tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50061458546509968212024-03-04T23:53:30.116-08:00Allie the Clear BeltFlailing my way through the sea of grappling phenoms!A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.comBlogger290125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-8243773566342348042013-09-03T05:03:00.002-07:002013-09-03T05:08:06.082-07:00Never Give UpThis weekend I competed for the first time since last October. I piled into the trail blazer with questionable AC capabilities and packed full of my teammates and hit the road to Georgia for the Atlanta Open. I'm not going to focus on how much I needed that change of scenery, but it was so nice to see a different horizon for a little while and to laugh and joke with everyone without having to worry about work or house hold responsibilities.<br />
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But, despite how fun the trip was, I was nervous the whole way there.<br />
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It's funny, because before I took such a long break off competing, I had gotten to the point where my nerves were semi-controlled. I still felt a little nervous, but wasn't having the huge adrenaline rush and dump when I'd go to fight. I think it was because I had been competing enough to get desensitized to all the excitement of being at a tournament and fighting with everyone watching.<br />
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Apparently, taking almost a year off from competing undid the progress I made in controlling my nerves. I was a wreck. It is embarrassing to admit, but I had to resort to making two lists that I read to myself over and over and over again off my phone memo pad while I was at the venue. The first list was a list of all of my strengths when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu. The second list were all the reasons why I want to compete.<br />
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Why I Compete:<br />
To assess my strengths and weaknesses<br />
To challenge myself<br />
To represent my school/team<br />
To have fun with my teammates<br />
To meet new people<br />
To see other fighters grapple and learn from them<br />
To win<br />
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Now, I know the last one on the list might give some people pause. It is true, tournaments are more about the experience than the medal. But I do darn it I want to win too!! And I feel you have to make up your mind that you are going to win before you ever see the opponent you are facing.<br />
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That mindset really came in handy once it came time for my two absolute fights. The girls I went against were probably the toughest I have fought yet. I'm not just saying that. Not only were they both strong, but they were technical purple belts too. I was behind during the majority of both of my matches. During my last match, there was a point where I looked up at my teammates, and I could see on a few faces that resigned look that said, "She's done. She's not going to be able catch up."<br />
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But this was the first tournament where being in a bad position didn't ruin my confidence. Why? It came down to a few of the things on my strengths list that I had been telling myself over and over again all day: I am adaptable. I am good in a scramble. I can push the pace. I am good at escapes.<br />
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I regained the upper hand in both of those fights during the last thirty seconds of the fight. I honestly don't even know exactly what I did to get those sweeps and establish those dominant positions. In the last one, I remember clearly thinking, "Am I really going to win this?" I was just as surprised as everyone else. I was still in a state of shock when they raised my hand.<br />
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I am not entirely happy with how I did. I could have grappled better. My cardio could have been better. But what I am happy about was that I gave it all I had and was able to make it happen.<br />
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Moral of my weekend story: Don't give up until you hear the ref call for the stop.<br />
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<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-33353238582990497702013-07-28T08:49:00.002-07:002013-07-28T08:53:03.513-07:00New DreamHey guys! Hope you are all well!<br />
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This past year has been the most challenging year of my life to date. Almost every norm has been broken and remade. But a few things have stayed consistent: God, my family and close friends and Jiu-Jitsu.<br />
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We had a friend, Ammara, visit our gym this past week. As a blue belt and talented photographer (all the pictures in this post are hers), she has the lucky job of traveling around and seeing the jiu-jitsu community at large both on the mat grappling and through her lens. </div>
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One thing that she said while she was visiting our Women's Class really rang true to me. Observing how she had been treated in her travels to different places around the country, she said there was a consistent welcoming feeling of family at the vast majority of the places she visited. Despite the different affiliations, there was a common bond that all jiu-jitsu practitioners seem to have, regardless of school and style. </div>
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This gives me a big warm fuzzy, and I will tell you why. Going through a divorce in the last year, I lost a lot of friends, not to mention the actual family members that I lost by breaking ties with my ex-husband. It was an extremely painful time in my life. </div>
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But I wasn't alone. </div>
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I have been quiet on this blog, but I never stopped training. A lot of times I walked into the gym like a ghost. I felt hollow. Wrung out. Mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. But every time I came into the gym, I had a family of brothers and sisters who were there to make me laugh, to give me an ear to vent into or to hug me when I needed it. Some of them even had to slap some sense into me when I was threatening to get too crazy. </div>
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More than being a support, though, my gym family was a motivator. The girls and guys at my school would not allow me to give up. Not on the mat and not in my personal life. They pushed me to stay focused and to keep going. To keep fighting. When I made mistakes, they made fun of me, but only a little. ;) Then they encouraged me to get up, brush myself off and keep it moving.<br />
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Now, I am on solid ground again. I have a renewed vision and passion for my life. I know where I want to go and I am going to fight like hell to get there. And I am convinced that the support I got from the men and women at Fabio Novaes BJJ have a lot to do with that.<br />
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When you train Jiu-Jitsu, you share a lot more than just sweat and blood. You share life. I think that is why we feel that over-all sense of community that Ammara was talking about. I am thankful I am a part of that community. Thank you to everyone who has been there for me. You mean more to me than you know!!!A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-29066918550709400412012-12-19T08:20:00.002-08:002012-12-19T08:20:46.898-08:00What Do You Think I'm Trying to Do???This may be one of my favorite Women's Class moments yet.<br />
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During grappling, one of my 115 lb teenie tiny terrors was grappling one of our much stronger girls. The stronger girl had our little Mighty Mouse in mount and I saw her struggling so I came over to help her. I told her, "Try to get on your side and trap her leg into half guard."<br />
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Mighty Mouse stops moving and looks at me with the best eff-you face I have ever seen. With as much patience as she can summon, she says, "What do you think I am trying to do?" LOL!!!<br />
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It's ok, I feel your pain Mighty Mouse. I have been there before. A lot. I am still there on a regular basis. You learn these techniques, then you have to try to use them against someone bigger and stronger and it just...doesn't work. You start to wonder, "Does this crap even work for someone as small as me?"<br />
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The answer is, yes. But unfortunately for us Lilliputians, it takes time to learn how to use the techniques we learn against someone bigger and stronger who is actively trying to resist. There are no short cuts. Time spent in trial and error on the mat is the only way to overcome our size and strength disadvantage. However, I do have some tips that I have learned that help me when I am stuck.<br />
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1. Switch between escapes.<br />
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If you are trying one escape and it isn't working, switch to another one. Be able to transition back and forth between escapes just like you would transition from one submission to another or one position to another.<br />
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When you are learning escapes during technique and drilling, think about how the escape works and why. Ask yourself: When does this work best? Where does my opponents weight need to be? Where does my weight need to be?<br />
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Use your grapples with bigger stronger people to learn when to use the different escapes. If you spend the whole time getting smashed, ask your instructor or a higher belt for corrections to what you're doing or even new ideas for escapes you haven't learned yet.<br />
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2. Use trickery!<br />
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Small people need to be sneaky. Sometimes I use distraction to try to escape. I will act like I am going to one escape, but I am trying to covertly trap them into another escape.<br />
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3. Keep moving.<br />
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This is the most important thing. If you give up you will never get out. I am not saying you should flail around pointlessly.But, if you are in practice and you have no idea what to do, take a deep breath, think about what parts of your body are pinned down and what parts of your body are free. Then think about what you can do with the free parts of your body to either make space or get the other person off balance or to distract them so you can go for a different escape.<br />
