2015/10/28: The Slump, Roughness

It is very normal to hit slumps in terms of whatever it is that you are doing. Very normal. I just don't feel like I am getting better as of right now, which is perfectly normal considering that everyone else is getting better as well. Maybe though, it is just because we keep shifting our focuses, and that we are working on new elements of our game, and that I have not improved enough in that regard yet?

A HUGE part of the problem is that I absolutely downright refuse to use my physicality. I won't do it. I am somewhat strong, I am REALLY fast, I am pretty athletic, I can go for a very long time, and I am super flexible, and near hypermobile in some areas - but I REFUSE to use any of that. I want to use only my skill; if I really want to, as showcased at Judo Monday night, I can use my physicality to defeat someone of similar or lower (or maybe even a little higher) skill level, but I will not.

The problem is, it is really difficult to defeat someone who is stronger, more athletic, and using more than you are using pure skill. You must be significantly better than them - and I'm just not. At least I am significantly less tired than those guys are. I could roll for two hours straight. How many of the other dudes can? Well, I'm not really trying to compare myself, but...

I was making slight adjustments to Hector's gi chokes, but gi chokes piss me off sometimes...and I'm letting my ego get the better of me. I want to escape, I want to play guard and sweep the crap out of people, I want to reverse and submit, but I can't. I'm outweighed by at least 50 lbs, and the guy is way better than me. What chance do I have?

I know I'm supposed to be focusing on defense and survival, since that was my plan for the blue belt. I figured guard retention should pass as a part of it...but I think for now I should not fight tooth and nail to keep my guard, but rather try to use my skill (which I somewhat am), and if it gets passed, whatever. If anyone taps you, your survival skill is not good enough.

Speaking of getting tapped, there was this very rough guy, I think he's from a different school...I got kicked a couple times and maybe even have a black eye. Whatever. I think he only tapped me like once, which I'm okay with. I could handle him though.

Same with that other guy, who likes to go really hard...I passed him and almost tapped him a couple times, when he used to just poop on me. So I guess I'm getting better.

But I tapped 5 times tonight.

I hate getting tapped. It means I lost. I try to see it in a positive light, but at the end of the day, no matter how I see it, I messed up somewhere. I wasn't better than the other guy. I did something that I shouldn't have. And I really, really, really dislike that.

I can't be perfect, however. I have only been here for a little over a year, and everyone else has been here at least two. I always want to stand out somehow, and I can't accept the fact that I am just not different than other people, or at least more skilled in some way. I want to be special. I want attention. That is just how I am, I need my ego to be fluffed because my self esteem is incredibly low. I need it for my own mental health. Hell, I finished Combatives in four months (technically two and a half, I was ready to test when I went off to school), but still.

I learn the moves faster than most people. Usually I get it perfect first try. I take all of the advice everyone gives me (except the stay off the mat stuff LOL), but eh...

Get over it, and get back on the mat and work harder.

I think I need to film myself so I can see what I am doing.

2015/10/24: Pivot Points, Constructive Criticism

It's 2:17 in the morning and I need to get up at 8, so this one will be short and sweet.

So in general, when you want to move on the ground, you need a pivot point if you want to do it fast. Because your moment of inertia is much smaller when the center of gravity is placed directly on the pivot point, you always want to do that - but you must find a pivot point. So the general rule of thumb is:

Find the center of that movement/spin. Place whatever you're balancing on over that point. Then, place yourself over what you placed on that point.

Best example: The armbar spin. Everyone sucks at it. Well...most people suck at it.

You're spinning on their chest. So you're going to place your hands on his chest, then place yourself over your hands. That's it...

Also, apparently one of the guys I asked about what that one dude said to me about "using technique" a couple weeks ago talked to the other instructor about it, and they told me that unless the criticism wasn't useful, forget it.

...or that the dude was just mad that I did something good to him LOL. "Don't let nothing discourage you." Gotcha.

2015/10/20: Broken, On/Off

So due to some strange reason, my right ankle has been hurting as well. Nothing is broken or anything, just a lot of swelling, I think due to either my muscle imbalances, or my pigeontoedness, or my left leg being longer than my right, which makes me lean to my right...so that's both my ankles that have problems LOL. Sad.

Anyway, I had to walk around the whole day focusing on my posture. That was annoying.

