To Pan Ams, Infinity, And Beyond...Alliance In Training

Well here I go...off on my trip to Pan Ams....
It will take me through three states and a whole lot of hard work away but I'm up for it...

Keep in mind this is a LONG one so bear with me...I waited too long to put this up but if I didn't I'd forget...

Friday...
Starting off..I had my procedure the same day I ended up leaving...Not a good Idea to have 12 needles stuck into your spine and then get on a planes (aside from a LOT of drama between that time)....Anyways, the flight was cool (I got bumped to First class!) and I arrived on time....
Got to the airport, got my bags ( a welcome happening after the Portugal debacle) and went off to the hotel...

I get there (The Hilton on Courtland downtown in the ATL) and the valet parking is full as is the self parking...so i end up parking across the street in the parking lot of a strip club (yes..there's a FULL nekkit titty bar RIGHT across the street) ... then i get into the hotel...they tell me that i can't be helped with my bags (those that know me know i over pack) because the bellman is "helping other customers" (at 2:30AM!!!!) ..come to find out..dude left to go get sumn to eat... then..i get to the room she gives me...and it's a SMOKING double room...not the NON smoking King that i am supposed to have...she tells me imma have to stay in one of them tiny ass beds in a smoking rm until the next morning...i tell her HELL no..show her my back and she "finds" a room..albeit with double beds as she cant give me one of the suites left...needless to say i left a nasty complaint with Hilton....This was the worst of everything so far....

Saturday...
I get to training camp...First session...
It's like Jiu-Jitsu Heaven...There are guys who have won and placed at Mundials in the blue/purple/brown categories as well as a lot of other big tournaments...In addition, some of the best jiu-jitsu players on the planet....All studied under Professor Jacare' Cavalcanti (this is who my Instructor- Allen Mohler got his black belt from)...Fabio Gurgel, Felipe Neto, Soluco, Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles, Lucas Lepri, Tarsis Humphries, among others...I'm really feeling anxious as class starts as I really want to prove I fit (really that I am ready for promotion to Marrom) my rank, and represent my home school and training from coach Mohler and Marcus well...Plus at least a handful of guys, including Cobrinha made congratulatory remarks on me being in Gracie magazine...
Class begins and the warm ups are GREAT but harsh...i think we spent about 30-45 min on warm ups alone...the procedure on my back was working as my back did get REAL tight, but did not lock up...and my rib,though i could feel the tweaking, did not prevent me moving, though i was tentative on certain moves......then we move on to techniques ...due to us using these at Pan Ams, all I will say is that session was on take downs and reversals...this too was really intense...

On to rolling...We were doing 10 minute rounds, keeping points, and track of submissions...all startng knee to knee
1st roll was with a really good purple belt who'd come down to train for the camp from NC...This round I got a Triangle and a lapel choke...I did give up a reversal though:(...at the end I was was up 7-2...
2nd Roll with a brown belt who I've wanted to roll with since last year's Mundials...He was a purple then...Caught him in Triangle form my modified spider guard oma plata set up...:-D...rolled to a 2-2 tie in pts otherwise though I think I would have gotten a few advantages...
3rd roll with a purple who is a bit bigger than me and has placed at Pans at purple b4....got a triangle..triangle arm bar...cross choke...and over under collar choke...I actually pull off a reverse, over the shoulder flip spin reversal from guard when he stands up that catches the notice of Professor Jacare'..that was a highlight of the night!!!!...forgot the pts...
4th roll..another brown belt but i forget where he was from...he got a pass and tried this choke we were working but i remembered the counter from class back at home!...I applied it and scooted out and took his back....four pts...bow and arrow choke....then we move on to rolling more and i got a pass...worked for a side arm bar that i trained at class with coach and pulled it off...ended 7-3
5th roll
did shadow rolling with the purple form the third roll...was good to get movement in that manner to flow better...and we were watching Tarsis roll with Fabio and Cobrinha and Lucas go at it ....we forgot pts but the flowing transitions we got helped us retain the stuff we'd worked on technique portion of class...
The time flew by...That was almost 3 1/2 hours of class time...the cool down and talks from the black belts there were invaluable afterward...Was a good day..and for some reason...I was tired but not beat down and exhausted!
I am in way better shape than I thought...A good feeling going into this weekend...

