There and Back

A journey. A return. Probably tired.

Month: July 2023

  • Open Mat Reflections – Saturday July 29, 2023

    At the All Levels Class before Open Mat, we learned guard passing from Headquarters. And then the head instructor showed us a fun technique called the Rotolo roll, named after the (in)famous Rotolo brothers.

    Headquarters, or as I like to call it now: HQ or Command Centre or Base of Operations, is now my new favourite guard passing position. It seems safe and it has many options to pass from there. I have to remember to stay flat on my feet instead of on the balls of my feet, because I don’t want to be put off balance.

    ________

    A two stripe blue belt said I got the better of him today, that was a surprise. I rolled well against a seasoned purple belt, he doesn’t talk much but after we rolled I said “amazing job on the Octopus stuff,” he smiled. Another purple belt, a big one, said I had good defence, he also submitted me with a nasty arm bar.

    Learned that one of my favourite training partners, who has been out for ten weeks already, will be out for another six months because he injured two discs in his back, I hope he finds his way back to the mats before then and drops in to say hi now and then. I also bid farewell to another fellow blue belt who is moving to the big city.

    Life can get busy and shit happens, like injuries, but hopefully we all get to roll again another time.

    The All Levels class was fun and the Open Mat after was great. A good combo.

    Image generated by Adobe Firefly AI

  • Open Mat Reflections – Saturday July 22, 2023

    I’m wearing my favourite Gi. A Hayabusa Ultra Lightweight Stealth, colour blue. Always wearing blue.

    At the All Levels class, we practiced Octopus Guard. I love this guard.

    At open mat, I sparred well with a heavy white belt. He said I had good “little moves”, he said he would like to roll that way some day.

    A fellow blue belt said my technique is getting good. That put a smile on my face.

    Purple belt I rolled with that is a bit lighter weight than me, seemed slightly gassed after our roll. I think I did good, considering he had amazing technique.

    I didn’t get submitted which is a win for me. I think I’m getting better. All signs point to YES.

    Made this in Adobe Firefly

  • My Submission-Only Competition Results AND Why People Should Share More Pics of Them Getting Submitted

    In the basement of a small yoga studio, there were six people ready to fight each other. There were mats taped on the wall and different coloured mats on the floor all patched together to create a feeling of a (literal) underground martial arts tournament.

    My wife came with me. She was a great coach, manager, and cheerleader.

    I won one match my walk-over (which means my opponent didn’t show up so it’s basically a participation win) and lost four matches by submission; an arm bar, a rear naked choke, a straight ankle lock, and a D’Arce choke.

    Put your hand up if you want to see some pictures of me getting submitted?

    Wow that’s a lot of hands. OK the people have spoken, here you go:

    Arm bar with a beautiful triangle just in case.
    A deep rear naked choke. Throat still hurts.
    He got me with an ankle lock and 22 seconds. My fastest loss yet.
    I didn’t even see this D’Arce choke coming. He said he was a white belt but I think he’s full of shit.

    It’s cool to see people, sharing photos of their wins, having their hands raised, and having the medals around their neck, standing in the middle of the podium.

    But more people should show pictures of themselves getting submitted. It shows a side of BJJ that people need to see. The struggle. The growth. The journey. Not to mention it’s also kind of funny.

    So what did I learn from this submission only tournament?

    I learned I need better cardio. I felt better after the second and third and fourth match. But the first one as soon as I touched the guy I knew it was gonna be a tough match. He felt stronger and I felt gassed really soon into the match.

    I learned I need to work on standing hand-fighting and pummeling. I was out matched when it came to hand-fighting and trying to get under hooks or over hooks. My head got pushed around a lot.

    I learned I need to just make a move. I was hesitant on trying to do a takedown, although I had many opportunities to do a double leg and finish a single leg, but for some reason I gave up too soon. Perhaps my fear of injury had something to do with it. Basically, I need to learn to attack more often and just go for it.

    Overall it was a good experience. Looking to do another comp in October in my city. Better start training now.