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4. Give yourself a break.<br />
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Even black belts still have things to learn and we are not black belts yet!! ;) So accept the fact that you have holes in your game and look at them as challenges that you are ready to face and over come. Every grapple can teach you something, whether you spend the grapple getting submission after submission or if you spend the grapple eating the mat.<br />
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When you start to get frustrated, remind yourself how far you have already come. Give yourself kudos for sticking with a sport that is physically, mentally and emotionally demanding. Then, wipe the blood off your busted lip and get back on the mat and try again.A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-76445409535562627652012-11-22T05:52:00.001-08:002012-11-22T05:53:10.201-08:00Preparing for Tournaments Pt. 2: Trust Your Training!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You're up in the middle of the night again. Your brain won't shut off. The tournament is only a couple of weeks/days away and a million thoughts are racing through your head. You vacillate between trying to make up a game plan--I'm going to jump guard, then sweep to mount, then americana--and freaking out about what will happen if your game plan fails. The unknown is turning your potential opponents into beasts of mythological proportions. </div>
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Thanks to your overactive imagination, you suddenly don't know BJJ and you are fighting Goro from Mortal Kombat.</div>
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But, never fear, there's no need to resort to extreme measures. </div>
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You already have what you need to be successful in your fights. That's right, you: the white belt who still isn't sure which way your knees are supposed to point when you do an omaplata. Don't believe me? I will prove it with science!!! </div>
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Ok. I can't back that up. </div>
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But I can make a fairly convincing case for why you are more prepared than you think you are. </div>
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If you are serious enough about BJJ to compete, there's a very good chance you are training multiple times a week. That means you are enduring all those weird drills your instructor makes you do. You know, the ones where you do them but secretly wonder if your instructor just made them up so he or she could laugh at you while you scoot across the mat like a dog with worms? </div>
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It also means you are putting in hours of technique drilling. You are still practicing that basic armbar over and over again even though you could probably do it with your eyes closed. </div>
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And that, my dears, is exactly the point. </div>
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A few months ago, we did an exercise in the Women's Self-Defense Class. For three weeks, the girls in our class were practicing techniques they could use in the event that someone came up behind them, grabbed them and tried to drag them away. After I was confident that they had the moves down, I invited some of my good friends from the guy's class to help me out with an exercise. </div>
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We lined the girls up facing the wall. We blindfolded them. We turned the music up. Then Stephanie and I and my guy friends would sneak up behind them , grab them and start dragging them away. It was their job to use the techniques that they had learned the previous weeks in class. </div>
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And thus was born the first Terrifying Tuesday.</div>
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After the exercise was over, the girls were amazed. They reported that their bodies just...knew what to do when they were grabbed from behind. They didn't have to think about it. They just reacted. And it worked!!</div>
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The same thing can be said of all the techniques you have been drilling. All those hours of practice both in drilling and grappling has been training your muscles to do specific jobs. And your muscles are ready to do them when the situation calls for it. </div>
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But you have to trust your body. </div>
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Many times, I would kill my body's potential to perform by over-thinking. Instead of just grappling, my head was full of worries: Was I grappling ok? Was the other person better than me? What guard pass should I do? Are they trying to set up a swee--OH NO IM ON THE BOTTOM! HAAAAAAALP</div>
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All the over-thinking is taking your focus away from what you need to be doing: Just grappling. When it comes time to fight, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you do this all the time in class. Tell yourself that you are prepared and believe it. Step on the mat and have confidence that your body is ready to do what you need it to do. </div>
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And, if at the end of the day you go out there and grapple at your best and you still lose, don't get upset. It just means you have new things to focus on when you get back into class. New things to train your muslces to do. New ways of moving to learn. That's the fun of BJJ!!</div>
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But more than likely, if you go in both physically and MENTALLY prepared, you will surprise yourself with what you are capable of. If all goes well, you will be standing on the podium with a big cheesey grin with something shiny hanging around your neck. </div>
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<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-45722367110569866292012-11-20T06:20:00.001-08:002012-11-22T05:52:58.535-08:00Preparing for a Tournament Pt. 1: First TournamentGearing up for a competition can be nerve-wracking. All you need to do is look back into the earlier days of this blog and you will read about me freaking the crap out over my competitions. You worry about making weight, you worry about whether the other girls are going to be good, you worry about not losing your first fight and about not disappointing your instructor, teammates, friends, family and complete strangers who may be watching you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at my first tournament, trying to look intimidating but<br />
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So, in an effort to try to shave off a little wasted worry energy, here are some things I've learned in my very short time as a competitor.<br />
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1. If you are competing at a NAGA, fight in the weight class you are in. As women, you never know how many competitors you are going to have and if there aren't many, they will combine weight classes. Stephanie, my training partner and best friend, once kicked her own butt trying to drop to lightweight only to get to the NAGA and discover there were no other lightweight girls. She had to fight up a weight class.<br />
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This won't happen at IBJJF tournaments where they are very strict about weight classes, but even in those tournaments, consider how much of an advantage dropping weight really is. Will you still be strong? Will worrying about your weight take your focus off your training? I would say, if you are within a few pounds of the low end of your weight class, go for it. Otherwise, I am not sure it is worth it to kill yourself to drop weight classes.<br />
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2. Don't worry about how good the other girls will be. One year I stressed about all the possible girls in my division. I tried to look them all up on facebook and youtube and google search. I creeped their pages for any shred of information that might give me some insight into their bjj prowess.<br />
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But then, when I went to California last year, I decided that this wasn't about them. It was about me. It wasn't about how good they are, it is about me putting my skills to the test. Every day I started talking positively to myself about my strengths. I visualized myself doing what I do best and winning my matches. And I forced myself not to focus on whether I would win or lose, but on grappling at my best.<br />
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You cannot control how good the other girls will do. But you can control how well you prepare yourself physically and mentally. And if you are grappling at your best and you lose, who cares? All that means is that you still have room to improve--hopefully you knew that already. ;)<br />
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3. Me and Steph would always say things like, "I just hope I don't lose my first match."<br />
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Why? What if you fight the best girl in the division and lose your first match? Does that make you suck because you lose to that girl in the first round instead of losing to her in the second round? It doesn't change anything.<br />
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Instead of focusing on NOT losing or NOT getting submitted or NOT getting swept or whatever negative thing it is that you fear, try to focus on something positive instead, like passing guard or doing a take down or doing a sweep. Visualize yourself doing these things over and over again and drill them like crazy in your classes.<br />
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If you worry about things beyond your control--like what the other girl may do to you--then you are wasting energy. Focus your energy on the things you can control--like drilling positions and submissions and visualizing yourself doing those in the tournament. Visualize yourself winning and put in the work to make it a reality!<br />
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4. If your coach, team, friends and family shun you because you lose a match then you need to make a social move. Your worth to your team does not rest in how many medals you bring home. And if it does, then forgive me but you are on the wrong team. And certainly your worth to your family and friends isn't tied to how well you perform.<br />
