A Jiu-jitsu Log Filled With Shenanigans

Wow, massive fail for me not keeping up with the day-to-day adjustments I am making in my life.  My internet went out for awhile, then I went to Tennessee, then I just got lazy.  Sorry about that.  No more excuses.

Things are really going well though.  I’ve got a list of improvements I’m making.  Training is going great, work is going great, life is improving.  I’ll go more indepth about it later.

“A day without a nap is crap.”

I’m giving myself a bedtime of 11p.m. on work nights.  It’s important to get rest so the next day at work doesn’t just drag on with no end.  Getting in bed on time will give me at least 6 hours, which is the bare minimum I can work with.  Plus there’s nothing really important going on after 11 anyways.

Look at that, I’m already losing weight.  How much does a debit card weigh again?

My good idea of the day is to stop carrying my debit card.  That means, other than the $20 bill I have tucked behind my license for emergencies, I have no access to my money.  I figure as long as I have over half a tank of gas, a cell phone, and a good pair of shoes on my feet I’ll be fine.  It’s 2010, I work 7 miles from home, I’m healthy and really there’s no need to carry my card with me at all times.

There are really three areas of my life that I expect this to effect the most: Planning, diet, and money. 

When I need to spend money, I’ll have to plan ahead and remember to get my card or carry cash instead.  I need to stay on the top half of my gas tank.  Other than that, I have AAA, so if need be, I can finally put that membership to good use.  No more stopping at fast food joints for junk food.  So, skipping breakfast is going to start to suck.  This will also eliminate all those frivolous shopping trips and unnecessary stops, thus eliminating all those small cash leaks in my bank account.

Positives:

1. Forced to plan ahead, become more organized
2. Eliminate fast food from diet, eat at home, eat healthier, lose weight
3. Eliminate frivolous spending, save cash, die rich

Negatives:

1. Might go hungry on those lazy days when I skip breakfast
2. Could force an unnecessary stop home to get money
3. Won’t have anything to give a robber, thus getting pistol whipped

One good idea a day, that’s what I’m looking for.  I think if I can come up with just one good idea a day, a minor improvement in my day-to-day operation, then over time, I can drasitcally change my life without really changing anything at all.  It’s the classic snowball effect: Build momentum slowly until the true wheel of change is motion.  The idea is simple and that’s why I think it’s going to work.

Stay tuned folks.  It begins tomorrow.

I have co-founded a club with my buddy Rich known as “Jiu-JAKEsu.”  Membership requirements are easy to fulfill; you simply have to be “Jaked” by Jake.  One gets “Jaked” by being submitted via the bow and arrow choke courtesy of Jake.  More on that later.

Quickly, shout outs to everyone who got promoted on Monday night.  Lots of hard working and deserving folks are on their way to being destroyers of men (and women).  The other night we had 1 black belt, 2 browns, 4 purples, like 10 blues and even more white belts in class.  Where else are you gonna find that kind of mix?  It’s a fight factory in there, making nothing less than top tier bjj wrecking machines.  I’m glad I’m a part of it.

Two guys I roll with have upstart blogs so check ‘em out; Hansen and Rich aka Big Tuna.

Here’s a quick break down of some great technique we’ve been working on down at the gym.

The far side arm bar from side control

1. You are in side control on your opponent’s right side.  You have Knee-On-Belly.  When the opponent attempts to turn into you and push your knee off you under hook his top arm (left arm) with your arm (right arm) closest to his legs.  You grab the back of his tricep (it’s an awkward position until you get used to it).
2. Now you spin around over his head (push his head down if you need to) and you want to position your left leg directly next to his left ribs.  Go ahead and pull up a bit on the arm as you spin around.  Look for a grip on his pants with your left hand.  Continue you to rotate around until you are in the arm bar position.  You should end up with your left leg tight to his ribs and your right leg over his face.  You should be threatening an arm bar.  Maintain your grip on his pants.
3. Bring your left leg over his body to complete full arm bar positon.  Do not let go of grip on his pant leg yet.
4. Let go of pant grip only to replace the arm that is attacking the arm bar.  Grab your own collar.
5. You’re now free right arm should tuck my opponent’s elbow into my left armpit.  Now lock up hands in a frame positon (similar to a kimura set up).
6. Lean over right and put tremendous pressure on his wrist and forearm (where he is weakest) with my own forearm.  Attack the grip with right hand if necessary.  Once his grip breaks bring his arm back into your body and keep his thumb up for the finish.  Pinch legs together and remain heavy in the legs to prevent escape.

