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50 Years of Life - 3 Years of Jujitsu

Mark Twain Motivational Poster

Sempai Matt

Jujitsu Is Like A Box Of Chocolate...

With soccer season over for the Spring, I was back in the dojo this week. Here are some random observations from the past couple week's of classes.

Running: We're running more often to start class now that we're in no gi season until Labor Day. Most of these runs have been something I've been able to manage. We've run different distances and there's been plenty of variety. Through graveyards and wooded paths. On flats and up steep hills. Some shorter and some longer. On many occasions, I'll position myself toward the back to act as a sweeper and to encourage a straggler. This past Thursday, I started near the front of a run led by Sempai Matt. He's down 60 pound as he prepares for his MMA debut on July 18th. Newly trim and always tall, Sempai went for a run and not a jog, I was doing everything I could to try and keep up with him. His stride is long and it felt like I was sprinting to keep up. When we finished, Sempai said that he kept going faster because he heard me on his heels. I'd have slowed down if I'd known. 

Jujitsu Hallmark Cards: A few weeks ago, I'd played around with an ongoing 'You Might Be A Jujitsu Player' theme. reently, Sempai Jake suggested a line of jujitsu-inspired cards. He imagined they might not be a sweet and sympathetic as a traditional line of cards. Something like the outside of the card saying 'I'm sorry for your loss' and the inside saying 'Suck it up and get back to class'. 

To escalate or not to escalate: I recently took a hard heel to the side of the head from my constant training partner and fellow blue belt Joelbow. It was in the middle of a roll and it bothered me off enough to kick me into another gear. Afterward Joelbow asked whether he'd pissed me off. I told him 'yes' and that maybe it was a good thing since it made me fight more aggressively. I also told him that I resisted doing that with him because I didn't think he had any governor. I figured he'd just amp up further and someone would get hurt - that I preferred to be one level of intensity below him and try to deal with that using technique. Of course, at a class sooner after, Joelbow was grinding his forearm into my face and bending my fingers back. I'd decided it was best to not go there and end up getting hurt trying to match those tactics. On the otherside, I think Joelbow is doing the appropriate thing from a self-defense standpoint. These are some ot the methods that may be necessary when push really comes to shove. 

Progression: I've now been through the blue belt chart enough to have a decent understanding of the charts. Now it's time for refinement. This goes for working back on the white and yellow belt techniques. It's a lot to retain in an aging mind easily distracted with things like retirement planning and colonoscopies. That said, it's a good challenge to keep in front of me. 

No gi Harai Goshi: Earlier this week, I got my best throw ever during randori. I was able to get an underhook on Joelbow and turn into a nice Harai. I was surprised myself when it worked so well and we bashed to the mats with me in side control. It was a little like that perfect golf putt, that smashing bowling strike or that swishing three-point basketball shot. I thought maybe I should just quit jujitsu then because I might never get another throw that felt so perfect. 

Butt out: We did the sometimes perilous 'throw-only randori' at the end of Thursday's class. In a sense, this is little like what a judo class must be like. No ground fighting allowed. Just going for throws and then re-starting after each attempt. I went with Mega Chris and Sempai Cort and did decently. No great throws to speak of. I was fairly aggressive but my low 'butt away' posture was probably the basis of Sensei's class-ending discussion on not being overly cautious and taking that stance. He noted that you need to get your hips in and doing the 'butt away' stance was fine defensively but also negated your offense as well. Sempai Scuba also gave me some special instruction on how to clean up finishes if my seoi nage failed. And it does fail often.

Last class this half-century: Today is my last class before turning 50. These past few years of jujitsu have been an interesting challenge. I feel like this sport has allowed me to reach the half-century mark feeling fit and challenged. I've met many new friends, gathered innumberable memories and have a level of skill and fitness that a typical middle-aged sport like golf wouldn't have given me. I'm hoping that the years ahead will find me healthy enough to continue pursuing this sport. Choking out a 20-year old on my 60th birthday will be my next goal. I'm just hoping it doesn't turn out to my daughter's boyfriend. 

Samurai Baseball

The Right Choices

I've been away from the dojo a bit of late and even more having to pass on my jujitsu blogging as soccer season was coming to it's crescendo. I've felt very comfortable in my training lately. Feeling like I was making progress both mentally and in improving my techniques. It's tempting to want to stay with your routine and not to lose momentum. Yet I had a responsibility to coach soccer with a group of kids that I've been with for seven years. It's quite something to see young kindergarten girls milling around the ball tranfrom into middle girl tweeners with game sense and a passion for competition. They've formed great friendships and learned many lessons. Possibly this is how a Sensei feels seeing a student turn into a Sempai over the years. 

The soccer season is over with the girls winning another hard-fought tournament this weekend in the mud and rain. It's now time for them to head in different directions for their summer vacations and for me to get back on the mats. 

Ouch...

Tappage

Hittsui

Judo Training At American Top Team

I’ve missed a few classes of late due to soccer tournaments and a short trip to Florida. The silver lining was that I was able to schedule a private lesson at American Top Team on the morning I was flying home from West Palm Beach. I was also fortunate to get a session with BJJ and judo black belt Nicolae Cury. He was the same instructor I’d worked with back in February when I was in the area for a business conference. I requested that we focus on two of my weaker throws and he came ready to help me.&

When I arrived at ATT in Coconut Creek on Saturday morning, the gym was mostly empty except for a small Muay Thai class going on. Many of the usual crew was either away for the WEC fights on Sunday or the BJJ World Championships being held over the weekend in Los Angeles. I wandered around and took the photos posted below. I looked across the mats and rings the way someone might look across the field at Fenway Park. I knew that many great fighters had spilled buckets of blood and sweat on the mats I was about to train on.

