Purple Belt, Say What?

If you happen to be Facebook friends with me, you would see that last night I had the dorkiest grin on my face. Why is that? Because I got my purple belt!

….Oh crap.

It’s awesome, but at the same time kind of scary, just like white to blue was. It’s the beginning of a new level, and it also means you get your ass beat repeatedly by people who are about ready to move on to the next belt. In a nice, technical fashion of course, but you’re still getting your ass beat. It’s about reaching plateaus, and getting past them after you’re frustrated a million times. It’s about mentoring others, especially those just starting, and still maintaining your humility, giving the respect your teammates and competition deserves. It’s about all that and I’m sure a lot of things I haven’t even learned or experienced yet.

It’s about a lot of things, but above all else it’s about the journey in jiu jitsu that we are all going through, and it’s awesome to take a big step in that journey.

But still, oh crap!

 

A Very Bloggy Breakfast

We had a little blogger get-together Sunday morning of the Pan Games: it was Dolph from BJJ Blues, Caleb from Fightworks Podcast, Georgette from her self-titled BJJ blog, her BJJ sponsor and her husband. I tried to drag Maggie along, but it was at 7am, so I didn’t really push my luck.

It was nice, and we even took a photo together: I kind of look like a stoner, but really it’s just me without the proper, ridiculous amount of caffeine coursing through my system.

L-R: Caleb, Dolph, Me, Georgette, Mike, Georgette's husband

 

We all chatted about a variety of topics, had some coffee and/or breakfast; it was a good time had by all, and it was interesting to sit and connect with other BJJ blogger peoples outside of the venue, not sitting on plastic fold-down seats, half distracted with the matches going on in front of us.

It was a good time had by all

Pan Games Results

Well hey there people! I am sure you all missed me somethin’ fierce, but here I am, back on the east coast and a little jet-lagged.

How did I do on the West Coast? Well, first and foremost I want to apologize: the tournament happened at the Bren Center in Irvine, not The Pyramid in Long Beach. It’s all California to me, so…yeah…

Anyway, I got a bronze in my weight division, meaning I was either First Third or Second Third. It may have been second third. I don’t know. The girl I lost to got second place, if that even remotely means anything. There were 18 other girls in my division, so all things considered I did pretty well.

For my open division, I won my first match, and in my second match I performed well, but didn’t get points for a pass, and lost by one advantage. Lesson to take away from that match: refs can make bad calls, and other competitors, and even people helping to run the event will even agree with you.

It was a good experience, I saw opportunity for things I picked up on literally just weeks before the tournament, and while I didn’t successfully submit with those techniques, I am quite proud of the fact that I saw the chance to use them in a relatively short period of time.

so, the moral of the story is I did well, but I made mistakes and have a lot to work on. Specifically, variations of submissions when in a triangle position, and doing a little tweaking to effectively finish the crucifix choke. If I happen to get video of my matches I’ll be sure to post a little something for everyone.

 

Pan times

Sorry for the lack of posting, but we are in the middle of our tournament. Our guys are doing well out there, win or lose, and a majority of our guys are fighting today. I will post results later today.

Body Catching Up With My Mind

I’m exhausted, just got in a little while ago; here is something I wrote during traveling to the West Coast:

 

Hey! I’m actually writing this as a draft on my phone. I tried to leech some of their wifi on the plane itself, so I could proudly post, saying, “look at me and the wonders of technology!” but alas, no dice.

Anyway, we’ll be laying over in Houston, and then on our way to Irvine! Yay!

I have to admit, for the past couple of days, I would say since Monday, half of me has been in Philadelphia and the other half has already been in California, ready to get this show on the road. I have been productive and not slacking off at work or anything like that, but somewhere in the back of my mind I have been thinking about my take downs, the feel of mat under my feet, anticipating the moment I slap and pound up with my opponent and go for it. I am nervous, yes, but there is also equal amounts of anticipation, a readiness that comes from lots of physical and mental preparation. If I lose, ok, but it certainly won’t be due to lack of preparation.

I also feel I should mention this is the least hungry I have ever been for a tournament, which is pretty awesome. As I mentioned, I decided it was in my best interest to fight medio, not leve, which for now I have made peace with, but also because I have a goal I feel can be realistically reached for the next few months.

So, to sum things up, I am feeling pretty good, and looking forward to what Irvine has in store for me.

