I'm just a little bit of everything...

So I’ve decided it’s time to up my fitness.

Last summer I was in the worst shape of my life. It was a summer of 1000 beers, 100 cocktails, fatty meats, mixed with long bouts of sitting. It wasn’t even my looks that bothered me. I’ve always had broad shoulders and I retained the muscle from my weightlifting days so I didn’t look horrible….but it was the way I felt. Sluggish. Slow. Sloppy. Lazy. Gloomy. Weak. Wasted.

That was the biggest one. I realized how much time I wasted. How much health I wasted. Money. Life. Wasted. And for the first time in nearly a decade I was unhappy with myself.

I tried hitting the gym during that time. I couldn’t remain consistent without a training partner. And planet fitness is wack if you’re trying to hit the weights. I like to grunt. I don’t care. It feels good. It’s a sign of effort. A sound of pushing through. But I digress.

Long story short, I started jiu jitsu because it was the only thing I loved enough to always go back. Since then, I’ve been so much better. I’m happy again. But now that I’ve whipped myself into decent shape, it’s time to push it to the next level. Right now I eat healthy and do jiu jitsu 2 times a week. I feel like I’m ready to do more. I’ve ordered some supplements, going to start hitting a local gym with no lunk alarms, a kettlebell regimen, and yoga for recovery. As I get better with jiu jitsu, I know that a healthier body is going to push me to the next level.

So yeah. It’s about to get real. I’m excited.

I wish I had a rep buddy.

So many things I want to try so I can feel them out.  Unfortunately, the only time I’m able to try things out is against a fully resisting partner during rolls.  Hahah. I guess that’s one way to learn. Wish I could get some reps in first though.  

What a weekend!

So this weekend all the east coast 10th planet jiu jitsu affiliates got together at my gym for a weekend of seminars. I’m exhausted! But it was sooooo worth it. My coach even threw in a 2 hour leg lock seminar on Friday as a treat for the guys coming from out of town.

We had affilliates from Montreal and Peterborough, ON, Canada. Some ronins from Chicago. The guys from the Miami hotbox came through. 10th planet Hartford. I knowmim forgetting some, but it was awesome.

My coach asked us to not drop any pics or videos for the time being. The coaches wanna drop it first. So yeah, I won’t be posting vids until they do.

But wow, so much info! For guys who think 10th planet is all rubber guard, twisters, and lockdown, you really underestimate the system as a whole, and the different tools that every coach brings to the table. We did some open guard passes, leg locks, bottom escapes, and even some basic modifications to standard moves like the katagatame. Of course we did some truck work. Personally, my favorite of the whole weekend was the monoplata set ups and all the plan b’s that come from a failed mono plata.

And get this….the whole weekend was only $50! Crazy!

Man, I can’t wait to share the goodies. Even better, I cant wait to try it.

Details details details.

Great roll today besides my indegestion. I ate a tuna sandwich too soon before practice. Im still learning how to balance my meal/snack times.

I only ran through one kid but it was his first day rolling. He was a good sport though. Used a path to the kimura that we learned a couple weeks back and got a calf crank from twister side. That was fun.

The guy I tapped last week definitely didn’t wanna get tapped this time. He was going hard. Even still, I refuse to go more than 60%. Mostly because I gas out. But also because I’m not trying to muscle anything. But yeah, he wasn’t falling for any of my tricks and was definitely trying to finish me. I defended well. Ended in a stalemate. Lesson learned in that one: don’t just keep fighting for the move you like. There are so many plan b’s from the electric chair path. I need to work on stoner control. Seems ideal for the position I keep putting myself into.

Grappled a new guy today. I told him “I roll light.” he says, “me too.” I start in guard and work to posture up and either he doesn’t understand rolling light or he was strong as an ox! I’m guessing the latter. I passed guard a couple times. He did a great job controlling my far hip from side control though. I forgot a detail that we learned a few weeks ago. Destroying the arm. I’m in the shower thinking like, man, what do I do in that position? Idiot! You JUST learned it! Destroy the near arm and gain a super tight side control. Oh well. I’ll learn for next time. He was good though. Stale mated me too.

Coach whooped my butt, but what else is new? The rest was pretty basic. We know each others games pretty well so it’s just fun times.

So yeah. Lesson learned: stop going for your pet moves and start chaining together your plan b’s fluidly. Such a difference between knowing moves and applying them in real time.

And since the guys in my weight class are all former wrestlers, I’m feeling a kind of pressure that I have to adjust to. I notice that my arms and legs never fade, but my core always does. I need to work on that. Core and cardio. Great rolling today.