On the Mat Day 243: Jiu Jitsu in My Head

So I'm awake right now at 6 am after going to sleep at just before 1 am. The reason? jiu-jitsu is in my head. It's been a long time since fixating on technique has kept my brain ticking over so much that I cannot get to sleep. It happened a lot when I was a white belt and it was a new stimulus in my life. Probably the reason for it right now is that I did not do well at all during class last night.

Failed escape from side control? check
Had to work extra hard to fend off a white belt? check
Stamina give out? check
Didn't naturally do the right technique you are always drilling? check

I dunno. It was a weird night. I usually don't go on Saturdays but this morning's training is cancelled so I convinced the wife that I needed to go. So I got to spar with some folks I haven't seen in a while. Now, I would like to think that all the hard work I have been putting in over the last 2.5 months is paying off but it also seems everyone else has been improving and much more than I. I wonder if this is just my mind playing tricks on me? Perhaps they think the same thing about their own progress. I had a good couple of rounds with Yuki-san who moves really well for a big strong guy. He caught me with a scissor sweep, passed my guard, mount. I did recover and got mount as the buzzer rang. He also almost caught me with a Tomoe-nage but he failed to keep both my hands tied. He is a good sparring partner to sharpen me up and to make me feel the aches and pains as I am right now. The kicker came when I went to spar with a 3-stripe white belt who was visiting our club. I failed to open his closed guard. Did not stop his hip bump sweep. Got caught in a triangle setup, escaped and passed his guard only to have him hold me off by catching my far arm in a spider hook. It really made me wonder what the hell I'd been doing for the last 2.5 years. I don't expect to smash people or dominate them but my inability to do the right technique for the situation is making me frustrated. I felt like quitting. That was the ego kicking in.

I asked Yuki at the end if he had some time and I practiced spider guard for about 20 minutes. F-sensei also showed me some additional moves from side control using the opponent's lapel.

Some things I need to find a solution for:
1. Having passed the legs, the opponent blocks my arm from under hooking his neck. Then I get stuck in moving to side control.
2. Passing versus opponent's with long legs.

I need to drill more side control escapes for sure. I'm not sure why this is such a huge sticking point for me. I also must work on takedowns.

On a plus note, Kondo-san who came for a trial lesson has joined us. Apparently he is a 3rd dan judo black belt. On hearing that I just nodded my head, smiled and thought "Yep, that explains a lot".


Sparring time: 9 x 6 mins = 54 mins

Oh, I recommend the Inside BJJ podcast. Episode 6 with Rose Gracie and Renato Laranja was hilarious.