myself slumping peacefully toward the mat.
Well, I don't know if it was the choke or just things finally sinking in, but after rolling back to back with JazzHands, the purple I drilled with and Ryan (FKA Brownbeltinstructor) I sat down and all of a sudden, I saw ...differences...real differences in each of their games...different uses of strength, speed...different uses of transitions...different preferences for top and bottom. I'd always known they were there, but now, they're as clear as differences in personalities. The roll with Ryan was the most telling though...it's been...who knows, maybe a year since I've worked with him and I got to see how much he has going on at one time. It's really crazy, but cool, because I felt like I didn't have time to think...nice, because thinking is one of the big things that slows me down.
So tonight we did some work from the back. Variations of and options around the bow and arrow choke (which I love, yet again, don't use). My biggest issue? Grips again. I have girly hands that, after 2+ years of training, people still compliment as soft and that just don't like squeezing into fist-like shapes...so Parrumpa had to come over and fixed the borkedness of my hands so I wasn't losing the choke mid-way through. We went through a couple times, and then started working on a variation where you place the knee behind the head and then adjust that leg over the shoulder if you don't get the tap. The purple belt I was with went through it a couple times, and on the third, he transitioned pretty quickly, never really letting the blood flow again. I reached up to tap and uh...nothing happened. Next thing I know I found myself slumping peacefully toward the mat.
Well, I don't know if it was the choke or just things finally sinking in, but after rolling back to back with JazzHands, the purple I drilled with and Ryan (FKA Brownbeltinstructor) I sat down and all of a sudden, I saw ...differences...real differences in each of their games...different uses of strength, speed...different uses of transitions...different preferences for top and bottom. I'd always known they were there, but now, they're as clear as differences in personalities. The roll with Ryan was the most telling though...it's been...who knows, maybe a year since I've worked with him and I got to see how much he has going on at one time. It's really crazy, but cool, because I felt like I didn't have time to think...nice, because thinking is one of the big things that slows me down.
Get one of those spongey stress balls, or a fist-sized beanbag, and sqeeze it for a few minutes severeal times a day. Carry it around with you and squeeze it in the car, in the supermarket line, etc. That might help your grips.
ReplyDeleteThanks Savage...I think I'll do that.
ReplyDeleteduuude! You had a no-tap=nap!
ReplyDeleteWeak grips is a blessing in disguise. I have strong grips and it took me a while to learn to let go when it was too late to be holding on. It's only in the past year or so I've been really enjoying the grip-they-strip-you-re-grip-but-better game.
Strengthen your grip, but cherish the blessing in disguise :)
Hmm...never thought of it that way Liam...still getting a grip trainer LOL
ReplyDeleteBut yeah...I got lazy and since we were just going through technique, wasn't being careful about tapping. Lesson learned.