Second session..I went in and assisted with some privates (basically being a grappling dummy) but this paid off as I got to soak up some great instruction and got my cardio worked as well as reinforced my techniques learned earlier...

Saturday Night...
I drove down to Birmingham to be my boy Kelly Rundle's corner man in his fight with the legendary Skip Hall at this really nice spot...Zamora Shriner's Temple.....Hell, Kelly is a legend to me too...I was honored to be there and getting to tape his hands and help him prepare for the fight was a great experience....Kelly won the fight by TKO (Ref. Stoppage)...Looking forward to his next fight..and I must say..him and skip both are inspirations for staying in shape and being warriors no matter what the age!

Easter Sunday...
Up at 6...Cardio with the team...All I can say is...DAMN....seeing these guys compete at Mundials, Pan AMs, Brasileiro's etc is one thing,and knowing how good black belts in BJJ are, it's amazing to train with and see how extra and over the top their preparation and knowledge etc is (it's the same way I look at Marcus' incredible training regimen)...It's ridiculous....My pride gets me through it though...

Later on that day, we, as a team, all go to Kennisaw Mountain...site of a famous Civil War Battle to "soak up the warrior spirit and bond as a team" as Professor Jacare' said...Was a LONG walk up to the top, not sure but it felt like a couple miles but we walked up and got some great pictures and a good feel for the guys...

Note: I have felt like a part of the team, and VERY welcome, since I got to the training center...There's been no hint of these world champion guys looking down at me or even the newest white belts...It's all been about getting everyone ready and feeling together in that quest...That's been a great part of this...

As for the Mountain it was great to take that time and get pictures and talk outside training as I was feeling a bit lonely being here on Easter and alone...

That night I did my hour of cardio and ate ...

I was about 206.8 that night but with all this training i am not sure how I am keeping the weight on...

