Tonight was a good class.
We didn't do any drills or anything, because we didn't have many people. We just rolled the entire hour. I was the only white belt in class. It was very hot in the gym, so they decided to do no gi.
Needless to say, I got thrashed up and down the mat, but I can tell I've made a lot of progress. It seems that the guys I haven't rolled with in a month were very impressed. I have mat burn on my forehead and a bruise on my face.
Awesome.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
First Night Back
Ok, so I was off three weeks, so tonight back was bag smoker.
We started off with some warmup drills, consisting of front and back rolls and a bunch of other funny ways to move. I was sweating by the end of that portion, because our gym isn't air conditioned. It was 80 degrees today, so that many people in an enclosed area made it hot pretty quickly.
After that, we drilled armbars from the guard. I had a lot of fun doing this. Its a move we did in combatives, so I picked it up pretty quickly.
About forty minutes in, we started rolling. I rolled with the teenager (15 or so) again. He good to roll with, because he's just pretty good. He and his little brother both won their division at NAGA Nashville earlier this month. Luckily, I'm bigger than him, and he's not strong enough to really get me in anything I can't get out of. But working with him forces me to focus on my defense because he's aggressive and he's good.
Everybody else I rolled with really just toyed with me. However, I did roll with our blackbelt and got a lot of good info from him. He said I was progressing really well, and I'm leaps and bounds ahead of where I was last time I came in. Its always good to get positive enforcement, especially since I wasn't feelin 100% when I came in today. I've just been falling behind at work and school.
Oh, I forgot to mention, my Gi came in today. I got a black Fuji Victory in A2. Unwashed, it fits perfect, so I need to be careful not to shrink it.
I'm tired and sore, but i"m happy we had a good class. I also found out that our NAGA Nashville team did really well. We sent six competitors and brought home medals in every category we had an entry in, including four golds.
We started off with some warmup drills, consisting of front and back rolls and a bunch of other funny ways to move. I was sweating by the end of that portion, because our gym isn't air conditioned. It was 80 degrees today, so that many people in an enclosed area made it hot pretty quickly.
After that, we drilled armbars from the guard. I had a lot of fun doing this. Its a move we did in combatives, so I picked it up pretty quickly.
About forty minutes in, we started rolling. I rolled with the teenager (15 or so) again. He good to roll with, because he's just pretty good. He and his little brother both won their division at NAGA Nashville earlier this month. Luckily, I'm bigger than him, and he's not strong enough to really get me in anything I can't get out of. But working with him forces me to focus on my defense because he's aggressive and he's good.
Everybody else I rolled with really just toyed with me. However, I did roll with our blackbelt and got a lot of good info from him. He said I was progressing really well, and I'm leaps and bounds ahead of where I was last time I came in. Its always good to get positive enforcement, especially since I wasn't feelin 100% when I came in today. I've just been falling behind at work and school.
Oh, I forgot to mention, my Gi came in today. I got a black Fuji Victory in A2. Unwashed, it fits perfect, so I need to be careful not to shrink it.
I'm tired and sore, but i"m happy we had a good class. I also found out that our NAGA Nashville team did really well. We sent six competitors and brought home medals in every category we had an entry in, including four golds.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
I'm not dead
As I previously wrote, I've been out of town doing military crap. It was, as predicted, a complete waste of time. The only good thing is that my employer went ahead and paid me my full monthly salary, so I double dip a little. Well, and I also got my medical records examined, and the Army says I don't have to run anymore...which is good. I suck at running, and have a genuine illness that makes it extremely difficult for me. That is actually one of the reason I got into BJJ.
While I was gone, I got a copy of Saulo Ribero's excellent Jiu Jitsu University. This is, by far, the best martial arts book I've ever read. It is fully colored, with step by step pictorial instructions and methodology. I like that he explains the "why" behind the moves. In many martial arts books I've read, they have grain pictures with captions saying something like "punch to the face." The book is also organized in a concise, logical manner, where the foundations are built upon as you progress through the book. Professor Ribero goes in depth, and I actually learned quite a lot just by reading through the first section.
Still no gi. I ordered a black Fuji from MMAoutlet.com. Apparently, Fuji messed up their shipment and didn't send in any A2s. MMAoutlet, however, has been very responsive and did offer me a slight discount for my trouble. They promised to have it in the mail by tomorrow afternoon. I'm hoping to be able to wear it to class monday, because I'm tired of being the only guy without a gi. Eventually, I hope to become one of those bloggers that is qualified enough to give a product review...but it will be my first BJJ gi. In the future, I'll see if I've earned that qualification.
I am back at home, but decided to take this week off of training. While I was gone, I got severely behind on school work, house work, husband work, father work, and all other work. Plus, I don't have my gi. There is a local tournament in June that I'd love to get into, but it coincides with my daughter's first birthday. A man has to have his priorities.
While I was gone, I got a copy of Saulo Ribero's excellent Jiu Jitsu University. This is, by far, the best martial arts book I've ever read. It is fully colored, with step by step pictorial instructions and methodology. I like that he explains the "why" behind the moves. In many martial arts books I've read, they have grain pictures with captions saying something like "punch to the face." The book is also organized in a concise, logical manner, where the foundations are built upon as you progress through the book. Professor Ribero goes in depth, and I actually learned quite a lot just by reading through the first section.
Still no gi. I ordered a black Fuji from MMAoutlet.com. Apparently, Fuji messed up their shipment and didn't send in any A2s. MMAoutlet, however, has been very responsive and did offer me a slight discount for my trouble. They promised to have it in the mail by tomorrow afternoon. I'm hoping to be able to wear it to class monday, because I'm tired of being the only guy without a gi. Eventually, I hope to become one of those bloggers that is qualified enough to give a product review...but it will be my first BJJ gi. In the future, I'll see if I've earned that qualification.
I am back at home, but decided to take this week off of training. While I was gone, I got severely behind on school work, house work, husband work, father work, and all other work. Plus, I don't have my gi. There is a local tournament in June that I'd love to get into, but it coincides with my daughter's first birthday. A man has to have his priorities.
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