Doubling Up

Monday I attended back to back classes. I started with the Fundamentals class, and then stayed for the intermediate class. It was a lot of time to spend in the Gi, but I felt like I got more from the training since I was already warmed up coming into the intermediate lesson.

Part One- Fundamentals
I got paired with 2 partners, which I generally don't like. the rotation sucks, and someone always ends up getting shafted. The stand-up lesson was obtaining control through grips- Gi lapel, and sleeve. We started setting up for takedowns, but didn't actually get to the takedown portion. The ground lesson was halfguard escapes using a method that seemed far less effective than the half guard escape I learned in Arvada the Wednesday before. One of my partners was a first stripe, and the other was in his first class. The lesson felt pretty muddled to me, and I didn't pick much useful information up. We finished up class rolling with the intermediate students. This was an up-down-out configuration starting from the half guard. I found myself using the lesson from last week in Arvada when I was rolling with the more advanced belts, and then allowing for the days lesson with the first level white belt guys.

Part 2- Intermediate
The intermediate class used the up down out exercise as the warm up so we got straight into the lesson. I was paired with a blue belt who seemed annoyed to be matched with a white belt. 3rd level or not. He didn't stay long. a half hour into the lesson they convened an advanced course and he moved over to that. We primarily worked the half guard escape that I had learned in Arvada. We concluded with up-down-out, but no free rolling which I was a little disappointed with. I like working multiple methodologies like we get to with an open format randori.

My feelings leaving the gym were that I had gotten a good workout but the lessons felt lacking. I didn't feel like I had really learned anything new or useful, and I was also disappointed that I wasn't really refining the techniqiues I had learned a week before.

I am looking forward to tomorrows delivery. I'll be doing my first gear write-up once I have had a few days to roll the new Gi I hunted down. I am expecting good things from this new Gi, lord knows I had to chase after it in order to get one. Is that enough suspense?