I somehow survived rolling without an injury and my ankle feels good, so that's a good sign.

I feel like I've been a lot more careful, but maybe just a silly slip up here and there and I'm getting injured. I think it is unrealistic to expect to not get injured; I'm pushing my body really hard. I do think I need to do more Titanium Ankles every day, however, as I am letting the worn parts of my body get weak. Also, my neck feels a bit funny after getting stacked LOL.

Anyway, today Joseph had a pretty easy time passing my guard. Well, not the easiest of times, but he was able to do it somewhat efficiently, and he focused on pulling my legs back, and then pinning them down. Which got me thinking - my entire goal was to pin the hips and blast them when I past right?

Well, there needs to be a second part of it. The blasting is the "on," and with every on, there must inevitably be an off, one that we must fully take advantage of - which is backing your hips out as far away as possible. I was watching Alex this do this last Tuesday, but I did not really pay attention, as I needed to invest time learning the blasting part first.

So the idea is to back the hips out, and take a piece of them with it, using the force of my hips moving backward to stretch them out (people on their backs can only move so fast). Once I have them elongated, I have the mechanical advantage, and therefore I will use that limb to pin the next appendage, and therefore gain control over their hips and begin to pass.

This technique must be used in conjunction with the hip blasting. Remember - if they are on, you are off (if they try to push you away, pull them and take their legs!), and if they are off, you are on (if they hesitate a little bit or try to pull you, you BLAST them with your hips).

**Every move is either a booty pop or a pelvic thrust (or a hip swing/twist, but that's different).

**There are two ways out of a trap - either as far away from it as possible, or straight through it. (See above)

You must mix up the on/off to get to someone. That is the key to skill. Mixups and timing.

But I think almost every move (at least those that have to do with positional changes) can be described by the model I provided - either blast them with your hips, or get yours as far away from theirs as possible on the escape, and on the offensive...either blast them with your hips, or get yours as far away as possible. The rest is just finding out how to apply it and formalities.

2015/10/19: Flexibility (in all aspects)/Open Mind

I'm not going to lie, I used to dislike a lot of Martial Arts simply because of how much emphasis they placed on physicality and conditioning. I mean don't get me wrong, conditioning is critical to success in terms of the combative arts; the stronger your base, the stronger one will be. This is why Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was such a turn on for me; while the Gracies themselves did physically condition themselves, they favored perfect mechanics, knowing that they would defeat their opponent.

I also disliked a lot of Martial Arts because a lot of their practitioners shit on Kung Fu, which was my heritage, and I will forever wear the Kung Fu flag with all of my pride and being. But the fact remains - that there were some styles of Kung Fu that placed a ton of emphasis on conditioning LOL. So I guess, in order to not contradict myself, I'm going to have to stay away from those...or end up conditioning myself.

In striking, some level of conditioning is necessary. The striking surfaces must be strong enough. But I dislike devoting all of my time to conditioning; while this is really good for meatheads who don't want to think too much, I want to be a fighter of brains, not of brawn, because the former deteriorates much slower than the latter.

Based on what I've seen though I'd always thought that a lot of fighters (and this is somewhat true) simply believe that the better conditioned player will win. But I want my skill to be such that unless you are SIGNIFICANTLY stronger than me (or better than me), only then will you be able to defeat me. Yet as I study these other Martial Arts that I long held distaste for, I find more and more qualities that I enjoy. I think at the end, I am going to have to pick which elements align for me, and add those to my own personal style, adhering to physical truths of the world.

I used to dislike boxing because they left the centerline. Well then I'll just fight long range! I don't have to throw hooks, I can just throw straights all day, and then shovel hook (which does not leave the centerline, contrary to popular belief) as I get close. Oh yeah, the hook is only thrown when the purpose of the hands of the opponent are occupied, or you step off of your opponent's centerline. They're not retarded. Also, the things you learn about timing and rhythm are crucial; in fact, I'm going to sign up at Boxing Works sometime within the next year and start training Muay Thai/Boxing there, just to learn rhythm and timing, and I will use what they teach me, but power it with what I know from Kung Fu. I wonder how fast my jab is compared to that of other people's. LOL.

