I couldn't resist the temptation of an open mat on New Years Day. How could I?
So on the invitation of Deon and a bit bit of urging on from Jess, I headed over to Perkins Jiu Jitsu in Ringwood (on the eastern side of Melbourne). Deon and his partner Jodie own and run PJJ. I met them and Jess Fraser at the Australian Girls in Gi day camp. Jess is the brains behind AGIG.
It was a stinker of a hot day, and despite A/C in the car, it was a long 2.5 hr trip from home. It was hot in the gym, too. But despite that, I had several rolls with Jodie and Jess, who are both blue belts.
I don't get a lot of chances to roll with other women, so it was a great opportunity for me. I understand that both of them are heading for the ADCC qualifiers in Sydney in February, so they are training as much as they can. Therefore, female grappling partners are very welcome.
Interesting to see our very different games. I was the only real guard player of the three. But I was encouraged to see that my guard was fairly effective against these two very competitive ladies. However, I seemed to still get caught in a lot of chokes :-)
It was very hot, and it was tough to keep up the wet stuff. But I'm taking the heat very well this year, so I'm pleased with that.
After we agreed to meet again and keep in touch by way of the usual social media, I departed the small but very friendly school.
While in Melbourne, I caught up with my sister and her family. I stayed the night and went for a nice ride with my sister in the morning, before it became too hot again. So the two days made a nice change from my usual routine. Now I'm back home and getting organised for work in the morning.
Our usual BJJ classes will resume on the 9th January, until then we are planning to have open mat most nights.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
happy new year!
Only five minutes left to go of 2011. And what a year it was!!
Lots and lots of stuff happened, both in BJJ and outside. A busy year, and a good year. Three cheers to a great year drawing to a close.
I went to three open mats since Christmas. Small affairs, but fun. I'm lucky to know some really nice people through BJJ. We share the same passion and we all couldn't wait until classes resume in early January :-)
Tomorrow, I might go to Melbourne. I heard there is an open mat going at Perkins Jiu Jitsu in Ringwood, and a few people I know are attending. So I might use the opportunity to start of the new year with some good BJJ, and catch up with my sister afterwards.
Should be great. Anyway, midnight is now, so wishing you all a fantastic 2012!!
Lots and lots of stuff happened, both in BJJ and outside. A busy year, and a good year. Three cheers to a great year drawing to a close.
I went to three open mats since Christmas. Small affairs, but fun. I'm lucky to know some really nice people through BJJ. We share the same passion and we all couldn't wait until classes resume in early January :-)
Tomorrow, I might go to Melbourne. I heard there is an open mat going at Perkins Jiu Jitsu in Ringwood, and a few people I know are attending. So I might use the opportunity to start of the new year with some good BJJ, and catch up with my sister afterwards.
Should be great. Anyway, midnight is now, so wishing you all a fantastic 2012!!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
holiday stuff
Holidays means less BJJ, but more time for my other passion: playing with horses. So my last post for the year is a horsey one.
Mind... you can clearly see that BJJ is never far from my mind :-)
All photos by Yvonne Lehey
Mind... you can clearly see that BJJ is never far from my mind :-)
Monday, December 26, 2011
running, holidays
I've started to do a bit of running. Can't stand being cooped up at work for 8 hours straight. Ha, won't do my cardio any harm anyway.
And now that we have the 2 week break over the holidays with no Jiu Jitsu, I need to keep something to keep me sane. So what did I do on Christmas day? I went for a run. Yes, yes. Most folks would count that as insanity...
I went along a trail on a loop we usually do on horseback. I sure felt further on foot :-) That made me curious about how far it is. So found this handy-dandy website which uses google maps to calculate any distance between two or more points: Google Maps Distance Calculator.
Cool. So I figured I ran 2.7 kms during my lunch break on Tuesday, and 4.5 kms last night. I know, that's not a lot, but I'm just starting out. For me, it is a lot. And the run on Tuesday included hill work. And this morning I'm feeling pretty good, the legs are not killing me. I was a bit tight in the hamstrings after the run, but a good stretch took care of that. Be interesting to see if my calves will cop the delayed onset muscle soreness.
Ah yeah, and I don't really have to miss out on rolling for two whole weeks. I'm meeting some other addicts on Thursday and Friday night, and then more next week :-)
We had a totally awesome last open mat on Friday. I rolled well and despite the rather warm and humid weather, I just kept going and going. After that, we had a barbeque with everyone from the dojo. A great way to finish a good year.
And now that we have the 2 week break over the holidays with no Jiu Jitsu, I need to keep something to keep me sane. So what did I do on Christmas day? I went for a run. Yes, yes. Most folks would count that as insanity...
I went along a trail on a loop we usually do on horseback. I sure felt further on foot :-) That made me curious about how far it is. So found this handy-dandy website which uses google maps to calculate any distance between two or more points: Google Maps Distance Calculator.
Cool. So I figured I ran 2.7 kms during my lunch break on Tuesday, and 4.5 kms last night. I know, that's not a lot, but I'm just starting out. For me, it is a lot. And the run on Tuesday included hill work. And this morning I'm feeling pretty good, the legs are not killing me. I was a bit tight in the hamstrings after the run, but a good stretch took care of that. Be interesting to see if my calves will cop the delayed onset muscle soreness.
Ah yeah, and I don't really have to miss out on rolling for two whole weeks. I'm meeting some other addicts on Thursday and Friday night, and then more next week :-)
We had a totally awesome last open mat on Friday. I rolled well and despite the rather warm and humid weather, I just kept going and going. After that, we had a barbeque with everyone from the dojo. A great way to finish a good year.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
power output: perceived vs real
I had two sessions today. The lunchtime class was small. There was only three of us. We did a little bit of work on leglocks and then rolled. After a few minutes with one of the light blue belts, I was called over to roll with Sensei. This lasted for just under half an hour and I got thoroughly thrashed.
