I trained.

It was cold.  I was two minutes late, according to the clock in the academy, so I was penalized 10 burpees.  My feet actually hurt, they were so cold.

BUT... I trained.

The warmup was short and sweet so I didn't hardly break a sweat.  Darren, the visiting instructor, started under Donald as a whitebelt and has absorbed soooo much of his delightful teaching style and technique, yet makes it his own.  So class, from a content and delivery perspective, was just wonderful... chock full of detail that makes sense, entertainingly explained and memorable... and I had a great drilling partner, a brownbelt guy I've been training with since I was a whitebelt.  And lots of people had big ol' grins and hugs for me.

The actual techniques?

• Takedown: a snatch single-leg and how to defeat the standard counter
• Cross side to NS to two armbars
• NS, the pummel counter to a papercutter
• NS, they counter your pummel counter, to a shoulderlock

I am so happy to be back.

I think I'm a sucker for positive reinforcement, and I got a little bit last night.  Makes me want more.

So I'm going back tonight.  Thanks, peeps, for the encouragement.  I'm sure I'll need it again and often.