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When I competed in Atlanta, some of my family who lives in Georgia was there. They had never seen a BJJ tournament. Before I fought, I gave them a crash course in what to look for: dominant positions and submission attempts and escapes. Their eyes were huge the whole time. They had next to no idea what was going on. But they screamed their heads off when I was fighting and were proud of me even when I got disqualified. Why? Because they love me, not because I grappled well. Your friends and family will be proud of you too no matter what because you are important to them as a person.<br />
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<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-28657196141080768582012-09-08T09:28:00.000-07:002012-09-08T09:28:29.179-07:00Just When You Think You're Safe...This morning in the Women's Class, we worked on some triangle transitions. One to the key points that Fabio emphasizes is that, when you are going for a triangle, it is important to hip up when you are initially clamping your leg over their back. You get a much tighter triangle from the beginning that way.<br />
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After your establish the triangle, people can defend several ways. But as always in BJJ, there is a counter to every defense. For example, when you triangle someone and they over hook the leg on the same side as their triangle arm, you can sit up and kimura them or wristlock them, or you can pry out the arm and do a straight arm or switch to a regular armbar.<br />
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While we were going through the steps, Ashley made a funny observation. She said, "Just when you think you're safe and you're defending something, they get you again! There's nowhere safe! There's just the lesser of two evils!"<br />
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Here is Ashley being one of the evils! ;)</div>
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But what she said has some truth to it. In Jiu-Jitsu, there is always a counter move. And a counter to that counter. And another counter still after that. That is what makes it so exciting! You will never reach a point where you have seen everything because people are always inventing new ways of moving. </div>
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One of our newest girls grappled me today and at first was hesitant to move. I encouraged her by saying, "This is your time to experiment. Don't be afraid. Try whatever you think of. That's how you learn."</div>
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I enjoy very much the point when a new girl goes from flailing with all their might to a more calm, rational approach in grappling. You can see that they are starting to think about the concepts, starting to work out the cause and effect of the various movements, grips and positions. They stop wasting so much energy and start seeing the chances to use what they are learning. That's when Jiu-Jitsu really starts to happen. I love to grapple them because they have a fresh approach to moving. They try unconventional things because they haven't learned convention yet. Today, I got a new idea for an escape because of the way one of the new girls moved in my side control. I wouldn't have thought to try what she did. Now I have a new tool to use.</div>
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The most important thing when you are grappling in training, in my opinion, is to approach it like you would an experiment in a lab. You think something might work? Try it. If it works, try it again. If it doesn't work, modify it and try it again. If it still doesn't work, maybe go back to the drawing board. The fact that you may fail at first doesn't make you a bad grappler. The fact that you keep trying to work out those problem positions will make you a better grappler--a smarter grappler--in the long run than if you only stick to things that you know will work. </div>
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These are some of the bear traps when we aren't disgusting and sweaty. ;)</div>
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<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-53779783241703016652012-09-05T05:41:00.001-07:002012-09-05T05:51:52.195-07:00Sucking at Something is the First Step to Sorta Being Good At Something<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, that's comforting. I guess. </div>
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I was talking with a friend of mine, Nick, and we were discussing how having to face-off against competitors who challenge your game/style is an essential part of the growth process in BJJ. </div>
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Human beings are creatures of habit. If we find something that works--a pass, a specific type of guard, a certain submission that no one expects--we will keep doing it. And doing it. And doing it. And doing it. When that happens to me, I start to feel a little bit good about myself. </div>
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And then it happens. People wise up to that sneaky submission, or that unstoppable pass or that unpassable guard. In a tournament, this can be even more shocking/disheartening. You may face off against someone who passes your super awesome guard like butter or who rolls out of your ace-in-the-hole submission with almost no effort. Suddenly, you feel like you're "back where you started". Sometimes it might even feel like you've regressed. </div>
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Of course that isn't really the case. You haven't forgotten the things you already learned. It's just that the people around you have adapted to what they have repeatedly seen from you. Or, in the case of competitors at a tournament, perhaps you are facing a style you aren't used to. </div>
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In both cases, these seemingly negatives are actually positives. Left to ourselves, we might not move away from those tried and true moves we rely on. Grappling people who challenge us forces us to break out of our normal routine and learn new ways of moving. </div>
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Sometimes I hear people talking about how they don't want to grapple certain people or that they don't want to go to a tournament because they are afraid they will lose. To me, this is not a good way of approaching training/competing. In BJJ, losing does not equal failing. If you take advantage of the experience, losing equals learning and growing. </div>
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So your guard got passed. Figure out how they did it and how you can move better to defend that pass. Heck, learn that pass yourself. It worked on you so maybe you can make it work on someone else! So you got submitted. Don't get down on yourself and start feeling like you suck. All it means is that you have more to learn. And that's a good thing. Because if you already knew everything there is to know about BJJ, class would start to get boring. :)</div>
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Also, if you are grappling and your focus is on whether or not you are going to lose or win, you will not be able to grapple your best. Instead of concentrating on whether or not you are doing good, concentrate on what you are doing at that moment. Don't worry about whether or not other people are watching and if they think you suck or if they think you are awesome. Be present in the experience at hand and get the most out of it that you can. </div>
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A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-62971094375590508152012-08-08T05:44:00.001-07:002012-08-08T05:45:02.277-07:00Chore or Chance?Do you have the same excitement for BJJ as you did when you first started training? I remember what I was like during that first year. Poor Ben. My instructor would get to the class (which was held at a local high school) and find me and Stephanie already waiting outside the locked door. From the moment he arrived we would start talking to him. Our questions were endless. What should we be doing to get ready for a competition? What was that side control escape you showed us three classes ago? I keep getting triangled when I pass guard and I don't know why. Can you help me?<br />
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We were out of shape then, but we made up for it with sheer zeal. There was a lot of laughing and goofing off between me and Steph, but we soaked up as much of what Ben was saying as our newbie brains could manage. After class, we usually pounced on Ben and picked his brain about various positions. It wasn't uncommon for him to stay after for 30 minutes or more giving us what I now realize were free private lessons. lol</div>
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We never missed a class except for grievous physical injuries or natural disasters. </div>
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Once we started training at Fabio's, the obsession deepened. We couldn't get enough of BJJ. We had finally begun to grasp the concepts and we wanted more! </div>
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Now, 3 years later, things are a bit different. I went from being a youth minister/stay at home mom to having a more demanding job time-wise. There are some days that I am so tired after work that I contemplate whether or not I want to go to class. I know many of you have felt that way before.<br />
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So what is it that is keeping me on the mat 5 or more times a week?<br />
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I know I talk to women who dread going to the gym. They hate the treadmill. They have to drag themselves onto it. Why do they go? Maybe it's guilt? Maybe they really want to lose weight? Maybe they feel they need to be healthier? Maybe someone is pressuring them to be there?<br />
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I go to BJJ for health and fitness. But more than that, I go because I STILL love the art. When I see something new, I still get that same excitement I got when I first started. I still sit at home and think about ways I can move differently. I still stay after class sometimes working out problems with other higher belts.<br />
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What keeps a BJJ practitioner on the mat is love. We go and we keep going because we love the sport/art. Anyone who comes into BJJ and does not really love it won't last very long. It is hard. It is time-consuming. It is mentally and physically exhausting. You get injuries. You get sore muscles. You get your hair pulled out and you have to keep your nails short and blah, blah, blah.<br />
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Doesn't matter.<br />
