Below are some various thoughts from the past couple classes. Things are getting busy now with Spring activities including soccer coaching and plenty of yard work. It should be interesting to see whether I can keep up on this journal of sorts over the next couple months.
Middle of the mats...
I spent Saturday’s class on the middle of the mats with Big Dave working through the blue belt charts. The middle of the mats is a perfect location to get the most out of class. On one side we had yellow belts working on their techniques and on the other side the black belts. We had the chance to assist the yellow belts when they requested and also had the black belts looking in on us to provide their expertise. This would be the perfect scenario to have each class but it doesn’t always line up that way. The combination of learning to instruct, practicing your techniques and having teachers nearby to straighten you out.
A thunderous Harai Goshi…
Each chart presents its own challenges. For me, this would be Harai Goshi and Uchi Mata. I wasn’t looking forward to working these throws with Big Dave as I figured they’d just be even more difficult for me working with the King Kong of the dojo. Very surprisingly, the Harai Goshi worked fairly well and the windows rattled when his nearly 300 pounds slammed onto the mats. There are certain throws (see Ippon Seoi Nage) that are somehow easier when working with someone whose center of gravity is so much higher than your own. Despite having to momentarily bear all his weight on one leg, the throw seemed to be passable. The same didn’t apply for the Uchi Mata.
Life flashing before my eyes…
Now when Big Dave did his own Harai Goshi, he made a good toss but was a little off-balance. Lying on the mats below, I saw his frame teetering towards me. For a moment, it appeared that he was going to tip over onto me like a redwood tree. My mind flashed to a similar situation over 20 years ago when a like-sized guys toppled onto me at a basketball court in Chatsworth, CA. On that occasion, he landed on my hand as I tried to scramble out of the way. I ended up with a mangled finger broken in three places. This time around, Big Dave regained his footing and I was spared being flattened.
We are your better judgment…
Mega Chris was at class on Thursday despite a slew of nagging injuries including a very sore knee, a couple problematic shoulders, an achy back and a tweaked neck. As Sempai Sadist Jake and I worked with him on yellow belt jujutsu, we asked him if he wanted to defer on certain techniques that might be most troublesome. He typically grunts at that suggestion and goes about gritting his teeth through the repetitions in his Mega way. On this night, Sempai and I decided that he should pass on a couple of the techniques. He asked why we wouldn’t include him to which I replied and Jake agreed, “We’re you better judgment since you don’t have any”. Mega Chris didn’t argue the point.
The log –splitter choke…
At the beginning of my first roll with Mega Chris, I was locked in his guard. I started to go through the possible escape options and remembered that I’d recently seen a video on something called the ‘log splitter pass’. I fell into a little bit of a daydream while trying to recall the specifics. While I pondered, Mega Chris reached up and choked me out. I had to laugh at myself and went back to grappling him for a second time. We stalemated on the second go-around. Going forward, I think maybe I’ll actually practice a new technique versus trying to debut it during a roll and suffering the consequences.
Another failed Ippon Seoi Nage…
I also grappled with Sempai Sadist Jake. I took the initiative and attempted an Ippon Seoi Nage but, once again, it was too slow and lacked full commitment. I think part of this slowness is a desire to ‘be safe’. This half-assed attempt left me defending my back. I was able to scramble and eventually gain top position. I didn't seriously threaten him but it was far better than my last 0-3 outing against this black belt.
Jujitsu dream (or nightmare)…
During Thursday night's claas, Sensei wasn't in attendance and we were getting instruction from Sempai Sadist Jake and Sempai Scuba Steve. We were working right along and breaking a good sweat. Sensei popped open the dojo door as we were going through our repetitions. Even though we weren't screwing around, I couldn't help but think that we all felt like kids whose father had shown up at our room's door unexpectedly while we were jumping on the bed. I even had a dream that night about jujitsu. In the 'nightmare', I was caught by Sensei mouthing off to Sempai Matt. My punishment was to clean out cabinets full of mouse traps and to grapple with Karo Parisyan. There must have been a little guilt present earlier in the night.
