Exhilarating weekend!

I had a great weekend :)

I got to train twice-- a good review class on Saturday, covering high guard armbars when they stand up in your guard, or omoplatas and the omoplata sweep as an option. I had a really fun training partner who was encouraging and didn't make me feel stupid, which was awesome. Because my omoplata sweep? It looks more like I'm having an epileptic fit on the edge of a cliff and my partner has to pull me back from the brink of death.

And then afterwards, we did some king of the hill stuff that reminded me how far I have to go even against blue belts. (Of course, they're badass blues who trained with my instructor all summer, but they were able to crush me before that too. Not to mention the purples and browns!)

Then Sunday was good positional sparring without really any rest between rounds, for a solid hour.

I have been super depressed over the whole fertility thing lately. I don't know if "this month" worked or not (give me a couple days) but I've been so sure (based on doctors' opinions, reading, research etc) that I just can't get pregnant on my own that I even bailed on my "no caffeine and take it easy" plan... on Saturday even though my heartrate got up to 140 I only sat out one round, and after class I had half a coke. I know, not exactly deep sin, but picture me living the cleanest most careful life before-- that coke was the sweetest, fizziest thing I've ever tasted, and I was just thinking "Fuck it, I'm not pregnant anyway and I'll never get pregnant so who cares!" (Good thing I'm not, like, a cocaine addict or something-- then I'd probably get pregnant in half a second. Half a coke is not much caffeine, before you call CPS or the Republican Party and report me.)

Anyway-- everything's come up roses now, because I found out last night that there is potential to do IVF, and if that works, maybe late this year or next year I'll be pregnant! The short version is, we do a couple cycles where they get the most number of the best possible quality eggs out of me. They add my wonderful husband to the mix, get a bunch (hopefully!) of embryos, and they test them. Any that are chromosomally abnormal wouldn't implant (connect the placenta to my bloodstream in the uterus) anyway-- so they only put back the one(s) that will make a baby. Hopefully there's more than one normal one, in which case they leave the remainder on ice so I can poop out a sibling (or more!) in the future!

I love my husband for supporting me in this very emotional, very scary, very expensive journey. He's amazing. And I'm walking on clouds today. I dreamed about it last night. I feel like this huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, like I can do anything! Anddddd.... because for the next bunch of months (number as yet unknown) my eggs will be taken out of me, I still have to eat clean and be healthy, but I don't have to worry that working out hard will stop me from getting pregnant. Soooooo, I can get back to the stress relief and healthy living on the mats!!!!

While we're talking healthy-- here's a fabulous Vietnamese-inspired chicken salad that's fast and easy to make. You can wrap it in lettuce leaves, put it in rice paper/spring roll wrappers, or just eat it as a salad. Serves 2-4 depending how hungry you are.

3 small shallots, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 jalapeno, chopped (seeds removed if you want less heat)
1 Tbsp. sugar
ground black pepper
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbs. fish sauce (aka patis or nuoc nam, use soy in a pinch but really try to get fish sauce)
1 lb. boneless, skinless, thin-sliced (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick) chicken breast cutlets
salt
6 oz. package coleslaw mix
1 cup fresh mint leaves, torn if large
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

With a mortar and pestle (or a fork inside a bowl) pound the shallots, jalapeno, sugar, and 1/8 tsp. pepper until the shallots are very soft (but not pureed) and liquid is released. Transfer to a large serving bowl and stir in the vinegar and fish sauce. Heat a nonstick pan over medium to medium-high heat till a drop of water sizzles.

Season the chicken with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Let cool and then shred the chicken with your fingers into long thin strips, pulling the meat along its natural grain.

Toss the coleslaw mix into the vinegar mixture. Add the chicken, mint, and cilantro and combine well. Top with the peanuts and serve at room temperature.

A new perspective on competition in jiu jitsu.

I want to share with you an amazing and insightful conversation I had this morning with one of my mentors in jiu jitsu and life... but first, another boost for Seana, the purple belt who is battling ovarian cancer at the retardedly early age of 26. And then, the new perspective on jiu jitsu competition, at the bottom. :)

Watch this interview with Seana last week at Toronto BJJ where Seana talks about her history in martial arts, where she grew up, her cancer and how she is staying so positive and strong throughout her fight. She earned her purple belt while going through chemotherapy!!!!