Monday Early session...
After this mornings cardio I'm still feeling surprisingly good!...I get to class early and joke around with Cobrinha and it's going to be another big class...The first sessions were about 50 deep in addition to the regular class guys...
The warm ups today were a bit....different...all were (in addition to jiu-jitsu specific stretching) jiu-jitsu specific bodyweight partner drills/warm ups....Needless to say this was draining!....but satisfying once again because it seems the injection procedure on my back and ribs worked...well we worked on reversals and passes today to some pretty good submissions...it's amazing to see the way these guys come up with things in positions i'v never known existed....
Oce we get to rolling it's the same structure...10 min rounds...starting knee to knee...
1st is with this Brown belt that has me by about 30 lbs at least and as I've watched has a very crushing game...we start and i end up getting to half guard on top and work my side lapel choke but he counters and reverses....he gets a pass but recover quickly and got a sweet hook and flip (it's amazing sometimes what u can do when u just don't hesitate!)...so i even it up and work for this baseball bat variation Lucas Lepri showed earlier..and got it!!!! we end tied in pts but i got a sub in there...plus, he worked the pass, that spelled the beginning of the end for me in the Machado tournament...but with help from coach Allen, and Marcus...the counters they gave me work PERFECTLY so that won't work again on me...
2nd roll was against the purple about my size from the day before..i am hoping he does well in his division as we talk a lot on strategy and he's a cool dude...we start and i actually get the takedown from knees...i work to knee on belly and work for the cross choke from there which he blocks but give the arm bar...we work again and i work to guard on purpose for a change...i work a good reversal but he blocks as he is wary of the triangle..so i set the over under collar choke and when he blocks i throw the triangle and reverse to on top again...i didn't fiinish but transition to side...we end there...
3rd roll...is with a brown who's going to Pans as well...we start and he is really aggressive in going for the driving takedown on me...i lose that position so he is up...but i end up working on him in my half guard which i recompose to full in short measure...i decide to work to my spider set up to see if it will work on someone that good...he sees what he thinks is an opening and kind of surprises me with his movement but i decide to go anyway and deal with the consequences if he gains position and instead of oma plata i see triangle...well i get the set...but we are against the wall...Professor restarts us and he puts his hand inside further but...i am composed, and because I see Jacare' and Fabio and Tarsis watching, i work to make certain it's finished...i counter his every counter while digging for my shin to lock the choke deeper...it takes me about 45-60 seconds but i lock it in...and get the tap!!!He was up on pts but I got it...we restart and i could see he turned his game up..he rushed for the pass side to side feverishly and almost got control of my legs but I worked open guard re composure well and frustrated him more...i start throwing attacks and arm drags to take away his aggressiveness but the round ends there...
A feeling of pride came over me then because I wanted to feel worthy of the next level, and even though I see the amount of work I need...I KNOW i can hold it...anywhere...if i can hold my own here...
4th roll is with a huge purple that is also going down to Pan Ams...felt good because it seems among my peers at my level I can readily work which ever game i want now...i've become partial to the lapel choke from side control and working a particular over under pass (if u read through here u will see it come up a lot in my passing) and I got that one in addition to a triangle from mount, and took the back from half guard well...forgot the pts but i was up pretty good in that one...
That's the end of the 3 hour class session...
After this..I stretch and cool down.... and work with Tarsis Humphries for an hour...we worked passes and a few reversals...but mostly on passes and little techniques that I miss in my rolling that he noticed I leave out...This helped GREATLY....after about 50 minutes of this he asks if I'd like to roll to see what I retained...I said yes...but in my mind I'm shakin....Well we start and he sets himself up to see if I would hesitate in taking advantage of the passes he worked with me..actually on one that I am SURE to be using a LOT form here on out he gave me a compliment...then we roll for real...when we start i sit to guard...to work form my strength...i mean hell if imma roll with a world ranked black belt i better work in a string area...well hell it aint that strong to him...not sure the break he used..but i knew..once it was open i had to move..i did and rolled and threw a triangle at him (i surprised myself i threw it that well)...well he didn't se eit coming but he countered it...but after that..he turned up the intensity! lol honestly it was humbling...he only submitted me once, but i knew he could have at any time..though he did give me compliment for almost getting a reversal as he tried to throw a triangle at me from mount...i picked up a lot from that roll..but even more so...he asked that i come early to late class...so we could roll a bit to see if i retained everything and wanted to make sure i worked everything to see if i had questions...

Night session was a repeat of the early one, except the rolling was ten minute sessions for the first three... and 8 after...and i worked more passing and transitions..i got at least two passes each roll...and i threw submissions but didn't finish to see where i would go if i lost them....and were situational and strategy sessions which i won't cover in here for team secrecy reasons! :-D....Anyways.....Things have been great so far...looking forward to cardio at 6 and the two sessions tomorrow...then off Wednesday to see Marcus win his fight!...(Remember to watch on Versus Channel wherever you are live Wednesday night!!!)...

Another installment soon...Keep up the prayers on my back/neck..even though it feels good..I think what was given was more to get me through but not necessarily to heal...I don't know though...Being this content with training etc, I don't know what I will do if I lose the ability to, even for a year.
God Bless and thank you for taking the time to read this....

I am feeling pretty good...I'm happy to be able to train and not do much else...

Pins And Needles...Needles And Pins...Preparations...