He said he was rolling a bit lazy as he's recently had some time off due to the flu. Mind, he always rolls slowly, deliberately, with crushing pressure and a game three steps ahead of mine. I consider myself lucky if I manage to nearly get a sweep or nearly threaten a sub. Occasionally he has to take defensive action, but then I just get into deeper shit ;-). Hell, I consider it a good day if I can defend his attacks for a bit and actually escape once or twice before the inevitable tap.
And throughout all that, his energy output was less than mine. Far less. Ok, he's a bit heavier than I, but he shuts me down with technique. He knows exactly when a bit of strength is needed, and he brings that into play, but no more than necessary.
Fast foward to the evening session. One of the blue belts was teaching and I was helping out. At the end of the session, we rolled for a bit.
First, I got one of the newish white belts. He's tall and strong, but he's getting a handle on basic techniques. Pleasing to see, he tries to use what he's learned rather than just smashing his way through. He's actually said he learns most from the light and no-sub flow rolling we sometimes do. Ha, I call that promising.
Next, I had one of the other white belts. I said seeing it's the last roll for the day and I'm stiff and sore from luncthtime (no exaggeration!), let's go a bit easy. No sooner than he had the slightest grip, and as I sat back for some open guard, he smashed my legs aside with all his power and dropped across for a heavy side control. I laughed and said OK, but that's not what this was all about. That I would like him to use 10% power output instead of 100%. He was surprised. HE THOUGHT he was only using 10%. He said he is using way less than what he would have used when he first started. I replied that he still needs to reduce it 90%. We reset and had a more hesitant version of the first roll. I just protected myself and otherwise let him do his stuff. Eventually, he went for a rear choke which was a pure neck crank and I tapped.
I showed him the difference between a correct rear choke and the crank he had applied as well as a way of getting the choke. So that was all cool.
On the way out, he expressed again that he couldn't understand why I thought he was using too much strength. I tried to explain again, but it's hard to explain something I can't really demonstrate. It's a bit like explaining the scent of roses to someone who has never come across a flower.
The problem with using every muscle in the body at the same time and putting all one's power into a move, is that you can't feel what you are doing, or what your partner is doing. I pointed out that with more experience, he will feel for himself that he can use 10% of his current power output and do good technique (and last longer). And that we ALL started of going full bore and not "getting" it until later. Still, he looked disappointed in some way, or at least unconvinced.
I just wish there was a way in which we gain that awareness and control over our power output earlier in our grappling careers. Hell, I know I still try to muscle stuff at times (as if that works..!), and I do know better. In the end though, I think it takes mat time, especially mat time with senior (purple+) people to conquer that learning curve.
He said he was rolling a bit lazy as he's recently had some time off due to the flu. Mind, he always rolls slowly, deliberately, with crushing pressure and a game three steps ahead of mine. I consider myself lucky if I manage to nearly get a sweep or nearly threaten a sub. Occasionally he has to take defensive action, but then I just get into deeper shit ;-). Hell, I consider it a good day if I can defend his attacks for a bit and actually escape once or twice before the inevitable tap.
And throughout all that, his energy output was less than mine. Far less. Ok, he's a bit heavier than I, but he shuts me down with technique. He knows exactly when a bit of strength is needed, and he brings that into play, but no more than necessary.
Fast foward to the evening session. One of the blue belts was teaching and I was helping out. At the end of the session, we rolled for a bit.
First, I got one of the newish white belts. He's tall and strong, but he's getting a handle on basic techniques. Pleasing to see, he tries to use what he's learned rather than just smashing his way through. He's actually said he learns most from the light and no-sub flow rolling we sometimes do. Ha, I call that promising.
Next, I had one of the other white belts. I said seeing it's the last roll for the day and I'm stiff and sore from luncthtime (no exaggeration!), let's go a bit easy. No sooner than he had the slightest grip, and as I sat back for some open guard, he smashed my legs aside with all his power and dropped across for a heavy side control. I laughed and said OK, but that's not what this was all about. That I would like him to use 10% power output instead of 100%. He was surprised. HE THOUGHT he was only using 10%. He said he is using way less than what he would have used when he first started. I replied that he still needs to reduce it 90%. We reset and had a more hesitant version of the first roll. I just protected myself and otherwise let him do his stuff. Eventually, he went for a rear choke which was a pure neck crank and I tapped.
I showed him the difference between a correct rear choke and the crank he had applied as well as a way of getting the choke. So that was all cool.
On the way out, he expressed again that he couldn't understand why I thought he was using too much strength. I tried to explain again, but it's hard to explain something I can't really demonstrate. It's a bit like explaining the scent of roses to someone who has never come across a flower.
The problem with using every muscle in the body at the same time and putting all one's power into a move, is that you can't feel what you are doing, or what your partner is doing. I pointed out that with more experience, he will feel for himself that he can use 10% of his current power output and do good technique (and last longer). And that we ALL started of going full bore and not "getting" it until later. Still, he looked disappointed in some way, or at least unconvinced.
I just wish there was a way in which we gain that awareness and control over our power output earlier in our grappling careers. Hell, I know I still try to muscle stuff at times (as if that works..!), and I do know better. In the end though, I think it takes mat time, especially mat time with senior (purple+) people to conquer that learning curve.
2011 gi survey
Check out the Results of the 2011 gi survey, courtesy of Aesopian.
It will be interesting to see the full results.
Meanwhile.... I'm waiting for my Scramble gi. Hope it'll be here soon :-)
It will be interesting to see the full results.
Meanwhile.... I'm waiting for my Scramble gi. Hope it'll be here soon :-)
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
another grading
It seems like the squillionth grading I've been to without actually grading myself :-) Well, I clocked up three years of BJJ on October 25, so I'm sort of becoming part of the furniture. So it's not really surprising that I've seen a grading or three.
