No Gi (aka "Slip-N-Slide") Jiu Jitsu

Wednesday I didn't feel like going out to Arvada, so I deviated off my normal schedule and trekked down to the Denver school for the no gi class. to give you a little background- No Gi Jiu Jitsu is the same basic principle but without the Kimono or pants to grab for holds. Personally I prefer to train in the gi. I am not sure where I got this bias from, after all I came into this as a fan of UFC where BJJ players are forbidden to wear kimonos. I recall thinking the Gi was ridiculously bulky to wear when training, and I longed for my second stripe so that I could cast the uniform aside. Then something strange happened: I got comfortable in the Gi, to the point where I missed it when I could finally train without it. After training for a month between August and September twice a week no gi, and once (or sometimes twice) a week in the gi I came to realize that my game just wasn't developed enough to succeed without the advantages of the gi. Perhaps it is that apathy that drove me away from no gi. Whatever the case, this past Wednesday was the first time in 2 months that I trained in shorts.
Some drawbacks- Some would say Jiu Jitsu without the Gi is a more challenging variation because movements and leverage need to be precise due to the lack of grab-able material. I have found this to be 100% true. Another thing you contend with is sweat. When you are rolling you will excrete copious amounts of sweat. This sweat is normally absorbed by the gi hence WASH YOUR FUCKING GI! but when you are in shorts, there is nothing between your sweaty knees and the mat, this virtually eliminates traction and thus leverage from your knees or feet. Likewise when you go for a hold on your opponent and find they are too slippery to grab onto- triangles and armbars that would seem inescapable in a gi are easily escaped from. Your whole game must be tighter- better.
With all that said- Wednesday wasn't bad at all for me. Slippery? Absolutely, but all in all the class went well. We looked at a second scarf hold escape that really favored my flexibility as it requires you to bring your foot up and leverage it against your training partners neck. Drills went well enough, as did the rolling afterwards, although I was pretty hesitant to leave my guard. My first partner had some size on me, and he was a little spazzy, but easily kept in check. I'd say all-in-all the class was average for me, and not bad for returning to training sans kimono. After all- no gi just improves your game when you battle in the gi. All the tactics learned in shorts are applicable to the kimono, but unfortunately the opposite is not as true.

I think I'll start to focus on attending the Denver school at least 3 times a week again. I should be closing in on my 4th stripe, so keeping my training schedule consistant will be key. I feel most at home in the Denver school. I feel like I know the Professors, and Coaches there, and I have a better understanding about the other students as far as who to be careful about. I feel a commitment to the place, and that runs deep enough to compell me to train there more exclusively- even if that means Wednesday slip-n-slides, after all it only serves to improve my game.

It's About Time

Finally! After a 2 week lapse I am healthy and was able to get back to the mat. Good class, we were focused on one hold (see video), and one escape from that hold. At the front and end of class we had some good rolling time, and I went about it in as relaxed a state as possible. No need to be a killer, just roll, look for opportunities, defend, roll, escape, things felt alright. I was spending an awful lot of time defending, but that is to be expected after a 2 week hiatus. Mostly I was working on my mind frame, and controlling my effort. I wouldn't say it was a particularly flattering class as far as my technique was concerned, but I did come out of it with some nice pointers. I still need to be working on my side control escapes, although I DID manage to escape from the same sort of choke that I got blanked out on, so the thought I have put into that is paying off. After class I stuck around to watch the black belt group work. I have to say some of the things I saw there were really impressive. Attempts at submissions, replacement of guard- all the product of well executed hip movements. This is an area of weakness for me late in the roll as I run low on gas and move sluggishly, or fail to make space to rotate my lower body which gets me stuck- usually in the side control position. I need to develop that stamina that will allow me to carry speed with my movements, and I need to get that technique to create the space I need to position myself. These things take time, and practice. All of this tells me that what I really need is more randori in my training schedule.

I 23 Scarf Hold Escapes

Sickness and procrastination

I have had a rough couple of weeks. First I picked up some kind of a stomach flu. I got sick at a meeting at work, then had to take a day off. Training seemed like a bad idea since I didn't want to bring a plague into my school. I figured Wednesday I'd better stay clear to be safe. Thursday wasn't good for the family. Friday Intermediate class is No-Gi, which I'm not a fan of. Saturday was my daughters birthday. Sunday the school is closed. Monday I had indigestion, Tuesday my wife was late at the office. Wednesday we have to leave for my parents house for the holiday, and then the gym is closed for the holiday weekend... So there you have it. That is how you can lose 2 weeks in training.

Sucks.

Easton BJJ Fan Sweep-Kimura-Guillotine Combo

Bullying

I realize it is popular in the current cultural atmosphere to admit to having been bullied as a kid. It is out there because the recent news has reported about teenagers and adults whom- when pushed to a point where they saw no other options to escape harassment and torment decided to end their lives. This is terribly sad. It is also not a new phenomenon. People, especially teenagers can be horribly cruel to one another. As a parent I know that my primary instinct is to protect my precious daughter from the cruelty of others- just as popular culture wants to protect these kids who are being picked on for being Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered, or you know- just "different" enough to be victimized. I was among them once- A kid being abused at home badly enough to act out in school. I drew attention to myself, and eventually became as the Japanese proverb goes "A nail that needed hammered down". And I got hammered- picked on in the spare hours by the popular kids. Beaten, and humiliated publicly on several occasions. When I would complain to my father; his advice? "Stop being such a pansy". I felt abandoned. I had friends who couldn't, or wouldn't stand with and defend me for risk of out-casting themselves and it often seemed as though I was in opposition to everyone, and anyone. I survived probably due to the fact that I had an escape. My Mother lived in another state and I could always go there to escape and even if only for a brief time things would be "normal" for me again.

