On the Mat Day 296: Hard Knocks

You ready for a beatin?

I didn't get much sleep on Monday or the weekend come to think of it. I've been trying to have a lucid dream but instead of it working, I've just managed to keep myself up at night. So I didn't do my usual BJJ class on Tuesday night and instead went on Wednesday. This class was a rough one for me. There are 3 guys at our dojo I consider to be a tough spar, and 2 of them turned up on Wednesday and nobody else but me.

I was tapped multiple times by the brown belt and once by the blue belt. They both feel stronger than me and I am sure they train a touch more than me per week. Both of them have strong standup and are competent at judo throws. It was a good session to knock down my ego. I also have to try to be very technical. I was almost caught in a head and arm choke but escaped by answering the phone, establishing a lockdown to stretch him out and make space for my arm, then I switched to a regular half guard. I had some success with the Golden Gate sweep from 1/2 guard and now find it fairly straightforward to complete on stronger opponents who like to crush me flat. I failed to escape an armbar from mount so am now working on escapes from that position.

I've also had a linger injury that flared up. A few weeks ago I strained my left hip flexor while bridging a larger opponent. I thought it was getting better but I damaged it some more bridging on Wednesday. After that point I just tried to take it easy, no sudden movements and work any jiu-jitsu I could without worsening my wounds. I've been icing it since and stretching my hips. Hopefully it will be fully healed by the 23rd of my competition.

I'm also approaching the end of 8 weeks doing Tapout XT, after which I will break for a week as I did before to let my body heal. This week has been particularly brutal since I have had symptom of overtraining. Lack of enthusiasm, injury prone, feeling tired no matter how much sleep I get.

Sparring time: 6 x 6 mins 36 mins
Notable moments: Escaping head and arm choke, single leg takedown by lifting held leg and reaping standing leg, golden gate sweep, countering berimbolo.