Being a blue belt and (slowly!!) heading for purple, I'm not going to grade myself any time soon, which gives me plenty of time to observe and work with and help the guys which are still in the lead up to blue belt and do gradings relatively often.
At our school, gradings are a pretty casual affair. Yes, the guys have to work, and from fourth stripe white, they have to push the boat out a bit. Their attitude and determination is as much on display as their technical knowledge. But there is no paying for the priviledge, no airs and graces, and coloured belts get handed with the same minimalist outlook on ceremony as stripes. And this in a traditional Karate school. There are no belt whippings, ceremonial throwings or any of that stuff. Just a bit of bowing and lots of handshaking and congratulations from fellow grapplers. I love it, it's great.
So we had a grading. Three guys were promoted to blue belt. Danny, Justin and Mark put in a lot of hard work and so deserved it. Hunter and Glenn got their fourth stripe. All these guys had to do a lot of rounds of rolling in addition to their technical demonstrations, and I had the pleasure to be able to step in and be part of this. They did great. Several more people gained 1st, 2nd and 3rd stripes on their white belts and from what I saw, they all showed great technique.
All round, it was a long, hard but fantastic Friday evening. I really was proud of them all :-)
Being a blue belt and (slowly!!) heading for purple, I'm not going to grade myself any time soon, which gives me plenty of time to observe and work with and help the guys which are still in the lead up to blue belt and do gradings relatively often.
At our school, gradings are a pretty casual affair. Yes, the guys have to work, and from fourth stripe white, they have to push the boat out a bit. Their attitude and determination is as much on display as their technical knowledge. But there is no paying for the priviledge, no airs and graces, and coloured belts get handed with the same minimalist outlook on ceremony as stripes. And this in a traditional Karate school. There are no belt whippings, ceremonial throwings or any of that stuff. Just a bit of bowing and lots of handshaking and congratulations from fellow grapplers. I love it, it's great.
So we had a grading. Three guys were promoted to blue belt. Danny, Justin and Mark put in a lot of hard work and so deserved it. Hunter and Glenn got their fourth stripe. All these guys had to do a lot of rounds of rolling in addition to their technical demonstrations, and I had the pleasure to be able to step in and be part of this. They did great. Several more people gained 1st, 2nd and 3rd stripes on their white belts and from what I saw, they all showed great technique.
All round, it was a long, hard but fantastic Friday evening. I really was proud of them all :-)
Friday, November 25, 2011
open guard + half guard
Thats' what I'm working now. Open guard. All flavours.
We recently did a bit of work ont the Z guard. This kind of came in handy, as I found I got to that position a whole lot anyway. But of course I didn't know what do do with it.... So now I have a nifty arm-drag, a sweep and some other stuff. And with that came a better understanding of how to deal with someone else's Z guard.
I've just started playing with the DLR guard as well. That's very much unknown territory, but I figure I have all the time in the world to experiment. I want to get away from just playing closed guard all the time. Sure, that means I'll get passed a lot. But so what.
I've had complaints about my half guard (bottom). I seem to escape from all sorts of positions to half guard. Often, it seems, I totally frustrate people because they work so hard to get past my halfguard, just to find that I've already got it back on them on the other side. Ok, so that's good. But I still felt like I was getting stuck there. Oh sure, bottom half is better than being mounted or having someone on my back. But I didn't seem to be able to capitalise on it much. Still, having spent so much time there, it certainly has given me plenty of time to work with the position.
I had an interesting discussion about this with Sensei. I mentioned that I feel I get there easy enough, and I'm happy about that, BUT that I can't do much with it. He said that in addition to learning attacks and sweeps from there, I need to change the way I look at it. Rather than saying "I ended up there", I should say "That's what I want" and "see, I got it!" and "now I'm attacking". We've already been working a fair bit on the deep half, which has helped me a lot. I am having a fair bit of success with it now.
I know that with a lot of the stuff I try, I fail because I don't commit, because I don't really believe I can do it. Same same for bottom half and entry to deep half. Once I can get around to viewing it as a starting point rather than a stalling point, I will be able to capitalise on it much more. BJJ is such a mental game. I sometimes wonder if it pushes the physical boundaries more or the mental ones. Either way, I'm forced to step outside my comfort zone remarkably often, and that is a good thing.
We recently did a bit of work ont the Z guard. This kind of came in handy, as I found I got to that position a whole lot anyway. But of course I didn't know what do do with it.... So now I have a nifty arm-drag, a sweep and some other stuff. And with that came a better understanding of how to deal with someone else's Z guard.
I've just started playing with the DLR guard as well. That's very much unknown territory, but I figure I have all the time in the world to experiment. I want to get away from just playing closed guard all the time. Sure, that means I'll get passed a lot. But so what.
I've had complaints about my half guard (bottom). I seem to escape from all sorts of positions to half guard. Often, it seems, I totally frustrate people because they work so hard to get past my halfguard, just to find that I've already got it back on them on the other side. Ok, so that's good. But I still felt like I was getting stuck there. Oh sure, bottom half is better than being mounted or having someone on my back. But I didn't seem to be able to capitalise on it much. Still, having spent so much time there, it certainly has given me plenty of time to work with the position.
I had an interesting discussion about this with Sensei. I mentioned that I feel I get there easy enough, and I'm happy about that, BUT that I can't do much with it. He said that in addition to learning attacks and sweeps from there, I need to change the way I look at it. Rather than saying "I ended up there", I should say "That's what I want" and "see, I got it!" and "now I'm attacking". We've already been working a fair bit on the deep half, which has helped me a lot. I am having a fair bit of success with it now.