I used to dislike Muay Thai because...well, I don't know why. I guess because everyone else likes it? LOL, that's a stupid reason to dislike something. Also, the reliance on conditioning. But it is useful, and I think the best place to learn how to deal with something is the place that does it; if I train at a Muay Thai school, I'll learn how to deal with all of that stuff.

I used to dislike Tae Kwon Do because I wanted a group of people that I could shit on myself, just like how everyone else shits on Kung Fu, but I shouldn't do that. I should keep an open mind. I'm starting to realize that a lot of their moves are actually practical in terms of the distance game. Learning how to throw leg kicks would work for me; except I have different targets in mind >:D

I disliked Jiu-Jitsu because I didn't really know anything about it.

Well, there you go. I'm now planning on doing some study of all of the previously listed things. An open mind is cool, you really get good at things. One must be flexible.

Also I'm working on flexibility in my body, but it is slightly hard since I think there are still some remnants of tightness from back when I improperly stretched.

2015/10/18: A Day Off (Or Two), Street Fighter Footsies

Sometimes, it is a good thing to take a day off. On Friday, I was hanging out with GIRLS (oh my god no way), and I was at her house until like 2:00 in the morning, and it was 2:30 by the time I got home. To make the morning class, I would have had to have gotten up at 8:00, which meant 5.5 hours of sleep. I could have done it, but I would rather have gotten more sleep, since sleep is crucial to a healthy life.

The day off was nice. I did not gain any rolling experience, but I was able to stop by the gym and do some squats, and stretch. I am getting weak since I have not gone to the gym in a while; my routine was as follows:

• Warm up with the usual dynamic stretching routine (and realized how inflexible I was :( )
• Idiots were on the squat rack having a conversation
• 3 sets of 5 leg press + 7 calf press at 270, focusing on breath
• 2 sets of 5 leg press + 7 calf press at 360, focusing on breath
• 2 sets of 10 leg extensions at 45
• 3 sets of calf raises (sitting) at 90
• FINALLY THE SQUAT RACK OPENS
• The following are squats:
• 1x 5 of 45, warmup
• 1x 5 of 95, warmup
• 2x 5 of 135
• 2x 3 of 155
• 1x 3 of 185
• 1x 5 of 135
• 3 sets of calf raises (standing) at 120
• Isometric stretching + static stretching

I'm still decently strong; the 185 felt VERY doable, but I did not want to push it, though it was significantly harder than it was say like a month ago. My deadlifts still feel good though. But I couldn't deadlift because my elbow was hurting.

So then I went to my friend's house (still on Saturday, the 17th) and I foamrolled and stretched some more. Then we played Street Fighter, where I could start to apply my knowledge of timing and rhythm.

It was very interesting; I was playing Fei Long and trying to master his footsies game. I was doing okay, I guess. I was able to stop hit consistently and bait out a couple moves. I can't wait until my budget can sustain Boxing/Muay Thai classes so I can spar with people and get comfortable learning this stuff. I will become a master of footsies in Street Fighter, and then practice applying it on people in Boxing/Muay Thai.

2015/10/14: Every Curse is a Blessing, "Shoulder Drives to the Elbow"

I'm going to have to make this one pretty fast, because I still have some Numerical Methods homework to do, and an exam to study for. So yeah.

Anyway, today I rolled at the Gracie Academy, but because my elbow was hurting from Monday [see the two previous posts], I had to do it with just one arm. Of course I didn't submit anyone [though I did get pretty close on a few occasions], but since we were practicing guard passing, I figured I would pass some guards and defend some passes.

So after studying Alex last night, I had a couple things I wanted to try, which was that I would defend the guard passes by keeping their hips as far away from me as possible, and pass guards by blasting my hips into them and getting as close as possible, and the fact that I had only one arm made this so much easier.

It totally worked.

The fact that I had only one arm made me use my legs and my hips more. In fact, I passed primarily using my hips and shoulders; I barely used the functioning hand! The only thing I really did with it was post when I needed base, or use it to shrug a really annoying grip off of me or something. The rest I achieved through pressure and good footwork alone. It was awesome. I wonder how people felt having their guards passed one handed. So I see now that guards/guard passing is all in the hips.

When I played guard, though I got passed a couple times, I'm getting better. It's all about keeping my hips away, and keeping their hips away. Now all it is is the formality of grips, and how to fight for them. I got hook sweeps on a couple people [the only one handed sweep LOL], and my strategy to keep them away worked. In fact, it worked so well that some people tried so hard to pass I was actually able to invert and get a heel hook on them!

