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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Open Mat

Went to my first open mat today. I wasn't expecting how long the grapples would go for. It was fun, but I kind of like having the time limit. It gives me something to hope for. lol Got owned by one of our brown belts, Paul, which is always an experience. One of the newer girls was there watching on the wall. After we grappled, I sat next to her.

She said, "Hey, looks like you did pretty good!"

I thought to myself, I really, really like you, but were you watching the same grapple I participated in? "Thanks," I said, "but not really. He owned me."

"But you got out of everything pretty well," she told me.

I think I found my new best friend. If only what she was saying were true! "Thanks, but he was letting me escape."

"Really?"

Do I have to tell her the whole truth? Can't I pretend like I got one real escape out of that grapple? "Yeah. He was going slow so I could have a chance to move. He got me in positions and then stopped so I could work out of them."

"Oh."

Haha, at least I look good to people who don't have as much experience, right? lol It won't take her long before she realizes that I move like a guppy in a tank full of sharks. :)

My right shoulder has been giving me problems lately. It's the same one that bothered me before. I've been having to ice it every night. Someone suggested to me that I get one of those electro-shock pad thingies. You can get the small, portable ones for like $50, I heard. Anyone ever had any experience with those? Another person suggested massage therapy and rehab exercises. Anyone know any exercises to rehab a shoulder? The pain is mainly on the top, front part of my shoulder. One of the guys at class said he thought it was the tendon. I should probably just go to the doctor.

7 comments:

Laura said...

Oh, that girl sounds like a great cheerleader. You've never been to an open mat before? It's my favourite part of training. My gym has 4 open mats a week and I attend them all.

For the shoulder, see a physiotherapist. They'll help more than a doctor. Your shoulder is likely sore due to muscular imbalance and a physio can fix it. They might even use the electo-pad thingie (mine did). And of course, the sooner you start working on it the faster it will get better.

fenix said...

We have open mat once a week. it's great to just have a roll. We usually agree first if we go light or a bit harder. It's also a great time to work on stuff, and many times, people start from specific positions. But mainly, time for fun!

Laura is right, see a physio. I had issues with my right shoulder. First some minor damage to the AC joint, then I got a minor tear in my rotator cuff (failed takedown..). Physio did massage, ultrasound and gave me resistance bands to start rehabbing it. I didn't listen to her advice taking time off and paid for it later... Anyway, it's all good these days. But get it checked out by a physio, and later on down the track, consider some remedial massage (back/shoulders) ad you might get referred pain and tightness from the actual source. Good luck!

Georgette said...

The last 30-60 minutes of all our classes are open mat (most classes are 3-3.5 hours long.) We also have 3 specific open mat times 2 or 3 hours long. It's the only time I get a chance to see if I can apply stuff from class.

I always hear boys getting medical advice from other boys. I always wonder, why not see a doctor :)

Dev said...

I always tend to shy away from using "electroshock" and "self treatment" in the same sentence. Just me.

I'm not a certified physio, but with my limited knowledge, the short version is you have three options:

1. Ignore it. Ice it, keep rolling, and hope it doesn't get any worse.

2. Rest. I know what you think of this option, because I know what I think of this option. :) But in reality, it's probably the best thing you can do if you're to the point of icing every night.

3. See a doc. If the doc says self-treat with electroshock, I'll send you a crisp $100 bill. I swear.

Megan said...

It's probably a good thing you gave her a realistic perspective of what's going on when rolling with higher belts. It probably gives her a more clear perspective on the difference in skill levels between different belts.

I'm in the same shoulder-boat as you. A couple weeks ago, we were warming up before technique. I came out of a foward roll (huge problem area for me) and the head instructor says to me, "you just broke your shoulder". I rolled again. "You broke it again."

I think they're starting to take a toll because I'm having shooting pains whenever I move it certain ways.

Junior Familia said...

You know its frustrating to your partner when he cant catch you. I know if i cant get a submission i want then i get a little antsy, so even though you didnt hit a SPECIFIC escape, you shouldnt discredit yourself, because noone ever really relies on singular techniques to get anything done. I am always using one escape to get to another escape to get to another and then finally escaping.

Its seems like your making good progress allie!

Liam H Wandi said...

Give yourself some cred :)

http://parttimegrappler.blogspot.com/2009/11/give-yourself-some-credit.html