Monday 29 August

Okay wow, so long time no post......
Whats been happening? Got my first promotion!! yay, still a lowly white belt, but now I have a stripe on it. Was just rolling with a blue and opened with a nice triangle technique I learned from guard using an overhook with my left hand to opponents collar to wrap it up, wrist control on the other hand, leading to a nice slow controlled triangle, sweet.. the rest of the roll was pretty cool too, then my instructor casually goes, "you can put a stripe on your belt now", I was so stoked but tried to play it cool, "Sweet as, cheers". classic.

Anyway,
Jiu Jitsu University  review was my last post, that book has since gone back to the library, I am glad I simply borrowed it and didn't buy it, as although it is a good all round book, I found some of the moves ,(escapes particularly) a bit difficult to put into practice.
I have since sourced myself a copy of Eddie Bravos two books "Mastering the Rubber Guard", and "Mastering the Twister". I already had a copy of "Jiu Jitsu Unleashed" his first foray into writing, however this is a pretty basic book with small grainy black and white photos. The two mastering books however are great.
I think the best thing I like about Eddies books are firstly the effectiveness of his system, and the structure of it, i.e you start from here, then if your opponent is this way you transition to this, if not go here.... etc, it is very straightforward for a beginner to follow this roadmap.

I have had alot of success, with fellow whites/blues at least, in the past using his halfguard system, lockdown, whip up, old school. However I have since stopped using it so much and concentrating more on techniques I have learned from my instructor, however its a nice technique to have in the bank when things don't work out so well. I didn't want to be 'that guy' that just pulls out the one move all the time....

I've had a break from training last week as after a Saturday session (which was awesome!!!), I found myself with a strained hip flexor and sore shoulder, turns out the hip flexor was just a niggle and went away mostly, within a few days, the shoulder happens to be bursitis, so hopefully my physio can sort me out with this.... Yet to go back to training, its only been a week and a bit, but I'm itching to get back..!!

Jiu Jitsu University

So after plowing through Eddie Bravo's Jiu Jitsu Unleashed, I decided although these were all great techniques, it was perhaps better for me to focus on the fundamentals. So I have located a copy of Jiu Jitsu University , a weighty tome of Jiu Jitsu goodness authored by Saulo Ribeiro and Kevin Howell. This book is divided into several sections, each based on a belt colour and focusing on a different aspect of the game. The author starts off with White belt- Survival, and describes many useful survival techniques, ideal for the new white belt, and progresses on to Blue Belt- Escapes, another handy tool for the player who finds themselves on the bottom alot, (this is me :) ).
Although it is difficult to learn from a book and there is no substitute for hands on instruction, it is useful to be thinking and working on some of these techniques when outside the gym. I have personally been concentrating on some survival positions for the mount and back control, and put them into play and found myself lasting a bit longer. Next time -- "Escapes"!

Back to training!

Okay, so it's been a while. Turns out I did get my rib busted up, tore some of the intercostal muscle and cartilage where ribs meet up with sternum. Took some time to rehab, and now I feel I am good to go. Its been probably about 5 months now since I have been training Jiu jitsu properly, had some days in between but nothing consistent.

So what have I been doing during my hiatus? Well I have been working on my core strength and concentrating on strength and conditioning exercises, lots of circuit workouts and plyo's. In addition I have also been reading a few BJJ books, and hope do do some reviews on these later on, Jiu Jitsu Unleashed-Eddie Bravo, and A fighters Heart-Sam Sheridan, both great reads.



I had my first proper training in a while last Friday, and it felt great, rolled with a bluebelt, and another whitebelt and survived!! This is my main goal at the moment, concentrate on surviving, and being comfortable on the bottom, which is where I end up most of the time. Monday now, so have a lunchtime training coming up soon, and looking forward to it. Will check back in later to update this more often.


L

Number Two:

Okay, So I finally get well enough and am all geared up to go back to training! First day back, started out great. We went over some Judo throws for a while until our instructor arrived, then we learnt a sweet new technique. Not sure of the name of it, but basically you start from side control, then secure a grip on the collar at the back of the neck, go to knee ride, grab an underhand grip close to the other on the collar, and twist down to a kinda north south position, where your forearm crosses over the guys neck and chokes him. It was very effective.
Rolling time...... Only rolled with other white belts today, it was okay tho, as all were pretty easy going guys. A new guy turned up today, and had a great time. It was his second class I think. And he rolled nice and easy, So it was good to try out some of the techniques we had been learning over the last few weeks, I got in a kimura, triangle, arm bar, and lots of side control to mount, I also taught him an Upa escape and some of the no-no's like putting your hands on the mat when you're in someone elses guard.
Last roll of the night was with a 3-stripe white, awesome guy, and we had a great roll, unfortunately right at the end, as I was getting dominated and trying to escape side control i heard a nice crack, and noticed my rib feels really funny and kinda lumpy! :(, went to A&E to get it checked out, most likely a fracture or I have torn some of the cartilage between the ribs/sternum, either way no mat time for 4-6 weeks. Sad face~Oh well it happens...

Still, the silver lining is it's exam time now so more time to study.....:)

Post: The first

Well first post, Hi all. No training or school today as I am home with tonsillitis :(  Still getting over the aches and pains associated with the first two weeks BJJ training on a 30 year old body.
In the past two weeks I have been trying to soak up as much as possible and "be an empty cup". My main focus at this stage has been on escapes. I am constantly finding myself on the bottom and in uncomfortable situations. I guess this is all part of being a new white belt.
I am trying to remind myself not to muscle everything and use technique over strength, but this is difficult when you don't really know a whole lot of technique!
I have been trying to train when I can, which is at lunchtime, and about 3-4 days a week, which means I have been working hard to get my gi, cleaned and dry for the next day training. I went shopping around to find a 2nd gi, but had a nice Keiko Raca lined up for $250, but at this stage I can't justify spending that much, so I picked up a used Atama from a guy at a class I go to for $100, it still has a bit of life left in it so should serve me well as a spare.

Well, back to the study.