Blue Belt + 8

Today's drills consisted of sweep form close guard using the sweep side foot to push the opponent's knee away during the sweep. We also worked on a back take from top half-guard. This move was explained as looking good in class but does not work well in competition. 😬

The last drill for the day was armbar from closed guard. It was a variation from our master attack drill that we do as a warmup.

Professor had his son wrestle with some of the other teens in the class. After the teens wrestled, Professor dismissed them. We then paired up and rolled.

Today I paired up with a female blue belt that was close in weight to me. I maintained top position for most of the roll, attacking with armbars, but as soon as she was able to get top position, I would get submitted.

We rolled two more time and each time she got to top position I would get submitted. I was not able to handle her weight on me. She also did something with her legs that I call grape vining, not sure if that is the correct name for it. She would basically tangle her legs with mine and extend her legs as much as possible. This would cause me a lot of discomfort and distract me from whatever else she was tying to do, which would lead to a submission.

I did not roll with anyone else tonight. It was a slow roll day for me. I'm feeling my age with these twenty somethings. OSS

Blue Belt + 7

Forced myself to train today. I was so tired from work, both mentally and physically. I was scared I would get crushed on the mat tonight.

Today we worked wrestling takedowns for most of the warmups and first hour. A couple of the young children that train in the adult class has a wrestling match tomorrow, so Professor was getting them ready. We even stopped class to allow them to spar wrestling takedowns with some of the other young teens.

We paired up and rolled for the second part of class. I started with a crafty blue belt. I was able to pass his guard and was making my way to his back for a choke, but as soon as I got my hooks in and started to roll back, Professor called time and had us circle up so he could dismiss the teens.

Once they left, we paired up again for rolls. This time I paired up with a white belt. I didn't try to submit him because I could tell he wasn't skilled enough to submit me. I ended up just flowing with him and giving up position only to take it back because he was not able to maintain or advance.

This was odd, because I feel he was better before. Maybe he was having a bad day. I had a bad day on Monday. We went back and forth for a while, then he tapped to exhaustion.

That was basically it for the night. Nothing too exciting. I'm not a huge fan of wrestling, but I see the advantages of having it in my tool box. All good, another week of training down without any injuries. OSS.

Blue Belt + 6

It's been over a week since I was on the mats. I felt it. I didn't want to be there tonight. I tapped to everyone tonight. Everyone got me in a Kimura or Americana. I'm so exhausted to type right now. I jest need some sleep.

I started out drilling with a blue belt that was 60+ lbs heavier than me. We drilled the De La Riva to attacking the turtle to bow and arrow. When the drilling was over, we rolled. I was not able to get by his open guard today. He controlled me by holding onto both my sleeves. He must have tapped me four times before they called the switch.

It took me awhile to get back on the mat for round two. This time it was with a female blue belt. I did not go as hard with her as maybe I could have. Time was called about 5 minutes into the roll with no submissions. I had dominate position the whole time.

My next partner was a white belt that out-weighed me by maybe 80 lbs. Usually I would get the better of him, but this time we went back and forth for a long time. I almost got an armbar on him, but we started bumping in to Professor's roll so I backed off and her escaped. Eventually he got me in a Kimura.

My next roll was with the blur belt from earlier. Of course he was able to tap me three times. All Kimuras or Americanas again.

My last partner for the night was a female blue belt that is about my weight or slightly heavier. We traded positions for a while before she was able to grapevine my legs from mount and finish with a Kimura.

I feel lucky I was not injured tonight. OSS.

Blue Belt +5

My right heel was hurting today. I almost didn't train because I was worried it would get worst. I took my girls to their class, then decided to stay for mine.

The class warm-ups was headed by a young brown belt today. Today's class was full. There was probably 24+ in today's class. We didn't get through all the warm-up when Professor came on the mat and started us on our drills.

Today I paired up with a young 15 year old grey belt. We worked on recovering position from a passing opponent. I let him go the whole time. He was suppose to create a frame when I passed to the side by placing the close side hand on my bicep and the far side hand on my head. He was suppose to then bring his far side leg to the bicep his close side hand was holding. He kept contacting my close side shin instead of my bicep and when he brought his far side leg over, she contacted my shoulder most of the time.

