Ukemi Success

I forgot to mention that I did my forward ukemi from standing last night and it went quite well. No hurt shoulder! I even got less head contact with my backward ones.

I woke up this morning with a revelation about my standing guard escape. I did it twice while rolling with with Mr. Rebar-for-Ligaments, and the first time, he caught my right arm and wouldn't let go, so I couldn't pass his guard. The second time he didn't and I was able to pass. I thought he did it just to keep me from passing, but I realized that he did it because I made a mistake and didn't bring his right arm far enough across his left. Love it.

Dun-nuh nuh-nuh nuh-nuh nuh-nuh, Dun-nuh nuh-nuh nuh-nuh nuh-nuh...Cat Maaaaan

For me, one of the worst things about joining a new group is names. I'm HORRIBLE with names, and I'm in that period where it seems like pretty much everybody knows my name, but I only know the people that I've spoken to relatively regularly. Awkward.

I was watching this one blue belt today. I've rolled with him twice before. The first time I felt like I was rolling with a human vice grip. The second time I swear he was just spinning on top of me in circles, pulling and bending my limbs however he liked. I finally spent some time watching him from the outside and the man moves like a cat. Incredibly smooth and on all fours. It's nuts.

 

We went over an escape from half guard today, which I've done once before. Thankfully I was paired with a blue belt that's amazingly good at explaining details and picking out errors...in a good way. The knee placement is so crucial...it's going to take me a few more sessions (or a lot of times getting swept) to learn instinctually where I need to place my knee so that I don't leave too much space, but also not so close that I'm not left asking to be swept. I had a hard time remembering to apply pressure to the hip when first freeing the leg. Between that and the timing in grabbing the tricep, I feel like the move is brand new. My first roll was with the bluebelt I went over the technique with and he had me just try things, resetting everytime I got swept. It was a great way to make me hyper aware of my weight placement.

 

My second roll was with another white belt and since she was having some trouble passing my guard, I decided I wanted to try an armbar. I couldn't get it to feel right though and now realize it's because I wasn't centering her arm on my torso. Something tells me I still could have pulled it off, but it didn't feel "right" so I didn't even try...hesitation. I switched to a choke we learned about a month ago and that failed miserably. I still don't see how people pull them off.

 

My last roll was with a purple and while I felt like I was running the entire time, some of the general principles I picked up from The Guard helped out immensely.

 

The last few times we've been running, I've felt an old, familiar tightness in my chest. It's been years...decades since I've had a full on asthma attack or even felt close to one, so feeling my lungs closing in, even slightly, makes me pretty anxious. I still carry an OTC inhaler just in case. I

 

I gotta learn to stop making so much noise. I think I'm like the loud person in class. I let out grunts in pain and discomfort and a couple of times, people have pulled back on submissions/pressure even though I was fine. I guess I'll get used to being squashed eventually and won't be as...vocal.

 

I find myself getting caught in side control less, and when I do, I'm defending against the cross-face better. Woo.

Roy Dean: Reactions

Before I start gushing about my Roy Dean DVD, I have to say I noticed something odd about my knees today. While I thought they were always both "crunchy" I noticed that today the right one wasn't and the left one was. Odd.

 

OK. I've said it before. I'm a top down thinker. This DVD set is great for anyone who likes to know principle before practicing or just likes to have an idea of the road on which they're traveling and not just the destination.  If you're used to a more academic approach to learning, it's an amazing set. Even if you're not, I can't see how you couldn't get something (something meaning a lot) from it. I haven't watched all the sections, but I'll talk a little about the ones I have. If you're looking for a complete reivew, that's been well covered in other places online.

Welcome: Most of the set assumes a base level of familiarity with fundamental BJJ positions and terminology. This section however, should be watched by anyone before stepping on the mat, honestly even before deciding on a school. It's basically an introduction into where your mind should be before you get going.

 

It adresses the potential applications of BJJ (law enforcement, competition, self defense), the wide-reaching nature of BJJ (helps to calm the concerns of people who think they might be physically incapable of learning the art), the level of intensity (I was blind and it took me a bit by surprise...probably a good thing for my situation though), the level of personalization and the incredibly steep and impossibly frustrating learning curve that weeds out so many beginners.

