back to uni and BJJ as sanity control

Oh, yes, back to uni, let the grind begin :-)

The nice thing is that I only do two subjects per semester now, and it's my last year. Yes, YES. Last year!! One more year of exams and assignments. Unless I decide to do honors... But this year will be full of fun and excitement, with lots of teamwork and a big software project. Of course, I'm working also. So there is never a dull moment.

On the mats, I'm cruising along. Good days, shit days, normal days all mix in. I still teach Wednesdays, and the more of that I do, the more I feel it's necessary for my own learning. However, I enjoy being a student most of the time.

We've recently had an influx of new people. In our small school, six new guys within a few short weeks does make itself felt. That means spending a fair bit of time taking newbies through basic stuff. I'm trying to figure what works best when explaining new things. Teaching is hard :-) Good teaching is very hard. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I really want to get things right. Not only because I know how hard it was when I started myself, but also as a matter of pride. Funny, even in classes I don't teach, I end up teaching...

I'm continuing to play around with deep half guard and back control. I tend to only go to closed guard and attacks from there when I feel pressurised or when, by mutual decision, we go hard. Armbars are definitely crystallizing out as preferred technique. Oh, and cross lapel chokes. Slowly, slowly, I'm starting to swap from choke to armbar to triangle and back. I need to work omoplata attempts in there as well. I also need to be more deliberate in planning the next move, so that the defence to one attack leads to a better opening for the next one.

Interestingly, I'm starting to have a bit of luck with getting mount lately.While that still feels a little alien, things are starting to happen there. I managed the first ever armbar from mount last night. OMG... I'm still prone to being rolled though. Side control still gives me trouble, I can't stop people from re-gaining half guard. On the other hand, I'm getting quite handy at taking the back, keeping the back and transitioning to side mount and back to the back.

We recently had a series of classes on head arm chokes, will all entries from side control, but variations depending on the bottom person's arm position. I liked the pressure used in thosed techniques, but at present my side control sucks and head/arm chokes are not my strong attack. So I'm filing these for future use. On the other hand, we've learned some more side control and bottom half guard escapes/sweeps. They are of immediate use :-)

I was talking to one of the guys after open mat last night. He said the first thing in his life is his family, the second thing BJJ, then his job and all else. He emphasised how much BJJ keeps him sane and how much he looked forward to the next session. Since starting BJJ, he has lost around 20kgs, and he feels much better. We agreed that BJJ is a serious addiction, and sometimes we pay the price in soreness and tiredness. But the payoffs are so worth it.