Nicolae arrived and showed me a book he’d made on how to transition from judo to BJJ. He was a judoka first and a jiu-jitsu player second which allows him to understand how these transitions can come about. Nicolae said that he would send me a version when he had it traslated and reprinted from Portuguese to English.

Nicolae began by telling me about his last fight. He’d lost a tough decision along with his previously unbeaten record. He noted that his opponent had far more fighting experience and caught him with a punch that broke his nose. The blood made both fighters slippery and thwarted Nicolae’s submission attempts. It also made him want to work on his striking. His dream would be to travel to Thailand to get extended Muay Thai training. He’d learned judo in Japan and jiu-jitsu in Brazil. It seemed that going to the source was the best way.

He also told me a story about his first wrestling classes at ATT. Although he wasn’t a wrestler, he found that he was good at it almost immediately. During the end of one training session, he was getting tired and decided to pick a small opponent. The opponent turned out to be a terror despite his much smaller size. Who was the tougher smaller dude? Current WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown.

Nicolae noted that the set-up for both Harai Goshi and Uchi Mata were essentially the same. He wanted to breakdown the throw into pieces and then put them all back together.

Kazushi: Nicolae had me take the traditional randori grip with my left hand gripping nbehind the opponent’s upper right forearm and my right hand on the lapel. He wanted my right arm to pull into my shoulder like ‘drinking a beer’ and my left to pull up and away. He also wanted my head to turn to the left. This pulling and lifting motion pulled the opponent onto their toes.

Footwork: Nicolae asked that my right foot step across toward the opponent’s left but not too close. Leaving some distance was important since I needed space in which to pull the opponent in to. I would simply block myself if I stepped too close. He also wanted my knee slightly bent. My left foot would then swing around and plant hard. Closely on an Uchi Mata and more open for the Harai Goshi. He also asked that I not turn too much, stand straight versus bending/hipping in and to ensure I turned my head with the pull. Not getting your hip in was also to ensure you didn’t block the kazushi.

Leg Postiion: Nicolae asked that I use a straight sweeping leg on both throws. He wanted the Uchi Mata straight between the legs (versus on an inside thigh) and he wanted me to ‘let the throw rip’ versus gripping the opponent’s collar to the mat. He wanted my head to be facing away to the left by the end of the throw. He also noted that many judo players will get the leg-extended but it will be slightly turned. A slight ‘hop and pop’ to straighten the leg can accentuate the final part of the throw.

We did a number of drills to work on each step. In all cases, we did numerous sets of reps. The skin on the knuckles of my right hand wore away to bleeding from all the pulling and rubbing against the gi.

Exercises:

Sets of kazushi: Multiple sets of ten pulls to ensure I was doing this probably. Nicolae said that I could practice this using exercise bands.

Sets of pulls/footwork: We next added the footwork to the pull exercise.

Pull and footwork with movement: Nicolae had me take three steps back and then do the kazushi and fit after he bent his leg into a short crouch. We did this back and forth the mats a number of times.

Footwork practice: He had me lean against the wall and practice my footwork and leg kick. This included the little hop to straighten the sweeping leg.

Practice throws: Nicolae then had me practice five throws in rapid succession. He weren’t quite static but moving slightly and he wanted me to execute whenever I was ready. This made it slightly more like Randori but without much of the usual risk. We did about three setsof these.

Nicolae then wanted to see a couple of my other throws. I first attempted a Sumi Geashi. He said this was very good and only suggested that I tighten the neck grip by grabbing my forearm instead on gripping my fingers. I then did a Tomoe Nage. Nicolae felt that pulling the gi in tighter (and thereby the opponent) would make the throw better and he was absolutely correct.

He then showed me a ‘no gi’ version of Uchi Mata. You were side-to-side with your opponent and locking their left arm with your right arm around the back of their tricep and the back of your hand against their stomach. You then placed your right foot deep between their legs and scooted your left leg in as well. Bringing your right leg up and pressuring down with your right arm would begin to off-balance them. Hopping forward on your left foot would finish the takedown.

We ended with two five-minute randori sessions that didn’t go well for me. The first was throws only and the second included throws and newaza. During the throw session, I was taken down in most every possible manner. I did get Nicolae to the mat a couple times but I’m pretty sure he fell out of compassion or safety. The newaza was only slightly better. The first time he finished me in a few seconds on a throw that transitioned into an arm bar. The second time, I did a decent job fending him off. His knee on stomach was very stronger and very low. He eventually got me on another juji gatame. The last time fell victim to a choke. I pretty sure he broke down my previous choke defense and found a variation to capatilize on my tight arm position.

This brought our training to an end. We worked for nearly 90 minutes and I felt like I got a ton of tips to improve these throws. Nicolae is serious about his teaching but also very supportive and encouraging. I'm hoping to be back at ATT soon. Nicolae suggested coming by on a Tuesday to watch the professionals train. Hopefully I will be able to someday soon. Another day of instruction at one of the world's top training centers.