 

Ukemi: If I've ever been close to tears in BJJ, it was because of these. I found them amazingly frustrating and my fear of falling just made them that much worse. Dean speaks on the fact that, though they're not practiced at many BJJ schoos, they provide benefits to practitioners and in situations in everyday life. Falls happen and they're invaluable in learning how to manage your weight in a fall situation. He says he studied them for six weeks straight in Japan before even starting any technique and I was a little jealous.  This last week, I JUST started feeling the "awareness" you're supposed to in the middle of a roll. I still start my forward ukemi from kneeling, but after watching this, I'm thinking about attempting standing again (I injured my shoulder last time I tried). Backward rolls haven't given me issues, but I learned some useful points (like I'm putting way too much weight on my neck...there should be no contact with the mat, let alone weight).

 

Guidelines: I absolutely loved this section. It's on the second DVD and is easy to dismiss as unimportant, but Dean's explanation of grips from different positions and priciples behind various escapes clarified a lot of grey areas for me. I think it will also keep me from stopping once I end up in someone's guard because I'm not sure where to go next.

 

I can't say I was exposed to anything that I haven't been in four months of classes, but the DVD presents information in such a way that's not really possible in a group class format.

Sore Throat Sorrows

I woke up yesterday with a sore throat...knocked back a couple Cold-eeze and figured everything was fine. When I left the office today, I figured I was tired because the day was long and I got almost no sleep from all the wind. Well, for some reason, I just couldn't envision myself even making it through the warmup. The last time I felt like this and went to class I was in a cold sweat by the end. After much agonizing, I decided staying home was probably the best bet and that I'd just do a few rounds of FlowFit and some drills. I made it five minutes into FlowFit and just didn't want to get back up after the second transition into plow position. I tried some shrimping...fizzled after six reps...good thing my Roy Dean DVD came today :)

Happily, I don't feel desperate like I used to when missing class. I don't feel as much at risk of one missed class ending my BJJ journey.

Goodie MoB is my new theme music.

We found out tonight that one of the instructors at American Top Team has a staph infection in his lungs. He was fighting for his life a few days ago, but has improved. He doesn't have any insurance and there's a seminar this weekend to raise money for him. This is about the third time I've heard of something like this since I started training and since fighting the evil forces of the Dark Side (health insurance companies) is what I do for a living, it's really starting to bother me on a deep level. Sure, everybody's at risk of getting hurt, but if you get hurt and aren't insured, it's a whole different ball game. I've never really thought about it, but I can't imagine what insurance premiums are for professional fighters. They're bad enough for people sitting at a desk all day.

On a lighter note, class was great tonight! I gotta be honest though, getting ready, I felt that same, deep fear that I did the first few classes, and I know it's purely from the warmups. They've been more intense lately and that messes with my mind. I was talking to one of the pro fighters before class and she said something that I really have to keep in mind. That at the very least, it's a good workout. Even if I feel like I can't pull off even basic moves and that I'm getting beaten at every turn, at the very least, it's a good workout, and that's something I need regardless and is a great reason to show up.

But yeah...on the drive there, I was so freaked I had to try some new music. I love Queen like there's no tomorrow, but somehow Freddie's voice just doesn't put me in the right frame of mind. I tried Chili Peppers, anime tracks and Bone Thugs, but nothing helped. Tonight, I dug out some old Goodie MoB tracks (ah memories) and it instantly calmed me down. There's something about Southern rap...the seething intensity contrasted against the the laid back attitude...that really focuses me.

I'm still having a rough time adjusting triangles. I just never feel confident against a resisting opponent, but they are getting better. I also finally got a peek at the concept of controlling one side of your opponent. We reviewed the same standing escape from full guard. It's still hard, but it's feeling more natural, I maintained my balance a little better and my knees feel totally fine. I just have to keep my weight centered over the middle of my feet and to put solid force behind the upward movement. Fluidity is so important.

Bad habit of the night...sitting back too far. I also ran into a situation where I needed to bridge while I had someone in half guard. Hard.

Oh! Speaking of joint issues, switching to MSM in the morning has me back to not remembering my dreams. I'm finally feeling rested again:)

The Good Fight

I went to go check out a local tournament today that was organized by The Good Fight. Unfortunately, I took my time getting there, and even though gi matches started at 1 and no-gi at 3, when I walked in at 1:30, no-gi was already going, so I only got to watch four matches.  It was good to go though, and cool to see one of the guys was from a local branch of American Top Team.