The Return of the Blue Gi
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.
Glad to hear you made it back to the mats for BJJ! Just keep up the “not hurting yourself” streak – easier said than done, of course.
Out of curiosity, how often do you start from your feet? In the fundamentals/beginner class at my school, all rolling/sparring starts from the knees, but in the regular class, we always start on our feet. At the places I trained at in NYC, we’d usually start rolling from our knees when in gi, but no-gi we’d mix it up. Just kind of wondering…..
@Mike
We very rarely start from our feet. Standup and groundwork have most often been separated. If we’re doing a takedown class, we’ll stop once the takedown occurs. I’m not even sure I’ve been in a class where we’ve gone from standing all the way to submission.