I know that with a lot of the stuff I try, I fail because I don't commit, because I don't really believe I can do it. Same same for bottom half and entry to deep half. Once I can get around to viewing it as a starting point rather than a stalling point, I will be able to capitalise on it much more. BJJ is such a mental game. I sometimes wonder if it pushes the physical boundaries more or the mental ones. Either way, I'm forced to step outside my comfort zone remarkably often, and that is a good thing.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
GTA comp
A quick and late report from the GTA comp in Melbourne on October 29....
It was only the second tounament organised by GTA. The first one was no gi (which I missed). This one was gi. It was well organised and well run. The five of us from Ballarat who competed had a lot of fun, and we all brought home some shiny stuff.
I only had one fight. I think there were only about 4 or 5 blue belt women there on the day. I competed against another senior in about my weight bracket. Not much to report, I pulled guard and avoided her attempts to get past my guard while still open. Once I had closed guard, I tried for the cross lapel choke, armbar. Had no problems controlling her posture. Maybe should have looked for other opportunities, but she really protected her arms well. And then I went for the armbar again and made the mistake of not cutting down hard enough with the top leg. So I lost it and she passed. There was less than a minute left to go, and I was on my way to escape side control, but I ran out of time and lost on points.
The guys did pretty good and all had a great time. One of them had had about 2 months off because of a broken kneecap, and decided to make his comeback at the comp. He didn't win, and he was down on himself, but we assured him that while it was maybe a little stoooopid to do what he did, but he wrestled well all the same. He's been to another comp since, and done really well.
I declined going to the Pan Pacs and the Melbourne Open because I had a hell of a load of work due for uni, and exams (which I have now finished).
It was only the second tounament organised by GTA. The first one was no gi (which I missed). This one was gi. It was well organised and well run. The five of us from Ballarat who competed had a lot of fun, and we all brought home some shiny stuff.
I only had one fight. I think there were only about 4 or 5 blue belt women there on the day. I competed against another senior in about my weight bracket. Not much to report, I pulled guard and avoided her attempts to get past my guard while still open. Once I had closed guard, I tried for the cross lapel choke, armbar. Had no problems controlling her posture. Maybe should have looked for other opportunities, but she really protected her arms well. And then I went for the armbar again and made the mistake of not cutting down hard enough with the top leg. So I lost it and she passed. There was less than a minute left to go, and I was on my way to escape side control, but I ran out of time and lost on points.
The guys did pretty good and all had a great time. One of them had had about 2 months off because of a broken kneecap, and decided to make his comeback at the comp. He didn't win, and he was down on himself, but we assured him that while it was maybe a little stoooopid to do what he did, but he wrestled well all the same. He's been to another comp since, and done really well.
I declined going to the Pan Pacs and the Melbourne Open because I had a hell of a load of work due for uni, and exams (which I have now finished).
Thursday, October 27, 2011
WBJJL comp in Qld
Just a quick report from the comp I went to on 8th October... It was at Nerang in Qld, and organised by the Women's Brazilian Jiu Jitsu League (there is a problem with their website, so I won't link to it at this stage).
It was a small comp only. Sadly, the same weekend saw a couple of clinics with visiting overseas BJJ big names, so the turnout was smaller than last year.
I won my first gi fight by armbar (from guard). Then I lost the two fights in open gi, one one points (and I was a few seconds short of finishing a choke from guard when the bell rang), the other by choke. In the weight no-gi I lost by back choke again and the single fight in the open no-gi on points. As in my second fight, I was actually back to guard and attacking, but I'd left my run too late and didn't get the submission. So result-wise it was a bit of a mixed bag. I was happy with some stuff I did, not so happy with other bits.
I did suffer a bit from the high humidity and the slightly higher temperatures, and somehow I felt very flat. The comp only ran for the afternoon and was all wrapped up within three hours or so. Which means a lot of fights in a short time. That, coupled with the fact that I wasn't feeling top shelf, meant that I really was suffering. I was sooo tired in my third and forth fights. But then I got a second wind, which did show up in how I fought. And I'm not too upset that I lost the last one on points, because I finished strong and I played my game for the second half of it.
The girls I competed against were all from NSW and Qld, and it was nice to meet some new faces. They made me feel very welcome and I was very glad I went up.
Here are some pictures:
I had a fantastic weekend, during which I caught up with my friends Elyane and Rupen. They were kind enough to take me from their place to Nerang, and they stopped by and watched the comp for a bit. Rupen took all the photos (and a bit of video footage) for me.
Despite being worn out and tire, I wasn't too tired for some silly stuff:
Oh, and I must mention that Elyane is a FANTASTIC Naturopath. So if you are ever in Sydney or in Murwillumbah, and looking for some advice on health matters, DO go and see her.
After such a great weekend, I think I know what I'll be doing the same time next year :-)
It was a small comp only. Sadly, the same weekend saw a couple of clinics with visiting overseas BJJ big names, so the turnout was smaller than last year.
I won my first gi fight by armbar (from guard). Then I lost the two fights in open gi, one one points (and I was a few seconds short of finishing a choke from guard when the bell rang), the other by choke. In the weight no-gi I lost by back choke again and the single fight in the open no-gi on points. As in my second fight, I was actually back to guard and attacking, but I'd left my run too late and didn't get the submission. So result-wise it was a bit of a mixed bag. I was happy with some stuff I did, not so happy with other bits.
I did suffer a bit from the high humidity and the slightly higher temperatures, and somehow I felt very flat. The comp only ran for the afternoon and was all wrapped up within three hours or so. Which means a lot of fights in a short time. That, coupled with the fact that I wasn't feeling top shelf, meant that I really was suffering. I was sooo tired in my third and forth fights. But then I got a second wind, which did show up in how I fought. And I'm not too upset that I lost the last one on points, because I finished strong and I played my game for the second half of it.
The girls I competed against were all from NSW and Qld, and it was nice to meet some new faces. They made me feel very welcome and I was very glad I went up.