Well..Tomorrow is a big day...I leave for the Pan American Games preparation camp with the Alliance Team in Atlanta. Goign to train with folks like Fabio Gurgel, Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles, Tarsis Humphries, Michael Langhi, etc etc...Along with some of the other very top guys Alliance has to offer...going to get ready to take the overall team title this year! Before I leave though, I have to go get my neck and back worked on...My procedure will have me going under sedation to be getting 2 Epidural Cortico shots to the cervical disks and 3 in the lumbar/sacrum area...In addition I will be getting a nerve block series of injections to the ribs to take care of that problem...hopefully that all works out so I can at least make it through final preparations and then do well at the end of next week to Win at Pan Ams in L.A. Hope it works, if not, this may be my last tournament. Having a bit of a problem getting "up" for this tournament as all the top guys in my division and at rank, I have beaten, and a couple I have not have all moved on to the Brown Belt division, as well as the goal I'd set of competing against Kron Gracie likely won't be possible after this tournament either by health or by him getting Black Belted at the tournament...Just have to keep focused and do what I have to do I guess...

also, if you watch MMA...my good friend, Marcus Hicks....the UNDEFEATED in his career Marcus Hicks (www.marcushicks.com), will be fighting, Wednesday night LIVE on the Versus Channel (check your cable listings) in the WEC, so make sure you support him!

Old Man+Blown Elbow+Blown Rib+Long Drive=Champ!

Will post more on this later today, but for now, you can check the slide show...this comes from the Louisiana State Championships - 15 March 2008...After winning my first two matches in the Open division(they held it before weight classes), I find out that I dislocated my elbow while winning the second match. Thinking it is more of the same problem stemming from my neck (had some not so good news from my MRI last week :( ), I went over to the booth of a chiropractor/doctor on site...He pops my elbow back into place ( I think he said it was the radius bone but I forget exactly..all I knwo is it hurt like hell and I couldn't use that hand/arm much afterward...problem started at about 1:30 into the match I hurt it in...and have NO idea how the hell I hurt it)...Upset at not being able to try to win the Open (there was a free ticket to
Pan Ams for the winner), I came back to dispute the weight division (they combined Super Heavy and Heavy...I ended up beating the Open Winner (Gabe Barahona - a very good Super-Heavy Purple who has placed and won many tournaments at Purple including Pan Ams, No-Gi Worlds, Arnold's, etc and who beat me after a tough match in the Open last year in Louisiana by a pass after escaping a triangle...) by triangle...Was particularly satisfying as he is a GOOD competitor...really tough, but not having my left arm of much use, really had my focus better and my movement in my hips and leg control, as well as my efficiency of motion upped another level.

Anyways, now I have to heal up and get ready for Pan Ams (After watching some of the brown belts there, I know I could be competitive (still holding out hope my coach thinks so and belts me but I think that hope is going away...)...the elbow is just sore but my hand and arm are functioning without problem...The rib is the problem though..coughing, moving in any way, are all painful :(...Just got to work through it. I have to win Pan Ams if I am to move on and up. Plus, Pan ams (because of my neck/back problems) could be my last tournament for a while...I pray it isn't but just in case, need to go out with a bang!

god Bless...Thanks for reading...Till next time...


And congrats to my GOMGI competition team!!! Everyone Won or placed second in their divisions...Looking forward to duplicating that at Pan Ams...I'm glad to be on this team...Tyler and everyone have always treated me like a brother...Really good people,and damn good Jiu-Jitsu players! Also, BIG congrats to my team mate Sam Okate...He is a white belt from my school! He won the White Belt Open class and got Silver in his weight class (only losing on a last minute take down) He DOMINATED every match he had...I'm proud of his accomplishments and looking forward to him duplicating them at Pan Ams as well...Glad I could help you bring out the talent you have!

CloseFarAway...GoalsDocsFootsteps

Me Sitting In thought After The Night Class

Me After The Day Class

Me and The Visiting Purple Belt From Japan Haluki (Luke!)

New Tattoo (Psalms 144:1)

Almost forgot to update this with the two practices I did Wednesday and my doctor visit from today...Sorry... Here goes though...

First...as I write this I am 209.0...Gonna eat a couple big PB&J sammiches b4 bed to maintain it over night...Damn right i said sammiches!