Check out the interview and please lets all help Seana Rossi submit cancer.
Please share this video, repost it, send it to other MMA athletes, forums, companies, whatever you can do to help this warrior out.

Donations can be sent directly by email money transfer like Paypal to
helpseanafight(at)gmail(dot)com

Direct Bank Direct Transfer can be made to:
Seana Rossi, Account # 08902 010 6433480

To donate through check, money order or cash please contact Melissa Biscardi through facebook or via email:
melissa.biscardi(at)utoronto(dot)ca

So this morning I was chatting with an amazing man, a 4-stripe purple who teaches BJJ, married with kids, runs his own business. I am proud to consider him a friend as well as a teacher.

He told me about his different outlook on competition these days. He started competing (in various fora, not BJJ, but including wrestling) when he was a little guy. At the state finals in wrestling (which he won) he described a very powerful match against a beastly muscleman, which he conquered by sheer out-beasting on a mental and physical level. "I have a lot of rage in me," he explained, "and that's how I used to be in competition. Violent."

I can tell you, this was a shock. He's the coolest, chillest, mellowest cat there is. Yes, he's fit and strong, yes, he wins tournaments, yes, he's defeated a blackbelt in a tournament as a purple. But I wouldn't picture 'rage' or 'violence' when I think of him even in a tournament setting.

But that's what he tells me, so I believe it. However, he says this most-recent tournament was different for him. He woke up the morning of, looked at his sleeping wife and kiddoes on the way out the door, and pondered about blessings. How full his life was, and how he already had everything he needed.

As he drove the couple hours to the tourney, he thought about how previous tournaments (and other athletic competitions through his life) were all about taking from the other guy. Taking the belt, taking the medal, taking the glory. Showing him who's boss. Winning. Beating them. Making the team look good. Dominating.

As I listened, I nodded along, thinking of my internal (or blogged) pep talks before tournaments. Like this one, and this one. Pouncing wildcats and so on. "Break her f*cking jaw if I have to" was a silent mantra for a while.

No, this time he wasn't going to take. He was going to share, to give. To share his amazing technique. To "confound" his opponents, in a spirit of love, harmony, brotherhood. (I hope he doesn't sound dumb here, because if he does that's all me. He is anything but, and this philosophy really resonated with me.)

And that's exactly what he did. He rolled into the tournament, scouted a spot, and napped. Had some coffee and breakfast, and napped again until his name and bracket were called. Genially shook hands with his opponent, absorbed his energy (instead of pushing him off the mat, as he could have) and flowed with the go. He sensed his opponent's vibe, redirected his momentum on a spiritual as well as physical level, and nailed a slick-as-ice takedown which sounded like a fireman-carry variant, transitioning into an armbar. Since he's not actually Master Po, he didn't get that armbar (though he did eventually collect his opponent's arm a la Ronda Rousey, except his opponent knew to tap BEFORE dislocation).

More importantly, his opponent bounded up from the mat all smiles and expressed sincere "ooh's" and "ahh's" about my friend's great technique. So he successfully confounded his "enemy" and shared his skill.

I know, maybe sounds all hoo-hah. But I was entranced by the idea of a competition mindset that was less about grinding your opponent's face into the dust, moistened only with his tears and blood.... and more about sharing this awesome journey through skill and application and direction and attention that is jiu jitsu...

Perhaps, as you prep for the Pan, Mundials, or whatever tournament is around the corner in your heart... consider relying less on the beast within, and choke the snot out of your opponents with LOVE.

I'm serious.

"Master Po: Close your eyes. What do you hear?
Young Caine: I hear the water, I hear the birds.
Po: Do you hear your own heartbeat?
Caine: No.
Po: Do you hear the grasshopper which is at your feet?
Caine: Old man, how is it that you hear these things?
Po: Young man, how is it that you do not?"

Seana-- purple belt, age 26-- cancer fighter. Help!