Here are some pictures:
I had a fantastic weekend, during which I caught up with my friends Elyane and Rupen. They were kind enough to take me from their place to Nerang, and they stopped by and watched the comp for a bit. Rupen took all the photos (and a bit of video footage) for me.
Despite being worn out and tire, I wasn't too tired for some silly stuff:
After such a great weekend, I think I know what I'll be doing the same time next year :-)
not keeping up...
It's that time of year with uni. I just can't keep up with this blog while I'm up to my teeth in assignments and getting ready for exams.
I just entered for another comp though, the Australian Jiu-Jitsu Classic. That's on Saturday. It's only the second event of that kind. I didn't go to the last one, but decided I should really check it out. On the one hand I have a guilty conscience because I feel I ought to be studying. Also, I'm not that fussed about competing anyway. On the other hand, it does sound like a good event with excellent prizes, and I think it should be supported. And well, I can't study all day, every day, can I??
I rolled really well most of last week and did well against guys who are senior to me and/or considerably stronger and bigger. Then, tonight, I had that awful feeling of being unable to move again. I nearly chickened out on entering. It was only because I had (wisely?) told several people that I intended to compete, so I wasn't willing to publicly admit to being a coward. Oh, how fragile the ego ;-) So, here I come.
Part of me looks forward to competing, and another part goes bah! Though I've entered as senior, I'll probably be competing against adults, as there still aren't that many entries in the women's divisions. And yeah, I've rolled with young blue belts. I don't have the speed, sadly. And to work my cardio up to the level of some of the competitive blue belt girls takes a lot of doing. But I'm not making excuses, I'm doing it for the experience, and the chance to try myself. If I win, it's a nice bonus. Funnily, there is current discussion on Sherdog, where some guys say they feel too old to compete. And the oldest one of them is about 5 years younger than I. Sometimes I do wonder if it's worth competing. Am I just too pig headed to be sensible or is it a good thing. Honestly, I don't know. There is no pressure from my school to compete, it is something entirely up to me.
My 48th birthday is creeping closer. So I surely won't be competing for many more years. Which is another reason why it's good to get in a few more now. The Classic will be my third one for this year. And then I'll just see how it all pans out for next year.
I'll let you know how I go on Saturday :-)
I just entered for another comp though, the Australian Jiu-Jitsu Classic. That's on Saturday. It's only the second event of that kind. I didn't go to the last one, but decided I should really check it out. On the one hand I have a guilty conscience because I feel I ought to be studying. Also, I'm not that fussed about competing anyway. On the other hand, it does sound like a good event with excellent prizes, and I think it should be supported. And well, I can't study all day, every day, can I??
I rolled really well most of last week and did well against guys who are senior to me and/or considerably stronger and bigger. Then, tonight, I had that awful feeling of being unable to move again. I nearly chickened out on entering. It was only because I had (wisely?) told several people that I intended to compete, so I wasn't willing to publicly admit to being a coward. Oh, how fragile the ego ;-) So, here I come.
Part of me looks forward to competing, and another part goes bah! Though I've entered as senior, I'll probably be competing against adults, as there still aren't that many entries in the women's divisions. And yeah, I've rolled with young blue belts. I don't have the speed, sadly. And to work my cardio up to the level of some of the competitive blue belt girls takes a lot of doing. But I'm not making excuses, I'm doing it for the experience, and the chance to try myself. If I win, it's a nice bonus. Funnily, there is current discussion on Sherdog, where some guys say they feel too old to compete. And the oldest one of them is about 5 years younger than I. Sometimes I do wonder if it's worth competing. Am I just too pig headed to be sensible or is it a good thing. Honestly, I don't know. There is no pressure from my school to compete, it is something entirely up to me.
My 48th birthday is creeping closer. So I surely won't be competing for many more years. Which is another reason why it's good to get in a few more now. The Classic will be my third one for this year. And then I'll just see how it all pans out for next year.
I'll let you know how I go on Saturday :-)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
I'm back
It's been too long since I've posted anything here. I blame it on my quiet lifestyle and my ample spare time (as if..).
I competed at the WBJJL tournament at Nerang in Qld on the weekend. I'll write about that in another post though. And I do have photos this time :-)
Training is going pretty well, I just dont' have time to write about it. But I'll make more of an effort in that direction in the future. Aside from training, I've been continuing to teach the Wednesday classes, which has been interesting. Both interesting as in: challenging and as in: fun and excitement. More about that later though.
I got some new gear, and I've been meaning to write about that, too. My latest acquisition is a Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood rashie from Tatami Fightwear. Very happy with that one. Will post some photos when I get a chance.
I finally indulged myself and joined MGInAction. Due to study and being away, I really haven't spent a lot of time on the site as yet. But what I have seen so far looks awesome. It certainly will be a great resource to me, both in terms of stuff useful for my game, and stuff useful for teaching the guys. If you want to try it out, you can get a week's free trial HERE. That is a referral link, and if you join, I get some money off my renewal :-)
I competed at the WBJJL tournament at Nerang in Qld on the weekend. I'll write about that in another post though. And I do have photos this time :-)
Training is going pretty well, I just dont' have time to write about it. But I'll make more of an effort in that direction in the future. Aside from training, I've been continuing to teach the Wednesday classes, which has been interesting. Both interesting as in: challenging and as in: fun and excitement. More about that later though.
I got some new gear, and I've been meaning to write about that, too. My latest acquisition is a Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood rashie from Tatami Fightwear. Very happy with that one. Will post some photos when I get a chance.
I finally indulged myself and joined MGInAction. Due to study and being away, I really haven't spent a lot of time on the site as yet. But what I have seen so far looks awesome. It certainly will be a great resource to me, both in terms of stuff useful for my game, and stuff useful for teaching the guys. If you want to try it out, you can get a week's free trial HERE. That is a referral link, and if you join, I get some money off my renewal :-)
Friday, September 23, 2011
stuck or lazy?
