BJJ Class, Friday 28 March
Had a great class… dragged myself there after work with my buddy Sam. At first it was only the two of us and about 400 shooto people training. Our coach was finishing off a combini bento (cheap-ass convenience store dinner) when we got there which wasn’t a good sign, but it turns out he has injured his chest and is not training too hard for a few days.
We warmed up and then just got to sparring, going 3 minutes then changing to a new partner for three minutes, then resting for three. Rolling went pretty well.
There was a guy there who I remember used to give me some trouble. We used to be about the same level. This time though he was either tired or out of shape or something (or maybe I am improving!) but he had nothing for me. I managed to triangle him despite crushing my balls badly (still considering whether I should wear a groin guard or not.)
There was one other blue belt there, who I have seen before. He was a top guy a few years back if I remember correctly, and suffered some kind of injury (or had a baby, or something…) and took a lot of time off. Now he’s back with a vengeance. He has that tough feeling of an old-school competitor, the type that grafts hard on a building site or something all day and then comes to jiu jitsu and it’s like rolling with someone sculpted out of wood. He was very fast, very technical, and had good stamina.
Mentally, I had to convince myself that I could compete with him. When we first started rolling I could feel his strength and skill and found myself almost giving up, barely resisting against sweeps or submission attempts because I felt it would be futile. Luckily I managed to snap myself out of that, and we had a few epic rolls. He is much better than me though so it was a case of survival for me. We sparred from standing for the last five minutes and I tried to bust out a few judo flips to no avail, but I’m slowly feeling more confident in my standing. I want to practice it in a BJJ environment more. I want to work on my single leg, uchi mata to inside foot sweep, and double leg.
The spars with him as the night wore on turned into tests of endurance and I managed to keep pushing myself till the bell went each time. I like those rolls (after the fact) as once you’ve survived a few of them, your stamina/endurance/ability to survive goes up a notch.
The ezekiel choke is working wonders for me at the moment. I like to attack the sides of the neck rather than the throat, and if I’m in mount or side control and someone leaves their neck open I can usually sneak it in pretty quick for a quick submission. Bow and arrow choke is also a definite go-to move for me… maybe it’s because of my long limbs?
I’m getting that tingly feeling as I start to think about the competition in May. If I can keep up this level of training and remain healthy, I’ll definitely be feeling ready for it.
Here’s some Engrish for you, found wandering around the city today.
Yes, it’s a shop called Fuctard.
Filed under: BJJ, jiu jitsu, training | 6 Comments »
Martial Farts 