Seana is a purple belt under Jorge Britto at Toronto BJJ. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 26. She needs help.

More information at: www.facebook.com/HelpSeanasFightAgainstCancer

I donated through PayPal. You can too. Also, please do what you can to spread the word.

Tate v. Rousey

If you didn't watch Strikeforce on Saturday night, surely by now you've seen the stills, the youtube, and the Gracie Breakdown....

In case no, here's the full fight.



Here's the Gracie Breakdown (as they note: viewer discretion is advised.)



I was THRILLED to death that Ronda won. I didn't like the attitudes displayed by either woman leading up to the fight. I won't use the term "lady" for a reason. I didn't like their behavior during the weighins either. However, I have utmost respect for Ronda's skill as a judoka, and I (for some reason) like her better than I like Miesha, so that's why I rooted for Ronda. And screamed bloody murder throughout the fight.

Just my $.02, while I try to keep in mind that when it's YOU in there, things happen way faster, and it's a lot harder to do what should be done than you realize. I am trying to be sympathetic to Miesha in other words.

-- It seemed like Tate didn't prepare to fight someone who eats a few punches, gets the head and arm control from inside, does a hip toss or harai goshi, and then goes for an armbar. In other words-- did she really think about who she was fighting in this matchup? Because that's Ronda's deal-- takedown > armbar. She's the Arm Collector. Tate should have known this coming in!

-- Instead, it looked like she wanted to punch. She didn't work to maintain a striking distance. She didn't kick to keep Ronda away. Unless you have one-punch-knockout power, or precision kicking to the face, it's going to be hard to win a striking fight early on and quickly enough to be immune to the takedown.

-- She didn't make Ronda work and burn off some energy. (Ronda's longest fight previously was what, 1:30? something like that?) Now I know Ronda cut down to 135 for this, so you would think that included enough work to have plenty of cardio-- but what if the cut was tough on her? You'd think the strategery of the Tate camp would have pushed for a bit of delay.

-- When Ronda got in close, it seemed like Miesha just accepted the inevitable. I'm a total yutz when it comes to judo, but I have been taught some ways to foil a hip toss. I know with adrenaline and yes, a world-class Olympic medalist in judo, that it might have been just too fast and hard to deploy any counters. But as many times as I've watched this fight, I didn't see anything that I identified as even attempts at defeating the judo. Did you? did I miss something?

-- WHAT THE FLIP was Miesha doing on Ronda's back? Yay that she got there, of course-- but she had DOUBLE UNDERS from the back. Does Miesha train on the ground at all???? was she just stuck with her gloves under Ronda's arms, given that Ronda was messing with Miesha's hooks using her hands?

-- To critique Ronda just a tiny bit-- she would have finished that first armbar if she would have had better control of Ronda's upper arm. Instead, her ankles were crossed and her knees spread wide. This is conclusive proof that Ronda is in fact mortal.

-- I kind of wonder if Miesha's elbow was dislocated at the end of the first armbar. Sure seemed that way.

-- I have a hard time picturing wanting to win a fight so badly that I would go through the pain of a fully inverted, reversed, inside-outed elbow to get it. I know, Jacare sucked it up and won against Roger with a broken arm. Yet another reason I'll never make it that far.

What did you think of the fight?

Reader question about subscribing....

I'm so illiterate when it comes to this stuff. Can anyone help? This reader sent me the following question and I don't have a clue!

"I just came accross your blog and love it!!! Is there a way I can subscribe to it so
I get your posts in my email?"

Thanks!

After cauli ear, that ain't no thang.

Working on a "real job" project that's actually fun, and complex, and seemingly infinite; it's like a fractal. Every time I think I have resolved an argument, I see that I could go one level deeper. And every time I think I have the big picture, I step back and see that I was only working on a fraction of the whole. The downside is, I rarely want to get up from my desk and hit the gym during my lunch break. Hopefully this project wraps up in another two weeks or so.