I honestly feel like I am on the verge of something great.  I feel like I am on the edge of greatness, just waiting to cross over.  I just don’t know where and when it’s going to happen.  Maybe I’m about to turn the corner on my bjj game and weight loss?  Or maybe it’s landing a job I can truly invest myself in and have a positive return, not just for myself but for my community?  Either way, I’m ready.

Sunday night I decided to take a closer look at my diet.  I ended up tossing some cake and ice cream away.  Perfectly good, just tossed it in the trash.  Completely against my style but that is just one of the many steps I’m trying to take.  I’m trying to turn myself into a savage, a real bjj wrecking machine.  I need to keep working on my diet, I’m going to make a real effort to eat better.  I know there will be bad days but small baby steps before I can run right? As Fedor said it; “He who does not fall down, does not stand up.”

I trained twice today.  Because of my work schedule I end up having a lot of days off, sometimes during the week, sometimes not.  It rotates so it’s never the same.  Long story short, I have a lot of downtime and decided to put it to good use.  I went to the morning class today and there were 3 other guys in there.  Bigger guys too, apparently this is where I belong.  It should really be called it the Clydesdale Club aside from Junior, whose the littlest and baddest of us all.

He retaught the kimura attack that we learned last night (although I didn’t blog about that so you have no idea what I’m talking about).  It’s really a great attack. I submitted a very good blue belt with it twice last night.  And he also taught a modified kimura from there which I shall now refer to as the Seximura, because it is quite a fancy (and sexy) finisher.

Also he taught a good guard pass that helps defend against a spider guard.  After that we rolled.  My first time I did very well.  I got the Seximura and threatened the regular kimura and arm bar a few times.  The guy defended really well though.  I did hit a good kimura sweep from the bottom though.  On the second roll, I didn’t do quite as well.  I went with a very good blue belt.  He was a beast and lightning quick.  I dodged most of his sub attempts but he kept sweeping me from half guard and it was driving me freaking crazy.  I feel like no one should ever sweep me outside of guard.  I hate it.  We would roll again after class but only for a few minutes and it was pretty even then.

The evening class was taught again by Junior and we went over the kimura and seximura attacks.  Then he added in 2 nasty gi chokes.  I’m not really a gi player, but being at this school and defending against the arsenal of chokes Jake throws at me when we roll, I realize I need to learn my chokes.  If you learn the set ups and finishes, then you know when they’re coming so they’re easier to escape.

Rolling after technique wasn’t that great either.  I went with a guy I haven’t rolled with before.  He had the upper body of Brock Lesnar.  And dude was very solid in his base.  I couldn’t sweep and he methodically passed my guard.  I remember he got one knee over my leg and instead of escaping that knee for half guard, he crossed over his other leg across his achilles and ended up with side control.  Very sneaky, I filed that away under “Do Not Let Happen Again.”  Towards the end he got mount on me and I remember going buck wild trying to escape.  I mean, I was seriously pushing for an escape and eventually got it.  I even got to into a good half guard position with a deep underhook but was too tired to use it for a sweep.

I then rolled pretty lazily with Rich.  I don’t think either of us was really wanting to work.  After that came my usual epic battle with Jake.  I start on top, get swept, and then defend chokes and arm bars for about ten minutes before finally being submitted.  He is a beast and our rolls are usually long and full of nothing but hardwork.  If I ever get caulghiflower ear, it’ll be from him.