Second..Dallas' weather sucks..the mixture of rain/now/sleet and cold weather, so close on the heels of a couple of 70-80 degree days is insane...


First class wed...I got there a little late, and we were working on some half guard sweeps...felt really awkward to me at first, then had one of our good black belt instructors (Carl) along with coach Allen clear up some things for me...
Since I was so late into class coming from work, by the time I'd gotten through two techniques it was time to roll...
First roll was against a 4stripe blue that always gave me lots of problems...was one of those guys that just had my number as far as passing and having me not be able to play any offensive game against him...Hadn't rolled against him in months so it was a good test of tournament mentality in rolling b/c he'd had lots of private work and his game was somewhat unknown to me...First he started on top in side control...I work my old side-mount escape which coach said i'd gone away from...worked beautifully (funny how u can find something simple and stop doing it even if it works in jiu-jitsu and give yourself problems unnecessarily)..well i get to half guard and use one of the side triangle set ups Marcus taught me...one of the tweaks to it I've been working on presented itself and bam..triangle...next I start in his guard..i work to break and his grips start giving me a bit or trouble but i work for the dive and get the under over pass...he fought his ass off scooting but i surprised myself in keeping with him until the pass was done (I say this because it was all done without thinking...so that means it has become a natural part of my game...was mroe happy with this than anything on this day almost)...I get to side mount then knee on stomach and back to side mount then to 50/50...my top game still require me to think my moves out, though i am thinking them in chains now and able to do so because of how i've worked on my control...well i work to set up the favorite GI choke (the opposite lapel ezekiel) Marcus always does on me when he wants to punish me...worked like a charm...love that choke b/c it's one, where if u have good control, you are basically showing what u will do and doing it no matter what the person on bottom says...Next we start in my guard...Instead of working submission chains quickly I work sweeps (trying to get ready for the next level of competition)...I sweep to mount with an inside out spider sweep and work for a variation of the katagatami (arm triangle) where the arm is across the body...
Next round I go with one of our blues who has a huge power game and has been wanting to roll with me to test his guard passing...longer story than that but I decided to test my open guard defense...my arms were starting to numb as well, and I thought with his power game he likes to play it'd be a good sign if i could keep from having to move out of guard to defend...Long story short, For the entire session i stuffed the pass attempts, even openly giving my back a few times in order to practice my sweep-around...from what i understand it was said to be talked of by him that i "didn't submit him"...next time i will work on my attacks...don't wanna give the wrong message right...;0)


Had to leave, but left feeling good b/c I only lost a pound of body weight which means my hydration is working, as is my caloric intake...and this is after my usual competition calisthenics between matches and afterwards...

Came back that night and had one of the beginners tell me, through reading one of my posts they were inspired to keep training and that one of the drills i showed enabled them to make headway on their testing...man that was a great feeling!

Well we get to class and we are doing x-guard reversals and the twist from guard to knees to single leg takedown...the x-guard always has given me trouble...from side or half guard i can pull it off but from guard with one standing up it is hard as hell beacuse of my length..so i was a bit awkward at times...but the twist reversal is one of my favorites and coach Allen and Jacob (brown belt) showed me some variations on it as well as counters...i also got something that's about 99% against people who want to do the standing knee-in guard break....oooooh trouble...troubllleeeeee....anyways..we get to roll, and i get the guys who are going to Pan Ams to compete to roll in tournament style conditioning rounds...willkeep the methods here to myself for competition purposes...I honestly hope I can help them do well when we go...My first roll is with Jacob and i was so damned excited b/c my hands weren't going dead for the first time...Marcus, a local Machado black belt who is my chiropractor, coach, Jacob, etc etc all told me things to do to change it and the main one was stop gripping so hard...(more on this in a minute as it seems there's something else wrong)...this is working and i start to work on breaking his posture and balance when in open and half guard...been working on some attack chains from spider half guard and open guard...i also actively worked on making sure he didn't control both legs...i did well and didnt get passed and even got the oma plata attack from spider half guard and worked it almost to triangle but he postured...thing is i went right back to omo plata and worked to secure the reverse arm bar from there...he defended and countered beautifully though..but thing is the attacks worked...and i ended up with one more reversal than he did and two good attacks that may have earned advantage points...the next roll we stale mated for the roll, but i did get a REAL good shot at triangle...closed it up but for some reason instead of the way i usually twist to finish a triangle i decide to do the traditional reach and pull the shin...he's too good for that...pulls out and almost passes me ...he kept me on the run pressuring form then but i worked defenses well...between each round i went for sets of ten of 6 different exercises instead of rest and i've been doing 8 to 8 1/2 minute rounds (at Pan Ams I fight 7min rounds),, so my cardio is good..but at the end of the round my arm problems came back...