Friday

Welp, I’m set to fight on Friday; I’m kind of relieved and a little disappointed at the same time. Relieved that I don’t have to get up balls early to compete, but a little disappointed that I have to sit around stressed for 1/2 the day, obsessing over every little move I’ll make on the mat.

Oh, and the extra dieting. That sucks. IBJJF, you’re cutting into my açai time! Jeez….

It might just be the enormous amount of caffeine I drank today, but I am starting to get a little jumpy about competing. Yesterday I clenched my teeth so much that I gave myself a headache (which is actually not all that rare with me, but I am currently blaming it on this tournament) and today I’m jumping around like I’m hopped up on speed (which is actually kind of rare for me: I blame that on tournament + caffeine).

So, while I continue to freak, please check out the photo gallery of Jones vs. Rua on Heavy MMA and I’ll be playing this until in hopes a successful Friday (what, I like Euro Pop sometimes… don’t hate)

The Devil in the Details

As I have been mentioning, again and again and again, I am training for Pan Games this week, and while my jiu jitsu game is pretty on point for the moment, of course I have to obsess over the little things. That take-down I have been practicing all week that I didn’t hit quite right, that standing guard pass sweep that I can’t execute properly. It’s driving me a little nutty, to say the least.

I find these are the moments I need to take a deep breath, clear my mind and just go. I have kind of the same problem in judo: I get so obsessed with tweaking the little things, such as the hand placement, where to put my feet, the fact that my hips need to move over and inch to the left, that eventually I just get fed up with the whole thing and just throw.

So, let’s all hope I just remember to take a deep breath and just go come later this week.

A Belated St. Patrick’s Day Post

Before I begin with anything else, that ridiculous Rebecca Black song “Friday” is in my head, and I feel this is going to turn into that video with the Banana Phone….

God help us all.

Anyway, yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, and while I didn’t train, I also did not technically consume anything green (except green tea, which is brownish in color anyway, hence the ‘technical’). It’s always odd to me, mainly because I grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and went to a parochial school in the same area. There were several cars with the bumper sticker 26+6=1 and every March, certain side streets would be lined with the US and Irish flag, and every St. Patrick’s Day there was always a handful of girls that would make the rounds in our grade school who were taking Irish step dancing and would have to perform for each class room. I remember always being annoyed they would wait two full 16 counts of music before they (literally) did a little jig.

Anyway, back to the point: since competing jiu jitsu, since the major tournaments happen in late spring/ early summer, a pint of Guinness is out of the question on the holiday, which I never seem to remember until it draws near. Irish Soda Bread? No dice. The unusual chocolate candy our 4th grade teacher, an Irish ex-nun who would reprimand us in Gaelic, handed to her students? Nope. Even the East Coast delicacy of “the Irish potato” will never touch these lips while I am training for competitions (and really, I’m fine with that one: I used to work at an Irish potato factory).

Maybe next year I’ll throw some green food coloring into a vanilla flavored protein shake and celebrate that way.

Éire go Brách!

 

Party Over at the Hospital!

We are incorporating a tradition at the academy, where if it is your birthday (or very close to it) you are put in the center of the room and the rest of the students line up, and we essentially do one big scrimmage of 2 point matches: once a submission happens or something in which at least 2 points are awarded, the match is over. Usually the winner stays in and there is a rotation of players, but in this case the special birthday boy (or girl) has the honor of staying in the middle the entire time. It’s not as bad as it sounds, but it can get tiring towards the end.

We had two birthday boys to spar with last night, and right at the tail end of it, one of them attempted a triangle, I think, on Max. Unfortunately due to ill timing and placement, he accidentally broke Max’s nose.

In the true spirit of teammates and caring for one another, the higher belts sprang into action, as a gush of blood happen to  spring from his nose. Ice, compression, resetting the nose, cleaning up the blood: it was like a pit crew…of  jiu jitsu injury maintenance. We sat in the hospital ER for several hours to find out that he has a fracture on either side of the bridge of his nose.

It’s nice to know we’re in good hands with one another Gotta run-see you later!

 

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday, Take 2!

(I pulled this pic from a website called Campus Socialite)

I know I am ridiculously late to the party for commenting on this, but I wanted to quickly add my 2 cents.

I am both happy for Strikeforce and immensely worried: happy due to increased exposure, and all the benefits that come with being associated with UFC. Average Middle American may not know Strikeforce, but lauds UFC-right up there with the WWE.

I am immensely worried that UFC will just eventually swallow Strikeforce once their Showtime obligations are met, and not before they spit out the women’s division.

::shrug:: Only time will tell, I guess.