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For me, when it's love, you do whatever it takes. When it's love, going to class isn't a chore. It's a CHANCE to see something you haven't seen before. It's a chance to grow.<br />
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What things keep you coming back to your BJJ school?</div>A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-67658193875676391032012-07-29T18:41:00.002-07:002012-07-29T18:41:53.439-07:00Dealing with Defeat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It is always nerve wracking for me to watch my teammates fight in tournaments. My palms get sweaty. My heart pounds. By the end of a tournament, my voice is usually gone and, even if I didn't fight, I am exhausted. But being there to support the girls from the women's class took my anxiety to a whole new level.<br />
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Four of our new girls competed, three for the first time. Every time one of them stepped on the mat, I felt proud and scared at the same time. The fact that they were brave enough to try at all made me proud. What made the experience even better was seeing them use what they have been practicing in a high stress situation. They fought well and with a lot of heart. I couldn't be happier.<br />
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But, strangely, the thing I am most proud of happened in the week after the tournament. One of my girls went and lost. It happens to all of us. You work so hard, but it just doesn't come together. When that happens to one of my teammates, I always feel like I'm holding my breathe to see how they will take the loss. Will it shatter their confidence or push them to train harder for the next tournament?<br />
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Understandably, this student was upset right after the loss. She had given it everything she had. I've been there before. I hugged her, told her how proud I was of her and about all the positive things I saw in her grapple, then she and her friends watched the rest of the tournament and enjoyed themselves.<br />
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I wondered what she was thinking. Would she lose confidence in herself? Would she want to try again? Would she even want to keep training? This girl has a lot of potential and the thought of her quitting made me feel very anxious.<br />
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But I knew this was one of those defining moments that grapplers face. <span style="background-color: white;">Jiu-jitsu is hard. You get bruised up physically and emotionally. But eventually, if you do not quit, you can learn from all your bumps and bruises and hopefully avoid them in the future. Or deal them out yourself. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">When this student showed up for class the next week, I was paying close attention to her attitude. I found out everything I needed to know as soon as we slapped hands to grapple. She was hungry. She fought better and with more aggression than I had ever seen from her before. It wasn't just her trying to use strength, she was thinking. She was using her technique and she was coming after me. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">I couldn't stop smiling. I was even more proud of her then than I had been with her good attitude at the tournament. She wasn't going to quit. She was going to work harder. She was was going to make sure she learned her lessons from that tournament. Already, in the few weeks that have passed, I have seen improvement. </span><br />
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So...keep struggling. Wear your bruises with pride. They're evidence that you're committed to growth, both as a grappler and as a person. Osss!!!A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-38055651612269700692012-05-26T05:29:00.001-07:002012-05-26T05:29:52.678-07:00Teams Build PeopleWhen I first started coming to Fabio's, I thought it would be intimidating and maybe even slightly hazardous to my joints. I mean, you have a mat full of big, sweaty guys who are spinning around and jumping and twisting limbs and choking people. Kind of intimidating.<br />
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I was quiet as a mouse for a while after I started coming there. Very shy. I think I said "I'm sorry" even if someone accidentally bumped into me.<br />
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But I realized early on that the guys at the gym were not blood thirsty meat heads who might snap my arms off if I offended them. I started noticing how they went out of their way to help me during drilling, correcting little details I was doing wrong. I noticed how most of them were careful with their weight distribution while we grappled. Many of them even instructed me on things during my grapples. Anyone that I asked to help me was more than willing to try to help me understand difficult movements and concepts. I also noticed that these guys were a part of each others lives outside of the gym and were there for each other. And soon they were there for me too.<br />
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The team, I realized, was a big family. And it's function was to built people up, not just in the techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but in character as well. People who are lacking in confidence are encouraged and strengthened. People who are prideful are humbled, but then encouraged once they realize their mistake. People who have trouble dealing with conflict learn how to manage their anger. People who are scared are challenged to face their fears. People who are passionate are given a channel to fuel their energy into.<br />
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For me, personally, my team has helped me develop self confidence. When I first came to Fabio's, like I said, I was very much a mouse in the corner. Through competition (which I hated until the past six months or so), through hitting the wall and having to keep going, through trying and failing, I have realized that it is ok to be imperfect. In fact, it is what makes us human. When I understand that it is ok for me to make mistakes, so long as I learn from them--on and off the mat--then I have freedom to try things I would otherwise be too scared to do.<br />
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I have learned that I can survive, even when I am being squashed by a giant man. I have learned not to give up, even when it looks like I am going to lose. I have learned that patience and adaptability can beat sheer power. I have learned never to underestimate what my body--and mind--are capable of doing even when I think I have nothing left.<br />
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The question I have is, since my team has given me so much, am I paying it forward? I want the answer to be yes.<br />
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Thanks for everything, guys. You are like my family and I love you!!</div>
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<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-68146580255667710082012-05-18T06:12:00.001-07:002012-05-18T06:12:23.593-07:00Summer Training<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It is hard for me to believe how fast time has flown by. Last summer, Stephanie and I started teaching the Women's Class at Fabio's. A few weeks ago, during Women's Class, I was watching the girls grapple and realized that they deserved stripes. </div>
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It is funny, because we don't focus that much on stripes and belt promotions at our school. Fabio tries to get us to think about learning, not about "advancing". So it is not something that is in the forefront of my mind usually. </div>
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But when I was watching the girls grapple, I was noticing things like how they were keeping their base when passing guard, how they are keeping good pressure from top positions, how they are attacking and seeing submissions from different positions and transitioning between positions and submissions. And I realized belatedly that these girls are not brand new beginners anymore. </div>
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They've grown. </div>
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Fabio had taken the stripe tape with him to the Brandon school, but I was too excited to wait for the real tape. So one my friends, Anthony, helped me make stripes out of medical tape. Hahaha. Three of the girls got the most gheto (but really meaningful to me) stripes that night. Congrats to Victoria, Madison and Shelby!! </div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">There is someone else I need to sing praises to as well. </span>
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Stephanie is the cream filled center of my Oreo. She's not only my best friend, but she has been right beside me since day one with the Women's Class. Starting up a new program--especially one that tries to convince women to come in, get sweaty and fight other women--is hard. We have seen a lot of girls come in and not come back. We've seen some come and stay for a while, then leave. But slowly, over time, we have been built up a core of dedicated women who love the sport. I don't think I would have been able to do it without Stephanie.</div>
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Now, as summer comes, we are getting ready to bring or Women's Class to a tournament in July. The girls are kicking it into high gear and I couldn't be more proud of them. It is so exciting for me to see them growing both in skill and confidence. I love my ladies!!<br />
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On an unrelated note, I had the pleasure of going to visit The Armory in Palm Beach a few weekends ago. I went to visit a friend of mine, Marcelo Cohen, who trains there. Everyone at The Armory welcomed me like I was family. I had some awesome training there and, if you're ever in the Palm Beach area, don't miss the chance to go there. You will meet some great people and get some great training. Thanks to everyone there for making my weekend so awesome! </div>
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<br /></div>A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-55787080353405835902012-04-21T09:21:00.003-07:002012-04-21T09:21:19.478-07:002012 PanAms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am finally carving out time to write my Panams post!! It was such a great experience all around, it is hard to know what to talk about first. </div>
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I mentioned on here that I was cutting weight to the division below the one I normally fight in. I usually do lightweight, so this time, I cut to featherweight. I only had to drop around 10 lbs and I started in December, so I thought it wouldn't be that difficult. At first, it wasn't. I just cut my calories and upped my cardio. But as I got closer and closer to the competition, those last few pounds were REALLY hanging on for dear life. I was in full blown panic mode by the time I left. </div>