The next drill was the closed guard sweep of a standing opponent before they can break guard. This time we went one-for-one. Basic sweep to full mount.

The last drill was attacking an opponent in the turtle position. We drilled this move last week also. We went one-for-one on this one. Nothing special here.

Professor started calling two on the mat at a time for some rolls. I was paired up with a female blue belt that was my weight. She had just finished rolling with a white belt that she submitted easily.

We started on our feet. I tried to trip her a couple times, but was not able to get in close enough. I faked a third time, then went for a double leg but ended with a single. She was able to stuff me temporarily, but I was able to transition to a double and pick her up. I tried to let her down slowly as to not slam her.

I ended up in her full guard and tried to fight my way out of it. I was able to get up and control her pant cuffs. As I pulled them to the side and get into side control, she started to turtle up. I was able to get my hooks in and finish with a collar choke while transitioning to her side.

After everyone had a turn, we paired up for rolls. I selected a new white belt that was on his second week. He was not paired up for the rolls earlier. I did not attack him at all. I allowed him to get side control and full mount to see what he could do. He was probably 30-40 pound heavier than me. A few time I put myself in really bad positions, but he didn't recognize it so he was not able to take advantage of it. We flowed for about 15 minutes. He was very tired and stopped to ask me about types of chokes he would have been able to get from his positions.  I showed him a collar choke from mount and an Ezekiel choke.

My next partner was the military blue belt. We started from our knees. I was able to grab his pant cuff with one hand and his sleeve cuff with the other. I used both to spin him around so I could get to side control. We scrambled for a little bit, but most of the time I had top position. I eventually got him in the scarf hold and attached his near side arm. He tapped to a kimura.

We went for a second round. This time he was a little more aggressive. We went back and forth like before, but this time during the scramble, I ended up in his triangle. I was able to defend the triangle, but he transitioned to an Omoplata. I started to roll out of it, but ran into the mirror so I stopped. Since I was not able to roll because I didn't want to hit the mirror, my opponent had time to adjust his angle. I tapped earlier since I could not see a way out.

That ended the night for me. I'm always glad that I rolled once I get on the mat. OSS

Blue Belt +4

Today another blue belt asked me to roll before class started. I need to not Roll before class starts, because it takes a lot of energy out of me and then when I go to do warm-ups I have no more energy. We started on our knees. He went for my sleeve cuff and I went for his leg cuffs. I was able to spin him around and get to side control. He got to his side and turtles up. We went back and forth trading dominate positions. In the last scramble, I fell into a triangle, with my arm too deep in. I was not able to get my inside arm to a good enough position to create enough space to defend. I tapped to the triangle.

 Today we drilled guard recovery from the mount as well as attacking the opponent  in the turtle  position.   My training partner today was a 41-year-old in the active reserves. He weighs 30 pounds heavier than me and is about a foot taller than me. When warmups where done, professor called us to the center of the mat for a roll. He came in for a takedown, but I sprawled to neutralize then went for a takedown of my own.  I got the takedown, but ended up in his guard.

I was able to pass his guard, get to side control, then get him in a scarf hold. I tried attacking the near side arm from the scarf hold position, but he was able to get out of that position. As he was coming up, I went for an arm bar. He was able to fight out of the arm bar then he tried to stack me. I heard professor yelling out Russian arm bar, but I could not find the angle I needed to finish that move.

I scrambled and got to his side. I went for a second arm bar attempt, but this time I was too low. He was able to get his arm back and move from side control to mount. I was so tired, I barely fought back. I did not realize he had the Ezikeal choke on me. I tapped to both exhaustion and the submission.

I did not get any submissions today, but I felt like it was a good day for me. I was dominant for most of my matches up until I got submitted. It was a great humbling day for me. OSS

Blue Belt +3

Back on the mat today. While waiting for class to start, a purple belt asked me to roll. He had to leave early. We rolled for about 10 minutes. I don't think we was really going for any submissions. He tried a couple times, but I was able to get out of it, or he let me out of it. The roll ended when he go to the mount position and crushed me with his pecs. I tapped to pressure.

