I am not going to become a professional fighter. That was never the goal, or the intent of training. Thus there is a small problem when committing to grappling training- my ears. I cannot get cauliflower ear. This is not permitted, as my wife will freak out, and my vanity is way too well developed to deal with swollen, nasty pinna. For this reason I am seriously shopping for a headgear.
You gotta draw the line somewhere, and when the Professor "snapped" past my ear during a collar choke demonstration last night I realized just how fast this could become a problem.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The Wall
You encounter them all the time, a mental or physical barrier that prevents you from making progress. For me, getting past the intimidation factor to start training was a wall. Just setting foot on the mat was a mental hurtle for me. It is 8 months down the line now, and I can't really remember what my mindset was, but I do recall being a little concerned that I was going to show up and get laughed at. It wasn't that way at all of course, but it was a legit concern in my mind before I understood the mentality of the school.
I felt a similar sensation this evening. It was a wall. I hadn't trained in a week due to travel, and here I was going into a foreign environment- a different school with instructors and students that were unknown to me. The wall presented itself as a deal I was making with myself on the way to the school- I'll just have a look. I'll see what it looks like and if I don't like what I see, I'll just keep going, head back home and watch The Ultimate Fighter. I was making excuses in my mind.
I countered the excuses with commitments
The first commitment was just pulling into a parking spot in front of the School, and putting the car in park. The second was grabbing my gear bag and heading inside. After you are standing in the School, bag in hand you are going to train, and that is exactly what I did. It wasn't my best night on the mat, but I went through with it and I feel better for it. In the end the deals were just distractions. I drove to the School, I went in, and I trained. I learned something too- not just on the mat. I learned that these walls are getting easier to overcome as I go.
I felt a similar sensation this evening. It was a wall. I hadn't trained in a week due to travel, and here I was going into a foreign environment- a different school with instructors and students that were unknown to me. The wall presented itself as a deal I was making with myself on the way to the school- I'll just have a look. I'll see what it looks like and if I don't like what I see, I'll just keep going, head back home and watch The Ultimate Fighter. I was making excuses in my mind.
I countered the excuses with commitments
The first commitment was just pulling into a parking spot in front of the School, and putting the car in park. The second was grabbing my gear bag and heading inside. After you are standing in the School, bag in hand you are going to train, and that is exactly what I did. It wasn't my best night on the mat, but I went through with it and I feel better for it. In the end the deals were just distractions. I drove to the School, I went in, and I trained. I learned something too- not just on the mat. I learned that these walls are getting easier to overcome as I go.
New School New Gameness
The school I train with has about 6 branches, each with different Black Belt Professors. Tonight I strayed from my usual school for the first time in order to train at a newer school that was recently opened by two Black Belt Professors who also happen to be brothers. I have come away impressed, and determined to visit again.
Class structures were pretty much the same. The student group was very welcoming, and the Professor was excellent at showing the methods. Today we learned a halfguard pass, with a nice kimura escape/reversal.
Training was an education. I'll admit, this being my first class in a week I was not on my A game, I wasn't at my best as I definitly had some opportunities to sweep. Had I played an open guard game I could have created some opportunities. Unfortunately I sort of froze in closed guard and it cost me. I think I'll be better next week when I am more relaxed. With that said, these guys were fast, their guards were hard to pass, and their bases were solid. A very impressive crew. I will also say that they were good sportsman, easy going and a pleasure to train with. I am looking forward to next week, hopefully I can show them a better ground game than I came with today.
Class structures were pretty much the same. The student group was very welcoming, and the Professor was excellent at showing the methods. Today we learned a halfguard pass, with a nice kimura escape/reversal.
Training was an education. I'll admit, this being my first class in a week I was not on my A game, I wasn't at my best as I definitly had some opportunities to sweep. Had I played an open guard game I could have created some opportunities. Unfortunately I sort of froze in closed guard and it cost me. I think I'll be better next week when I am more relaxed. With that said, these guys were fast, their guards were hard to pass, and their bases were solid. A very impressive crew. I will also say that they were good sportsman, easy going and a pleasure to train with. I am looking forward to next week, hopefully I can show them a better ground game than I came with today.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Book reviews
I am a reader. As I ride the bus during my daily commute I find plenty of time to indulge my mind with books about all types of subject matter. Some of the books I read are about martial arts, and fighting this includes a few study books and/or manuals I have picked up to help me with my game. I will cover these books in this new "Books" section. I'm not going to rewrite what I have read, but I will give a short report on the content of the books, and I will rate them on the Shrimpin scale 1 shrimp being the lamest, and 5 shrimps being a " You must have this book- get out there and buy it now" kind of a rating.
When possible I will provide a link to Amazon to ease your purchase experience.
When possible I will provide a link to Amazon to ease your purchase experience.
Round Timer
I picked up a Taylor TruTimer digital egg timer at Target this evening. As I intend to get more serious about randori, this will allow me to time rounds 3min, 5min ect.
Just another useful gadget to have in the bag.
Just another useful gadget to have in the bag.
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