8:45-10:30a

8:45-9a: Paid my dues, purchased a new copy of Jiu Jitsu University, and bought a gi and patches. Mike, the manager, seems like a really nice guy. Made me feel right at home.

9-9:10a: Stretches. Only six students plus the instructor.

9:10-9:30a: Warm-ups / drills. Blue belt led. He did a couple of strange drills that I need to see a couple more times. Only finished about 85% of the core exercises before cramping set in. No push-ups.

9:30-10:05a: Worked arm bar swings to each side using only hip/core swinging movement with a flat back. Professor came over and said I was doing the hip/core swings wrong. Yeah. Figured as much. That drill requires a ton of core strength and flexibility. I'm just not there yet. Not even close. He showed me a solo core drill that I need to work on at home. Next worked on a technique to trap an arm and shoot the triangle. Finsihed with an armbar, triangle, armbar combo that relied almost exclusively on core strength. In summary...lots of core work...must have looked pathetic...soooo soft.

10:05-10:30a: Rolls. Only 6 minutes each this time with a couple minutes in between. Andrew was first up. He's fast. Escaped numerous position advances and attacks and recovered guard. Geez. Managed to catch him with a choke by wrapping my gi around his neck from either side control or half guard. He advanced to knee of belly a couple of times. I tried to employ Saulo's knee on belly escape, but something was amis. I managed to escape knee on belly, but only recovered back to side control as opposed to open guard. I don't think I'm bridging and swinging over enough.

Second was Chris, a smaller, but very strong and fast Blue Belt. Survival mode. Managed to successfully employ Saulo's trusty armbar escape, however, I had to rely on a variation since I couldn't bring my left arm all the way under his left leg and connect with my right wrist (the arm that was under attack). Rather than clasp the ankle/lower leg, I grabbed his gi pant, but the physics seemed similar. Had a couple more opportunities to escape knee on belly, but Chris had a much better defense against the escape than Andrew (as would be expected) and, although I managed to remove the knee from belly, I exposed myself to an armbar and this time could not escape. Tap. Good roll.

Got Russell for the last roll. He's an organge belt. Probably 14 or 15 years old. Although fairly large for his age, he didn't seem very aggressive. Rolled light with him. Gave up many positions and advanced attacks slowly. Didn't finish off a couple arm bars, americana, or chokes. Just let him work. Nice roll to end the day, although I was surprised when the Professor called time. Class over already? But I still have gas in the tank! ;-)

Saulo and Xande came by towards the end of class. Apparently the San Diego Chargers had a private lesson after our class. The Kettle Bells were out, so it may be for strength and conditioning as opposed to BJJ. Not sure... A couple very large guys rolled in as I was changing and heading out the door.