Lately, repeatedly, I've been getting stuck in bottom half guard. Actually, that's not correct, that goes back a lot longer. Just somehow, it's become a bigger problem. Or maybe it's just become more obvious to me.
I find it relatively easy to convert mount bottom or back control to half guard. That's the good bit. Strong defense, to the point where it frustrates purple and brown belts. Very happy with that bit.
Only then I don't capitalize on the position. Somehow I allow myself to get flattened, as I stay defensive, and as a result, eventually I get passed or submitted from there. The feedback I've been getting is that everybody gets trapped by my halfguard. And then as they say "oh, crap", and expect bother, it doesn't happen, so they have all the time in the world and few distractions to proceed to some attack. Interestingly, if I get half guard top, I also go "oh, crap", but before I get a chance to manage an attack, they get the hell out or I end up back in full guard. As my instructor pointed out the other day, I'm defensive, regardless of whether I'm in halfguard top or bottom. Why?? Why not attack.
And since I end up in half guard bottom a lot more often, that's what I've been working on. I spent a fair bit of time with Ben last night, looking at ways to get to a low half guard early. There, not only can I protect my neck and arms, but I can position myself to set up sweeps. We drilled a couple of specific techniques, and then we sort of flow rolled to get the setup for half guard sweeps. That helped a lot, made me realise two very important things:
Anyway, I did ponder the why for a bit. Why do I get so stuck in bottom half. What I was told on Thursday was neither rocket science, nor anything new. It's all stuff I've been told before, principles I know and techniques I've been shown before.
All I can think is that I fell into that old mind trap again. The little voice that says: "well, no point trying, you just can't do this!". That leads to half-arsed attempts, which fail because they are half-arsed. And then the little voice says: "see, told you so!". And there I was thinking I had completely overcome such silly notions, ditched the "I can't do it" attitude. Evidently, not quite...
Believe me, it's embarrassing when you swear black and blue that you CAN'T DO IT. And you have two senior guys say: yes, you can! And they make you try again until you do it right. And then you just have to admit that you were wrong |-) But it's still a liberating feeling, throwing another "CAN'T" in the bin and adding a little bit more to the growing pile of faith in your own ability.
I do wonder if some of this "I CAN'T" attitude is just lazyness. It is easier to sit back and say naw, can't than to put in the effort to fight to make it work. It ends up an excuse. But what good is formulating an exucuse for shitty technique, when I could spend the same amount of mental energy on figureing on how to fix it?
I really need to learn to recognise these mental ruts, before they get so deep that I need someone else to point out that I'm stuck without the need to be there. I need to get off my lazy backside instead of flopping around like a beached whale while complaining that I'm stuck. Ha, looks like I have a bit of work on.... '
I find it relatively easy to convert mount bottom or back control to half guard. That's the good bit. Strong defense, to the point where it frustrates purple and brown belts. Very happy with that bit.
Only then I don't capitalize on the position. Somehow I allow myself to get flattened, as I stay defensive, and as a result, eventually I get passed or submitted from there. The feedback I've been getting is that everybody gets trapped by my halfguard. And then as they say "oh, crap", and expect bother, it doesn't happen, so they have all the time in the world and few distractions to proceed to some attack. Interestingly, if I get half guard top, I also go "oh, crap", but before I get a chance to manage an attack, they get the hell out or I end up back in full guard. As my instructor pointed out the other day, I'm defensive, regardless of whether I'm in halfguard top or bottom. Why?? Why not attack.
And since I end up in half guard bottom a lot more often, that's what I've been working on. I spent a fair bit of time with Ben last night, looking at ways to get to a low half guard early. There, not only can I protect my neck and arms, but I can position myself to set up sweeps. We drilled a couple of specific techniques, and then we sort of flow rolled to get the setup for half guard sweeps. That helped a lot, made me realise two very important things:
- if they are keeping low, go at deep as possible right away, fight for underhooks, go deeep half if possible, trap a leg and work for a sweep
- if they sit up and threaten my arm, sit up and into them, glue my head to their middle, then when I rock back (or rather, to one hip), the sweep is easy
Anyway, I did ponder the why for a bit. Why do I get so stuck in bottom half. What I was told on Thursday was neither rocket science, nor anything new. It's all stuff I've been told before, principles I know and techniques I've been shown before.
All I can think is that I fell into that old mind trap again. The little voice that says: "well, no point trying, you just can't do this!". That leads to half-arsed attempts, which fail because they are half-arsed. And then the little voice says: "see, told you so!". And there I was thinking I had completely overcome such silly notions, ditched the "I can't do it" attitude. Evidently, not quite...
Believe me, it's embarrassing when you swear black and blue that you CAN'T DO IT. And you have two senior guys say: yes, you can! And they make you try again until you do it right. And then you just have to admit that you were wrong |-) But it's still a liberating feeling, throwing another "CAN'T" in the bin and adding a little bit more to the growing pile of faith in your own ability.
I do wonder if some of this "I CAN'T" attitude is just lazyness. It is easier to sit back and say naw, can't than to put in the effort to fight to make it work. It ends up an excuse. But what good is formulating an exucuse for shitty technique, when I could spend the same amount of mental energy on figureing on how to fix it?
I really need to learn to recognise these mental ruts, before they get so deep that I need someone else to point out that I'm stuck without the need to be there. I need to get off my lazy backside instead of flopping around like a beached whale while complaining that I'm stuck. Ha, looks like I have a bit of work on.... '
another comp!
Yes, yes, I entered the WBJJL comp, and my flights are booked :-)
I'm flying to the Gold Coast on the Friday, will get picked up on arrival Friday afternoon we'll take it easy and visit the horses. Saturday we'll leasurely drive up to Nerang. I'll compete and I'll try and talk my friends into staying and taking some video footage. And provide cheer squad support!
