From YouTube...
First match.
Finals match.
The horrible no-gi match.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 07, 2008
NAGA Texas Championships-- results
Our team did great but I didn't write down everyone's results :(
I lost my first/only no-gi match-- it went really fast! She got the takedown, took my my back and RNC'd me pretty fast. I screwed up in 2 crucial spots and gave up about 40 seconds in. I saw stars and heard the ocean; it sucked. It also gave me a mean headache for the rest of the day.
However, I won my division in gi!! Whoooo =) And even though I just watched the footage, I'm still not recalling clearly what kind of sloppy takedown I got in which match; I don't think I got a takedown in one of them and I think I got one in the other. I do know that my first match I was up on points 17-0 and I finished with an ezequiel from mount. Second match, I'm pretty sure I did a horrible version of the Jacare-style takedown, where I drop to my knees and go for an ankle pick... I scramble around pretty whitebeltishly but usually seem to be at least somewhat in control, got a couple reversals (which of course means I was getting reversed, but I felt her momentum and went with it better than I usually do)... at one point, in mount, I get her in a solid americana and started applying pressure.. gradually more, finally I was really afraid of going too hard, and she turned right out of it! So that means my technique was all wrong! But that gave me her arm for a hell choke.
I won a sword, too. It is a "real" ninja sword-- it even says on the box "Sword of the Ninja." LOL.
So I will sleep, get up, work on the way back to Austin tomorrow, and then head to Beaumont. Don't expect much in the way of blogging while I'm doing this hearing. I finished the cross of their big expert last night and will likely be using every spare moment to prep for other witnesses.
Things to work on:
NO-GI!!! everything, esp. takedowns
Takedowns with gi
RNC and rear mount defense
timing mount from side control
keeping my hips lower in side
I lost my first/only no-gi match-- it went really fast! She got the takedown, took my my back and RNC'd me pretty fast. I screwed up in 2 crucial spots and gave up about 40 seconds in. I saw stars and heard the ocean; it sucked. It also gave me a mean headache for the rest of the day.
However, I won my division in gi!! Whoooo =) And even though I just watched the footage, I'm still not recalling clearly what kind of sloppy takedown I got in which match; I don't think I got a takedown in one of them and I think I got one in the other. I do know that my first match I was up on points 17-0 and I finished with an ezequiel from mount. Second match, I'm pretty sure I did a horrible version of the Jacare-style takedown, where I drop to my knees and go for an ankle pick... I scramble around pretty whitebeltishly but usually seem to be at least somewhat in control, got a couple reversals (which of course means I was getting reversed, but I felt her momentum and went with it better than I usually do)... at one point, in mount, I get her in a solid americana and started applying pressure.. gradually more, finally I was really afraid of going too hard, and she turned right out of it! So that means my technique was all wrong! But that gave me her arm for a hell choke.
I won a sword, too. It is a "real" ninja sword-- it even says on the box "Sword of the Ninja." LOL.
So I will sleep, get up, work on the way back to Austin tomorrow, and then head to Beaumont. Don't expect much in the way of blogging while I'm doing this hearing. I finished the cross of their big expert last night and will likely be using every spare moment to prep for other witnesses.
Things to work on:
NO-GI!!! everything, esp. takedowns
Takedowns with gi
RNC and rear mount defense
timing mount from side control
keeping my hips lower in side
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Getting my mind in the game...
... is unexpectedly hard this tournament around.
I'm dealing with an enormous amount of stress at work, for one thing. I am first chair on a week-long hearing. First chair means I'm the boss at least in name. I love being in charge, but I fear I haven't done as much as I'd like. In part that's because this hearing was assigned a date extremely quickly, so we've been running nonstop to finish the investigation (still, there's so much more we could do if we had time) and get the information to our experts. Our experts are amazing, professional, and so smart.
But this whole work thing is really getting in the way of my training, haha. I guess I'm just whining.
I'm all packed, for Dallas tomorrow through Sunday morning, and for Beaumont, Sunday through Friday. If you see a redhead in a purple gi, that's me. For the hearing, I've packed my lucky suits, my silver heart bracelet, and all that's left is to be ready on the argument side of things.
Wish me luck. I definitely feel like I need it.
I'm dealing with an enormous amount of stress at work, for one thing. I am first chair on a week-long hearing. First chair means I'm the boss at least in name. I love being in charge, but I fear I haven't done as much as I'd like. In part that's because this hearing was assigned a date extremely quickly, so we've been running nonstop to finish the investigation (still, there's so much more we could do if we had time) and get the information to our experts. Our experts are amazing, professional, and so smart.
But this whole work thing is really getting in the way of my training, haha. I guess I'm just whining.
I'm all packed, for Dallas tomorrow through Sunday morning, and for Beaumont, Sunday through Friday. If you see a redhead in a purple gi, that's me. For the hearing, I've packed my lucky suits, my silver heart bracelet, and all that's left is to be ready on the argument side of things.
Wish me luck. I definitely feel like I need it.
Gracie class 12/4
Started with three guard passes. Eric taught me a few other things but literally they went in one ear and out the other. I am lucky I remember these few techniques. I need to put in serious work time today. We leave for the tournament tomorrow at 1pm, meaning I leave the office around 12:30pm... return from NAGA early Sunday morning, and at noon I'm at the office and driving to Beaumont with my coworkers a hearing. I hope to be back Thursday night, but maybe Friday if things take a long time. I might blog how I do at NAGA- but generally things will be quiet until I'm back in training Saturday the 13th. :)
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Gracie class 12/3
Short notes, WAY too much work to do for this hearing...