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Enter three of the best teammates ever!</div>
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From the left, you have Ray, Jimmy and Brian. They helped me not to lose my mind on Wednesday and Thursday. They went down with me to do cardio Wednesday night and Thursday night. But, even though I was eating super clean and doing cardio, I still was a pound over on Friday morning when I had to fight.<br />
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I've never gone to a tournament and not made weight. I was panicking, for sure. I had already done 30 mins of cardio in sweats that morning and I hadn't eaten anything. The night before, I had done 45 mins of cardio, ate only and apple and an orange and slept in sweats. Still a pound over.<br />
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Fabio told me to go out to the car in sweats and in my gi,, turn the heater up and sweat it out. I was sitting out there, freaking out, and one of my teammates, Paul, called me. He talked me through everything and got my mind off of the panic. After about 40 mins, I went back in and weighed in and made weight! Woohoo!!<br />
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With all the worry about making weight, I wasn't nervous at all about the actual competition. After I made weight, I was so happy that the rest of the day was just...fun! At the Miami Open, I was able to relax and not be a nervous wreck. But this time, I actually had a lot of fun.<br />
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I was thrilled to see a lot of Florida girls at the Pans. Shout out to Melissa Bentley, who I got to fight in my division. She was by far my hardest match, both times. Glad to have gotten to know you more, girl!! I also saw Jennifer, from over at <a href="http://family-mat-ters.blogspot.com/">http://family-mat-ters.blogspot.com/</a>. Also, congrats to Amanda "Tubby" Santana, who not only competed and did well, but also got promoted to purple belt on the podium! :)<br />
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I learned a lot at this tournament, especially about the mental aspect of competing. I learned that my body can do much more than I thought, if I push myself and stay focused. Also, I got over my fear of take downs and the stand up portion of competition. I didn't do any awesome take downs, but for the first time I felt comfortable on my feet. That is a big step for me. Maybe I can start to be a little more confident to try new take downs in the future.<br />
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I also had a breakthrough with a sweep from guard. When the other person stands up in your guard, you swim the leg, switch your hips and take them over. In my first match, I forgot about it. But my teammate, Jimmy, was screaming from the sidelines in my next match telling me to do that sweep. I did and after that, I saw that sweep all over the place. Fabio has shown me that sweep about a million times, but I never really noticed it during the heat of grappling until that moment. Funny how things click sometimes.<br />
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When I look back at competitions in the past, they have not been fun for me. I put so much pressure on myself to perform that I missed out on all the joy of being on the mat and meeting new people and just enjoying the fun. But now, I look at it differently. I have nothing to prove to anyone. All I can do is go out on the mat, do what I know, fight my hardest and enjoy the people and the experience. If I can do that, win or lose, I can walk off the mat happy.<br />
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Here are some pictures from the trip:<br />
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Team Fabio Novaes!! </div>
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Featherweights represent!! All three of us placed in our division AND in absolute. Little people rule! :)</div>
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Us on the podium for our division.</div>
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Double Rainbow all the way! What does it mean??? lol</div>
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Congrats to the Tower of Terror, Brian Germain, and Ray!</div>
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Soooo....this is what happened after I was done fighting. And it has kept on happening ever since! </div>
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Got to see a little bit of the beach.</div>
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Last story. There were a lot of really awesome BJJ grapplers at the tournament and every time I turned around, I was all fan-girl about someone. Got to see a lot of awesome fights. Tried to soak it up like a sponge. But there was one guy, who wasn't competing, that I wanted to get a picture with. Marcelo Garcia. I really love his grappling style and am a little bit star struck by him. lol. My teammates kept making fun of me, because I would see him, start to go over to ask for a picture with him, then chicken out and turn back. Finally on the last day of the tournament, my teammate Ray sees me looking at Marcelo and he shouts out, "Hey Marcelo! This girl has been trying to get a picture with you all week!" </div>
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Needless to say I blushed a little bit. But he was really nice and he came over and took a picture with me. Much happiness was had on my part. :)</div>
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Great trip. Great experiences. I really hope I can go back next year!!</div>A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-65894711712673809482012-03-20T06:15:00.000-07:002012-03-20T06:15:28.056-07:00Finding SpaceSometimes when you are grappling someone bigger and stronger, it can feel like your face and the mat are having an inappropriate relationship.<br />
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You know by watching how your instructor moves out of bad positions from underneath behemoths that it is possible to escape superior strength and size. You hear talk about leverage and hip movement, about using people's momentum against them. But when you get into an actual grapple and someone locks you down, it may feel like there is no possible way to move. The person is too tight. Or they have too much weight on you. Maybe they are just enormous and you feel like you are trying to grapple the moon. </div>
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Fabio told me something one time that changed the way I thought about getting out from underneath heavier, stronger people or people who are locking me down. He said that a person cannot be tight everywhere at once. For example, if someone is locking down your head and shoulders, your hips will have room to move. Conversely, if someone locking down your hips, you will be able to make space with your upper body. Unless you are grappling an octopus or some kind of freakish alien, people simply don't have enough limbs to effectively lock down your whole body at once. </div>
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These are some steps I have have been working on when I am under lock down:</div>
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1. Instead of focusing on where I am trapped, I try to think about which parts of my body I can move and use.</div>
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2. If something is being pushed down, instead of pushing back, I try to either slide out to one side or the other, going towards the space from the areas that aren't locked down. Usually, this requires getting an under hook and a lot of hipping. </div>
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3. I try to remember that I don't always have to come out to a side. Sometimes I can come out from behind a person, or invert and sneak over their head to their back. Taking risks and possibly landing in a worse position is part of learning how to escape. </div>
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4. If I am trying to hip out to one side and a person is driving into me, changing directions quickly--like hipping back into them suddenly--will usually throw a person off balance and either give me room to escape or enable me to sweep. Unless, of course, they already expect my little tricks and then they just laugh while they squash my feeble attempts at freedom. </div>
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<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-17586640891212913882012-03-08T06:32:00.000-08:002012-03-20T06:15:46.796-07:00Always Keep MovingI have been trying to break a bad habit in the past few months. When I am grappling and get into a scramble and end up in a bad position, I have had the bad habit of stopping in the bad position for a little bit. For example, I am defending guard and someone passes and gets to side control. I would pause in side control for a few seconds. Part of it was being tired. Part of it was thinking about what to do next. Part of it was just feeling a little defeated, I guess.<br />
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But Fabio pointed out that, in a tournament, the person has to establish the position for 3 seconds before they get the points for it. If I keep moving, I might be able to escape before they get points for establishing the position.<br />
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So, lately, when I am grappling, it is my goal to never stop moving. If I don't know what to do, oh well. I try to just go with my instincts and see what happens. Doing that has been helpful because I am learning new ways I can move.<br />
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I try to ignore being tired. Last night a guy was passing my guard and we were scrambling. He was moving around on top of me with a lot of pressure and I was folding and hipping and folding, trying to return to guard. My muscles got so tired that, at one point, my whole chest felt like it was constricting and I felt a little panicked because I could not breathe. But I pushed through that panic kept moving until I got to my guard where I could rest for a second. It is amazing how my mind wants to give up before my body actually needs to.<br />
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If I am in a bad position and I am tired, thinking about escaping can be overwhelming. The thing that helps me the most when I am that tired is to focus on basic principles and small steps like, "I need the underhook here. Work for that underhook. Good. Now I need to hip out. Inch, inch, inch. Good." When I only work on a few steps at a time, it makes it seem like less of an impossibility. It also takes my mind off a negative fact--that I am in a bad position--and keeps it focused on a positive action--what I can do to escape.<br />
