Heading to NOLA

Leaving tomorrow for 5 days in New Orleans to visit friends and enjoy my home away from home.  I have an ambitious training schedule planned.  Two classes on Thursday, private and wrestling/takedowns classes on Friday, Q&A and open mat on saturday, open mat sunday, and one class on Monday morning before flying back.  We'll see how well my body holds up.

Trained today at UNIJJ for the first time in a couple weeks.  A series of unfortunately events kept me from the mats.  Work, health, work, health.   Showed up at the 9am class.  I was the only one so the instructor showed me two pass options from De la Riva, each to be used based on opponent set up and reaction.  I was skeptical at first...

Returned at noon for the second day class.  Lots of folks this time.  Two Browns, two Purples, couple Blues and a couple whites.  Worked a technical smash pass.  Big guy jiu jitsu.  Took a while but I started to dig it.  Trained with a big four-stripe White, a Brown, and a Purple.  Didn't gas.  Actually felt really good.  Had complete control of the White, except when it came to finishes (he had a couple solid choke and arm lock escapes).  Brown basically ruined me.  I survived but he was all over my back and caught me with one of the nicest arm drags I've ever experienced.  He also passed my guard at will.  But...  I managed one sweep and then used one of the De la Riva passes I learned earlier this morning.  Worked like a charm.  Finished with a solid round with the Purple.  Got a couple nice sweeps and escaped some tricky spots.  He caught me with a kimura during one of my turtle to guard recovery attempts.  I basically rolled right into the submission.  Oh well, next time.

I think slowing down my game is going to suit me well.  I feel relatively safe and can conserve energy while waiting  for (or working slowly toward) opportunities to apply technique.  I feel like I'm seeing more of the game.  Clarity is nice.

Help Seana's Fight Against Cancer

Please watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWpIPQWjBtA

Seana is a Purple Belt who got ovarian cancer at age 26. She needs help.

More information at: https://www.facebook.com/HelpSeanasFightAgainstCancer 

I donated through PayPal. You can too.  Also, please do what you can to spread the word.

Is it normal...

...to be so sore and achy all the time?  I try to work out 30-90 minutes, six days per week.  BJJ training only 2-3 of those days plus an hour of strength and conditioning twice per week and a couple mile jog or the Ab Ripper X (part of the P90x series) on the 6th day.  When you think about it, although a fair amount of exercise, it's not a lot.  I can't seem to accept that a 35yr old who has trained BJJ almost two years should hurt all over all the time.  I know I've been off the mats for a while, but I maintained other exercise and overall my strength and conditioning feel good.  Also, even before my neck gave out in December I struggled with significant and disheartening aches and pains.  Do I just need to tough it out and push harder?  Or are these aches and pains warning signs of another devastating and debilitating injury?

Ultimate Absolute 2: NYC 2012

I watched the live stream yesterday. All 4.5 hrs. Reilly Bodycomb, an instructor at NOLA BJJ, competed along with 15 other monsters. Unfortunately Reilly lost to Mike Fowler in the first round. Justin Rader v. Samuel Braga was the best fight. Here's a shot from perhaps the most exciting moment.

Here's the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T1hlW3v05I&context=C385bf56ADOEgsToPDskKh_U1apogRNsLYF7tgL7ei

Watch it all, but really start paying attention at around 2:50 for the human knot.  Rader's calf slicer attempt was wicked and, despite obvious pain, Braga countered with an arm bar. Both escaped.  I really like the mutual respect shown at ~5:20 after the disentanglement.

Braga's guard is unbelievable. And Rader's cardio blew my mind. Relentless top attacks for 10 mins with Hall, then 10 with Braga, and after 20 mins in the finals with Celsinho, he showed no sign of letting up. Unreal.

Here's a bootleg of the final with Celsinho:  http://youtu.be/cOeiHchzh_k

Quite a bit of controversy at the end of the final.  It appears to me that Rader was robbed.  They were clearly out of bounds and, according to Rafael Lovato, the ref said "stop" several times.  Rader clearly dropped his guard thinking they would reset at center mat but Celsinho pressed and took him down.  There was a lot of commotion and somehow the judges awarded points for the take down.  Too bad there wasn't a clean finish.  It was a tough fight.

This is Gonna Take a While

Good training session today. Grip breaking drills were brutal. I didn't improve my technique one bit during my time away from the mats. Heh. Worked two standing/squatting guard passes, both involved controlling opponents hip at the belt. First was an x-pass variation and the second was a stack pass variation. Both felt awkward. Trained with a Purple (about 150lbs or so) and twice with a White (180lbs or so). Purple turned me into a pretzel and tapped me several times. Worked on relaxing with the White. Tried not to force anything. Caught him a couple times. At one point I shot a triangle and had it locked in. He started stacking. I let it go. Not worth the risk to the neck. He took my back toward the end. If I learned anything today, it was that recovery will be a long road and that my visions of glory at Pan Ams this year are just fantasy. Still...looking forward to the next time I can get on the mats.

I'm Back!

First full class today since early December. 1 hr beginner class plus 30 mins of open mat. I'm on cloud 9. Very sore toes and groin but otherwise feel great. Techniques included a guard break to combat base to knee slide pass. Then positional sparring. During open mat I worked with a Green (my age but 40lbs lighter), a White (early 20s and maybe 80lbs lighter), and a Purple (10yrs older and 60lbs lighter). My goal was to keep moving but not gas. Each training partner was a perfect complement. Some solid flow rolling. Taking time off seems to have cleared my head. I wasn't overwhelmed with trying techniques I only half-remembered. Instead, did what came naturally and looked for opportunities to apply leverage. I attempted whatever came to mind even if what came to mind wasn't something I'd been shown in the past. My time with the Purple was particularly instructive. He was visiting from an affiliate academy, but I hope to get more mat time with him.

UNIJJ Class Photo

I'm the bald guy in the back next to the tall dude...