BJJ Gi taught by Junior

     Technique - Guard pass to north/south, to collar choke, to arm bar.

1. I am my opponent’s closed guard.  I grab his belt with both hands and push forward with it, not downward into his stomach.  Keep my elbows in or opponent could defeat my technique.
2. When his guard opens raise a knee (in this case, my right knee).  Drive my right knee forward over his thigh, using my grip on the belt or by grabbing his thighs (for no gi) for extra leverage.  Place right knee on ground while maintaining my right shin over his thigh.  My left leg is off the ground and up and forward to prevent my opponent from closing his half guard.  My left hand goes for an underhook or bicep control on my opponent’s right arm.  My right arm goes for head control of my opponent.
3. Now I take my left leg and cross it over the achilles of my right foot.  Then I remove my right leg over top of my opponent’s left leg.  Bring my right leg far away from his legs and get on my toes to drive forward on my head control of my opponent.
4. Take my left hand from underhook or bicep control and place on the mat next to my opponent’s left hip.  Pass my left leg and move away from his legs, towards his head in a counter clockwise motion.
5. Sit my left leg under my right leg (switch my base forward).  Then bring my right leg forward and around his head for north/south poistion.  Take right hand and control my opponent’s right hip.  My left hand should control his left hip.  I should be directly in north/south position and my opponent should have double underhooks on my body.
6. Take my left hand and come behind his left shoulder and grab his gi, near the back of his left shoulder.
7. Rotate clockwise so I am perpendicular to my opponent while maintaining my left grip.  My left knee is tight to my opponent’s side.  Release my right grip on the hip and grab a 4-finger grip on my opponent’s right collar, so my forearm is across his throat now.
8. To finish the choke drop my weight on my right forearm by sprawling my left leg back and placing all my weight on my opponent.  Now pull my left arm with the grip on his gi upwards (like starting a lawnmower).  This should apply the choke.
9. The arm bar will attack my opponent’s left arm.  It should already be in position at this point.  Drive forward on my opponent while maintaining all my grips.  Pop my left knee up for knee on belly (or ribs).
10. Release right grip on my opponent’s collar while simultaneously bringing my right leg over for an arm bar.  Release my left grip on my opponent’s gi near his shoulder.  Clamp my elbow to my side, securing the arm bar tightly.
11. Sit back and finish.

Drill

1. Specific training today.  Worked on finishes from side control.  Then reversed the position so the other guy could work from the top.

Open Mat

1. Only got to roll once after class.  Cardio felt really good, I was moving a lot trying to get off the bottom.  I was rolling with Jake and we almost always have a good scramble that ends with him gi choking me or arm baring me.  This time was no different, he passed my guard and took side control.  Went for knee on belly a few times and I scrambled up to turtle and got a single leg takedown.  He grabbed my pants and used an arm drag to take my back.  I defended his bow and arrow choke and rear naked choke attempts.  I rolled back over and he went back to knee on belly.  He took an arm bar, which I felt like he was a little out of position for.  Boy was I wrong, he straightened out my arm and I tried to escape.  Nope, that didn’t work.  I had to tap… quickly.  My arm feels like crap right now.  He didn’t crank it unnecessarily or anything it was just super tight and with my escape attempt, I pushed the limit a bit too far.  Currently icing my elbow with a bag of veggies.

Immediately after I tapped I was fixing my gi getting ready to roll again.  Someone asked if anyone had any jumper cables, and I was the only so that ended my night.  So we’re out in the parking lot and my battery is covered in corrosion.  We hook up the cables and wait.  Nothing happening.  The car is not starting.  We adjust the cables a bit, I clean off some corrosion but still nothing.  Then his starter starts smoking pretty bad and we notice that even though I said the black prong went to the negative port, I put it on the positive. lol So we repositioned the cables correctly and the car starts right away.  Long story short, I’m a retard when it comes to auto stuff and don’t ask me to do anything intelligent after I just about broke my arm in an arm bar.