Also I tried some really funny escapes, which worked because I had to use my body a lot more than my arms and legs. Which was cool.

So I guess the moral of the story is that every curse is a blessing; by my arm being injured, that enabled me to watch Alex, which enabled me to roll focusing on my hips and their hips, which led to this HUGE epiphany that I had about rolling. And there's so much more for me to explore! I had felt stuck before, but now I feel like I have the answer. Kind of.

Another thing this led me to understand is "shoulder drives to the elbow," or as Jin calls it, "heavy elbow." I realized that the two were almost the same thing, but you move from your elbow, AS WELL AS from your wrist, and that way it activates more muscles and makes the body more coherent.

Imagine you're Kyle Maynard, who has no forearms, just a stub. That is how you should hit.

2015/10/14: All in the Hips, "The Contradiction"

So since my elbow was out of commission yesterday, I decided to show up to class anyway and take notes. Well, normally I show up to class anyway, but usually I just tie down whatever is hurting and don't use it. But I wanted to be safe, since elbows are pretty important haha.

I learned a lot by sitting on the sidelines and watching. In fact, probably more than if I rolled with someone, even though I'm not getting the practice in that I need, but still. It was quite informative, particularly watching my instructor Alex. Alex was barely moving, it looked so easy for him, and he was light and gentle and smooth...but his opponents were usually thrashing around, doing all of their movements very violently and explosively, but they all just seemed to get shut down, or none of them worked. It was pretty remarkable watching that; it was just like the Kung Fu legends that I'd heard about my entire life, and reassuring to know that they were real. Imagine what I could be if I trained as hard and as long as Alex did.

Anyway, one thing I noticed about Alex was how he maneuvered his hips. Alex did say "every move starts and ends with the hips," But watching it in action was even more incredible. When he was passing, he attacked with this hips very much, using its weight to smash the defenses of the other person. When he was defending, he kept his opponent's hips as far away from his as he could. Until he decided to sweep. It was amazing to watch.

Also, Alex said something along the lines of Jiu-Jitsu being a contradiction. "If you want to be heavy, you must first learn how to be light. If you want to learn how to submit, you must first learn how to defend, escape, control, and stuff like that. It all contradicts. If you want to learn to be fast, you go slow. Find the strength in the weaknesses, and the weaknesses in the strengths." Very in alignment with Yin-Yang philosophy. Interesting, I'll have to think about that.

2015/10/13: Injury/Recovery, Lack of Organization

Today is going to be less about what I discovered, because even though I discovered a lot, a lot of it is not very write-downable. I did learn that when guard passing, however, one must apply a lot of pressure and smash the person [in the right ways] with their weight. However, committing your weight makes you sweepable, so it is always a tradeoff.

Also, when I went with that guy that looked like Ross Fuji, I was trying the untangle escape, but he extended a little harder than I would've liked >_< and I tapped just a little bit too late. Oh well. At least I learned a lot about escape.

Right now I'm planning on rolling one handed for a couple days to protect my arm, but I'm scared it'll get hurt anyway. It feels really uncomfortable. They say it'll get better with time, but idk. Also I can't tell if I'm swollen or not but yeah.......so many questions. Going to talk to the doctor.

Also my solo practice is very disorganized; I need to find a solid training regime. But the problem is uncertainty; I have no motivation to practice something that I was not taught how to practice. I've figured stuff out, but I think I need a teacher at the end of the day.

2015/10/11: Bad Practices, Ankle Problems, Plans Forward From Here, the Variables

Setbacks and/or plateaus are inevitable. I did not have a very good weekend in terms of practices or what I wanted to do. Friday was okay, I got to roll with Jordan again and that was cool and everything. But a lot of it is just that I'm expecting to be able to escape these armbars, but that's not going to happen right away.

I have only been training for one year. One year. That is not a lot of time. I should be happy for the progress I have made! Well, technically, I have been training on and off for five years, but let's count the total training time.