Well..it's been a blessing for me to have found jiu-jitsu b/c of the losses i had in life as far as what i wanted to do...but also because it helped my overall mental, physical, and emotional health...well i go to the Orthopedic doc today...to find out what this problem i was having in my mid back and mention to him i was having shoulder problems and the problems in my arms...he said with the severity he wanted to do xrays of my neck...turns out...in between two different vertebrae...ive got a narrowing plus for some reason my neck is straight (a normal neck would be curved on the xray...at least i know some if not all the muscle pain in my neck comes from this most likely he said))...so i have a full mri from the top of my neck down to my hips...if he finds what he thought it is...no more jiu-jitsu would be the recommendation...when he said that and mentioned options of surgery etc etc i thought of the things i hadn't accomplished...things like i just got comfortable with knowing i wouldn't get my brown belt b4 Pan Ams to be able to face Kron and resolved I'd work hard to get to black belt in time enough that i could be competitive with him and others like Otavio Souza, Bill Cooper etc when i did get it...i know no matter what the prognosis that comes back, i AM going to compete in the Pan Ams..especially if it could be my last...but that will be one of the things I would regret not working hard enough to achieve...i am happy i did go to the Euro. Championships though...but ...if i lose this too...i dunno what i'd do...i'm letting go and letting God.
nothing else i can do.

When You, Are The Problem

First, I'm at about 208.6 tonight...Don't know how I lost weight, but I did. :(

Another thing, if any of you read Gracie Magazine, it is the official magazine of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu pretty much; I made it into issue 132! They did a little blurb on my Absolute win and trials/tribulations at the European Championships...Check out the picture and mention on page 36. Kinda nice being in there with legends of the sport.

Tonight, had my back lock up, both my hamstrings get tweaked, and had my confidence smashed while trying to do something I used to do with ease! (Played basketball competitively...I did go 5-7 with one three point play, a couple steals and a block...but my body just didn't allow me to move or do the things I've always been able to.)

Made me kind of come to the realization, that even though I am doing well in my travels, time is coming where I might not be able to. A lot of it, is owed to my own lack of fortitude and perseverance.

From the outside, it may seem not to be the case, but I haven't applied myself nor have I worked hard enough to achieve the goals I set for myself. I may have even set some goals for myself that are out of my reach, further exacerbating the problems that are inherent within the gentle art, and within life itself. Couple that, with having to deal with people meaning you no good, and it gets overbearing at times.

I always wanted to be the best in the world at something. That something, I felt, would be the things that just clicked with me. I am a very blessed person, to have had music. Even to see it fall far short of what I intended. and now to have Jiu-Jitsu. A lot of people don't ever come to a passion they also excel at. I've had two. Problem is...with the myriad gifts God has blessed me with, I have squandered by not fully committing myself to reaching the full potential He imbued me with. Kept getting frustrated at other people, and other things, when I haven't reached the goals I set, but the problem is, I should be mad at me for not working hard enough, long enough, nor well enough and taking the easy route too often. (As much as I preach doing things correctly, I should take a little bit of my own medicine.:()...Kept wondering why folks had issue with me even when I'd done them nothing...I'd done something, even if I wasn't aware...Just a little tired...This one is more for me, to hopefully look back on at a better time in life to see how I was feeling....Honestly at a little bit of a crossroads. Life gets in the way sometimes, and sometimes it's your fault that it does. What to do next is the problem. Wish I could throw a triangle at the problem and choke it out, but I'd just be choking me. I have to work harder if I am to get to a place to see if I am worthy of what I laid before myself to do. Sure feels like I am not.