Sunday will be another day of leasure, maybe go horseriding. And catch up on the events of the last couple of years. There will be good food and much merriment.
Then, I'm due to fly back to Melbourne early on Monday morning. I might make it back in time for my lectures at lunchtime. Or maybe I'll just go home and recover from the strenuous weekend ;-)
It's a mini-holiday with my three favourite activities: BJJ, horseriding and eating good food.
I'm flying to the Gold Coast on the Friday, will get picked up on arrival Friday afternoon we'll take it easy and visit the horses. Saturday we'll leasurely drive up to Nerang. I'll compete and I'll try and talk my friends into staying and taking some video footage. And provide cheer squad support!
Sunday will be another day of leasure, maybe go horseriding. And catch up on the events of the last couple of years. There will be good food and much merriment.
Then, I'm due to fly back to Melbourne early on Monday morning. I might make it back in time for my lectures at lunchtime. Or maybe I'll just go home and recover from the strenuous weekend ;-)
It's a mini-holiday with my three favourite activities: BJJ, horseriding and eating good food.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
another comp?
Hmm, very seriously thinking of entering this one:
It's in Queensland, and I would need to fly up. BUT... I have a good friend who lives pretty close to Nerang, so I could visit her on the same occasion. Now THAT would be fantastic! I'm looking into flights :-)
It's in Queensland, and I would need to fly up. BUT... I have a good friend who lives pretty close to Nerang, so I could visit her on the same occasion. Now THAT would be fantastic! I'm looking into flights :-)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Gathering and other weekend stuff
The complete set of results is on the Will/Machado BJJ Australia site.
I had a mixed weekend. I actually had a fair bit of fun and overall, I felt that I went well. Numbers were down this year, so there weren't very many women. Only one other blue belt, so I competed against her in the 16-29 / over 74kg division. And got beat up :-) Placing: 2nd out of two. Woopee...
To give us girls a bit more fun and to have something for a visiting NZ purple belt lady to compete, they put on a mixed women's division at short notice. This was actually held just before the other one. There were the two blue belts, the purple belt and one senior white belt from NZ. I drew the white belt for the first round. It was interesting in that I had a chance to play my game against a very technical opponent of my size. She pulled guard and went straight for an armbar. But I passed her guard and it went from there. As so often though, I couldn't get anything from side control and eventually, things ended up such that she was in my guard. From there, I launched my usual attacks. Almost succeeded in getting her back. Couldn't finish anything off though and finally won on points.
The next (final) round was against the purple belt lady who had won her fight over the blue belt. This was a fun fight. I spent most of it defending. Eventually, I got armbarred. Really technical she was, and it was great. Even the grip fight at the start was good. I'm hoping that someone took footage of that one! Compared to other women I've competed against, she used technique, not grindy, nasty stuff.
So that was a 2nd place out of four.
Nothing to set the world on fire, but I found the right mix of being competitive and laid back and generally just enjoyed the day. What was also great was the chance to see most of my team-mates on the mat. They all did really well. Most brought home some shiny medals. But whether they won or lost, they all showed some awesome technique. And I think they all had a good day as well.
Sunday morning was the seminar with Rigan Machado at Dominance in Richmond. It revolved around d'Arce chokes and a bit of deep half guard entry to sweeps. Really good stuff.
On the way home, I got stuck in a traffic snare just before the Westgate Bridge, which resulted in an extra 3/4 hour I had to spend in the car. By the time I arrived home, I was nicely stiff and pretty worn out.
Another fantastic thing about the weekend: I finally (after 15 years or so) caught up with a good friend of mine. We used to go to agricultural college together back in 1982-85. Ha, yes, there was a bit of reminiscing.
And today, the post-weekend effects: sore shoulders, some matburn, still a bit tired and a messy house :-) But, more importantly, the memory of a great weekend and a lot of food for thought for weeks and months to come. I'd call it a success.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Gathering looms
I'm finally getting my head above water after another couple of intensive week of studies, tests, assignments, work and working horses. So I haven't had too much time to concentrate on The Gathering. Which may be good or it may be not so good :-)
I will admit that I haven't really spent much time or effort on preparing for this competition. Aside from being pretty, oh, absorbed (???) with other parts of my life, I'm just not that fanatical about it. I do BJJ primarily for fun and enjoyment. I don't mind competing, but it's not my reason for doing BJJ. So it suits me that our school doesn't put that much emphasis on it. But certainly, Sensei Glenn will be there on Saturday to support THE TEAM. Which is fantastic.
I had a truly shit session on Monday night. Not so sure why. I guess we all just have days when for whatever reason, the mind is not quite online and the body is sluggish. Well, that was me on Monday. I took the warm-up, and I must admit I was puffed at the end of it. Doh. But it wasn't a very hard warm-up and I could see no reason why I should feel like I did. In hindsight, I didn't eat well during the day. Not enough, and not the right stuff. Too much running around between lectures, and for other reasons.
Anyway, so I grappled like crap (I think it was Leslie who coined the term "crappling", which would have been a good description for my performance on Monday. The white belts ran rings around me. The rounds killed me. I was a sorry sight. So I was a bit upset, and hey, it's not the best way to be in the lead up to a comp. How can you get in a positive frame of mind??
Sensei reminded me that competition wins aren't his measurement of our progress. And that aside from that, the main goal of going to the comp is to have fun and learn. Winning is merely a bonus.
Words of wisdom.
Still am undecided if I'll go to the Pan Pacs the following weekend.
