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TRAINING PICTURES

LOL

206.8 (Need to be at 217 by the time I get to Mundials...)

The title of this post, comes form a conversation I had with Marcus today. I am always telling him that all the distractions need to be gone form his life so he can get to that championship in the WEC (and he WILL). Today he returned the favor.
It feels since I got this new belt, that I don't want to let Marcus down, don't want to let Coach Allen down, don't want to let my teammates down, don't want to let Professor Jacare' down, and I definitely feel the need to make sure that I "look like a Brown Belt" when I roll, when I teach an most certainly when I teach. But I realized something, after having some ignorant and very obviously sad people come here with the intention of making fun of me or whatever (funny, I was the best thing since sliced bread, now I'm the opposite? which is it? sad.), and also had to hear a lot fo people talk about how I may not be deserving of the promotion. I realized, that I have and allow too much bullshit and bullshit people and things that really aren't important bother me and hinder me from my goals. They gotta go.
Training has been going well I guess...I have to cut out a lot of exercises for strength etc in my upper body at the direction of Doc Zuber so as not to keep making my arm and neck problems worse. I've been concentrating on expanding my submissions, and making the finish from wherever I am...Problem is, in addition to wanting to have the answers and variations to each of the things I work well in my game in order not to be stymied anywhere, I also want to have these so as to be a better teacher...I think this will have to take somewhat of a back seat for a while. Not only for the reason it is keeping me from being able t effectively make my gameplan concise for the Mundials, but that it is keeping me in a constant state of hesitation...In rolling, he who hesitates is tapped...
The other day rolling, I did my normal guard break which works just about with anyone...and then got to the half pass position and my mind didn't draw a blank, it drew like a flood of information...I was processing my opponent's movements and position and kept changing what I was going to do every millisecond...In short, I froze...eventually I went on to pass but that can't happen with good brown belts...Yesterday in class and tonight in class I worked on just going without thought and things moved along pretty well...
The holes I have been working on, if I can keep myself from over thinking seems to be shrinking to a point that I can begin to move on to laying out my plan of action without fear of falling into those potholes...That's good not to have those handicaps anymore...

Before giving you the low down on tonight's training...I have to say I am VERY proud of my daughter! She tested for a new belt tonight and passed...It was good because I really try to allow her to go her own way (even though I do coach her pretty hard when rolling)...But she worked and studied and has been doing very well in classes, and her confidence level is way up...I am very happy for her as she was so excited to get the new belt...

Her Name Means Beautiful In Italian ...Ain't She Though!?
This is us at the 2007 Machado Tournament...

Tonight my rolling was pretty smooth...Particularly in a match as my coach paired me up with a guy new to our gym. He's a fighter, and from watching him he was very strong, but I underestimated that. My coach told me to take it easy on him and to work with him so first time I allowed him to have a really good side control (used to be one of my holes in my game...)...I even allowed him to cross-face me...Well I escaped very quickly without much energy expenditure, but due to my not realizing how strong he was, Once I got him to half guard a few of the submissions I've been working on didn't work as they were not as tight as I'd like and he fought them off well...I ended up going to full guard to work some new set ups for subs and my sweeps...almost allowed him to push the leg down to get to half guard, and took a tad bit of work to regain my positioning...dude was diesel strong...but I worked first this new triple attack which allows me to start and end with the triangle or with the high guard arm bar, or to go to a sweep if I like...Well first time, I worked triangle...during me cradling him to finish he had his elbow in my face and was able to turn it and was a bit of a bother due to his strength but I finished...Next I worked from him in side control again..regained half guard, went for a choke attack but hand slipped so I reversed to see if one of my competition reversals work..it did...I went for the arm triangle, went just to the finish, but remembered something i taught in class and went directly from the arm triangle to the leg triangle...(ha haaaaa...I love this set up..if you don't know it, you should it's tight!)...then the next couple times I worked top transitions and the last time I went to guard and work pendulum and transition to open guard and hook and flip...Anyways it went pretty well...I hurt everywhere though...Body is telling me this shit is too much and I have three more hard weeks of training from now until the Mundials...

There are folks who don't think I should be where I am. There are those who think if I go that I will not be able to medal or compete well at Mundials. In my own mind I do not doubt. But I know the more I allow the things that have been problems to be so, the more I allow the people who needle and cajole to stay in my circle of influence, the more I continue to hesitate and not trust in what I've been taught and in what God has given, and the more I allow pain, difficulty, or that I can not achieve even one of my goals. This, I will not allow to become reality. If I do not do well, it will have to be because I face an overwhelmingly better adversary, but not because I did not prepare well because of distractions or infirmity.

Anything, anyone, anywhere that hinders where I am trying to get to...in the words of the late Robin Harris: "Gotta go, gotta go."

Gameday starts today...I fight on...


Thought for today: “Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts. Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.” -Sun Tzu

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