I still walk. For now.

Small Milestone

Through all the physical problems, and small injuries, etc...At least some things are going well...

I woke up at 210.0 lbs.!!!

Currently at 211.2lbs.!!!

Also, I think I have closed the hole on the pass that I was so susceptible to. the nature of jiu-jitsu says another one will pop up, but for now, I can move on to other aspects of my game to cover, and go back to being able to rely on my guard game. Funny how losses can fuel your progress much more than wins. that lesson, learned so explicitly in my travels through this art, allow me to get through my days sane.

Hopefully I can make it to at least 215.0lbs. by end of the week and maintain that through this training phase...This week through the beginning of the next contain the worst and hardest training days I have to deal with on the road to this year's Pan American Games! Will let y'all know how things are going...

Loose...(Day Class)

At The End Of Class

Coach Jon and Me

Me One Mo 'Gin

Coach Allen Mohler and I After Class (Great Instructor and Friend)

The Problem A Lot Of Folks Seem To Have That Have Issue With Me....
If You Ain't Around For Good, Then Why are You Here?

Went in to day class today at lunchtime with the intent of working some new things I've added to my game...also to gauge where my cardio/arm and back problems/mental focus issues are...

Soon as I walk in..one of the guys (he will be out at Pan Ams too), a good buddy named Dallas, says "Didn't I read someplace the other night about over-training?" lol..so some more folks are reading this...lol good to know...Anyways I laugh and shrug it off and go get changed...

When I come out Coach is showing an arm bar to oma plata reversal...I warm up a bit with jumping jacks, sprawls, and push ups...then get in...

By the way, I love this class as there are always a couple of black belts, purples and a brown or two sprinkled in, so the rolling is great, as a general rule it's safe, and it gives me different and more difficult looks at opponents as I don't roll with the day crew often...

anyway...I get in and immediately went to work...started on my left side as it is my retarded side (oops..can i say that? is that PC? eff it if it ain't)...and for some reason each time I can get it correctly but the little scoop and lift hip-wise wasn't tight enough to my partner's body so when the reversal happened I wasn't close enough to move smoothly to a triangle or arm bar set up...something i will have to work harder on....had coach Jon (He will be competing in th Black Belt division at Pan Ams!) working with me so little pointers were passed along constantly....another reason i like to come to day class ....

next we worked a specific guard break (not saying which b/c I have gotten really good at it, as well as transitioning to the pass and will probably use it at Pan Ams)....because I have this one down..worked with coach allen and jon on different modifications of it depending upon the opponents movements and hand placements, as well as shutting this particular guard break/pass down...

since I was late to class, this was the last technique we had before rolling....so i get paired up with coach jon....i have a good weight advantage on him but he is so crafty and good at pretty much everything it's hard to handle the constant pressure he presents in his attacks....
We start standing...i work on my judo throws and leg sweeps, which need WORK...they are good but not good enough for black belt level stand up and the amount of take down/wrestling experience he has...he sets me up for a couple of single leg shots...and i keep my balance and actually see and react to counter them ahead of time...so these are something I can put in my tool box...i end up pulling guard and try to work an open guard butterfly over the head sweep, but we get stopped as coach Allen wanted me to work on not allowing grips on my wrists...i learn a new way to do this that's so simple it's silly...jon and i start standing again..i alllllllmost get him with a hip toss...but i telegraphed it just enough he countered and went to my back...b/c i was standing straight up...he couldn't hop up and i worked my standing back escape...back to neutral..so i decide to fake an inside leg trip and go to pull guard again...i get it and we start to work...i go to inside out guard (one leg in as in butterfly guard and one out) and he goes to the pass which i've been working on the counter to...it works...but i end up making a mistake and going flat for jsut a second and end up scrambling for my life as coach jon transitions from attempting kneebar to ankle lock to toe hold in about five seconds...good thing is i remembered the counters and executed without thinking...bad thing is even though i escaped we ended up both on our backs (dunno how) and we end up standing as round ends....

