Quite a few folks here tonight including a big blue belt who is probably a judo guy. He uses loads of pressure and strength. Atsushi who started 6 months before me gave him a run for his money though.
I'm still recovering from my groin injury so passed on sparring tonight. I've just been re-injuring it over the last 2 weeks and getting nowhere. Instead I did some neck strengthening exercises and pull ups with and without my gi for grips. It's surprising how strong the material is for the collar of my suit. I can hang my 74 kg frame from it without the material ripping. When I retire it, I think I'll use it for tying up shit in the garage. i finished with 20 minutes on a stationary bicycle. Couldn't take it over 80 watts or my groin would start to complain. During the warm ups we did armbars from closed guard but I could not lift my right leg. It was too painful. I felt so down, like a geriatric.
I don't know what it is about injuries but I just feel like my body has let me down. I hate to appear weak in front of the other guys. I know that they don't think that I am a pussy for stepping out of sparring but the thought is always in the back of my mind. I'm the type of person who likes to step up and challenge myself. I know that the best thing to do is rest, recuperate and come back stronger but it's hard to not want to roll. As well as being fun and a great workout for me, I don't want to be that guy who everyone thinks is shying away from sparring. I have to admit that sparring can be daunting at time especially with people who smash you. I think it is more the bruised ego that makes me flinch away rather than any concern for physical damage. I just can't wait until I have more experience so that I can pay back some of the guys who roll right over me. I don't hate them or anything, I'm just really competitive. One thing that sticks out in my mind from Monday was Suzuki-san who is a purple belt and smashes the shit out of me. He asked me if I wanted to roll and I said I was injured but if we went light I could. He told me to take it easy and rest. That was cool. I can see the other guys in the gym have my best interest at heart. I saw one of the guys go for a double leg takedown last night and he tapped because he hurt his shoulder. I watched thinking "Oh, shit" because I thought he'd dislocated it. He iced it and felt better. It made me realize how much some of these guys, although we don't speak that often and I'm a foreigner, feel that they are like brothers to me or family. This only after 6 months of training. The bond must be very strong after years of training together.
Note to self: Japanese word for crotch: 付け根（つけね）literally the attached root hrrmph.
Total sparring time: 0 min :(
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