I taught a class on Wednesday, and I didn't get any rolling in. But I didn't mind so much. I was very pleased because I think I successfully taught two very new guys and at the same time two very experienced whites. I found I had something to give to all of them. New concepts and techniques for the new guys, tweaks and improvements for known techniques for the other two. All using the same techniques: have closed guard, break down the opponent, cross lapel choke. Transition to armbar. If they pull out and expose the other arm, go to omoplata. And if they posture ouf of that, triangle. So, so much there....
Tonight (my last session before Saturday's comp) was rolling but from specific positions. I found some Jiu Jitsu again :-) Or maybe it found me! I had one slight lapse of reason early in the night. I started rolling with Ben when in short order, I was on the bottom. And just as my brain was going to kick into neutral, turning me into an uncoordinated bundle of clueless strugglemania, I despairingly said: I'm HERE AGAIN!! Someone kindly pointed out that I WAS rolling with a purple belt. So maybe, just maybe, there ought to be no reason to lament. So I shut my stupid mouth, came to my senses. And from there onwards, I enjoyed myself again. Ben is just the best to roll with. And in the end, I got ample chance to work on getting the back and attacking from there. Oh, and sweeps.
After that, I had a couple of other partners. At times we went fairly hard, but never silly. And though I was a bit tired, I did pretty good. In the end I helped one of the guys troubleshoot getting from a low single to a good position. That also helped me, because I could see what worked or didn't work for him while at the same time learning more on how to defend someone doing it to me. It was a multi-layered learning experience, so to speak. Good stuff. But the main thing is that I'm pretty sure it helped him.
So, that little "blip" on Monday aside, I think I'm pretty positive heading into the comp. I'm actually looking forward to it now. And of course, on Sunday, we'll have the Rigan Machado seminar:
Last year's was the first one I went to, and it was fantastic. All in all, I have a great weekend coming up. Comp on Saturday, spend Saturday night with an old time friend (from waaaaayy back when we went to Dookie Ag.College together). I haven't seen her for years, so that will be great. And we're going out for dinner at a Persian restaurant. And then on Sunday, the seminar.
The toughest job tomorrow will be to decide on which gi I'll wear at the comp :-) Oh yeah, and pack my bag for an early start on Saturday...
I will admit that I haven't really spent much time or effort on preparing for this competition. Aside from being pretty, oh, absorbed (???) with other parts of my life, I'm just not that fanatical about it. I do BJJ primarily for fun and enjoyment. I don't mind competing, but it's not my reason for doing BJJ. So it suits me that our school doesn't put that much emphasis on it. But certainly, Sensei Glenn will be there on Saturday to support THE TEAM. Which is fantastic.
I had a truly shit session on Monday night. Not so sure why. I guess we all just have days when for whatever reason, the mind is not quite online and the body is sluggish. Well, that was me on Monday. I took the warm-up, and I must admit I was puffed at the end of it. Doh. But it wasn't a very hard warm-up and I could see no reason why I should feel like I did. In hindsight, I didn't eat well during the day. Not enough, and not the right stuff. Too much running around between lectures, and for other reasons.
Anyway, so I grappled like crap (I think it was Leslie who coined the term "crappling", which would have been a good description for my performance on Monday. The white belts ran rings around me. The rounds killed me. I was a sorry sight. So I was a bit upset, and hey, it's not the best way to be in the lead up to a comp. How can you get in a positive frame of mind??
Sensei reminded me that competition wins aren't his measurement of our progress. And that aside from that, the main goal of going to the comp is to have fun and learn. Winning is merely a bonus.
Words of wisdom.
Still am undecided if I'll go to the Pan Pacs the following weekend.
I taught a class on Wednesday, and I didn't get any rolling in. But I didn't mind so much. I was very pleased because I think I successfully taught two very new guys and at the same time two very experienced whites. I found I had something to give to all of them. New concepts and techniques for the new guys, tweaks and improvements for known techniques for the other two. All using the same techniques: have closed guard, break down the opponent, cross lapel choke. Transition to armbar. If they pull out and expose the other arm, go to omoplata. And if they posture ouf of that, triangle. So, so much there....
Tonight (my last session before Saturday's comp) was rolling but from specific positions. I found some Jiu Jitsu again :-) Or maybe it found me! I had one slight lapse of reason early in the night. I started rolling with Ben when in short order, I was on the bottom. And just as my brain was going to kick into neutral, turning me into an uncoordinated bundle of clueless strugglemania, I despairingly said: I'm HERE AGAIN!! Someone kindly pointed out that I WAS rolling with a purple belt. So maybe, just maybe, there ought to be no reason to lament. So I shut my stupid mouth, came to my senses. And from there onwards, I enjoyed myself again. Ben is just the best to roll with. And in the end, I got ample chance to work on getting the back and attacking from there. Oh, and sweeps.
After that, I had a couple of other partners. At times we went fairly hard, but never silly. And though I was a bit tired, I did pretty good. In the end I helped one of the guys troubleshoot getting from a low single to a good position. That also helped me, because I could see what worked or didn't work for him while at the same time learning more on how to defend someone doing it to me. It was a multi-layered learning experience, so to speak. Good stuff. But the main thing is that I'm pretty sure it helped him.
So, that little "blip" on Monday aside, I think I'm pretty positive heading into the comp. I'm actually looking forward to it now. And of course, on Sunday, we'll have the Rigan Machado seminar:
Last year's was the first one I went to, and it was fantastic. All in all, I have a great weekend coming up. Comp on Saturday, spend Saturday night with an old time friend (from waaaaayy back when we went to Dookie Ag.College together). I haven't seen her for years, so that will be great. And we're going out for dinner at a Persian restaurant. And then on Sunday, the seminar.
The toughest job tomorrow will be to decide on which gi I'll wear at the comp :-) Oh yeah, and pack my bag for an early start on Saturday...
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
pictures from the all girls day camp
Here is a little movie, which Jess Fraser made from photos taken at the Australian Girls in Gi day camp:
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