The photo to the left isn't Big Dave but it's not that far off. He wasn't at class last Thursday but I still left feeling good and beat up. It was another very unique class starting with the background of more thunderstorms sweeping across the area.
Sensei wasn't available to teach the class so we were in the able hands of Sempai Matt. He came with an agenda. He wanted us to 'beat him up' as part of his preparation for his MMA fight on July 18th.
We began the session with a fast-paced run. I tried my best to stay with Sempai Matt but he was zipping along. I finished about 10 yards behind him and then circled back to make sure Special Ed was doing okay. He was the straggler once again but doing better each week. This is a typical cycle for lots of newcomers.
Sempai started us with some practice repetitions. I did white belt newaza and nage with Special Ed and Osoto Gary before switching to doing some nage with Sempai Sadist. We didn't spend a ton of time on this before getting to the fighting.
Matt wanted guys to rotate in against him to keep fresh fighters pushing him. At the same time, we had other fights going on. I had a chance to roll with Special Ed, Oz the Wizard, Osoto Gary, Sempai Matt and Sempai Sadist. I did fairly well with everyone except Oz. Sensei has been urging me to be more aggressive offensively and I made a point of doing so when the opportunity presented it. Oz kicked my butt throughout. I did resist falling into his vaunted triangle but fell prey to his kimura far too many times.
After class, we had Special Ed present Sensei with a birthday cake. It wasn't actually his birthday but a small initation rite for our white belts. He took it well and came up with an excellently decorated cake. Pictures coming soon.
No class on Saturday due to the July 4th holiday. I spent the weekend alternating between doing good and bad things for my training. On the good side, I cut down about a dozen trees in my yards. Lots of good ax work that will be great for my grip, wrist and forearm strength. On the downside, another barbecue with a few beers and too much good food.
Two more weeks of training and then off to vacation. I believe I've found a BJJ place near the beach and I'm hoping to steal away for a little extra training. The game plan will be 1) sleep late, 2) go kayaking/swimming, 3) nap by the water and 4) get in some training. Nice.
