From The Ashes...It's A Beautiful Day To Die

The Guys At The Training Session

With Rickson As A Purple Belt
Want My Jiu-Jitsu Like His

Pesadelo Kicks
Get You Some Then Go Get You Some

You Gotta Have Self Confidence!

Weight: 199.0

Well today was a day where the blessings come from disappointment...More on this later...For now, i have lot's to improve upon...I am FAR FAR FAR....MUCH farther from rolling at a Black Belt level than I ever imagined...That, is a very discouraging thought, as I felt much more competent...But, that said, at least most of my faults and weaknesses I have diagnosed and thus can work on them...I have a propensity for getting set up for the hook and flip....That said, I have become very adept at preventing being fully swept and controlled and can even mount attacks and sweeps of my own once moved, but there will be a time and opponent who will be able to finish it...That is whom I must practice for. Also my pressure from side control is not up to the standard I have for it...I am working this currently as well as working to improve my transition between guard passes in a dynamic but forceful manner...
Another thing I have been trying to do is to vary the usage of and increase the variety of submissions i use...When i watch really good practitioners of the art, the submission comes quickly, efficiently, and with strength borne of angle, timing, and leverage. I wish to become adept, at a black belt level, from every position at finishing in at least 3 ways...I think I am close to this in some ways, in others very far in that my decisiveness and ability to pull the trigger instinctively are a tick slower than necessary for what level I wish to be.(That said, one of the techniques I've been working on...the belly-down hooking arm bar...I got today without even thinking of moving to a much more favored technique when the opportunity presented itself...This one is in my toolbox!)
I am going to hone these skills and a few other holes I will close up and hopefully get to a respectable level of ability soon.
Today, I tried to organize a Black/Brown belt only training session...It seemed very promising as at least 15 people replied in the affirmative that they would be in attendance...This was being done to provide a place and time to train without having to worry about the responsibility of teaching students as well as to have people as good or better than you to roll with who are your size, smaller, and bigger...I had very high hopes for this as I figured, that despite all the politics and bullshit of the BJJ schools of the area, that this was an opportunity to help make the practitioners of the area better equipped to face that level of competition when in the bigger arenas outside TX as well as to help make a better relationship among schools here by starting at the upper belts and filtering down...Even though I had the permission of my instructor, even trying to get this set up was opposed vigorously by some, and doubted by more...i guess there was something to it, as today came and a few ended up with things to do, and many just did not show up even after saying they would. Why, I do not know, but perhaps concentrating on my own game and not being so idealistic in nature and thought would be prudent...Anyways, The only ones who ended up showing up were Carl (Black Belt), Kelly, and Johnny(Brown Belts)...This was actually a good thing and a good day though...I got to roll with guys whom I could not let my guard down with, and whom I could learn a lot from...(I especially always learn a LOT from Carl as he is a treasure trove of information and techniques and uses them with very good efficiency as well as having a good handle on showing something where you can understand it easily)...That said was also good to roll with Johnny who's skillset presents some special problems and Kelly who is heavier and stronger than I am and the same height...We rolled for about an hour and a half, had a good time and trained really hard...I am really sore and exhausted, but I did very well today in the training and got a LOT out of it...I am thinking of perhaps seeing if maybe one or two more folks from our gym will come and make it a monthly or bi-monthly thing, rather than trying to open it up and being disappointed...I don't know though...We will see...I thank the guys who came as I enjoyed today greatly even though it was initially disappointing...They are all good guys whom I look up to
Well, I have a much longer road to the beginning of my journey than I thought, and must work on much to get to start...Better eating, adding to some different areas of fitness such as grip strength, getting to my proper fighting weight, and getting the right amount of rest are all on my docket...As well, I will make certain that in my six days of training, I go out of my way to make my training as difficult as possible to maximize my gains...
The European Championships are coming up...I hope to make a good showing there...IF I end up going...I've gotten a plane ticket but finances took another downturn and without some sponsorship, no hotel, no registration etc etc which means I wouldn't be going at all...Can't go ass out in another country! I have a friend helping with putting together a sponsorship flyer and hope to hit a few stores/companies soon to present that and try to see what I can garner...Say a prayer for me in this endeavor please and if you know anyone/any company/etc who would
like to or be able to donate/sponsor me, let me know...Hell, if you want to donate/sponsor me, let me know...To reach the beginning of my journey( Faixa Preta ) these competitions and trips this year are pretty essential...So, in that vein and on that note...I fight on....


Though For The Day: It's A Beautiful Day To Die - Every day, the saurai repeats this thought upon awakening. He will do his best to see that it does not happen. But, if you are always prepared for the worst, life is made easy.