• 2010: July to early November, 4 months
• 2012: Late June to Early September, 2.5 months
• 2013: June to early August, 2 months
• 2014: June until present

Wait...really? So if you take all of the training time I've ever put in, I've been training for 2 years and half of a month. That is actually not a lot of time. And I've only been in Jiu-Jitsu for one year and 4 months. What do I expect from myself? I know I get frustrated when I am not meeting my short term goals, but I guess I just have to get back to the mat and keep trying. Also, I need to not panic so much when people are trying to armbar me. But eventually, I'll get good at it. Eventually.

I'd say I'm pretty decent for where I'm at; I just need to learn the rest of the positions, then I think I'll have a lot more fun stringing it all together. Maybe once I finish one revolution of the Master Cycle, I'll feel a lot better.

In the meantime, I'll just need to deal with it.

Saturday's workout wasn't that great; I didn't work any of my boxing combos. I think I'm too sporadic when it comes to things that I practice; I'll practice very hard for a week or two on a couple things and then just not practice at all. Part of it is because I practice so many contradictory things at the same time that it's very hard to get all of it into my head. A huge part of it was I didn't make a specific list of things that I wanted to practice.

One thing I DID want to practice, however, was the roundhouse kick. Which really, really, really hurt my bad ankle. Which leads me to conclude...that I need to start doing titanium ankles again. My landings feel weak.

Also I kind of want to play basketball, but that is just so much effort.

Anyway, I've decided to continue Kung Fu training, but to test it out and learn to apply it to guys at a Muay Thai/Boxing school. My power mechanics will be based on Kung Fu, but I'll use the Muay Thai guys are training dummies to learn how to make it work. I think this is the best, because I will have sparred against something that I know works for sure. I like the idea of softness overcoming hardness.

The goal for me is to learn distance, rhythm, timing, targeting, defense, mindgames, and all of that stuff by sparring a lot with people, and then learn to play my slower, tankier game using that knowledge when I get older.

So I've decided to make a list of variables for the stance, and if I haven't already, I'm going to update the list. I'm going to experiment with these and be comfortable with everything.

1. Width: The wider, the more stable and able to resist force, but the less mobile you are, and the less you can deliver force. More defensive. A thinner stance is more mobile and able to deliver force, but not very stable. Offensive.
2. Height: Low stances are typically wider, and are more stable, at the cost of mobility once again. HOWEVER, you are takedown-safe, and have takedown potential. Higher stances are typically smaller, but better for striking, though at great risk of being taken down.
3. Angle: A bladed stance is a smaller target, but you make it easier for your opponent to take your back. Also, you sacrifice power in the front hand for tremendous strength in the rear hand (and the same goes for the leg), and you sacrifice side-to-side stability. Good for situations where there are no roundhouse kicks. Also a lot of leg drive. A square stance (a perfectly square stance) is really bad in terms of front and back stability, but is very good for sprawling against someone who is going to take you down. If you take a slightly square stance (square shoulder, bladed legs), both hands have equal power, but you must turn your front knee in to protect the groin. Bigger target. So square stance more takedown safe, bladed stance more strike safe. A balance is key.
4. Weight distribution (foot): Weight on toes is great for mobility, but lacks very much power (unless you THROW your weight, which is risky but extremely powerful. So you must know when to commit and therefore be prepared for what could happen. Weight on heels is great for power, so like when we are throwing a finishing blow or resisting a push. We must be able to seamlessly transition between both. I like to favor flat feet, but there are times for everything.
5. Match/Mirror: Being able to switch stances at a moment's notice to take advantage of their unfamiliarity.
6. Weight distribution (legs): Weight on forward foot is very dangerous, but has the most attack potential for the hands or the rear leg (drop step roundhouse) unless it is a carving attack with the front foot (which is illegal in most sport organizations). Weight back is safer, and favors the front leg in terms of attack and/or interception. Weight evenly distributed is a great compromise. (The karate dudes are into that)
7. Hand Positioning: Centerline, Philly Shell, Standard Guard, Peekaboo, Muay Thai guard, the list goes on...all have their advantages and disadvantages. I prefer to keep my hands in the middle though, or maybe so a half and half guard with a bladed stance. Will play around.

That's all I can think of for now. I will probably append this list as time goes on.

2015/10/07: Escaping Armbars, Progression from Young to Old

"So I'm currently on armbar defense focus, you think you could slap as many of those on me as you can?"

