09.07.08
Sick, bleh
Been communing with a bottle of Nyqil, boxes of tissues, and a mountain of cough drops since Thursday. Who gets a cold in August?! Haven’t been to any classes, just been sitting at home drinking chicken noodle soup, Gatorade, and tea and eating way too many carbs. Should be good to go by Monday, though.
09.03.08
BJJ
First, didn’t get to bed until after 1 a.m. (TKD goes until 11). Then, tired and cranky all day, so I took today as a refeed day.
Class tonight — again with the new guys, and lots of the guys who throw me around. Warmup wasn’t too bad. Actually made it all the way through the mountain climber/pushup finisher. Then some light rolling. I think my coach might have said something to a few of the guys who usually knock me around because they were not doing it tonight. Well, at least not nearly as bad as normal.
Drilled a continuation on the takedown to arm choke series; this time if you can’t get the choke, how to take the back to RNC. Worked with a guy about my size, but he hadn’t been around for the earlier stuff and he has a wrestling background, so he was trying to do it another way and was turning it in to a neck crank instead. Finally got him sorted out.
Then more rolling. Again got one of the guys who beats me up usually, but he wasn’t doing it for most of the round. Did try to jerk my arm out for a kimura once, and I knew I couldn’t get out of it, so I just tapped before he pulled it out.
My coach has said I need to move my hips more. I tend to get busy with my arms and forget about my legs (or the other way: get busy with my legs and forget my arms). So during one roll when I was stuck in guard and couldn’t get anything, I just kept shifting around while trying for an armbar, triangle, or omoplata. My partner looked confused and couldn’t seem to decide what to do. In all the shifting, I eventually got his arm in the right place for the armbar, but as usual, he just pulled out of it. Still, I had him going for a while there.
After class, the guys were goofing around and doing bicep curls with the Olympic bar. (They do know better, but they were just being silly.) I did some pullups, and got out 2 sets of 4, a new record! And a set of 2.
Gi BJJ, and TKD starts
BJJ, Beginners’ class, gi class
The gi class is also the beginners’ class. When new guys start and come to the beginners’ class, they don’t have a gi. Tonight, more than half the class was new; therefore, no gis. Tim wasn’t there, so the two assistant instructors were teaching and not rolling, which left me with only one guy on the approved list.
Warmup was again too light, although I was overheating in my gi and so didn’t mind. We tried to roll next, but over half the class had no clue what to do. I worked with a TKD guy on some basic stuff.
We drilled a choke tonight that has different variations for gi or nogi. Only problem, when we went to drill, is that they wanted us to pair up with the new guys, who didn’t have gis, and we all wanted to work the gi variation. (You have to grab the back of the guy’s collar to set it up.) I did work with one of the gi guys, the one guy on the approved list. But the whole class was just lopsided with so many guys without gis.
(Just thought of a brilliant idea–should’ve paired with a new guy and given him my gi top to wear. Then I could work gi and he could work nogi. I’ll have to remember that for next time.)
We didn’t actually roll because of all the new guys. Instead we did a guard pass drill. I got new guys both times, and I got drilled in the face with knees and elbows multiple times and muscled around. Not. Happy. Camper. Wasn’t doing all that well anyway, and at some point I just quit trying to defend and let them pass. Pushups are easier than getting slammed around. But then class was over and I had to split for TKD.
TKD
Tonight was my first night teaching the beginners. (They’re mine, all mine. *evil cackle*) Didn’t go too badly, although I was told after that I need to be louder. That, I can do. I just have to remember to stay loud. That’s the trick.
09.01.08
BJJ
More returning guys are trickling in. I think everyone’s still working out their class and work schedules, so it’s different guys almost every night still.
Warmup was light. Dunno what’s going on there. Drilled the same takedown to arm choke from Saturday and then a different variation on it. Then rolling. My coach checked on me every round to make sure I was with one of the controlled guys, and I was trying to get them, too. Last round I did get one of the muscling guys; I just worked defense and moving my hips. I’ve decided, though, that if I do get those guys again that I’m just going to tap right before they overpower me. There’s no point in even letting them jerk my joint out. By then I’m already hurt. Had to do it once with this guy.