Tired. Worked a lot today and have class at 6am.
Tired. Worked a lot today and have class at 6am.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Gracie class 12/2 morning
I had 3 rolls then. First with a sweet guy whose name I always screw up-- Yaddick? Yarrick? dammit. He's tall and heavy, a whitebelt, and I felt a little frustrated- I get to halfguard but give up position from bad habits and end up mounted... again.
Then I rolled with Shane-- sloppy takedown on my part, end up rearmounted, but his legs are so long that I can turn around and get in guard from inside his body triangle. We had good positional battles.
Then I played with Travis, a 3 stripe blue. He was so mellow and not aggressive with me, but did execute two nice sweeps.
I ended up feeling fairly winded so I know I got a good workout. I hope it's enough for NAGA. I'm still feeling nervous about doing no-gi and gi. *sigh* I just need to stop thinking about it; just *do* it.
Then I rolled with Shane-- sloppy takedown on my part, end up rearmounted, but his legs are so long that I can turn around and get in guard from inside his body triangle. We had good positional battles.
Then I played with Travis, a 3 stripe blue. He was so mellow and not aggressive with me, but did execute two nice sweeps.
I ended up feeling fairly winded so I know I got a good workout. I hope it's enough for NAGA. I'm still feeling nervous about doing no-gi and gi. *sigh* I just need to stop thinking about it; just *do* it.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Gracie class 12/1
Oy-- my neck is sore. Rolling with Tom this morning was fun, as always, but I am really seeing differences in style now since I pretty much only train in gi these days. He is much more distinctly no-gi in approach, and I'm at a loss for what to do when there's no gi. He also canopener's me to get me to open my guard. This frankly pisses me off-- yeah, yeah, it's good for me to know how to get out of a canopener. Yet since he's the only person who does it, I'm not practiced enough at punishing it, though I can at least get out of them. That's how my neck got screwed up in the first place, and I really feel it now.
Anyway-- tonight in class they did a lot of self-defense techniques which I sat out on. I want to take it easy before the tournament, drill, spar lightly, and not get hurt. Then we moved on to side mount controls-- switching your hips to control the near elbow, going to kesa gatame, countering people who frame up on your neck and try to wrap their legs around your head. We did round robins and me on top of Donald is like... there is no good analogy. I can only repeat, it's like grappling the ocean. Did positional sparring with Rodney, open guard and closed guard work, and was very impressed with how he uses his weight. He feels like a million pounds, but he can't be more than 160-170. He's very cheerful and encouraging, which is probably easy for him since I was flailing around underneath him like a jellyfish.
I didn't get any good rolling in afterwards, either. Monday night's class has a funky vibe-- maybe I just don't know the guys well enough, but it's very quiet, not much joking. Richard showed up late, around 7, but was only rolling with the big guys and the higher belts and then left at 8. I watched Donald, Thomas and someone else and was entertained, but spent most of the time feeling somewhat sorry for myself. I don't know why I expect to do better against people who have way more experience but I guess I put too much pressure on myself.
It's dang cold outside, and I wanted an indulgence, so I stopped at Starbucks for hot chocolate. Unfortunately it was a grownup hot chocolate-- kind of a cacao-y flavor, not so much the syrupy milk chocolatey sweetness I was aiming for-- so I didn't even finish it. Took a hot shower- my neck hurts, my upper back and shoulders hurt, and I am getting scared of NAGA this weekend. But I will try to get over that!
Anyway-- tonight in class they did a lot of self-defense techniques which I sat out on. I want to take it easy before the tournament, drill, spar lightly, and not get hurt. Then we moved on to side mount controls-- switching your hips to control the near elbow, going to kesa gatame, countering people who frame up on your neck and try to wrap their legs around your head. We did round robins and me on top of Donald is like... there is no good analogy. I can only repeat, it's like grappling the ocean. Did positional sparring with Rodney, open guard and closed guard work, and was very impressed with how he uses his weight. He feels like a million pounds, but he can't be more than 160-170. He's very cheerful and encouraging, which is probably easy for him since I was flailing around underneath him like a jellyfish.
I didn't get any good rolling in afterwards, either. Monday night's class has a funky vibe-- maybe I just don't know the guys well enough, but it's very quiet, not much joking. Richard showed up late, around 7, but was only rolling with the big guys and the higher belts and then left at 8. I watched Donald, Thomas and someone else and was entertained, but spent most of the time feeling somewhat sorry for myself. I don't know why I expect to do better against people who have way more experience but I guess I put too much pressure on myself.
It's dang cold outside, and I wanted an indulgence, so I stopped at Starbucks for hot chocolate. Unfortunately it was a grownup hot chocolate-- kind of a cacao-y flavor, not so much the syrupy milk chocolatey sweetness I was aiming for-- so I didn't even finish it. Took a hot shower- my neck hurts, my upper back and shoulders hurt, and I am getting scared of NAGA this weekend. But I will try to get over that!
Taking notes on BJJ techniques...
... here's something I just stumbled across, from BJJ NorCal, one of my favorite BJJ blogs on the 'net. I haven't investigated his system yet but it sounds cool.
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