Haven't been training much at all. I love my new academy, and I love the people there, but I feel like I'm shortchanging myself and them if I don't/can't come all the time like I used to. I've gone from training 6-7 days a week to less than 6 times a month. The classes are very carefully ordered and directed by our Master (Donald is far more than just an instructor, let's be real) and I know that when I miss a class it really hurts my comprehension and ability to perform in the next ones. This has become a death spiral-- a Zeno's Paradox of sorts. You can't attend any classes, because you can't attend them all.

I know this is false, and I know I'm only hurting myself, but I can't seem to get out of the rut and on the mat unless all the stars have aligned just right. That means work is not intruding, nor is family life, and I'm not inordinately tired, and I'm not trying to get pregnant. Because yes, I am having such a f*cking hard time getting pregnant that I am becoming "that woman"... that woman who, despite eons of human generations, is afraid that the most ordinary of activities is going to prevent reproductive success. No more caffeine, definitely no alcohol, more vitamins and supplements than a horse could swallow at once (all approved by my doctors, don't worry), and no excessive exertion during the fabled "two week wait." So half of every month is out the window. And now we're going to start some additional approaches, involving me injecting myself with stuff, so I don't know what it will do to my mental, physical or emotional status before the said two-weeks. We'll see.

It was funny though-- when I went to the class at the doctor's office on "how to give yourself injections," the other gal was all skeeved out about the shots and told her husband he'd have to do them all. She looked at me and was like, aren't you afraid?

"Uh, no, I used to have to drain my cauliflower ear all the time."

You could have heard a pin drop. Guess that's reason #846,399 I'll be the odd-mommy-out in the playgroups. If I make it to them.

Teensy treat just for you...

A treat to watch-- from the Abu Dhabi World Pro in 2011, Paulo Miyao v. Pedro Torres, purple belt -65kg finals.



And a treat to eat: 3, 2, 1 Cake

These individual little cakes are amazing and ready to eat in one minute! They are perfect for whenever you feel like a treat without all the fat and calories that cake can have. Genius idea!

INGREDIENTS:
1 box Angel Food Cake Mix
1 box Cake Mix - Any Flavor
2 Tbsp Water
Makes 1 serving.

DIRECTIONS:
In a gallon ziploc bag, combine the two cake mixes together and mix well. For each individual cake serving, take out 3 Tablespoons of the cake mix combination and mix it with 2 Tablespoons of water in a small microwave-safe container. Microwave on high for 1 minute, and you have your own instant individual little cake!
Keep remaining cake mixture stored in the ziploc bag and use whenever you feel like a treat! You can top each cake with a dollop of whipped topping and/or some fresh fruit.

Helpful Tips:
This recipe is called 3, 2, 1 Cake because all you need to remember is
3 tablespoons mix,
2 tablespoons water,
1 minute in the microwave!

TRY various flavors of cake mix like carrot, red velvet, pineapple, lemon, orange, etc. Just remember that one of the mixes has to be the angel food mix; the other is your choice. The flavor possibilities are endless!

NOTES:
The best thing is, you open both cake mixes into a gallon storage bag, one that 'zip locks' or 'self-seals', or a container that seals tightly, shake the two cake mixes to blend and then make the recipe. Storage of mix is simple, put it on a shelf. No need to refrigerate, since the mix is dry. Always remember, that one of the cake mixes must be Angel Food. The other can be any flavor. The Angel Food is the cake mix that has the eggs whites in it. So, if, anyone is allergic to egg whites, don't eat this.

Mitt, really in touch with the average American....

"Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on being back home in Michigan:
"I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit-made automobiles. I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pick-up truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually. "

Spam and eggs.

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Ronda and Miesha

I enjoyed this interview.



I think Ronda needs just a tiny bit less of the confidence... not in her skills, but in her own rightness and opinions.  She's just a little too free with her words, and I think maybe they'll bite her someday.  She comes across too strongly, treading the line of b*tchery.  She's already my favorite female MMA fighter bar none because her judo and her armbar give me tinglies, but I would like her more if she seemed more humble.  She's right in what she says though...

01:50 -- Ronda Rousey -- "All these girls are saying that I have talked my way into a title, is just a mean way of saying that I was smarter than them and I figured out to make as much progress in six months as they did in six years."