So that was my life from 7th grade through 10th. Just survive, and try to stay sane. Things changed when I moved away and left my bullies behind, but I was still so effected that I tried to stay small, and off the radar. I didn't try to date a lot in High School, and I had a core group of friends with whom I stayed as loyal as I possibly could. It would seem odd that it was with one of those friends that I had my last high school "fight" during my Junior year. I fared better in that fight than I had as a youngster, and surprisingly I found that the conflict was squashed very soon after that. There is a lesson there.

I am going to step aside from popular culture here and make a statement that is probably going to seem a bit controversial- I'd like to thank my bullies.
Thanks for alienating me- it taught me the value of self reliance, and to be secure in my individuality.
Thanks for pushing me to my limits- It taught me that suffering isn't loss. It also taught me that I can endure the loneliness that comes from social isolation. Surviving that introduced me to what true companionship is and taught me to be more selective about my friendships. The friends I have today are like brothers (ok, and some sisters).
Thanks for that beating- it motivated me over the years to learn to defend myself.
Thanks for being an asshole- it is difficult to know what you don't want to be if you have never seen an example- sort of like not knowing how to appreciate the good without having experienced the bad. The fact is, in the end you might have gotten some cheap shots at me when we were kids, but today you are still you, and now I get to be me. I don't know where you ended up, but I know where I am- and if I am being honest?

I win.

So should we stop bullying? Should we take from our kids the opportunity to flourish out of hardship? Should we strip from them the chance to see just what they are made of? I don't think so. We shouldn't take hardship from their lives. If we do that we just weaken their ability to become self reliant in a world that really doesn't give a fuck about their feelings.

What we need to do is build stronger kids. Reinforce that we love them- if they are Straight, Gay, Transgendered, or just weird or different in some way other kids will pick on. We need to just love them, build their confidence, teach them to defend themselves, and others. Give them the capacity to overcome the shallow minded individuals that would try to beat them into line, but don't take the challenge from them. It will only hurt them in the long run.

BTW- a note to any "mean girls" 13 years into our future- I'd steer clear of picking on my daughter. I can assure you she has all the tools she needs to take you, and your friends apart- piece by piece if necessary.

Saturday training log, and some insight into why the school works.

Today was a really good day, not because I dominated on the mat- actually quite the contrary. I think today was a great training day because I learned, and practiced a LOT. I also got to work with a newer guy and help him get better at Jiu Jitsu. 
I set out a few weeks ago to learn and practice more methods of escaping side control. Through asking for advice from instructors, and looking at tactics on YouTube, along with some book studies I feel pretty comfortable that I have at least 3 new side control escapes, and sweeps that I can implement effectively. I worked each of them today. The first is to work to get myself parallel to my opponent, and then hook one of his legs and cross my feet into a half guard. I then trap the arm on the side of the leg I have control of and sweep him by rolling toward that side. In more advanced practice I then turn the hand that had trapped the arm and grasp under his armpit- this allows me to control his motion, but also frees my hand to grasp his top leg and force it down so that I can come to the mount.
The second method is to get the pommel, then bridge up onto my shoulders to change his center of balance, I then trap his outside arm and I push off, and drive my chest into his using the power of my legs untl he rolls onto his side and I come up and take his back- from here it is choke attacks.
Third method is useful in a situational capacity. If the opponent counters one of my primary sweeps and puts his weight/force against the direction of my sweep I trap his forward arm and reverse my effort- using his directional force to my advantage and sweep him across my chest and onto my opposite side. Depending on how he reacts and ends up once I gain side control I can work for the mount, or take his back. I am feeling pretty strong in these methods and will continue to practice them, while looking at additional techniques. The good news is, side control escapes are now within my grasp, hence my opponent of 2 weeks ago has made me into a better, and more effective fighter.

I'd like to touch on my theories about training, and what the school is meant to be. For me, the School, and classmates are not meant to be a "fight club". I didn't start doing this to learn how to beat people up, nor do I get some masochistic glee from being beat on.  I have come to grips with the fact that no matter how good I get at this, there will always be someone who is better than I am. Some guys/girls possess natural gifts, and others have a wealth of experience gained from time spent toiling upward in the art. I think about that fact, and a light bulb pops on in my head. There is just one person I know for sure I can always be better than, and that person is myself.  I look at the development of my game starting last February, and I see how far I have come along this road. Looking over everything I realize that I have a lot of people to thank. Each and every student that ever showed me something I didn't know, or took the time to explain what he/she had just done to position themselves for a choke/triangle/armbar/sweep/escape/omoplata/insert submission here/. I have come to realize that we are there to learn from each other as much as we are there to learn from our coaches, and professors. We get to practice the art with each other, and the best way to thank someone for that opportunity is to share what you learned from them with them. It is sort of a pay-it-forward theory that elevates everyone. As I mentioned, I have no illusions of being better than anyone regardless of rank, but I do know one thing. The Fighter wearing my Gi today is a hell of a lot better than the fighter that wore my Gi back on February 1st, and I am better thanks to everyone I have trained with in that school.

This was the development of my new mantra- The reason I train isn't to be better than my classmates. I train to be better than myself. I realize that sounds like some sort of eastern altruism, but that isn't it at all. Really it is accepting the fact that i have so much to learn, and that each and every class contains a multitude of lessons that only serve to make me a better me. I'm glad for it.

If I get better, and I pay it forward to help others get better than not only am I a better fighter, but the people I train with will also become better fighters. Win/lose it makes no difference as long as we coninue to evolve together and help each other grow.