This was the premise of my roll. An innovative approach, I think this focus-by-focus approach of Jiu-Jitsu is the best method of development. Just as I have in other disciplines, I will usually focus on one thing until it is subconscious, and then move to the next. This seems to be working well for me. I'd say I'm pretty comfortable at the bottom of the side mount.

Anyway, in terms of escaping armbars, today was a success! I went after all four the things I described elsewhere (top leg, bottom leg, their base, pulling my elbow out) and I mixed it up, with hitchhiker as a last resort. Now I just need a lot of experience. There was a cool little armbar that Brett caught me with on the far side that I need to learn, and he also baratoplata'd me when I tried to escape his triangle (that I will need to learn as well). Greg still says I'm a little fidgety, so I'll try not to explode as much, and only when I need to. I also need to breathe better.

Anyway, my plan is to learn the concepts of fighting while I am young by using my superior agility and flexibility, and my insane speed (I think I will rely on speed to be the deciding factor in my striking, of course not sacrificing power as much as possible, and heavens forbid, my technique) to make things work until I understand how my opponents behave. Then, I will slowly weather it down, and begin relying on my superior timing, positioning, technique, and good rooting instead of crazy speed and mobility as I get older. I think that'll do it. But the ideas of range, accuracy, timing, rhythm, etc. don't change as I get old. Only how I master them do.

2015/10/05: Testing it Out, Speed, It Kicked, Hane Goshi, All the Same Thing

So, after a pretty demoralizing weekend (which was more of a downward spiral, luckily I had a fun time playing Munchkins with some drunk friends), I was right back to it at the Academy at noon. I got paired up with a black belt, which was AWESOME he taught me so much, and I learned a lot moving with him. I'll admit I could be less panicky at the bottom, but give me a break, I'm getting punched! I'm learning how to take a hit and make it hurt less, but next time I'll really try to work on shedding, even from the bottom. Oh, and escaping an armbar when they can punch you is really hard. (But if they're punching you, they can't finish the armbar...)

"Just keep on going." Said the black belt. "See you at 30."
And you will. Thanks for inspiring me.

I tried out some of the standup stuff I'd been practicing, and I surprised myself. The double jab is literally the greatest thing ever. Probably because no one knows how to defend it, but I'm kind of an ass and I go high-low, or I'll shoot my first jab at whatever, and the second at whatever they decide not to block. So it's kind of a guaranteed hit. The only real thing they can do is space better, but I was controlling the space so...

I was going with that one dude with the slicked hair (I think I made him upset :( ), and he was driving me back, and then I had this epiphany that he was eating up a lot of my space, and then I started sidestepping. And that's when it started going downhill for him, very much. All the footwork (well, not all of it, but a lot of it that I practiced) started just happening! I was changing leads, shifting, cutting angles and stuff, and I was getting hit after hit after hit on him. Of course, I did it light, but it was so cool! This guy threw a punch at me and I held the shield up and sidestepped (though it missed me completely) and then I turned and threw a left rear straight (by sidestepping I switched leads), and it was dope.

I also discovered that, even though I knew I trained my speed a lot, I never actually knew how fast I was. Holy crap, I am fast. I can move fast, I can shuffle fast, and my hand gets from my guard to his face...very, very fast. A couple times, I was able to throw the punch, have it get within a centimeter of his face, and pull it back, all before he could react. Holy crap. The wrist torque on the other side helps a lot, but that is some crazy speed. I will try not to abuse it though and train technique instead, because with age I will lose my speed.

The craziest thing that happened though was there was a moment where he just randomly decided to come at me, and, without permission or any command from my brain whatsoever, my foot instinctively sprung off the ground, proper technique and everything, and did a roundhouse. Now, if he hadn't changed levels and tried to shoot, it would've hit him in the ribs, which he probably would've blocked. But because he changed levels, it was going to hit him in the face. HARD. But good thing he blocked, and left a dent in my foot, but yeah....I now know what they meant in Longstreet, when he said, "...like I didn't kick...it kicked." I seek this feeling for all of my moves. Wow.

Anyway, at night, we went to judo, where we just went over all of the throws. I will admit I need to start connecting centers mentally (I am doing it very physically) before I try to throw him, but aside from that it went pretty well.

The sensei decided to teach me Hane Goshi, and I think I might have scared him with my intense concentration when I set about learning it, but after a couple tries, I was able to do it! He came right off of the ground! It's such an awesome throw! Now I just want him to teach me Uchi Mata lol.

