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Saturday, April 3, 2010

Hey...this stuff actually works!

Today, our Summerlin crew took a little field trip to a sister-school in Apollo Beach. I had SO much fun. I had met several of the guys there a few times before, but I got to roll with a lot of new people, which is always exciting.

One thing that stuck out to me today was a grapple I had with a guy that is relatively new to BJJ. I'm not sure how long he had been training. Only a few months I think. He was bigger than me and, when I went to sit down with him, my instructor told me to show him what kind of rolling of a blue belt can do.

Greeeeeat. Since THAT doesn't make me feel pressure! lol

I had no idea what to expect. In fact, I was worried that I would disappoint my instructor by not being able to do anything against this guy. But when we started rolling, I was shocked to see that I could move alright. For the first time I felt like I was able to "put it on" someone bigger and stronger than me.

I left the grapple feeling exhilarated. I was thinking, "Hey, this stuff actually works!!"

Then I rolled with Dana, one of the purple belt instructors at the school. The confidence I had just built up was rapidly deflated! LOL I felt like a newbie all over again, even though it was a fun roll.

Learned a lot. Had a lot of fun. So, overall, great day!

4 comments:

Megan said...

Hee...quality!

Liam H Wandi said...

That's fantastic! Great to read Allie.

and happy Easter.

Anonymous said...

You did absolutely awesome. Remember, it doesn't matter how you roll with one person it doesn't change your level. What I mean by that is even if you would have had trouble it wouldn't change my decision on your belt. Your level is your level. The result of your grappling is just a byproduct of what happens when a blue belt rolls with a white belt. There will be times though when someones particular game throws you off. But a senior belt will learn quicker to adapt to that and answer that failure with a new attack from a different direction. A junior belt will simply keep hitting that person with the same attack over and over and hope for a different outcome. This is why diversity is so important.

Incidentally, Dana was very impressed with your level and he doesn't throw complements easily.

A.D. McClish said...

@ Megan and Liam: Thanks guys!!

@ "Anonymous": Ben, you forgot to turn off your stealth mode again. You are a ninja even on the internet. lol. Thanks for the encouragement! Dana was actually fun to roll with. I fumbled around and felt really slow against him, but obviously that's to be expected!! I'm really glad we went to that school because it gave me the confidence to know that I can do a welcome. I know you've told us that before, but it still surprised me. lol It also helps a lot to know that my "performance" in those times isn't going to make or break me.