When we were working the takedowns, my coach paired me up with the biggest guy in class — a foot taller than me and 80-90lbs heavier! But he won’t hurt me, so that’s why we worked together. We had to stay on this for a while because most of the guys weren’t there on Saturday and were having trouble.
At some point, my coach came over to talk to me and my partner and explained why he wanted this guy working with me and why he wanted only certain guys rolling with me. He said the muscling guys would crank me in to something and then grin and strut like they’d submitted one of the Gracies. (I always turn away from them after they hurt, er, submit me so I can regain my composure and remind myself not to knock their head off, so I’d never seen their faces after.) He said, too, that he doesn’t want the guys who roll with me to just take it easy on me — I’ll never learn that way, either — but that I shouldn’t just get beat up every class. My partner said he understood and said he’d have some fun with those muscling guys later. See why I love my guys? 
I did notice that a few of the muscling guys were trying to get to me for some of the rounds. I guess they like going with someone they can make tap a lot.
* * * * *
There’s a BJJ tournament in a few weeks. I want to do it. Need to talk to the guys.
I talked to the kickboxing instructor on Saturday. I need to get down to 118lbs for the tournament in November. I was at 124 after BJJ on Saturday (which should be minus water weight, except the body fat % was much too low, like it normally is when you’re well hydrated. Oh, well, it still said 124.), so this shouldn’t be hard to hit.
08.29.08
Kickboxing
Kickboxing was an hour later today, so only drills. A lot of them built on MMA last night, since the KB instructor was in class with us. Then some sparring at the end. I’ve got some TKD remnants trying to creep in to my kickboxing, especially not remembering to block my face still.
Then two ladies showed up for their kickboxing lesson. They take the cardio kickboxing class, and I think they want to fight/compete, so their class is slowly transitioning them from cardio kickboxing to full-contact kickboxing. I did the drills with them (some cardio KB, some just KB) and then rotated in for some sparring rounds.
Didn’t mind having a shorter class since sleep and food the last 24 hours haven’t been so great. Shoulders tired at the end of class, but that’s no surprise with all the punching last night and tonight.
MMA class
Lots of new guys showed up last night for MMA. Pretty good warmup; still can’t seem to get my glutes involved in squat jumps, so I just end up frying out my quads. Meh. Started with pummeling drills since most of the guys didn’t know how to do it. Rest of the class was jab, jab+cross, jab+cross+move. And a lot of that was just our coach explaining how to throw a jab and a cross. Most guys seem to think they know how to punch, but our coach kept stopping us and going back over the basics.
Somewhere in the night I started a blood blister on my right big toe. By the end of class I couldn’t put weight on it because that spot was so tender. Drained it at home, but it decided to hurt all night long. Maybe it was some of the antimicrobial wash that made it sting. I don’t know, but it woke me up several times. Still hurts today. So, jagged sleep, overslept, didn’t pack lunch, and I have kickboxing this afternoon. Ugh.
08.28.08
Jerks
BJJ, last night
It must have been “bring a friend to class” night, since nearly half the guys brought a buddy. A few new old guys, too, so it was a crowded mat.
Felt good in the warmup and was even beating the guys on some of the drills. Then we drilled basic triangle from guard (so many new guys). Then rolling.
I defended and moved fairly well and avoided most submissions. Again didn’t go for any submissions, but when they just power out of it or bench-press me off every time I go for something, I start to forget to go for that. Even used the triangle pass that we had drilled a defense against earlier. (Hey, I’ll take everything I can get!)
But overall it was a frustrating set of rolls. Three strong-arming guys. One kept kneeing me in the face and didn’t realize it. One just laid on me for most of the round. They all hurt me, but it was the same type of hurt I get every night from these guys. So while it hurts, I’m resigned to it.
