Good! and Nice!

Yeah, that's right, more praise from Donald in the comp class, so I was over the moon!

Of course it didn't hurt that I was doing takedowns on the new blue girl-- my kuzushi looked all badass because she's so little and light. I had to scale back my uchi komis because I was taking her down accidentally. Now I have some new appreciation for what the bigger guys go through with me-- it's so easy to make whatever you're doing happen, and feeble resistance accomplishes nothing, and the determined frustration on her face every time she got up.. it was hard on us both. I tried to slow things down, give her a chance to grip fight, but Donald had a timer on us and threatened the whole class with 25 burpees anytime someone held a grip more than 10 seconds without throwing their partner. Sorry, new blue.

Then I was afraid of the universe and karma, because my next partner was Travis the Woodchipper. He's a tough purple, about 5'9" 160ish, who is called the Woodchipper because his guard just shreds people. Anyway, he went easy on me, just let me try (feebly) to take him down the whole time. I hurt myself on his razor-sharp shins but completely failed to alter his base whatsoever. My seoi nages suck-- still not pulling their leading arm hard enough or forward enough.

The rest of class was a Brazilian legs drill to maintain guard and a pass from that position, then a rolling loop choke I've seen from Jordan before, very similar to the one Max has been teaching.

Check out the Rickson story on Chris' blog Rolling Uphill. Chris is a third year law student and whitebelt under Dave Camarillo. I like how he thinks..

This morning it was pretty quiet-- just me, Ian, Travis, Doug and JT. Got a good roll in with JT who is a tall muscular blue belt-- couldn't pass his guard, got scissor swept because I totally forgot the techniques Dev posted yesterday, and got kimuraed. Next, I did pass, had a smashy side control/knee on belly, but while I was fiddling with grips for a baseball bat choke, I got muscled over (DAMMIT I hate that, but I'm stupid if I can't beat it) and later armbarred. Third time, I got a sweep from bottom half guard, took his back, and battled for a collar choke then a RNC then a four-finger while I had him in my body triangle. I was happy with my gripfighting, his defenses were excellent but I think I came close a couple times, but my foot went inside his belt somehow. I was baffled-- how come I can't jam my hooks deep and flatten him out? why won't my leg move? He was mostly flat and rolled a bit, making my ankle do something very strange, so I tapped and called it good.

Tonight, more kids' kajukenbo, then judo, then jiu jitsu. Mitch is in day two of interviews with a good company today, so hopefully by Friday or so we'll have something to celebrate!

I won't make this till the weekend, but it's good for celebration or company.

Pork Chops Stuffed with Smoked Gouda and Bacon

* 2 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, shredded
* 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 (2 1/4 inch thick) center-cut, bone-in pork chops
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat.
2. In a small bowl, combine the cheese, bacon, parsley, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
3. Lay the chop flat on cutting board, and with a sharp knife held parallel to the board, cut a pocket into the pork, going all the way to the bone, but leaving the sides intact. Stuff cheese mixture into pocket, and close with a wooden toothpick. Brush meat with oil, and season with salt and more black pepper.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes on each side, or until pork is done. Careful not to overcook!