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There are a lot of times where I still run out of gas and have to pause in a bad position. If I absolutely have to stop, I defend my limbs and neck, breathe for a few seconds, then start inching and moving again.<br />
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The main things I am looking for with all of this constant movement are:<br />
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1. To move my limbs out of danger.<br />
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2. To create space for an escape.<br />
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3. To get my opponent off balance for a sweep.<br />
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4. To look for the chance to go on the offense (to attack something when someone is moving between positions, usually).<br />
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A teammate of mine who is a higher rank than me grappled me recently and, after a scramble, put me in a choke. Usually he lets me work out of submissions, but this time, he went for the tap. When I tapped and said it was a nice choke, he responded with, "Yeah, you were wriggling out of things so much and being such a pain in the ass I had to choke you." LOL. I take that as a compliment, sir. Hopefully I will get better at it.<br />
<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-89619241469431031152012-03-03T04:34:00.000-08:002012-03-03T04:35:07.500-08:00Women's Self-Defense SeminarThis past Thursday, I had the pleasure of being a part of a Women's Self-Defense Seminar to benefit Relay for Life. Fabio hosted the seminar at his school, and I got the chance to try my hand at leading a seminar.<br />
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<a href="http://ts4.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1628591556571&id=a9569a74e2c0833e1c323859292a95e0&url=http%3a%2f%2fnsunews.nova.edu%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2011%2f02%2frelay-for-life-logo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ts4.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1628591556571&id=a9569a74e2c0833e1c323859292a95e0&url=http%3a%2f%2fnsunews.nova.edu%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2011%2f02%2frelay-for-life-logo1.jpg" /></a></div>
In case you don't know much about <a href="http://www.relayforlife.org/">Relay for Life</a>, is is a fundraising event led by volunteers in local communities where teams gather to celebrate loved ones who have battled cancer and won, to remember loved ones who have been lost to the disease and to raise money to fight back and work towards finding a cure.<br />
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I was excited to be a part of this because not only is this a great charity to support, but this past year I have experienced the fear that comes from hearing the word "cancer" after a loved one goes to the doctor. My grandmother battled breast cancer this year and is one of the lucky ones. It was a scary time for our family when we found out, because at first the prognosis wasn't good. But thank God she was able to fight back.<br />
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Since the seminar was for women and was attended by mostly women who had never done Jiu-Jitsu before, we focused mainly on techniques that can be used in self-defense if a man tries to attack and rape you. We worked several different armbars and kimuras from guard and mount escapes. After that, we had a "what if" session where they asked me questions like, "What if someone grabs you from behind." I told them that I was by no means an expert, but that I would show them what I would do in those situations. During the seminar I was so busy I completely forgot to take pictures. I know, I know. Go ahead and verbally flog me. ;)<br />
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I want to thank Relay for Life for coming out to our school and for letting us take part in the fight to cure cancer. We had an awesome time. Also, thanks to Stephanie, Jen, Joyce, Rowan, Shelby, Frances and Cheraine for coming out to help with the seminar. You ladies rock! :)<br />
<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-68035776514656934372012-02-27T12:29:00.002-08:002012-02-27T12:29:38.462-08:002012 NAGA Tampa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So the Women's Class went to our first tournament!</div>
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Here is Madison getting ready to do battle! :)</div>
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At Fabio's, we have a tradition of tying up new competitors up on the way up to the tournament.</div>
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They are lucky the trip was only an hour away! LOL</div>
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It was Madison's dad's first tournament as well, and Stephanie was also competing. Me and Robo Rowan were there to support.</div>
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After coming to the tournament, Robo Rowan has decided that she wants to "beat some people up" too. She will be terrorizing the teen division in no time! ;)</div>
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Stpehanie getting in the zone. </div>
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Warming up before the tournament started.</div>
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Some of my favorite girls. Erica (on the far left) also competed. </div>
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I am so proud of "Mad Dog" Madison. After only three weeks of training, she stepped on the mat to compete. She ended up having to fight a girl who was older, bigger and with way more experience. Even so, she did awesome. She defended a guillotine, swept the girl and was trying to pass guard when the girl caught an inverted armbar. Madison didn't know how to escape that because she had never seen it before, but even so she started to roll out the right way, but then got confused and went the other way. Unfortunately, she ended up hurting her elbow. But she is already back in class and is planning to compete again when her elbow is better. She is a fighter! :)</div>
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Steph and Erica also did really well. They each got second place in their divisions. I am so proud to be a part of Team Fabio Novaes and to have the chance to train with so many great people!</div>
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<br /></div>A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-43783651327145581632012-02-14T06:56:00.001-08:002012-02-14T06:56:47.441-08:00Mock TournamentOne of the girls from the Women's Class is competing this weekend at a NAGA in Tampa. I am so excited. As this is her first tournament, Stephanie and I have been trying to prepare her for the intensity of a tournament grapple by putting on a lot more pressure and being a lot more aggressive in sparring. But last Saturday, we took it a step further and had a "mock tournament" during class.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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(<span style="font-size: xx-small;">some of the girls from class</span>)</div>
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Everyone sat along the wall. The girls that wanted to participate went up one by one to face off against me or Stephanie. Either Steph or I acted as a coach. We started off each match like it would go in a tournament, with the "ref" talking about the rules and asking each fighter if they were ready. We timed each match five minutes.</div>
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The girls have not started from standing very often, and they had never had to grapple with the whole class watching, with a coach screaming at them. It was a good exercise. They did some of the best grappling I've seen them do and they got a little taste of the adrenaline rush that they will experience when they compete. I was really proud of them!</div>
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We are going to try it again tonight, and this time I am going to have all the girls on the wall shout: half for one of the fighters, half for the other. And we are going to have two coaches, one screaming for one of my students and one screaming for me or Stephanie. Should be fun. :)</div>
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In other news, my son Noah did his first BJJ class this past week! As you can see, he is a natural born fighter. LOL</div>
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He absolutely LOVED it and can't wait to go back. I am excited about being able to do jiu-jitsu with him.</div>
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<br /></div>A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-53671176258042959362012-01-28T11:37:00.000-08:002012-01-28T11:46:21.037-08:00Jiu-Jitsu is not CapoeiraWe had a new girl come to our Women's Class this morning. She came in a little late--we had already gone through warm-ups and had just started technique--so I did not get to talk with her as much as I normally would a new student.<br />
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When she stepped onto the mat, I told her to sit down and asked her if she new what Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was. She said, "Not really. But it looked really beautiful."<br />
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Agreeing that it was beautiful, I then proceeded to explain that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is mostly ground fighting and told her a little bit about what the goals of BJJ were. She looked a little confused while I was talking, but as many women are a little overwhelmed by BJJ on their first day, I didn't think much of it.<br />
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I showed her the basic hip out from under mount, showed her an americana from mount and a few other basic moves that we show on the first day. She worked hard at it and seemed to be really into it. When we grappled, she threw herself into it full force and was not shy. She seemed to to really be enjoying it.<br />
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It wasn't until after class was over, when I was telling her about our class options and we were talking about her coming back that she started asking some questions.<br />
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"You guys don't do the dancing here?" she asked.<br />
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This caught me off guard. "Dancing?" It took me a second to guess what she might mean. "Do you mean Capoeira?"<br />
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"Yeah," she said.<br />