He then rolled with another blue belt while I went to drink some water. When I go back , he called me to roll again. Just as we started tangling up, Professor asked one of the students to start the class in warm-ups.

The purple belt to the student running the warm-ups that he and I were going to roll for warm-ups. We went to the back corner and rolled for a while. I ended up tapping again to the same top pressure. Professor came and told me to warm up so he could roll with the purple belt.

After the warmups, we drilled recovering the arm-bar when being stacked. We drilled that until the first hour was over. Then we took a water break before finding partners to flow/roll. I paired up with a female blue belt that was close to my weight.

I tried to flow more than rolled. I didn't want to put too much pressure on her. I actually almost got her in a couple arm-bars and a rear collar choke, but instead of finishing them, I just held them to allow her to fight out of them. I never felt like I was in danger from any of her attacks. We went back and forth taking dominate positions.

When we finally looked up to the clock, 45 minutes had passed. I guess because I was not going all out, I was able to last a long time without gassing out.

It was a quit uneventful night of training. Professor had a visiting couple that he spent a lot of time speaking to. They eventually signed up.

Blue Belt + 2

My second day on the mat after receiving my blue belt. Today we drilled the de la Riva to armbar and de la Riva to bow and arrow. I drilled with a slightly more senior blue belt that is shorter and lighter than me. He is also about 10 years younger.

After drilling for the first hour, Professor called me to the center of the mats with a senior blur belt in his 20's. He is taller and heavier that me, but probably by on 10-20 lbs. My back was hurting, so I did not go for the takedown, he shot in and grabbed my left leg. He drove forward and pulled me in to get the takedown, but I quickly reversed it to get to side control.

He scrambled to get out, but I ended up in North-South position. As I started to make my way back to side control, Professor called and end to our roll. He went through the roaster of people there pairing them up by what he felt would be a good match.

After that, he had us pair up and roll. I paired up with a younger white belt that is known to be a grinder. Right from the bump, he came at me hard and fast. I was able to get to side control, then moved to his back. He is one of those guys that does not like to tap. I moved from his back to a belly down armbar, but he was not tapping so I let it go and ended on my back with him in side control.

I was able to scramble out and get into an S-mount position. I came under his neck and grabbed the lapel. I through my bottom leg over his body and grabbed his pants by the knee with my left hand. I finished with the bow and arrow that we drilled earlier today.

We started going again whe Professor called time and had us find new partners. One of the purple belts that haven't been around for a while picked me. He flow rolled for what seemed to be a long time with me on top, then him on top, then back to me and then him again. I tried attacking his arms a few time, but we ended up in the 50/50 and he starting attacking my ankle. I went for an heel hook, but I let it go and just tapped because I didn't want to get hurt and I didn't know how to really finish the heel hook.

We went again and the same thing, a lot of back and forth. I was starting to think he was just flowing with me. He ended up catching me in another submission, but I don't recall what it was. We went again, and this time he turtled up and I was able to roll him onto his side and went for the arm bar. This time he tapped, and Professor just happened to be watching and called an end to class.

Professor told us to get a drink and circle up. He talked about a female that just received her blue belt earlier this week and me. He told the class about how proud of us he was. We both compete to push ourselves, and for our own reasons. I guess he was happy with what he saw of us today.

At the end of class, I rolled with another blue belt that can over from the Krav Maga school I trained at. A couple time I almost got hi, but he ended up getting the better of me. At the end he said I went harder than he wanted. Made me feel bad. When I am tired, I end up in a fight or flight mode and can not control my flow. That's something I will be working on. OSS

Blue Belt +1

Today was my first day on the mat since receiving my blue belt last Thursday. As always, I was not feeling it today. I was tired from work and hungry. I don't typically eat after lunch on days I know I will be training. I made that mistake once and almost threw up from drilling knee-on-belly. The stars always seem to align in the worst ways for me. One time I was having neck pain, and of course that day we worked clock chokes.

Today one of the brown belts that has been away for the majority of the summer lead the warm-ups. He like to have us do forward and backward rolls as well as cartwheels. Professor doesn't have us do those. Once professor came on the mats, we went into dilling the Lasso to Omoplata. During the warm-ups, one of the higher ranking blue belts that is about 60 lbs of muscle heavier than I ask if we can drill together. I never turn anyone down, so I said yes.