And then the third guy tried to throw an ankle lock on me. We’ve never learned ankle locks in class. He rolled/shoved me one way and twisted my ankle the other way; that hurt enough for me to tap, but he shoved me again to roll me again and out of range of tapping and he continued to jerk on my ankle. I couldn’t reach him to tap so I had to holler, “Tap! Stop!” instead. Half the class stopped to see if I was okay.
He apologized profusely the rest of the night, and I know that he really didn’t mean to hurt me. But it still hurt. These guys try to overpower me for every submission instead of working to set it up correctly. And they can do it, but they hurt me in the process by jerking my limbs every which way, often going too deep (i.e., past the point I would have tapped at). My elbows and ankles, especially, have been injured many times before BJJ and I don’t want them hurt again, so I really will tap if you get me in a real submission.
08.26.08
All Gi Class
BJJ tonight. Tuesday are now all gi, which makes me happy. I’ll get at least an hour of gi in before heading over to TKD to teach. Also, they’re talking about restructuring the class schedules to fit in more BJJ (including more gi).
Warmup wasn’t too bad, though I’m still having trouble with squat jumps; too much quad, not enough posterier chain. Then we worked a hip throw, then did live takedowns and then live rolling starting from standing. Usually we start on the ground because most people don’t know takedowns and we don’t want injuries from people who don’t know takedowns trying to do takedowns. I wasn’t having luck on the takedowns, but I think I did alright once we got on the ground.
Worked with one of the guys from last night on one of the takedown drills. He’s probably 180/190lbs, maybe more (still bad with the guessing). And he wasn’t even trying to do anything with me. I told him that he could work, too, and he said that no, he’d just end up using strength, hauling me up by my lapels and slamming me down. So he just let me work. Went with another returning guy next, and he picked me up by my lapels and slammed me down. Yeah… Had to roll with that guy later, too, and he just sat on me most of the round and hardly did anything.
Rolled with one of the instructors tonight. He was really making me work for everything, even as he was baiting me by purposely setting me up for a particular move. I think I did well, though. Did forget all night to go for submissions; kept focusing on sweeps.
My knuckles are scraped raw from all the gi grabbing tonight.
* * * * *
Training for November tournament update: Third day on the cutting plan. So hungry all day; meals would only satisfy for a hour or so. Also, my meal planning stinks; I’ve been ~150 cals over every day. Even though I was hungry, had enough energy at BJJ to do everything, so for now I’m keeping the calories where they are. I’ll see if I can make it through a week and at this level of training.
08.25.08
School’s In…
Classes at the universities started today. Two guys who’ve been gone all summer showed up. Still small class, though. Warmup wasn’t insane. Warmup, roll, drill, roll. I ended up rolling with both of the returning guys and one of the newer muscley guys.
I see the difference now. The returning guys worked technique on me and used their weight, not their arms, to hold me down. I could work around on them and defend. The muscley guy, again, just tried to grab my wrists and break my arms (seriously; much ouch) or break down my posture to throw on a triangle. I couldn’t do much on him because he’d just wrap up my wrists with one hand and pin my knees down with the other. But I definitely do see the difference now, and it’s not all my fault; some of it’s just them being bigger and stronger and using that against me. Whatever floats your boat, dude…
The returning guys, who I’d never actually met before, both said I was doing well. My coach even came over after one of the rolls and told me I was doing good. (I’m not generally a person who needs a lot of feedback like that, but tonight it was nice to have after so many frustrating nights.) I know he sees when the guys are muscling me around because he’s commented on it before, but he usually doesn’t say anything and then I start to think that he doesn’t see it or I’m just imagining that they’re slamming me around…
I think too much when I roll. I wish I could shut off that running commentary in my head sometimes. It’s kind of like a spazzing Joe Rogan — like when someone’s just sunk something in deep and he gets excited — only without the helpful tidbits he throws out.