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She said she had thought this was a Capoeira class and had been waiting the whole time for us to start dancing. Poor girl came expecting a dance class based on self-defense moves and instead got thrown into grappling! She was a really good sport about it, though, and she said, "It wasn't what I was expecting but it was still cool." She said she wants to come back.<br />
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In case you were wondering, this is Capoeira. Just a little bit different from BJJ. :)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Z8xxgFpK-NM" width="420"></iframe>A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-34679081145426158482012-01-25T07:17:00.000-08:002012-01-25T07:17:15.212-08:00Remembering TechniquesMadison is a new addition to our Women's Class. She has been to only a handful of classes, but at 12 years old, she has already become addicted to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Last night, while I was watching her grapple one of the other girls, I saw her try to get a triangle choke several times. She had seen the choke two classes before. She was not able to finish the choke during the grapple but I was proud of her for several reasons.<br />
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1. She recognized that she could use the choke from the position she was in.<br />
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2. She understood the basics of what the choke looked like and what position she needed to be in to do it.<br />
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3. She remembered the first few steps of applying the choke.<br />
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4. Most importantly, I was proud of her for TRYING the technique she had learned against a live, resisting partner.<br />
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I remember when I first started BJJ how overwhelming all of the techniques were. There were so many steps. So many details. I felt anxiety over the fact that I would go to class, see the techniques and forget most of what I saw after I left and went home.<br />
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For a long time, my experience was exactly like Madisons. I would remember that I had seen something I could use from a certain position, I'd remember the basics of what it had looked like, but as I tried to do it, I would realize that I had forgotten most of the steps. I would get through the first few "steps" of the move and then be lost. But, over time, those details were filled in and I was able to go through all the steps.<br />
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If you are new to BJJ and you are feeling overwhelmed, try to remember that time is on your side. Your instructor will show the techniques in more than one class. You will see a triangle choke in one class, try it for a few weeks unsuccessfully, and then see the same choke in another class and notice the details you had forgotten. Even now I love it when Fabio goes over basic positions and submissions, because I always notice new details I didn't see before.<br />
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But, if you want to maximize your memory and hold onto as much as possible, here are some things you can ask yourself about each of the techniques you see in class. If you can remember the answers to these questions, if will help you on your way to being able to use them during a live grapple.<br />
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1. What position is this technique useful from? A common mistake that beginners make is trying to use a submission from the wrong position. For example, they might try to use a gi choke while they are under mount or stuck in someone's guard.<br />
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2. What is the goal of the technique? Sometimes people misunderstand what part of the body a submission is aimed at. For example, they might think an americana is meant to break the elbow, when really it is the shoulder joint that is being targeted.<br />
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3. Why does the technique work? Here is where you can help yourself to remember the details. If you understand that the reason a triangle choke works is because you are using your opponent's shoulder and your leg to block off the carotid arteries and the blood flow to the brain, then you will be better able to understand the point of those seemingly endless details you are trying to remember.<br />
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When your instructor is demonstrating the triangle choke and he/she tells you to squeeze your knees and lift your hips, ask yourself why. Why does that make the move work more effectively? What is that motion doing to my body position and the other person's body position?<br />
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4. Make the most of your drilling time. A lot of times, I see beginners trying the technique once or twice and then sit there, looking around as if they have already gotten it. The purpose of drilling is not just about remembering the steps with your mind. Drilling is also about making those details a part of your muscle memory. You are teaching your body how to move. If you practice the techniques over and over again, then when you are grappling, your body will do it automatically. You won't have to stop to remember the steps.<br />
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5. Try the techniques you saw during your grappling time. A common mistake people make is to NOT try new things because they don't think they will be successful. The truth is, you probably wont be successful the first time you try a new technique. But you will get closer each time you try. When you try and fail, you will discover the parts of the technique that you need to understand better.<br />
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6. Ask your instructor or a higher belt to remind you about the details. If you are grappling and you try a technique and can't remember all the steps, ask someone after class to refresh your memory. Most higher belts will be more than happy to help.<br />
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7. Be patient. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu takes time to learn. Legitimate black belts aren't made overnight. Enjoy your training and have fun. Perfect technique will come in time and with practice over years.<br />
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<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-14828580341594297602012-01-18T09:41:00.000-08:002012-01-18T09:42:37.394-08:00Brood of Jiu-Jitsu Competitors? Mayhaps!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I am excited! A couple of the girls that have recently joined the Women's Class are interested in competing. They've been asking me about points and positions and all things tournament related. Stephanie and I might take a few of them to a NAGA that is coming up in February to let them watch and see what goes on at a tournament and see if it is something they are interested in doing. </div>
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So far, my focus in the Women's Class has been more geared toward BJJ for self-defense. So I have been heavier on escapes, sweeps, taking the back and submissions from guard, mount and chokes from behind. My thought process was that, if these girls were attacked in real life, chances are they would end up on the bottom, underneath a bigger, stronger person. My first priority has been teaching them tools to get out from underneath a heavier person and how to break down someone's posture in guard and them sweep or to go for submissions from guard. </div>
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Thinking about preparing them for a tournament changes some of the priorities for what I want them to work on. I have done almost nothing on take downs. And, though I have shown a few basic guard passes, I need to give them a lot more instruction in that area. </div>
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I think I will shift my focus more to guard passing and keeping their base for the next few weeks. Also, I want to help them prepare mentally. If you were preparing a class of beginners for their first tournament, what would your primary focus be?</div>
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Also, if the girls do end up competing, I think I will probably suffer a nervous breakdown on the sidelines while they're fighting. Someone better have a tranquilizer gun handy if someone hurts one of my girls because mama bears gunna get ya! LOL Just kidding....mostly.</div>
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<br /></div>A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-46812353470638887462012-01-17T07:07:00.000-08:002012-01-17T07:07:37.537-08:00What Your BJJ Instructor is Looking ForWe had something exciting happen in our Women's Class. Rowan got her first stripe on her white belt! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At 12 years old, "Robo Rowan" is our first girl coming through the Women's Class to get a stripe. Congratulations, Rowan! I can't tell you how exciting it is for me to see all the girls learning and using the techniques. So proud of all of you gals!!</div>
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Teaching is really making me think differently about BJJ. It has helped me better understand what the goals of each class are--what I should be looking to "get out of" each session--and to give me a better understanding of what how instructors might view their students. Some things I have personally learned are:</div>
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1. When I watch the girls, I am not as concerned about whether or not they are winning the match they are in and I'm more concerned with seeing whether or not they are using the techniques they know. If I put on the new girls against Stephanie, I know Stephanie is going to "win" because of her longer experience and technical advantage. Or, if I put a smaller girl with a bigger girl, I know strength and size will be a factor in the grapple. What I am looking for is whether or not the disadvantaged student is using the tools they have learned. If they are on bottom, are they trying to use the escapes that they know? If they are making attempts, at what points are they being effective and at what points are they having trouble? A lot of times, I am pleased even if the student remembers an escape, tries it but doesn't quite make it. The fact that they remembered that tool and are working on it is great! Eventually, I know they will get it.</div>