Because he is so muscular, his technique is modified from how Professor shows us. He is a really nice guy, even though he is a Marine and could probably fold me in half with just his arms. After a few slow  detailed attempts, I give him a little more resistance to test him. Like I said, his technique is not perfect, but he has adapted it to his body and it's effective.

From there we dill a sweep from closed guard and a recover from a transition to side control. The key to the sweep is to maintain control of the sleeve during the transition. For the transition to side control, the key is to control the head and drive it towards the mat using my far arm with the near arm on the bicep.

While drilling, Professor saw us flowing the omoplata so he called us over to show us how to sit onto the arm of a rolling opponent to trap the arm for an armbar or triangle choke. After the first hour, we paired up and rolled. My first partner was the larger more experienced ble belt I drilled with. He was being very patient with me and did not push to hard.

Right about the time he was able to mount me, Professor called time and had us switch partners. I'm not sure how long we flow rolled, but I think Professor saw that I was in a bad spot and sent me a lifeline.

My next partner was a white belt that just received his first stripe today. I was just flowing with him, but he made some fatal errors in his movement, so I capitalized and got the armbar on him. We went again, and I gave him a dominant position, but we rolled into a position that allowed me to get the kimura on him using my body parallel to his and lifting his elbow while his forearm was stuck in my hip area.

I moved to my next training partner. He is probably a full foot or more taller than me, but not that much heavier. We went at it for awhile before he was able to lock the triangle on me. I was able to hold off tapping for a while and I tried to move around to a North-South position, but as I was doing that, he managed to get the arm that was in across his body. I could pull it back and I didn't want to pass out, so I tapped. We went again, but this time I was able to get an armbar. I rolled him to his side as I tried to get to the s-mount position. When I got my leg over his head, he raised up and started to stack me. I reached for his leg and was able to get him flat on his back. He raised his far leg up and over my head (he is so long) but when he pushed me down I brought his arm down with me and he tapped.

After that, I looked up and it was 9:30p. The others were starting to pack up, so I went to pack up and leave also. There was about 12 people there tonight. I think I got some good rolls in. Not to bad for a day that I almost wanted to skip. Right now I have back and shoulder pain, but that is what I get for being old. OSS!

Blue Belt

Today I was awarded a blue belt by my professor. In typical fashion, we were in the middle of warm-ups when he stops everyone and looks at one of the other students. He tells her to take off her belt. Then he tells her to stop, and turns to me standing next to him and tells me to take off my belt.

I began my Jiu-Jitsu journey just over 18 months ago. In those 18 months, I had four gout attacks to my big toes, achilles issues on both legs, shoulder, rib, finger joints and neck issues.  I competed in three tournaments as a three stripe white belt, getting one gold, two silver, and one bronze metal. In one of the tournaments, I competed in gi and no-gi. Taking the silver in gi and bronze in no-gi.

Before you say wow not bad, the gold and bronze I earned, the two silvers were consolation prizes for losing in a two man division.

More important for me, was the friendships I have mad along the way. A few of the guys I train Krav Maga with came to train BJJ at the academy. Lots of people came and left. Overall, I would say that everyone I have meet at my academy are nice decent people.

The girls at my academy are the competitors. Except for one of the purple belts and one of the guys I trained Krav with that I talked into competing, most of the consistent competitors are female. They are the ones that bring home the gold for my school.

I find it hard to motivate myself to go to class sometimes. Especially when I take my girls there for their class at 6 and don't get home from my class until 10p - 10:30p sometimes. It's a lot of sacrifice that I would not be able to do if it was not for my wife. On those training days, she picks up the girls and had to feed them, have them finish their homework, shower them, then get them into bed. And sometimes thats after she has worked a 12 hour shift at the hospital as a nurse.

Today I rolled with my professor, but I feel he gave me the submission. I rolled with a 150 yellow belt that I got three submissions on. I rolled with a single stripe white belt that I got three submissions on. I rolled with another blue belt that we each go a submission. Overall, it was a good night of Jiu-Jitsu. OSS