Wish I could get one of these!!

Fabio's

Last night was a great night on the mat at Fabio's. I didn't do anything amazing, but I had a lot of fun and learned a lot.

I rolled with a purple belt, one who used to be an instructor at Summerlin. He was doing all kinds of crazy gymnastics all over the place. At one point, he was working a submission with his belt. I laughed the whole roll, except when I was trying desperately not to get choked out or folded in half.

I'm trying to just stay relaxed while I roll and just try stuff. I can't tell you how many submissions I tried and had to abort last night because I didn't get them exactly right. But, right now, the movement is really what I'm focusing on. I want to be able to solidly defend myself and get into a dominant position. The submissions kind of show up after that.

My instructors are tweaking my submissions all the time. It amazes me that one tiny detail can mean the difference between a competed choke and a bunch of wasted time and energy. Hopefully one day all those details that I try so hard to remember will come as second nature.

One thing I seem to fail at is triangle escapes. It's really difficult for me to break out once someone has me in one of those. We worked to different escapes last night and, when my partner was really trying to hold the triangle, I couldn't get out. Oh well. Keep working. :)

Also, I am still dropping weight steadily. I'm losing about a pound a week. I'm only 4 pounds away from my goal of 134! I have over a month left, so I am confident that I can get there if I just keep watching what I eat and keep up with my cardio and training.

Advice for First Time Competetors

No, I'm not giving advice. That would be funny. And dumb since I've never gone to a tourney. But here's a blog that has a lot of great advice. Enjoy!

http://georgetteoden.blogspot.com/2009/10/advice-for-your-first-competition.html

How Fast?

How fast should I be progressing?

When do I not have an excuse anymore for my sloppy guard passes, poor base, non-tight position holds and crappy submission attempts? I've been taking Jiu-jitsu only two months. That's what everyone says. But when will my status as a beginner no longer cover over the fact that I'm not very good.

I'm not good yet. In five or six years, I hope I will be able to say that I am good at Jiu-jitsu. Right now, I feel like I know the very basics and that, in a real street fight, I might be able to defend myself enough to get away. But against other people who know Jiu-jitsu? Even against other white belts who have been taking class about six or seven months or more? They all own me.

Phil, one of my good friends that I practice with all the time, has only been taking class a little longer than Steph and I. Now, granted, he does outweigh me by a lot. Almost 80 lbs. But he is better than me not just because he outweighs me, but because he is picking up the technique faster than me.

I think he is better at just using his whole body on a person. He keeps his weight on them while he's passing from one position to the next. I leave too much space. That's what the higher belts were telling me at yesterdays practice. I leave too much space.

So I need to tighten up. But more than that, I just need to lighten up. I know I am being a perfectionist. I want to be good NOW but getting good takes time. So I need to just relax (how many times have I said that in this blog?) and just try to learn and grow.

On the positive side, I am noticing that my defense is getting better. It pretty much has to since everyone that I roll with at Fabios is better than me. But I desperately need to work on sweeps. I've been saying that for a while and haven't gotten any better at it.

Ok. I just posted this blog and then scrolled down. Two posts ago, I was talking about how I just got a stripe and now I am complaining about not being good enough. One stripe isn't amazing, but it shows I am making progress. So STOP COMPLAINING ALLIE!

;)

Obsession

Balance is something I always stuggle with. And I'm not just talking about my base.

I was in the hospital yesterday and the day before for an allergic reaction that was so bad my throat and lungs started to close up. But today, instead of relaxing and taking it easy, I went to an afternoon BJJ class. And I intend to go to the evening class tonight.

Why? Because there is something wrong with my brain.I am out of balance.

Stripe!

Nerd alert. I'm really excited. I got my first stripe today in Jiu-jitsu. Steph and Phil also got one. Woohoo! It felt really good. I know one stripe on a white belt doesn't make me epic or anything, but it's nice to know that I am at least making progress. They took some pics in class, but I don't have them yet. Here are a few we took at my house.

:)





Also, I hurt my knee today doing a take down. Obviously that's something I need to work on before NAGA. I'll add it to the list. ;)

Oh, and also, I'm down to 139lbs! Yay! Only 5 more to go before I reach that goal I set. The cool thing is, I haven't been insane about the dieting. I'e been watching what I eat, but I've been a doing a ton of exercise what with all the classes I've been going to and the jogging and strength training. So, even though the weight loss has been going at a glacial pace, I feel like it will be something I can maintain even after NAGA, since I'm not depriving myself of food. Yay!

Intimidation Factor

I think I'm working through the whole intimidation thing. My last few classes have gone pretty well and I rolled better than I have been rolling in a while. I just focused on letting go of worrying about how good or bad other people think I am and just focusing on trying to learn.

So far, it's working out well.