We work again from standing and I work a really slick new set up to get from someone with knee in the middle to high guard and i actually get it...but when i extended to shoot the high guard holding the arm, jon torqued his torso to get the arm back and postured causing a rib to pop out of place for a sec...sorry coach jon..he is a warrior though so he wil be fine soon..just want him to be ok to compete...

Next i work with one of our purples who's been there for a long time...he probably outweighs me by about 15-20 lbs and while he doesn't attack a whole lot he has such solid and strong defense that a lot of what he catches folks with, he gets because hid defense is frustrating...this is a good test because his experience level (he has a few years on me) and weight is what I will be competing against at Pan Ams...As we start he wants to start in my guard...i say ok as I needed to work a variation to the high guard set up i described above which goes to triangle..and he says "i want to see if i can keep from getting triangled"....if you know me, that's like chum in the water...so we work and he goes for lapel control after i keep stuffing his attempts to control my belt/pants for spacing my guard....and i use the set up to perfection....(mind you this is after quite a bit of in-fighting for grips and attempts on breaking his base down which had me really tired and my arms going dead finally...)i shoot the triangle really fast and had to still maneuver him back to a position I could tighten it as I could not reach my shin, because of him being as big as he is and basing backward from me...but I pull the knees in...and grab his belt and pull until i can grab the shin and his far leg, and roll him into the tap...


by now, my cardio itself is ok...i feel like my body could go another 7 to 8 full matches (the ones today were 8 min)...but my arms now are dead...and im getting cramps in my damned foot...

anyways...coach puts me with another of our purple belts..a guy that is fairly new to the school but his technique is really good, and he is a former Pan American champion...so, coach allen wants me to work on passing his guard..here's where the title of this post comes in...even though i have size and have worked very efficiently to do my grind/under/over pass on him before..today...i can't hold and keep him close enough to even get to his lapel...can't give up though..so i keep working and discipline my mind to make my body move correctly..but in addition to him being very flexible and working really hard to keep me at a distance...me not being able to control my grips and bring my weight to bear in a close fashion just shut everything down so no matter where i went..i was too loose to pass effectively...he ends up trying to reverse to a take down which i stuffed a few times and we ended up rolling into a stalemate...i wasn't happy with my performance here...he is a very good opponent and fights hard as hell...but my technique was off..way off, and i have to correct that mentally so i can overcome my physical limitations if i can't rid myself of them...only good thing is...i do know there are places i could have fallen into my set ups and transitions to submissions and had them work without my arms ...but i did not get the job accomplished which was to pass...will correct that...

After class...I got one of the best compliments I could ever have...I normally talk to the new people who come to class..especially those who are especially small, or not as coordinated, or who seem to have problems up front, as the first year or so of jiu-jitsu beats you down physically, but much more so mentally...So the other day while watching class I was talking to a couple guys and two of the girls in class...one of which is very new...telling them what to expect and trying to encourage them (and i wasn't b.s.ing them...from watching them they do have promise...they just have to see it) on sticking to it through the hard times to come....blah blah...y'all see i'm longwinded as hell huh? lol
Anyways...at the end of class...she tells me thank you for the talk i gave her, as it kept her motivated and made her believe more that she could do it! That meant a LOT to me...Hopefully she does stick to it, along with a couple other new folks I try to help out, and they become as good as they can!...Felt good to make a difference positively to someone...So even though i was very frustrated with being so loose in my own travels...I helped tighten up someone else's...God is good you know:)...


Thought Of the Day: Psalms 27:2