State of My Arts

Last night, I finally went back to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  I hadn’t been there since last December, so it was great to be back.  The class was a pretty good size, something around 20 people.  Most of the blue belts were familiar, but of course there was a whole new crop of white belts.

Class started off with the normal jog around the gym, inside/outside sliding, backwards running, etc, plus ab work and pushups.  Then we did a couple of partner take down types of drills: from a lockup position, 3 steps back into a single leg takedown as well as 3 steps into a fireman’s carry type of position.  Then we drilled chokes for a while.  Ezekiel chokes from side control, mount, guard, and back control.  I felt pretty good with my progress during the drills.

Then it was time for sparring.  We normally start on our knees to save wear and tear from takedowns.  I worked with a black belt for the first match, which was a slow, semi-cooperative roll.  Felt pretty good.  Then I worked in with another blue belt for the second match.  We worked at a slightly quicker pace, and he was cautious with my shoulder.  I outweigh him by 30 pounds or so, and his preferred style is using the butterfly guard.  So I got plenty of balance work trying to avoid being swept.  No submissions in the five minutes or so we were going.

So I made it out of there without hurting myself, which (for me) is somewhat of an accomplishment.  No pain or dangerous situations with the shoulder.  I got to wear my all-blue ensemble (blue Atama gi, blue rash guard, blue belt) for the first time in quite a while — always a nice change from black and white.

BJJ

I just posted about where I was going with my training.  I thought I’d split this one off into its own post.

I’ve been thinking about what I’m up to in this blog.  When I first thought about having a martial arts-only blog, I thought it’d be great to have a place to share my martial arts thoughts.  But here’s the thing — I’m an introvert, and we introverts can just sit back and think our thoughts and not really feel a need to share them.  I’ve thought about plenty of things I haven’t put on here, which is kind of a shame in a way.  And Wife of State knows that language doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me: when I’m not taciturn, I’m usually laconic.

But that brings up another point: I’m lazy.  My martial arts aren’t lazy, but I am.  One of the goals of martial arts is to use the lesson one learns in the context of the dojang and to apply them to the rest of one’s life.  Well, if so, I’m not there yet.  If I can put things off, I do.  I’ve had things on my to-do list for years.  And I very rarely say to myself: Ooh, what I want to do now is write in my blog.  If I’m not working or at the dojang or otherwise working out, I’m playing computer games, or watching TV shows on the DVR or DVD, or reading books, or one of several other things.

Anyhow, for the next couple of months, I’m going to change up what I’m writing about.  In aggregate, whether I went jogging or lifted weights over the weekend isn’t interesting, and I’m not a fitness professional to turn it into a fitness blogs.  There are several blogs I read that can make class recaps interesting (Steve’s BJJ Blog comes to mind); I don’t have the patience for that.  I’m also not Black Belt Mama who can even make posts about her personal life interesting.  I don’t have the technical expertise of a Wim Demeere or a Patrick Parker. 

I believe that what I should be focusing on are “hot button” items that come up in teaching or in training.  Things that really strike a chord with me for some reason or another.  We’ll see how that goes.  I might be posting less frequently (though, really, is that possible?), but hopefully I’ll actually come up with some worthwhile posts along the way.

Uncategorized

Now that I’ve hit 3rd dan in TKD, I’m reflecting a bit on where I’m headed.

In TKD…

I’m continuing to teach, that’s a given.  My training will continue as it has been.  I’ve been emphasizing low, centered movement, but I’m still working on improving that.  I also had the chance to watch part of a video from my black belt exam where I was sparring.  To my own eye, I looked slow and fairly immobile.  Some techniques were good, but my movement was only middling.  I need to work on quickness and slipping techniques.  My body type isn’t really built for that (6′ 195, large thighs), but I think I need to improve in quickness and balance.  Added core strength would be a plus.

In Hapkido…

Okay, this one is really easy.  2nd dan test in 2 weeks.  Many of the same principles I mentioned in the TKD section also apply here.  I need to transition from entries into techniques more fluidly.  We’ve been doing a lot of countering drills, feeling the balance and shifting to a different technique when the opponent’s energy changes.  It is great stuff, but I still find it difficult to quickly recognize the balance and positioning, and then figure out my best more from there.

In BJJ…

Finally going to start it back up!  It has been 10 months.  I’ve missed grappling, so I am looking forward to going back.  Here, quite simply, I need need to work on not injuring myself.  I’m going to try to work on technique and fluid movement without relying on muscling my opponent around.  Easier said then done… once the blood starts flowing in a grappling match, my competitive instincts take over.

In Kali…

Well, something has to slip.  I stopped it leading up to my promotion exam, and I didn’t miss it.  I think that means I’m not ready to be a student.

In Fitness…

P90x has been great.  However, for 2/3 times per week, I’m not sure it is the best use of my time.  The number of reps in the workouts is high, but maybe I’d get better results by splitting those reps across more days.  I think I’ll do the Plyo workout periodically.  Maybe I’ll try out kettleballs sooner or later.  If the weather cooperates, I might going jogging more often.  I went for around 2.5 miles on Sunday, and it was almost fun.

BJJ, Fitness, Hapkido, TKD, Training