Try a Little Courtesy

I am a little annoyed. Actually on a scale of 1 to 10, I’m at about a 5 right now. And while it really has nothing to do with jiu jitsu, I am going to vent about it.

Typically when you make an appointment to meet with someone, it generally helps to show up. Especially when this is the second time you set up a meeting because you never showed up to the first one. While it’s not a life changing, super important meeting, for pete’s sake if you tell someone you are going to show up at a certain time, out of courtesy for the other person you show up at that time, or communicate that you will be late.

Just like on the mat, while you are not breaking any rules, there is an expectation of etiquette and courtesy. Sure, it’s not against the rules to cross face an opponent, but you do try to avoid it as much as possible. And of course, there are things that happen beyond your control in both situations: you car breaks down, that sweep you were trying to execute goes awry and you end up kicking your training partner in the face-that’s fine, we all understand. But there has to be some sort of communication, either a “hey, can’t make it” or a “ooh, I’m sorry!”

But oh my goodness, please remember to be courteous.

Tournament This Weekend

While I will certainly work to keep things entertaining around here, there’s a tournament this weekend that I will be competing in, so it’s either I talk all about that, or I don’t post much of anything this week.

We’ll see how this week plays out.

I Wish….

I wish I was better at no-gi. I wish I knew all the fancy tricks and chokes that make no gi seem like a different animal from gi.

But I don’t.

Our motto for no-gi is the idea that it is really “gi without the grips” and that is certainly true- it’s just I have trained pretty much exclusively with the gi this whole time and now some habits are just hard to break.

Thankfully I have stopped hesitating at the realization that I have no cloth to grip at the sleeves, but the mount is still an awkward place to be, which is silly since that is one of the best places to be in jiu jitsu, period. The awkwardness comes from the natural reaction to start looking for a lapel choke…But then realizing there is no lapel to choke with.

Oops.

This will eventually smooth itself out with more training, but I still can’t help but feel a little awkward and hesitant at times in no gi.

 

Feeeelings…

I was talking with one of our blue belt girls last night about some of her experience and training in the past couple of months.

Involvement with a sport, like most experiences in life, have an interesting effect on people: they are convinced they are the only ones that feel a particular way, but when we start to talk with one another, there is the revelation that others have felt the same way during training: maybe not n the exact situation, but have felt accomplished when completing a technique one week and then feeling like maybe someone should hand us back our white belts the next.

Don’t be afraid to share your frustrations, because higher belts and even those at the same rank have most likely experienced the same thing. Also, what is nice is if you talk about what is frustrating you, there is a chance that someone may have an answer or a perspective you may not have considered.

 

 

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday, 1.25.11

While I am not usually a Bruno Mars fan, this pretty much sums up how I feel today:

 

In-Houses and a Stripe!

Hello!

I didn’t mention it yesterday, but our academy had a kids in-house tournament on Saturday and the teens and adults on Sunday, and I helped out with scorekeeping on both days. Everyone did really well, and I was really surprised by the small kids-not just their technique, but their willingness to go forward and not back down.

Not going to lie, some of the kids made me joints feel old and rigid. ::shrug:: meh.

The adults also did really well, and it was pretty sweet to see the lower ranks execute some lovely techniques. Good job guys!

Oh, and I got a stripe on my belt last night! Hooray!

 

Well That’s Silly

So I periodically check in on other people’s blogs, to see how everyone else is doing, and I happened to catch Stephanie’s post about how women tell her that they are “too girly” to join jiu jitsu. My response goes a little something like this,

Pssh: ladies, please.

I know I have mentioned it before, but while I feel females have a delicate balancing act to maintain when involved in a full contact sport such as jiu jitsu, overall it has made us ladies more well-rounded people, more versatile and frankly more interesting all around. As Stephanie mentions in her post, learning to defend yourself, becoming stronger and healthier are really boosts to your self-confidence; again, lending to the well rounded-ness and all.

So, to sum it up, we jiu jitsu ladies are pretty awesome, and it’s a damn shame for those who can’t see that. So there.

 

My Old Friends, Aches and Pains

While I was on vacation I knew I was missing something.

When I got back to the gym I realized what I had missed, my close friends for the past 5 years: Aches, and Pains.

Aches is a whiny fellow, the friend that will complain the whole time, but will eventually do what is required of them.

“But I don’t wanna go to the gym,” it complains, but eventually does the little child sulky stomp off to its required destination.

Pains on the other hand, is generally passive aggressive, but you need to heed when it wants to have a  real conversation with you, otherwise you have to put up with them constantly telling you all about you grievances, for months if need be. Pains is prone to holding grudges, as I am sure everyone here is well aware.

“Remember that time you…”

“Ow, yes Pains, I remember…you really didn’t need….ow.”

While they are certainly no one’s best friends, you need to at least make peace with Aches and Pains if you are heavily active in any sport, or there will be a long and difficult road ahead in your sport or activity.

Snowboarding, Skiing and Jiu Jitsu

Hello everyone! It’s been forever since I’ve posted, I know, and I apologize.

But, the trip was lovely, and while there was no jiu jitsu, we did a ton of other activities, mainly outdoors. It was fun!

During the trip, my step brother and I were talking about the lifestyle out there, how people love to ski and snowboard, and he touched on the book about skiing by an author named Dolores LaChapelle. One of the topics discussed by the author is how after a time, you can ‘go with the flow’ if you will, how in the beginning you fight to make turns and successfully make your way down the mountain, but after some time you let the mountains make the turns for you, and you simply capitalize on those opportunities.

In my opinion this all sounds a lot like jiu jitsu. There comes a point when you no longer grind out techniques, when opportunity dictates the fight and not just sheer will and stubbornness. It takes time and effort to hone, but it does eventually happen. You just need to be willing to both put in the effort, and be open to the possibilities, instead of being dead set on one course of action.

So how was your week, friends?

The Wild West

I’ll be in Colorado for a week, so while I will try to post, it will be sporadic at best.

…no jiu jitsu for a week….O_o