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2. I have learned that, for me, a student who comes in with a humble attitude and who is willing to work hard is much more desirable than someone who has a prideful, selfish attitude, even if that prideful one has more natural talent. What I have noticed with new people is that pride will kill a person's bjj journey before it ever really gets started. A lot of times, girls will come in expecting to do well because maybe they are in really good shape or maybe they have had experience in some other martial art. When they aren't instantly "winning" at BJJ, they feel frustrated and don't enjoy it. They end up not coming back. But when someone with no expectations comes in, they are more able to accept that they are not going to be able to dominate everyone they grapple and therefore they are free to enjoy learning. </div>
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3. It does not impress me when a student shows off by being unnecessarily rough with another student. In fact, that kind of behavior does the opposite of impressing me. It makes me want to grapple that person with the same kind of selfish attitude that they showed to their teammate. </div>
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4. There are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many holes in my knowledge of BJJ. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to Fabio's classes, seen him show a technique and cringe because I just taught that technique to the girls and left some really important detail out. My only solace is that I will have chances to show that same technique again and point it out later! lol </div>
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5. Above all, I have learned that nothing makes me happier than to see the girls ENJOYING the class and to see them gain confidence in themselves. </div>
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<br /></div>A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-48881080433284095632012-01-06T07:01:00.000-08:002012-01-06T07:04:50.971-08:00Pan American Championship TrainingI've been gone, but not idle. Training has kicked up a notch for me because, for the first time ever, I am going to the Pan Ams!! I am very excited. I think there are going to be quite a few people from our gym going this year, so it should be really fun. I can't wait to see all the action and hopefully even meet some of you guys who are also at the tournament!<br />
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Lately, I am at Fabio's training 6-7 times a week. At first, it was really hard on my body. But now, I am feeling good. Because I am training so much I have been militant about several things:<br />
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1. Laundry-- I only have 3 gis. This means I am almost constantly washing and hanging one. Not to mention all the shirts and pants. Ugh...<br />
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2. Ringworm Prevention-- Fortunately, there haven't been any cases of ringworm going around but I am determined to make sure that I don't get it. So I have been using the Nizoral shower gel and have also been spraying myself down once a week at the end of the week.<br />
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3. Ibuprofin, Ice and Epsom Salt Baths-- Aches and pains are a given when you're training a lot.<br />
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4. Stretching-- My shoulders and neck are problem areas for me. To avoid injuries, I have been making sure I stretch well when I get home before I shower.<br />
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5. Resting On Sundays-- I don't do anything on Sundays. No cardio. No nothing. I veg around pamper my body and let it recover.<br />
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6. Diet and Hydration-- This one, I am taking in baby steps. I have a few pounds to lose before March, and I don't want to cut. I want to lose it over time. The first step has been to drink no more soda (Except on Moe's Mondays!!) and to drink water throughout the day. I haven't been as good as I should about drinking water, but I am doing better. The second step has been to replace a lot of the carbs I eat (like pasta and a rice) with more protein, veggies and fruit. This hasn't been as painful as I expected it to be. I haven't cut out carbs. I think my body would revolt zombie style and lay waste to a bread factory if I tried. But I try to eat my breads and rice during the day and replace my servings of bread and pasta at night with either more protein or veggies or fruit.<br />
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Also, one things I have learned is that I actually wasn't eating ENOUGH. This surprised me. I thought I would have to cut back on calories to lose weight. But when I talked to a friend of mine who is a nutritionist he told me that I was already not eating enough and that my body wouldn't let me lose the weight because it was feeling depleted. What I needed to do is eat enough of the RIGHT kinds of foods so that my body is properly fueled.<br />
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7. Keeping My Focus In Training-- I have learned that, for me, preparing for a tournament doesn't mean going into beast mode during every grapple. For me, the biggest priority is preparing myself mentally. I am NOT some kind of prodigy grappler, but I do believe in the quality of the training I have received. What I need to do is keep my confidence up and make every grapple count. My focus in learning over the next few months is not in any one specific area. It is more about problem solving with leverage when I am on bottom, being tight and keeping my base when I am on top, and being able to set the pace of a grapple. We will see how I am able to progress with these goals.<br />
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8. Training With Awesome Teammates-- I am more convinced all the time that I am very lucky to train at Fabio's gym. Fabio sets the tone for the whole team, making us realize that when we train we are not just there for ourselves, but for each other. I am thankful for all of my BJJ brothers and sisters who put up with my unintentional MMA and who take the time to help me get better. You guys rock!<br />
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<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-91816976966964345892011-12-20T14:21:00.000-08:002012-03-20T06:16:07.230-07:00It's Kind of Like This...When I grapple a lot of the guys at my school, this is kind of what it's like.<br />
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I am doing everything in my power to try to get them and they are just relaxing and having fun! :)A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-12728802869827541892011-12-07T19:55:00.001-08:002011-12-07T20:07:51.789-08:00Kicked In The FaceBig knee to the face tonight. No, not to me. By me. To Fabio. Really bad.<br />
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And here I thought I was getting a little better about the whole unintentional MMA thing. Man, I clocked Fabio right in the forehead with my knee. It made that horrible "twunk" sound. Afterwards, I apologized. He said, "It's ok, I'm used to it. You do it all the time." Crestfallen, I asked him, "Really? Do I kick you in the face every time?" He kind of smiled and shrugged, then nodded.<br />
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Well suckity suck. :(<br />
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It is now my mission to make it through my next grapple day of grappling without ANY face kicks! lol For real. This must end. I need to get my knobby knees under control.<br />
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I do have some sunshine for you.<br />
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Some of our new girls have started training in gi! I see many choke and sweep techniques in our Women's Class' future. :)<br />
<br />A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006145854650996821.post-35011178896221437442011-12-06T06:46:00.001-08:002012-03-20T06:16:46.399-07:00BJJ Sweeps: Levers and ForceIn the last few months, the techniques that have most held my attention have been ones that involve using levers for getting your opponent off balance and then using force in the right direction to take them over. I am always thinking about it when I grapple. What can I trap and how can I take them over?<br />
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Here is what I look for specifically:<br />
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1) Where is their weight distributed? If they are leaning back, that is the way I am going to try to go. If their weight is forward, then I am going to take them that way.<br />
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2) Based on there their weight is, what will they use to steady themselves if I push them that way? Whatever it is, I try to trap it. Usually, it is an arm or a leg, or the hips. I am finding that hip movement is MUCH more important to sweeping--and defending sweeps--than is arm or leg strength. In fact, if I am straining, then I can be pretty much be sure that I have the angle off and I need to hip a certain way to fix it.<br />
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3) Be prepared to go the opposite way. Every time I push, I am expecting the person to resist in the opposite direction. Because of that, I try to get ready to pull and block on that direction so they go over.<br />
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The Trickity Trap:<br />
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A lot of the higher belts I grapple are really trickity. They like to pretend to be setting up a sweep, but then when you counter it, they take you over another way.<br />
Anytime a higher belt appears to be letting me pass their guard... Trap.<br />
Anytime a higher belt sits still for a minute while I am coming around to one side or driving into them...Trap.<br />
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Sadly, many times I have a feeling it might be a trap...and I keep going. Something like this usually results.<br />
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Sometimes, it is not so much that they planned it that way--although sometimes they do. More often, I think, it is their understanding of levers and force and years of practice doing the kinds of experimenting I mentioned above. They know how to get you off balance and how you are likely to try to regain your balance. Since they know the possibilities of what you might do, they already have a string of options in their minds that they can go to depending on your reaction.<br />
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Yeah. It's kind of not fair. ;)<br />
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But the cool thing is to think about how that could be me in the future. All I have to do is keep dragging myself out onto the mat and keep trying new ways to trap and trip up my opponents.A.D. McClishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07019434821749308292noreply@blogger.com8