I'm noticing more and more that all of these throws are the exact same thing, it's just that the hand positioning or the body positioning is slightly different. But in terms of principles, it's more or less...all the same thing.

2015/10/04: Setting Schedules, General Ramblings

So recently I have realized that I am doing a whole lot of nothing haha. I don't feel like I am really learning anything - I tell myself that I am going to learn some things, and then I don't because I'll have one of those "oh it's too much for this current moment of time" sort of a things.

So I've decided to set a schedule that I will follow, and I will begin by going whatever what I am going to do next Friday or next time I see Chris.

• Wrestling: I am going to go over the Double Leg, High C to Double Leg (American), Low Single, High Single Entrance.
• Greco: Pummel practice, review last week's stuff, and do 2-3 more takedowns
• Practice the GracieUniversity stuff, probably going to do Back Defense
• Striking: Muay Thai kick defense, footwork sparring, general bag work, other Kung Fu stuff I want to try.

That should be a good amount of stuff to practice there. On my own, however, I want to:

• Practice my Wing Chun and Tai Chi (Yang style, long) forms
• Practice my strikes (on both sides; jab, rear straight, hooks, uppercuts, overhands...?, hammers, straight kick, roundhouse kick, stomp, and their equivalents with elbows and knees)
• Practice my footwork (best with relation to my strikes)
• Shadowbox
• Study Baguazhang
• Work on my takedowns and clinch fighting
• Master energy
• Combinations

So for this week, I am going to practice Siu Nim Tau at least 2-5 times a day, and learn the first section of Chum Kiu...? I mean it's not 100% necessary that I learn Chum Kiu, but practicing Siu Nim Tau is important. Also, I'm going to learn the first section of the Yang style long form.

On days with more time, I will practice my footwork, and my strikes/combinations, doing everything 20 times each on both sides. (I will choose 20-30 combinations/strikes to practice)

Move from my center - always!

So now that that's out of the way, I'm going to talk about my afternoon training session yesterday, at Scott's house. It began with a lot of just playing around with my strikes, and trying to refine them. Then Scotty came upstairs and held the bag while I hit it. I noticed that when I hit things, my hands tend to drop. So I am going to work on that a lot more.

I was getting good power though, I was knocking him backwards on a lot of things, and I could really feel how my energy was impacting him. I just need to move from my center more and not get so fixated on hitting the object; it's okay to miss!

2015/10/03: Commitment, "Use Technique"

Saturday morning class. I have such a hard time getting up; I'm still recovering a bit from chronic fatigue. I'm half asleep during the technique phase (and apparently I grabbed the unwashed gi too on accident, wow that's embarrassing), but I still managed to pull through it.

Anyway, I roll with this brown belt guy, and I'm trying to get him to armbar me because I watched a bunch of videos on armbar escapes last night. So he finally does it towards the end of the round, and I use Keenan's grab your hamstring method, and it worked! He couldn't tap me, and I was then fighting to shove his leg under mine. But then the buzzer rang. Whatever.

Then, as customary when I roll with anyone who has 2 stripes or more on their blue belt or is a higher belt, I asked him for advice.

"Use technique," he said. "You're too wild."

............I lay there and didn't do anything and just defended. I barely moved. And I thought I was using technique, and it really felt like I did, but apparently not. So here is where the awkward part is, because I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or not.

1. Because I have better body use than most people, it may feel like I'm brute forcing a lot of things. Very possible.
2. Because I am a relatively new blue belt, and have only been sparring for 10 months, it probably feel like jello to him
3. !?!?!?!?!?
4. I actually am not using technique.

And I have no idea which one of the four it is...

Anyway, I rolled with some other much nicer people, one of which told me the following:
"When you do a move, either do 100% or don't do." He said with an accent.

Thanks man. I'm going to think about that and do that. I totally agree. No more half assey moves.

Also, there was another brown belt (a much nicer one), who worked with me on my armbar escapes, and here's what I learned:

• If they lock up on you, they are very tippable with the leg swing; go in the direction that is opposite of the arm they are hooking you with
• If they are uncrossed, you can use your safe elbow to wedge their south leg
• When you hitchhiker, really elevate your shoulder on the same side and shoot for 90 degrees
• Mixups!